TV Tropes: Love 'em or Loathe 'em

[DrSpaceman]

If you lie about knowing a celebrity and claim they will be at some minor local event, somehow, they will actually show up. 

[kiddo82]

5 hours ago, catlover79 said:

I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but I don't feel like going through the entire thread. Every time a sitcom does an episode where they put on a talent show, telethon, or something of that nature, my remote goes CLICK.

I always liked the NewsRadio one where we find out Lisa's talent is doing complex math in her head.  

[Dr.OO7]

On 6/17/2019 at 8:12 PM, DrSpaceman said:

If you lie about knowing a celebrity and claim they will be at some minor local event, somehow, they will actually show up. 

I can't stand that one. Just once, I'd like to see Reality Ensue, have the celebrity in question NOT show up and have the person forced to deal with everyone's annoyance/anger at their stupid lies.

[Archery]

On ‎6‎/‎17‎/‎2019 at 3:51 PM, Blergh said:

Agree, and along those lines, I hate it when the show's characters promise that a Real Life Celeb is going to appear on the proposed show, telethon,etc. based on . . . empty wishes, then they  (total strangers to Real Life Celeb) try to pull every string to get Real Life Celeb to appear but get blown off, Then just as the characters are ABOUT to 'fess having made empty brags to the whole audience BINGO! Real Life Celeb appears outta thin air and all is saved (and the characters don't learn WHY one shouldn't make promises based on empty wishes).  Other shows did this from time to time but  Sister, Sister used to do this too many times to count, and just ONCE I'd like to have seen the twins actually have the egg  STAY on their collective faces and face the music of bragging for nothing instead of being bailed out by their overindulgent parents yet again! 

Find and watch the Murphy Brown (original version) episode with Aretha Franklin, I beg you.

[Blergh]

20 hours ago, Archery said:

Find and watch the Murphy Brown (original version) episode with Aretha Franklin, I beg you.

I recall that episode- but I had no problems with the outcome since Murphy did NOT do this on a regular basis (unlike the Sister Sister twins) and I don't recall her doing that again on that show. Also considering that the late Miss Franklin DID have a well-documented fear of flying, her going all the  to LA via cars and buses  to MAKE the Real Life show was more impressive than her going to DC do do Murphy's show (and showed a true mutual admiration between Miss Franklin and Miss Bergin). 

[Archery]

Well, the point is that Murphy teased Ms. Franklin's appearance for the whole show, and she didn't get the BINGO! Real Life Celebrity Appears Outta Thin Air And All Is Saved -- and it is glorious. 

[catlover79]

For me, it's TV characters learning how to drive and mayhem/hilarity (not the Allstate character) ensues. Trust me, I've been there myself!!

[DearEvette]

I enjoy a good 'What/If' episode.  When the show imagines a different timeline or continuity for their characters if something about the past had changed them.

Grey's Anatomy had one that imagined what it would have been like if Ellis hadn't had Alzheimer's and she had been loving and supportive and had actually married Richard and Meredith had grown up in a loving supportive household.

Grace and Frankie's most recent season ended on a what/if that imagined what the ladies' lives would be like if they hadn't moved in with each other.

Tv Tropes also has a variation of this trope called 'For Want of a Nail' where one small thing creates a ripple effect that sometimes lasts that sets off a whole new direction or continuity for a show or sometimes just confined to one episode like a tv ep version of the butterfly effect.

One of my favorite episodes of Community did this with Remedial Chaos Theory did this in combo with a groundhog day trope.  And the resultant 'darkest timeline' was funny.

Also Eureka's 4th season premiere used this trope to change some continuity and to jump off a bunch of new storylines.

[ganesh]

I know it's for tv, but I don't like it when people are sneaking around someone's house, apartment (like a PI) to take pictures, and you have the giant sounding camera shutter going off. It's not stealthy!

[Melina22]

4 minutes ago, ganesh said:

know it's for tv, but I don't like it when people are sneaking around someone's house, apartment (like a PI) to take pictures, and you have the giant sounding camera shutter going off. It's not stealthy!

