History TheSmartGuy / LiveActionTV

** Data. Given that he's an android, with a super computer in his head, he can usually come up with solutions that would be at best impractical if they ''didn't'' have an android on the crew.

** Wesley plays with this one; although he's smart and the equal of at least the junior crewmembers on a technical basis, he lacks the credibility (partly due to his young age) to get the people with real power to listen to him. Usually Data will listen to him (because Data is only evaluating Wesley's evidence on its face alone) but occasionally Geordi, Riker, or Picard will be convinced--but ''never'' Worf.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Has ''[[TropeNamer The]]'' [[TheSpock Spock]].

** Some of his companions fulfill this trope, too, most notably his granddaughter, Susan, [[Webcomic/GirlGenius Zoe Heriot]], Romana (who might be smarter than the Doctor himself), [[InformedAbility allegedly]] Adric, and Martha.
* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'': Although many of the workers in are intelligent, Topher is the one who best fits this trope.

* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'':

** Also Gaius, who is not as powerful as Merlin, but knows a lot about magic. He is also the [[TheMedic the court physician]] and teaches Merlin about medicine.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':

** Gunn got in on the Smart Guy role mixed with a bit of SmartassGuy in season 5 of Angel, after his brain upgrade.

* ''{{Sharpe}}'': Harris of the Chosen Men is a former teacher who joined the army to escape debts. He speaks at least three languages and is the one who usually quotes philosophers or is found reading.

* ''TopGear'': James May, whose interest in detail and facts borders on obsession and alternately amuses and bores his [[BookDumb non-scholarly]] co-presenters.

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': Talisa Maegyr is an adept healer.

** He occasionally faces off against his ArchNemesis [[WilWheaton Chaos]], and they end up working together once.

* ''Series/SavedByTheBell'': Jessica "Jessi" Spano is a straight-A student and the stereotype of the StrawFeminist too. Screech is the stereotype of the HollywoodNerd but he is hardly considered intelligent outside his academic achievements do to be the ComicRelief ButtMonkey of the series.

* ''Series/TheATeam'': Face filled this role as the [[TheScrounger scrounging]] ConMan who always had a financial scheme up his sleeve. There are episodes where he [[{{Nerdgasm}} geeks out]] over the intricacies of his latest con, and he was shown to be great with doing math in his head quickly. Ironically, Face was also the team's [[HandsomeLech handsome]] [[TheCasanova womanizer]].

* Jerry in ''Series/ParkerLewisCantLose'': Although his friends Parker and Mikey are not dumb (actually it could be argue that they have more social and emotional intelligence than Jerry) but in regards of cold logical intelligence and computer/science sawyness there's no doubt that Jerry is by far the smarter, as he is also the typical nerd.

* Jerry in ''Series/ParkerLewisCantLose'': Although his friends Parker and Mikey are dumb (actually it could be argue that they have more social and emotional intelligence than Jerry) but in regards of cold logical intelligence and computer/science sawyness there’s no doubt that Jerry is by far the smarter, as he is also the typical nerd.

* ''Series/WeirdScience'': Lisa has superhuman intelligence, as she was designed as such. Not that Wyatt and Gary are dumb as they are actually stereotypical HollywoodNerds, but they do can be very naïve and/or immature. The only really dumb character is Chett.

** Profesor Jirafales is the smartest of the characters in ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'', with knowledge even superior for his job as elementary school professor. Among the children Chilindrina is probably the most intelligent but more in the sense that she’s cunning. Ñoño is book-smart but more naïve although he does have good grades unlike Chilindrina.[[note]] Chilindrina’s bad grades are probably consequence of laziness and not lack of intelligence.[[/note]].

* ''Series/Arrow'': Felicity Smoak - an MIT double major early graduate whose been taking computers apart since she was seven - acts as the hacker and computer specialist for Team Arrow. Generally [[{{VigilanteMan}} Oliver]], [[{{MilitarySuperhero}} Diggle]] and their other allies will hit the streets [[{{MissionControl}} while she mans the comms]] [[{{NonActionGuy}} from afar]], although she does sometimes go into the field when needed.

* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': Both halves of "Fitzsimmons": Leo does the physics and engineering stuff, Jemma has two PhDs and handles biochem.

* Series/{{Chuck}}: Stephen and Ellie both fit. Stephen's work made for the entire plot of the series and Ellie - PhD, MD - is one of the only people that can understand said work.

** ''{{CSI NY}}'': Hawkes and Mac. Sometimes Sid too.

* ''{{Smallville}}'': [[PlayfulHacker Chloe Sullivan]] was the show's original Smart Guy. She also defies the unattractive part, being elected prom queen and five out of eight of the same-generation main characters has expressed romantic interest in her (and she ended up [[spoiler:marrying two of them]]). In later seasons the role was shifted to two people: GadgeteerGenius [[OmnidisciplinaryScientist Emil Hamilton]] (who was also TheMedic, first appearing in season eight but never got main character status) and [[TheBaroness Tess Mercer]], a [[TheAtoner reformed villain]] (HeelFaceTurn in late season nine) and EvilGenius who served as the team's {{Chessmaster}}, [[TheCracker computer hacker]], [[CorruptCorporateExecutive backer]], and resident ManipulativeBitch.

* ''NoahsArc'': Chance fits this role, being a college professor continually in pursuit of his academics. He also is a bit more withdrawn compared with the rest of the cast, and often will explain more complex matters to the rest of the group (often doubling as MrExposition in the process). Though he doesn't wear them often, hes also the only one of the main cast who wears glasses, and is fairly thin compared to the more muscular (and in Alex's case, thicker) cast members.
* ''{{Numb3rs}}'': Charlie Eppes.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'':
** As the crewmember on ''Firefly'' with the most formal education, [[TheMedic fugitive doctor]] Simon Tam fits this role to a T. This is most apparent in ''Ariel'', in which he plans the most lucrative heist the crew has ever pulled. Unfortunately, Simon's budding career as a criminal mastermind was cut short by the show's [[ScrewedByTheNetwork untimely cancellation]], but presumably he would have gone on to plan many other lucrative ventures, especially as the crew warmed to him, and he lost his snobbish, intellectual veneer.
** Simon's sister, [[TagAlongKid River]], also showed a talent for coming up with well-thought out plans, when she's not communing with cows, waxing poetic about exsanguination, threatening to kill people with her brain, rewriting the Bible, or generally living up to her reputation as the patron saint of [[CloudCuckoolander cloudcuckoolanders]], that is.

* Series/Chuck: Stephen and Ellie both fit. Stephen's work made for the entire plot of the series and Ellie - PhD, MD - is one of the only people that can understand said work.

* Both [[Series/Chuck Stephen and Ellie Bartowski]] fit. Stephen's work made for the entire plot of the series and Ellie - PhD MD - is one of the only people that can understand said work.

** Some of his companions fulfill this trope, too, most notably his granddaughter, Susan, [[Webcomic/GirlGenius Zoe Heriot]], Romana (who might be smarter than the Doctor himself) and, [[InformedAbility allegedly]], Adric.

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': Being a rare two-person example, [[InsufferableGenius Sherlock]] and [[BadassAdorable John]] could qualify the BadassBookworm version of this.