Mix And Match - Television Tropes & Idioms

Take one existing show genre, add another, and presto! you've got a brand-new genre.

The most famous example is Star Trek: The Original Series, pitched as a Wagon Train to the Stars (The Western + Space Opera).

See also X Meets Y (for when it's works, not genres/tropes) and Recycled In SPACE (for when it's a work plus a genre or tropes). Compare and contrast Genre Busting.

Examples:

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Anime and Manga

High School Drama + Lighthearted Comedy + Harem Genre + Shounen + Every Magic Trope Imaginable + Every Science Fiction Trope Imaginable X Serial Escalation= Mahou Sensei Negima!. You may think that's an exaggeration. You would be wrong.
High School drama + Humongous Mecha + Moe + Star Crossed Lovers + Transformation Trauma + Dysfunction Junction + Tear Jerker + Downer Ending + Kill 'Em All + Nightmare Fuel Fridge Logic = Saikano
Magical Girls + Devices from Humongous Mecha + Shounen Combat + Surprisingly Dark Plot + The Military + InSpace = Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha
Magical Girls + Toku + Softcore Cinemax Skinflick = Ultimate Girls
- Magical Girl can be divided further; for example, Magical Girl Warrior + Magic Idol = Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch
Yuri Genre + Humongous Mecha = Kannazuki no Miko
Mind Screw + Humongous Mecha + Viewers Are Geniuses + Eldritch Abomination + Rule of Symbolism + Dysfunction Junction + Deconstruction + Nightmare Fuel = Neon Genesis Evangelion
High School Sitcom + Boy Meets Girl + Sci Fi + Slice of Life + Locked Room Mystery = The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya (anime). Well, yeah.
- Widget Series + Sci Fi + Mind Screw + Alternate Universe = The Vanishment Of Haruhi Suzumiya
Magical Girl Warrior + Gender Bender = Mahou Shounen Majorian
The Western + Hammer Horror + After the End = Vampire Hunter D
Gentleman Thief + Coming of Age Story + Steam Punk = The Daughter of Twenty Faces
MagicalGirls + Nightmare Fuel + Faustian Rebellion= Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Magical Girls + RPGs + Humongous Mecha = Magic Knight Rayearth
Lolis + Mind Rape + unreliable narrators + The Power of Friendship + What Could Possibly Go Wrong? + Gorn + Crowning Moment of Awesome + Crowning Music of Awesome = Higurashi no Naku Koro ni
- Trolls + Fair Play Whodunnit + Clueless Mystery + Closed Circle + The Power of Love + Crowning Music of Awesome + Gorn + Serial Escalation+ Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane + Language Of Truth + Clap Your Hands If You Believe = Umineko no Naku Koro ni
Magic Idol Singer + Wholesome Crossdresser = Brocken Blood
High school drama + Feudal Future + Knight in Shining Armor + Humongous Mecha + Serial Escalation (Magnificent Bastard + Wham Episode)³ = Code Geass
Youkai + New Transfer Student + Cute Shotaro Boy + Petting Zoo People + Fanservice + Marshmallow Hell + More Fanservice = Kanokon
Children Raise You + Coming of Age Story + Parents (and Children) As People + Parent With New Paramour + Boys' Love Genre = Sakende Yaruze!

Comic Books

Medical Drama + The DCU = Samaritan X

Film

Body Horrors + Mind Screw = The Soul Taker
Blaxploitation + Our Vampires Are Different = Blacula
Serial Killer + Buddy Cop Show = Se7en
Sexploitation/Erotica + Crime Mystery Film Noir + Slasher Movies = Giallo
Horny Vikings + Instant Awesome, Just Add Dragons = How to Train Your Dragon
(Fallout 3 - I Love Nuclear Power) + (The Drifter x Badass Preacher x Disability Superpower) + (The Bible x Can't Stop The Signal) = The Book of Eli
A Street Car Named Desire + Gender Flip + So Bad, It's Good = The Room

Literature

Government Procedural + Boarding School of Horrors = Gormenghast
Great Detective + Affectionate Parody + Romance Arc = Lord Peter Wimsey
Our Souls Are Different + Waxing Philosophic + Rule Of Cool + Film Noir with a Bifauxnen Heroic Sociopath Jerk with a Heart of Gold protagonist = Kara no Kyoukai
Film Noir + Functional Magic + (Badass Longcoat + Genre Savvy + Occult Detective + First-Person Smartass + The Nicknamer) + lots of Shout Outs = ''The Dresden Files
(Pokémon + Lost Roman Legion) + Five Races + Succession Crisis = Codex Alera Super extra bonus points for the ones in brackets not only being this trope deliberately invoked, but the very reason for writing the book.
Punk Punk settings usually start as Cyber Punk mixed with another genre. For example, Cyber Punk + Medieval European Fantasy = Dungeon Punk.
Low Fantasy + (High Fantasy - Hobbits) + Succession Crisis + Character Depth + (Noughties Drama Series - Turn of the Millennium) + 27 * Magnificent Bastard = A Song of Ice and Fire
(Xenofiction - Cats are Mean + Badass + Anyone Can Die + Family Unfriendly Violence) x (Proud Warrior Race Guy + [The Clan x 4]) x (Long Runners + Loads and Loads of Characters) = Warrior Cats.

