User:LinguistAtLarge/Captain Obvious

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Captain Obvious is a recurring pop culture fictional superhero who announces already self-evident truths.[1][2] Consequently, the term has become a sarcastic expression which refers to someone who states the obvious[1][3][4] or makes painfully self-evident statements.[5] It implies the speaker is slow-witted, having thought the stated (obvious) fact was not obvious at all.[4] The term has been used in many online publications[6][7][8][9][10][11] and printed literature,[12] and was used as early as 1998.[13] The Captain Obvious character has appeared in media such as newspapers, books, film, television, radio, and comics.[1]

Expression

The term Captain Obvious is commonly used in the form of "thank you, Captain Obvious" in response to an overly obvious statement,[14] or in some form of "to play Captain Obvious", for example "I'm playing Captain Obvious here", as a preemptive preface to an obvious statement.

The term Captain Obvious has been compared to other terms that contain the word captain, such as

Captain Kidd, and Captain Hook.[15]

Superhero character

Captain Obvious characters have appeared in

movies, books, television shows, video games,[1]
webcomics,[16] and dramas.[17] Captain Obvious is a recurring character in the
Cyanide and Happiness webcomic,[16]
and also appears in other webcomics.[18][19][20] The superhero character was used by a University of Chicago comedy troupe to state the obvious.[17] In an episode of the
improvisational comedy TV show Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Colin Mochrie was assigned the role of playing a superhero named Captain Obvious, who then in character, stood and looked around stating "I am standing; I am looking around."[1][21]

In culture

The expression Captain Obvious has appeared in album titles, such as Thank You Captain Obvious, by Machine Go Boom,[22] and Calling Captain Obvious by The Freefall Effect.[23] It has appeared on radio and TV shows. Captain Obvious was a segment of radio show

Tazz often calls his broadcast partners Captain Obvious when they rehash something that viewers just saw.[1]
In literature, Captain Obvious is the protagonist of a children's novel by David Landrum called Captain Obvious: When Tomorrow Never Comes.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Captain Obvious - Television Tropes & Idioms". tvtropes.org. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  2. ^ "Modern Day Superheroes". ABC News. June 14, 2007. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  3. ^ Ferdinandi, Chris (01-NOV-05). "Stuff: Captain Obvious". The America's Intelligence Wire. Retrieved 2009-02-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^
    ISBN 0740751433
    .
  5. ^ "Gresham Barrett Is Captain Obvious". www.fitsnews.com. February 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  6. ^ Weintraub, Seth (February 15, 2009). "Where iPhone beats computer". Computerworld Inc. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  7. ^ Jones, William (February 5th, 2009). "Captain Obvious reports, "Web apps are not foolproof."". TechRepublic. Retrieved 2009-02-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Chris Brown and Rihanna Focus of MTV Special". www.limelife.com. February 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  9. ^ "Global Food Crisis as Technological Advances". www.marketoracle.co.uk. Feb 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  10. ^ Ashcraft, Brian (Feb 6 2009). "Research: College Males Play Violent Video Games, Look At Online Porn". kotaku.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Macmillan, Emma (January 31 2009). "TNJN - UT science forum emphasizes the versatility of trees". tnjn.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ISBN 1412955580
    .
  13. ISBN 0782123449. Usage of Captain Obvious noted in the excerpt here
  14. ^ ""thank you captain obvious" - Google Book Search". books.google.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  15. ^ Harber, Paul (Feb 03, 2009). "Sports Beat: Oh Captain! My Captain!". Weymouth News. Retrieved 2009-02-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ a b "Comics - Explosm.net". www.explosm.net. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  17. ^ a b Tracinski, Robert (December 07, 2006). "RealClearPolitics - Articles - Captain Obvious to the Rescue". www.realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Captain Obvious". www.bluelinecomics.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  19. ^ "Loosely Affiliate the Dots". The B-Movie Comic. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  20. ^ "Is it a plane? Is it a bird? It's Obvious!". The B-Movie Comic. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  21. ^ "YouTube - Whose Line Is It Anyway: Super Heroes". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  22. ^ "Amazon.com: Thank You Captain Obvious: Machine Go Boom: Music". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  23. ^ "Calling Captain Obvious: The Freefall Effect". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16.
  24. ^ "Captain Obvious: When Tomorrow Never Comes". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-02-16.


Stub icon

This language-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:LinguistAtLarge/Captain_Obvious&oldid=685289512"