History TrappedByMountainLions / LiveActionTV

** Season 5’s Grady Memorial Hospital arc does adapt a few elements of the comic’s Woodbury arc that were not covered in the show’s equivalent, but it doesn’t do much in the long run since it only kills off [[spoiler:Beth, whose death was poorly received as shock value, and replaces her with Noah, a minor character who does a few episodes later anyway, making the arc even more pointless.]]

** One episode has Stephanie trying to learn how to play recorder, only to continually be bad at it no matter how much she practices. Uncle Jesse later tries to fix it--and it turns out that there's a wad of gum stuck inside of it. That's it.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''Series/BreakingBad'' by Skyler's affair with Ted. At first, it seems like just an escape, between having to hide the truth about the situation from Junior, Hank and Marie, and dealing with Walt's increasingly erratic behavior. [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse And then she gives Ted all of Walt's money...]]]]

** Season 8 was particularly criticized for this, with subplots focusing on Quinn's (failed) attempts at becoming a Sergeant and an odd amount of time spent on Masuka's daughter.* In Season 1 of ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', Fish Mooney is abducted by the villainous Dollmaker after a failed assassination attempt. No other major characters show up in this segment, and it doesn’t even seem to have much of an effect on Mooney, who isn’t even a major character to begin with.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' has Thea, Ollie's CanonForeigner sister [[spoiler: ''orrrrrrr is she?'' Her nickname "Speedy" seemed to just be a ShoutOut at first, but her full name proves to be Thea Dearden Queen]]. While she interacts with the rest of the cast more than such examples, her appearances are usually scenes having nothing to do with the rest of the story, in which she gets bailed out of something by Ollie and then gives him a speech that basically amounts to "[[HardDrinkingPartyGirl My lifestyle]] [[NeverMyFault is all your fault]] for having been trapped on a deserted island for years, then having the gall to [[ItsAllAboutMe have a life outside me]] once you got back." She's getting some CharacterDevelopment and working alongside Laurel now, so it seems she's getting better. However [[spoiler: the arrival of Roy Harper]] makes it seem she still won't be joining in her bro's line of work any time soon.
** No longer the case as of Season 3. At the beginning of the Season she is revealed to have become an ActionGirl during her time with [[spoiler: her dad, Malcolm Merlyn.]] Then it is revealed in the midseason finale "The Climb," that she was [[spoiler: brainwashed into killing Sara in the Season premiere.]] In Season 3 Episode 13, "Canaries," Oliver reveals to her that he is the Arrow and responds with nothing but gratitude at the lives he saved. In the [[spoiler: next episode [[InternalReveal she learns that she was brainwashed into killing Sara]].]] By the end of Season when Roy has left Starling City, she has joined her brother's line of work by embracing the identity of Speedy, thus leaving this trope once and for all.

