...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
The Profiler
- 352 statements
- 67 feature instances
- 47 referencing feature instances
The Profiler | type |
FeatureClass | |
The Profiler | label |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler | page |
TheProfiler | |
The Profiler | comment |
A character — generally a psychologist — who has the ability to discern the characteristics of a criminal from the attributes of the crime. In some cases, The Profiler uses a special form of Applied Phlebotinum by way of Writer on Board, taking unerringly correct leaps of reasoning. In others, the phlebotinum is more literal, with the character having psychic abilities that let them see into the past or read the minds of criminals. From the name of the specialty in law enforcement. Also a series of the same name, with a profiler as its main character, naturally enough. Profiling is a real discipline within criminology, and it really does sometimes seem like magic, but in the real world, accurate profiling is one of the hardest things in all of criminal science, and almost never produces a particularly specific result. In fact, at least one study has shown that profilers are no better at picking out guilty suspects than any random intelligent person. Real-life profilers try to stress that profiling will never be a replacement for old-fashioned police work, and their work is better used as a tool to exclude suspects who don't fit the profile as opposed to fingering the guilty party by describing them to a "T" right down to the color of his/her shoes. It doesn't help that the very first profiler — Dr. James Brussel, an eminent psychologist who consulted on the New York City "Mad Bomber" case in the 1950s — did correctly predict what kind of suit the bomber would be wearing when arrested (and almost nothing else). note Note also that Brussel's profile had been made public, so it's possible that the bomber's choice of clothing had been unconsciously influenced by it. Naturally, the public hasn't listened for the most part. Thus Profilers in TV-land are far more efficient, accurate and almost never wrong. Side note: The official title for this occupation isn't "Profiler". It is "Forensic/Criminal/Legal Psychologist", depending on the region, but that doesn't sound as cool, so TV land has ignored it. It might also have something to do with all the other branches of Criminal Psychology. The stereotype of the profiler comes with an auxiliary stereotype that profilers are prone to stress and mental exhaustion, causing anything from nervous breakdowns to actually becoming psychotic criminals like the ones they've been analyzing. A personalization of the old joke: "Q: What's the difference between a psychologist and a coal miner? A: The psychologist goes down deeper and comes up dirtier." See also Forensic Drama. The profiler has a high likelihood of pulling off Awesome by Analysis. Not to be confused with the alternate meaning of Profiling, drawing prejudiced conclusions about someone based on their ethnicity or race. At least, we hope not. Examples |
|
The Profiler | fetched |
2024-03-06T17:47:41Z | |
The Profiler | parsed |
2024-03-06T17:47:41Z | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to CardCarryingVillain: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to ConsultingAConvictedKiller: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to InvertedTrope: Not an Item - IGNORE | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to ItWillNeverCatchOn: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to PropheticName: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to TrueCrime: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to UrExample: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
The Profiler | processingComment |
Dropped link to smugsnake: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
The Profiler | processingUnknown |
PropheticName | |
The Profiler | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
The Profiler / int_1463a028 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_1463a028 | comment |
Emil Skoda, George Huang, and Rebecca Hendrix of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. One episode also has the rare case of noting how profiling can be wrong. When a TV producer is stalked, she argues about a suspect and is told that he doesn't "fit the profile". She fires back by noting how the Washington State Snipers were supposed to be one middle-aged angry white man when it was a pair of young black men or how the BTK Killer was "a quiet, reserved loner" when he was actually a happily married family man. | |
The Profiler / int_1463a028 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_1463a028 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_1463a028 | |
The Profiler / int_18916544 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_18916544 | comment |
Frank Bishop from Fillmore!, a retired profiler brought on to find a serial shredder. | |
The Profiler / int_18916544 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_18916544 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Fillmore! | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_18916544 | |
The Profiler / int_1ad9726b | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_1ad9726b | comment |
Hunter: The Vigil features the Vanguard Serial Crimes Unit, a division of the FBI dedicated to tracking down Slashers and other supernatural serial killers. They also receive Psychic Powers as part of a chemical process that aid them in interrogation and detective work. | |
The Profiler / int_1ad9726b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_1ad9726b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Hunter: The Vigil (Tabletop Game) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_1ad9726b | |
The Profiler / int_20c8a091 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_20c8a091 | comment |
Shadow Unit: The majority of the main cast apply. They work in conjunction with the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, covering cases that the normal feds won't touch. | |
