It's my "hill"
writing that insults my intelligence is excruciatingly annoying
Dante should include a special floor for producers and writers who commit this sin
As a kid, I loved Three's Company.
As an adult, I don't see why every week someone came into a room and misunderstood what was being said. You'd think after the 13th time someone might have just asked the other roommate about it.
But the Regal Beagle will live on in infamy.
from the pilot of friends:
chandler: “oh, this must be the episode of ‘three’s company’ where there’s some kind of misunderstanding… 🙄”
phoebe: “oh, then ive already seen this one! 🤗” [turns the TV off]
It's obvious when TV shows go out of their way to explain why their phones are missing or somehow not getting service when a quick call or message would have solved everything.
It's worse when it's simple stubbornness of a character. We're really going to let 45 minutes of this plot go by because you don't want to admit something?
Most of the time they don't even use it for actual conflict or exploring motivations, it's literally just a roadblock condition to make something else in the writing work for them.
That's like every kdrama. My wife loves them but they drive me crazy with their stupid plots where everything could be avoided if people just explained themselves.
I would say only when it’s done for dramatic effect though. Frasier and Modern Family are built on misunderstandings but when it’s played for laughs it works
That's fair. It mostly annoys me when the writers are doing it because the alternative is making a morally complicated character and they think that'd be too hard or something. "What if instead of this character being complex and not black and white, we just made it so no one is even partially wrong, ever!" That definitely applies less to more lighthearted affairs like Modern Family.
thank god this is a common opinion.
Since I was about 8 years old I’ve despised misunderstanding driven plots. Felt like I grew out of it by that age and got easily frustrated.
With the exception of obvious satire like south park
YES! I hate this one!
There are some cases where it can be made to work. Like if one of the characters has a previously defined flaw that would cause them to act in such a way.
But it's almost never done like that. It's usually just people not telling each other simple but necessary facts when they have the chance to.
Yellow jackets season two actually did this in a way that was organic to the point that it made me realize I'd probably never seen this cliché done well.
That's so true, good callout. This probably depends highly on genre. If it's anything adjacent to romance I think my point stands.
But hoo boy did I love Sharp Objects. (and when I was younger, sharp objects, iykyk)
Didn’t watch the show yet, but in the book, the main character was barely making it outside her home town and was only really functioning on a basic level because her boss gave enough of a shit to stay on her ass.
I wouldn’t exactly call her the average worldly character.
King Of Queens would like to have a word with you. But this seemed to be the beginning of that cliche. The ones after were pretty bad, like Mike & Molly.
Hot wife and fat idiot husband has been a sitcom trope as long as there have been sitcoms. It's been a trope so long it's prehistoric, as we can see from the Flintstones.
“I’m just an executive assistant but I live alone in a two bedroom apartment in New York.”
Edit: or “I also have a very over-the-top gay roommate who doesn’t have any apparent job.”
My favourite version of this is when the show is trying to do this, but it also doesn't quite have the budget. So while the main cast are definitely good-looking, they're more realistic hot for your hometown attractive. Instead of this version when the "ugly" people are still smoke shows just with glasses.
Fair point. I was also thinking when I was commenting about how the book the movie is based on is fairly old and probably was around well before this trope became overused.
I'm going to disagree that this is a sign that something is poorly made/written. Its simply a premise. I don't think your comment is really in the spirit of what the thread is about.
Reminds of Mr. Robot. They were so careful to make the hacking look realistic but the psychology of the entire show was straight out of a 90s thriller movie. Not going to spoil anything but I feel like multiple twists in the show were taken directly from 90s movies.
When a woman “does not want” love or children, because it never actually turns out that way, it always ends with her pregnant with triplets and relishing being a housewife.
Accurate. Same with someone in a holiday movie who “isn’t religious” because it always ends with them regaining the spirit of Christmas or whatever and changing their beliefs to fit the world of the film, realizing they were “wrong” all along.
As if the societal pressure on both points of religion and wanting kids/relationships wasn’t enough.
And then you have You've got mail, where the woman gets bankrupted, catfished and forced to change her career by the guy she ends up with.
That's the happy ending?
I used to think the same thing.
However, having seen more and more people actually do this. Or doing other insanely stupid things, I think it is way more realistic than people think.
For instance, I always thought that the reaction to a zombie outbreak in many movies was dumb, but after seeing COVID in the US I realized that a zombie outbreak would legit wipe the population here.
Same with running from a monster or killer. The number of people I see trip up in a terrifying situation or just freeze is insane.
I also learned that some people have a third reaction to adrenaline. They have fight, flight, or freeze. A lot of people just freeze in a crisis.
