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The Lab Rat

 The Lab Rat
type
FeatureClass
 The Lab Rat
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The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat
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TheLabRat
 The Lab Rat
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Any character who performs scientific analysis. Forensics people, usually. If on a show about those people, such as CSI and its spinoffs, he will be the member of the team who deals with the most technical and specialized aspects.
They will often be fairly geeky, and/or members of other subcultures. Sometimes they will leave the lab and have adventures, or even become a more major character. Often the Plucky Comic Relief if they get any character development. Not to be confused with the actual lab animals, humans Strapped to an Operating Table, Professor Guinea Pig, or Resourceful Rodent, though examples of the last two tropes sometimes fit this one as well. note Actually, come to think of it, any of those could fit, circumstances depending.
Not to be confused with The Rat, who's the one selling information.

Examples
 The Lab Rat
fetched
2024-02-12T06:52:05Z
 The Lab Rat
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2024-02-12T06:52:05Z
 The Lab Rat
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Dropped link to LowerDeckEpisode: Not an Item - FEATURE
 The Lab Rat
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Dropped link to PerkyGoth: Not an Item - FEATURE
 The Lab Rat
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Dropped link to TechnoWizard: Not an Item - FEATURE
 The Lab Rat
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Lab Rat / int_17024c6d
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_17024c6d
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Broots from The Pretender, whose job description rarely entails leaving his electronics lab at Villain HQ.
 The Lab Rat / int_17024c6d
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
 The Pretender
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_17024c6d
 The Lab Rat / int_22211d68
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_22211d68
comment
In Bones, either Zack, Hodgins or Brennan (in that order or probability) depending on the episode and the context.
Called "squints" in-universe by Booth. Because they sit in the lab and squint at things.
Also the rotating team of 'Squinterns', Dr Brennan's interns.
 The Lab Rat / int_22211d68
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_22211d68
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1.0
 Bones
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_22211d68
 The Lab Rat / int_2221ecbd
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_2221ecbd
comment
CSI: NY:
Adam Ross, who bounces from DNA to Trace to Ballistics and is, among other things, the resident Techno Wizard.
"Flash Pop" centers around some of the lower level lab techs, one of whom was murdered in a copy-cat version of an unsolved case from 1957. The other techs hold a vigil for her in the lab, which is particularly moving to Jo. Adam refers to all of them as friends.
 The Lab Rat / int_2221ecbd
featureApplicability
1.0
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featureConfidence
1.0
 CSI: NY
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_2221ecbd
 The Lab Rat / int_24e41891
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_24e41891
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While "serial killer" is a better description, blood-spatter analyst Dexter Morgan is considered The Lab Rat in his public life.
If anything, Dexter is a subversion. At his job, he's seen as one of the lab rats, but the audience knows better. His co-worker Masuka, on the other hand, is a dead-on example.
 The Lab Rat / int_24e41891
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1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_24e41891
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 Dexter
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The Lab Rat / int_24e41891
 The Lab Rat / int_28fe1376
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_28fe1376
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In Fringe, Massive Dynamic's Brandon Fayette, and for pretty much the final two seasons, Astrid Farnsworth.
 The Lab Rat / int_28fe1376
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1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_28fe1376
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 Fringe
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_28fe1376
 The Lab Rat / int_2a8d8e6f
type
The Lab Rat
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comment
Gotham has Edward Nygma, who annoys colleagues with his habit of giving out information he finds in the form of riddles.
 The Lab Rat / int_2a8d8e6f
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1.0
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 Gotham
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 The Lab Rat / int_2e3e7ac2
type
The Lab Rat
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Wally West, the Flash in Justice League, works as one as a nod to Barry Allen.
 The Lab Rat / int_2e3e7ac2
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1.0
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1.0
 Justice League
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_2e3e7ac2
 The Lab Rat / int_31a8701b
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_31a8701b
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Barry Allen, The Flash, is a forensic scientist who got his Super-Speed powers through a Freak Lab Accident.
