Characters / Thinking Sideways

Joe

Known for his distinctive voice and (at times) absurdist sense of humour. To the point where it's sometimes difficult to tell when he's being serious and when he isn't.

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• Catchphrase: "What you have to understand..."
  • Lampshaded heavily in the April Fools episode.
• Crazy Survivalist: Has shades of this at times.
  Joe: Just in case I get transported into the past, you know, I always carry a Glock 9mm and a thousand rounds of ammo.
• Deadpan Snarker
  Joe: I mean, there's times when you've got a sock, and you've got a brick in it, and you're just sort of swinging it around, and sometimes you accidentally connect with somebody.
• Feeling Their Age: Applies to Steve also, but when engaging with Devin, Joe plays it up more.
  Devin: I listen to Die Antwood. Do you guys listen to them at all?
  Joe: No.
  Devin: That’s okay. I wouldn’t expect you to, it’s like a...
  Steve: Ouch!
  Joe: Cause we're so old, I guess.
• Hidden Depths: He seems particularly knowledgeable in military history. Also the most scientifically-inclined.
• Shown Their Work: Joe has been known to go the extra mile while researching, including ringing police departments connected to cases an episode is centred around.
  • Also very fond of looking locations up on Google Maps.

Devin

The youngest of the three presenters, and the sole woman of the three. For someone who desperately wants to find a story with a credible aliens solution, she's usually the most grounded.

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• The Anti-Nihilist
• Brainy Brunette
• Catchphrase: An exasperated, elongated, "No!"
• The Conscience: Can sometimes seem like this, and not just for Joe and Steve. She's particularly clued-up to social biases in media sources, and is the most sympathetic to the circumstances of female victims.
• Genre Savvy: Makes connections between real-life cases and fictional media inspired by them.
  Devin: Is it going to be, like, Four Rooms all over again, right? With the lighter.
• Ignoring by Singing
• Like Is, Like, a Comma
• Only Sane Man
• Schedule Fanatic: To some extent, in how she approaches writing scripts for the episodes she hosts. Bullet-points!
• Sea Stories: Worked on a cruise ship, and her experience comes in handy during nautical episodes.
• Skinny Dipping: Once shared the story of how she went skinny dipping and was so drunk she couldn't feel how cold the water was.
• Voice of Reason: Not a fan of the more outlandish theories. Often acts as an anchor for Steve, though Joe doesn't seem to let this stop him.

Steve

Last but not least, Steve is known for his distinctive inflection, and having some strong opinions on hair in the media.

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• Blatant Lies: Likes presenting the most embellished version of a story in his episodes, before deconstructing the more questionable details.
• Catchphrase: Very willing to go "down the rabbit hole" with more out-there theories, even if he doesn't buy them himself.
  Steve: ...Or we can go down that rabbit hole.
  Joe: Yeah.
  Steve: The theories section in this, by the way... is going to feel like a mess.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Can wander into this territory.
• Dramatic Pause: Fond of these. His conversational style of presentation lends to this, and it's been lampshaded.
  Devin: Joe's gonna have to talk way slower [to imitate Steve].
  Steve: I can't help the rate I have my speech patterns at!
• Large Ham: Employs this for comedic effect.
• The Movie Buff
  Steve: Watch My Blue Heaven.
  Devin: Don't watch My Blue Heaven. That's not research.
• Signature Laugh
• Verbal Tic: Upward inflection.