History Main / EightDeadlyWords

** The eight deadly words get said verbatim by Jonah in ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S11E02CryWilderness Cry Wilderness]]''

** Said verbatim by Jonah in ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S1102CryWilderness]]''

* The premise of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' is that the characters are forced to watch bad movies. The films are usually so bad that Joel/Mike and the bots have zero engagement in the plot or characters, which allows the riffs to become bitingly funny. But once in a while this would be averted and they'd find themselves swept into the movie despite its shortcomings. ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S05E07IAccuseMyParents I Accuse My Parents]]'' and ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S05E09TheGirlInLoversLane The Girl in Lovers Lane]]'' are memorable examples of this.

Note that "not caring about what happens to" a character is not the same as "[[TheScrappy not liking]]" them -- some character archetypes, such as the UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist, are driven by the notion that watching horrible things happen to people that deserve them can be entertaining. In other words, even if you ''hate'' the character, you still ''care about what happens to them'' (because you want to see them get their comeuppance) so you'll still follow the story. This trope comes into play when even that fails to arouse sufficient interest. In other words, '''apathy'''.

* [[http://mightygodking.com/2011/08/31/so-flashpoint/ One reviewer about]] ''{{Comicbook/Flashpoint}}'': It's hard to care about the events of an alternate universe that wouldn't exist or matter anyway after a few months. It's harder still when the overwhelming majority of the characters are so hideously unlikeable that you get the impression the world would be better off destroyed. Add in the fact that the only character from "our" DCU is Barry Allen, widely regarded as a CreatorsPet, and you have a comic that winds up mostly being a lot of empty, unpleasant noise.

* ''WebOriginal/AtopTheFourthWall'': Linkara cites this as one of the reasons he dislikes the works created or inspired by Creator/RobLiefeld. None of the grizzled [[NinetiesAntiHero nineties antiheroes]] are anything more than props that fire massive guns and spew one-liners. He doesn't know who hardly any of the characters are, what they like or dislike, what their hobbies are, or whether or not they like [[Music/JimmyBuffett Pina Coladas]]. And they only seem capable of displaying one emotion: pissed off. They're all so interchangeable that Linkara makes a running joke of referring to individual early Image comics as any of the other, similar early Image comics by "mistake".

Note that "not caring about" a character is not the same as "[[TheScrappy not liking]]" them -- some character archetypes, such as the UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist, are driven by the notion that watching horrible things happen to people that deserve them can be entertaining. In other words, even if you ''hate'' the character, you still ''care'' about what happens to them (because you want to see them get their comeuppance) so you'll still follow the story. This trope comes into play when even that fails to arouse sufficient interest. In other words, apathy.

* [[WebOriginal/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] cites this as one of the reasons he dislikes the works created or inspired by Creator/RobLiefeld. None of the grizzled [[NinetiesAntiHero nineties antiheroes]] are anything more than props that fire massive guns and spew one-liners. He doesn't know who hardly any of the characters are, what they like or dislike, what their hobbies are, or whether or not they like [[Music/JimmyBuffett Pina Coladas]]. And they only seem capable of displaying one emotion: pissed off. They're all so interchangeable that Linkara makes a running joke of referring to individual early Image comics as any of the other, similar early Image comics by "mistake".

[[folder:Film]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Web Comic]]

** In ''[[WesternAnimation/MrPicklesGoodBoy Mr. Pickles]]'', he notes that with its first episode, he already doesn't care about any of the characters shown because they focus more on ones who won't be seen again, rather than showcasing the titular Mr. Pickles or any other main cast member.

** He expresses a similar sentiment towards ''Legends Of Chamberlain Heights'' for many of the same reasons, albeit to a greater extent; to the degree that he found the series ''worse'' than the above-mentioned ''Mr. Pickles'' on the grounds that every character was an unsympathetic and unlikable imbecile.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Ross Scott had this problem in his AprilFoolsDay [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4LaR1C6Xds review]] video of ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein2009'' in ''WebVideo/RosssGameDungeon'', saying that that nobody is really ''reacting'' to or treating any sense of urgency to the horrors around them, which fails to invest him in the characters, which in turn fails to invest him in the game itself. It was bad enough that he couldn't bring himself to finish the game, a first for the series.
[[/folder]]

* ''Machinima/FreemansMind'': Ross Scott had this problem in his AprilFoolsDay [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4LaR1C6Xds review]] video in ''WebVideo/RosssGameDungeon'', saying that that nobody is really ''reacting'' to or treating any sense of urgency to the horrors around them, which fails to invest him in the characters, which in turn fails to invest him in the game itself. It was bad enough that he couldn't bring himself to finish the game, a first for the series.