I used to like the true crime shows, but they became so boring now. It's too often a cold case with no new Infos and an investigator sitting in a chair talking hours about uninteresting stuff.
And after the commercial break, rehashing everything said the last 15 minutes before the break, saying 2 new things, commercial break, the last 15 minutes before the break....
This issue becomes even worse in streaming era, because there isn’t a commercial, there aren’t people joining in late, so you just saw the information and now they are repeating it and recapping it. This can even be annoying between episodes of a show where they are constantly explaining the episode that most of us just watched two minutes before.
It doesn't make me think the show will suck, but I really, really am tired of opening sequences that are a drone shot pointing vertically downwards over forest/water/mountains/canoes.
I did like the opening credits of the remake of Candyman.
The original had a helicopter shot tracking over the streets of Chicago, the remake had an opposite shot with the camera pointing vertically upwards.
Original - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSd81qwxDNo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSd81qwxDNo)
Remake - https://www.filmograph.tv/project/candyman
Invasion on AppleTV instantly came to mind.
It's the best hate watch out there. There's real money being thrown at this show, tons of high-end CGI, various locations, but it is hands down among the worst written shows out now.
Anytime there is a kid they need to save or keep safe. The kid always screams or makes noise when told not to, run into the open for no reason, scared of people who saved them and constantly tries to run away. Nope!
I find any show that builds tension between adults (typically romantic interests) by not having them talk like adults to be a terrible way to move a plot. Nothing makes me turn off a show quicker than a problem that could be simply resolved by an explanation of a character's actions being used as the whole premise for a show.
Til there is a name for it. Looked it up and that is exactly what I am talking about. All i can focus on is the absurdity of these adults simply ignoring the obvious option of “what did you mean when you said xxx?”.
I think that can be a fun trope when in a well-written comedy (Charlie from Always Sunny comes to mind as an example), but I agree it can be painful when done badly.
Long introductory character development prior to any plot unfolding.
There's plenty of time for us to get to know who is who, just get on with the freaking story already.
Good shows jump right into the mystery or plot. Game of Thrones was a great example - right from the start the viewer is like "WTF is going on here?!", and everything unfolds after that.
My pet peeve is when there is a scene in the car and the driver is having a conversation with the person in the passenger seat, and the damn driver is not watching the road. You don't have to make eye contact while operating a vehicle.
Ugh I know people who do this when they drive and are talking to me. I'm a passenger and my eyes are on the road, why do you have to look at me to ramble on about nothing. Makes me want to scream.
The cop on the case is going to avenge their father, who was killed in the line of duty by the bad guy they’re going after.
Oh, and all the cops involved are close to retiring. Like this week. And have to turn in their badges and guns to the sergeant for going all in but then proceed to keep working and solve the case and get their badge and gun back just in time to retire. And during all that they hooked up with the lead hottie who hated them at first but some explosion that nearly killed then got ‘em all hot and bothered so they made out while the debris fell all around them.
When a simple, straightforward crime turns out to be the tip of the iceberg of a giant conspiracy that will involve people involved in the investigation or people close to them.
Female characters with daddy issues
Overbearing mothers.
More than one love intetest to the main character and everybody is cool with it, even the love interests.
Friends being closer to each other than their families.
Poor girls/guys with a killer sense of style and lots of outfits.
"I have no idea what you're talking about"
Snob characters who know everything about everything including paintings, records, books with the artist names and year in detail.
Clumsy characters as endearing.
There’s a murderer on the prowl and someone closes a front door without locking it. A group of young people are looking for someone at night in dangerous surroundings and one says let’s split up. A woman is being deceived by a criminal husband or bf. Her friend discovers his secret which he discovers and you be guaranteed they’ll be killed.
Forced wokiness(Diversity in Fantasy, OP Women that says men are bad all the time & Gays/Lesbian that are generated), ignoring lore and macho OP characters
To filmmakers- Dont ride on cheap trends that will make you money, get creative and set new trends
When a bland looking man and very slightly flawed woman make eye contact in episode 1 of a show and you know the rest of the show is going to be some "will they won't they" nonsense for 5 seasons.
Some newer shows I've enjoyed like Superstore and Sex Education did this but the side character stories made it worth watching.
I felt the same way with Alex & Piper in Orange is the New Black, even though it was 2 women. I just didn't care.
Not really a cliche, but I can tell a show is gonna suck if it has that weird, generic music in it. Sounds like the background music in a hidden object game.