* From Season 2 onwards, most of the scenes in ''Series/KyleXY'' which do not concern the eponymous protagonist or the central plot-line can come across as this. When Kyle is frequently being hunted down by a MegaCorp and developing his mental abilities, it can seem a little strange when he receives less screen time than the other main characters' love lives.
* In Season 1 of ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', Fish Mooney is abducted by the villainous Dollmaker after a failed assassination attempt. No other major characters show up in this segment, and it doesn’t even seem to have much of an effect on Mooney, who isn’t even a major character to begin with.
* Thanks to the 2008 writer's strike, the second series of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' was massively shortened and ended up having several plotlines that never tied to the main plot: [[TheScrappy Maya and Alejandro Herrera]] smuggling Sylar to the US[[note]]Maya was apparently supposed to be instrumental to dealing with the virus, among other things.[[/note]], Claire's relocation and meeting West, Micah living with Monica in foster care, and Bennett's standalone plot. Even Peter's amnesia while stuck in Ireland never fully tied to the main story. Tim Kring had to write a public apology for how unfinished Season 2 was.
* ''Series/TheLordOfTheRingsTheRingsOfPower'': The Harfoots subplot has next to nothing to do with the main plot, while the other subplots are tied together in the finale episode of Season 1. The Harfoots are the only characters who are completely isolated from the rest. They are followed and attacked by The Dweller and her fellow Sauron worshippers, who end up mistaking The Stranger for Sauron, but this still has no bearing on the main plot, except for the Harfoots and the viewers learning that The Stranger is one of the Istari, possibly Gandalf himself.
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' has this sometimes, from little-importance {{Flashback}}s, to on-island subplots that don't contribute to the overall narrative (Sawyer crossing a jungle to kill a tree frog comes to mind). Part of the problem may have been that, for the first three seasons, the flashbacks were used in every episode. While there was initially a lot of praise for the flashbacks as a storytelling device, as the series progressed, some fans began to grow weary of the flashbacks, which tended to become less important to the character arcs over time and/or would repeat certain ideas.
** Though largely avoided in Seasons 4 and 5, there is one instance where this is used subversively. In "Ji Yeon", there are [[spoiler:{{Flash Forward}}s to Sun giving birth, along with concurrent flashes to Jin rushing to buy a toy and get to the hospital while avoiding comical setbacks. It's edited to make it seem, at first glance, like the two stories are concurrent; only at the end is it revealed that Jin's story was an irrelevant and inconsequential anecdote from many years earlier. His flashback was included ''specifically'' to mislead the viewer and disguise that, at the time of Sun giving birth, he had been left behind and is presumed dead.]]
** To some fans, [[spoiler:the flash-sideways]]. Sometimes (most blatantly in "Recon") they just recycled plot threads from years ago. They also, by the halfway point of the season, had yet to cross over with the main plots or have any clear relevance to them. Just one hint from the premiere that they mean anything. And they take up as much of each episode as flashbacks [[spoiler:or flash-forwards]] did, while not resolving any questions or developing any characters outside of the ones in its own arc. They could potentially be viewed as {{Padding}} in-universe as well. Since the finale reveals [[spoiler: that the main characters are having all of these flash-forwards as daydreams while waiting in purgatory for everyone of the original group to die so they can move on to the afterlife together]], all of this screen-time is really just the characters engaging in activities to pass the time.
* ''Series/TheTudors'': Sir Thomas Wyatt is a main character for the first two series of the show, and interacts regularly with the other main characters, and asks about and discusses current plot events with them. He has next to no impact on them himself, however, either in terms of acting or being acted upon. Wyatt lampshades this, noting that despite not really doing anything politically, he is appointed to the King's Privy Council.
** The closest Wyatt comes to genuinely playing a part in the plot is when he is one of five arrested for committing adultery with Anne Boleyn. Unlike the other four (who have been set up by the King and Cromwell to bring down Anne), Wyatt actually ''is'' guilty - nevertheless, he is the only one not found so. Again, Wyatt lampshades the ridiculous nature of this.

* The "New Cap City" storyline of ''Series/{{Caprica}}'' was accused of this, being less interesting than other plotlines that were stalled at the time and home to some strange FridgeLogic as well. However, some interesting ideas ''were'' introduced- such as "New Cap City" being a BlackBox of unknown purpose- and Tamara and Joseph received significant CharacterDevelopment. It may prove to [[InnocuouslyImportantEpisode have been significant]] later on.

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'''s season 2 episode "[[Recap/AngelS02E05DearBoy Dear Boy]]" counts if the viewer has already watched the parent show. It features a couple of flashbacks to when Angelus sired Drusilla - that don't actually have anything to do with the episode's main plot. Of course for people who only watched ''Angel'', the flashbacks are there to foreshadow that Drusilla would later appear on the show.
* The Bryce-Keiko subplot on ''[[Series/FlashForward2009 FlashForward]]''. Although it had one or two heartwarming moments, the bottom line was that it was a subplot about the main character's estranged wife's coworker (who also has terminal cancer, which is rarely mentioned) and his futile search for the [[GirlOfMyDreams Girl Of His Dreams]] who lives in Japan, but then she leaves to find him, and they continue [[MissedHimByThatMuch to have a series of near-misses in LA]], eventually leading to Bryce having a relationship with the main character's daughter's babysitter while Keiko works in an auto shop and then gets arrested by the INS. Then in the season finale, they finally meet, at the exact moment prophesied by the flashforwards, meaning they needn't have bothered spending months looking for each other. [[ShootTheShaggyDog And then the show got cancelled.]] The subplot is clearly [[TheArtifact an artifact]] of a version of the show with a more widespread, interconnected cast [[FollowTheLeader a la]] ''[[FollowTheLeader Lost]]'' and a less-focused plot. Except that it sticks out like a sore thumb when it was the only unconnected subplot, while the rest of the show was about the FBI investigation and related conspiracies.
* ''Series/{{Dexter}}'':
** In the fourth and fifth seasons, Angel Batista and Maria [=LaGuerta=]'s romance has absolutely nothing to do with the show's main arc, and many viewers find the banality overwhelming. The same goes for Deb and Quinn's romance in Season 5 and 6, which mostly just distracted from Deb's own development.
** Season 8 was particularly criticized for this, with subplots focusing on Quinn's (failed) attempts at becoming a Sergeant and an odd amount of time spent on Masuka's daughter.
* In ''Series/{{Chuck}}'' especially in the later seasons any Buy More employees subplot is at serious risk of falling into this. While sometimes they tie back to the main plot in an interesting manner or manage to stand on their own, often they're just there, because the show's always been set in Buy More and so they have to have Buy More subplots. One example is [[Creator/SummerGlau that week's]] [[TheNthDoctor Greta]] being stalked by Jeff and Lester. Morgan tells them off, they don't stop, she threatens them, Morgan has to intervene, she tells him that their operation is unprofessional. Casey steps in to defend Morgan, giving their relationship a tiny bit of development that could have been gained by any other method, and she leaves. Jeff and Lester's behavior doesn't affect the main characters. Greta's presence has nothing to do with the main plot--it's pretty much just [[ActorAllusion an excuse]] to have Creator/AdamBaldwin tell Creator/SummerGlau that [[Series/{{Firefly}} he doesn't care what crew she's been on before.]]

