Series / Mimpi Metropolitan

Dream chasers in 2018 Jakarta.^note Clockwise from bottom-right: Bambang, Prima, Alan, Pipin, Melani, and Mami Bibir.

"Since a long time ago, Jakarta has always been a magnet for newcomers from the countryside. Anyone who can conquer the capital is considered to be a winner in life."

— Prima, Opening Monologue from the first episode

Mimpi Metropolitan (lit. Metropolitan Dreams) is an Indonesian Dramedy/Roommate Com aired on NET with Limelight Pictures as the production house. It ran in 2018 for 65 episodes. The show is set in a dormitory in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta, focusing on three friends that live there, each of them having a dream to achieve in Jakarta.

The first one, Bambang Soedarmo (Madkucil), is a high-school graduate from a village in Wonosari who has just come to Jakarta. His first friend and roommate is a pirated-DVD seller, Penggalan Reformasi (Rifat Sungkar), who is better known as Alan. Their other best friend is Prima Irama (Sakurta H. Ginting), a soap opera extra who dreams of becoming a famous actor. Their dorm is owned by Mami Bibir (TJ Ruth), who also happens to be the owner of the agency where Prima works. The show also features Melani (Faradilla Yoshi), a television creative and Bambang's love interest, and Pipin (Rurin Nirmala), another newcomer and Alan's love interest.

The show's episodes revolve around Bambang, Alan, and Prima's struggles in whatever their current jobs are, their friendship, and their romantic storylines with their respective love interest (or working relationship with his boss in Prima's case).

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Mimpi Metropolitan contains examples of:

A–D

• Aborted Declaration of Love: The first two times Alan tries to confess to Pipin, Pipin gets angry before the confession actually starts due to misunderstanding what Alan in preparing (heart-shaped flowers on her shop is mistaken for making a mess, heart-shaped candles is mistaken for pulling a scare prank), so Alan doesn't go through with the confession.
• Accidental Misnaming: Pipin always calls Alexi "Alpin". Apparently, "Alpin" is just easier for her to say.
• Aesop Amnesia: As part of his development in the 40s episodes, Bambang learns to not get carried away by jealousy and insecurity. Then, nearing the end of the series, too much What Does She See in Him? causes Bambang to regress and have to learn the same thing again. It even happens within the latter storyline; Bambang seemingly learns from Melani to just trust her at the end of episode 61 and the very next episode has Bambang being overly jealous over Melani wearing a shirt with Alexi's face.
• Alliterative Title: Mimpi Metropolitan.
• Am I Right?: Alexi being a bad comedian has "Am I right?" repeated three times^Indonesian "Ya, kan? Ya, kan? Ya, kan?" as a catchphrase which he usually says after a bad joke.
• Ascended Extra: In-universe. Juna's role as Uta in Ada Azab Dalam Cerita is meant to be for the Agatha Chelsea episode only. But Juna convinces Akbar to promote him and Uta into a recurring role so that Akbar no longer have to depend on the hard-to-manage Alexi.
• Ascended Fanboy: Alan, who makes it clear throughout the series that he is a big fan of the Indonesian band Noah, becomes part of their road crew in the series' ending.
• Aside Comment: The show increasingly like to break the fourth wall, but sometimes the show hold itself just to this trope.
  • In episode 24, Alan turns to camera when commenting that Saodah is just as weird as Pipin.
  • In episode 37, Wawan faces the camera (and away from Pipin) when he comments how easy it is to win over a woman.
  • In episode 61, Nando looks at the camera when he ponders whether he could get someone like Ayu Azhari if Bambang can get someone like Faradilla Yoshi.
  • In his last scene in the last episode, Alexi ponders while facing the camera about how he is only there to watch the dorm residents one-by-one leave.
• Audience? What Audience?: If a character is not alone when breaking the fourth wall, the other character is guaranteed to be confused and interrupts them. Some in particular will asks who they are talking to.
  • Episode 44: Mami Bibir asks when Bambang confides to the audience that he feels all his efforts to get Melani are pointless.
  • Episode 49: Melani asks who Bambang is talking to when Bambang tells the audience not to get jealous seeing him holding hands with Melani. Bambang replies that he was talking to singles.
  • In episode 57, after Alexi asks the audience to "call the numbers below", Mami Bibir is confused about who Alexi is talking to and where is the numbers.
  • Episode 60: Pipin asks when Alan is telling the audience to watch the previous episodes instead of expecting a flashback if they don't get a reference.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • In episode 17, Prima tries to borrow some money from Mami Bibir by claiming someone calls him (as in, Mami Bibir's employee) ugly. Mami Bibir is seemingly angry and wants to meet that person... so she can says that she agree.
  • In the opening of episode 48, it looks like Melani's love confession doesn't work as Bambang believes Melani was just joking and they return to the dorm as if nothing happened. After Bambang and Melani go to their room, it is revealed that after the opening, Melani actually convinced Bambang that she was serious and they decided to make their relationship a secret from the others.
  • In episode 50, it looks like Melani is really mad about Bambang's betting her with Juna. After Bambang explains the full context of the bet, Melani laughs as she has figured it out herself and was just messing with him.
  • In episode 57, Juna (in a pocong ghost costume) decides to sleep in Ada Azab Dalam Cerita's set. A crew member sees Juna, spooky music plays... and he realizes that's just a guy in costume.
  • Twice in episode 57, Pipin seems to get that Alan wants to confess his love, but then reveals that she doesn't get a thing and berates Alan for throwing away flowers.
• Bait-and-Switch Accusation: In episode 57, Melani shows Pipin some keychains images and claiming that she wants to buy one of them in order to distract Pipin from her shop for Alan's surprise love confession. Pipin gets suspicious and accuses Melani of having a secret motive for showing her those images: she must have want to sell those keychains.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment:
  • When Prima hears that Bambang paid fifty thousands rupiah for a ride on motorcycle taxi, Prima tells Bambang that he should have asked Prima to drive him... so Prima can get the fifty thousands rupiah.
  • Mami Bibir's answers when giving a sandwich to Pipin.
    Pipin: For Pipin?
    Mami Bibir: For your dad. Of course, it's for you!
    Pipin: Is this sincere, Mi?
    Mami Bibir: No... No doubt about it.
  • In the beginning of episode 47, Melani answers Juna's asking her to be his girlfriend with an "Of course...". Romantic music plays before stopping because Melani continues with "...not."
  • In episode 50, Melani tells Alan she comes to the dorm looking for Bambang. Cue Bambang's happy face and romantic music. Then Melani continues with "and [Alan] too."
  • In episode 53, Mami Bibir playfully uses this when talking to Melani (who is worried about Mami Bibir's back) before Melani goes to work.
    Melani: Is it okay if I leave you alone?
    Mami Bibir: Don't... hestitate.
  • When Alexi is angry that Alan calls their meetings useless in episode 62, Alan assures him that their meeting are useful. As useful as it's lack of result.
• Bait-and-Switch Sentiment:
  • In episode 13, when Bambang tells Melani the sad story of Nancy's late husband, Melani gives him a tissue. Not for wiping soon-to-be-shed tears, but for wiping sauce in his face.
  • Episode 16 has Pipin telling Mami Bibir that she is glad Mami Bibir is not missing or worse, because otherwise there would be no one to pay for the gado-gado that Mami Bibir ordered.
  • In episode 36, after seeing Prima massively wet, Mami Bibir allows him to go home. Prima is touched until Mami Bibir tells him she doesn't pity him but she doesn't want an absent field coordinator tomorrow.
  • A weird case where the lack of sentiment is treated as a good thing. In episode 41 and 42, Pipin is really sad after finding out that Wawan has left. Alan is worried until Pipin explains that she only cried because Wawan only paid a miniscule amount of money that he owed Pipin.
  • When Alan asks Pipin does she like him in episode 42, Pipin answers that, yes, she does like Alan, but only when Alan pay his debt.
  • In episode 64, upon hearing that Alan is going to leave, Pipin looks saddened. Alan thinks this is a sign that Pipin does reciprocate his feelings, but Pipin is more upset about how no one will be helping her carrying stuff in her shop.
• The Bet:
  • In episode 22, Prima bets with Akbar that Bambang will be able to act for AADC or else Prima and Bambang will help the crew for two days. Prima loses (partly because of a facial cream rather than Bambang's acting), so Prima and Bambang spends the next two episodes working for Akbar.
  • In episode 46, Bambang is ready to accept if Melani is meant to end up with someone else and Juna shows up proclaiming himself to be that someone. Bambang responds by betting that he will clean Juna's clothes for a year if Melani does love Juna. Juna loses, and Melani is not happy with either of them when she finds out about the bet.
• Big "SHUT UP!":
  • At the end of episode 47, Mami Bibir is tired of Alexi and Juna's squabbling and yells "Silence!" so loud it shakes the camera.
  • In episode 65, Mami Bibir and Pipin screams "berisik!" (literally, "noisy") at Alexi to silence him since he has been yelling and asking about Melani's whereabouts.
• Big "WHAT?!":
  • In episode 7, Slamet shouts a big "What?!" upon hearing that Bambang missed the entrance exam, followed by two random watchmen also shouting "What?!" upon hearing Slamet's reaction.
  • Done as an extended joke in episode 33. First, Bambang and Alan simultaneously exclaim "What?!" upon hearing something on their respective phone, which annoys each other. Then, they tell Prima the news.
  Bambang: Dadang said he is visiting his hometown for about a week.
  Alan: WHAT?!
  [...]
  Alan: Pipin's stomach is aching so she asks me to do her job, cleaning Mami's house.
  Bambang: WHAT?!
  Alan: Not yet! So if you need anything, just ask Bambang. WHAT?!
  • Topan's reaction upon hearing that Juna is brought to hospital in episode 35: "What?! My best friend is sick?!"
  • Both Mami Bibir and Alexi's mommy have this reaction in episode 37 when Alexi says that he wants to work with Mami Bibir. The former uses a happy "What?!" while the latter has an angry one.
  • Episode 45: Mami Bibir's reaction to Prima telling her that Alexi wants to leave her agency. Like usual, her scream is big enough to make the camera shakes.
  • In episode 47, this is Alexi's reaction to Juna suggesting to Akbar that Juna should get a recurring role as Alexi's backup. Alexi doesn't like Juna at the moment and wants to protest, but Akbar likes the idea and ignores Alexi completely.
  • In the first scene of episode 49, Topan has this (delayed) reaction when Pipin tells him that she accidentally broke his laptop.
  • Episode 53: Alexi and Prima's reaction when they find out that the "million-rupiah" house they are offered is actually a cheap shack.
• Birthday Episode: Episode 43 and 44 are downplayed examples, as although Mami Bibir's birthday party and its setup is the main subplot, they also feature important development in Bambang and Melani's relationship story.
• Bittersweet Ending: Mostly sweet, but some characters has it more bitter than others.
  • Prima gets a job as part of Yayan Ruhian's vlog crew, but he has to leave the dorm and his friends for an indefinite amount of time.
  • Alan gets to tour with his favorite band, Noah. But he never gets to make his love confession to Pipin.
  • Pipin wins two billions rupiah from a prize, enough to fix her family's home, but has to tearfully parts with Alan.
  • Bambang wins over Melani's heart and their relationship is intact when the series ends, but his father died, so he has to go back to Wonosari and cannot achieve his dream.
• Blackmail: Upon finding out about Juna's real name and how embarassed he is about it in episode 34, Bambang, Alan and Prima agree to keep it a secret from the others as long as Juna does what they say. The blackmail lasts until the next episode when the others find out anyway.
• Blatant Lies:
  • In episode 18, Bambang denies that he is sulking while sitting alone in the car wash and frowning. Becomes more blatant after Bambang rants about Prima within Anto's earshot, yet he still denies it.
  • When Kai forces Alan to help him collect debts from Alan's own dormitory in episode 20, Alan tries to hide from Pipin and claims he is a cat when he is spotted.
  • In episode 22, Alan, right after running away from Mami Bibir's house while screaming, insists that he was not scared and was just trying to come up with a new strategy to deal with this "kuntilanak" who is haunting the house.
  • In episode 24, after finding out that Alan is not dead and they're crying over another person's dead body, Bambang claims that his tears aren't out yet while Prima claims that he is just acting. Alan doesn't buy it for a second.
  • In episode 46, Alexi tries to enter Mami Bibir's house after getting kicked out by claiming to be the RT leader, with the same voice he normally uses just with a bad accent.
  • In episode 47, Mami Bibir catches Melani looking through the house's window and asks what is Melani doing. Melani unconvincingly claims she was just checking whether the glass pane is there or not.^note Melani was peeking at Bambang who was in Pipin's shop and could be seen from the window Mami Bibir lets the lie slide and is more concerned with Melani acting weird recently.
  • Also in episode 47, Melani insists to Pipin that she isn't acting cold towards Pipin, while putting a faked smile and speaking with her teeth clenched.
  • In episode 61, Bambang's attemped excuse for why Slamet can't talk with Melani right now is because Melani is playing with sand.
• Borrowed Catchphrase:
  • Alexi's catchphrase is pretty easy to quote back at him.
    • When Juna manages to convince Akbar to make him a lead character, putting himself at Alexi's level, Juna throws back Alexi's "Am I right? Am I right? Am I right?" to Alexi's face.
    • In his goodbye to Alexi (and Prima), Yayan Ruhian ends on of his sentences with "Am I right? Am I right? Am I right?"
  • In episode 61, Bambang is so angry at Juna that he borrows Alan's usual retort that he wants to crush someone. Alan and Bambang then argues whether borrowing catchphrase is okay or not.
• Boyfriend Bluff:
  • In episode 23, to make the gossip reporters believe Alexi really is not her boyfriend, Melani holds Bambang's hand and says he is her boyfriend. Bambang naturally and happily plays along.
  • In episode 52, Alexi and consequently the others assume Bambang does this for Melani to make Alexi stop bothering her, not knowing and not believing that Bambang really is her boyfriend at that point.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: In the ending quote of episode 32, Prima tells the audience that in this life, lucky people beat smart people and handsome people beat lucky people. The biggest threats to people like Prima are people who are both lucky and handsome.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Becomes common after 40s episode.
  • In the ending of episode 21, Bambang asks the audience what should he do after realizing entertainment industry tells a lot of lies to its audience.
  • In episode 36, Bambang tells Wawan to stop feeding him and the camera to stop making a big deal out of it.
  • In episode 44, Bambang confides to the audience that he feels all his efforts to get Melani were pointless.
  • Later in episode 44, after his third attempt at apologizing to Melani failed, Bambang asks the audience what should he do now that all his apology plans has failed.
  • Episode 45: Alan tells the audience to not follow the example of the two men recording him and Bobby chasing a pickpocket instead of helping them.
  • Episode 48: Bambang thanks the audience for supporting him until he finally becomes Melani's boyfriend.
  • In episode 49, Bambang tells any audience who is still single to not get jealous seeing him holding hands with Melani.
  • In the ending of episode 49, Alexi teases the audience for waiting for an ending quote before trying to give one himself.
  • In episode 51, after Melani left him because (in her eyes) he couldn't control his jealousy again, Bambang asks for help from the audience, before realizing he shouldn't talk to singles.
  • Episode 53: During Nancy—Saodah's confrontaion, Alan looks at the camera and says that if this is a soap opera, they would be pulling each other hair.
  • Later, after seeing Alexi refuses Nancy one-million price in favor of two-millions one, Alan tells the audience (particularly, mothers) to feed their children milk instead of accumulator water so that they won't become like Alexi.
  • Episode 54: When Alexi finds no one in his soon-to-be new office, Alexi assumes he is being secretly recorded for a show and accuses the audience of recording him.
  • Episode 55: Alexi notices that the episode is making fun of his angst about Melani not loving him. The episode accordingly plays sad music.
  • Also in episode 55, Prima asks the creative team and writers (via the camera) whether he will get a romance arc of his own. The camera "says" no.
  • Episode 56:
    • Bambang asks the audience what did he do wrong this time after Melani yelled at him.
    • Alan gets Bambang to stop crying by threatening to show a close-up of Bambang's mouth to the audience.
    • After seeing another Bambang—Melani drama, Mami Bibir wonders out loud how many episodes they are in. Bambang answers "56".
    • Juna complains about how his good luck is gone ever since episode 45.
  • Episode 57: After Mami Bibir's give him some "criticism and suggestion", Alexi asks the audience to give him some too by "calling the numbers below".
  • Also in episode 57, Juna asks the camera whether they're ready if Juna comes to their house in a pocong ghost costume.
  • Episode 60: When remembering that time Prima was stalked by Yola, Alan tells the audience to not expect a flashback and go watch episode 18 and 19 instead.
  • After hearing Sandi comments that Bambang couldn't be Melani's girlfriend in episode 61, Bambang asks the audience whether his relationship with Melani is that unbelieveable. The camera nods.
  • Early in episode 63, Mami Bibir gives a gossip-news-like quote to the camera. She also tells the camera to stop focusing on her lips.
  • In episode 63, when Alan starts worrying about whether Pipin likes Bambang or not, Alan asks the audience to assure him that it couldn't be true.
  • In episode 64, after Alexi has a crying scene, Alexi asks the editor of the episode to not add too many comedic crow sound effect. The editor already did.
  • In the last episode, when Juna asks him whether they still have a chance at winning Melani over, Alexi randomly turns to the audience and asks them to participate in answering the question, much to Juna's frustration.
• Brief Accent Imitation:
  • In episode 5, Prima quotes back Bambang's "I can't be treated like this" complete with Bambang's Javanese dialect (which might be Prima's natural dialect given he is also Javanese).
  • In episode 35, after finding out that Alan accidentally poisoned Juna when fogging the dorm, Topan imitates Alan's Medan accent, something Alan notices.
• Brutal Honesty:
  • Bambang telling Pipin that her first attempt at making gado-gado is horrible. When Pipin cries over it, Bambang apologise but insists that telling the truth was morally right.
  • When Prima is sulking because Clarabel completely forgot about him after all his attempts to win her over, Bambang and Alan tells Prima that an unattractive guy like him shouldn't be hoping to get the attention of a celebrity like Clarabel.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • Alexi stops appearing after episode 12 since Melani no longer works in Alexi Show from that episode. Alexi comes back to Melani's life anyway in episode 23.
  • After last being seen antagonizing Alan and Prima in episode 26, Wawan starts visiting Pipin again in episode 36.
  • Juna leaves the dorm for a while when he gets casted in a movie in episode 38 and returns in episode 43 after the filming is done.
• Call-Back:
  • The painting video Prima made in episode 10 ends up becoming relevant several episodes later as it makes Bambang famous for a while.
  • Bambang and Melani pretending to be a couple to protect Melani from gossipers in episode 23 is brought up much later twice by Alexi as an argument for them not actually being in relationship when they actually do get together.
• The Cameo: Madkucil's then-girlfriend Fitriarasyidi has a cameo in episode 48, fittingly the episode where Bambang got a girlfriend.
• Camera Abuse: Whenever Mami Bibir screams angrily, expect the camera to shake. And when Mami Bibir is really angry, expect the camera's lens to break.
• Cardiovascular Love: For his first and second surprise Love Confession, Alan makes heart-shaped decoration. Pipin doesn't get the hint.
• The Casanova: Juna is a self-proclaimed casanova and claims he has enough ex-girlfriends to make a football team. In the present, he certainly can awe women with his looks, but his only attempt at seriously trying to get a girlfriend ends miserably.
• Celebrity Is Overrated: After becoming viral for several episodes and gets to be a guest star on TV shows, Bambang comes to think that being famous is too tiring and confusing for him, not to mention having to lie for the sake of a show.
• Celebrity Paradox: Averted.
  • That selebgram Madkucil is mentioned several times, almost always in front of Bambang.
  • Both episodes Melani's mother (played by Ayu Azhari) appears, Ayu Azhari is name-dropped. In fact, the first time is when Pipin comments that Melani's mother looks like Ayu Azhari.
  • When talking about Mimpi Metropolitan to Melani, Mami Bibir brings up one of its star Faradilla Yoshi.
• Character Blog: Each of the main trio has a real Instagram account, which is mostly filled with promotion for the show.
• Character Death: In the finale, Bambang's father, who has been a recurring character throughout the show's run, dies due to an (offscreen) accident in his rice factory. The fact is only revealed to Bambang and the audience the day after he died in the hospital.
• Character Development: Bambang started out emotional and prone to jealousy anytime Melani is approached by another man, particularly after Melani rejected him. After his jealousy-induced treatment to Melani made the normally composed Melani cries, Bambang begins to learn to keep his emotions and jealousy in check. While he has his lapse, for the most part he succeeds.
• Chocolate of Romance:
  • In episode 54, Bambang follows Alan and Prima's advice and gives Melani some chocolate after she had a hard night dealing with Alexi.
  • In epiosde 65, Melani's romantic birthday gift for Bambang is a box of chocolate.
• Cloudcuckoolander: Alexi tends to live in his own head and prones to coming up with idea that makes others facepalm (e.g. landing a jet on a helipad).
• Company Cross References:
  • Like in other NET. shows, the online motorcycle taxi service used by the characters are OK-JEK from NET. sitcom of the same name.
  • Since they share the same lead writer, the show sometimes references a previous NET.—Limelight collaboration Cinta dan Rahasia, such as giving Mami Bibir the same birthday as Dimas from that show.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Ever since Bambang gives Pipin some brain vitamins in epiosde 46, characters would off-handedly mention it whenever Pipin says anything stupid (the vitamins don't work) or unusually smart (the vitamins must have worked).
  • Melani's ending quote in episode 59 is a variation of Bambang's in episode 37.
• Coordinated Clothes: Bambang's cousin, Dian, wears matching clothes with his online date. Bambang thought about doing the same with Melani, but knowing Melani would hate it, Bambang decides to use matching phone case instead.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: In episode 59, after Prima earned Mami Bibir's anger by sending her an Irrevocalable Message by mistake, Juna points out that Prima could have deleted the message from his own phone instead of trying to crack Mami Bibir's. Prima is both happy and ired that Juna only gives him a solution now.
• Country Mouse:
  • In the early episodes, Bambang has just come to Jakarta from Wonosari and is still adjusting to the city's norm.
  • In episode 57, Mami Bibir lampshades that Pipin is a subversion. Pipin didn't act clueless when she first arrived because she was new to Jakarta. Pipin acted clueless because she is clueless, even more so after adapting to Jakarta.
• Crash-Into Hello: Alan and Pipin's first meeting in the first episode happens when Pipin bumps into Alan while searching for her aunt's house, causing Alan to drop and break his phone. Normally Alan would have been angry and demand compensation, fortunately for Pipin he falls in Love at First Sight instead.
• Credits Montage: Instead of the typical Hilarious Outtakes, the closing credits for the finale shows clips from past episodes.
• Daydream Surprise: In episode 58, Alan has prepared a surprise Love Confession for Pipin in Alexi's office. Then we see Pipin entering the office and accepting Alan's love, but it turns out Alan's just imagining it.
• Deadly Prank: In episode 43, Bobi explains that Soleh's death five episodes ago was a case of this. Bobi dressed up like a thief to scare Soleh as a revenge prank for Soleh's wife mouthing him off in public. He didn't expect Soleh to have a heart attack from that and die on the spot.
• Death by Childbirth: In episode 13, Bambang tells Melani that his mother died giving birth to Bambang.
• Delayed Reaction:
  • In episode 39, it takes Bambang several second after Prima tells him that his father went ill before he reacts.
  • In episode 49, Pipin tells Topan that she accidentally broke his laptop. Topan seems to take it in stride before realizing what Pipin just said and giving a Big "WHAT?!".
• Delirious Misidentification: When he just wakes up, Bambang mistakes people for Melani (Prima in episode 3, Pipin in episode 34).
• Did Not Get the Girl: Even though both of them clearly cares for each other and Alan attempted to make several love confession (which Pipin didn't get to hear), Alan doesn't get together with Pipin before he leaves the dorm.
• "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: The theme song is sung by Bambang, Alan and Prima's actors. Considering the lyrics, it might as well be sung by the characters themselves.
• Dramatic Irony:
  • In episode 3, audience know that the goat that Bambang, Alan, and Prima found is Mami Bibir's missing goat, but none of the characters know it until the last 10 minutes, causing scenes such as the trio trying to hide for Mami Bibir because they are afraid they will be berated for letting a goat enter the dorm.
  • In episode 8, the audience know from the start that Bambang is wielding a sickle and wearing fake-tattoo sleeves because he is working as a grass cutter. But since Bambang has been in a bad mood because of Alan since last night, the other characters are worried that he is plotting to kill Alan or that he has joined a criminal gang.
• Dreaded Kids' Party Entertainer Job: In episode 30, the trio helps Susan hold a birthday party for a kid, preparing the cake and learning party trick. When the kid's family arrive, the kid immediately abuses the trio even before Alan puts up his clown makeup.