Or whenever someone has a gun, it's constantly making loud clicking sounds. I know zero about guns, but I assume it's them clicking the safety on or off, or... whatever. It's just so darn loud. And so frequent. That can't be realistic acoustics. 

[ganesh]

Desperado was so great because Antonio Benderas was hiding and trying to load all his guns so quietly!

[topanga]

14 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

Or whenever someone has a gun, it's constantly making loud clicking sounds. I know zero about guns, but I assume it's them clicking the safety on or off, or... whatever. It's just so darn loud. And so frequent. That can't be realistic acoustics. 

I know, right? The cocking of the gun is always so loud. It almost echoes.

And when someone tries to fire an unloaded gun, that clock is loud, too.  

[catlover79]

Another trope that cracks me up is when an out of shape guy goes to a gym and tries to act buff to impress a girl - making himself look like a total idiot, of course. Again, this is a trope directly lifted from real life. 😂

[Ohwell]

I haven't gone back and read through all the pages so I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I'm sick and tired of watching shows like Claws and Good Girls equating "female empowerment" with being gangsta.  There is nothing empowering about them; they're just law breakers.

Also, I hate the slow walking they do, like on Claws, to show just how gangsta and cool they are.

[Melina22]

2 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

I haven't gone back and read through all the pages so I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I'm sick and tired of watching shows like Claws and Good Girls equating "female empowerment" with being gangsta.  There is nothing empowering about them; they're just law breakers.

Totally agree. In fact I'm sick of how "female empowerment" is apparently all about women reflecting some of the worst aspects of men. Violence, swearing, aggression, substance abuse, promiscuity... so empowering. I'd cite recent shows that demonstrate this trope but I'd run out of room. 

[catlover79]

3 hours ago, Melina22 said:

In fact I'm sick of how "female empowerment" is apparently all about women reflecting some of the worst aspects of men. Violence, swearing, aggression, substance abuse, promiscuity... so empowering. 

I agree - it's sickening.

[Mabinogia]

20 hours ago, ganesh said:

I know it's for tv, but I don't like it when people are sneaking around someone's house, apartment (like a PI) to take pictures, and you have the giant sounding camera shutter going off. It's not stealthy!

Or the cell phone going off at exactly the wrong moment. Don't people know you can put them on mute? 

[Jacqs]

Depicting women as paragons of virtue isn't "female empowerment" either. Women can be just as vile and as cruel as men. LMAO at the idea that girls can't be Lord of the Flies types just because of the Helen Reddy stereotype...

[HazelEyes4325]

On 6/24/2019 at 7:45 AM, DearEvette said:

I enjoy a good 'What/If' episode.  When the show imagines a different timeline or continuity for their characters if something about the past had changed them.

Grey's Anatomy had one that imagined what it would have been like if Ellis hadn't had Alzheimer's and she had been loving and supportive and had actually married Richard and Meredith had grown up in a loving supportive household.

I have a high bar for what/if episodes because, frequently, they aren't done well.  However, this episode of GA is probably of my favorite of the series up to the point I quit watching.

[topanga]

On 6/24/2019 at 10:45 AM, DearEvette said:

Grey's Anatomy had one that imagined what it would have been like if Ellis hadn't had Alzheimer's and she had been loving and supportive and had actually married Richard and Meredith had grown up in a loving supportive household.

On 6/26/2019 at 1:03 AM, HazelEyes4325 said:

I have a high bar for what/if episodes because, frequently, they aren't done well.  However, this episode of GA is probably of my favorite of the series up to the point I quit watching.

I probably saw this one but can't remember it. Which season was this? 

iCarly did an What/If episode, too. I remember enjoying it. 

[andromeda331]

On 6/25/2019 at 12:50 PM, Ohwell said:

I haven't gone back and read through all the pages so I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but I'm sick and tired of watching shows like Claws and Good Girls equating "female empowerment" with being gangsta.  There is nothing empowering about them; they're just law breakers.

