History GenreDeconstruction / LiveActionTV

* The new ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' massively deconstructed [[Series/BattlestarGalactica1978 the old one]], by showing how it "really" would look like if the last people were fleeing from a genocide. By proxy, the show also deconstructed "light" sci-fi like ''StarWars''.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' was similar in deconstructing classic elements of the SpaceOpera. The RagtagBunchOfMisfits are a bunch of escaped prisoners, disgraced soldiers, or other such outcasts who are constantly on the verge of killing each other due to their own selfishness and differences in personality. It takes an entire season for them to become remotely close to TrueCompanions. [[TheHero Crichton]], the most classically heroic of the crew whose plans are usually [[IndyPloy Indy Ploys]] and places helping people above pragmatism, has this attitude hurt him as much as it helps him and eventually gets him captured and tortured by the villains, causing massive SanitySlippage and leaving him far more paranoid and ruthless. Crais, the first BigBad of the show who spends most of the first season in a SternChase with Crichton for [[ItsPersonal accidentally killing his brother,]] winds up being thrown out of command of his own ship for wasting resources and joins up with the heroes simply for survival, not out of any moral reasons. [[DefectorFromDecadence The two rebels from an oppressive, evil race]] are, in the former’s case, lonely and misses living with her race, as their customs are the only thing she is familiar with, and the latter is an amoral thief only slightly better than the rest of her race. The LivingShip has its own opinions, and is obsessed with preventing the crew from leaving it or endangering its baby. DarthVaderClone Scorpius, despite being utterly ruthless and having a ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, is still reasonable and keeps his crew loyal not with fear but by treating them with respect. Even then, he learns that his ChronicBackstabbingDisorder makes it impossible for anyone else to trust him. Other SpaceOpera tropes are also brutally deconstructed or subverted.

* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' could be said to be a deconstruction of all the classic family SitCom tropes. Instead of being cute and innocent, the kids are evil little troublemakers. Instead of being a stern authority figure the father is a spineless coward. Instead of being a kind loving Matriarch, the mother is strict, arbitrary, unreasonable, and has a volcanic temper. Instead of living in a nice, pristine, two-story suburban house, they live in a small, trashed-out home (though it does look nice when it's clean). The parents have actual financial trouble, struggling to take care of three to four children while the dad works a dinky office job and the mom, instead of staying at home like most sitcom moms, works in a grocery store. Oh, and of course the lack of a LaughTrack. Malcolm was only following in the footsteps of ''TheSimpsons'' and ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'', making this more a case of SeinfeldIsUnfunny, as Malcolm definitely took it further.

* Similarly, good luck watching another AntiHero show after watching ''Series/BreakingBad''. The show essentially tears apart the whole notion of "good guys do the wrong thing to achieve the right goal." All characters who do the wrong thing, regardless of their intentions, ''they pay.'' The main character, VillainProtagonist who manufactures meth to provide for his wife and children, ends up getting disowned by them. His lawyer, AmoralAttorney who covers up his crime and connects him to the criminal underworld, end up having to change identity and live in exile. His brother-in-law DEA, CowboyCop who tries to bring him down without calling for backup, ends up getting himself and his partner killed by his criminal associates. Walt's begrudging partner, HitmanWithAHeart who puts up with his schemes to pay for his granddaughter's future, ends up getting murdered after their feud gets too hot. Basically, the show's message is this: you CantGetAwayWithNuthin if you're ''Series/BreakingBad''. Whatever your ends, if your means ain't legal, it's just going to be AllForNothing.