Live Action TV

Police Procedural + Prime Time Soap = Crime Time Soap (Hill Street Blues)
Sitcom + Wagon Train to the Stars = Red Dwarf
Spy Drama + The Western = The Wild Wild West
Medical Drama + The Western = Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman
Medical Drama + Amateur Sleuth = Diagnosis: Murder
Medical Drama + Space Opera = Mercy Point
Medical Drama + Work Com = Scrubs
Medical Drama + Work Com + During The War = M*A*S*H
Medical Drama + Rescue = Emergency!
The Musical + Dramedy = Glee
Police Procedural + Work Com = Barney Miller
Police Procedural + Law Procedural =
- Most famously, Law & Order
- ... which was preceded by the short-lived 1971 Jack Webb production, {{The D.A.}}, which used the same basic format
- ... which itself was preceded by Arrest And Trial, a 90-minute 1963 series.
Police Procedural + Rescue = Third Watch
Police Procedural + Odd Couple * Gender Flip + Government Conspiracy * Science Fiction = The X-Files
(The Western + Sci Fi = Space Western) + Government Conspiracy = Firefly
Travelogue Show + Reality Show = The Amazing Race
Cop Show + Super Sentai = Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger
- Super Sentai + Wuxia = Juken Sentai Gekiranger
- Jidai Geki + Super Sentai = Samurai Sentai Shinkenger
Film Noir + Post Cyberpunk + Kamen Rider = Kamen Rider Double
- Hammer Horror + Kamen Rider = Kamen Rider Kiva
- High School + Kamen Rider = Kamen Rider Fourze
Super Sentai + Americanization + Media Adaptation Tropes = Power Rangers
- Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger + (Gosei Sentai Dairanger - The Core Five Costumes) + Ninja Sentai Kakuranger + Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World = Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers
- Denji Sentai Megaranger - Videogame Tropes + Space Opera + Rescue Arc + Grand Finale = Power Rangers in Space
- Seijuu Sentai Gingaman + Wagon Train to the Stars + Darker and Edgier = Power Rangers Lost Galaxy
- Mirai Sentai Time Ranger + Adaptation Distillation = Power Rangers Time Force
- Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger + Wake Up, Go to School, Save the World + TOMMY = Power Rangers Dino Thunder
- Engine Sentai Go Onger - Lighter and Softer + Darker and Edgier + After the End = Power Rangers RPM
Die Hard on an X + Race Against the Clock + Real Time = 24.

Music

Gangsta Rap + Horror Tropes = Horrorcore Rap

Video Games

Space Marines + Super Soldiers + Alien Invasion + The Virus + Zombie Apocalypse + Hopeless War + War Is Hell + Military Science Fiction + Space Opera = Halo
First-Person Shooter + Le Parkour + Action Girl = Mirror's Edge
Cute Monster Girls + Bullet Hell + Crowning Music of Awesome + Fantasy Kitchen Sink = Touhou
- Take part of the above + Serial Escalation= Mushihime-sama
Metroidvania + Nintendo Hard + Guide Dang It + Goddamned Bats + Demonic Spiders = La-Mulana
Retro-futuristic Science Fiction + Underwater Habitat + Hidden Elf Village + Survival Horror + Art Deco + Anarcho-Capitalistic Dystopia + Genetic Engineering is the New Nuke + What Measure Is a Non-Human? + System Shock = Bioshock
Platform Hell + Nintendo Hard + Ludicrous Gibs + Everything Trying to Kill You + One Hitpoint Wonder = I Wanna Be the Guy
The Legend Of Zelda + Bullet Hell = Engage To Jabberwock
Kaiju + Professional Wrestling = King Of The Monsters
Raygun Gothic + Zeerust + Eagleland (both flavors) + Alternate History + After the End = Fallout
Roguelike + The Legend Of Zelda (the first game) + Nausea Fuel + Nightmare Fuel + Thick-Line Animation = The Binding of Isaac.
Dragon Quest + The Monster Girl Encyclopedia = Monster Girl Quest

Webcomics

Supernatural Soap Opera + Romantic Comedy + Different for Girls = Misfile

Web Original

(Deep Immersion Gaming x 11) + Les Yay + The Plan+ Corrupt Corporate Executive + Moral Event Horizon⁴ + Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism / Loads and Loads of Characters - Did Not Do the Research x Rule Of Cool + Shown Their Work = KIKEN
- KIKEN + Humongous Mecha + Post Modernism + Church of Happyology / Fantastic Racism = Mobile Suit Gundam AVNA
Archie Comics + Superhero School + Crazy Awesome + Transgender = Whateley Universe
Redwall + Usagi Yojimbo + Princess Mononoke + Alternate Universe + Beast Fable + What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids? = Tasakeru
Any random movie + Winnie the Pooh + Any other nostalgic character + Railroading + Dull Surprise + Captain Obvious + Hey, That's My Line! + Forgot About His Powers = Poohs Adventures

Mind Screw

Fiction

Pantomime

Noughties Drama Series

Show Genres

Pantomime

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