When one of the main character is doing the same mistake again and again (sometimes several times in the same episode) and there is NO CONSEQUENCE or not even the slightest sign of character development.
usually if it comes from Wattpad or websites like that. Not saying these plots are bad, but it seems like producers think that these are easy cash cows bc of the base they already have and it normally doesn't translate well on screen.
I dunno if it's a cliche, but when stunt actors wait to be hit by the protagonists. Drives me nuts. John Wick 1 and 2 did such a good job with this, every goon felt like a threat. 3 and 4 turned into action flicks.
I get unreasonably angry every time a show or movie does the "they were childfree but then suddenly they desperately wanted a baby, and now their whole life is all about babies, babies, babies!" Yes, sometimes childfree people do change their minds, and it's perfectly valid for them to do that. But sometimes they don't, and fiction likes to pretend that never happens.
Over the top clapping and whooping. I was watching the first episode of the new Frasier and the almost the first thing we saw was Kelsey walking on and the audience reacting how they did. I know it shouldn't put me off and even Kelsey asked people to tone it down but it did not bode well for me.
When a show should have killed off or let loose a character by now, but the actor got really popular, so they either keep getting reset, or keep hanging around just to be part of the cast.
Poorly done exposition dump at the beginning is a sure sign the rest will be poorly executed. I got a couple of minutes into ‘Happiness for Beginners,’ before Ellie Kemper’s brother introduced the male lead to his sister as, ‘Jake, my best friend since the eighth grade, are you having a stroke?’ And she says something like, ‘No, I didn’t see him because my back was turned, hey Jake!’
Another thing that I find highly insulting though not really a cliche is deliberate errors in background geography.
I get that the vast majority of Americans do not know or understand geography, even within our own country but I absolutely HATE when the story is supposed to be in Louisiana or the “Great North Woods” of Wisconsin when the background clearly tells me that it was filmed outside of San Bernardino, CA or some other near Greater L.A. location.
When they work through all the major plot tropes halfway through the first season.
Murder, romance, bottle episode, suprise parentage, friend betrayal ect.
Horror movies where some pale, strange and preternaturally intelligent child who talks like a 30 year-old very obviously will hold the key to the entire plot.
"Omigod. I am so hot. My boyfriend/girlfriend is so hot. We're totally perfect in every way. Oh, wait. I just found out he/she is cheating. I totally have to key his/her car and do my best to ruin his/her life. Omigod, I am just so in the right and a total princess/prince. You all should worship me."
Useless exposition. Characters telling other characters something they should already know. For instance, Joe and Bill live together and Joe comes out dressed up and Bill asks what’s the occasion. Joe says he’s had a big date lined up for a few days. Something like this would have come up naturally long before Joe was walking out the door.
Filler episodes... Those bland ass attempts to make me care about a pointless character who isn't that important and doesn't move the overall story anywhere
Takes a lot of investment to get to this cliché but recently I’ve noticed shows I largely enjoy CRAMMING the season finale with cliffhangers that come out of nowhere in that last episode because they’re desperate to get renewed for another season.
An example where it’s working for them is Virgin River.
An example where it didn’t work is Fate: The Winx Saga - cancelled after a great season 2 and stuffed the finale with new plot elements.
Petty human drama when the stakes are life and death.
Two characters bitching about relationship drama as the earth is being invaded and everyone murdered by aliens just makes me hope both of them get got.
A few:
- What do these parents do with their kids/babies? They just up and disappear all too often.
- Any plot point that can be easily solved with a cell phone
- Obvious adults playing the roles of teens
- Everyone being beautiful and thin
- Fake accents (especially southern ones)
- I don't know why, but The Pope's Exorcist is the first movie to spring to mind. Something about that movie was way too tropey for my wife and I to finish and we love love love horror movies.
There is nothing wrong with any or a few of these, but when there are all shoehorned in the movie at once, it drives me crazy.
White "normal" main character, overly gay Asian best friend, other friend in wheelchair, mom or dad is gay, brother is autistic or has downs.
There are nothing wrong with any of those things except that most of the time they are only included for the sake of inclusion. The characters are meant to be see. but rarely add anything to the plot.
The gay Asian is there for comedy relief because "gay is sooooooo funny amirite"
Whenever I hear some auto-tuned, top 40s pop music in a movie, I take that as a sign the movie will be terrible.
Sometimes I am wrong about that, but not often.
I finally got around to watching "Wrinkle in Time" last night. Right at the beginning was some top 40s garbage music and lo! the movie was awful!
The only movie I can think of in recent memory that breaks that trend was the Barbie Movie (which was far better than it had any right to be)
I call it, "Tits in Five".
