History Main / IndubitablyUninterestingIndividual

* ''Webcomic/MobPsycho100'': The eponymous Mob, real name Shigeo Kageyama, gets his nickname from the fact that he has so little presence he’s comparable to a background NPC from a video game. This is deliberate on his part: an esper of unimaginable strength with unstable PsychoactivePowers and a conviction that power doesn’t make anyone special, he practices EmotionSuppression to keep his powers in check and strives to be an average, normal middle schooler like his older brother.

** [=SpongeBob=] himself, in the episode "Not Normal". To make Squidward feel better, Spongebob starts to change his over-enthusiastic ways. He's mild-mannered and kind after he does this, but not only has his outward appearance changed, every ounce of enthusiasm and spark has flowed out of him as he tries to cater to Squidward's whim. It gets to the point where Spongebob becomes TOO normal ([[UpToEleven somehow]]), and is offended by Squidward's (again, somehow) comparatively-less-normal life. Naturally, Spongebob is back to his old self by the end of the episode.

A super-trope of PlainPalate, TheBore, ObsessivelyNormal, and IncrediblyLameFun. May cross over with StepfordSmiler, AbusiveParents, BigBrotherIsWatching, TheEvilsOfFreeWill, HiddenDepths, {{Flanderization}}, or if it has to do with work, either SoulCrushingDeskJob, VastBureaucracy, and/or WhiteCollarWorker. If the characters are sweet, then it can dip into TastesLikeDiabetes. If they are heroic, then they may have a bit of IncorruptiblePurePureness. If the person can't seem to get away from a maternal influence that has this personality, then it's MyBelovedSmother. When applied to an entire community, it's a StepfordSuburbia, which further may apply to the fictional idea of a {{Cult}}, where this idea may be enforced by its leader(s) and followers. If the person has other odd interests besides dull and dreary foods and activities, but just can't seem to mesh with other people, then maybe they're a StrawLoser. Compare RidiculouslyAverageGuy, where the character-in-question is like everyone else, but the fact that they blend in with the crowd gets them unnoticed.

* ''Film/DemolitionMan'' takes this to its logical extreme, where the population of San Angeles is as meek and nonviolent as monks. No junk food or sex (in the traditional sense) or tobacco or violence (in the form of contact sports) or weapons are allowed, radio and TV commercials are considered the height of fun music, everyone outside of the police force wears something that would look better as your house's curtains, Taco Bell (or Pizza Hut, in international versions) is considered haute cuisine, everyone is polite even when rude, [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad freedom of thought and emotional coarseness]] [[BreadEggsMilkSquick are restricted and fined]], and the police force has lost all defensive value as a result. Sylvester Stallone's character, John Spartan, is unfrozen from suspended animation [[note]]because he never grew up in the culture that the population did, and is more gung-ho and freer with his emotions and approaches to stopping crime[[/note]] to defend the city against his arch-enemy, Simon Phoenix. One man, Edgar Friendly, seeks to rebel against the modern idea of meek and dull peacefulness, wanting to be able to do what he wants, eat what he wants, and say what he wants, with reasonable restriction. [[spoiler:Dr. Raymond Cocteau, the leader of San Angeles, wants to [[TheEvilsofFreeWill control it]] with absolute power.]] Even Phoenix, his personally-programmed assassin, thinks there's [[EvenEvilHasStandards something wrong about it.]]

** In "Bart Gets Famous", this trope is played completely straight, where at the beginning of the episode Principal Skinner reveals that the field trip of the day is a tour of the local Cardboard Box Factory. In addition to the overall monotonous aspect of the field trip, there are several sub-jokes that take the atmosphere from dull and dreary to ActuallyPrettyFunny, including the fact that the factory workers treat their occupation as (somewhat) serious, but boring, business:

* ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'': [[SubvertedTrope Subverted, in a way]], in that the personalities were not intended to be this. You may love it, or you may hate it, but the consensus about what led to Megaforce's downfall in the fans' eyes was due to a mix of bad writing and characterization, and the characters and the morals of the characters in the show can come off like this. It's implied that the writers were attempting to bring back the nostalgia factor for the franchise's 20th Anniversary, using the characterizations from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' in modern times. It falls flat, because much of the backstory of the characters or series is not explained, or concepts have been distilled down to {{Main/Flanderization}}/goody-good ideas, with none of the characters being corrupted or having their personalities changed even just a little bit for the sake of drama:
** Troy, the Red Ranger, is implied to be an angry, moody type. He seems to have been based off of Jason. Unfortunately, Troy seems more bored and robotic (reflected in his voice), and is the most blatantly uninteresting individual, mostly because doesn't have any backstory explained within the show. (WordOfGod says that he was meant to be a ChosenOne, with an internal power to defeat evil in the season. This is only reflected once, [[spoiler: when he uses said power to revert a reprogrammed/corrupted [=RoboKnight=] to good.]] Andrew Gray, Troy's IRL actor, was also rumored to have said that the director ''forced'' him and the rest of the cast to act the way they did.)
** Noah, the Blue Ranger, was shown to be the {{Main/Nerd}} of the group (which also crosses over into BlackAndNerdy), and seemed to be based off of Billy. He rattles off a lot of knowledge that seems to be thrown in for [[EdutainmentShow educational value]].
** Jake, the Black Ranger, is implied to be a bit of a jock, with a slight CasanovaWannabe vibe. He seems more for the [[DumbJock comedy value]] than anything.
** Emma, the Pink Ranger, was supposed to be a FriendToAllLivingThings. Unfortunately, she comes off as more of a [[TheDitz ditz]], with a hippie vibe. She even imagines an [[RetGone Earth without the influence of humanity]], as if it were something good.
** Gia, the Yellow Ranger, has no real personality at all, even with the hints of [[{{Main/Tomboy}} tomboyishness]].
** Gosei, the team's "mentor", was unfortunately nothing more than a glorified vending-machine kiosk; although the writers tried to base him off Zordon, and even shoved a line into the premiere episode that Zordon was HIS mentor. Other than that, we know nothing else about him. They also tried to HandWave Gosei's contributions as "[their] bravery/compassion/perserverence/(goodygoodyqualityblahblah) has earned [them]/unlocked a new weapon/zord/form/ranger mode". This actually happens almost every episode within the series.
*** (From ''WebVideo/HistoryOfPowerRangers''):
---->'''Linkara:''' "HOW?! How did they unlock [the [[Series/GoseiSentaiDairanger New Powers]]], Gosei?!"\\\
'''Gosei:''' "[Rangers], you've mastered your new [[Series/PowerRangersSPD SPD]] powers! That means you can now access the Legendary SPD Zords!"\\
'''Linkara:''' "...forgetting for a fact that mastering [the Legendary Ranger Powers] is just apparently an XP bar that you fill up by being in that mode..."
** The only real aversion is Orion, in that [[DarkAndTroubledPast his planet's population was destroyed]] by The Armada, but even then the producers make no real effort to follow up on it.
** Even the VILLAINS get no characterization other than ForTheEvulz. They're just ''there'' to be antagonists. (Even Emperor Mavro, '''the''' final boss of the show, seems weak.) Although Vrak does seem to have a suave [[SmugSnake smug]] personality, but again, it's never expanded upon.
** To be [[TotallyRadical "hip"]] for the modern crowd, the only foods we substantially see the characters eat is frozen yogurt (labeled "[=FroYo=]" in the show), granola, and lemonade, as if trying to be "healthy".
** The "party" that the Rangers hold in the Command Center in the penultimate episode of the "Megaforce" season (Before Super Megaforce) looks paltry, with all of them huddled in the center of the room, as if we're supposed to think about not partying too hard.

* ''Series/PowerRangersMegaforce'': [[SubvertedTrope Subverted, in a way]], in that the personalities were not intended to be this. [[LoveItOrHateIt You may love it, or you may hate it]], but the consensus about what led to Megaforce's downfall in the fans' eyes was due to a mix of bad writing and characterization, and the characters and the morals of the characters in the show can come off like this. It's implied that the writers were attempting to bring back the nostalgia factor for the franchise's 20th Anniversary, using the characterizations from ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' in modern times. It falls flat, because much of the backstory of the characters or series is not explained, or concepts have been distilled down to {{Main/Flanderization}}/goody-good ideas, with none of the characters being corrupted or having their personalities changed even just a little bit for the sake of drama:

* In ''WesternAnimation/BarbieLifeInTheDreamhouse'', this is Midge's main characterization -- she's so old-fashioned that she's rendered in [[DeliberatelyMonochrome black and white]] and lacks articulated joints. Even after getting a colorful makeover, her idea of a "wild time" is an afternoon of macrame. When the gang goes on a beach picnic, she turns down Barbie's offer of "spicy food" -- namely, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole-wheat bread (the bread set her off).

** In-Universe, the episode "Itchy & Scratchy & Marge" has "The Itchy and Scratchy Show" become this, after Marge petitions its production studio to remove the violence. Unfortunately, every ounce of it (or fun, for that matter) has been [[{{Bowdlerise}} sucked out]] and instead replaced by TastesLikeDiabetes, with the designs of the two title characters always wide-eyed and smiling, looking more like they're hopped-up on cocaine. The most (non-)violent thing the duo do in any episode is dance.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Hermes is somewhat this trope, since he seems to enjoy being a bureaucrat. His Jamaican ethnicity makes him a little livelier, though.

* ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}'' plays with this, with a bit of CrapsaccharineWorld to boot. The titular [[ShowWithinAShow show within a movie]] is a ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver''-esque black-and-white program where everyone is perpetually pleasant, the firefighters do nothing but rescue cats from trees, families are completely wholesome, and all problems (which are minor inconveniences to begin with) can be solved within a single twenty-two-minute episode. Main character David thinks that Pleasantville must be a paradise, while his sister Jennifer calls it stupid. Eventually, David and Jennifer are [[TrappedInTVLand sucked into the world of Pleasantville]]; while they try to find a way to escape, David quickly learns that the so-called "perfect" town is more like a StepfordSuburbia where everyone ''must'' be Indubitably Uninteresting: the books are all blank because no one reads, the roads don't lead anywhere because no one can escape, no one thinks for themselves or questions anything because they literally can't imagine any other type of life, and--most shockingly of all--no one knows anything about sex. As Jennifer (and later David) start to introduce new ideas and concepts to the citizens of Pleasantville, the townspeople begin to feel genuine emotion for the first time, which turns them (along with various objects) from black-and-white to fully colored. The change leads to some rather [[{{Anvilicious}} heavy-handed]] but [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped important]] metaphors about "coloreds" ruining the town and how being old-fashioned is the only way to live. [[spoiler: By the film's end, ''everyone'' in Pleasantville has fully changed, and the world is lush and colorful; to symbolize that the world is now real, the roads actually lead out of town, setting people free to live their own lives.]]

%% The Gravity Falls example in the Western Animation folder has no context. Please expand on why this character is Indubitably Uninteresting.

%%* ’’WesternAnimation/GravityFalls’’ is a town where everyone’s a little bit strange, except for one man, the very ironically named Tad Strange.

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' has the Neutral People, where due to RuleofFunny, they don't display any emotion, they don't take sides on ''any'' subject, their highest alert level is "Beige", and even they themselves as people are completely devoid of any substantial color.
--->'''Neutral President:''' If I don't survive, tell my wife, "Hello."
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Tad Strange is the only normal person in Gravity Falls. He dresses in a neat suit and tie, moves in a politely stiff manner, speaks in a cheery, yet almost robotic tone of voice even in traumatic situations, and [[PlainPalate loves bread]].

** The two nerds from "No Weenies Allowed", although with the advent of nerd culture in the late 2000s to 2020, this has become a subverted trope.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' has this in:

*** This trope even comes into focus in one episode, "Viva Ned Flanders", where it's revealed that Ned is 60 years old but hasn't taken an impulsive risk in his life.

[[quoteright:254:[[Series/SesameStreet https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bert_3.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:254:Read it. Live it.]]

A super-trope of PlainPalate, TheBore, ObsessivelyNormal, and IncrediblyLameFun. May cross over with StepfordSmiler, AbusiveParents, BigBrotherIsWatching, TheEvilsofFreeWill, HiddenDepths, {{Flanderization}}, or if it has to do with work, either SoulCrushingDeskJob, VastBureaucracy, and/or WhiteCollarWorker. If the characters are sweet, then it can dip into TastesLikeDiabetes. If they are heroic, then they may have a bit of IncorruptiblePurePureness. If the person can't seem to get away from a maternal influence that has this personality, then it's MyBelovedSmother. When applied to an entire community, it's a StepfordSuburbia, which further may apply to the fictional idea of a {{Cult}}, where this idea may be enforced by its leader(s) and followers. If the person has other odd interests besides dull and dreary foods and activities, but just can't seem to mesh with other people, then maybe they're a StrawLoser. Compare RidiculouslyAverageGuy, where the character-in-question is like everyone else, but the fact that they blend in with the crowd gets them unnoticed.

* In the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio drama "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho014TheHolyTerror The Holy Terror]]", Court Scribe Eugene Tacitus seems extremely comfortable being the most boring and powerless man in the royal court: he lives alone, drinks nothing but water (lukewarm or tepid), wields no authority, and has no interests outside of chronicling the lives of the Emperors -- an especially dull task, given that it mainly consists of recording literally every task a given Emperor performs, no matter how mundane. Plus, nobody in the Castle ever reads the Royal Bibles except for him. ConditionedToAcceptHorror, he barely reacts to mass-murder, torture, or threats against his life, but grows so confused around events that don't fit in with the usual routines of the Castle that he can sometimes be reduced to blind panic. [[spoiler: The twist is that Eugene is actually the all-powerful RealityWarper that created [[PocketDimension the Castle]] and all its people, along with the [[EternalRecurrence recurring cycles]] that govern its history; he's using these patterns to keep his life orderly, comfortable ritualized so he can forget [[PaterFamilicide the crime]] that had him imprisoned in this dimension in the first place.]]