->''"The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it's indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy, it's indifference. And the opposite of life is not death, but indifference between life and death."''
-->--'''Elie Wiesel'''

* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': Diane tried to prove Frasier and Lilith's hateful jabs at each other were masking attraction by bringing up Wiesel's quote, "The opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference." Same replied he didn't really care one way or another.

* ''Seires/{{Cheers}}'': Diane tried to prove Frasier and Lilith's hateful jabs at each other were masking attraction by bringing up Wiesel's quote, "The opposite of love is not hate. It's indifference." Same replied he didn't really care one way or another.

!! InUniverse Examples:

* The premise of ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' is that the characters are forced to watch bad movies. Plenty are bad enough that the characters don't care about the ShowWithinAShow characters, even as they charge into danger.
--> '''Tom:''' ''[flat monotone]'' Stop. Wait. Come back.

* [[Creator/BobChipman [=Moviebob=]]] on ''The Escapist'' makes this observation of the movie ''Film/{{Monsters|2010}}'', noting that both leads are unsympathetic and {{Flat Character}}s.
** His opinion of the human characters in ''Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen''.
** And now the ''Film/LesMiserables2012'' as well, despite praising Creator/AnneHathaway's performance.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] in-universe in ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory''. Whenever one of the selfish children does something TooDumbToLive that will clearly lead to their downfall, Wonka's response (if any) is almost bored: "Help. Police. Murder." after Augustus Gloop falls in the chocolate river, for instance.

* Creator/RogerEbert gave George Romero's ''Film/DayOfTheDead1985'' [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19850830/REVIEWS/508300302/1023 one and a half stars]] in part because much of the movie consists of "unpleasant, violent, insane" or ridiculously noble characters shouting at each other. And while he doesn't utter the eight words out right, he does say that in Romero's [[Film/NightOfTheLivingDead1968 previous]] [[Film/DawnOfTheDead1978 movies]] "we cared about the characters."

** He also referred to this trope in [[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-usual-suspects-1995 his negative review]] for ''Film/TheUsualSuspects'', noting that "[[KudzuPlot To the degree that I do understand]], I don't care."
** Ebert's counterpart Creator/GeneSiskel had a rule of thumb about this: ask yourself "would a documentary showing these same actors eating lunch together be more interesting than the film I'm watching?"
* WebVideo/ToddInTheShadows [[http://blip.tv/todds-pop-song-reviews/cinemadonna-bloodhounds-of-broadway-7043713 had such an opinion of]] ''Bloodhounds of Broadway'', summing it up in one word: "POINTLESS". His reason is that it's a compilation movie without any unifying story; the only common thread between the multiple plotlines is that the characters all eat at the same restaurant, and the film switches from story to story so abruptly that there's no reason to get invested in any of them.
* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic makes this observation about ''Film/TheLastAirbender'', noting that the movie is nothing but exposition and gives the audience no reason to care about the characters themselves:
--> '''I DON'T FUCKING CARE!''' And you know why? Because I never once heard anyone in this movie say "I 'feel' this" or "I 'like' this" or "I 'wonder' this". There are no emotions being addressed. Traditional storytelling is setting up a character, sending them on their journey, and learning more about them through their journey. The Last Airbender is just chess piece storytelling: Character goes here, character goes there, character says this, pawn to king four.
** The Critic also had this to say about ''Film/JupiterAscending''.