Also, I hate the slow walking they do, like on Claws, to show just how gangsta and cool they are.

Yes!  You want to show women being gangsta and cool? Great! Do that!  But don't call it female empowerment because its not. 

On 6/25/2019 at 12:57 PM, Melina22 said:

Totally agree. In fact I'm sick of how "female empowerment" is apparently all about women reflecting some of the worst aspects of men. Violence, swearing, aggression, substance abuse, promiscuity... so empowering. I'd cite recent shows that demonstrate this trope but I'd run out of room. 

I love all of this but especially the bolded. Amazing how "female empowerment" somehow ends up meaning exactly that. Women reflecting worse aspects of men. 

[Joe Hellandback]

On ‎6‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 2:58 AM, topanga said:

I know, right? The cocking of the gun is always so loud. It almost echoes.

And when someone tries to fire an unloaded gun, that clock is loud, too.  

Not to mention people continuously cocking and recocking so there would be no bullets left!

[methodwriter85]

On 6/25/2019 at 8:38 PM, Jacqs said:

Depicting women as paragons of virtue isn't "female empowerment" either. Women can be just as vile and as cruel as men. LMAO at the idea that girls can't be Lord of the Flies types just because of the Helen Reddy stereotype...

I'm paraphrasing, but Madeline Albright had a great quote that went something along the lines of, "If people think the world would be any different if women ruled the world, they clearly don't remember high school."

Which I guess brings me to another trope- I always hate the trope that mean popular kids go out of their way to hurt and humiliate nobodies in the "loser group." In my own personal experience, the mean popular kids tend to be bitchy towards their "friends" more than anybody else in sneaky, backstabbing ways. And other cliques always had just as much drama and didn't really give a shit about the school "queen bee" because every clique basically had theirs. The unpopular kids weren't any more noble than the popular kids, even though that's usually how high school gets depicted.

[kiddo82]

10 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Which I guess brings me to another trope- I always hate the trope that mean popular kids go out of their way to hurt and humiliate nobodies in the "loser group." In my own personal experience, the mean popular kids tend to be bitchy towards their "friends" more than anybody else in sneaky, backstabbing ways. And other cliques always had just as much drama and didn't really give a shit about the school "queen bee" because every clique basically had theirs. The unpopular kids weren't any more noble than the popular kids, even though that's usually how high school gets depicted.

I always like how 30 Rock turned that trope on it's head with Liz always thinking that she was the plucky outcast but in reality all the kids hated her because she was so sarcastic and mean. 

I would describe my high school status as pretty nondescript.  I had my friends and other kids had theirs and like you said, no one particularly went out of their way to bother anyone else.  And not that we had a Utopia by any means but there was also a lot of crossover kids.  The girl in my class who, if memory serves, was voted most popular was popular because she was just genuinely nice to everyone and could kind of fit in anywhere.  And there was enough bleeding between the social groups as well that it wasn't weird to at least be civil with certain individuals.  (Not all individuals.  Some people are jerks regardless of what their social status may be and that's just life)  Don't get me wrong, there was definitely a food chain, but I'd wager that most kids, even those of us on the lower end, escaped relatively unscathed.  In fact, I rather enjoyed my high school existence.

Which is another trope.  Everyone hates/hated high school and everyone dreads going to their reunion.  And also, everyone who was a Queen Bee or jerk jock in high school still acts that way 10 or 20 years later despite 10 or 20 years more of life experience.  Not saying that doesn't happen in real life but I bet is happens way less often than depicted on TV.    And everyone at the reunion will be way more successful than our protagonist.  MD's, pro or semi-pro athletes, married rich, computer geniuses who retired at 25, etc. while our protagonist wallows in self pity.

[ABay]

I'm happy for those who emerged unscathed from high school but decades later I still sometimes marvel that I didn't kill myself. High school as hell, not so much a metaphor as reflection of reality.

[Bastet]

1 hour ago, kiddo82 said:

I would describe my high school status as pretty nondescript. 