The Profiler / int_20c8a091 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_20c8a091 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Shadow Unit | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_20c8a091 | |
The Profiler / int_2212773a | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_2212773a | comment |
A rather ridiculously accurate profiling is done in Angel, not only describing the killer, but Angel himself (mind you, he's a vampire who Angel sired). | |
The Profiler / int_2212773a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_2212773a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Angel | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_2212773a | |
The Profiler / int_22211d68 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_22211d68 | comment |
Bones: Dr. Sweets on is initially brought on to mediate the Brennan/Booth relationship, but also works with them as an occasional forensic psychologist. In one episode he details his extensive education, including multiple doctorates, one of which probably gave him the training for this kind of work. Unlike a typical TV profiler, Sweets also almost never goes in the field. He also doesn't usually question suspects but merely stands on the other side of the one-way mirror to give suggestions to Booth in the interrogation room via an earpiece. In his first episode as a profiler, he visits the Jeffersonian forensic anthropology lab and is excited to be "in the field". When they point out that this isn't "the field", he tells them that it is for him, since he spends most of his time in an office. In the first season, Agent Booth asks Dr. Goodman, an anthropologist, to look over a series of crime scene photographs and photos of their suspect's home to help the FBI figure out where to focus their search for evidence on a short timeline. Goodman is notably hesitant to do this, since his specialty is studying the remains of people to learn about how they lived, rather than the still-living. That said, rather than trying to identify the suspect based on forensic evidence and hunches, he used the suspect as a starting point to help the FBI figure out how he would have done something, working in reverse of the typical trope. |
|
The Profiler / int_22211d68 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_22211d68 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Bones | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_22211d68 | |
The Profiler / int_248a0d14 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_248a0d14 | comment |
Lightman from Lie to Me takes this role, though he's actually a social psychologist by training. | |
The Profiler / int_248a0d14 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_248a0d14 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Lie to Me | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_248a0d14 | |
The Profiler / int_24e41891 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_24e41891 | comment |
Dexter: In the first season, the Miami PD finds a woman's corpse and Debra (believing it the work of a serial killer) attempts to write up a profile of the killer. When she shows it to Dexter, he says it seems rather basic and uninformative to hide the fact that the profile does contain a few accurate assumptions about the killer, who is himself. Dexter also occasionally shows degrees of this (even though his actual job is forensic blood splatter analysis) when he adds his opinion of what was motivating a killer based off the types of wounds caused by the blood splatter. In the second season, when the corpses of Dexter's victims are discovered, FBI special agent Lundy is brought in to locate the killer, and repeatedly shows insights into Dexter himself. One of these is his analysis of a letter secretly sent by Dexter to throw off the investigation ends up Lundy correctly deducing that the Bay Harbor Butcher (as the media calls Dexter) has connections to the police to know how detectives typically look at evidence. |
|
The Profiler / int_24e41891 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_24e41891 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Dexter | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_24e41891 | |
The Profiler / int_2efce5b0 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_2efce5b0 | comment |
Francis York Morgan of Deadly Premonition does this often, which is shown as him digging around for sufficient evidence, at which point a mini-movie of the scene plays in his head as a "Eureka!" Moment. | |
The Profiler / int_2efce5b0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_2efce5b0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Deadly Premonition / Videogame | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_2efce5b0 | |
The Profiler / int_31a8701b | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_31a8701b | comment |
The Flash: Rogue profiler Hunter Zolomon, and his wife Ashley after his Face–Heel Turn. | |
The Profiler / int_31a8701b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_31a8701b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Flash (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_31a8701b | |
The Profiler / int_367fab9a | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_367fab9a | comment |
Tony Hill in Wire in the Blood functions in this capacity, though he has often made a point of correcting people who refer to him as a "profiler". | |
The Profiler / int_367fab9a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_367fab9a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Wire in the Blood | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_367fab9a | |
The Profiler / int_36911686 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_36911686 | comment |
Dr. James G. Kent, the police psychiatrist in The Sniper, may represent one of the earliest examples on film. The film was one of the first to focus on the psychology of a serial killer as a major plot point. | |
The Profiler / int_36911686 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_36911686 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Sniper | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_36911686 | |
