TV Tropes: Love 'em or Loathe 'em

[lucindabelle]

That's so true, nobody ever gets drunk one in advised time or goes gambling once before it's an addiction. Nobody ever does cocaine in college and graduates and forgets all about it.

In real life way cool people deal with medical conditions. Just not on tv. Sometimes said conditions even prevent them from wearing high heels as they interview witnesses or dissect corpses.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I'm going to use that as a springboard for my complaint.

 

I hate the trope where hardly anyone ever dates casually on TV. I'm convinced that it's the bastard cousin of the love triangle, that all relationships have to turn into Twu Wuv or else they're doomed. No one really dates around or, God forbid, finds a comfortable arrangement with someone they like a whole lot and enjoy spending time with.

[scarynikki12]

I think it's because the view of casual dating has changed so dramatically.  In our current climate the view is often that casual dating almost guarantees casual sex and there's a lot of judgment surrounding that, for women in particular.  The only recent show that comes to mind where there was casual dating is Sex and the City and there was still plenty of judgment to go around for the characters, often right from each other and all four characters ended the series in serious relationships even though Carrie and Samantha were always better off single.  I think the assumption would be that any character who goes on many dates with many different people is sleeping around and, if a woman, would be branded a slut by many. 

 

Shipping wars also play into this as every show seems to have them and there are plenty of shows where viewers ship characters who will NEVER get together for various reasons (sexual orientation, experiences, existing relationships, being related to one another, etc).  Look at how often new characters get introduced and end up with one of those silly mashup names due to saying hello or something with an established character.  Without shipping wars, and the expectation that viewers will be taking sides to fight over which pairing will be endgame, we might see more casual dating but it's hard to say.

[ganesh]

one of those silly mashup names

 

I can't stand this. 

[truthaboutluv]

I think there was a moderator at TWOP for one of the reality shows who threatened to ban people if they started mashing names. So you guys are clearly not alone on that one.

[Shannon L.]

This isn't necessarily a trope because it's not a story line, but I hate it when writers take a ditzy or angry, but still funny and loveable character and turn him/her into someone who is either dumber than a stump (ditzy) or a raging bitch/jerk (angry).  Ex. Brittany and Sue from Glee! 

[AntiBeeSpray]

Shipping wars also play into this as every show seems to have them and there are plenty of shows where viewers ship characters who will NEVER get together for various reasons (sexual orientation, experiences, existing relationships, being related to one another, etc).  Look at how often new characters get introduced and end up with one of those silly mashup names due to saying hello or something with an established character.  Without shipping wars, and the expectation that viewers will be taking sides to fight over which pairing will be endgame, we might see more casual dating but it's hard to say.

Mashup names... I hate those too. Not only do they sound rather lame, you end up not knowing what in the heck the people are trying to say XD.

[ganesh]

Besides, who picks them? Because the mashup can be either of two choices. Jane and Dick could be Jick, or it could be Dane. It's like who the hell are you to start Naming People?

 

I don't know if this is a trope, but I also hate the word adorkable. 

 

I also hate when characters recite bible verses at each other. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Besides, who picks them? Because the mashup can be either of two choices. Jane and Dick could be Jick, or it could be Dane. It's like who the hell are you to start Naming People?

Several years ago on General Hospital, a couple of the characters were dancing around each other, seemingly toying with the idea of being together. It never actually happened, but people who liked the pairing called them Liason, for Liz and Jason. People who did not like the pairing called them Jiz.

[BoogieBurns]

Parks and Rec made a joke out of this "name mashup" thing by having Tom ask Ann what their couple name would be. They landed on Haverkins (Tom Haverford + Ann Perkins) which is a ridiculously long way to say Tom and Ann. 

 

The Office tried to make "PB&J" happen as the couple name for Pam Beesly and Jim. The fans went with "Jam". Both are great on bread. 

[Raja]

Come to thnk about it has there been even one disabled detective since Ironsides? A woman, ever? Even someone with diabetes? Or rheumatoid arthritis?

Before Ironside there was Marshal Micah Torrance of The Rifleman. He was wounded in his strong arm so switched to his off hand and used a shotgun as his primary weapon. Daredevil will be on Netflix soon. a superhero sure but he does some detecting because he never had a team in the comic books

[Shannon L.]

I'm tired of fat people being the butt of jokes or disdain.  I love The Big Bang Theory, and will admit that sometimes I get a laugh out of Howard's mother (although most of the time, it's in regards to how she treats Howard and not what they say about her weight), but it's probably my least favorite part of the show.