Which you never see in adults on TV - they were either utterly miserable in high school or high school constituted the best years of their lives (and they're still stuck on it, talking about that great play in the big game all the time and stuff like that).  No one looks back on it as a time like any other in their life, one that left them with both good and bad memories. 

[ganesh]

We were a small high school so people in band were also on the sports teams, and grew up together since we were in elementary school. For the most part it was low drama. I mean, I was in class with the same person since I was 4 through senior year. 

[Dr.OO7]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

I'm happy for those who emerged unscathed from high school but decades later I still sometimes marvel that I didn't kill myself. High school as hell, not so much a metaphor as reflection of reality.

Same here. It wasn't until my junior year that a DECADE worth of bullying finally came to an end, and even that was because I reported a boy who had shoved me so hard that I fell down to the dean. He got into trouble and it suddenly dawned on the little bastards that I wasn't going to put up with it anymore.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Camille

[Wiendish Fitch]

8 minutes ago, Camille said:

Same here. It wasn't until my junior year that a DECADE worth of bullying finally came to an end, and even that was because I reported a boy who had shoved me so hard that I fell down to the dean. He got into trouble and it suddenly dawned on the little bastards that I wasn't going to put up with it anymore.

Good for you, Camille!

[Silver Raven]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

I'm happy for those who emerged unscathed from high school but decades later I still sometimes marvel that I didn't kill myself. High school as hell, not so much a metaphor as reflection of reality.

My high school was better than junior high.  My junior high years were hell.

[Bort]

9 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

My high school was better than junior high.  My junior high years were hell.

Yeah, that was my thing. Junior high was what sucked, I loved high school. Probably because I was able to find my niche. I joined the swim team and I am a damn good swimmer.

To keep on topic, a common TV trope is often that cheerleaders are stupid, shallow and vapid. The most popular cheerleader in my high school ended up working for Pentium, designing those chips. Last I heard, she retired and bought a vineyard.

[Dr.OO7]

30 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

My junior high years were hell.

Mine too. Something about pubertal development can really bring out the ugly side of kids.

[Luckylyn]

One thing I appreciated on the show Daria is that although it contained characters that fit the typical high school stereotypes the show would transcend those tropes as well.  Quinn and her friends were examples of the cliche mean girl popular kids but Jodie who was popular was really nice to everyone.  Being friendly helped Jodie get ahead in school.  The show also acknowledged Jodie’s struggle of being only one of a few black students at the school.   She felt a ton of pressure to be the best student and popular.  Most shows don’t really cover intersectionality in high school.  It really resonated when she insisted to her parents that she wanted to go to a Historically Black College instead of her father’s college because she wanted a break from the pressure of being the only black face in the classroom.

[Dr.OO7]

Designated Hero

Stop telling me someone's the good guy when they're behaving just as badly as the supposed bad guy, if not worse.

Designated Villain

And stop telling me someone's the bad guy when they haven't really done anything wrong or may even have a legitimate point.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Camille

[Dr.OO7]

Any of the ". . .Has A Point" tropes.

Not that it should eclipse this person being a "Dumbass/Hypocrite/Jerkass/Strawman/Villain", but it's nice to see supposedly bad characters get fleshed out a bit.

[Dr.OO7]

7 hours ago, kariyaki said:

To keep on topic, a common TV trope is often that cheerleaders are stupid, shallow and vapid

So are the jocks, but they're also all rapists/bullies/racists or some combination thereof. I've lost count of the number of Jerk Jock examples, while I can count the Academic Athlete examples on one hand.

[kiddo82]

On procedurals whenever the feds and the local law enforcement team up:

If our main characters are the local police then feds will be portrayed as stuffed shirt bureaucrats who don't remember what it's like to get their hands dirty.  They are only there to interfere with the good work our heroes do and take credit when the job is done.

If our main characters are the feds then the local police are basically Barney Fife.  

And of course, IA is always, always evil.  Talk about being portrayed as stuffed shirts who don't care about the greater good or some crap.  I'd love a well done show about IA just to see things from the other perspective.  