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and he's even arrested. In fact, the only reason why the wife is exposed as the abusive one is because their daughter (who was also being abused by her) got up the courage to testify against her, saving her dad in the process.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' was similar in deconstructing classic elements of the SpaceOpera. The RagtagBunchOfMisfits are a bunch of escaped prisoners, disgraced soldiers, or other such outcasts who are constantly on the verge of killing each other due to their own selfishness and differences in personality. It takes an entire season for them to become remotely close to TrueCompanions. [[TheHero Crichton]], the most classically heroic of the crew whose main plan is the [[IndyPloy Indy Ploys]] and places helping people above pragmatism, has this attitude hurts him as much as it helps him and eventually gets him captured and tortured by the villains, causing massive SanitySlippage and leaving him far more paranoid and ruthless. Crais, the first BigBad of the show who spends most of the first season in a SternChase with Crichton for [[ItsPersonal accidentally killing his brother,]] winds up being thrown out of command of his own ship for wasting resources and joins up with the heroes simply for survival, not out of any moral reasons. [[DefectorFromDecadence The rebel from an oppressive, evil race]] is a total psycho only slightly better than the rest of her race. The LivingShip has its own opinions, and is obsessed with preventing the crew from leaving it or endangering its baby. DarthVaderClone Scorpius, despite being utterly ruthless and having a ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, is still reasonable and keeps his crew loyal not with fear but by treating them with respect. Even then, he learns that his ChronicBackstabbingDisorder makes it impossible for anyone else to trust him. Other SpaceOpera tropes are also brutally deconstructed or subverted.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' was similar in deconstructing classic elements of the SpaceOpera. The RagtagBunchOfMisfits are a bunch of escaped prisoners, disgraced soldiers, or other such outcasts who are constantly on the verge of killing each other due to their own selfishness and differences in personality. It takes an entire season for them to become remotely close to TrueCompanions. [[TheHero Crichton]], the most classically heroic of the crew whose main plan is the [[IndyPloy Indy Ploys]] and places helping people above pragmatism, has this attitude hurts him as much as it helps him and eventually gets him captured and tortured by the villains, causing massive SanitySlippage and leaving him far more paranoid and ruthless. Crais, the first BigBad of the show who spends most of the first season in a SternChase with Crichton for [[ItsPersonal accidentally killing his brother,]] winds up being thrown out of command of his own ship for wasting resources and joins up with the heroes simply for survival, not out of any moral reasons. [[DefectorFromDecadence The rebel from an oppressive, evil race]] is a total psycho only slightly better than the rest of her race. The LivingShip has its own opinions, and is obsessed with preventing the crew from leaving it or endangering its baby. DarthVaderClone Scorpius ,despite being utterly ruthless, is still reasonable and keeps his crew loyal not with fear but by treating them with respect. Other SpaceOpera tropes are also brutally deconstructed or subverted.

* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' was similar in deconstructing classic elements of the SpaceOpera. The RagtagBunchOfMisfits are a bunch of escaped prisoners, disgraced soldiers, or other such outcasts who are constantly on the verge of killing each other due to their own selfishness and differences in personality. It takes an entire season for them to become remotely close to TrueCompanions. [[TheHero Crichton]], the most classically heroic of the crew whose main plan is the [[IndyPloy Indy Ploys]] and places helping people above pragmatism, and while this initially works out for it, it eventually gets him captured and tortured by the villains, causing massive SanitySlippage and leaving him far more paranoid and ruthless. Crais, the first BigBad of the show who spends most of the first season in a SternChase with Crichton for [[ItsPersonal accidentally killing his brother,]] winds up being thrown out of command of his own ship for wasting resources and joins up with the heroes simply for survival, not out of any moral reasons. [[DefectorFromDecadence The rebel from an oppressive, evil race]] is a total psycho only slightly better than the rest of her race. The LivingShip has its own opinions, and is obsessed with preventing the crew from leaving it or endangering its baby. DarthVaderClone Scorpius ,despite being utterly ruthless, is still reasonable and keeps his crew loyal not with fear but by treating them with respect. Other SpaceOpera tropes are also brutally deconstructed or subverted.

* Though [[CrapsaccharineWorld on the surface it looks like business as usual]], ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' deconstructs much of [[PowerRangers its franchise]]. We see exactly the kind of threat the villain can present (99% of the world has been nuked), the PluckyComicRelief is not an InstantExpert upon becoming a Ranger (and is just competent enough to avoid being TheLoad), the TeenGenius designing all the gear got her skills from being in a secret think tank for most of her life and has NoSocialSkills [[SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining as a result]], and there is immense pressure to keep the {{Mid Season Upgrade}}s coming [[ExponentiallyEscalatingArmsRace lest the villain get ahead]]. Things that don't get deconstructed tend to be lampshaded and made fun of; gratuitous StuffBlowingUp was questioned once, and the aforementioned Teen Genius regularly gets offended when the Ranger suits are referred to as [[SpandexLatexOrLeather "spandex"]].

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and is even arrested. In fact, the only reason why the wife is exposed as the abusive one is because their daughter (who was also being abused by her) got up the courage to testify against her, saving her dad in the process.