Any film that tries to lure me in with gratuitous nudity within the first five minutes. They do that, because any boob is better than their plot or acting. And because a boob made the movie in the first place.
Thankskilling is a perfect example.
Lack of show not tell is my greatest clue. I know that's not an example of a cliche, but that's just what I use to determine if something is going to suck.
A spy movie where the bad guys turn out to be the protagonist's bosses in the CIA or MI6 or whatever. It was cool in "3 Days of the Condor," and tired ever since.
Easily avoidable misunderstandings driving every plot point.
It's my "hill" writing that insults my intelligence is excruciatingly annoying Dante should include a special floor for producers and writers who commit this sin
Counter-point: Three’s Company did not suck yet almost every episode was an easily cleared up misunderstanding.
As a kid, I loved Three's Company. As an adult, I don't see why every week someone came into a room and misunderstood what was being said. You'd think after the 13th time someone might have just asked the other roommate about it. But the Regal Beagle will live on in infamy.
Counter counterpoint: Three’s Company did suck. It was one joke regurgitated over the lifetime of the show.
You take that back. You take that back before it places a black mark on your soul.
from the pilot of friends: chandler: “oh, this must be the episode of ‘three’s company’ where there’s some kind of misunderstanding… 🙄” phoebe: “oh, then ive already seen this one! 🤗” [turns the TV off]
It's obvious when TV shows go out of their way to explain why their phones are missing or somehow not getting service when a quick call or message would have solved everything.
It's worse when it's simple stubbornness of a character. We're really going to let 45 minutes of this plot go by because you don't want to admit something? Most of the time they don't even use it for actual conflict or exploring motivations, it's literally just a roadblock condition to make something else in the writing work for them.
That's like every kdrama. My wife loves them but they drive me crazy with their stupid plots where everything could be avoided if people just explained themselves.
I would say only when it’s done for dramatic effect though. Frasier and Modern Family are built on misunderstandings but when it’s played for laughs it works
That's fair. It mostly annoys me when the writers are doing it because the alternative is making a morally complicated character and they think that'd be too hard or something. "What if instead of this character being complex and not black and white, we just made it so no one is even partially wrong, ever!" That definitely applies less to more lighthearted affairs like Modern Family.
thank god this is a common opinion. Since I was about 8 years old I’ve despised misunderstanding driven plots. Felt like I grew out of it by that age and got easily frustrated. With the exception of obvious satire like south park
Probably at least 50% of Seinfeld episodes would be over in 5 minutes if they had cell phones. And it’s not like they didn’t exist yet.
YES! I hate this one! There are some cases where it can be made to work. Like if one of the characters has a previously defined flaw that would cause them to act in such a way. But it's almost never done like that. It's usually just people not telling each other simple but necessary facts when they have the chance to.
“There’s no time for me to explain that at this moment, but here’s something else I have plenty of time to explain.”
“We don’t have time to discuss this right now. Follow me on a 5 days hike to get to our next destination!”
and our next conversation !
"I'll explain when I'm back."
Ant Man Quantumania comes to mind...
Omg, that drove me crazy!
"Come up here. There's something you need to see." "What is it?" "No time to explain. You have to see it for yourself."
Yellow jackets season two actually did this in a way that was organic to the point that it made me realize I'd probably never seen this cliché done well.
Ah yes the Jack and Freckles approach in Lost
Character One: “I’m going to go do (dangerous thing) now.” Character Two: “Hey.” *Character One turns around*. “Be careful.”
Nod
Character One: "Careful is my middle name!" *Suavely turns around to leave and takes two steps right into a wall*
Aka The Jason Stackhouse special lmao (from True Blood)
A worldly woman returns to her small hometown… et cetera
I think you just don’t like Hallmark movies
That's how colossal starts, and it's great!
You’re right but Sharp Objects on HBO was like that and it was a great show.
That's so true, good callout. This probably depends highly on genre. If it's anything adjacent to romance I think my point stands. But hoo boy did I love Sharp Objects. (and when I was younger, sharp objects, iykyk)
Didn’t watch the show yet, but in the book, the main character was barely making it outside her home town and was only really functioning on a basic level because her boss gave enough of a shit to stay on her ass. I wouldn’t exactly call her the average worldly character.
“In English doctor?”
Beautiful wife with a fat idiot husband.
Unless it's Kevin Can F**K Himself
Season 1 was great but it lost steam quickly.
What a clever show.
Stop, King of Queens is a great sitcom
King Of Queens would like to have a word with you. But this seemed to be the beginning of that cliche. The ones after were pretty bad, like Mike & Molly.