E–N

• Embarrassing First Name: Juna's real name, Junedi, is something he prefers to hide and he even considers legally change it. When the main trio find out about it, they take the chance to use it to blackmail him.
• Ending Theme: The first 20 episodes use an Instrumental Theme Tune. The rest of the series use a self-titled song sung by the main trio's actors.
• End-of-Series Awareness: In episode 65, when Bambang is about to leave the dorm, Mami Bibir tells Bambang, Alexi and Juna to stop arguing with each other since this is the last episode.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Bambang's first scene is him arriving in Jakarta, exiting the bus and accusing the driver of lying about arriving in the city because they are in Rambutan Village Terminal; establishing his status as a Country Mouse.
  • Pipin's establishing moments in her introduction is her praying for Alan after he forgives her even though she broke his phone, then correcting Alan when he figuratively ask whether she is an angel; showing her kind but Literal-Minded personality.
  • Juna is introduced in episode 28 aweing women and taking the spotlight from Prima, establishing his casanova-ness and future rivalry with Prima.
• Every Episode Ending: Every episode ends with a quote displayed on the screen and spoken by one of the characters. Some quotes are summation of what the character has learned or felt during the episode; some are just jokes somewhat related to the ending. Being the finale, episode 65 has two such quotes: the first one is spoken by Alan and doesn't end the episode, but is more or less Alan's parting quote before leaving the dorm while the second one is spoken by Bambang and Melani, the only time the quote is spoken by two characters.
• Exercise Excuse:
  • At one morning in episode 27, Bambang watches Mami Bibir's house's door hoping that Melani will come out of it. When Mami Bibir is the one who shows up and spots him, Bambang tries to claim he was just exercising, badly. Mami Bibir can tell what he was doing and doesn't buy it.
  • In episode 63, Alan cries in front of Mami Bibir's house over the thought that Pipin might love Bambang more than she loves him. When Mami Bibir and Melani comes out, Alan pretends he was doing pushups against the fence.
• Expository Pronoun:
  • Bambang and Pipin who have just came from the countryside use formal first-person pronoun saya and use polite honoriffic and name instead of pronouns for others (although Pipin becomes a Third-Person Person as her naivety gets emphasized). Alan who went to Jakarta a year ago still acts like a Batak so he uses informal first-person pronoun aku and keeps his Sumatran second-person pronoun kau. The others who have spent a long time in Jakarta uses Betawi pronouns gue and lo.
  • Discussed in episode 58 when a waiter who sees Bambang and Melani dating assumes they're just friends because Melani uses gue and lo rather than something more intimate like aku and kamu. Melani cringes at the thought of using intimate pronouns but eventually comes around in the finale.
• Eye Am Watching You:
  • In episode 2, the local parker threatens Bambang this way to show he will watch Bambang if Bambang try to park people on his spot again.
  • In episode 61, Melani does this to Pipin after Pipin babbles to Melani's mother that Melani and Bambang were arguing last night. Pipin's body language shows that she doesn't get what pointing-to-the-eye means.
• The Faceless: For whatever reason, Melani's producers throughout the series are only shown using Over the Shoulder shots.
• Face Palm: Sometimes happen when people are frustrared at Pipin's stupidity.
  • Everybody's reaction to Pipin thinking that Bambang's scream is caused by a horror movie instead of a massage. Pipin doesn't get why they are doing it so joins in too.
  • Melani, Bambang, Prima and Mami Bibir's reaction to Pipin not getting Alan's love confession in episode 57.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: In episode 64, Alexi dramatically declares he will not leave Mami Bibir's house until Melani accepts his love. After some dramatic silence, Melani nonchalantly says that she doesn't care and goes back to her room.
• False Start: Alan's first attempt at love confession to Pipin ends up like this. Alan is ready to spit it out, but he doesn't get to say anything before Pipin mistakes Alan's heart-shaped flowers on the floor for making a mess. His second attempt goes similarly. His third attempt is stopped by bad luck and he decides to stop for a while after that.
• Fantasy Sequence: In episode 28, we get a lengthy sequence of Bambang and Alan imagining they dance with and propose to their respective love interest.
• Fictional Fan, Real Celebrity:
  • Bambang and his father are fans of Maudy Koesnaedi, particularly her role as Zaenab in Si Doel Anak Sekolahan. One of Bambang's missions when he comes to Jakarta is to personally give his father's message to Maudy.
  • One of Alan's core characteristics is how he is a fan of Ariel Noah. He sings Noah's songs pretty often, his dormitory room is full of Ariel posters, and he eventually moves out of the dorm to become Noah's roadie.
• Flowers of Romance: In episode 44 and 63, Bambang picks a flower from Mami Bibir's yard and gives it to Melani as part of his apology. Both times, Melani is completely unmoved while Mami Bibir is irritated.
• Foil: Juna is introduced around the same time Alexi starts living in the dorm. While both of them serve the role of handsome and arrogant jerks who squabbles with the main trio, they contrast each other in several ways. Alexi starts out as a rich and famous celebrity, while Juna is just starting to build his career. Alexi has no actual talent in his jobs, something the talented Juna mocks him for. Juna tries to (sometimes condescendingly) befriend the dorm residents while Alexi doesn't even bother to remember their names. While both are Bambang's romantic rivals for Melani's affections who cannot get that Melani doesn't like them, Juna is a playboy who has no problem wooing other women while Alexi only has eyes for Melani.
• Food End:
  • Episode 8 ends with Bambang sharing his fried rice with Alan and Prima after making up with them.
  • Episode 30 ends with Bambang, Alan and Prima eating the cake Pipin make for them, a consolation for them losing their job.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Topan reminding Bambang (and the audience) that they don't have a TV in the dorm in episode 31, which foreshadows that they will get a new one around two episodes later.
  • In episode 42, Bobby confronts Alan for still patrolling even though he is already fired by the RW leader. Alan finds it weird that Bobby already know and believes the news simply spread fast. The next episode reveals that Bobby has been trying to get Alan fired the whole time. He knew because he reported Alan to RW leader.
• Four Lines, All Waiting:
  • Episode 7 splits itself cleanly into Bambang's, Alan's and Prima's plot, with the only intersection is Prima joining the blood donation (because Prima's plot deals with saving money and they gives free food) that Bambang enters before they go separate way again.
  • Episode 11 has Prima and Bambang's subplot about driving kids to swimming pool, which starts outside of Pipin's subplot about improving her shop. Both subplot deals with separate things, has separate consequences and neither converges with each other.
• Friendship Moment: In episode 59, Juna, who usually bickers with Prima during their jobs, asks Mami Bibir to lift her suspension on Prima and forgive Prima for name-calling her behind her back, by basically asking Mami Bibir to punish Juna instead for his (unrelated) mistakes. Mami Bibir is impressed until Juna just has to ruin it by blaming Prima's typical bad luck for Juna's recent bad luck.
• Garage Sale: After the "trendy" clothes he bought for Bambang didn't make Bambang any more famous, Prima sells the clothes this way. Alan helps by getting more items to sale and teaching Prima how to negotiate with customers.
• Gender-Equal Ensemble: Up until episode 28 when Juna shows up, the main cast is composed of three males (Bambang, Alan and Prima) and three females (Melani, Pipin and Mami Bibir).
• The Ghost: Topan's girlfriend, whom Topan mentioned to Alan in episode 11 and 56. Topan insists that she is real, although Alan doesn't believe Topan as he never saw her.
• Given Name Reveal: The ending of episode 33 reveals that Juna's full name isn't Arjuna Renjana, but the much less impressive Junedi.
• Goal in Life:
  • Prima's dream is to become a famous actor and a celebrity.
  • Bambang wants to improve his village's living standard, starting by studying computer science in Jakarta.
• Got Volunteered:
  • In the ending of episode 53, Alexi has acquired a house for his new office and needs someone to renovate it. Mami Bibir volunteers Alan, making him Alexi's assistant for the rest of the series.
  • In episode 54, the electric fan used for making a windy scene for Ada Azab Dalam Cerita stops working and the crew need more people to help blowing the wind manually. Akbar immediately says that Prima wants to help.
• Grand Romantic Gesture:
  • When arguing with Juna after Juna's failed love confession to Melani, Alexi claims that if it was him doing the confession, he would have Melani stands on a helipad while he confess from 500 metres above the ground, then travels with her in a jet. Everyone within earshot are bewildered after hearing it.
  • Alan rejects chances of simply confessing that he loves Pipin. He instead tries three times to confess by setting up a heart-shaped flower pattern, setting up candles in the dark, and sending "I love you"-shaped donuts. When things go wrong, he just gives up on confessing. Bambang lampshades that he should have tried something simple like Melani's straightforward love confession to Bambang.
• Gratuitous English: Mami Bibir has a habit of using English words in her sentences for the sake of it even though she's not really good at pronouncing them.
  Alan: [After Mami Bibir says "fan" with a "p" instead of "f"] If Mami can't speak English, just use Indonesian, Mi.
• Gray Rain of Depression:
  • Subverted in episode 18. Alan lampshades how it suddenly rains when he cries about losing his job, but it's just Bambang spraying Alan with a water hose to invoke/parody this trope.
  • The one of only two time it rains in the series is during Bambang's failed attempt at asking Melani out in episode 36 and 37.^note The other one happens in the previous day to establish that it's rainy season.
• Group Hug:
  • After spending most of episode 25 refusing to talk to him because of a misunderstanding, Alan and Prima share a hug with Bambang after apoligizing to him in the ending. Melani and Pipin share a separate hug, which Mami Bibir join in.
  • During Prima's farewell in episode 60's ending, Bambang, Alan and Prima share a hug that Mami Bibir, Alexi, Juna and Topan join in (Melani and Pipin stick to just hugging each other).
• Hey, You!: Alexi's lack of respect for everyone besides Melani and Mami Bibir is emphasized by him not bothering to use their names.
  • Like everyone else, to Alexi, Bambang is an "ordinary person".
  • Alan's nickname just change from "ordinary person" to "Ariel's fan" when Alan works under him. Even then, Alexi still likes to use the wrong Ariel (Ariel Tatum instead of Ariel Noah). But for their goodbye, Alexi does call Alan with his full name.
  • Prima is an "ordinary person" to Alexi until Prima becomes Alexi's assistant manager.
  • Pipin is "Melani's friend", though Alexi is willing to change it to "Melani's friend whose name is Pipin" after Mami Bibir urges him to start using actual name.
  • Juna is only slightly different from everyone else by being called an "ordinary extra" instead.
• Hilarious Outtakes: Shown in the closing credits of every episode, except for the last one. Some are included in "Uncut Version" uploaded on the series' social media account.
• Holding Hands:
  • What cements that Bambang and Melani's Relationship Upgrade is really happening in episode 48.
  • Discussed in episode 54, when Pipin asks Prima, Alan and Juna about what it means when a girl and a boy are holding hands. Prima points out it could mean something mundane like they are crossing a street. But Juna shoots it down and says they must be dating.
• Hollywood Heart Attack: In episode 38, Soleh, the local watchman, has a heart attack (complete with the chest-clutching) just as he is going to chase a masked figure.
• Hopeless Suitor: In the Bambang, Alexi, Juna and Melani Love Triangle, people outside of the dorm believe that Bambang stands no chance compared to the handsome Alexi and Juna. In reality, it's the other way around, as Melani considers them annoying while Bambang is at least considered a friend. Even more so after Bambang and Melani gets together, yet Alexi still tries to get close to Melani and insists that Melani will love him eventually.
• Hostility on the Set: In-universe. There's antagonism between Juna and Alexi on the set of Ada Azab Dalam Cerita ever since Juna mocks Alexi's terrible acting and Alexi taking offense to that, with Mami Bibir and Prima trying to stop them from causing a mess.
• Hot Wind:
  • In Melani's first appearance (and Bambang's Love at First Sight moment), some wind blows through her hair in slow-motion.
  • Played with when Bambang first meets Mami Bibir. The scene becomes slow-motion and the wind suddenly blows her hair, but it doesn't make her any more attractive (not helped by Mami Bibir making funny face with her lips at the same time).
  • In episode 27, when Alan first sees Pipin with her hair down, Pipin greets Alan (and the camera) in slow-motion while some wind blows through her hair.
• Hypocritical Humor:
  • In Bambang's second meeting with Melani, Bambang calls Alexi disrespectful for disturbing Melani with unnecessary phone calls. Bambang's next sentence is asking for her phone number.
  • In episode 18, Chef MSG is offended that Mami Bibir is disgusted with his cooking. One tasting later, he has the same reaction as Mami.
  • In episode 29, Alan tells Bambang and Prima that they should be manly and calm about Alexi and Juna's arrival. Right after saying that, Pipin goes after Alexi and Juna which makes Alan panics, giving Bambang and Prima a chance to throw his words back to him.
  • In episode 44, Bambang has the gall to call Juna noisy after bothering a sleeping Alan by acting like a preparing wrestler.
• I Am Not Spock: In-universe. Bambang and his father constantly refer Maudy Koesnaedi as her role in Si Doel Anak Sekolahan, Zaenab.
• Identical Stranger: Not long after reminiscing about his late husband David, Mami Bibir meets Richard, who looks identical to David despite explicitly not being related or coming from the same country.
• Idiotic Partner Confession: In episode 37, Melani sends some medicine for the ill Bambang to Pipin, telling her to not let Bambang know who send it. Pipin proceeds to talk to herself (out loud, right beside Bambang) about how good Melani is at choosing things to send for Bambang.
• Imagine Spot:
  • In episode 10, Prima imagines how he would attract many women if he has a Cool Car. After seeing Bambang's new car, Prima has a similiar Imagine Spot, except this time with Bambang's car and only one ugly woman wants him.
  • Pipin, Alan and Prima has one in episode 21, imagining the then-famous Bambang promoting Pipin's gado-gado, complete with a song.
  • When substituting for Pipin as Mami Bibir's cleaning person in episode 33, Alan briefly imagines Pipin being there and making him a sandwich.
  • In episode 43, Akbar tells Prima how Prima could be an artist like he wishes if he puts all his effort. Prima then imagines how he would be in Alexi's place (being crowded by women) if he actually put the effort.
  • In episode 61, Bambang begins to consider giving Melani matching hats and imagines what would happen if he does it. One Imagine Spot later, he realizes Melani would chew him out for doing such a tacky thing.
• Imaginary Love Triangle:
  • In epiosde 11, Bambang sees Melani grab Alan's hand once and immediately gets jealous and assumes there is something between them. The next time we see Bambang and Alan together, Bambang apparently has been asking Alan about it like a broken record no matter how many time Alan explains it. It is quickly forgotten when Prima moves in to their room.
  • In episode 63, Alan has come to believe that Pipin like Bambang more than she likes him and is suspicious that Bambang is making a move towards Pipin after his quarrel with Melani. Of course, Bambang and Pipin are just being friends and Alan's jealousy only lasts one episode.
• Insistent Terminology:
  • Bambang is insistent that everyone must refer Maudy Koesnaedi as Zaenab.
  • It takes sometime before the others could accept Alexi's insistent that his new office is called, well, his house rather than Nancy's.
• Internal Reveal:
  • In the same episode where Mami Bibir tells Bambang, Alan and Prima that the bag they ruined is worth 15 millions rupiah, she lets it slip to Pipin that it actually costs less than a million rupiah. Bambang, Alan and Prima only find out about the trickery four episodes later when they meet the woman who sells said bag.
  • The rest of the cast finds out that Alan is wearing a wig in episode 35, something the audience already know since episode 3.
  • After Bambang, Alan and Prima find out about Juna's real name one episode prior, Melani, Mami Bibir and Alexi find out about it through a different way in episode 35.
  • The rest of the cast finds out about Bambang and Melani's Secret Relationship in episode 54, seven episodes after it started.
  • In the last episode, after Alan leaves the dorm, Mami Bibir reveals to Pipin that Alan has attemped to make multiple Love Confession to her.
• Introductory Opening Credits: Episode 2, after continuing the ending of the previous episode, shows an opening credits showing the six main characters with their name and their actor's name.
• Ironic Echo:
  • In episode 28, Bambang is angry that Alan and Prima left him to work alone and claims that "[his] mother's husband said: Hah!". When Bambang demands that all the money they received from the work must go to him, Alan and Prima quote that back to him.
