TV Tropes: Love 'em or Loathe 'em

[FurryFury]

19 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Maybe I'm just getting cantankerous in my old age, but with each passing year, I lose more patience with how characters carry a torch for someone years, decades, or even centuries (depending on the character) after they should have just let go. Don't think me too callous; loved ones come and go in our lives, and it's hard when we lose someone. That's easy to sympathize with.

My problem is when said characters knew their ONE TRUE LOVE for... I dunno, maybe a long weekend, and then just rule out the possibility of a new love from then on. I get that everyone copes with loss in their own way, but at a certain point, surely it's time to move on and take off the figurative widow's weeds and chastity belt?! Especially if you didn't even know that person for very long? This has been a recurring theme in movies for ages, and I know plenty of TV shows are guilty of it, as well.

 

Unfortunately, this one does happen IRL. When I was about 16, I had an online friend (male, 23 or 24). At some point, we met (I was 17) and he tried to confess to me (or at least I took ti that way). I wasn't a super mature 17 year old, so I just ran away, lol. I never met him or talked to him again, but even 18 years later, he occasionally tries to contact me via social media (I never reply and recently blocked him). I do feel really weird about that...

[DoctorAtomic]

Trope - someone makes up a fake bf/gf and have their friend be the person. They have to go to a party/dance, but don't bother to go over the basics, how they met, favorite date, etc. Hilarity ensues. 

I'm watching Taxi (weird there's no thread), and Elaine makes up a bf because of an arrogant friend. Alex plays the fake bf, but totally goes against the trope and spins all these sugary tales and totally makes the friend totally swoon. Absolutely hilarious because Elaine doesn't know what he's going to say either. 

[janie jones]

On 9/6/2021 at 7:52 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

Trope - someone makes up a fake bf/gf and have their friend be the person. They have to go to a party/dance, but don't bother to go over the basics, how they met, favorite date, etc. Hilarity ensues. 

One thing that bothers me about this is the people always overcomplicate it. They inevitably get asked how they met, or something. Just say how you actually met!

[Mabinogia]

41 minutes ago, janie jones said:

One thing that bothers me about this is the people always overcomplicate it. They inevitably get asked how they met, or something. Just say how you actually met!

Seriously! If you're pretend boyfriend person is an actual friend of yours, then you have a history together, you met somehow, you've done things together, etc. Just stick to that but pretend you're also having sex. Easy as pie. 

If you can't handle that, just go with the "overseas on business" or "in the military" excuse as to why you SO isn't able to be there. Or, heaven forbid, just admit to being single. 

[DoctorAtomic]

49 minutes ago, Mabinogia said:

Seriously! If you're pretend boyfriend person is an actual friend of yours, then you have a history together, you met somehow, you've done things together, etc. Just stick to that but pretend you're also having sex. Easy as pie. 

If you can't handle that, just go with the "overseas on business" or "in the military" excuse as to why you SO isn't able to be there. Or, heaven forbid, just admit to being single. 

That was what was so great about that episode I mentioned. Alex had these deep, detailed stories to those typical questions. It went totally the other way. 

[Popples]

I complained about this a Christmas or two ago when I saw some Lifetime film with this scenario. The main character was a woman from Louisiana who was presently living in New York and the fake boyfriend was her best friend's brother. So when they went back to her hometown and her family asked how they met, they both looked like a deer in headlights. Just tell them the truth!

The thing that really got me was that they had to make plans for the flight, sit at the airport for an hour or two before the flight, be on the same flight for at least three hours (I was so annoyed I Googled how long the flight would be), and yet at no point had a discussion to get their story straight. Ugh!

[Zella]

My great-grandfather was a man of questionable character and lengthy criminal background, to put it mildly. One of his frequently used sayings was "Boys, we need to get our lies together!" I often think of his advice and wonder why ostensibly intelligent fictional characters can't be more prepared about lying than a career moonshiner with a third-grade education. 