The Profiler / int_36c89d24 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_36c89d24 | comment |
Will Graham again in Hannibal, the TV adaptation of the Hannibal Lecter series. Notably, Graham was already emotionally unstable before he started profiling work, which is why he's only a Special Investigator instead of a fully-fledged FBI Special Agent, and he's already quit field work and become a lecturer on forensic psychology at Quantico at the beginning of the series. Furthermore, Graham has a condition that's described as "pure empathy" and caused by an imbalance of mirror neurons, making him a rare non-psychic example of The Empath: when he reconstructs crime scenes, he sees himself committing the murders and thinks and feels how the killer did. Much of the first season revolves around Graham becoming unhinged when he can't shake off his reconstruction of a particularly nasty serial killer's pathology, not helped by a case of encephalitis (a la John Edward Douglas) and the manipulations of Dr. Lecter. | |
The Profiler / int_36c89d24 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_36c89d24 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Hannibal | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_36c89d24 | |
The Profiler / int_3b9109cf | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_3b9109cf | comment |
Saga Anderson in Alan Wake II has a knack for this, with Alex Casey pointing out that it's one of her best skills as an FBI Agent. While in her Mind Place, Saga can focus on the image of a person to see how they think, ask them questions, and get answers back. It's actually a full-on psychic ability, one she got from her grandfather: Tor Anderson. | |
The Profiler / int_3b9109cf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_3b9109cf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Alan Wake II (Video Game) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_3b9109cf | |
The Profiler / int_433e4661 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_433e4661 | comment |
Although While the City Sleeps was made in the late 1950s when profiling was just in its infancy, it has a former cop perfectly estimate the age, habits, and attitudes of a killer through the evidence left behind by the killer. | |
The Profiler / int_433e4661 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_433e4661 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
While the City Sleeps | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_433e4661 | |
The Profiler / int_4737c653 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_4737c653 | comment |
In the Elementary episode "The Deductionist", a profiler being brought in to revisit a serial killer leads to Sherlock spending much of the episode articulating a distaste for a "snake oil" science, "super-geniuses" relative to screwed-up people he claims they'll have you believe are themselves geniuses... but this turns out to be motivated by a personal history where she got into his head and, following an actual romantic relationship, wrote an extremely unflattering article about an anonymous "deductionist" on a fast track to substance abuse and other dooms he worries she'll be proven right about. In the case at hand, her skill is portrayed as legitimate, but the book she wrote about him ruined his family with what he insists were false allegations concerning his father. | |
The Profiler / int_4737c653 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_4737c653 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Elementary | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_4737c653 | |
The Profiler / int_51bb5e86 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_51bb5e86 | comment |
Rebecca Locke in The Inside, along with most of the main cast. | |
The Profiler / int_51bb5e86 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_51bb5e86 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Inside | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_51bb5e86 | |
The Profiler / int_51dca720 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_51dca720 | comment |
Will Graham in Manhunter and Red Dragon. This is the man who captured Hannibal Lecter. | |
The Profiler / int_51dca720 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_51dca720 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Manhunter | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_51dca720 | |
The Profiler / int_579bfce0 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_579bfce0 | comment |
Robbie Coltrane was best known for playing the criminal psychologist Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald in Cracker before he was known as Hagrid from Harry Potter. A US remake starring Robert Pastorelli was known as Fitz in territories who had already seen the original. | |
The Profiler / int_579bfce0 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_579bfce0 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Cracker | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_579bfce0 | |
The Profiler / int_5daec708 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_5daec708 | comment |
Agent Foreman from Mr. Monster is a more straightforward example, but is actually the killer he's "tracking". | |
The Profiler / int_5daec708 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_5daec708 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Mr. Monster | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_5daec708 | |
The Profiler / int_625e571 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_625e571 | comment |
Vincent D'Onofrio's character Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent would fit here. | |
The Profiler / int_625e571 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_625e571 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Law & Order: Criminal Intent | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_625e571 | |
The Profiler / int_6272adf3 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_6272adf3 | comment |
