Olan Rogers - Television Tropes & Idioms

is a film-maker, photographer, and comedian from Tennessee well known for his work with Balloon Shop

on youtube. While mainly making comedic shorts, he also dabbles in experimental short films and music videos. He has recently been rising in youtube fame for his miniseries The Last Scene, New Prime, and soon to be Pop Rocket. The Last Scene is an Affectionate Parody of action movie ending cliche`s, while the New Prime is one of Science Fiction. Both are well-known for their sharp-yet-bizzare wit as well as being surprisingly cerebral. He's also a major Cloudcuckoolander and Nice Guy.

Also dabbles in Stand-Up Comedy, having released two spoken word albums in 2010 titled Don't Poke The Bear and Bring The Bacon.

He is not, however, an astronaut, geophysicist, nor a dragon-slayer. Here is his website

, his store

, The Balloon Shop YouTube channel

, his YouTube channel

, his Twitter

, and his Facebook

Notable Works

Balloon Shop
The Last Scene
New Prime
The video for Harbor Lights by Awake Awake.
The video for Search Party by American Analog.

Olan Roger's works provide examples of:

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Tropes Appearing In Most Of His Works

Acting for Two: All of the characters are played by about four people, 60% of which are played by Olan himself, 10% by Reid Sullivan, 20% by Thomas Gore, and 8% by Starscream. Lampshaded, of course.
Aerith and Bob: Ferris, Dutch, Valavingee, Scar, Zack, Bob... Interestingly, The most normal names (Bob, Zack) go to the least normal characters.
Awesome McCoolname: Lightwave, Emperor Laboosh, Ferris, Dutch, Valavingee, Scar, Olan Rogers....
Better than a Bare Bulb
Cloudcuckoolander: Nearly every one of his characters ever, as well as Olan himself. Of particular note, Bob and Hans of New Prime and Zack McSleuthberger of The Last Scene.
- A memorable tumblr post:
wolfennights asked: Olan, do you have ADD/ADHD?
Olan: I have a HD TV.
Fake Brit: (Or something) In some of his videos.
Goshdang It To Heck: Olan never uses a swear more vulgar than "crap". Surprisingly, this arguably makes his videos much funnier.
Guttural Growler: Pretty much everyone that's played by Olan or Reid, with a few exceptions.
Large Ham: Yes.
No Budget: Not that you could tell in New Prime.
- Averted for Pop Rocket
Non-Human Sidekick:
- Olan's pet cat Starscream. He appears in many of his shorts.
- And he's rescued a starving puppy named Kreacher from an abusive owner. Looks like Starscream has a new friend.
Non-Sequitur: Inevitably, given Olan’s status as a Cloudcuckoolander, this crops up countless times in all of his works.
Realistic Diction Is Unrealistic: Averted, and hilariously then combined with World of Ham and Evil Sounds Deep.
Rule Of Cool: Pretty much what fuels half of his films.
Rule of Funny: A given.
Seinfeldian Conversation: So many, usually filled with Non Sequiturs. New Prime starts with one.
Surreal Humor
Talking to Himself: Since almost all characters are played by the same four or five people, this is inevitable.
What Do You Mean, It's Not Awesome?: Oh so much.
You Look Familiar: See Acting for Two

