What television trope are you tired of ?
- Thread starter MarieVampSlayer
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This is one of the bigger ones for me.
Another one is stupid, selfish teens that constantly puts everyone in jeopardy because they refuse to see the bigger picture or absolutely need to run away to see their girlfriend/boyfriend or something even dumber.
/SK
Mylie
Scooby
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DeepBlueJoy
Lion Faced Kitteh
Actually, the big manpain central, king of this trope from hell is NCIS. Mostly the original series, but the franchises have begun to get into the act, unfortunately. I cannot count the number of primary women characters or significant others of primary characters they've killed so as to cause drama and man pain. And of course, the stronger they are (or should be), the nastier their deaths are and the more pointless.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS... for all seasons of any of the franchise. DON'T READ MORE IF YOU PLAN TO WATCH AND DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!!
Gibbs has been widowed (and lost his daughter), lost a female colleague and an ex-wife the same way as the female colleague - it's not enough to kill her, but she's shot through the head in a remake of the original killing, because big bads must taunt you when they kill people you love. Then other characters get infected with this... Since the ex is also FBI agent Fornell's ex and the mother of his child, he too gets his dose of mega manpain. Vance, the director loses his wife. Finally, Ziva David, kick ass female character who has left the show a couple years earlier is murdered off screen!! so that her partner can taste manpain (Dinozzo leaves to raise his daughter with Ziva - the one he didn't know he had) They actually bring women back to kill them. And, oh yes, they kill gay men too... and when they can't justify killing off another female, they cripple her... They have even infected NCIS LA with this sickness. There were only two black marriages in the entire franchise (both happy)... both have now ended with the death of the female - neither got a chance to go out fighting, though both women had shown themselves fighters... they were just wasted. And the only female director was shot dead in a hail of bullets after being shown to be stupid, incompetent and willing to sleep with colleagues. But mega mainpain was had.
It is NOT good story telling to kill people just for the drama. Sometimes characters die, but the rate at which female characters die, particularly on CBS dramas, is outsized... How many young widowers do we really have? As a (formerly young) widow, I know the reality is that young people do lose spouses and partners, but most of the time, it's women who are widowed, because men tend to die at a much higher rate due to things like serving in wars and doing more dangerous physical jobs. And middle aged and older men die of disease before women do. But in TV dramas men lose (female) spouses and partners so they can start their journey, or so the show can get spiced up... I promise you, widowhood doesn't spice your story up. It just hurts and screws things up in mostly non-exciting ways. Then, if you're young and reasonably sane, you will get married/partnered again and you'll go on with life, b/c everyone, (even the love your your life) is replaceable with someone... even if it isn't the big love. Life goes on. Because it has to. It can be interesting in a story, but just throwing away female characters for the sake of causing male drama? I'm over it.
Also over the random female victimhood for entertainment... Women don't make fabulous sexy victims... lovingly following the curves of the dead female body... just creepy.
DeepBlueJoy
Lion Faced Kitteh
I so agree!!
This one annoys me because, although it happens in other stories, it's particularly popular in romantic comedies. The problem is that in love stories, it promotes the idea that non-communication is a good way to start a relationship. Also that relationships will be fabulous once everyone sorts out the 'confusion'. If they communicate this badly before marriage, how are they EVER going to make a go of a relationship? If you're married or partnered, you probably hooked up with someone who you found attractive, but also who you could talk to... (If you didn't, you're probably divorced or unhappily married)
Normal people do have communication problems, but bad communication in order to make drama, is up there with smart protagonists doing stupid stuff to enhance drama.
If your protagonist can't even talk about basic information, or must be shown to do something bonehead, just to raise the drama, then it's my opinion that the writer has either run out of ideas or never had any to begin with.
When your audience starts chanting: 'don't go in there!' or 'just tell him already!', you know that they have seen through your very thin story.
The truth is there's plenty of great life drama without idiocy.
AndrewCrossett
Satsu Otaku
Probably the most annoying trope for me is that a man and a woman can't function together as partners without eventually ending up as a romantic couple. It's like writers think the only ingredient for a loving relationship is proximity. And this has been the case in literally 100% of the male-female professional pairings I've seen on television -- at least on shows that lasted more than a season or so. The last show I can think of where this didn't happen was The Avengers, back in the 60's. Warehouse 13 almost did it, but in the very last episode they had the two main characters -- the most unsuitable couple you can imagine -- get together apparently just to check the box that says they had to. It had about as much emotional resonance as bumping a Barbie and Ken doll's faces together to make them kiss.
And it's still pretty much the rule that you can't have more than one LGBTQ character (or couple) on the same show, unless the show is specifically *about* being LGBTQ. It's like there's a rule that if you have more than one, it becomes a "gay show."
And it's still pretty much the rule that you can't have more than one LGBTQ character (or couple) on the same show, unless the show is specifically *about* being LGBTQ. It's like there's a rule that if you have more than one, it becomes a "gay show."
MarieVampSlayer
It's either 1 gay couple or a thousand...none in between!