Dutch from The Shield isn't officially a profiler but a homicide detective, but this doesn't stop him from categorizing the killers he's looking for by psych profile based on the evidence he sees at the scenes. | |
The Profiler / int_6272adf3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_6272adf3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Shield | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_6272adf3 | |
The Profiler / int_65ede3d5 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_65ede3d5 | comment |
Kazusa Hanai in Metro PD: Close to You is the 2nd Unit's profiler, although in his case it's more of a side talent than his main role in the unit, and — much as in real life — it's only occasionally helpful. | |
The Profiler / int_65ede3d5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_65ede3d5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Metro PD: Close to You (Visual Novel) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_65ede3d5 | |
The Profiler / int_691be369 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_691be369 | comment |
The X-Files: Mulder's original forte before he found the title case files and went onto the supernatural tangent that made up his career from then on. In "Grotesque", Mulder finds himself up against his own former mentor, who has gone off the deep end and started imitating the criminal he's after. |
|
The Profiler / int_691be369 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_691be369 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The X-Files | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_691be369 | |
The Profiler / int_7ae0b293 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_7ae0b293 | comment |
Bedlam features Fillmore Press, alias Madder Red, a former mass-murdering supervillain who reformed after a stay in a psychiatric institution. He knows exactly how the criminally insane mind operates, and offers his services to the local police when they're stumped by a string of serial murders. The police, especially detective Ramira Acevedo, have no idea what to make of him — since Madder Red is believed dead and Press has no actual criminal record, he comes across as a weird guy with bizarrely in-depth knowledge of how crazy killers think. Eventually he's hired on as a paid consultant. | |
The Profiler / int_7ae0b293 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_7ae0b293 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Bedlam (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_7ae0b293 | |
The Profiler / int_7b201e99 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_7b201e99 | comment |
One of these does quite well during his first and last appearance in The Unspeakable Vault (of Doom). He determines that a Serial Killer is old, but physically strong and mentally sharp, a habitual cannibal and self-considered god, and wants his victims to worship him. However, he believes the killer forces his victims to write out a particular phrase, and fails to realize that this phrase summons the killer (who is, in fact, Cthulhu). | |
The Profiler / int_7b201e99 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_7b201e99 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Unspeakable Vault (of Doom) (Webcomic) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_7b201e99 | |
The Profiler / int_7be40377 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_7be40377 | comment |
Hannibal Lecter: Will Graham in Manhunter and Red Dragon. This is the man who captured Hannibal Lecter. Hannibal Lecter offers his services as a profiler to Clarice Starling, freshly graduated FBI profiler, in exchange for a Luxury Prison Suite in The Silence of the Lambs. However, Lecter subverts the trope: he is able to offer an extremely accurate profile of Buffalo Bill because he'd met him and knew his personal history, not because of his own insight. |
|
The Profiler / int_7be40377 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_7be40377 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Hannibal Lecter (Franchise) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_7be40377 | |
The Profiler / int_892aa56a | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_892aa56a | comment |
Murdoch Mysteries: Dr. Roberts is a psychiatrist who runs an insane asylum in Toronto. Murdoch sometimes consults him when he needs to know about the psychology of a killer. Later in the series, Dr. Ogden studies psychiatry and provides Murdoch with psychological perspective on criminals and witnesses. |
|
The Profiler / int_892aa56a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_892aa56a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Murdoch Mysteries | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_892aa56a | |
The Profiler / int_89e6e387 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_89e6e387 | comment |
Cassie Maddox, secondary main character of In the Woods, is a murder-squad detective who is unofficially consulted as a profiler by the rest of the squad because she studied a bit of psychology in college. Despite her lack of training, her observations help pinpoint an important aspect of the killer's psychology. | |
The Profiler / int_89e6e387 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_89e6e387 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
In The Woods | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_89e6e387 | |
The Profiler / int_8ba4613a | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_8ba4613a | comment |
L performs a remarkable feat of profiling early in Death Note, but credits it to his ability to recognize a personality similar to his own. His sketch of the Second Kira is less complete, and he's completely beaten to the punch on the Third, though it's implied that he could've done better if he weren't so depressed and distracted. Not helping matters is they are all using a supernatural method of murder, which makes them much harder to predict or track down. | |
The Profiler / int_8ba4613a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_8ba4613a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Death Note (Manga) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_8ba4613a | |
