Administrator/es
| « | It saddens me that despite my best efforts to instruct and better you, some of you insist on finding new ways to fail.
— The Administrator
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The Administrator (real name Helen; family name unknown), also referred to as the TF Announcer or simply the Announcer, is the CEO of both RED and BLU as well as TF Industries. She is the source of the mysterious, disembodied voice that issues commands and announces vital events during matches. An aged and thoroughly evil mastermind of a woman, the Administrator possesses both a piercing gaze and the sort of voice that commands total and unwavering obedience... or else. Her general demeanor tends towards either slight anger or various stages of bitter disappointment.
Role and Duties
The Administrator wields considerable influence and power. Her ownership of both the RED and BLU holding corporations grants her, by extension, control over every major government on the planet. She tends to keeps her operations top secret, manipulating events from behind the scenes. Any development that may chance unwanted attention is swiftly terminated with extreme prejudice.
She communicates with both teams from a single microphone connected to a central control panel. By skilled manipulation of a huge array of plugs and sockets, she can tap into a number of communication channels, including ones that address the entirety of the RED and BLU teams. Her messages are relayed to the teams through an Alarm-a-Tron 5000 speaker system, itself connected to a board with a myriad of signs that illuminate in situations of varying urgency (e.g. RED Spy - In Base). A massive monitor bank in front of her control panel allows her to keep a watchful eye on events at all times. Her exact motives in ordering the mercenary teams employed by both her companies into mortal combat on a regular basis remain mysterious.
The Administrator is attended by a number of staff, including loyal assistant Miss Pauling.
The WAR
| « | In my experience, Miss Pauling, nothing kills friendship faster...than a healthy competition.
— The Administrator at her evil deeds
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The Administrator considers inter-company friendships a profound breach of trust, forbidden by contract. After her assistant Miss Pauling brought it to her attention that the RED Demoman and the BLU Soldier had become friends, she had communication channels opened up specifically to them both. Through these, she personally encouraged each to kill their new friend in order to earn a mysterious and valuable new weapon developed under Mann Co. Just as intended, this quickly destroyed their blossoming friendship and thus beginning the seven day war.
Appearance
The Administrator's appearance has a storied past. It started with a fan rendition by the artist Makani, which spread around the Internet, proving to be rather popular. Shortly thereafter the artist was invited to Valve for a visit, where the design was purchased. Many months later, during the promo for the Hallowe'en Special, a woman with a near-identical face could be seen standing next to Zepheniah Mann on his deathbed. Finally, on December 9, 2009, the Administrator's face was officially revealed, using Makani's design, with some slight clothing modifications
Trivia
- The Administrator has a liking for cigarettes, Punishment Monthly magazine and, according to Saxton Hale, steak dinners and sex with handsome men.
- The Administrator is voiced by Ellen McLain, who also played the voice of GLaDOS in Portal and the Overwatch Dispatcher in Half-Life 2.
- The Administrator occasionally posts on the TF2 Official Blog; usually entries that involve tongue-lashing the community for untoward behavior, such as the usage of external achievement unlocking programs.
- The Administrator is the only Non-player character that has a presence in regular gameplay (with the possible exception of the ghost of Zepheniah Mann).
- When King of the Hill mode was first released, the Administrator would play all the "Overtime" lines very rapidly from the time Overtime starts all the way to the end of the round. This bug was later fixed by Valve on August 15, but remained an option for server admins due to popular reception by the TF2 community (the option being a console command called 'nag').
- The Administrator's purple wear reflects her control of both BLU and RED.
- As portrayed in the comic, the Administrator is in possession of the Mann Family Portrait. She bears a very close resemblance to Elizabeth, Zepheniah Mann's maidservant.
- 'The Administrator' takes place concurrent to the events of Meet the Spy.
- The Administrator is implied to have been in a relationship with Saxton Hale some time ago, who refers to her as a "chain-smoking seductress".
- In response to inquiries about her alleged relationship with Saxton Hale: "A lady never tells, and a gentleman never asks. More pertinently, an Administrator never forgets. Or forgives. Or relents. The Nosy Parkers among you would do well to remember that the next time you decide to paw through my confidential affairs like junkyard dogs." [1]
- The Demoman refers to her as "the angry lady who's always screamin' at us while we fight."
- The Soldier called her "Pumpkin" in the Soldier Comic. It's not known if the Soldier was making a one-time comment, or if the Soldier always refers to The Administrator that way.
- The Administrator is not married. In the same comic frame where Saxton Hale makes a pass at her, Miss Pauling says, "I work for Miss--".