[Peace 47]

Most Hated:  Kid from the Future (returns to interact with parents who don’t yet know that the kid will exist).  I know you think you know which sci fi show I’m referring to, but no, not that one.  Or that one that you’re now thinking of.  Nope, not that one, either.  It is used so darn much!   DC shows have a real problem with this.

Most Loved:  Character A “dies” and Character B is first absolutely devastated.  But then they are so overjoyed when Character A returns that it sparks the realization of Feelings.  Bonus points for actual love confession.

[Anela]

4 hours ago, Peace 47 said:

Most Hated:  Kid from the Future (returns to interact with parents who don’t yet know that the kid will exist).  I know you think you know which sci fi show I’m referring to, but no, not that one.  Or that one that you’re now thinking of.  Nope, not that one, either.  It is used so darn much!   DC shows have a real problem with this.

Most Loved:  Character A “dies” and Character B is first absolutely devastated.  But then they are so overjoyed when Character A returns that it sparks the realization of Feelings.  Bonus points for actual love confession.

I just came here to mention daughters that are alive for years, before the father knows they even exist.  I’m glad the one I’m thinking of, didn’t go the Gilmore girls route, and the fiancé found out quickly.  

[janie jones]

14 hours ago, Peace 47 said:

Most Hated:  Kid from the Future (returns to interact with parents who don’t yet know that the kid will exist).  I know you think you know which sci fi show I’m referring to, but no, not that one.  Or that one that you’re now thinking of.  Nope, not that one, either.  It is used so darn much!   DC shows have a real problem with this.

If it makes you feel any better, I am thinking of no show because I don't think I've seen this plot.

[DoctorAtomic]

I don't either because all I can think of is Back to the Future. 

I don't get why the trope of the fake bf/gf not knowing/preparing how they met is funny. There are actual, funny tropes. 

It's funnier to me if they made up completely whackadoo stories - we met after when he threw up on me at the carnival after a pie eating contest.

-It was blueberry. Not my fave. I felt so bad I asked her out to the laudrymat. The rest is history. 

Our favorite song is Tiny Bubbles on Lawrence Welk. 

The actual plot is absurd because it literally never happens in real life. I mean, I had friends that just needed a +1 to go with them somewhere because they didn't want to go alone, but that's different. So you might as well just play up the farce of it. 

One of my good friends and I pretended to be cousins so dudes wouldn't think we were together when she wanted to hook up but wanted me to go out with her so she wasn't by herself. 

[ABay]

Re: daughter from the future. Could it be 

Spoiler

Lucifer? (read in Church Lady voice)

 

[Peace 47]

1 hour ago, ABay said:

Re: daughter from the future. Could it be 

  Hide contents

Lucifer? (read in Church Lady voice)

 

Yes, that show (currently airing) is what made me think of how much I dislike the “Kid from the Future” trope, but Charmed, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow all did it.   Star Trek:  The Next Generation did it in one episode, although I actually did like how it was handled there, probably because it didn’t drag out over a season or more.  Lois & Clark:  The New Adventures of Superman were going to do something in this vein before they got cancelled and set it up as their Season 4 cliffhanger (I was obsessed with that show as a kid and read all about their intended plans; one of those writers took the concept over to Charmed).  Doctor Who did it, too, although I’m not super familiar with the arc:  I just had a Who-obsessed friend with whom I would sometimes watch the show.

I actually love time travel stories (even if people can poke holes in the particular time travel logic, I will just eat it all up).  But I like the main characters to do the time traveling.  I guess what bugs me about Kid From the Future is that this brand new character is often dropped into the mix in a later season when a show might be starting to run out of steam, and this kid often acts unpleasant/ difficult/ antagonistic because of some future tragedy that they can’t explain or don’t fully understand (that is the parents’ fault) and it’s just not that much fun for me.  Probably a lot of people like this trope, though.

Edited September 15, 2021 by Peace 47

[DrSpaceman73]

The movie were the millers, Jennifer Aniston and Jason sudekis are pretending to be a couple when they just lived in the same building, they use their actual first meeting story. Turns into a nice scene.  