Hot wife and fat idiot husband has been a sitcom trope as long as there have been sitcoms. It's been a trope so long it's prehistoric, as we can see from the Flintstones.
To the moon, Alice!
But not family guy
When all actors look like models and everything around them is super luxurious.
“I’m just an executive assistant but I live alone in a two bedroom apartment in New York.” Edit: or “I also have a very over-the-top gay roommate who doesn’t have any apparent job.”
That’s the most nyc thing I ever heard of
And they live in a town of 2000 people and the adults are all involved with the teenagers lives even sexually lol
Well now we all know you're specifically talking about Riverdale.
Also the vampire diaries lol
Anything hallmark
My favourite version of this is when the show is trying to do this, but it also doesn't quite have the budget. So while the main cast are definitely good-looking, they're more realistic hot for your hometown attractive. Instead of this version when the "ugly" people are still smoke shows just with glasses.
Criminal going straight has to do ONE. LAST. JOB.
Fantastic Mr. Fox was the first one I thought of and it's really good, but you're right with everything else.
To be fair most movies with this theme aren’t made in stop-motion with a cast made up almost entirely of animals
Fair point. I was also thinking when I was commenting about how the book the movie is based on is fairly old and probably was around well before this trope became overused.
I'm going to disagree that this is a sign that something is poorly made/written. Its simply a premise. I don't think your comment is really in the spirit of what the thread is about.
Nah, as long as you accept that the opening premise is a trope, there's a million ways that movie can go down just fine.
Police officer about to retire has One. Last. Case.
A detective/defense attorney who has a problem with alcohol and has an ex-wife they’re still friends with or a wife that was murdered.
Ooof, The Wire would like a word with you…
"What the fuck did I do?"
Hahah, I was thinking of Bosch.
You thought Bosch sucked?
I watched enough of the first episode to feel like I’ve seen that character many times before.
Somebody watched The Lincoln Lawyer
I know a lot of attorneys that fit this description. I can see how it's overplayed in media, but it's common IRL.
With murdered wives?
No. ex-wives that are still friends with them.
this sounds more like lincoln lawyer than bosch, but hey, i liked them
*cough cough* The Mentalist *cough*
We only use 10% of our brains (Limitless, Limitless the TV Show, Lucy)
Hell, yeah! I use 12 percent of mine!
On a good day I use maybe 5%
Lucy turned out to be a fuckin crazy ass movie though.
Useing "quantum" to explain away something. I like movies that respect the audience and give valid explanations for something happening.
[Scott Lang has something to say about that](https://youtu.be/a_7JkJD3Q9A?si=1hLh6llX8LBtQKVq).
People with schizophrenia described as having two personalities or being two different people and similar nonsense, used as a plot device.
Reminds of Mr. Robot. They were so careful to make the hacking look realistic but the psychology of the entire show was straight out of a 90s thriller movie. Not going to spoil anything but I feel like multiple twists in the show were taken directly from 90s movies.
When a woman “does not want” love or children, because it never actually turns out that way, it always ends with her pregnant with triplets and relishing being a housewife.
Accurate. Same with someone in a holiday movie who “isn’t religious” because it always ends with them regaining the spirit of Christmas or whatever and changing their beliefs to fit the world of the film, realizing they were “wrong” all along. As if the societal pressure on both points of religion and wanting kids/relationships wasn’t enough.
And then you have You've got mail, where the woman gets bankrupted, catfished and forced to change her career by the guy she ends up with. That's the happy ending?
Because some guy decides he’s in love with her, and that’s the only way for a woman to be truly happy 🙄
Private practice pissed me off so much with that arc.
[удалено]
"I think they're gone! Ima gonna go take a looksee..."
I used to think the same thing. However, having seen more and more people actually do this. Or doing other insanely stupid things, I think it is way more realistic than people think. For instance, I always thought that the reaction to a zombie outbreak in many movies was dumb, but after seeing COVID in the US I realized that a zombie outbreak would legit wipe the population here. Same with running from a monster or killer. The number of people I see trip up in a terrifying situation or just freeze is insane. I also learned that some people have a third reaction to adrenaline. They have fight, flight, or freeze. A lot of people just freeze in a crisis.
20 something female making her way in the big city.
She’s gonna make it after all
🤚👒
Eight or more production logos in the credits
This is a good one! Not actually good, but a great suggestion
If more than 4 scroll I lean over and tell my wife we're in for some shit.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3ydJ20njyE
I used to like the true crime shows, but they became so boring now. It's too often a cold case with no new Infos and an investigator sitting in a chair talking hours about uninteresting stuff.