'''Bart:''' You've never snuck out of the church to break into cars?

** Squidward and his hobbies. The most extreme sport he's willing to engage in is riding a bicycle. The episode "Squidville" takes this to the logical extreme -- EVERYONE is like him in the town that he moves to, having the exact same interests and a taste for canned bread. Eventually, he's driven to insanity by the town's lack of enthusiasm and heads back to Bikini Bottom by the end of the episode.

Have you ever seen a character that never seems to move outside the boundaries of what society deems as mundane or boring? The air around them is so dry and uninteresting that it makes you want to drink a water-cooler-jug's worth of water. Their most extreme hobbies include such things as solitaire, knitting, reading the newspaper, and listening to chamber music. Their favorite foods tend to be white bread, white rice, water, plain boiled macaroni, unflavored oatmeal, or any dull, tasteless fare. Their collections tend to involve paper cuttings or chotchkes that have no real subjective value (such as doilies or painted walnut shells). They love IncrediblyLameFun. They may dress in muted or prim-and-proper attire (barring tuxedos and evening gowns), even when the situation may not call for it. Their house is immaculate and clean, and their manners are polite, courteous, and non-threatening. They may even stick closely to a planned-in-advance schedule. They sit up straight, follow the rules, and never make a fuss -- so much so that their voice may never waver above an octave or 50db (the normal decibel range for conversation). Sometimes they are meek and timid. Even if they do "lash out" and "curse", either what they say is cute at best, or has no verbal force at worst, and [[FelonyMisdemeanor people who have the same personality may overreact as if they actually HAD said something offensive.]] Furthermore, when they become "greedy" (whether related to food or buying), their additional desire is only a slight step above what they normally have (i.e. obtaining an extra spoonful of cereal, or asking for just a few extra mundane items for Christmas.) Sometimes, the character may be overly weak, even unable to defend themselves or offer any offensive strength. If they are older, GamesOfTheElderly, such as checkers, chess, bingo, bridge, etc., will likely be depicted as the most exciting event of the day, and for extra comedy, they may move extremely slowly, at a snail's pace. The rooms of elderly individuals may either be spartan, or feature old-style decor and, again, chotchkes. [[note]]However, some of this may just be an outer appearance, as the old person may have some HiddenDepths to them (e.g. They were a war veteran, and their room contains memorabilia related to the war that they served in, or their chotchkes are a heartfelt reminder of significant-others passed on)[[/note]]

In fact, they are so boring, perfect, and unwavering that one may think something is wrong with them; to drive their characterization home further, [[ObsessivelyNormal their interests and tastes may be entirely arbitrary as if they know that other kinds of desires exist, but they are putting on a face or find the other desires to be negative, rude, or evil in some way.]] They may stick so closely to them that you're afraid if they try to push themselves any closer to "normal" that they'll proverbially crack emotionally. The individual may even have a HolierThanThou air about them, and be condescending towards others. They may even try to force that "extreme normality" on others if they think it will benefit the other person. However, if being completely uninteresting is the character in question's basic way of living, and they decide to go beyond their boundaries, it may be a case of OOCIsSeriousBusiness; or for the better, CharacterDevelopment.

* ''Series/MadTV'': The skit [[https://youtu.be/ExNvVnWLSWc "How To Telephone A Girl"]] parodies the depiction of the early 1950s as this, while also serving as a blatant advertisement for Bell Telephone and social propaganda from The Daughters of the Confederacy. Two school students, Eddie, a "normal" person, and Bud, a jock, are told about a hayride on Friday. Both of them plan to call someone for a date. Eddie later telephones Janet, a seemingly prim, proper girl, on a Bell Telephone. Unfortunately, Janet's mother tells Eddie that Janet is in the bathtub bathing; this arouses Eddie, who gets a bulge in his jeans. Eddie [[FelonyMisdemeanor acts as if he has sinned and goes to his bedroom to pray.]] Bud, on the other hand, calls Janet using an inferior "oriental" telephone and is seemingly destined for a bad date on the hayride. Despite this, Bud has the rowdiest romantic time of his life there, while Eddie and Janet (both dressed in spic-and-span clothing) treat touching each other as if it were blasphemous.