[Mabinogia]

13 minutes ago, Peace 47 said:

Doctor Who did it, too, although I’m not super familiar with the arc:  I just had a Who-obsessed friend with whom I would sometimes watch the show.

Doctor Who did it as a one off so it wasn't bad. Plus, it gave us the strangest, trippiest "meet cute" in RL. David Tennant, who played the Doctor at that time ended up marrying Georgia Moffett, who played his daughter, who in real life is the daughter of Peter Moffett (screen name Peter Davidson) who played the Doctor back in the 80s. So she married the guy who played her dad who also used to be played by her dad. lol

[DoctorAtomic]

Doctors Ten and Five did a scene together. It was nice.

You want bad time travel, I give you Farscape, Different Destinations. 

[Cherpumple]

8 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

I don't get why the trope of the fake bf/gf not knowing/preparing how they met is funny. There are actual, funny tropes. 

It's funnier to me if they made up completely whackadoo stories - we met after when he threw up on me at the carnival after a pie eating contest.

I think Friends actually did this fairly well. In a later episode, Ross and Rachel attend a fancy party and need to pretend that they're married, and they really lean into it by describing a ridiculously over-the-top proposal story and wedding. It was pretty funny.

On 9/14/2021 at 2:52 AM, Peace 47 said:

Most Hated:  Kid from the Future (returns to interact with parents who don’t yet know that the kid will exist).

I am a total sucker for this trope when the kid gets to interact with a parent that they didn't spend much time with while growing up, either due to the parent's early death or divorce/estrangement. Admittedly, this is a wish fulfillment trope for me, but when done right it can be an emotional gut punch. 

[Llywela]

6 hours ago, Peace 47 said:

Yes, that show (currently airing) is what made me think of how much I dislike the “Kid from the Future” trope, but Charmed, The Flash, Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow all did it.   Star Trek:  The Next Generation did it in one episode, although I actually did like how it was handled there, probably because it didn’t drag out over a season or more.  Lois & Clark:  The New Adventures of Superman were going to do something in this vein before they got cancelled and set it up as their Season 4 cliffhanger (I was obsessed with that show as a kid and read all about their intended plans; one of those writers took the concept over to Charmed).  Doctor Who did it, too, although I’m not super familiar with the arc:  I just had a Who-obsessed friend with whom I would sometimes watch the show.

 

6 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Doctor Who did it as a one off so it wasn't bad. Plus, it gave us the strangest, trippiest "meet cute" in RL. David Tennant, who played the Doctor at that time ended up marrying Georgia Moffett, who played his daughter, who in real life is the daughter of Peter Moffett (screen name Peter Davidson) who played the Doctor back in the 80s. So she married the guy who played her dad who also used to be played by her dad. lol

I don't think Jenny was the Kid from the Future OP was thinking of in Doctor Who, since she didn't come from the future, the Doctor literally saw her being created right before his eyes. I imagine Peace47 was talking about River Song turning out to be Rory and Amy's stolen baby, which they didn't learn until they'd interacted with her in over a season's worth of recurring appearances, having met her before they were even married, never mind thinking about having kids.

[Luckylyn]

7 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Doctors Ten and Five did a scene together. It was nice.

You want bad time travel, I give you Farscape, Different Destinations. 

Is that the Farscape episode where they go back in time to a wonderful historical moment and they accidentally ruin it because that episode made me so sad.  Or is that the one where John travels to different timelines.

[Trini]

12 hours ago, Peace 47 said:

 I guess what bugs me about Kid From the Future is that this brand new character is often dropped into the mix in a later season when a show might be starting to run out of steam, and this kid often acts unpleasant/ difficult/ antagonistic because of some future tragedy that they can’t explain or don’t fully understand (that is the parents’ fault) and it’s just not that much fun for me.  Probably a lot of people like this trope, though.

I'm okay with this trope, but yeah, this part is what writers need to change up.

[BlackberryJam]

33 minutes ago, Trini said:

I'm okay with this trope, but yeah, this part is what writers need to change up.