 The Lab Rat / int_31a8701b
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_31a8701b
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1.0
 The Flash (Comic Book)
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_31a8701b
 The Lab Rat / int_3a52772
type
The Lab Rat
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A sort of literal version of this occurs in Creature Comforts, where a couple of lab rats in a maze being voiced by two real-life scientists talk about their day jobs.
 The Lab Rat / int_3a52772
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_3a52772
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1.0
 Creature Comforts
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_3a52772
 The Lab Rat / int_40d9e04f
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_40d9e04f
comment
Greg Sanders, whose nickname at Television Without Pity inspired this entry's title. He has now become a CSI in his own right, but not before his intended first replacement quit after only one day on the job due to being overwhelmed by everyone hounding her to do everything he'd been doing up to then. At one point, reference is made to him doing the work of six people.
 The Lab Rat / int_40d9e04f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_40d9e04f
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 Television Without Pity (Website)
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_40d9e04f
 The Lab Rat / int_41b0198a
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_41b0198a
comment
The Dresden Files has Waldo Butters, whose adventures outside the lab result in him very firmly returning to it, and only leaving while wearing a Bulletproof Vest.
 The Lab Rat / int_41b0198a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_41b0198a
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 The Dresden Files
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_41b0198a
 The Lab Rat / int_46823c49
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_46823c49
comment
Moriarty the Patriot: Sherlock keeps a full chemistry lab in 221B Baker Street and he's frequently shown interrupted during experiment. When he first meets John, for example, he's working on a solution to detect traces of blood to assist with his detective work.
 The Lab Rat / int_46823c49
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_46823c49
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1.0
 Moriarty the Patriot (Manga)
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_46823c49
 The Lab Rat / int_55c5a085
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_55c5a085
comment
Any character in the Mazinger series (Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and UFO Robo Grendizer) filled The Professor role fit in this trope: Dr. Kabuto, Prof. Yumi, Prof. Kenzo Kabuto, Prof. Umon... All of them performed scientific analysis and research, either to design the Humongous Mecha or to draw the information they needed from the data the Bridge Bunnies collected.
 The Lab Rat / int_55c5a085
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_55c5a085
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 Mazinger Z
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The Lab Rat / int_55c5a085
 The Lab Rat / int_5c4c8bcd
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_5c4c8bcd
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Nigel Townsend from Crossing Jordan. He was as much a main character as anyone who wasn't Jordan could be throughout the show's duration, but his overenthusiasm at tackling any overly technical problem, quirky sense of humor, ambiguous personal life, and arguable ability to fall into the goth subculture place him squarely in this trope.
 The Lab Rat / int_5c4c8bcd
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1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_5c4c8bcd
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 Crossing Jordan
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The Lab Rat / int_5c4c8bcd
 The Lab Rat / int_7c48915b
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The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_7c48915b
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Gunnerkrigg Court has Kat, even when dealing with second shadows and ghosts.
 The Lab Rat / int_7c48915b
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1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_7c48915b
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 Gunnerkrigg Court (Webcomic)
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The Lab Rat / int_7c48915b
 The Lab Rat / int_8396b7b
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_8396b7b
comment
Dr. Otto Octavius refers to himself as exactly this in Life After Death Trilogy.
 The Lab Rat / int_8396b7b
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1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_8396b7b
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 Life After Death Trilogy (Fanfic)
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The Lab Rat / int_8396b7b
 The Lab Rat / int_924bb56e
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The Lab Rat
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In Dollhouse while Topher has pretensions of being a Mad Scientist he's really just one of these, his assistant Ivy even more so.
 The Lab Rat / int_924bb56e
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1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_924bb56e
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 Dollhouse
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The Lab Rat / int_924bb56e
 The Lab Rat / int_9b2b2221
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_9b2b2221
comment
Every chapter featuring Melodie Crookshank in Tyrannosaur Canyon emphasizes her technical expertise and discoveries specifically in her basement laboratory. The fact that she has no friends and few coworkers strikes her as dangerously isolating over the book.