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' has Thea, Ollie's CanonForeigner sister [[spoiler: ''orrrrrrr is she?'' Her nickname "Speedy" seemed to just be a ShoutOut at first, but her full name proves to be Thea Dearden Queen]]. While she interacts with the rest of the cast more than such examples, her appearances are usually scenes having nothing to do with the rest of the story, in which she gets bailed out of something by Ollie and then gives him a speech that basically amounts to "[[HardDrinkingPartyGirl My lifestyle]] [[NeverMyFault is all your fault]] for having been trapped on a deserted island for years, then having the gall to [[ItsAllAboutMe have a life outside me]] once you got back." She's getting some CharacterDevelopment and working alongside Laurel now, so it seems she's getting better. However [[spoiler: the arrival of Roy Harper]] makes it seem she still won't be joining in her bro's line of work any time soon.
** No longer the case as of Season 3. At the beginning of the Season she is revealed to have become an ActionGirl during her time with [[spoiler: her dad, Malcolm Merlyn.]] Then it is revealed in the midseason finale "The Climb," that she was [[spoiler: brainwashed into killing Sara in the Season premiere.]] In Season 3 Episode 13, "Canaries," Oliver reveals to her that he is the Arrow and responds with nothing but gratitude at the lives he saved. In the [[spoiler: next episode [[InternalReveal she learns that she was brainwashed into killing Sara]].]] By the end of Season when Roy has left Starling City, she has joined her brother's line of work by embracing the identity of Speedy, thus leaving this trope once and for all.
* There are a couple of episodes of ''Series/{{House}}'' ("Wilson" and "5 to 9") where the focus is on a member of the supporting cast. We ''occasionally'' see The Team in isolated snippets where the episode's viewpoint character happens across them, usually doing something nonsensical and potentially lethal to a patient, with the implication being that ''all'' of House's cases look like this trope to people who aren't on The Team.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] and ultimately [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] in ''Series/BreakingBad'' by Skyler's affair with Ted. At first, it seems like just an escape, between having to hide the truth about the situation from Junior, Hank and Marie, and dealing with Walt's increasingly erratic behavior. [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse And then she gives Ted all of Walt's money...]]]]
* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' can come off a bit like this. The show is as much about Jimmy [=McGill=]'s descent into Saul Goodman as it is Mike Ehrmantraut's rise to Gus Fring's enforcer. Although both plots are well-received, they also rarely interact with each other until season 5, when Lalo Salamanca becomes a threat that ties together the two plot threads.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' was forced to use a lot of {{Padding}} in earlier seasons, a lot of which can come off as this:
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth The Dalek Invasion of Earth]]" has a filler episode which, instead of focusing on Barbara's plan to destroy the Daleks, mostly followed Susan making her way through a sewer pipe and getting attacked by alligators [[StockFootageFailure played by some rather ropey stock footage]], and Ian fighting a rather unconvincing [[PeopleInRubberSuits rubber suit monster]] which is supposedly a Dalek pet, comes from nowhere and is never seen again (especially annoying when what makes Daleks so effective is that they have ''never'' looked like people in rubber suits).
** The early Creator/PeterDavison stories occasionally suffered from this. Having populated the TARDIS with the trio of Adric, Nyssa and Tegan, it was obvious that most of the script authors then struggled to find useful things for these people to do. Adric perhaps came out worse out of this situation, changing from a mathematical genius when first introduced the season before to one that spent large amounts of most episodes assaulting a buffet table.
** The second half of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E1E2Spyfall Spyfall]]" has series companions Yaz, Graham and Ryan on the run from one of the episode's villains; they don't manage to affect the A-plot in any way, just survive until the Doctor shows up to save them.

* In ''Series/{{Colony}}'', there is Will's efforts to ingratiate himself with the collaborators in the hopes of getting his son back, Katie's efforts to ingratiate herself with the resistance in order to keep them from killing Will... and then there's Maddie trying to ingratiate herself with a cultural minister in order to get insulin for her son.
* ''Series/Daredevil2015'' season 2 has a lengthy case of this. Once Elektra is introduced, Matt moves into her plot line, leaving Karen and Foggy to keep the Punisher storyline going. But there's very little interaction between the two plotlines, outside of Madame Gao (retroactively as of ''Series/IronFist2017'') and a retroactive one through Wilson Fisk, causing this trope.