[lucindabelle]

Again if it was before Ironsisde that's a long, long time ago. Any women OR men with a disabilit y other than reading glasses? Anybody deaf? In wheelchair? Asthma? Ra?

[galax-arena]

Again if it was before Ironsisde that's a long, long time ago. Any women OR men with a disabilit y other than reading glasses? Anybody deaf? In wheelchair? Asthma? Ra?

Monk ran from 2002 to 2009. The titular Adrian Monk suffered from OCD. Never watched the show so I don't know how it played out. 

Edited September 22, 2014 by galax-arena

[MaryMitch]

Monk ran from 2002 to 2009. The titular Adrian Monk suffered from OCD. Never watched the show so I don't know how it played out.

His OCD was a major part of the show. In one episode, his psychiatrist found some medication for him, but it mellowed him out so much he couldn't function as an adult - it worked too well.  As he often said, "it's a blessing... and a curse."

[ChromaKelly]

Again if it was before Ironsisde that's a long, long time ago. Any women OR men with a disabilit y other than reading glasses? Anybody deaf? In wheelchair? Asthma? Ra?

It would be nice to see more disabilities that people just happen to have. Not debilitating, but showing them dealing with it going about life normally.

Re: Glasses. It kind of bugs me how TV people take their glasses on and off for emphasis. Besides reading glasses, most people leave them on all day.

[Portia]

It would be nice to see more disabilities that people just happen to have. Not debilitating, but showing them dealing with it going about life normally.

Would Walter Junior's cerebral palsy on Breaking Bad qualify? He obviously had some difficulty with walking and speaking, but it was just something he was shown dealing with. And as I recall, more often than not, his CP wasn't really an issue; it was just part of who he was. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Again if it was before Ironsisde that's a long, long time ago. Any women OR men with a disabilit y other than reading glasses? Anybody deaf? In wheelchair? Asthma? Ra?

There was actually a (crappy) remake of Ironside in 2013, with Blair Underwood as Robert Ironside. It only lasted a handful of episodes, but he was still in a wheelchair. Does that count?

 

If not, Vincent D'Onofrio's Robert Goren seemed to have at least a mild form of Asperger's. I once posited that he was OCD, but someone disabused me of that notion.

[islandgal140]

I dislike when they use poor, homeless or disable people to teach a main character a lesson. Probably see this more in older show reruns but it bugs none the less. For instance, during Christmas or Thanksgiving episode they might feature a homeless person or family. Sometimes I know it might be meant to enlighten people but sometimes I think it views as implying that at least your life doesn't suck like theirs. I maybe dating myself but I remember definitely feeling that way about a few episodes of Different Strokes. They had 2 or more episodes which featured a girl with a birth defect that was wheelchair bound. I really felt like she was meant to embarrass Arnold about an issue. At the time it just seemed like the show was saying, buck up, at least your life doesn't suck like hers. 

 

When 30 minute comedy sitcoms have 'very special' episodes dealing with very serious issues.  I know it can't all be laugh and prat falls but yikes are some of them bad. I think back on one of my favorite shows The Golden Girls and all my least favorite episodes fit this category: Rose's AIDS scare, Sophie being asked to help a friend commit suicide, the jacket with the lottery ticket which ends up at a homeless shelter, teen pregnancy, etc.

 

Christmas episodes based on A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life.

 

Hookers with a heart of gold. 

 

The Rashomon trope which involves various characters providing alternative, self-serving and contradictory versions of the same incident. Great movie but often missed in the sitcom format. I've only seen it done and done well on an episode of Mama's Family and All in the Family.

[islandgal140]

Would Walter Junior's cerebral palsy on Breaking Bad qualify? He obviously had some difficulty with walking and speaking, but it was just something he was shown dealing with. And as I recall, more often than not, his CP wasn't really an issue; it was just part of who he was. 

 

It would be nice to see more disabilities that people just happen to have. Not debilitating, but showing them dealing with it going about life normally.

Re: Glasses. It kind of bugs me how TV people take their glasses on and off for emphasis. Besides reading glasses, most people leave them on all day.

 

Yes Walter Jr is a good example. I would also add that Ryan Murphy also does a good job of utilizing Jan Brewer, an actress who has down syndrome, on his American Horror Story series.

[ganesh]

At the time it just seemed like the show was saying, buck up, at least your life doesn't suck like hers.

 

It's kind of unfair on several levels. Someone could have a "nice life" but be suffering from a crippling mental disability. 