The Profiler / int_8d81bb26 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_8d81bb26 | comment |
Pathologist Ducky Mallard in NCIS adds profiling to his extensive list of other talents in later seasons. In season 15, the Navy Yard gets a permanent on-staff forensic psychologist in the form of Jacqueline "Jack" Sloane, who transfers in from the San Diego office at Director Vance's request. | |
The Profiler / int_8d81bb26 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_8d81bb26 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
NCIS | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_8d81bb26 | |
The Profiler / int_8d81f086 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_8d81f086 | comment |
Subverted in Monk when a group of investigators use advanced technology to profile a killer and come up with a completely incorrect solution (the killer knows their methods and is playing them). Another episode has a criminal profile come in, and Captain Stottlemeyer rattles the whole thing off from memory without looking at it; they give the same profile for every case. | |
The Profiler / int_8d81f086 | featureApplicability |
-0.3 | |
The Profiler / int_8d81f086 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Monk | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_8d81f086 | |
The Profiler / int_8dfbdff2 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_8dfbdff2 | comment |
One of the early seasons of the main Law & Order series has the NYPD work up a profile of a suspect who is randomly targeting and shooting African-Americans. The profile seems to net them their killer, but the suspect's attorney uses all the ways his client doesn't match it, along with the lack of non-circumstantial evidence, to get a judge to release him. It turns out that the police were right, he was the killer, and he manages to strike again after his release. Fortunately, his would-be victim guns him down instead. | |
The Profiler / int_8dfbdff2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_8dfbdff2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Law & Order | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_8dfbdff2 | |
The Profiler / int_94f87737 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_94f87737 | comment |
In Criminal Case: Pacific Bay, psychological evidence is handled by criminal psychologist Dr. Russell Crane, who sometimes assists the coroner, Roxie, and the forensics expert, Yann, in some of their analysis if psychological aspects of the killer are involved. He is also responsible of giving reports on certain killers' mental health to the judge to help him assign sentences. | |
The Profiler / int_94f87737 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_94f87737 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Criminal Case: Pacific Bay (Video Game) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_94f87737 | |
The Profiler / int_96affcca | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_96affcca | comment |
Hercule Poirot deduces the truth behind the murders by matching the psychology of the crime to the psychology of the criminal/suspects. | |
The Profiler / int_96affcca | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_96affcca | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Hercule Poirot (Franchise) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_96affcca | |
The Profiler / int_9bb59653 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_9bb59653 | comment |
The Blacklist: Elizabeth Keen is explicitly described as this, although she doesn't seem to use her talents as often as she should. It could be understandable since she's still new to the job in Season One. Raymond "Red" Reddington, who assists Keen in her investigations, does do a lot of profiling and exhibits a lot of the characteristics of this character. Which would make sense because Red is a criminal mastermind offering his services to help Keen and the FBI catch other criminals. |
|
The Profiler / int_9bb59653 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_9bb59653 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Blacklist | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_9bb59653 | |
The Profiler / int_9dfa8216 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_9dfa8216 | comment |
Law & Order: One of the early seasons of the main Law & Order series has the NYPD work up a profile of a suspect who is randomly targeting and shooting African-Americans. The profile seems to net them their killer, but the suspect's attorney uses all the ways his client doesn't match it, along with the lack of non-circumstantial evidence, to get a judge to release him. It turns out that the police were right, he was the killer, and he manages to strike again after his release. Fortunately, his would-be victim guns him down instead. Emil Skoda, George Huang, and Rebecca Hendrix of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. One episode also has the rare case of noting how profiling can be wrong. When a TV producer is stalked, she argues about a suspect and is told that he doesn't "fit the profile". She fires back by noting how the Washington State Snipers were supposed to be one middle-aged angry white man when it was a pair of young black men or how the BTK Killer was "a quiet, reserved loner" when he was actually a happily married family man. Vincent D'Onofrio's character Robert Goren in Law & Order: Criminal Intent would fit here. |
|
The Profiler / int_9dfa8216 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_9dfa8216 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Law & Order (Franchise) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_9dfa8216 | |
The Profiler / int_9ed2e3f5 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_9ed2e3f5 | comment |
I Am Not a Serial Killer: John Wayne Cleaver tries to use profiling to track down the demons. He keeps coming back to a fundamental principle of trying to figure out "What does the killer do that he doesn't have to do?". His accuracy varies, but the police that he talks to over the course of the series tend to be impressed by his insights. Agent Foreman from Mr. Monster is a more straightforward example, but is actually the killer he's "tracking". |