* In ''Series/BatesMotel'', once Dylan stops living with Norman and Norma and moves out on his own he becomes far less important. He has his own subplot about running a pot farm, and connecting with his long lost dad, and later he hooks up with Emma, another superfluous character, but all of it has tangential connection to the main story of Norman SlowlySlippingIntoEvil.

* Kate from ''Series/RobinHood'' had several of these. She was always getting captured or injured, but special notice has to be made of the episode ''Something Worth Fighting For.'' In it, Isabella manages to plant one half of a broken locket in Robin's belongings, leading Kate to believe that Robin is cheating on her. She bursts into tears and runs back to her mother, [[{{Wangst}} wangsting]] all the while about how she thought she loved him. No one cared. What makes this ''really'' grating is that this is the second to last episode of the entire series, and most of it is wasted on the RomanticPlotTumour, to the point where a beloved character's death scene is completely short-changed. It's technically meant to be part of the general theme that the outlaws are being torn apart right before the big battle, but what the writers don't realize is that the outlaws are ''better off without Kate''. When she does return after realizing that she's been tricked, she doesn't actually accomplish anything except sabotage a peaceful protest that Tuck and Little John are staging, and then stand around telling the more competent characters to "hurry up".

* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'', this is part of the divisiveness among fans about the character of Vic Fontaine, a sentient hologram that takes the form of a 60's Vegas lounge singer. With the Dominion War and the fate of the entire galaxy and trillions of people resting on the main character's shoulders, many fans found themselves increasingly frustrated with how often the important War arc would be diverted into a pointless subplot involving Vic, often just to have him sing a swing number; twelve of them, in full, over less than two seasons, to be precise. This was also particularly jarring as characters began to frequent Vic's lounge more than Quark's bar, the ''real'' bar that they would have had to pass through in order to get into the holosuite.

* During ''Series/BabylonFive'', a recurring subplot in season 3 dealt with Dr Franklin's struggle with a stim addiction, and his quest to eventually find himself and pull himself together. Now there's nothing wrong with a bit of character development... if it weren't for the fact that this plot occurs at the crossroads of two major plotlines with galaxy-wide implications (The Shadow War and Babylon 5's secession from the Earth Alliance.). This particular arc felt rather minor and unimportant in the face of the others, and like a diversion from more important events. That said, Franklin's "walkabout" ended with [[spoiler:a hallucination of himself chewing him out for [[LampshadeHanging being a selfish ass and running off to "find himself" while his friends are fighting a war and putting their lives on the line for the greater good]].]]

** The TropeNamer is Kim's bizarre subplot in Season 2, in which she encounters a cougar in an event that MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext, which has almost no overlap with the main plot of Jack tracking down a nuclear bomb that's set to blow up Los Angeles, and exists mainly because Creator/ElishaCuthbert was contracted to appear in every episode of the season, even though the writers had no idea how to involve her in the main story. This was so derided that it was brought up in Cuthbert's next series, ''Series/HappyEndings.''

* On ''Franchise/PowerRangers'', Bulk and Skull's antics could sometimes feel this way - while the Power Rangers are fighting the MonsterOfTheWeek, they're doing something completely separate from the plot. For example, in the four-parter "Ninja Quest," the Power Rangers are searching for new powers and fighting the new villain Rito Revolto, while Bulk and Skull are training with the Angel Gove junior police department. Other times, they were busy trying to find out the identities of the Power Rangers, engaging in antics that never even brought them close to the Rangers. Mostly, they were pretty transparently just there for comic relief, though.

* Many episodes of ''Series/FullHouse'' will feature a plot line that has nothing to do with the "main" storyline or, at worse, poorly crammed into the A-plot to justify a particular reaction. Because of the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters many characters in the show]], this was often used to justify giving an "equal" amount of screen time, but the meandering plots were best left alone.

* Although ''Series/DowntonAbbey'' is full of subplots that involve LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters, stories involving Denker and Spratt often fall into this category. As the servants of the Dowager Countess they seldom leave her home or interact with anyone but each other, and as such their stories feel completely inconsequential to the greater ensemble cast.

** The TropeNamer is Kim's bizarre subplot in season 2, in which she encounters a cougar in an event that MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext, which has almost no overlap with the main plot of Jack tracking down a nuclear bomb that's set to blow up L.A., and exists mainly because Creator/ElishaCuthbert was contracted to appear in every episode of the season even though the writers had no idea how to involve her in the main story. This was so derided that it was brought up in Creator/ElishaCuthbert's next series, ''Series/HappyEndings.''