* ''Series/TheBoys2019'': Of {{superhero}}es. In general, they are real {{jerkass}}es with more concern toward money or their images than anything else. Frequently they will get away with even reckless homicide given the hero worship they receive-others are also even secretly ''murderers''. Others are just hypocritical or creeps. Regardless, they mostly get away with all of it due to their powers, superheroes' prestige and good publicity. They have an entire corporation that manages them, with corporate sponsorship, licensed products and publicists smoothing over their images. Given what they can get away, some people really hate them, up to the point of waging a homicidal campaign.

** Turns out, putting kids through situations straight from the Literature/CthulhuMythos leaves behind a bit of post-traumatic stress disorder.

* ''Series/CrazyExGirlfriend'' is a ''heavy'' deconstruction of RomCom movies. The protagonist is a plucky young woman, living a successful but depressing life in New York, who drops everything to move across the country when she encounters her NiceGuy ex-boyfriend. Over and over she chooses to act based on how the protagonist in a romantic comedy would (with a dash of ''Franchise/{{Disney}}'' princess movies and musicals as well), going to any length necessary to win Josh over regardless of his seeming lack of interest or current girlfriend. But by the end of season one, she realises that actually, even if she genuinely loves Josh and his girlfriend is an AlphaBitch, said girlfriend genuinely loves him too, and a lot of Rebecca's actions have been more StalkerWithACrush than 'quirky'. It doesn't end after season one, either, the show also deconstructing the LoveTriangle (''neither'' guy is really good for her, and she's definitely not good for ''them''), the [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge revenge plot]], and BelligerentSexualTension. And Rebecca in't the only one - while Josh genuinely is a NiceGuy, he's also an indecisive ManChild; Greg is the DoggedNiceGuy, but he's also an alcoholic prone to making very bad choices himself; Paula is the helpful sidekick, but she has her own life she's putting on hold to help Rebecca and a lot of her 'help' is anything but; even Nathaniel when he shows up makes it clear that a JerkWithAHeartOfGold with a FreudianExcuse is still very much a jerk. Overall, the message is clear: finding true love will ''not'' solve all of your problems in life, and certainly can't solve life-long mental health and behavioural issues. If anything, diving headfirst into seeking out love to escape depression can itself be extremely unhealthy and damaging.

* ''Series/TheMagicians'' deconstructs the concept of the WizardingSchool by ''taking it seriously''. Magic in this world is a natural force like any other, bound by immutable laws and limitations, and students need to learn what those are, or else they're just a danger to themselves and others. Wizard-ing is not easy, even for naturally-gifted students, and our heroes frequently screw up spells badly due to lack of experience. Instructors are hard on their students because they ''need to be''; learning to use magic properly and safely is essential. Hedge Witches, non-trained rogue practitioners, usually end up addicted to the power high and treat magic more like a drug or a status symbol, and often get themselves and those around them into serious trouble. And the "sorting" process for students also contains a psychological component: it's not enough to be able to do magic; you need to be able to handle it mentally.

* ''Series/AscensionMiniseries'' takes a sledgehammer and a blowtorch to the "Ever Forward" idealistic progressivism of the 1960's [[UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace Space Race]]. Set aboard a GenerationShip halfway through its century-long journey to Proxima Centauri, it shows the psychological consequences of living in a tin can in the middle of empty space. The first generation of crew may have been [[BoldExplorer Bold Explorers]], but their children are bitter and cynical, fully aware that they are living a life not of their own choosing, and they don't even have the comfort of knowing that they will eventually see a new world (that's what ''their'' children will do). Some adults never truly grow out of this, with TheCaptain expressing bitterness that he won't be remembered, and that peopole will only care about the captain that left and the captain that landed. All the negatives about mid-1960's society - sexism, classism, and authoritarianism - are on display aboard the ship along with the positives, and have been grossly magnified. The "stewardesses" are basically high-class prostitutes (as well as a spy ring for the paranoid elites). The limited space and the constant maintenance required means that opportunities for job advancement or career change are extremely rare, and society is rigidly stratified to the point of a caste system, which is about to boil over into a full-on revolution. Birth rates are carefully controlled due to limited resources. Marriages are chosen purely for genetic compatibility, not for love. No one is particularly happy, and everyone is psychologically messed up to one degree or another. And of course, with TheReveal, it turns out [[spoiler: it's all a lie. They never left Earth and this is all a simulation for a completely different, slightly nefarious purpose. Everyone was lied to about their mission and the intentions of their superiors, and they've been living in an illusion.]]

