# Utterly dopey characters who are actually very good at their job **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255 "2022-04-22T13:34:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/41 "2022-04-23T02:03:30Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > A couple seasons later Gomer was able to dismantle and reassemble (indoors, in the sheriff’s office) a vehicle. You’re thinking of Gomer’s cousin Goober. That happened after Gomer joined the Marines. I think according to Gomer, Goober was always a better mechanic than Gomer. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/42 "2022-04-23T02:10:25Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > As a marine, he was a goof. The things he was skilled at - running fast, growing tomatoes, predicting the weather, befriending children and hippies, cooking, and singing - were not typical marine competencies. But see E1S09, Survival of the Fattest, where Gomer easily surpasses the five-day wilderness survival training because of his rural North Carolina upbringing. IIRC, the brass intended to use Gomer’s knowledge throughout the corps. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/43 "2022-04-23T02:14:51Z")
Pavel Chekov was basically comic-relief, but he was very good at his job. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/44 "2022-04-23T02:17:54Z")
He’s good at parts of his job. He also gets many people killed for no reason, like bragging about being a spy to an undercover. He’s definitely more of a direct action guy than a HUMINT guy. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/45 "2022-04-23T04:46:10Z")
Jake Peralta on _Brooklyn 99_. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/46 "2022-04-23T05:11:54Z")
Johnny Fever is a very good DJ. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/47 "2022-04-23T06:26:16Z")
Bob Belcher is a good cook. Many characters on the show have talked about how good his burgers are. Sometimes he cooks something other than burgers, and he seems to do a good job then, too. I guess you could make the case that he’s not dopey, but is just hapless. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/48 "2022-04-23T06:28:19Z")
I think the seven dwarfs were reasonably successful miners. Literally, Dopey was good at his job. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/49 "2022-04-23T07:05:35Z")
I was thinking of nominating Rose Nylund from _The Golden Girls_ but I’m not sure. She had a few jobs over the course of the series but since the show rarely followed its characters to work, I don’t recall if she was any good at them. The only two I remember are grief counsellor and assistant to some sort of TV personality. Does anyone know if she excelled in any of these positions? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/50 "2022-04-23T10:35:03Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > > [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > > > A couple seasons later Gomer was able to dismantle and reassemble (indoors, in the sheriff’s office) a vehicle. > > You’re thinking of Gomer’s cousin Goober. That happened after Gomer joined the Marines. I think according to Gomer, Goober was always a better mechanic than Gomer. Ahh, you are correct. I mixed up my Pyles. OK, how about the time Gomer was fired from the fillin’ station and became Andy’s houseguest. Word got out and soon there was a long line of vehicles to Andy’s house full of folks needing Gomer’s auto repair skillz. mmm ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/51 "2022-04-23T11:18:50Z")
Jack Tripper on Three’s Company was apparently a good chef. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/52 "2022-04-23T13:07:21Z")
Monk, he was unreliable and very unpredictable. He spent the entire series trying to get back on the San Francisco police force. Monk could easily be distracted by nudity, dirty clothes, a tilted painting on a wall, or anything else that triggered his OCD. Yet, he was brilliant at observing small details at a crime scene. Monk earned his position as a consultant because he solved complex homicide cases. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/53 "2022-04-23T13:30:24Z")
Yeah, he was fixing cars in the middle of the night when Andy needed some sleep. That’s why I say he would screw up despite his skills as a mechanic. I don’t know when Goober was first mentioned on the show but I recall Gomer saying Goober was the better mechanic. As I say, it’s a long time ago though. I have seen the one with Goober and the car in the courthouse recently, seems to be one of the most popular episodes. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/54 "2022-04-23T14:00:36Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > How about [Jerry Gergich](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Gergich) from Parks and Recreation? Per the thread title, though, Jerry (AKA Garry, Larry, Terry) is pretty bad at his job at the parks department. But what I love about Jerry is that he’s essentially a meta critique of workplace comedies. If you actually worked in the Pawnee Parks Department or Dunder Mifflin, it would be a living hell. Everyone’s lives completely revolve around their jobs and work relationships. Even their after-hour lives seem to inevitably involve coworkers. They end up in a constantly revolving network of romantic relationships with each other. It’s like Sartre. Jerry’s just clocking in, doing the best he can, and clocking out to go live his best life. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/55 "2022-04-23T14:29:48Z")
> [@flurb](#): > > Jerry’s just clocking in, doing the best he can, and clocking out to go live his best life. Yeah, his wife was Christie Brinkley, so it’s no wonder he didn’t spend an extra minute at work! > [@aceplace57](#): > > Monk could easily be distracted by nudity, dirty clothes, a tilted painting on a wall, or anything else that triggered his OCD. I think of Monk as one of a long line of “brilliant fictional characters with mental issues”, Sherlock Holmes being an obvious precursor. Though, as someone who has several family members with real diagnosed OCD, Monk’s OCD symptoms are pretty inconsistent, inaccurate and plot-driven. But I must admit, I do get distracted by tilted pictures on walls, and have been known to straighten them in other peoples’ homes, doctors’ offices, etc. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/56 "2022-04-23T14:39:51Z")
I always thought it was that he was extraordinarily lucky in that he either fell into things he was naturally very good at, or he was just plain lucky. I never got the impression that Gump was necessarily or always good at everything he touched; he was just _always_ in the right place at the right time. ---
**Author:** ![WalterBishop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@WalterBishop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WalterBishop)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/57 "2022-04-23T14:56:32Z")
Nobody in the Breaking Bad universe (apart from Jesse Pinkman and Kim Wexler) seems to be aware that Saul Goodman is actually an excellent lawyer. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/58 "2022-04-23T14:56:34Z")
> [@salinqmind1](#): > > Ray is amazed and awed, never seeing Robert ‘in action’ before. Similar to this is Martin Crane, Frasier’s dad on _Frasier_. We meet him as an old man, who needs a cane to walk, and has an in-home worker to help him with his daily chores. He’s pretty much a classic grumpy old man character, who is the source of a lot of humour. But he was also a retired police detective. There was one episode in which he solved some complex problem that Frasier and Niles couldn’t solve, and his response to their surprise at this turn of events was, “Well, what do you think I was doing all those years? I was finding clues, analysing them, and figuring out how they could be put together to solve a case!” ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/59 "2022-04-23T17:13:57Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Jack Tripper on Three’s Company was apparently a good chef. Yes, but he wasn’t utterly dopey. That role was filled by Chrissy Snow. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255/60 "2022-04-23T17:30:01Z")
I disagree. He was kind of a man-child and quite dopey at times. Nothing says a show can’t have more than 1 goof. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/utterly-dopey-characters-who-are-actually-very-good-at-their-job/963255.md?page=4)