[Annber03]

24 minutes ago, kiddo82 said:

If our main characters are the feds then the local police are basically Barney Fife.  

To their credit, "Criminal Minds", thankfully, did try and avoid falling into this trap when possible. Not to say they never encountered incompetent local cops, mind, and in some of the more recent seasons the cops might as well not even be there, since the team tended to single-handedly solve the cases much of the time.

But they also had plenty of episodes where they worked alongside the local cops respectfully, and let them take their rightful credit for their role in helping out with a case. And if there were any tensions, they tried to find a way to smooth things over to everyone's satisfaction. 

The IA thing was definitely an issue with that show, though, yes :p. Anyone coming in to investigate the team was seen as a threat and they all closed ranks. Never mind the fact that some of their actions did kind of warrant a closer look or anything...

[Jacqs]

9 hours ago, ganesh said:

We were a small high school so people in band were also on the sports teams, and grew up together since we were in elementary school. For the most part it was low drama. I mean, I was in class with the same person since I was 4 through senior year. 

I grew up in the suburbs and even there most of my year came from the same primary school. Many of us were together from Grade One of Primary School to Year 12 of High School.

[Jacqs]

Marge Simpson being portrayed sympathetically is what i hate about Simpsons episodes. She forces her intellectually disabled husband and her children to adhere to her fringe evangelist sect of Christianity, is homophobic ("Boys kiss *girls*"), wants to turn Lisa (and Maggie) into soft and quiet girly girls that look good on the arm of a man of power

We are supposed to believe that this ramshackle reactionary old trout was a Jimmy Carter Democrat?

Pull the other one, it plays "Jingle Bells".

[Dr.OO7]

2 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

And of course, IA is always, always evil.  Talk about being portrayed as stuffed shirts who don't care about the greater good or some crap.  I'd love a well done show about IA just to see things from the other perspective.  

What I really hate about whenever IA shows up is that despite the supposedly unfair grilling that they put the main characters through, they never have a moment where they realize "Gee, maybe I shouldn't always instantly assume someone's a rapist/murderer just because they said "Hello" to the victim."

[andromeda331]

12 hours ago, Camille said:

Same here. It wasn't until my junior year that a DECADE worth of bullying finally came to an end, and even that was because I reported a boy who had shoved me so hard that I fell down to the dean. He got into trouble and it suddenly dawned on the little bastards that I wasn't going to put up with it anymore.

12 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

My high school was better than junior high.  My junior high years were hell.

12 hours ago, kariyaki said:

Yeah, that was my thing. Junior high was what sucked, I loved high school. Probably because I was able to find my niche. I joined the swim team and I am a damn good swimmer.

To keep on topic, a common TV trope is often that cheerleaders are stupid, shallow and vapid. The most popular cheerleader in my high school ended up working for Pentium, designing those chips. Last I heard, she retired and bought a vineyard.

Junior high was the worse for me too. That's when the worse of the bullying, my best friend ditched me while she became a horrible lying bitch. There were so many days when I didn't want to go to school. I hated those days. My parents tried to decided whether I should change schools, they tried talking to their parents and that went as bad as you'd expect and talking to the principal did nothing. I talked it to the guidance counselor a really great woman on two different occasions who did try and help. The second time I mentioned my parents were considering suing although debating between the school or the kids' parents or both because we didn't know what else to do. We didn't want to but it didn't look like we had any other options. She asked if she could speak to the kids before suing. I said yes which wasn't easy. I was scared that if she talked to them it would make things worse. You were so brave Camille!

I have no idea what she said if she brought up the suing or talked to the parents or the principal ( worried that the school could get in trouble since it was brought to their attention many times and they did nothing or what) and had him talked to the kids and/or parents,  threatened them or what. But it never happened again. They never said a word to me again. It was so nice.

For me high school was easier. I met my best friend, and had a small group of friends. Everyone left us alone although I've always chalked that up to the size of the school and so many kids. 