|
The Profiler / int_9ed2e3f5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_9ed2e3f5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
I Am Not a Serial Killer | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_9ed2e3f5 | |
The Profiler / int_a346e791 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_a346e791 | comment |
Megan Reeves in NUMB3RS. Terry Lake is this in Season 1, before being replaced by Megan in Season 2. | |
The Profiler / int_a346e791 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_a346e791 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
NUMB3RS | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_a346e791 | |
The Profiler / int_a5758c5 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_a5758c5 | comment |
Hikigaya Hachiman in My Hero School Adventure Is All Wrong As Expected is able to form a surprisingly accurate picture of All for One after having examined his handiwork only once. He notes that the exact combination of Quirks present in the U.S.J. Nomu had to have been devised by an absolute sociopath and that the Shock Absorption Quirk in particular had to have been added primarily for the vicious irony of having All Might effectively beat himself to death. | |
The Profiler / int_a5758c5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_a5758c5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
My Hero School Adventure is All Wrong, As Expected (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_a5758c5 | |
The Profiler / int_a796bde8 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_a796bde8 | comment |
Psycho Mantis from Metal Gear Solid took it up a notch in his backstory by being a criminologist psychic. Unfortunately, he looked into a few too many evil minds, and it turned him psychopathic himself. Of course, if his story about burning down his village as a child is true, he was probably fairly unhinged beforehand. | |
The Profiler / int_a796bde8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_a796bde8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Metal Gear Solid (Video Game) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_a796bde8 | |
The Profiler / int_a9aee84b | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_a9aee84b | comment |
Prodigal Son: Malcolm Bright (née Whitly) is a gifted criminal psychologist, using his twisted genius to help the NYPD solve crimes and stop killers. His father Dr. Martin Whitly, also known as the Surgeon, was a serial killer who invited Malcolm to find out why. | |
The Profiler / int_a9aee84b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_a9aee84b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Prodigal Son | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_a9aee84b | |
The Profiler / int_ab3a6a48 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_ab3a6a48 | comment |
Norman Jayden from Heavy Rain fits this trope to a T. He even gets his initial profile right. | |
The Profiler / int_ab3a6a48 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_ab3a6a48 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Heavy Rain (Video Game) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_ab3a6a48 | |
The Profiler / int_aeaf3d1b | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_aeaf3d1b | comment |
In the first episode of Life on Mars (2006), Sam brings in psychologically-trained Annie to play this role on a stalled murder investigation; naturally, Gene Hunt is a tad skeptical of its merits. | |
The Profiler / int_aeaf3d1b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_aeaf3d1b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Life on Mars (2006) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_aeaf3d1b | |
The Profiler / int_b0869b12 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_b0869b12 | comment |
Alex Drake from Ashes to Ashes (2008) herself is this, and she's adamant about using her skills in investigations, to Hunt's dismay. | |
The Profiler / int_b0869b12 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_b0869b12 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Ashes to Ashes (2008) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_b0869b12 | |
The Profiler / int_b36d154b | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_b36d154b | comment |
In Ripper: Letter from Hell, Professor Kane used to a profiler with the FBI. After a near-fatal encounter with a Serial Killer, he quit and dropped out of sight. He wrote a best-selling book and serial killers before becoming a lecturer in criminology. | |
The Profiler / int_b36d154b | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_b36d154b | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Ripper: Letter from Hell | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_b36d154b | |
The Profiler / int_b7b888f7 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_b7b888f7 | comment |
Dexter: Dexter Morgan is pretty good at understanding the minds of serial killers, mainly because he is one, but also because his "Dark Passenger" (a spirit with whom he shares his body) clues him in when he's on the right track. | |
The Profiler / int_b7b888f7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_b7b888f7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Dexter | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_b7b888f7 | |
The Profiler / int_bcb32dc6 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_bcb32dc6 | comment |
Shadowrun has a Positive Quality called "Profiler", which represents a character who is an expert on using the Matrix to collate psychological, professional and relationship-based profiles on targets. Profilers gain bonuses to social skill rolls when interacting with anyone they've profiled, but gain penalties to social skill caps when forced into deep interactions with people they don't know or have failed to profile. | |
The Profiler / int_bcb32dc6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_bcb32dc6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Shadowrun (Tabletop Game) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_bcb32dc6 | |