[lucindabelle]

which is my point about even asthma or flat feet. I'm just so sick of "beautiful people" in tough jobs who are 100% perfect in every health area too. I know no one like this in real life. Multiple bosses in diff fields with diabetes. etc.

[Snowprince]

1972 was a looooong time ago.

It was, but it was also 5 years after Ironside premiered. Was just trying to answer your question.....sorry.

Edited September 22, 2014 by Snowprince

[Gudzilla]

 

I also hate when characters recite bible verses at each other.

And the other person always knows exactly which verse is being quoted. This always makes me feel like the only person on earth who can't quote the bible from memory.

 

 

I dislike when they use poor, homeless or disable people to teach a main character a lesson.

I only liked it on Arrested Development.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

which is my point about even asthma or flat feet. I'm just so sick of "beautiful people" in tough jobs who are 100% perfect in every health area too. I know no one like this in real life. Multiple bosses in diff fields with diabetes. etc.

The thing is, realistically speaking, I feel certain there are health requirements for law enforcement officers. I could swear it used to be a thing that you couldn't be a cop if you had flat feet, but that might be something TV made up. Something like asthma or diabetes, which can be pretty debilitating if the condition is serious enough, would probably disqualify someone from actively chasing down suspects and such. Maybe for someone with a desk job, it would be less of an issue, but from what little I understand about police work, pursuit of suspects and the apprehension thereof requires being in good physical shape.

[lucindabelle]

Then Ironsides was a fiction? I just don't buy it. Flag feet could get you out of the army but I think you can be a fireman or policeman with low arches.

But forget police. What about medical examiners? Why are they always sporting the high heels?

Oh effort it ANy profession. I've never seen anyone on tv who happens to have asthma or diabetes or rheumatoid arthritis or any of the myriad things functioning people have in real life.

Instead, multiple alcoholics, occasional aspergers. I'm. Just sick of it. Nobody on tv has anything wrong with them unless it's a big old psychological issue like house. Nobody just happens to have a condition. I can't imagine what it feels like to watch tv if you have a serious vision or hearing issue because again, no hero or heroine.

[VanillaBear85]

The Rashomon trope which involves various characters providing alternative, self-serving and contradictory versions of the same incident.

I enjoyed the Leverage episode that dealt with this.

[Bastet]

The Rashomon trope which involves various characters providing alternative, self-serving and contradictory versions of the same incident.

 

Given my viewing habits, there are likely many such episodes I haven't seen.  But the ones I have, I almost always enjoy.  It's one of those rare "Oh, here we go again ... Hey, cool, here we go again!" tropes.

[galax-arena]

I can't imagine what it feels like to watch tv if you have a serious vision or hearing issue because again, no hero or heroine.

Switched at Birth has several prominent characters - including one of the two lead girls - who are deaf. There are entire scenes that go by without any (oral) speech  whatsoever. Of course, this means that I've had to revamp the usual way I watch shows, which is by having the TV on in the background while I do other things (like post here). Can't do that with Switched or else I'll miss entire conversations that take place in ASL lol. I wonder if that could be a drawback to seeing more shows about the Deaf community because I feel like we live in a  society that's becoming increasingly fragmented in terms of our attention span; I once heard someone explaining Vine as being for kids who didn't have the wherewithal to sit through a traditional 23-minute sitcom. 

 

Plus, you know, subtitles, ew! 

 

ETA: Just wanted to add that I liked that Switched hired actors who were actually deaf for the roles. Ryan Murphy would probably have hired a hearing actor and then inserted some fantasy sequence where the deaf character could hear. 

 

ETA 2: Okay, maybe I’m being unfair to Ryan Murphy. The whole thing with Artie on Glee annoyed me, but he’s also written several roles for actors with Down Syndrome.

Edited September 23, 2014 by galax-arena

[ganesh]

I enjoyed the Leverage episode that dealt with this.

 

Sci fi shows always do this and the body switching episodes. Each can only be done once per show. If you do it correctly, it's fantastic, even though it's a trope. You really really need a tightly focused story and your actors really really need to know the characters. 

 

You don't necessarily have to do something new with it, but it's all or nothing. If it's not fantastic, then it totally sucks. 

 

Farscape takes the prize for both. 

 

Honorable mention trope is the groundhog day [month] time loop and SG1 takes this one. What was smart, was that the only person who could really figure out how to break the loop, Carter, was outside it. 

[Shannon L.]

 

It would be nice to see more disabilities that people just happen to have. Not debilitating, but showing them dealing with it going about life normally.

