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Author Topic: Temperaments of the main characters  (Read 5041 times)
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lackofmops

Crustacean
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« on: 07-21-2014 02:37 »
« Last Edit on: 07-21-2014 04:08 »

If you're not sure what the temperaments are, they're a personality classification system that involves four possible characteristics. You can read about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_temperaments

Go ahead and respond with what temperaments you think the main characters of futurama are. Here are my guesses.

Fry: Phlegmatic (Obvious)
Farnsworth: Melancholic
Leela: Choleric
Bender: Sanguine
Zoidberg: Sanguine
Hermes: Choleric
Amy: Sanguine
Scruffy: Melancholic
Nibbler: Melancholic
Mom: Choleric
Zapp Brannigan: Choleric
Kif: Phlegmatic
President Nixon's head: Choleric
Beamer

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #1 on: 07-21-2014 02:47 »

I would classify Farnsworth as Choleric rather than Melancholic (he is far too loud and aggressive to be the latter), but other than that I think you've got them pretty spot-on. :)
lackofmops

Crustacean
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« Reply #2 on: 07-21-2014 04:05 »

I would classify Farnsworth as Choleric rather than Melancholic (he is far too loud and aggressive to be the latter), but other than that I think you've got them pretty spot-on. :)

Right, right. I was just thinking of all the time he appears to spend alone in his lab inventing stuff and that one time he tried to leave the planet because someone disagreed with him.
Beamer

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #3 on: 07-21-2014 04:22 »

Very true, though quite a few of the characters are arguably on the cusp of multiple temperaments in that list. I'd still say he's predominantly a Choleric - perhaps one that's been softened with old age, though. I still think "fiery personality" when I think of Farnsworth.
Motor Oil

Starship Captain
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« Reply #4 on: 07-21-2014 18:00 »

Hmm-- interesting, though I do have to disagree with a few of your classifications. I agree with Beamer that Farnsworth is more Choleric than Melancholic, though he does have the traits of both; then again, I don't think there is really any character that fits one classification perfectly without any overlapping onto another.

Fry: Sanguine/Phlegmatic
Phlegmatic seems to be the most contented and fulfilled of the temperaments, which I don't think describes Fry at the beginning of Futurama, but as the series progresses he does become more calm, reasonable, thoughtful, etc. I'd say that after he develops a steady romantic relationship with Leela, he becomes a strong Phlegmatic with some Sanguine characteristics, but before that I'd say he leans more towards Sanguine. Fry's thoughtfulness does vary from episode to episode though, so a consistent result might be more difficult to find than for the other characters.

Farnsworth: Choleric for reasons Beamer listed (and I am too lazy to restate, not that it's needed).

Leela: Choleric with Melancholic characteristics: moodiness, seriousness, self-reliability, and somewhat occupied with cruelty (particularly that to animals) in the world, but her general temperament is more Choleric-like.

Nibbler: Phlegmatic. Nibbler only speaks when he has something important to say or he is distressed by something, leaving me to believe that he is normally quite content with his life. He is reasonable, private, consistent, etc.-- and while he is serious and sometimes suspicious when speaking, he does not take any measures to largely change his life, despite being clearly capable of doing just that-- leaving me to believe he is fulfilled.

Aside from those, I agree with you fully-- very interesting topic we've got here. :)
lackofmops

Crustacean
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« Reply #5 on: 07-21-2014 18:27 »

In reply to Motor Oil- I think you're definitely right about Fry having Sanguine characteristics. He does direct moat of his thoughts externally, and seems to be very social.

I think that he does have some Phlegmatic in him because he just seems to go with the flow, reacting to events as they come. He seems kind of introverted because of how absorbed he gets when watching TV or playing video games.

Leela definitely has 2 sides. There's the take-charge, dutiful, forceful side that makes her a natural leader and captain. But there's also her melancholic side, she's insecure about herself, empathetic towards living things, and socially awkward.

Looking back on it I can see how Nibbler could be Phlegmatic. All he does is observe and keep his mouth shut unless he has something to say, and he sees what makes people tick. But in Bender's game and the day the earth stood stupid, you can see that he's just posing as a passive being. In actuality, he's infiltrating earth so he can protect it and the nibblonians.

Great points though.
Scrappylive

Liquid Emperor
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« Reply #6 on: 09-18-2014 06:52 »
« Last Edit on: 09-18-2014 07:57 »

Hmm... This is actually a very, very interesting, insightful, and thought-provoking thread. I'm actually contemplating how characters in this show as well as people I know in real life would be best classified.

I'd be interested to see a list of the characters tagged with their dominant and subordinant temperaments. (For example, "Fry: Sanguine-Phlegmatic;" Fry is usually sanguine but can also be phlegmatic.) This may deviate from the classical understanding of the four temperaments (I think it is -- traditional psychology was more absolute), but I would consider it a deeper and more well-rounded perspective.

Kryten

Space Pope
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« Reply #7 on: 11-25-2014 04:16 »

Ah, my favorite kind of science... pseudo!
Beamer

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #8 on: 11-26-2014 01:52 »

Ah, my favorite kind of science... pseudo!

Eh, grouping personality traits into categories is far lower down on the batshit crazy meter than, say, astrology, cryptozoology or anything in the field of the paranormal. And certainly more harmless than homeopathic medicine. :p
SpaceGoldfish fromWazn

Urban Legend
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« Reply #9 on: 11-29-2014 09:37 »
« Last Edit on: 11-29-2014 09:41 »

Really?  I think of Fry being sanguine.  He's always so happy and cheerful and hyperactive.  Sure he's lazy, but he's the most optimistic character on the show.

He's basically a male Amy in terms of optimism and sweetness.

Anyway I'm so pleased to hear about humours again.   Ages ago, one of my first projects in university was that we had to do an art piece about numbers or anything numbered, so I chose to do mine around the four humours.   I often reference things like that, alchemy and astrology in my art, even though I don't believe any of it.  I'm more interested in the symbolism and mythology behind it.

Also reminds me of one of my favourite books as a child: Deathscent.  It was set in a clockpunk set of islands floating in space, and the four humours were the names of the fluids poured into the brains and circulation of the clockwork robots, that allowed them to their functions.  I remember phlegm being the one that gave the robots the basic ability to move, and black bile, the rarest due to how expensive it was to create, was the ones that would give a mechanical true AI and sentience.
SpaceGoldfish fromWazn

Urban Legend
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« Reply #10 on: 07-10-2020 02:17 »

Fry is sanguine.   He's always sweet and friendly to everyone.   It's very noticeable when he is surrounded by sociopaths.
David A

Space Pope
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« Reply #11 on: 07-10-2020 03:09 »

I always thought of Fry as being phlegmatic (he's fairly laid-back and doesn't seem to be fazed by much), but sanguine works too.  He's not really one or the other.

You could say the same about some of the other characters.  In some episodes Leela seems choleric, but in others she seems more melancholic.  Bender is all over the place.  In some episodes he's melancholic, in some he's choleric, and in others he's sanguine.
Tachyon

DOOP Secretary
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« Reply #12 on: 07-11-2020 06:25 »


He's basically a male Amy in terms of optimism and sweetness.


It mildly irks me that I never noticed this commonality on my own, but yeah, it's pretty clear in hindsight.

transgender nerd under canada

DOOP Ubersecretary
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« Reply #13 on: 07-11-2020 10:05 »

He's always sweet and friendly to everyone.

Not to Lars, Chaz, or anybody else dating Leela. :p
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