I hate the trope of a child from the future, or any child who shows up at all, who has a perfectly wonderful parent/adoptive family/relative who raised them and that child, says, "You RUINED my life, absent parent, just by being absent, and I will hate you forever!"

It's so disrespectful to the person who did raise that child. It says to that person, "You weren't good enough. Absent parent, who might have been shit at parenting, would have been better than you just by being present."

The realistic, non-bratty, way to handle it is, "It was rough not having absent parent in my life, but I'm so grateful that other custodian was there for me, filling the holes you left. I'm angry at you for absenting yourself from my life, and I'm angry at you for leaving custodian to do it all alone."

 

[Blergh]

43 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

I hate the trope of a child from the future, or any child who shows up at all, who has a perfectly wonderful parent/adoptive family/relative who raised them and that child, says, "You RUINED my life, absent parent, just by being absent, and I will hate you forever!"

It's so disrespectful to the person who did raise that child. It says to that person, "You weren't good enough. Absent parent, who might have been shit at parenting, would have been better than you just by being present."

The realistic, non-bratty, way to handle it is, "It was rough not having absent parent in my life, but I'm so grateful that other custodian was there for me, filling the holes you left. I'm angry at you for absenting yourself from my life, and I'm angry at you for leaving custodian to do it all alone."

 

Or how about (as many adoptive children seeking their bio parents have done) them saying that they had a wonderful childhood with fantastic parents who raised them and nothing can take that away. However, they are still curious about what became of their bio parents and what motivation  (positive or otherwise) the bio parents had in having others raise the offspring from infancy. 

[Mabinogia]

8 hours ago, Llywela said:

I imagine Peace47 was talking about River Song turning out to be Rory and Amy's stolen baby, which they didn't learn until they'd interacted with her in over a season's worth of recurring appearances, having met her before they were even married, never mind thinking about having kids.

Oh, right. I have to admit, I purposefully forgot about that absurd storyline. 

[ABay]

Lucky you.

 

[DoctorAtomic]

11 hours ago, Luckylyn said:

Is that the Farscape episode where they go back in time to a wonderful historical moment and they accidentally ruin it because that episode made me so sad.  Or is that the one where John travels to different timelines.

It's the first. It's when they go back in time and make such a mess that when they return, literally everyone was slaughtered. 

 

[Luckylyn]

1 minute ago, DoctorAtomic said:

It's the first. It's when they go back in time and make such a mess that when they return, literally everyone was slaughtered. 

 

That’s a rough episode.  Very dark.

[Anduin]

1 minute ago, DoctorAtomic said:

It's the first. It's when they go back in time and make such a mess that when they return, literally everyone was slaughtered. 

 

I really liked that episode. About half way through, I felt it needed a sad ending. When it got one, I appreciated it.

[DoctorAtomic]

Farscape was good at taking the usual scifi tropes and putting them through a meat grinder. 

[GreekGeek]

On 9/15/2021 at 11:17 AM, Blergh said:

Or how about (as many adoptive children seeking their bio parents have done) them saying that they had a wonderful childhood with fantastic parents who raised them and nothing can take that away. However, they are still curious about what became of their bio parents and what motivation  (positive or otherwise) the bio parents had in having others raise the offspring from infancy. 

This Is Us did a pretty good job conveying just this via Randall's search for his bio father and bio mother. It didn't shy away from the challenges of being a Black child raised by white parents, but whenever Randall imagined his "ghost family" (what might have happened if his bio parents had raised him), they were barely different in character from his adoptive parents.

[Fool to cry]

 

 

[Bastet]

That guy better prepare to be single again, because once they get to her quaint little hometown, she's going to fall head over heels for the guy who fells her family's Christmas tree, realize her big city job and boyfriend are just evil distractions from what's important in life, move back "home", marry the lumberjack, and open up a stationery store (because folks still write letters there).

[DoctorAtomic]

Edgy with the stationary store. I would go candle shop. 

