Tad Strange
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Tad Strange |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | |
| Fandom: | Gravity Falls |
| Other: | Voiced by Cecil Baldwin |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Tad Strange is a minor character the Disney cartoon Gravity Falls. Before he appeared in an episode, fans noticed that he would be voiced by Cecil Baldwin (best known for voicing WTNV host Cecil Palmer) and a popular headcanon developed of Tad as an extradimensional demon comparable to series antagonist Bill Cipher.
Canon
Tad Strange is the most normal resident of Gravity Falls. He is introduced in "The Stanchurian Candidate" and is shown to have survived but been traumatized by Weirdmageddon. He has maybe six lines of dialogue in the show.
Soos: Everyone in this town is a tad strange, except ironically, Tad Strange.
Tad: Hi, guys. Tad's the name and being normal is my game.Episode 2x14 "The Stanchurian Candidate"
Fandom
Well before his introduction episode ("The Stanchurian Candidate") aired, fans noticed an voice acting credit on Gravity Falls' IMDB page listing Cecil Baldwin voicing a character called Tad Strange. This drew fan interest because Baldwin is known for portraying Cecil Gershwin Palmer, the radio host and main character of Welcome to Night Vale, and Gravity Falls fans began coming up with Nightvale-esque headcanons for Tad Strange.[1]
A Reddit AMA hosted by Alex Hirsch in character as Bill Cipher greatly increased fandom speculation about Tad Strange, particularly this post:[1]
[tuxisme]
Hey, Bill, what can you tell me about a guy named Tad Strange?
[_BILLCIPHER]
TAD'S A REAL SQUARE AND THAT IS OBJECTIVELY A STUPID SHAPE!
Fans took this literally and imagined Tad as a square demon with one eye, who was a rival and nemesis (and possibly brother) of Bill Cipher. Fans also looked for hints about Tad (the kinds of forshadowing and clues that are abundant in the show).[2] Some fans continued to develop alternate headcanons (usually still leaning on eldritch or supernatural themes inspired by WTNV) but the square demon became very popular in the fandom, getting a Tumblr sexyman treatment comparable to Bill Cipher.
On April 15th, Hirsch responded on twitter, clarifying that Tad Strange would only be a minor character with no connection to Bill.[3] Some fans continued to work with the fanon, demon version of Tad Strange, while others speculated about what other roles he might have in the show -- for example, that he would be a radio host as a parallel to Cecil Palmer.
Fanworks
Demon!Tad Strange
- H͞҉͍̥ͅe̺̪͉̭̥̖͚̩͘ḽ̳͔̩͈̘̺͕l̯̯̤͍o͎͙͍͉͔̙͚̕ ̰̪̮̭̦G̛̗͈͚͍͈͔̞̼̕ŗ̷̦̠͉͈͇́ą̷̡̥̬̪̻̺̣̻̣ͅv̸͙̮̝i̯̜̱̭̭̗̕t̢̙̪͎̯̝͖y̦ ҉̖̤̳ͅF͚̘̯͉͠a̴̮̹̠̞l҉͔̤̱̞͎͔̕͝l̢̘͍͉̬̯̩̯̲͍s̴̗̘̼̯ͅ, Archived version by brenda-blue-eyes, 2015 -- a design for demon!Tad Strange inspired by WTNV's colorscheme and logo.
- William Cipher vs Thaddeus Strange, Archived version by starfleetrambo, 2015
- he’s not canon but he lives on in our hearts, Archived version by busket, 2015
- Tad Strange the Tangram, Archived version by moringmark, 2015
- Tad Poppins anyone?, Archived version by ryouhiko-ankuu, 2015, posted 2022
- meta by phantomrose96, Archived version predicting pretty much what happened when Hirsch jossed the square demon theory.
Canon!Tad Strange
- Chapter 2: Prompt: Tad Strange/Darlene the Spider Person, Archived version, fanfic by thesnadger
- Speaking of Tumblr sexymen... by shrimp-apocalypse-now, 2021
- Minor Character Tournament 2023, Archived version by taddylonglegs, 2023 -- Tad Strange and the Cabbage Merchant from ATLA.
- Vote For Tad 2023!, Archived version more fanart of the same campaign
- request,draw Tad Strange, Archived version by alextwdgf01, 2022
Links
- Tad Strange on the Gravity Falls Fandom.com wiki
- Tad Strange works on AO3
- #Tad Strange on Tumblr
References
- ^ a b Tumblr post by phantomrose96. Posted 4 April 2015.
- ^ Tumblr post by nanabanana91 with followup comments by others.
- ^ SO I TWEETED ALEX HIRSCH TO MAKE A BILL AND TED JOKE ABOUT BILL CIPHER AND TAD STRANGE AND HE RESPONDED???. Tumblr post by slothbless with comments by themysteryofgravityfalls. Posted 15 April 2015.