For the uninitiated... A contingent of tropers (mostly from across America) holds regular get-togethers over the Interwebs on this site called Synchtube which lets individuals, such as ourselves, open and join in text-based chatrooms within typical web browsers (Firefox, Chrome, et. al.) that allow the chat participants to view YouTube videos in synchronization with everyone else present (without even needing to set up an account)... and we've decided to use said chatrooms to play cheeseball webvideos and feature-length movies found in the public domain which stretch all the way from letters B to Z, which everyone subsequently riffs on a la MST3K.
For over EIGHT years, everybody who gets involved mostly finds good enjoymentnote in calling out tropes that are recognized in the videos and stories and coming up with jokes to fling back at whatever's happening on the screen, many of which turn into various in-jokes and running gags (a Coven Glossary is kept and maintained for everyone's help and convenience HERE) to repeat in the chat.
We're always looking for new ways to better coordinate and expand our activities and are more than happy to welcome newcomers interested in joining our gatherings.
Complete List of Past Features (and Their Respective Ratings)
Suggestions List for Future Features
Coven Glossary of In-Jokes, Memes, and Other Useful Terms to Know
Coven .gif Gallery (Our favorite moving images composed in the simplest of digital formats)
Edited by SeanMurrayI on Oct 12th 2020 at 1:47:43 PM
The Monster Squad is a dyed-in-the-wool flat out 80's classic. If we could set that one aside for the latter half of the month, that would be amazing.
I'll keep note of the other titles that have been suggested, so far, for the week ahead.
Ghosts N' Stuff Remix
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
It's not a lie. Proof
It's been on there four years already so it's probably safe but you never know...
"Monsters are tragic beings. They are born too tall, too strong, too heavy. They are not evil by choice. That is their tragedy."
Alright, let's get this show moving.
Happening now, we got The Guyver and a mess of other nonsense.
Then, at the top of the coming hour, it's the saga of a group of kids and their pet mummy in Under Wraps.
Back again at Cytube... http://cytu.be/r/TroperCoven
What's eatin' you, chief?
Alright
which one of you flatfoots stole my ankh
War is God.
Professional Moldy Fig/Curmudgeon
Hey, associated folks of the Synchtube coven... How about we watch this for Halloween?
Under Wraps was stupid fun. No wonder the Disney Channel allowed it. It was stupid, but Disney does have some standards at least. I actually laughed at some of its intentional humor.
It did get me to thinking though, near the end - what is up with kids commanding adults around? What's up with that particular trope?
It happens all the time in kid movies, books, etc. I can understand it and even find it justified in something like Return to Oz, where Dorothy is the leader of a group that includes a chicken, a being with a pumpkin for a head, a robot, and a flying bed with the head of a gump. All of them are presumably adults, but being non-human, and limited in their mobility compared to a human, they all take orders from a kid.
But in so many instances when it's used, it gets ridiculous. Kids order adults around and the adults are regular human beings who just take it, as was the case with the driver in this movie. Are all such adults mentally weak, such that they allow little kids to tell them what to do? At least the guy demanded an explanation and showed skepticism at first, so I give him credit for that.
Mikon :3
I dunno. From my experience, it seems to me that in fiction authority figures are more often than not unhelpful. Especially if the supernatural is involved. Though admittedly, if a kid came up to me and started talking as if werewolves or zombies or time traveling aliens in phone boxes were real, my first impulse would be skepticism. Even though I'd love for the first and third things on those list to be real.
So to me a subversion of that is interesting. Like in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when the professor doesn't automatically dismiss the kids' claims of a magical land hidden in his house.
As for kids taking charge over adults? I guess that's just a fantasy some kids have and they play to it?
Yeah, there's often only a few kinds of adults in these types of kid fiction:
- Useless adults
- Evil or corrupt adults (that, to me, is the best way to do it if you need an excuse to make adults useless. For example, one book series I'd read implied that some of the cops were paid off by the main bad guy and therefore wouldn't help the kids)
- Adults who let themselves get ordered around (as in here)
Super rarely do we ever get adults who attempt to take charge and be, well, the adult in the situation. I realize it takes power away from the kid heroes, but I think it can still be done well while giving the heroes a chance to do something.