[Fable]

19 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Edgy with the stationary store. I would go candle shop. 

Or almost certainly a bakery and/or confectionary shop.  

[DoctorAtomic]

Cat cafe. 

[juno]

The ex-wife that is horrible and serves as one of the main protagonists for show.

Trope that drives me crazy and it is still played out over and over. Mostly done on sitcoms played for laughs but they make the character completely unwatchable. See Two and a Half Men.

[Blergh]

3 hours ago, juno said:

The ex-wife that is horrible and serves as one of the main protagonists for show.

Trope that drives me crazy and it is still played out over and over. Mostly done on sitcoms played for laughs but they make the character completely unwatchable. See Two and a Half Men.

Agree but at least for the first year of that show's existence, there WAS potential for growth and likability in the main characters. However,  soon after that not just the ex-wife but all the characters (save for the late Conchatta Ferrell's Roberta) became completely unlikable and the show itself became totally unwatchable (despite all of poor Miss Ferrell's efforts onscreen and behind the scenes). 

[juno]

11 minutes ago, Blergh said:

Agree but at least for the first year of that show's existence, there WAS potential for growth and likability in the main characters. However,  soon after that not just the ex-wife but all the characters (save for the late Conchatta Ferrell's Roberta) became completely unlikable and the show itself became totally unwatchable (despite all of poor Miss Ferrell's efforts onscreen and behind the scenes). 

You are so right.

[Mabinogia]

21 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Cat cafe. 

Only if City Boyfriend/fiancé is allergic to cats thus proving he was never the right man to begin with. 

Local Townie, OTOH, is the son of the town vet and loves cats. He is ashamed, at first, to admit he takes in any stray. He's worried she'll think him a "crazy cat guy" but when he rescues on of her cat cafe cats, true love ensues. 

[ABay]

I would actually watch that.

[DoctorAtomic]

I want at least some minor credit in the movie for sparking the idea in the first place. 

Actually, no. Make it two women and double down on the holiday pride. Keep the allergic bf though. 

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

Local Townie, OTOH, is the son of the town vet and loves cats. He is ashamed, at first, to admit he takes in any stray. He's worried she'll think him a "crazy cat guy" but when he rescues on of her cat cafe cats, true love ensues. 

 

[juno]

Please all shows in the universe stop using the line "please let me explain". STOP IT.

Dude in the TV Comedy just explain already. Don't ask first.

[Spartan Girl]

I hate the parent characters that throw their children out of the house for something or other, then have the nerve to play the worried victim after, acting like their children shouldn’t have left after throwing them out, dismissing their own behaviors as “fine I’m not perfect but you put me through hell.”

[DearEvette]

On 12/28/2021 at 11:14 PM, juno said:

Please all shows in the universe stop using the line "please let me explain". STOP IT.

I can't help it but that made me immediately think of this scene from Community and even if all 'Let me explain' lines get abolished forever, then this one needs to remain.

 

[Spartan Girl]

I’m beyond fed up with the Woman Scorned Trope. It really is just a thinly veiled excuse to throw a female character under the bus by making her a jealous control freak at best or a EEEVUL supervillain at worst. All the while absolving the man in question of all his follies: “Yeah, he dumped her and screwed her over, but she’s TOTALLY overreacting, so maybe he was right and she totally deserved it!”

Was it really unreasonable for Emily to demand that Ross sever all ties with Rachel and move out of the apartment after he said Rachel’s name in their wedding vows? Didn’t Anya have a right to be furious that Xander proposed to her in an impulsive pre-apocalyptic romantic gesture only to dump her at the altar because he was too chicken to come clean about his doubts sooner? Didn’t Myra deserve better than to be treated as Steve Urkel’s Disposable Love Interest, tossed aside the second he had a real shot with Laura? 

But the writers can’t be bothered by such nuances, because that would mean calling out the guy on all of his crap. Can’t have the Romantic Hero be portrayed as anything less than perfect, can we? So instead of having allowing the women express their anger in a healthy way, let alone get support from any of the supporting characters, they immediately have her go off the deep end so the audience can feel good about trashing her while cheering on their precious Endgame Couple. 