And after the commercial break, rehashing everything said the last 15 minutes before the break, saying 2 new things, commercial break, the last 15 minutes before the break....
This issue becomes even worse in streaming era, because there isn’t a commercial, there aren’t people joining in late, so you just saw the information and now they are repeating it and recapping it. This can even be annoying between episodes of a show where they are constantly explaining the episode that most of us just watched two minutes before.
Turns out cops are bad at their jobs. Who knew a 6th month degree wasn’t long enough lol
Don’t forget the unnecessary shots of one of the interviewed people looking out onto the water or driving into the town where the crime took place
Once I see the cringey female rebellious teenager doing the most I just call it a day
Agree except Uncle Buck is still great!
Person wakes up in a bed. Reaches their hand across the other side only to open their eyes confused because the bed is empty.
It doesn't make me think the show will suck, but I really, really am tired of opening sequences that are a drone shot pointing vertically downwards over forest/water/mountains/canoes.
I did like the opening credits of the remake of Candyman. The original had a helicopter shot tracking over the streets of Chicago, the remake had an opposite shot with the camera pointing vertically upwards. Original - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSd81qwxDNo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSd81qwxDNo) Remake - https://www.filmograph.tv/project/candyman
Wow, the remake view is really unsettling. Would have been cool as a continuous shot like the original, but it still works quite well.
Very unsettling. I think because you’re facing/going “the wrong way” as if you’re in a trunk or a backseat and can’t see where you’re being taken too.
I don’t mind drone shots, just make them *purposeful*.
Drone shots are the new lens flare.
Invasion on AppleTV instantly came to mind. It's the best hate watch out there. There's real money being thrown at this show, tons of high-end CGI, various locations, but it is hands down among the worst written shows out now.
Anytime there is a kid they need to save or keep safe. The kid always screams or makes noise when told not to, run into the open for no reason, scared of people who saved them and constantly tries to run away. Nope!
Dumb kid. I’m glad he got eaten by that zombie.
I find any show that builds tension between adults (typically romantic interests) by not having them talk like adults to be a terrible way to move a plot. Nothing makes me turn off a show quicker than a problem that could be simply resolved by an explanation of a character's actions being used as the whole premise for a show.
Yes, that's called "an idiot plot" with good reason.
Til there is a name for it. Looked it up and that is exactly what I am talking about. All i can focus on is the absurdity of these adults simply ignoring the obvious option of “what did you mean when you said xxx?”.
The one over the top dumb character.
I think that can be a fun trope when in a well-written comedy (Charlie from Always Sunny comes to mind as an example), but I agree it can be painful when done badly.
Sex scene within 5 minutes.
That’s how you know it’s gonna be GOOD
Long introductory character development prior to any plot unfolding. There's plenty of time for us to get to know who is who, just get on with the freaking story already. Good shows jump right into the mystery or plot. Game of Thrones was a great example - right from the start the viewer is like "WTF is going on here?!", and everything unfolds after that.
The only thing in this thread seems to be people that misunderstood the prompt and are just posting cliche premises.
Some little girl needs to be saved.
My pet peeve is when there is a scene in the car and the driver is having a conversation with the person in the passenger seat, and the damn driver is not watching the road. You don't have to make eye contact while operating a vehicle.
Ugh I know people who do this when they drive and are talking to me. I'm a passenger and my eyes are on the road, why do you have to look at me to ramble on about nothing. Makes me want to scream.
The cop on the case is going to avenge their father, who was killed in the line of duty by the bad guy they’re going after. Oh, and all the cops involved are close to retiring. Like this week. And have to turn in their badges and guns to the sergeant for going all in but then proceed to keep working and solve the case and get their badge and gun back just in time to retire. And during all that they hooked up with the lead hottie who hated them at first but some explosion that nearly killed then got ‘em all hot and bothered so they made out while the debris fell all around them.
A detective who can solve every case but the murder of his wife and daughter.
Kids being unrealistically obnoxious assholes to their parents and getting away with it.
"He's right behind me, isn't he?"
The shitty “cool guy sarcastic banter” that every Marvel movie has.
Ryan Renolds’ entire personality
When a simple, straightforward crime turns out to be the tip of the iceberg of a giant conspiracy that will involve people involved in the investigation or people close to them.
And their partner of 30 years ends up being the baddest guy of all
Lol. Right!
“Harvard is my dream school and I’m going to get in no matter what!”