* ''Series/AscensionMiniseries'' takes a sledgehammer and a blowtorch to the "Ever Forward" idealistic progressivism of the 1960's [[UsefulNotes/TheSpaceRace Space Race]]. Set aboard a GenerationShip halfway through its century-long journey to Proxima Centauri, it shows the psychological consequences of living in a tin can in the middle of empty space. The first generation of crew may have been [[BoldExplorer Bold Explorers]], but their children are bitter and cynical, fully aware that they are living a life not of their own choosing, and they don't even have the comfort of knowing that they will eventually see a new world (that's what ''their'' children will do). All the negatives about mid-1960's society - sexism, classism, and authoritarianism - are on display aboard the ship along with the positives, and have been grossly magnified. The "stewardesses" are basically high-class prostitutes (as well as a spy ring for the paranoid elites). The limited space and the constant maintenance required means that opportunities for job advancement or career change are extremely rare, and society is rigidly stratified to the point of a caste system, which is about to boil over into a full-on revolution. Birth rates are carefully controlled due to limited resources. Marriages are chosen purely for genetic compatibility, not for love. No one is particularly happy, and everyone is psychologically messed up to one degree or another. And of course, with TheReveal, it turns out [[spoiler: it's all a lie. They never left Earth and this is all a simulation for a completely different, slightly nefarious purpose. Everyone was lied to about their mission and the intentions of their superiors, and they've been living in an illusion.]]

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and is even arrested. In fact, the only reason why the wife is exposed as the abusive one and gets arrested is because their daughter (who was also being abused by her) got up the courage to testify against her, saving her dad in the process.

* Similarly, good luck watching another AntiHero show after watching ''Series/BreakingBad''. The show essentially tears apart the whole notion of "good guys do the wrong thing to achieve the right goal." All characters who do the wrong thing, regardless of their intentions, ''they pay.'' The main character, VillainProtagonist who manufactures meth to provide for his wife and children, ends up getting disowned by them. His lawyer, AmoralAttorney who covers up his crime and connects him to the criminal underworld, end up having to change identity and live in exile. His brother-in-law DEA, CowboyCop who tries to bring him down without calling for backup, ends up getting killed by his criminal associates. His begrudging partner, HitmanWithAHeart who puts up with his schemes to pay for his granddaughter's future, ends up getting murdered after their feud gets too hot. Basically, the show's message is this: you CantGetAwayWithNuthin if you're ''Series/BreakingBad''. Whatever your ends, if your means ain't legal, it's just going to be AllForNothing.

* Both ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' and ''Series/{{Elementary}}'' deconstruct certain aspects of Holmes. In both versions, he's an irritating berk who's only barely tolerated by the police because he's so good. In both, he has a drug problem, but while it's an occasional plot point in the former, in the latter he's a recovering addict, which is a major theme in the series. And remember how Irene Adler is often portrayed as the only woman Holmes ever loved? In the latter, she's killed, and her loss sends him into a deep depression, eventually landing him in rehab. In the former, Holmes is such an unbelievably good detective that [[spoiler:Moriarty tries to destroy his reputation by making it look like his brilliance was faked.]] Elementary's Holmes is often...oddly dressed, and forgets to shave, or sleep, when he's involved in a case. He's also regularly shown studying the wide array of things he knows.

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and is even arrested. In fact, the only reason why everybody realizes that the wife was the abusive one is because their daughter (who was also being abused by her) got up the courage to testify against her.

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and is even arrested. The only reason why everybody realizes that the wife was the abusive one and gets arrested in the end is because their daughter (who was also being abused by her) got up the courage to testify against her in order to save her dad.

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and is even arrested. The only reason why everybody realizes that the wife was the abusive one and gets arrested in the end is because their daughter (who was also being abused by her) got up the courage to testify against her.

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and is even arrested. The only reason why the man gets saved and the woman is arrested in the end is because their daughter (who was also being abused by the wife) got up the courage to testify against her.

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and is even arrested. He only gets saved because his daughter, who was also being abused by the wife, gets up the courage to testify against her.

* The made for TV movie ''Film/MenDontTell'' can be seen as the deconstruction on the DomesticAbuse genre. Rather than the man abusing the woman, it's the woman abusing the man. What's worse is that everyone viewed him as the abuser and is even arrested.