Don't forget the Michael J. Fox Show.  Yes, it was about his struggle with Parkinson's, but he was showing how one can still lead a fairly normal life while living with it (I say this as someone who only watched a few episodes of the show because I didn't like it, but, it looked like that's what he was going for).

[Raja]

Then Ironsides was a fiction? I just don't buy it. Flag feet could get you out of the army but I think you can be a fireman or policeman with low arches.

But forget police. What about medical examiners? Why are they always sporting the high heels?

.

The original Ironside was medically retired but made a commissioner with police staff. In the Blair Underwood version he remained an active detective. The Law and Order series often had disabled cops on desk duties in the background

[dalek]

The original Ironside was medically retired but made a commissioner with police staff. In the Blair Underwood version he remained an active detective. The Law and Order series often had disabled cops on desk duties in the background

 

 

and on Law & Order, that could be realistic.  While severely injured cops can retire on disability, the NYPD has discretion to find desk jobs (or even sinecure jobs) for officers who have been severely injured in the line of duty and would not otherwise be allowed to continue to serve as police officers, for example, Det. Stephen MacDonald, who was left a quadriplegic after being shot 3 times in the line of duty.  

[meep.meep]

The Big Bang Theory guys all have some medical disability - Leonard is lactose intolerant, Howard has severe allergies, Raj has social anxiety disorder, and Sheldon is an asshole.

 

ABay

 

Last night's Colbert Report segment with John Dean reminded me how much I hate, with the heat of a thousand burning nuns, flames on the side of my face, totally hate, use of the present tense when describing what happened in the past. It's the PAST, it's history, it already happened. English has a whole tense just for that. Use it!

I know this is from the way back machine, but this is my all time pet peeve.  I hate it.  I don't care if it's technically Historic Tense - that's just a whitewashing excuse to be incorrect.  Everyone should know better!

[Cobalt Stargazer]

The Big Bang Theory guys all have some medical disability - Leonard is lactose intolerant, Howard has severe allergies, Raj has social anxiety disorder, and Sheldon is an asshole.

Heh, crippling assholism. There's a disease they should come up with a miracle pill for.

[ABay]

That reminds me Julia Duffy's character on Designing Women announcing that she suffered from OPD: Obnoxious Personality Disorder.

Which is endemic on TV.

Edited September 24, 2014 by ABay

[blueray]

Sci fi shows always do this and the body switching episodes. Each can only be done once per show. If you do it correctly, it's fantastic, even though it's a trope. You really really need a tightly focused story and your actors really really need to know the characters. 

 

You don't necessarily have to do something new with it, but it's all or nothing. If it's not fantastic, then it totally sucks. 

 

Farscape takes the prize for both. 

 

Honorable mention trope is the groundhog day [month] time loop and SG1 takes this one. What was smart, was that the only person who could really figure out how to break the loop, Carter, was outside it. 

I do think Farscape did a great job with their "switch" body episode. They went into things I always wondered about like the other person having to go to the bathroom lol.

 

Sg-1's time loop episode was funny (which not all of them are). And the fact that i was Teal'c and Jack in the know made it more awesome. This type of episode I generally love regardless of the show.

 

Also a lot of sci-fi shows have episodes where the whole episode (minus very beginning and end) didn't happen. The best example of this done is sgu's "Time". However this storyline could go wrong as well.

[ChromaKelly]

Would Walter Junior's cerebral palsy on Breaking Bad qualify? He obviously had some difficulty with walking and speaking, but it was just something he was shown dealing with. And as I recall, more often than not, his CP wasn't really an issue; it was just part of who he was. 

Yes, that's a great example. I would like to see more like that.

[BatmanBeatles]

 

Hookers with a heart of gold.

Fortunately, Breaking Bad had none of that. It showed exactly what kind of a life a hooker has.

[Rick Kitchen]

Speaking of time lines, I hate it when episodes start with the end of the story and then the next scene is x hours/days earlier. Then the rest of the episode leads up to the situation in the opening scene. If you have a good story for your episode you can tell it in chronological order.

 

"Revenge" does this for the entire season.  Start the first episode of each season with a scene, then flash back to "six months earlier", then run the whole first half of the season leading up to the first scene of the first episode.

This isn't necessarily a trope because it's not a story line, but I hate it when writers take a ditzy or angry, but still funny and loveable character and turn him/her into someone who is either dumber than a stump (ditzy) or a raging bitch/jerk (angry).  Ex. Brittany and Sue from Glee!

 

When was Sue ever loveable?

[paulvdb]

It would be nice to see more disabilities that people just happen to have. Not debilitating, but showing them dealing with it going about life normally.