Tropes Appearing In The Last Scene

Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: Abused to no end.
Affectionate Parody: Of action movies, clichés, and Gainax Endings.
Almost Dead Guy: Subverted/Parodied with Zack.
Anti-Hero: Daniels is a Type III
Anyone Can Die: Surprisingly.
Badass Moustache: Daniels
Big Bad: Scar
Brick Joke: The Whistle
Catch Phrase:
- "DO I LOOK LIKE THE KIND OF GUY WHO X?"
- "I AM BREWING UP A BATCH OF SHUT IT STEW!"
Cerebus Syndrome: Both The Last Scene and New Prime start off as a short, nonsensical dialogue in minimalist settings. By the end New Prime actually somewhat serious, has Character Development, and Plot Twists. It never loses its humor, though. The Last Scene plays with and zigzags this, and seems to settle on Indecisive Parody.
Chekhov's Gun: The whistle.
Cloud Cuckoo Land: The White Void
Cliché Storm: Invoked, parodied, and played with in The Last Scene.
Cryptic Conversation: Pheonix Gold, much to Daniels' chagrin.
Dead Little Sister: Shelly is Daniels' dead girlfriend, even though he made her up.
Deliberately Monochrome: Justified because they are in a white void.
Evil Sounds Deep: Scar
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Whatever story this is a part of, we are only shown the last scene.
Gainax Ending: The whole thing is one to whatever it’s “the last scene” of.
Glowing Eyes of Doom: Whenever someone takes the medicines, they get these.
Imaginary Friend: Apparently these can be a Dead Little Sister.
Imagine Spot: The beginning of The Last Scene 3.
Indecisive Parody: The Last Scene is this so much it's almost impossible to tell whether Cerebus Syndrome is in effect, if it's a parody of Cerebus Syndrome, or even if it's still just an Affectionate Parody that isn't meant to be serious at all.
Kubrick Stare: Daniels in the intro, combined with Slow Walk.
MacGuffin: The Medicines. Subverted.
Made of Iron: Zack gives Fifty Cent a run for his money as far as taking bullets goes.
Mr. Imagination: Daniels, apparently, having made up multiple people, including his dead girlfrend and Shallow Love Interest. He was possibly lying, however, as Carl was shown to actually be real in New Prime 5. It's very possible that Shelly was real to.
Narnia Time: The year-minutes or yeuts. As well as The White Void.
Nested Story Reveal: At the end.
Perma Stubble: Daniels, Scar
Rocky Roll Call: "You don't need to get upset, I just thought we were playing the Name Game!"
Slow Walk: The intro
Shallow Love Interest: Shelly, used as a Dead Little Sister. She isn’t real. Or is she?
Soundtrack Dissonance: Almost constantly.
Stealth Parody: Played With
The Virus: It created the gargoyles, and was caused by the medicines.
Unflinching Walk: The intro, again.