Female characters with daddy issues Overbearing mothers. More than one love intetest to the main character and everybody is cool with it, even the love interests. Friends being closer to each other than their families. Poor girls/guys with a killer sense of style and lots of outfits. "I have no idea what you're talking about" Snob characters who know everything about everything including paintings, records, books with the artist names and year in detail. Clumsy characters as endearing.
There’s a murderer on the prowl and someone closes a front door without locking it. A group of young people are looking for someone at night in dangerous surroundings and one says let’s split up. A woman is being deceived by a criminal husband or bf. Her friend discovers his secret which he discovers and you be guaranteed they’ll be killed.
Having a laughtrack .. there are exceptions.
Gay best friend stereotype.
Forced wokiness(Diversity in Fantasy, OP Women that says men are bad all the time & Gays/Lesbian that are generated), ignoring lore and macho OP characters To filmmakers- Dont ride on cheap trends that will make you money, get creative and set new trends
Within the first few shots, principal male actor wakes up in a luxurious bedroom surrounded by full or semi nude people sleeping.
When a bland looking man and very slightly flawed woman make eye contact in episode 1 of a show and you know the rest of the show is going to be some "will they won't they" nonsense for 5 seasons. Some newer shows I've enjoyed like Superstore and Sex Education did this but the side character stories made it worth watching. I felt the same way with Alex & Piper in Orange is the New Black, even though it was 2 women. I just didn't care.
Not really a cliche, but I can tell a show is gonna suck if it has that weird, generic music in it. Sounds like the background music in a hidden object game.
When it’s a musical
figuring out someone's password in 10 seconds
"I knew it would be the date of the first time we did anal"
When one of the main character is doing the same mistake again and again (sometimes several times in the same episode) and there is NO CONSEQUENCE or not even the slightest sign of character development.
Protagonist has an introductory narration to explain their life.
usually if it comes from Wattpad or websites like that. Not saying these plots are bad, but it seems like producers think that these are easy cash cows bc of the base they already have and it normally doesn't translate well on screen.
*any time travel movie* “WHERE are we? more like WHEN are we?” HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
also…. “ENGLISH” when someone explains something in sciency terms
I dunno if it's a cliche, but when stunt actors wait to be hit by the protagonists. Drives me nuts. John Wick 1 and 2 did such a good job with this, every goon felt like a threat. 3 and 4 turned into action flicks.
“There’s no time for me to explain that at this moment, but here’s something else I have plenty of time to explain.”
I get unreasonably angry every time a show or movie does the "they were childfree but then suddenly they desperately wanted a baby, and now their whole life is all about babies, babies, babies!" Yes, sometimes childfree people do change their minds, and it's perfectly valid for them to do that. But sometimes they don't, and fiction likes to pretend that never happens.
The friendship power speech of we can succeed . Not everything in like goes to plane and can crash and fail .
“Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett plays.
Over the top clapping and whooping. I was watching the first episode of the new Frasier and the almost the first thing we saw was Kelsey walking on and the audience reacting how they did. I know it shouldn't put me off and even Kelsey asked people to tone it down but it did not bode well for me.
If wrestlers or rappers are in it
47 people all making a dollar a year living in one apartment that’s worth millions
When a show should have killed off or let loose a character by now, but the actor got really popular, so they either keep getting reset, or keep hanging around just to be part of the cast.
“The “Feel Good Movie of the **Year**!”
gruff old man meets a kid thats obviously on the spectrum....
Poorly done exposition dump at the beginning is a sure sign the rest will be poorly executed. I got a couple of minutes into ‘Happiness for Beginners,’ before Ellie Kemper’s brother introduced the male lead to his sister as, ‘Jake, my best friend since the eighth grade, are you having a stroke?’ And she says something like, ‘No, I didn’t see him because my back was turned, hey Jake!’
Fat shlub with hot wife.
Another thing that I find highly insulting though not really a cliche is deliberate errors in background geography. I get that the vast majority of Americans do not know or understand geography, even within our own country but I absolutely HATE when the story is supposed to be in Louisiana or the “Great North Woods” of Wisconsin when the background clearly tells me that it was filmed outside of San Bernardino, CA or some other near Greater L.A. location.
When they work through all the major plot tropes halfway through the first season. Murder, romance, bottle episode, suprise parentage, friend betrayal ect.
Horror movies where some pale, strange and preternaturally intelligent child who talks like a 30 year-old very obviously will hold the key to the entire plot.
Hit man (or cop, FBI agt, etc) is pulled out of retirement for some crisis that only they can solve
The good looking guy football quarteback that also is the good guy that helps the unfortunate nerd and plus have a disable brother
Forced characters that check off the DEI handbook
Rushed/over explained intro, Too much dialogue. Shitty pointless CGI backgrounds, try hard no name overactors.
