A ma scientist is generally a stock character, or a parody of a stock character, of popular fiction, more specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if they even have a coherent scheme. Alternatively, they fail to see the evil that will ensue from the hubris of “playing god”. Not all mad scientists are evil or villains. Some are protagonists (or at least positive forces), such as Dexter in the animated series Dexter's Laboratory. Occasionally there are self parodies of mad scientists making fun of the stereotype.