  • In episode 44, Bambang's second attempt at apologizing is giving an apology letter to Melani, where he declares that "until Tangkuban Perahu Mountain becomes a boat again", he will make her happy. When Bambang later threatens to climb a tree and not climb down until Melani forgives him, Melani tells him that he can do whatever he wants "until Tangkuban Perahu Mountain becomes a boat again."
  • In episode 55, one of ustad's line when Juna films a scene in barefoot on a really hot day is "heat of the street is nothing compared to hell". After Juna can't take the heat anymore and takes the ustad actor's sandals, he quotes back the ustad's line.
• Irrevocable Message: In the ending of episode 58, Prima writes a text message for Bambang, reporting that a "lioness" (Mami Bibir) is tearing off Juna for getting fired from AADC, but ends up sending it to Mami Bibir instead. Mami Bibir reads it in the next episode and is enraged at the name-calling, resulting in Prima being suspended from her agency for ten days.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After getting over Melani's rejection, Bambang states that what he wants now is to make Melani happy even if she doesn't love him. Hearing this is what make Melani finally realize that she does love Bambang too.
• I Was Having Such a Nice Dream:
  • When Alan wakes up from his romantic dream with Pipin just as he is about to kiss her hands at the beginning of episode 13, Alan yells at Prima and Prima's smelly feet for waking him up.
  • Alexi complains and claims that he had a dream of becoming a leading actor alongside "Matt Damon" when Pipin wakes him up in episode 56.
• Kids Are Cruel:
  • The kid in episode 26 makes Bambang rides the odong-odong to the point of exhaustion. When his mother phones him, the kid claims he is being kidnapped just to make Bambang pushes the cart faster.
  • The kid whose party are organized by Susan in episode 30 immediately attacks Bambang, Alan and Prima, repeatedly.
• Kindhearted Simpleton: Pipin is rather airheaded and gullible, but (insensitive moments aside) is otherwise well-meaning.
• Laugh Track: Used frequently.
• Large Ham: As Alexi's Cloudcuckoolander behaviour gets emphasized, so does his over-the-top way of speaking. Thanks to his poor acting, the character he plays in Ada Azab Dalam Cerita is even more hammy.
• Like a Son to Me: Mami Bibir says multiple times that everyone in her dorm are like her own children to her.
• Literal Metaphor:
  • In episode 13, Alan arrives in Nancy's house to help Bambang and sees Bambang's exhausted face. Bambang explains that his "life burden is getting heavier". As in he is forced to give Nancy a piggyback ride.
  • In episode 17, Alan tells Anto that after working with Anto, it feels hard to "move his feet" (as in "leave") from the car wash. Anto reminds Alan that he hasn't take off his boots.
• Literal-Minded: Use figure of speech in front of Pipin and she is guaranteed to misunderstand it.
• Love at First Sight: Both Bambang and Alan immediately fall in love with Melani and Pipin, respectively, during their first meeting.
• Love Confession:
  • Bambang and Juna confess their love to Melani in episode 37 and 46, respectively. Both get rejected and take it poorly.
  • In episode 47, after days of being unsure of her own feelings, Melani holds Bambang's face as she says: "Bambang Soedarmo, I love you."
  • Alan attempts to do this to Pipin, but all his attempts ended up being a False Start.
  • Alexi does one to Melani in episode 64, under the impression that Bambang and Melani has broken up. They're not, and Alexi naturally gets rejected.
• Love Informant: In the last episode, since Alan decides to not reveal his feelings to Pipin even in their last meeting, Mami Bibir tells Pipin about it after Alan leaves.
• Love Revelation Epiphany: Melani only starts developing feelings for Bambang after he asked her out (which she rejected).
• Love Triangle:
  • Alan and Wawan are in love with Pipin; Pipin mostly thinks of them as a very helpful friend.
  • Juna and Alexi compete over Bambang's love interest, Melani. Melani finds the two obnoxious and likes Bambang as a friend, though she develops feelings for him later on.
• Malaproper: Mami Bibir and Alexi has a habit of using a similiar-sounding word instead of the correct one, which is usually accompanied by another character correcting it.
• Meaningful Echo: Bambang likes to append his apology to Melani by promising to make Melani happy "until Mount Tangkuban Perahu^lit. Upturned Boat become a boat again". When Bambang tells Melani that he is going to leave the dorm in the last episode, Melani assures him that their relationship will remain strong "until Mount Tangkuban Perahu become a boat again".
• Missed Him by That Much: In episode 64, Bambang is trying to buy some chicken congee for a surprise for Melani, but the seller accidentally let go of his cart, forcing Bambang and the seller to chase after it. Meanwhile, Mami Bibir and Melani are jogging and wondering where they could get congee for breakfast, right as the congee cart followed by Bambang and the seller pass behind them.
• Mistaken Age:
  • Melani at first assumes Bambang is only one year younger than her. He was actually three years younger.
  • Prima and Alan, despite otherwise feeling Bambang looks older than he actually is, thought Bambang is at least a year younger than them since he uses honorific for older person when referring to them. They all were born in the same year; Bambang is just being polite.
• Moment Killer:
  • In the beginning of episode 60, upon seeing Bambang and Melani holding hands in front of her house, Mami Bibir immediately stops them, explaining that she doesn't want any gossip about her dorm.
  • Episode 65: Bambang and Melani holding hands as Bambang explains that he is going to leave Jakarta is interrupted by Juna. It's pretty much intentional on his part.
• Monochrome Past: The many flashbacks throughout the series have muted color.
• Mood Whiplash: The otherwise sad scene in front of Slamet's grave in episode 65 has one sudden moment of levity: Alan falling while trying to squat for respect.
• Moving-Away Ending: The series starts with Bambang moving in to the dorm, so naturally it ends with some of the characters leaving it, specifically Alan leaving the dorm for a one-year long job with his favorite band, Pipin leaving for a month to fix her ruined house with her newfound money, and Bambang leaving Jakarta for good to take care of his late father's farm in the village.
• Must Make Amends: In episode 43, Bobi reveals that this is his motivation for trying to become a watchman. He believes himself to be the one responsible for Soleh's (the original watchman) death, as he made the Deadly Prank that accidentally caused Soleh's heart attack. So when the watchman job is open, Bobi tries to become one so he can gives the earnings to Soleh's family.
• Never My Fault: In episode 45, Juna laughs at Alexi's bad acting and manipulates Akbar into admitting it, causing Alexi to cry and refuse to shoot his scene. Juna insisting that him telling Alexi's acting is bad is Brutal Honesty is reasonable. Juna acting like the whole problem isn't his fault and blaming the main trio for somehow influencing Alexi's childishness, not so much.
• No Celebrities Were Harmed:
  • Paranormal Limbong from episode 5 is clearly based on Indonesian magician Limbad.
  • Beset host Nikita Misahin, named after Nikita Mirzani.
  • The paranormal Roy Kogitushi who briefly appears in episode 54 is an obvious parody of real-life paranormal Roy Kiyoshi.
• No Title: All episodes are referred in-universe and by promotional material using their episode number. The episodes do get titled when uploaded to NETVERSE and YouTube, but even then the titles are different depending on the site.
• Not What It Looks Like:
  • In episode 17, Melani is ill so Prima drives her to dorm and puts on his jacket to warm her. Bambang, Alan and Pipin don't know Melani is ill and assume Prima is being romantic. Bambang in particular becomes mad at Prima until the situation is cleared up next episode.
  • In episode 18, Alan gets paid to pretend to be someone's boyfriend. His romantic rival, Wawan, takes a picture of that and shows it to Pipin. When Alan comes home, he (and Prima, who did the same kind of job) has to explain to everyone about it.
  • In episode 19, Prima complains to Mami Bibir about two people from their agency making out minutes before a take, then demonstrating it with Prima as the guy and Mami Bibir as the girl. Cue disgusted neighbors thinking Mami Bibir is making out with her young tenant.
  • It's not explicitly stated, but Mami Bibir clearly thinks Alan has impregnated Pipin when they come to her house and Pipin is holding her stomach in pain (it has a cold) in episode 33.
  • In episode 59, Alan and Juna asks Bambang to show how Melani confess her love to him. Trisno then walks in, sees Bambang holding Alan's face and saying "I love you", and immediately has an understandable thought.
• The Nth Doctor: In-universe. Akbar has Juna fired and replaced as Uta's actor after Juna missed his shooting schedule. To explain the change, Akbar says that it will be said in AADC that Uta has a plastic surgery.