* ''Film/IndependenceDayResurgence'' was ''severely'' criticized, especially by the WebVideo/ScreenJunkies crew, for its lack of compelling characters and interaction that people find it hard to care whether or not the Earth is blown up, unlike the first movie. Heck, some even wish the aliens [[RootingForTheEmpire had succeeded]] if only for the studio to not churn out any more lackluster sequels.
* Creator/BradJones, in his ''WebVideo/MidnightScreenings'' review of ''Film/JasonBourne'', argued that much of the ''[[Film/TheBourneSeries Bourne]]'' series falls flat for him as he finds the main character to be an absolute bore, simply existing to get into fight scenes and lacking the charisma of comparable characters like Franchise/JamesBond or [[Film/MissionImpossible Ethan Hunt]], and pursued by government agencies that are equally uninteresting. He gave some praise to ''Film/TheBourneLegacy'' for shifting the focus to the more compelling character of Aaron Cross.

* Invoked many times on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'', as the bots watched characters they were ostensibly supposed to care about hurtle to their doom.
--> '''Tom:''' ''[flat monotone a la Willy Wonka]'' Stop. Wait. Come back.
* ''Series/{{Hostages}}'' is getting this reaction from numerous critics on premiere night, including a [[http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/fall-tv-reviews-mom-hostages-the-blacklist nearly word-for-word recitation]] of the trope name from Alan Sepinwall.
* One criticism of ''Series/AmericanHorrorStoryMurderHouse'' was that the characters were [[http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/06/ryan-murphy-s-american-horror-story-is-the-craziest-show-on-tv.html too nasty to be likable]] but not unlikable enough that you enjoyed seeing them get killed off.

* Dorothy Heydt [[TropeNamer coined the words]] when reading [[http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.written/msg/c67003d462c72a07?dmode=source Volume Two of]] ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', and also [[http://groups.google.com/group/rec.arts.sf.written/msg/c0c86ef8c3d067df?dmode=source applied them]] to a ''[[Literature/TheFionavarTapestry Fionavar Tapestry]]'' book.

* Slacktivist's page-by-page review of ''Literature/LeftBehind'' often notes how the main characters are far less likable than the villain - who, of course, is the Antichrist.
** Made worse since the authors believe that YouCantFightFate in the real world, and wrote a story with two AuthorAvatar characters who also agree with the Biblical prophecies the authors believe in. As a result, they grumble a bit about the Antichrist, but don't do anything because everything is still part of God's plan. Even the characters themselves don't care what happens until Jesus comes back and kicks the Antichrist's ass.
** The reaction is best summed up in "[[http://www.patheos.com/blogs/slacktivist/2009/09/04/tf-no-heroes/ No Heroes]]":
--->''These are books without heroes because they are set in a world without heroism — without the possibility of heroism. A world of inexorable prophecies and inevitable doom.''

* LetsPlay/{{Diabetus}} of WebVideo/{{Retsupurae}} declares a variation in the ''VideoGame/DarkSeed II'' wrongpurae, about the protagonist, Mike Dawson, who is suspected of murder.
-->'''LetsPlay/{{slowbeef}}:''' To be honest, do you think he did it?\\

* WebVideo/JesseCox has at times stated that he doesn't really care for any of the characters in the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' games, but it wasn't until ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' came out that he finally couldn't stand it anymore.
* [[Machinima/FreemansMind Ross Scott]] had this problem in his AprilFoolsDay [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4LaR1C6Xds review]] video in ''WebVideo/RosssGameDungeon'', saying that that nobody is really ''reacting'' to or treating any sense of urgency to the horrors around them, which fails to invest him in the characters, which in turn fails to invest him in the game itself. It was bad enough that he couldn't bring himself to finish the game, a first for the series.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* Many a CausticCritic have this mentality when they're supposed to fear for a character's life. Special mention goes to WebVideo/TheCinemaSnob and WebVideo/{{Phelous}}, since they review exploitation and horror films, respectively, with Phelous spewing a lot of hate at the ''Film/{{Hostel}}'' movies especially for this flaw.
* WebVideo/TheAnnotatedSeries has this as a staple of comedy, as the annotators often cite not caring for any of the protagonists and instead paying attention to characters that aren't intended as significant or sympathetic.

* This is [[WebVideo/RedLetterMedia Harry S. Plinkett's]] reaction to the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels.
* ''WebVideo/CinemaSins''' 130th sin about Film/{{Lucy}}.
-->''"This movie should be f*cking OVER. Lucy wins and becomes air. I don't f*cking care what happens, except that what's actually happening is ludicrous.''