DeepBlueJoy
Lion Faced Kitteh
@AndrewCrossett , actually it seems to me that there used to be tons of shows where people would obviously be attracted or even in love, but for the sake of TV drama or something, they weren't allowed to get together. I much prefer what happened on Bones where people did what people often do in real life -- they got involved with people from work, and eventually, they got married, or broke up, but life went on. I hated the oddness that was an obvious couple who weren't together ONLY b/c they worked/were partnered together. It's one thing where in (for example) the military and certain types of organizations there are rules against fraternization, but sometimes it got ridiculous. In recent years, that has changed a bit. Has it maybe gone too far in the opposite direction? Probably. It just tells me the writers lack imagination.
No, proximity isn't enough for a relationship, but it is often a key ingredient. You tend to grow to care about those you spend a lot of your life with. Sometimes that will progress to more than just 'work family'.
No, proximity isn't enough for a relationship, but it is often a key ingredient. You tend to grow to care about those you spend a lot of your life with. Sometimes that will progress to more than just 'work family'.
MarieVampSlayer
Bloody hell, Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers..
Basically the plot of every bad actions movies. Either she dies or gets kidnapped so the male protagonist can fight bad guys outta revenge!
Yes this so much! And the funny thing is the girl that is supposed to be oh so original is actually like every other girl from this trope. Usually a girl who is fiesty, brave, strong and likes alternative stuffs...not a girly girl because apparently thats bad!
Yeah because it's a bad thing to know you are a beautiful girl and even worst to be confident about it! I don't get whats is supposed to be sexy about a girl who lacks confidence...
Someone once told me, every girl wants a bad boy that will be good for her only, and every boy wants a good girl that will be bad for him only. I think that really shows in media tropes.
MarieVampSlayer
Bloody hell, Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers..
Make sense. It's probably a virginal thing too. A girl who doesn't know she is beautiful can't have a long list of guys she dated or slept with. And we know how Hollywwod treats promiscuious women in movies and TV shows.
Generally speaking, I don't really hate any trope. Anything can work, if it gets executed properly. Even the most overdone cliches. Even love triangles work sometimes!
That said...
I have HAD it with these mother-killing mystical pregnancies on these mother-killing shows!
(See what I did there?)
Seriously, the mystical pregnancy trope needs to stay dead. The best example of this trope was Darla's pregnancy on Angel, and even that case had tons and tons of problems. Every other case was just a shit-show of terrible decisions that led to worse stories. If you want to write a story about pregnancy, then just use a regular pregnancy! Mystical pregnancies never work!
/rant over.
That said...
I have HAD it with these mother-killing mystical pregnancies on these mother-killing shows!
(See what I did there?)
Seriously, the mystical pregnancy trope needs to stay dead. The best example of this trope was Darla's pregnancy on Angel, and even that case had tons and tons of problems. Every other case was just a shit-show of terrible decisions that led to worse stories. If you want to write a story about pregnancy, then just use a regular pregnancy! Mystical pregnancies never work!
/rant over.
TriBel
"Mystical pregnancies never work". Yup . For instance, virgin births with Angel involvement. Meh...where does that get you?
DeepBlueJoy
Lion Faced Kitteh
Oh, thanks for reminded me about one more female character that died on Angel. Of course, in her case, I really feel she was redeemed by loving her son and giving up her life for him to be born, but still, it really is disturbing how many times women on fantasy shows become mythical vessels -- magic wombs -- not characters. Maybe if pregnancy killed of a few male characters, I would be less displeased by the magic pregnancy trope. How many times did they impregnate Cordy?
EarthLogic
Scooby
Three, to my knowledge: 'Expecting' (demon babies), 'Epiphany' (injected with Skilosh demon spawn), and S4 Jasmine.
DeepBlueJoy
Yes, that was ONE woman violated in three different ways for the sake of giving the men a chance to rescue her and/or feel pain. How very enlightened the writers are!
Joan the Vampire Slayer
Carpe Spuffy!
Great post idea!
There are so many, but personally I'm really sick of friends who decide to be "freinds with benefits" then fall in love. Ugh. As if that ever happens in real life.
Fool for Buffy
I posted this same thing on page 1! Totally agree.
MarieVampSlayer
Thank you !!!
BuffyBot22
Scooby
I'm really over contrived love triangles.
Why does almost every show need to do this?
It's okay if it works, but you can tell that a lot of shows just throw it in there because they feel like they have to, and nothing about it feels natural. It just feels frustrating.
Also someone already mentioned this, but it is so annoying when 5 people attack the protagonist one at a time. Like seriously? That would never happen. All 5 would come at once because that is the smart thing to do, duh!
Why does almost every show need to do this?
It's okay if it works, but you can tell that a lot of shows just throw it in there because they feel like they have to, and nothing about it feels natural. It just feels frustrating.
Also someone already mentioned this, but it is so annoying when 5 people attack the protagonist one at a time. Like seriously? That would never happen. All 5 would come at once because that is the smart thing to do, duh!
vellavu
Scooby
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Today I'm gonna teach you guys how to make yourself 500 enemies within 5 seconds.
😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
Cough cough Spuffy.
Cough cough Tillow.
😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