O–Y

• Obfuscating Stupidity: In episode 56, Pipin innocently talks about how good Bambang's rejected gift to Melani. After Melani intimidates her to stop then leaves, Pipin reveals to Bambang that she was trying to get Melani to take the gift, which Bambang didn't notice since she didn't act anything different from usual.
• Official Couple: Bambang and Melani. Their relationship lasts pass the finale even when Bambang has to leave Jakarta through Long-Distance Relationship.
• Only One Name: Unlike the others, Juna's full name is just the one-word "Junedi" (though technically, none of the characters has a surname, they just have multiple given names, since surname is not used in Indonesia).
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: At least two Hilarious Outtakes show Rifat Sungkar using his Javanese accent instead of Alan's Batak accent.
• Opening Monologue: The series begins with a narration about Jakarta and why people from all over Indonesia come there to make a living.
• Opposites Attract: The beautiful and hardheaded Melani eventually gets together with the unattractive and sensitive Bambang.
• Parting-Words Regret: Bambang and his father's phone call to each other in episode 61, where Slamet tells Bambang he wants to speak to Melani, but Bambang was arguing with Melani at the moment so he hangs up the call, turns out to be their last. When Slamet dies in the finale, Bambang expresses regret that he didn't get Melani to speak with his father when he had the chance.
• Pet the Dog: Alexi funds Alan's first two love confession plan.
• Playing Sick: After a minor motorbike accident with Alan, Wawan pretends to be injured so that Alan will have to pay the hospital bills and compensation for the broken motorbike. Also, hospital rooms are very nice to stay in. Alan can tell Wawan's faking it, but Wawan and the doctor insists on going through an expensive medical test "just to be sure".
• Pointy-Haired Boss: When Alexi gets to run his own bussiness, he becomes this to his employees, changing his mind every so often and demanding them to realize his unrealistic ideas.
• Pop-Up Texting: Pretty much all text message in the series is displayed as a pop-up, usually combining it with Voiceover Letter or more rarely, Sounding It Out.
• Poster-Gallery Bedroom: Alan's dormitory room (which he shares with Bambang and Prima) is full of Ariel Noah posters to show what a fan of Ariel he is. Later on, it's revealed thath Juna's room is decorated with a lot of his own photos, which the others take as a sign of how narcisstic he is.
• Previously on…: Every episode except the first one starts with a clip montage of the previous episode and sometimes clips from earlier episodes that are going to be relevant.
• The Prima Donna: During his time starring Ada Azab Dalam Cerita, Alexi keeps making selfish demands and follows his own schedule, something the director, Akbar, only tolerates because his fame is good for ratings. After the more reasonable Juna becomes a co-star, it doesn't take long before Akbar fires Alexi.
• Prophetic Names: When Bambang, Alan, and Prima decides to start a laundry business, Prima names it "Baper" since the first three letters are also their initials. But "baper" is an Indonesian slang for "easily upset" and, as Alan lampshades, their customers quickly abandon them after one bad wash.
• Punny Name:
  • Alan is a pretty normal name until it gets combined with the "Si" definite article, turning it into "sialan" (an Indonesian offensive interjection).
  • Alan's acquintance from Medan is name Kai, and Alan refers to him with the honorific "Bang", so most of the time we see him being called "bangkai" (Indonesian for "carcass").
  • Roy Kogitushi is obviously named such so that other characters can asks him "kok gitu sih?" ("why?")
  • The guy who tries to steal Akbar's phone in episode 49 turns out to be named Dio Doran (as in "doedarant").
• Put on a Bus:
  • Fellow dorm residents Adul and Rio moves out of the dorm in episode 26, without telling Mami Bibir and after they stole many stuff from the dorm. Unfortunately, they never get caught.
  • After returning for 5 episodes and even moving to the dorm, Wawan leaves the dorm off-screen and goes back to his hometown in episode 41 and is never seen again outside of flashbacks.
• Read the Fine Print: Alan, Bambang and Prima once sign a contract to face-cream testers without reading it since the money offer is so good. Then the mercury in the cream starts making their face ugly and they can't demand refund because of the contract.
• Recognition Failure: In general, Pipin is just bad at recognizing celebrities.
  • Pipin is confused why the dorm residents are more familiar with Yayan Ruhian even though she's the one who brought him to the dorm. Surprisingly, Alexi doesn't recognize him too.
  • When she meets Maudy Koesnaedi, Pipin only vaguely remembers seeing her in someone's (Bambang's) photo.
  • Played for Laughs in episode 29. When everyone in the dorm recognize Alexi as a talkshow host when he moves in (including the one who never met him before), Topan just walks up and asks who he is.
• Recycled Soundtrack: The series use the theme of Taegukgi for Bambang getting rejected by Melani in episode 37 and another Korean movie A Moment to Remember's theme for Melani admitting her feelings to Bambang in epiosde 47, among other scenes.
• Rejected Apology:
  • In episode 44, Melani rejects all of Bambang's apology for making her cry; the first one because he doesn't show any guilt, the others simply because she is still mad.
  • In episode 63, Bambang has made Melani angry with his jealousy, so Bambang apologize using the exact same apology as in episode 44. Melani rejects it on the grounds he shows a lack of effort.
• Relationship Upgrade: Bambang and Melani agree to go on a relationship in epiosde 48.
• Repeating So the Audience Can Hear:
  • In episode 47, while most of Pipin's answer to Saodah's call is an answer to where Saodah's pans is, the "Pans? Your pans?" is there so the audience know they are talking about Saodah's pans.
  • In episode 64, the Wham Line is Bambang repeating what happened to his father over the phone.
• Rhetorical Question Blunder: In episode 51, Bambang is tired of Alexi's whining about how bored he is and rhetorically asks him can't he leave the country. Alexi replies that he already traveled to several other countries and proceeds to show off the pictures he took there.
• Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony: Episode 62 is centered around Alexi Project opening ceremony, complete with ribbon tied between the front door.
• Rich Boredom: Alexi's motivation for joining the entertainment industry is that he has nothing entertaining to do alone with his endless piles of money.
• Right Behind Me:
  • In episode 35, Alan appears behind Pipin as she tells Melani about how Alan was revealed to be wearing a wig.
  • In episode 47, Pipin tells Mami Bibir her idea to make a monument if Melani rejects a guy for the third time. Melani gets out of her room midway through the conversation and overhears it.
  • In episode 59, Mami Bibir shows up behind Bambang and Pipin when they are discussing about how scary she is sometimes.
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor: In-universe.
  • Alexi is always hard to work with from the very start, but the last straw for Akbar is Alexi leaving the set without permission for the nth time (helped by the fact that now Akbar has a backup star).
  • Juna get recasted as Uta when he doesn't arrive for the scheduled shooting and can't be contacted.
• Rule of Three: Alan gives up trying to ask Pipin out after his third attempt failed, believing it's a sign for him to stop for a while.
• Running Gag: Ever since episode 32, Akbar occasionally (maybe jokingly) tries to get Mami Bibir to marry his toothless grandpa, in spite of Mami Bibir's obvious disgust.
• Say My Name:
  • Parodied in the first episode when Bambang accidentally spills a glass of coffee to Mami Bibir's bag.
    Prima: Bambang!
    Alan: Soedarmo!
    Bambang: Me!
  • Episode 8: After accidentally spraying Mami Bibir's face with pepper spray, Alan thinks it's a good idea to cool it down by throwing cold juice to her face. Mami Bibir doesn't react well.
    Mami Bibir: Alaaan! Alaaaaaan! [camera shakes] YOU'RE FIRED!
  • In episode 10, Mami Bibir screams Alan's name (which shakes the camera and breaks its lens) when the latter accidentally paints her face.
  • In episode 20, Prima brings Mami Bibir to feed Alan instead of Pipin as Alan wants. Alan is shocked and hits Mami Bibir's mouth, causing Mami Bibir to scream Alan's name in anger (and cracking the camera lens, again).
  • In episode 21, Bambang is still sleeping when he is supposed to become a guest star on a TV show. Mami Bibir wakes him up by screaming his name (which cracks the camera). When Bambang insists that the clock is probably wrong and goes back to sleep, Mami Bibir screams his name again.
  • The example from the first episode is repeated in episode 24 when Bambang feeds Alan and Prima onions as a prank. This time, Bambang's "Me!" is clearly sarcastic.
  • The arrival of Alexi's mommy in episode 35 is preceeded by an "Alexi!" yell from off-screen.
  • Nearing the ending of episode 36, Bambang, mad in love and waiting for Melani (who doesn't know he's waiting for her), screams Melani's name in the middle of a rain.
  • In episode 37, when Bambang realize Alan (technically Prima, but it was Alan's idea) is the one who wrote the asking-out message and not Melani, Bambang exclaims Alan's name in anger.
  • Episode 58: After Akbar tells Prima that Juna is fired from AADC and to get out from the set, Prima yells Juna's full name. Turns out screaming on set only angers Akbar further.
  • In the next episode, Mami Bibir finds out that Prima is name-calling her behind her back, resulting in Mami Bibir screaming Prima's name so loud not only the usual Camera Abuse happens, Bambang and Alan can feel their room shakes.
• Secret Relationship: As Melani doesn't like to be a center of attention, Bambang and Melani agree to make their relationship a secret. It lasts until episode 54 when everybody else find out.
• Self-Proclaimed Love Interest:
  • In episode 46, Prima lampshades Bambang and Alan's tendency to act like Melani and Pipin are already guaranteed to be their wives.
  • In episode 61, Alexi introduces himself to Melani's mother as Melani's future life partner, despite never being any close to winning her over. Later on, when Alexi gets rejected by Melani, Alexi shows up the next day as if they had just broke up.
• Sequel Hook: Not that a second season has been made.
  • Alan and Prima are going to return to the dorm months after their respective job outside Jakarta is done. Pipin also will return one month after leaving to fix her family house.
  • Melani has applied for master's degree scholarship and is about to tell Bambang something when the final episode ends.
  • Mami Bibir is putting up flyers to get new tenants now that Bambang, Alan and Prima no longer reside at her dorm.
• Set Behind the Scenes: Since at least half of the main characters work in television industry, subplots about TV series' production are quite common.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: When the normally casually-dressed Pipin lets her hair down and wears makeup, the other characters are impressed.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • As each others' best friends, Alan and Prima support Bambang/Melani; Bambang and Prima support Alan/Pipin; and Bambang and Alan (jokingly) support Prima/Mami Bibir.
  • Mami Bibir starts suggesting Melani should actually get together with Bambang after seeing them faking a relationship to throw off gossip journalists accusing Melani of being Alexi's girlfiend. She's not happy when Juna tries to win over Melani.
  • Those who are not familiar with the dorm residents (including Wawan) tend to support Melani/Alexi instead.
• Shipping Torpedo:
  • From the very start, Saodah (Pipin's aunt) is anti-Alan/Pipin, believing Alan to be a playboy, not a good husband material or sometimes she just distrusts Alan without explanation.
  • After finding out about Bambang and Melani's relationship, Juna and Alexi naturally becomes this. Juna tries by snarking at their relationship at any chance he gets; Alexi hires Melani as his new company's advisor, hoping it will draw Melani closer to him than Bambang.
• Shout-Out: The show likes to reference other works, be it Indonesian or international one, with the most notable examples being Ada Azab Dalam Cerita being inspired by ANTV's Azab and named after Ada Apa Dengan Cinta and the frequent references to Dilan 1990's "longing is hard". The complete list needs its own page.
• Show Within a Show:
  • Ada Azab Dalam Cerita, the in-universe version of the Azab show popular in Indonesia in 2018. Its production gets a lot of focus as Prima, Juna and Alexi worked there for a good chunk of their story.
  • Melani as an employee in Hits TV has worked at the talk show Alexi Show, cooking show Outdoor Chef and reality show The Proposal.
• Single Woman Seeks Good Man: As she puts it, Melani loves Bambang because he is caring, helpful and has his wise moments which outweight his emotional behavior. At no point she ever considered choosing the obnoxious Alexi or arrogant Juna.
• Sitcom Character Archetypes: The show uses The Goofball in form of Pipin (the nice, but dumb kind) and later on adds Alexi and Juna as The Bully (obnoxious characters who like to brag about their superiority).
• Small Name, Big Ego: Alexi likes to talk about how his famous television career is supported by his acting and comedy skills. In truth, he is a terrible actor and bad jokester who just happened to be handsome and famous. People just don't feel like firing him as long as he brings them good ratings.
• Sounding It Out:
  • Since he can't speak clearly in episode 31, Prima writes a protest message to Mami Bibir, which Mami reads aloud, despite it being visible to the audience.
  • In episode 61, Saodah reads Pipin's message to Prima out loud.
  • In episode 64, Mami Bibir reads Prima's text message to Alan when Alan shows it to her. This one does have an in-universe benefit of allowing Melani to hear the message, although the intention is still clearly telling the audience.
• Soundtrack Dissonance: In episode 27, Bambang and Alan getting beaten up is accompanied by Johann Strauss II's waltz "The Blue Danube".
• Spell My Name With An S:
  • Bambang's last name is spelled Soedarmo, as shown by his Instagram account, his father's gravestone and most ending quote. But there are a few ending quotes that spells his name "Sudarmo" instead and fans could be forgiven for spelling it that way since the "oe" comes from an archaic spelling for "u".
  • Melani is more downplayed as her name is always spelled that way in the show, but the episode titles in NETVERSE usually calls her "Melanie", which is used by a few fans.
  • Juna's real name plays this straight as when it's first revealed, it is spelled Junaedi in the receipt and the name on the ID card is too blurry to see. Later, his ID card is shown clearer and it has Junedi instead. Both pronouncations are used interchangeably by other characters.
• Split-Screen Reaction:
  • In episode 10, after Alan accidentaly paints Mami Bibir's face, the screen splits three-way to show Bambang, Prima, and Melani's half-stunned, half-amused reactions.
  • Episode 54 splits the screen in two for Pipin and Mami Bibir's shocked reaction every time Bambang and Melani is accused of being in a secret relationship. When Bambang shows his selfie with Melani to prove their relationship, the screen splits in four, adding Alexi and Juna's reactions.
  • Episode 57 uses a split screen to show Melani, Mami Bibir, Bambang and Prima facepalming at the sight of Pipin misunderstanding Alan's love confession attempt.
• Start My Own: After Alexi's antics during his stint as Ada Azab Dalam Cerita's star, no director wants to work with him. So Alexi decides to start his own production house.
• Status Quo Is God:
  • Unless it's a job in Bybyr Agency, don't expect any job Bambang, Alan and Prima get to last. Inversely, when Prima gets fired from Bybyr Agency, it doesn't take long before things go back to normal.
  • In episode 53, Alan and Pipin actually manage to make Saodah act nicer towards Alan. The next time Saodah appear, Alan lies to Pipin (and by extension, Saodah) as part of a failed love-confession attempt, ensuring Saodah hate Alan again like usual.
• Take That, Audience!: Bambang takes the time to mocks the audience for being single in episode 49 and 51.
• Team Hand-Stack:
  • In episode 15, after noticing that they haven't make much money with their laundry bussiness, Bambang, Alan and Prima put their fist-pumped hand on top of the other as they declare their decision to continue.
  • In episode 46, after discussing their plan to go on and face the struggles of working in Jakarta, Bambang, Alan and Prima does another hand stack.
• Thematic Theme Tune: The theme song (from episode 21 onwards) is about the struggles of living in Jakarta and the characters' determination to go on.
• They Call Me MISTER Tibbs!:
  • In episode 10, Melani tells Bambang to stop calling her with the formal "Mba Melani" in spite of their age gap. Apparently she also tells Bambang to tell Alan and Prima to just call her "Melani" too offscreen, but Bambang doesn't bother and Melani herself tells them three episodes later.
  • When Bambang is on the top of his jealousy in episode 44, one of his ways of getting back at Melani is by calling her "Mba" again. When Melani finally loses patience with his jealousy and calls him out, she yells at him for still calling her "Mba" even after that.
• Third Line, Some Waiting: Episode 1 has two main plots: Bambang being introduced to Jakarta by Alan and Mami Bibir needing more extras. They merge when Prima has Bambang and Alan join him as extras. Then, there are Melani's introduction to Alexi and Pipin's introduction to Alan, which only take a few scenes and are disconnected from the other subplots.
• Third-Person Person: Pipin usually refers to herself with her name.
• Through His Stomach: Prima tries to get close to Clarabel by doing this twice. It doesn't work and Clarabel doesn't even remember him when they meet again.
  • The day after their first meeting, Prima tries to get close to Clarabel by split scrgiving her a bottle of coffee like the one she gave to him the previous day. Too bad the reason Clarabel gave it was because she doesn't like it, so she gives Prima's coffee to Akbar.
  • Then, Prima buy Clarabel some gado-gado from Pipin's shop because he overhears that she wants some. It backfires badly since Prima gets demoted for leaving Ada Azab Dalam Cerita filming location and Clarabel no longer wants gado-gado by the time Prima gives it to her.
• Title-Only Opening: With the exception of the second one (which has an Introductory Opening Credits which doesn't immediately appear after the Previously on… segment), all episodes start with a Previously on… (or introduction for the main trio for the first one) segment before showing the show's title card.
• True Companions: Bambang, Alan and Prima are each other's best friends, with Bambang once describing Alan and Prima as his family.
• Two-Faced Aside: Mami Bibir at one point tells Prima that his acting skills are renowned while in another tells him that he is handsome, before facing aside and play-vomiting to make it clear she doesn't believe it.
• Two Lines, No Waiting:
  • Episode 9 has two main plots: the paid protesting plot and Melani's mother plot. Both eventually come together when Melani's mom joins the protest. And there's the "cleaning Mami Bibir's bed" plot, which is only slightly connected to the protest plot (mid-way, Pipin forgets about the bed because she wants to join the protest) and is resolved more casually.
  • Episode 23 has two such plot threads: the first is about Melani being gossiped and the second is about Bambang and Prima painting a mannequin for AADC, which merge when Bambang and Prima have to go to Hits TV office first, where Melani works.
  • Episode 45 to 47 has two overarching plot thread: Melani clearly falling in love with Bambang and Prima dealing with Alexi and Juna's antics on set. At the end of episode 47, Melani calls Prima to drive her home, but Prima is so physically tired of Alexi and Juna that he asks Bambang to drive Melani home instead. Bambang and Melani's talk before they go home is what makes Melani confesses her love to Bambang.
  • Episode 62 is split between Alexi Project's opening ceremony and Bambang and Melani's dating plan, which merge when Alexi decides to bring the people he invited to Bambang's workplace. The latter subplot ends poorly since Bambang gets jealous seeing Melani wearing an Alexi Project T-shirt.
• Unwanted Assistance: Alan and Prima try to help Bambang and Melani get together by faking a "meet me at the park" message from Melani to Bambang. It results in Bambang waiting in the middle of a rain for hours, Melani rejecting Bambang, and embarassment in him. Bambang is enraged when he finds out about it later and insists that his relationship with Melani would go smoother without it.
• Upper-Class Twit: Alexi was born in a rich family and seems to has endless supply of money to spend or give away. He is also very foolish.
• Vacation Episode: Episode 16 has the main characters going to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.
• Voiceover Letter:
  • In general, text messages are usually accompanied by a voiceover from its sender.
  • In episode 44, we hear Bambang's reading his apology letter as Melani reads it.
  • In episode 65, we hear Slamet's voicever as Bambang reads his letter.
• Waiting for a Break: During the period when he barely gets any acting role, Prima spends most of his time working as a motorcycle taxi driver.
• Waving Signs Around:
  • Half the plot of episode 9 revolve around earning money through becoming a paid protester. When Alan and Prima finally find a protest, some of the protesters can be seen waving a sign.
  • In episode 51, Juna claims to the rest of the dorm residents that he doesn't need to pay rent. The others proceed to break out a megaphone and some protest signs.
• Weaponized Stench: Alan's armpit odor is so bad it can be used to knock people out. Alan uses it in place of chloroform in episode 27 and tries to attack Wawan using it in episode 39.
• Welcome Episode: The premiere shows Bambang's arrival at Jakarta and how he, one by one, meets Alan, Melani, Prima and Mami Bibir who already knew each other.
• What Does She See in Him?: The typical reaction of bystanders who find out about Bambang and Melani's relationship is disbelief, as Melani is a beautiful woman with a respectable career while Bambang isn't considered attractive and can't keep a stable job. When Juna finds out, Juna directly asks Melani this.
• Wham Episode:
  • Episode 60: Prima joins Yayan Ruhian's vlog crew, forcing him to leave the dorm, the first time a main character leaves the show.
  • Episode 64: Alan is accepted as Noah's roadman, Pipin wins two millions rupiah, and Bambang receives news that his father is sent to the hospital, setting the stage for the finale.
• Wham Line: In the penultimate episode, things are going well for the characters, particularly Pipin who near the ending wins two billions rupiah. In the episode's final moment, Bambang receives a phone call from his aunt who gives him a shocking news: his father is sent to the hospital.
• Who's on First?:
  • In Alan and Pipin's first meeting, Alan tells Pipin she can call him "Si Alan", which confuses Pipin as why would someone wants to be called "sialan".
  • In episode 4, Bambang mistakes Mami Bibir referring Alan as "Si Alan" with her swearing "sialan".
  • In episode 47, the usual routine involving Alan's name is inverted. This time, an angry Juna utters "sialan" in response to Bambang mocking Juna's rejected love confession. Cue Alan asking who was calling him.
  • In episode 50, Mami Bibir asks Prima whether he called Dio Doran, the guy who tries to steal Akbar's phone, to be an extra. Prima is confused why is Mami Bibir talking about deodorant.
• Working Through the Cold: Melani's subplot in episode 17 and early episode 18 is her trying to go to work despite catching cold. Eventually, she is told to rest at home off-screen and becomes healthier in the second half of episode 18.
• Written-In Absence:
  • In episode 40, Bambang goes back to Wonosari, and his uncle Trisno's (who's played by a guest star) is said to be away attending a selebgram convention.
  • Topan doesn't appear at all in episode 59, despite having two reasons to: Alan works with him in Alexi Project just like in the previous episodes and Juna temporarily moves to his room. The episode just implies that he is in his bedroom through most of it, particularly when Alan calls for him.
  • In episode 65, when a good chunk of the episode takes place in Wonosari, Trisno and Dian are mentioned several times but don't appear (at least not on-screen). For one scene, it's explained that they are taking care of Slamet's death certificate.
• Younger Than They Look: Bambang is noted to look a little too old for someone born in 1998 (making him 19-turning-20 during the series). His younger cousin Dian looks even older.
  Bambang: (to Melani's friend who thought he is in his 30s) You're the 359th person to say my face looks older than my age.

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"If you hang your dream as high as the sky, if you can't reach it, you will fall among the stars."

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