Edited January 15, 2022 by Spartan Girl

[Cloud9Shopper]

I actually just discovered the name of one of my favorites through fanfic! I was on the fanfiction Reddit talking about the main character in my first fic, who was known in canon for being a bit of a hardass and firm on the job but then we learn something very late in the series about her that was never mentioned before, and I based my fic off that thing and fleshed out my vision of her life. Found out just the other day that the name of it is Hidden Depths. Also, Defrosting the Ice Queen applied since I made a point of reminding the readers that she looks tough but underneath she has a lot of insecurities.

My least favorite from medical shows is unethical TV doctors. Doctors steal supplies, set patients on fire (on accident but still!), sleep with patients’ mothers or other docs who are below them on the pecking order, and so on, and never see any consequences. I get that these shows need drama but after a while it’s like…isn’t anyone going to get their comeuppance? 

[JustHereForFood]

20 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

My least favorite from medical shows is unethical TV doctors. Doctors steal supplies, set patients on fire (on accident but still!), sleep with patients’ mothers or other docs who are below them on the pecking order, and so on, and never see any consequences. I get that these shows need drama but after a while it’s like…isn’t anyone going to get their comeuppance? 

Regarding the doctor/patient relationships, I hate that too, but thankfully I don't watch medical shows. But what gets my blood boiling is teacher/student relationships, or mentor/student. It doesn't matter if the student in question is an adult, the power level is completely imbalanced and it violates all of the trust that the teacher position should provide. There's plenty of other opportunities for the "forbidden love" angle, if that is what the writers really believe that we need more of.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

The trope that sets my teeth on edge is when a person with severe mental illness takes medicine and they are suddenly 100% perfect, as if they never had a mental illness.  At the same time, if they go off their meds, they become violent and a threat to everyone around them.  The first part sets hugely unrealistic expectations.  The second parts demonizes persons with mental illness which has real life implications. 

[Fool to cry]

The passing of Bob Saget and thinking about Full House reminded me there were so many kids orphaned by (offscreen) car crashes on shows when I was young that every time my parents went out at night I feared they were going to be killed by a drunk driver! 

[Cloud9Shopper]

I was talking about this one with someone on Discord last night and I don’t know which name will apply, but basically about how it seems like every female leading character has to have a baby. Even if they were never the type of person who seems like they’d want kids, it seems impossible to write a woman character who wants to be childfree and is happy with her life. Nope, gotta have that baby or the relationship doesn’t count or the woman is irrelevant or something.

I get it when the actress is pregnant offscreen and it has to be written in but in the instance my friend and I were talking about, the actress is actually childfree IRL and the pregnancy storyline was created for…reasons? It wasn’t like they had to write in a real pregnancy. Even though the character herself never expressed a desire for a child and got pregnant completely on accident. It just made no sense. 

[Bastet]

Oh yeah, we may get a tertiary character who's happily child-free, or an antagonist character who of course doesn't have kids because she's an awful person.  But a main character we root for -- have her know she doesn't want kids, happily live her life without one, and not change her mind?  We can't have that; she'd be "unlikable".

There was Amy on Major Crimes, who didn't waver and told her boyfriend (after he brought it up yet again), "If the baby thing is that important to you, find somebody else.  Otherwise, stop talking about it."  And they were still together when the show ended, with no more baby talk, so that was nice.

Another trope is mothers are never done having kids.  Clair Huxtable had FIVE and The Cosby Show still did an episode where she got baby fever (yet thankfully snapped out of it). 

(And I don't accept an actor's pregnancy as an excuse for writing an illogical pregnancy; pregnancies can't always be timed around hiatus, and audiences are plenty savvy enough to just nod at the careful blocking and understand the character is not pregnant, so an actor being visibly pregnant during shooting does not force anyone to write a storyline they never would have thought of writing if not for the actor's pregnancy.)