 The Lab Rat / int_9b2b2221
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 The Lab Rat / int_9b2b2221
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 Tyrannosaur Canyon
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The Lab Rat / int_9b2b2221
 The Lab Rat / int_a33d74a4
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The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_a33d74a4
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Sword of Truth: In the Palace of the Prophets, Wizard Warren becomes known as The Mole for stopping leaving the underground libraries. It takes Richard to draw him out again. Warren turns out to be both brilliant and a power combat-wizard, so it was mainly shyness.
 The Lab Rat / int_a33d74a4
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 The Lab Rat / int_a33d74a4
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 Sword of Truth
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The Lab Rat / int_a33d74a4
 The Lab Rat / int_b18ca9e5
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The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_b18ca9e5
comment
Lester in Beakman's World is a literal lab rat. Well, lab guy-in-a-rat-suit, but you get the picture.
 The Lab Rat / int_b18ca9e5
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1.0
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 Beakman's World
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The Lab Rat / int_b18ca9e5
 The Lab Rat / int_bca72091
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_bca72091
comment
Animal Crossing villager Petri embodies this trope both figuratively, as a scientist-themed snooty villager with a laboratory-themed residence, and literally, as a mouse villager introduced in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
 The Lab Rat / int_bca72091
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1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_bca72091
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 AnimalCrossing
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The Lab Rat / int_bca72091
 The Lab Rat / int_cac1f772
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The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_cac1f772
comment
CSI:
Greg Sanders, whose nickname at Television Without Pity inspired this entry's title. He has now become a CSI in his own right, but not before his intended first replacement quit after only one day on the job due to being overwhelmed by everyone hounding her to do everything he'd been doing up to then. At one point, reference is made to him doing the work of six people.
Greg's role has been taken over by multiple people: David Hodges (Trace Analysis, endearingly annoying), Archie Johnson (Audiovisual) Mandy Webster (Fingerprints), Henry Andrews (Toxicology) and Wendy Simms (DNA, lower rung love interest). They get a Lower-Deck Episode with the hilarious "You Kill Me". Also, the aptly named episodes "Lab Rats" and "Field Mice".
 The Lab Rat / int_cac1f772
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_cac1f772
featureConfidence
1.0
 CSI
hasFeature
The Lab Rat / int_cac1f772
 The Lab Rat / int_e293455a
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_e293455a
comment
Early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer have Willow doing this, before it becomes less "chemical analysis" and more "potion-brewing".
 The Lab Rat / int_e293455a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_e293455a
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1.0
 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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The Lab Rat / int_e293455a
 The Lab Rat / int_e5feb1e
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_e5feb1e
comment
Ema Skye in the Ace Attorney series. Technically, she's a detective who really likes science, but the spirit is still there.
 The Lab Rat / int_e5feb1e
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1.0
 The Lab Rat / int_e5feb1e
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 Ace Attorney (Franchise)
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The Lab Rat / int_e5feb1e
 The Lab Rat / int_fd7de151
type
The Lab Rat
 The Lab Rat / int_fd7de151
comment
Shion Karanomori of Psycho-Pass is responsible for the lab analysis and at the same time, is Division One's Mission Control and a skilled hacker. However, she's a latent criminal who is not allowed to go outside the headquarters so she has to depend on the Enforcers and Inspectors to gather the evidence.
 The Lab Rat / int_fd7de151
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1.0
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 Psycho-Pass
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The Lab Rat / int_fd7de151

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Lab Rat
processingCategory2
Characters as Device
 Raideen / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Justice (Fanfic) / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Dante's Peak / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Geronimo Stilton / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Paprika / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 The Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service (Manga) / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 The Record of a Fallen Vampire (Manga) / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Alarm für Cobra 11 / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 CSI / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 CSI: Miami / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Crossing Jordan / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Dexter / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Quincy, M.E. / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Team Knight Rider / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 The Bill / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 The Pretender
seeAlso
The Lab Rat
 Waking the Dead / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Dr. Brain (Video Game) / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 Creature Comforts / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat
 [PROTOTYPE 2] (Video Game) / int_60ac6ae4
type
The Lab Rat