Edited July 1, 2019 by andromeda331

[andromeda331]

3 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

On procedurals whenever the feds and the local law enforcement team up:

If our main characters are the local police then feds will be portrayed as stuffed shirt bureaucrats who don't remember what it's like to get their hands dirty.  They are only there to interfere with the good work our heroes do and take credit when the job is done.

If our main characters are the feds then the local police are basically Barney Fife.  

And of course, IA is always, always evil.  Talk about being portrayed as stuffed shirts who don't care about the greater good or some crap.  I'd love a well done show about IA just to see things from the other perspective.  

I hate those especially IA. They're always hated or out to take down cops whether their good or not. Especially when its from the main characters who hate murders, bad guys, bad cops, etc.  They've even arrested dirty cops but they still hate IA and don't trust them. Their the "rat" squad. Ah, if you hate bad cops so much shouldn't you be happy that there is a group of cops who's job is to do just that? Shouldn't you be on the same side or at least appreciate them? Especially if your the main cast in a cop show who are the good guys?  

In Elementary, Joan  finds out Marcus's girlfriend who is a cop is IA from Sherlock because he followed IA trying to figure out which cops are. Joan gets all upset as if this is some huge betrayal and has to tell Marcus. Sherlock of all people points out that IA isn't completely evil he wanted to figure out who they were for different reasons not that he thought they were bad, Joan has to find out whether Marcus knows and decide whether or not to tell him. She works for both IA and their precinct but the IA part is a secret.  Marcus is really upset and asks his girlfriend if she was "forced" to or "made" to work for IA and is shocked that she wasn't. He really flips out at her willingly working for IA. She points out that he turned in one of his old bosses to IA because he was dirty. So you'd think he's realize that IA does good work or at least there's a very good reason for it. Nope, not at all. Even though he insists turning in his boss was right he still views IA as the rat squad and horrible and all they do is jam up good cops. She points out that often she has helped good cops but he doesn't care. Later they do talk and he does want to try again in the relationship, that he does want to take it all back she asks him if he'd still want to do that if everyone knew she worked for IA, after their argument she decided to put in a transfer for IA. So everyone will know. They don't get back together. She says maybe when the dust clears but given his horrible reaction and opinion of IA its not surprising we never hear from her again. Why did he hate IA so much when he turned in a dirty cop? That wasn't a learning experience for him? A sign they do good work? Oddly enough he had the same opinion about IA the cop he was seeing during or after he turned in his boss who later learned Marcus was the one who turned him in and framed Marcus for murder. 

The only one I've ever seen point out how good and important IA really is, is the Closer. They have one episode where two cops were killed and one civilian that they pulled over. Captain Raydar IA is FID Force Investigation Divison on the Closer, shows up because of the civilian was killed by police.  She does mention a couple times they she needs to do her job to make sure the cops did everything right so their reputations don't get destroyed but no one really pays attention to that given what she does and keeps referring to the dead boy as a victim. and her conduct. She demands her investigation, and conducts it following Brenda and appearing to be a big pain in the butt she informs the dead boy's mother he's dead before Brenda can finish questioning her, insists that the Nazi tattoos, wrap sheets and basically all signs the murdered boy is bad news isn't enough, and informs one of the suspects of his rights before Brenda can question him. So you expect her either to be bad or the typical IA/FID who doesn't care about cops since she really seems to be all about protecting the rights of really bad people. 

Then comes the scene at the end when their about to go to the cops funerals. Brenda questions her. 

Captain Sharon Raydor: Officers Stern and Duran have been completely exonerated. 
Brenda Leigh Johnson: And because of the way Force Investigation Division operates, I'll be investigation' the murder of more good cops just like them. 
Captain Sharon Raydor: Excuse me? 
Brenda Leigh Johnson: When officers are shot and killed in the line of duty, they're investigated by me; when they shoot back, they're investigated by you. That means that they'll think twice before defending themselves. That hesitation will mean that more good cops will die, and I have to ask: Have you ever considered what your principles cost? 