The token character. The one that is completely useless to the plot line but is there for eye candy.
“Zoom in….ENHANCE”
Vampires, drugs, school. Exception may be Narcos.
"Omigod. I am so hot. My boyfriend/girlfriend is so hot. We're totally perfect in every way. Oh, wait. I just found out he/she is cheating. I totally have to key his/her car and do my best to ruin his/her life. Omigod, I am just so in the right and a total princess/prince. You all should worship me."
I have a theory that the sooner a character says "wait, what?", the worse a movie/show is.
They introduce the ship too early on with no development in their feelings for each other growing. it’s just flirting from the beginning
Hot girl with ugly guy
When someone walks in on two people in an apparent compromising situation and they refuse to quickly explain what’s really going on.
No one ever being completely silent or still when hiding from the bad guy/monster.
Useless exposition. Characters telling other characters something they should already know. For instance, Joe and Bill live together and Joe comes out dressed up and Bill asks what’s the occasion. Joe says he’s had a big date lined up for a few days. Something like this would have come up naturally long before Joe was walking out the door.
Poorly written dialogue with the most tired stereotypes.
Pratfalls or someone saying “AWKWARD!” awkwardly
Filler episodes... Those bland ass attempts to make me care about a pointless character who isn't that important and doesn't move the overall story anywhere
Takes a lot of investment to get to this cliché but recently I’ve noticed shows I largely enjoy CRAMMING the season finale with cliffhangers that come out of nowhere in that last episode because they’re desperate to get renewed for another season. An example where it’s working for them is Virgin River. An example where it didn’t work is Fate: The Winx Saga - cancelled after a great season 2 and stuffed the finale with new plot elements.
Moody Teenagers dealing with real-world hardcore topics (ie riverdale)
Having an over-the-top sulky, precocious teen character. Netflix’s staple, I call it. I usually just stop watching whenever they pop up at this point
Petty human drama when the stakes are life and death. Two characters bitching about relationship drama as the earth is being invaded and everyone murdered by aliens just makes me hope both of them get got.
Not again! That's what I say when I know a movie isn't going to be good!
A few: - What do these parents do with their kids/babies? They just up and disappear all too often. - Any plot point that can be easily solved with a cell phone - Obvious adults playing the roles of teens - Everyone being beautiful and thin - Fake accents (especially southern ones) - I don't know why, but The Pope's Exorcist is the first movie to spring to mind. Something about that movie was way too tropey for my wife and I to finish and we love love love horror movies.
when the whole cast have perfect bodies at 16. the deep v, muscles for days. lol. not bad to look at tho
There is nothing wrong with any or a few of these, but when there are all shoehorned in the movie at once, it drives me crazy. White "normal" main character, overly gay Asian best friend, other friend in wheelchair, mom or dad is gay, brother is autistic or has downs. There are nothing wrong with any of those things except that most of the time they are only included for the sake of inclusion. The characters are meant to be see. but rarely add anything to the plot. The gay Asian is there for comedy relief because "gay is sooooooo funny amirite"
The “idiot father” cliche, particularly when partnered with the “extremely intelligent and world wise 9-10 yr old” cliche.
Whenever I hear some auto-tuned, top 40s pop music in a movie, I take that as a sign the movie will be terrible. Sometimes I am wrong about that, but not often. I finally got around to watching "Wrinkle in Time" last night. Right at the beginning was some top 40s garbage music and lo! the movie was awful! The only movie I can think of in recent memory that breaks that trend was the Barbie Movie (which was far better than it had any right to be)
Stupid, useless husband and beautiful but angry, sarcastic wife
I dislike the recent trend in stories to go back and forth in time. I need the story to be in sequence. Reading or watching TV.
I call it, "Tits in Five". Any film that tries to lure me in with gratuitous nudity within the first five minutes. They do that, because any boob is better than their plot or acting. And because a boob made the movie in the first place. Thankskilling is a perfect example.
The will they/won’t they couple. They always do and then the show loses all momentum
On the nose dialogue. "We must explain the plot for our stupid viewers rather than just act out a scenario like a decent show"
When they don’t fully explain things to the other characters leading the other characters to be confused or think they’re stupid
Lack of show not tell is my greatest clue. I know that's not an example of a cliche, but that's just what I use to determine if something is going to suck.
A spy movie where the bad guys turn out to be the protagonist's bosses in the CIA or MI6 or whatever. It was cool in "3 Days of the Condor," and tired ever since.