5xDAH-AHAH-AH-AHAH-AH-AHAH-AH...
Seriously though, it was slightly amusing to just close my eyes and imagine Patrick with his mouth stuffed with Krabby Patties or something throughout that entire movie.
It seems silly when we look back on a lot of these sorts of things as grown-ups, but when we were all younger and looking for kid-centric entertainment, it was a bit inspiring to see young characters take charge and lead their own adventures, even if it's often highly unrealistic. What I dislike the most about many executions of the Adults Are Useless trope is when the young protagonists try to explain the extraordinary things that they've been seeing to a friendly grown-up, and the adult pays no heed to what they're saying. As a narrative device, it may build some extra tension that leaves the young protagonists up to their own devices to take command and solve their problem, but it also conveys a subtle message to child viewers that the grown up authorities that all kids are taught to trust (parents, teachers, police, etc.) wouldn't actually listen to them when they have something important to say.
In other news, tonight it's Richard Roundtree's final portrayal of John Shaft in a leading film role as he goes on a trip to the African continent. What else could it be but Shaft in Africa?
Yes, it's the brother man in the motherland!
edited 2nd Oct '14 7:37:16 AM by SeanMurrayI
The amount of movies I have to miss during the week is frustrating. And now it's this one. Dammit.
Tief girl with eartude
Which is ironic, because it's the first one in two days I'm not going to miss! 
Lucky you!
I owe you something "good" tomorrow to make up for that. Count on it.
Thank you.![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
hey, has the coven seen the Tek War movies yet? a bunch are on youtube
i dont know where to start secret movie club for cool ppl
Tief girl with eartude
Yep!
IIRC the first two were the strongest, the third was the weakest.
EDIT: We gave all 4 ![[awesome]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/minis/award_star_gold_3.png "[awesome]"){kind=small}
, aside from #3 (TekLab), which got .
edited 2nd Oct '14 3:23:51 PM by Bisected8
TV Tropes's No. 1 bread themed lesbian. she/her, fae/faer
cool cool. ill have to watch them myself sometime
ill keep throwing out suggestions since youtube has started to recommend them to me. have you guys seen Omega Doom? it stars Roy Batty
i dont know where to start secret movie club for cool ppl
Tief girl with eartude
It's been a while since we saw any of them...we should probably consider rewatching at least one.
TV Tropes's No. 1 bread themed lesbian. she/her, fae/faer
Yeah, the TekWar movies were pretty entertaining, overall. Not sure if we'll get to rewatching them any time this month, however. I have a subscription to the same YT channel hosting Omega Doom, though; that guy's been uploading A LOT of stuff right up our alley, and I'm pacing ourselves with everything he's got.
Anyway, starting up the show now with more of Bad Influence, shitty CGI animation, and other stupid crap.
Then, at the top of the coming hour, the Brotherman is visiting the Motherland as Richard Roundtree stars in Shaft in Africa.
Find us at Cytube: http://cytu.be/r/TroperCoven
Hey, since this month is October, I figured we should watch this old cartoon called Minnie The Moocher. It fits well with the Halloween theme.
Professional Moldy Fig/Curmudgeon
There are a ton of old Fleischer cartoons that are perfect for Halloween. This, however, is probably their best... Cab Calloway with his theme tune and the terrific rotoscoping animation makes it utterly wonderful.
Mikon :3
How about this little gem from the magical world of Disney?
I'll fit in what Halloween material I can over the weekend.
In the meantime, it's Kung Fu Friday, and we got another night with Tae Bo's Billy Blanks to look forward to in Showdown...
edited 3rd Oct '14 7:26:58 AM by SeanMurrayI
Looks interesting. I'll be here tonight.
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]")
You found the 1999 Haunting on You Tube? Really?
"They say I'm old fashioned, and live in the past, but sometimes I think progress progresses too fast."