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I think just saying that the works are structured around the trope without actually explaining it would make it a Zero Context Example, so the latter way is the one you should go.
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You don't have to list every example. But you need to list specific examples.
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"Most episodes of Alice and Bob use this trope" is a what we call a "generic example". Those are not allowed and can be removed without discussion whenever they're found.. You need to list at least one and preferably two specific episodes and explain how the trope is used. You don't have to list a whole bunch of them and you certainly don't have to ltry to list all of them.
...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.
General examples are specifically forbidden. So yes, every occurrence needs its own filled-out specific example.
Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving. -Terry Pratchett
Echoing Xtifr: "You don't have to list every example. But you need to list specific examples." You might do something like...
- Most installments of Alice and Bob are structured around this trope. Some notable examples include:
- In the first episode, a jaywalking ticket leads to a murder conviction.
- The arson investigation in the Christmas special is kicked off by a loitering charge.
- In S3E12, Charlie's drug dealing is revealed to be a cover for a worldwide conspiracy to eradicate the giraffe.
Thanks all. By the way, is it appropriate to list notably exceptions for the same series after listing notable (straight) examples?
Scientia et Libertas | Per Aspera ad Astra Nova
As far as I know, yes.
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If a series or work uses it so often that exceptions are memorable, then Yes, listing episodes that play with it is acceptable. If a series or work uses it so reliably that it's unexpected and surprising when they don't you could even go so far as to make the first bullet point a brief summary of some of the ways it was used, then further points individual episodes where it wasn't used.
- Series X
- Relies heavily on this trope, with the main crime of each episode being a murder or murders, but the original thing that Detective X is called in to solve including a lost dog in "Pupperkin", harassing phone calls in "Ring, Brrrrring", a stolen suitcase in "Body Bag", and forged checks in "Blank Check"
- The episode "Let's All Play 'Cluedo' " actually starts and ends with X investigating only one crime, the suspicious death of a college girl. Murder is one of the first possibilities brought up as to what happened to her.
Like that....
Edited by Madrugada ...if you don’t love you’re dead, and if you do, they’ll kill you for it.
As noted in the intro, Minor Crime Reveals Major Plot is a very common plot in crime fiction, so that in some crime novel series, many installments have this kind of structure. So if I write for this trope for such series, should I write a general statement of that fact, like "Most installments of Alice and Bob is structured around this trope", or should I list the details of every example?