There was the short-lived Growing Up Fisher on NBC about a blind man and his family.

[Shannon L.]

 

This isn't necessarily a trope because it's not a story line, but I hate it when writers take a ditzy or angry, but still funny and loveable character and turn him/her into someone who is either dumber than a stump (ditzy) or a raging bitch/jerk (angry).  Ex. Brittany and Sue from Glee!

 

When was Sue ever loveable?

 

Yeah, I should've used or loveable, not and loveable.  Sue had her moments--I thought Jane was brilliant in scenes with her sister, or the quiet moments when she showed that she really cared about the kids (like when she watched them sing To Sir With Love, or when she admitted "You're a good teacher, Will", or when she voted for them as her first place choice at the competition). 

[Raja]

The thing is, realistically speaking, I feel certain there are health requirements for law enforcement officers. I could swear it used to be a thing that you couldn't be a cop if you had flat feet, but that might be something TV made up. Something like asthma or diabetes, which can be pretty debilitating if the condition is serious enough, would probably disqualify someone from actively chasing down suspects and such. Maybe for someone with a desk job, it would be less of an issue, but from what little I understand about police work, pursuit of suspects and the apprehension thereof requires being in good physical shape.

In Foyle's War Detective Sergeant Milner returned from Dunkirk or Norway having lost a leg in combat. The rest of the police were older men who were not serving in the armed forces.

edit it had have been Norway were he was wounded there was a Dunkirk episode

Edited September 24, 2014 by Raja

[ABay]

I'm officially tired of "The Deep Web".

[lucindabelle]

People who sleep together, have relationships, end them and go on being good friends, in big group, like HIMYM or. Coupling . Liked both shows until the stupid finale of HIMYM but no bearing on anything I've ever seen.

Edited September 25, 2014 by lucindabelle

[Aquarius]

The Big Bang Theory guys all have some medical disability - Leonard is lactose intolerant, Howard has severe allergies, Raj has social anxiety disorder, and Sheldon is an asshole.

 

I'm not sure this counts.  Nerds ALWAYS have some sort of medical disability.

[VillaVillekulla]

Yeah, that's kind of what we (or at least I) meant, that if you're a nerd you MUST have some kind of minor medical disability, but if you're "cool" you never do. That's why I referenced Steve Rogers aka Captain America -- when he went from featherweight nerd to musclebound hero, he also lost his anemia, asthma, heart problems, etc etc.

[magicdog]

I hate the trope in which a person tries to better themselves in some fashion and are accused to "trying to be something they're not".

 

I came across an episode of Fantasy Island in which a woman has a "fantasy" of being  a "lady".  Her daughter is marrying a rich guy from a richer family and the wedding was being held at the island.  The woman was a nice earthy type who wanted to learn a little more of the social graces so she wouldn't appear to be an idiot at a party filled with more sophisticated folk.  The rich boy's aunt exposes the woman's past in front of all the party guests (she was in roller derby and put her daughter through [finishing] school after losing her husband and having no other way to make a living).  Future father in law is cool with the woman not being "a lady" and future son is law is cool too, so as all's well that ends well, I hear the, "I was wrong for trying to be something I'm not". 

 

Sorry, I saw it as a woman just trying to learn how to act with a crowd she doesn't spend much time with and not seem embarrassing to her daughter (although said daughter never acted embarrassed).  No different than trying to learn which fork to use at a fancy dinner party.  I've seen this trope in so many films and TV shows - except the character is going to college or looking to make new friends/contacts/relationships. The person's old group always accuses them of trying to be "better than they are".  I call it self improvement!

[lucindabelle]

Ugh I hate that too. As if it's either or. You can learn certain manners etc without being a big old fraud with no time for your old crowd.

[Milburn Stone]

Sorry, I saw it as a woman just trying to learn how to act with a crowd she doesn't spend much time with and not seem embarrassing to her daughter (although said daughter never acted embarrassed).  No different than trying to learn which fork to use at a fancy dinner party.  I've seen this trope in so many films and TV shows - except the character is going to college or looking to make new friends/contacts/relationships. The person's old group always accuses them of trying to be "better than they are".  I call it self improvement!

 

If you wanted to find a cynical motive to explain why television writers so often use this trope, you could conjecture that television writers, most of whom are well-educated and firmly ensconced in the elite (whether they were born into it or crawled their way into it), want to make sure they continue to enjoy their privileged share of resources by convincing other folks that they should stay down where they are.

Edited September 27, 2014 by Milburn Stone