Its a good question and Brenda really believes what she says. But then Raydor awesomely answers.

Captain Sharon Raydor: Seventy million dollars. That was the settlement in the Rampart case. One hundred - that's how many convictions were overturned due to renegade policing and lack of oversight in one division alone, not to mention the loss of trust the LAPD needs to remain effective. 

Brenda Leigh Johnson is surprised by that. She never considered that. "There has to be a better way."

Captain Sharon Raydor: Well... until then, you've got me. 

I've always wanted to see someone anyone from IA on any of the shows point that out. There are a lot of cases in TV and real life that get over turned due and so many police departments do get sued to shotty police work, bad and/or dirty cops. And yet that part never comes up. 

[ursula]

What is IA?

[biakbiak]

16 minutes ago, ursula said:

What is IA?

Internal Affairs.

[Dr.OO7]

7 minutes ago, ursula said:

What is IA?

Internal Affairs. Essentially, the police of the police. As discussed indicated by the posts here, most of us dislike the fact that they're only ever on-screen to unfairly investigate and persecute the innocence, heroic main character cops.

I apologize if I'm about to offend any recovering addicts, but I can't stand the Off The Wagon trope. It's such an irritating cliché that nearly everytime there's a character who's an addict, they'll have a storyline that results in them breaking their sobriety.

I was so relieved and impressed that Without A Trace averted it--despite one character being an alcoholic and another developing a painkiller addiction after being shot, neither of them ever slips back into drinking or drug use.

[Raja]

2 hours ago, ursula said:

What is IA?

With federal agents instead of IA, or IAB in NYPD based shows, the Office of Professional Responsibility does the Internal Affairs job.

[Spartan Girl]

5 hours ago, Jacqs said:

Marge Simpson being portrayed sympathetically is what i hate about Simpsons episodes. She forces her intellectually disabled husband and her children to adhere to her fringe evangelist sect of Christianity, is homophobic ("Boys kiss *girls*"), wants to turn Lisa (and Maggie) into soft and quiet girly girls that look good on the arm of a man of power

We are supposed to believe that this ramshackle reactionary old trout was a Jimmy Carter Democrat?

Pull the other one, it plays "Jingle Bells".

File her under the "perpetual victim" trope. It gets really old when a character is always portrayed as a victim of even the most petty transgressions, and for that reason is always excused from anything bad they've ever done. Because their life is always "so hard" so they're allowed to be awful.

South Park dedicated a whole season to dismantling this trope: "If you're always the victim, it just becomes an excuse to be awful."

[Blergh]

4 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

File her under the "perpetual victim" trope. It gets really old when a character is always portrayed as a victim of even the most petty transgressions, and for that reason is always excused from anything bad they've ever done. Because their life is always "so hard" so they're allowed to be awful.

South Park dedicated a whole season to dismantling this trope: "If you're always the victim, it just becomes an excuse to be awful."

Glad to see that that show had ONE positive thing going for it. One credit doesn't erase over a decade of decadent debits,though, IMO! 

[Spartan Girl]

Here's another trope I can't stand, one that Law and Order SVU was guilty of a thousand times over: a child that was kidnapped/stolen as an infant/toddler turns out is now being raised by an adoptive family that had no involvement in the actual kidnapping whatsoever, and the biological parent(s) immediately demand sole custody of the child.  No matter that the biological parents are strangers to this child and how unfair it would be to take them away from the family they know and love, and that it's perfectly possible to ease their way into the child's life and work WITH the adoptive family.  Nope, they're the "real parents" and they therefore have ownership of his child.

I really thought they were going to break this trope when Noah's grandmother resurfaced and after her attempt to sue for custody, both she and Olivia decided it would be better for everyone involved to work together.  But nope.  Turns out Noah's grandmother was a crazy bitch that was just playing Olivia and kidnapped Noah first chance she got.

For all the bleating about "the best interest of the child being the most important thing, there is literally nothing like a child custody case to expose just how immature, greedy, and all around selfish these so-called adults can be.