The Profiler / int_c9fecd11 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_c9fecd11 | comment |
Sam Nixon in The Bill took a profiling course. The show had another profiler brought in for one case, who then proceeded to sleep with, then later kidnap Sam's daughter. | |
The Profiler / int_c9fecd11 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_c9fecd11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Bill | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_c9fecd11 | |
The Profiler / int_ca08598f | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_ca08598f | comment |
In one episode of The Wire, Detectives McNulty and Greggs consult the FBI's profiling unit at Quantico to try and catch "The Red-Ribbon Killer", who has been preying on the homeless of Baltimore. Since the "killer" is in fact an invention of McNulty, who has been taking the bodies of homeless people who hadn't actually been murdered, and dressing them up to look like they had been killed by a serial killer, all as part of a scheme he had cooked up to get funding for a major drugs/corruption investigation, the profile ends up describing him perfectly: | |
The Profiler / int_ca08598f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_ca08598f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Wire | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_ca08598f | |
The Profiler / int_ccf875f7 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_ccf875f7 | comment |
The entire premise of Criminal Minds, with its main cast except for JJ, who is the media liaison, and Garcia, who is the technical analyst (read: computer person), though JJ becomes one in the 7th season and Garcia in the 6th inherited some of her media work. Some of their leaps of logic are still quite far-fetched though, especially in later seasons and especially when they accurately profile unique or bizarre psychoses. They also go on arrests and conduct interrogations, which real life profilers do not do. Profilers are more or less used to rule out suspects as well as find them, although they can advise detectives and prosecutors how to conduct interrogations. They can, however, testify in court, although they were originally barred from doing so. | |
The Profiler / int_ccf875f7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_ccf875f7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Criminal Minds | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_ccf875f7 | |
The Profiler / int_d29e22a2 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_d29e22a2 | comment |
Will of Sanctuary (2007) is a criminal psychologist, and uses this knowledge of the mind to assist him in his work in the Sanctuary, in fact, it's exactly this skill which interested Magnus. Later on, we learn another possible reason why she recruited him: his grandfather Captain Jack Zimmerman saved her life during World War II at the cost of his own. | |
The Profiler / int_d29e22a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_d29e22a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Sanctuary (2007) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_d29e22a2 | |
The Profiler / int_d89f9e3f | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_d89f9e3f | comment |
Snow, preternaturally so, in Tista. | |
The Profiler / int_d89f9e3f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_d89f9e3f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Tista (Manga) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_d89f9e3f | |
The Profiler / int_de9a7807 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_de9a7807 | comment |
Most of the team in Flashpoint fit this to an extent, though Parker is the most proficient and is the best at doing it. | |
The Profiler / int_de9a7807 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_de9a7807 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Flashpoint | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_de9a7807 | |
The Profiler / int_df49d104 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_df49d104 | comment |
Millennium (1996): Ex-FBI agent turned FBI consultant Frank Black frequently shares his thoughts on elusive killers with his old colleagues. The first season is ambiguous whether Frank's insights are just a keen sense of intuition or are actually supernatural in origin. Later seasons make these visions unambiguously psychic, however. | |
The Profiler / int_df49d104 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_df49d104 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Millennium (1996) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_df49d104 | |
The Profiler / int_e293455a | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_e293455a | comment |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow tries this in a couple of episodes in which the Monster of the Week is human. It never works out. | |
The Profiler / int_e293455a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_e293455a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_e293455a | |
The Profiler / int_e356cbe8 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_e356cbe8 | comment |
Mr. Hertz from Shoot 'Em Up is a profiler. Criminal retired coward with a gun profiler, but still a profiler. | |
The Profiler / int_e356cbe8 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_e356cbe8 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Shoot 'Em Up | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_e356cbe8 | |
The Profiler / int_e6267766 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_e6267766 | comment |
Variant from Star Wars Legends: the ever-popular Grand Admiral Thrawn is able to profile a given species' psychological makeup (and from there, their tactical vulnerabilities) by looking at, of all things, their art. He's also seen using the technique on individuals, including his rival Garm bel Iblis, from time to time. While not infallible (he once referred to a Noodle Incident where he was unable to read a particular species, and had to wipe them out by brute force), it was highly reliable and absolutely unique; no other character, past or present, Chiss or otherwise, not even Jedi, has displayed such a knack for understanding their enemies from so little. It's actually treated fairly realistically; race x is so orderly an unstructured attack makes them react stupidly, race y panics when seeing something "impossible" which makes them great targets for a trickery aided bluff, that kind of thing. In the new canon, Thrawn once faced off against General Yiv the Benevolent, who himself displayed a small measure of this talent, except his passion was architecture rather than art. | |
