Snowclone (new alt-titles crowner): A Day In The Slimelight

Pop quiz: considering the well-known trope A Day in the Limelight, what on earth is A Day In The Slime Light?

First, it's not thriving (20 wicks, 27 inbounds).

Second, it's basically The Same But More: it is A Day in the Limelight, where the focus character is one of those mooks that gets killed all the time (the header claims it must be a Mascot Mook, but most of the examples aren't).

Third, the page mixes up spin-offs and special episodes (i.e. a Story Trope), and merely having some weird critter as an extra playable character in a video game (i.e. a Gameplay Trope).

And fourth, there's the awful Snow Clone, because the trope has nothing to do with slime. Needless to say, this is not an established term.

I think some merging or renaming is in order, and would like to hear further opinions.

I'd say trash it and send it back to YKTTW for a better name and definition. It's a classic example of a trope that wasn't baked enough.

I suspect this was created purely for the pun. Not viable.

If it's The Same But More then we can do without it

Let's see guessing... Trope Namer is Slime from Dragon Quest and it's Spinoff / Gaiden Game s like Rocket Slime and such.

It isnt really that. That is lesser character gets an episode about them.

This is Mascot Mook (which you kill by the hundreds in the source material.) gets its own Gaiden Game or Web Comic or whatever about them... Does it have to be in the same continuity or anything like that nope...

edited 6th Mar '12 10:33:37 AM by Raso

I think this is the trope and the related tropes (note that episode could just as easily be game, film, etc):

• A Day in the Limelight: A secondary character gets focus for the episode.
• Lower-Deck Episode: A very minor character gets focus for the episode.
• Villain Episode: A villain gets focus for the episode.
• A Day in the Slimelight: A type of Mook that are often killed off in faceless droves gets the focus for the episode.

It's closely related to Lower-Deck Episode and Villain Episode, but I don't think it's The Same But More.

edited 6th Mar '12 10:32:15 AM by ccoa

The Mook in Mascot Mook is a bit misleading sure these are enemies but they certainly do not have to serve the villain or anything like that. (Like say Chocobos in Final Fantasy rideable and Random Encounter fodder they got their own spinoffs Chocobo Racing and such.)

That said I do support a rename to Mascot Mook Spinoff... Or expanding it to just Mascot Spinoff.

edited 6th Mar '12 10:41:08 AM by Raso

So this is basically the same as Lower-Deck Episode, then.

Sort of. Lower-Deck Episode is geared to describe good guys, for one. For another, Mooks aren't usually characters, they're a kind of plot device.

I see it as distinct enough to trope, I think.

^^ I don't think it has to be the Mascot Mook. Mook Spinoff? Mook Episode? Mook In The Limelight?

edited 6th Mar '12 12:06:24 PM by ccoa

The way I figure, there's a difference between part of a work focusing on a different character (usually one episode of an ongoing TV series); and a completely new work focusing on that character (i.e. a spinoff).

A Buffy episode focusing on Jonathon is the former; a Zelda game focusing on Tingle is the latter.

Since A Day in the Limelight is basically the former, and this trope is mostly the latter, it shouldn't be Snow Cloned like this.

I like Mook Spinoff or Minor Character Spin Off, depending on whether the minor character has to be a Mook or not. I mean, would the TV show Joanie Loves Chachi be an example? Both Joanie (Cunningham) and Chachi (Fonzarelli) were minor characters, but they weren't mooks by any stretch. How about Laverne And Shirley? Same parent show, and they were even more minor characters.

edited 6th Mar '12 12:42:59 PM by Madrugada

We could make Minor Character Spinoff, and make the mook version an internal subtrope. I'm not sure either is so common we need both.

This is definitely a trope, but is it a very common one? Is there a reason you'd expect it to have more wicks than it does?

This is way more common than 21 wicks suggests.

Because I can think of more than 20 examples off the top of my head.

Crowner ahoy. Feel free to add more options.

I'd like to see a few more votes on this, but consensus seems pretty clear so far.

Snapshot:

8 (yeas:8 nays:0) Rename.

1 (yeas:4 nays:3) Broaden to be about minor characters in general instead of just mooks. Rename.

-4 (yeas:1 nays:5) Merge into Lower Deck Episode.

-6 (yeas:0 nays:6) Do Nothing

edited 21st Mar '12 6:20:45 AM by ccoa

It is weird that this was snowcloned from Day in the Limelight, when it's actually a subtrope of Breakout Character. Breakout Mook Character, basically.

It's related, but it's not a direct subtrope. Breakout Character only sometimes leads to a spin off.

This also only sometimes leads to a spinoff,

which makes it a subtrope.

edited 21st Mar '12 1:06:34 PM by pawsplay

So it does. My bad.

Votes are still trickling in on this one. Let's give it another day or two.

Calling crowner. 8:1 in favor of renaming.

Empty alt-title crowner hooked.

edited 3rd Apr '12 12:46:52 PM by MetaFour

Bumping for votes.

Bumping once again for votes.