Tropes Appearing In New Prime

Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene: Again, similarly to The Last Scene.
Affectionate Parody: Of Scifi in general.
Almost Dead Guy: Hans in New Prime
Alien Blood: The Phantom's is green when he's stabbed by Ferris.
Amusing Alien: Bob.
Anti-Hero: Ferris is a Type III but dips into a type IV when he kills the poor nimbus cubs... Dutch is a Type I.
Anyone Can Die: Surprisingly.
As Long as It Sounds Foreign: Valavingee's name.
Back from the Dead: When Ferris destroys The Lost Gate, Dutch, Lightwave, Brenda, Daniels, Scar, Hans, and A-jacks, emerge. Subverted for Daniels and Scar, who end up getting disintegrated again when the Void explodes.
Big Bad: The Phantom
Big Brother Mentor: Ferris to Dutch
Brick Joke: The soy sauce
Captain Ersatz: The Phantom is totally not Darth Vader.
Catch Phrase:
- Emperor Laboosh's "I'm feeling frazzled" and its variations, as well as Valavingee's "I have dealings".
- "Rev it down, Dutch!"
- "Calm your storm!"
Cerebus Syndrome: Begins to kick in at the end of the second episode, but never goes all the way until New Prime 5.
Cliffhanger: At the end of New Prime 5, we don't know the fate of Ferris. The series ends after he falls out of Zack's ship as Valivingee watches the void exploding from space, while Pheonix Gold narrates that a new scene is about to begin.
Cloud Cuckoo Land: As usual for Olan's works, it takes place in one.
Continuity Porn: New Prime 5.
Cryptic Conversation: The first conversation with Bob.
Dead Little Sister: Brenda is Ferris' dead girlfriend. Hans is Ferris' dead best friend.
Dead Person Conversation: In New Prime 4.
Deadpan Snarker: Scar, Hans has his moments too.
Deliberately Monochrome: In some of the flashbacks, as well as The White Void in The Lost Gate.
Dismantled MacGuffin: The Pieces Three.
The Empath: Zack implies he's this in New Prime 5.
Evil Sounds Deep: The Phantom.
Family Unfriendly Death: The Phantom is surprisingly shown being stabbed, complete with Alien Blood and a gaping wound.
Foreshadowing:
- The teleportation sound effect is shared by Bob and The Phantom.
- Hans referring to Zack as a Gargoyle is this to the fact that Zack isn’t just a crossover character, but that New Prime is in the same universe as The Last Scene and that the Gargoyle wars have already happened.
Gender Blender Name: Apparently, Ferris is named after his mother.
Heterosexual Life Partners: Ferris and Dutch, Ferris and Hans.
Hurting Hero: Ferris
Ice Cream Koan:
"Sauces without surface....Make me nervous"
"Oh yeah? Well sauces without plastic.... Makes me not fantstic"
* Slaps* "That was for good measure. And to give me pleasure"
Inherently Funny Words: Apparently how names are chosen on New Prime. Twarpers, Wompus, Warpers....
Killed Off for Real:
- Scar, Hans, Dutch, Brenda, and eventually The Phantom (Complete with a Family Unfriendly Death).
- Everyone comes Back from the Dead (save for The Phantom) in New Prime 5, but it's Double Subverted for Scar and Daniels who end up getting killed with the explosion of the void, and Ferris' fate is ambiguous, but he's implied to have died when he fell out of the ship.
Late Arrival Spoiler: Woe be the person who watches New Prime before The Last Scene.
The Mole: Bob is revealed to be The Phantom in disguise in New Prime 4.
Mind Screw: Both in and out of universe. In-Universe, the organizations of gates in New Prime. Out of universe, New Prime 4.
Mood Whiplash: Once Cerebus Syndrome starts kicking in, this is to be expected. Particularly the different conversations in The Lost Gate in New Prime 4.
Narnia Time: The Lost Gate takes Ferris to The White Void from The Last Scene in New Prime 4, where it’s revealed that Daniels had been missing for years, despite that he’d only been there since the beginning of The Last Scene.
Mordor: Four Points.
Once More With Clarity: After The Reveal in New Prime 4 that Bob is The Phantom.
Perma Stubble: Dutch, Ferris
Red Eyes, Take Warning: The Phantom.
The Reveal: In New Prime 4, it's revealed that Daniels from The Last Scene is actually Ferris' brother, the two series are in the same universe, and that Bob is actually The Phantom.
Scenery Gorn: New Prime 5. Good lord. Also manages to be combined with Scenery Porn.
Scenery Porn: New Prime, especially episodes 3 and 4.
Show Within a Show: Since The Last Scene is actually a comic book in-universe, by extension, so is New Prime.
Slow Walk: A few times, but Ferris has the best one in New Prime 5.
Shallow Love Interest: Brenda, again used as a Dead Little Sister.
Soundtrack Dissonance: Almost constantly.
Too Dumb to Live: Dutch. He doesn't live.
Uncanny Family Resemblance: Ferris and Daniels.
Wham Episode: New Prime 4 reveals that The Last Scene is actually in the same universe, Daniels is Ferris’ brother, Dutch was killed by The Phantom, and that Bob is The Phantom in disguise, before which The Phantom gets the last of The Pieces Three by fooling Ferris while being Bob in disguise.
What the Hell, Hero?: "You just killed that poor nimbus cloud!"

Tropes Appearing In Pop Rocket

Cryptic Conversation: Virgil's phone call with his supposedly dead dad.
Generation Xerox: Virgil became a detective, just like his father.
He's Just Hiding: After they Never Found the Body, and after Cyphris is convicted, guess who Virgil gets a phone call from...
Hostage for MacGuffin: Harvey
MacGuffin Title
Miscarriage Of Justice: Cyphris is blamed for Harvey's murder, despite the only evidence being that he was the only one near when the crime was committed and is on death row.
No Budget: Averted. And the Fandom Rejoiced.
Posthumous Character: Harvey, though they Never Found the Body.
Prequel: To New Prime and The Last Scene
Robot Buddy: Cyphris to Harvey
Three Laws Of Robotics: At least the first one was mentioned
X Meets Y: Film Noir meets Science Fiction

Other Tropes

British Accents: Really, really hilariously bad ones for the Laying It On The Stones videos.
Genre Shift: Made a Mega Man X Fan Film that is a straight action sequence with no comedy. And it's awesome. Also his experimental shorts and music videos are much more serious than the work he's most known for.
Perfectly Cromulent Word: "Fannywinkler" in Laying It On The Stones.
"Stop Having Fun" Guys: Invoked/Parodied by The Fun Cop.