* When Creator/JohnKricfalusi wrote a post on [[Blog/JohnKStuff his blog]] [[http://johnkstuff.blogspot.com/2008/06/milt-grey-on-clampetts-black-and-white.html discussing]] Creator/BobClampett's b&w cartoons with animator Milt Gray, he described how WesternAnimation/PorkyPig was basically a [[FlatCharacter boring prop character]] in the hands of Creator/TexAvery and Creator/FrankTashlin, and that Bob best understood how to make the character truly likable and sympathetic.

* ''Webvideo/TheMysteriousMrEnter'' has noted that as of the "Little Yellow Book", he doesn't care about any of the main characters of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' at all due to how Squidward's (the last character he had any care towards) actions in the end made him out to be remorseless. Special mention also goes out to ''[[WesternAnimation/MrPicklesGoodBoy Mr. Pickles]]'' where he notes that with its first episode, he already doesn't care about any of the characters shown because they focus more on ones who won't be seen again, rather than showcasing the titular Mr. Pickles or any other main cast member.

* Evoked by Dan Didio with regards to Countdown the the Final Crisis, as far as Countdown being "52 done right". Countdown ended with all of the main cast of B-Listers and C-Listers alive and well, whereas 52 ended with severe character derailment (Steel, Black Adam) or fan favorite characters like Question and Elongated Man dead, alongside new popular characters such as Isis and Osiris.

--> Yes, a lot of epics have big talks and complicated storylines, but the story of King Arthur works because we see our flaws and strengths in the character. Star Wars works because we like these people and want to see them get through alive. Thus, we’re with them when they’re thrown in these complex and dangerous worlds. Here, you don’t care about anybody, so you don’t care about the backstories or the made-up worlds. It attempts instead to sound big instead of feel big. It tries too hard in lesser areas and not hard enough in the ones that really matter. If there is one thing that’s epic in this film, it’s what an epic disaster it gave us in the end. It really is the Valhalla of botched epic stories.

-->''These are books without heroes because they are set in a world without heroism — without the possibility of heroism. A world of inexorable prophecies and inevitable doom.''

->''"You need characters that you care about, and you need emotional investment. And then the action and special effects and the slime and the aliens and the coolness is the icing on the cake. But you need 'a cake' to put icing on it. You can't just eat the frosting, or else, uh, [[{{Metaphorgotten}} it's too sugary and it's bad for you, and you get the diabetes]]."''

->''"You need characters that you care about, and you need emotional investment. And then the action and special effects and the slime and the aliens and the coolness is the icing on the cake. But you need 'a cake' to put icing on it. You can't just eat the frosting, or else, uh, it's too sugary and it's bad for you, and you get the diabetes."''

* TheFamilyStone: Not one, repeat ''not one,'' character in this movie is remotely likable. Some people who watched it stated that when it was revealed that one of the main characters was dying, they felt like cheering.

->''"You need characters that you care about, and you need emotional investment. And then the action and special effects and the slime and the aliens and the coolness is the icing on the cake. But you need 'a cake' to put icing on it. You can't just eat the frosting, or else, uh, [[{{Metaphorgotten}} it's too sugary and it's bad for you, and you get the diabetes]]."''

->''"You need characters that you care about, and you need emotional investment. And then the action and special effects and the slime and the aliens and the coolness is the icing on the cake. But you need 'a cake' to put icing on it. You can't just eat the frosting, or else, uh, it's too sugary and it's bad for you, and you get the diabetes."''

-->''"I could forgive a bad story or clichéd writing if only the characters were likable and interesting. You see, in order to give a shit about the story, we need someone we can relate to — a protagonist with human character traits. A good example would be [[Franchise/StarWars Luke Skywalker]]. In the beginning we get to know him, learn about his hopes and dreams, and start to care about him. I can't stress this enough: Be sloppy with your writing when it comes to your protagonist, and you can kiss the slightest hope for quality storytelling goodbye. [[TheyJustDidntCare Bleedman doesn't give a shit]]. [[{{Wangst}} Emotional baggage]], [[DarkAndTroubledPast "tragic" pasts]] or JerkAss behavior do not make a likable, deep or interesting character."''