The Profiler / int_e6267766 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_e6267766 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Star Wars Legends (Franchise) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_e6267766 | |
The Profiler / int_eef69f10 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_eef69f10 | comment |
Sherlock Holmes is always profiling both clients and adversaries, usually based on tiny details he observes with the Sherlock Scan. | |
The Profiler / int_eef69f10 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_eef69f10 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Sherlock Holmes | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_eef69f10 | |
The Profiler / int_efa49b17 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_efa49b17 | comment |
Although never described as one, Patrick Jane of The Mentalist uses profiling tactics routinely to play criminals — and everyone else, for that matter — into his hands. | |
The Profiler / int_efa49b17 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_efa49b17 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Mentalist | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_efa49b17 | |
The Profiler / int_f2da188a | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_f2da188a | comment |
D.A.V.E. from The Batman is an AI supposedly designed to do this, apparently created by combining the brainwaves of Batman's entire Rogues Gallery. When told about break-ins at a chemical plant and a pillow factory on the same night, it immediately figures out that the Joker is going to bombard Gotham with chemically laced feathers to "tickle" everyone to death. When it inevitably turns rogue, it uses the same skills to uncover Batman's secret identity. | |
The Profiler / int_f2da188a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_f2da188a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
The Batman | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_f2da188a | |
The Profiler / int_f4e799ee | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_f4e799ee | comment |
Anson Fullerton in Burn Notice is a psychologist employed by the CIA to help agents deal with their job. He's also one of the founders of the organization that burned Michael, using his knowledge of the spies' innermost secrets to his advantage. In one episode, Michael asks Anson to help him with a case by becoming this trope. Anson is reluctant (because Michael is supposed to be working for him, not the other way around) but eventually agrees just so that he can see how Michael handles himself in the field. | |
The Profiler / int_f4e799ee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_f4e799ee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Burn Notice | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_f4e799ee | |
The Profiler / int_f655ed11 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_f655ed11 | comment |
Frasier's mother Hester, whom he followed into psychiatry, occasionally did forensic psychology consultations for the Seattle Police Department, which is where she met Martin. | |
The Profiler / int_f655ed11 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_f655ed11 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Frasier | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_f655ed11 | |
The Profiler / int_f858a2c5 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_f858a2c5 | comment |
In Bookhunter, "ALA's top profiler" shows up briefly, and identifies the book thief as a loner... and as a childhood bed-wetter with a speech impediment. The readers never find out how accurate or inaccurate this profile actually is. | |
The Profiler / int_f858a2c5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_f858a2c5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Bookhunter (Comic Book) | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_f858a2c5 | |
The Profiler / int_f91de837 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_f91de837 | comment |
Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore play this in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, making liberal use of the Pensieve Flashback to build a profile of Tom Riddle/Voldemort. This allows them to start figuring out what his horcruxes are and where they're hidden so they can then destroy them. | |
The Profiler / int_f91de837 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_f91de837 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_f91de837 | |
The Profiler / int_fa603610 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_fa603610 | comment |
Dr. Sam Waters, the title character of Profiler, is able to reconstruct killer flashbacks in her head. | |
The Profiler / int_fa603610 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_fa603610 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Profiler | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_fa603610 | |
The Profiler / int_fd7de151 | type |
The Profiler | |
The Profiler / int_fd7de151 | comment |
Kogami of Psycho-Pass, who learned from Saiga, a criminology professor who also gives Akane a crash-course. In the setting, profiling (rather than using Psycho Pass data and constant surveillance) is considered outdated because studying these cases or even criminology tends to increase your Psycho Pass, but it still proves remarkably effective. | |
The Profiler / int_fd7de151 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
The Profiler / int_fd7de151 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
Psycho-Pass | hasFeature |
The Profiler / int_fd7de151 |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.