History Main / ViewersAreMorons

* ''Webcomic/NerfNow'' proposes a sadly believable hypothesis on typical game publisher's decision process: [[http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/891 Game Of The Year Of All Years]] [[LowestCommonDenominator "Strategy evolved!"]], indeed.

->''"No one in this world, so far as I know — and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me — has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby."''

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* In the manga ''Manga/KyoukaiNoRinne'', small notes at the side tell us the purpose of whatever supernatural object is being used. Even if said object has already been used (and noted) several times in the past.

* The American edition of ''HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'' was renamed to ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone''. Apparently this is because the US publisher thought American kids would reject a book that sounded as though it was about philosophy, and demanded a title that was less "misleading". This despite the fact that the Philosopher's Stone is an actual (theoretical) alchemical artifact, and is explicitly explained in the book, and that there's just no such thing as a Sorcerer's Stone at all.
** Which makes the internet firestorms surrounding what to call the book[[hottip:*: If you are being polite, the accepted abbreviation is PS/SS]] especially bizarre. Surely US readers should reject a title that was chosen essentially because a publisher thought they were all idiots?

** There are a number of scenes in the books where Hermione has to break down and explain rather simple concepts to Harry and Ron so they can understand it. She's not doing it because Harry and Ron are idiots, but more because the writer was afraid the kids reading might not be able to follow along without help.
*** Well, not ''just'' because [[TheWatson Harry and Ron]] are idiots.

* In keeping with how the original novel was handled (see Literature, below), the American version of the first [[Film/HarryPotter Harry Potter film]], ''HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', was retitled ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone''. This required every scene in which the term "Philosopher's Stone" was mentioned to be shot twice, with the actors changing the words to "Sorcerer's Stone". Viewers in Canada and the UK can see examples of these alternate scenes in the making-up featurettes on the DVD/Blu-ray release.

* TooGoodToLast

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' episode "Pavement", where [[SpaceGhost]] revealed he "writes" the episode they're doing and becomes an arrogant ass (well, [[AntiHero moreso]]). After a commercial he states, "[[SophisticatedAsHell Welcome back, stupid viewers. You'll watch anything! Go ahead, change the channel, you'll be back!]]"

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' episode "Pavement", where Space Ghost revealed he "writes" the episode they're doing and becomes an arrogant ass (well, [[AntiHero moreso]]). After a commercial he states, "[[SophisticatedAsHell Welcome back, stupid viewers. You'll watch anything! Go ahead, change the channel, you'll be back!]]"

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' episode "Pavement", where Space Ghost revealed he "writes" the episode they're doing and becoming an arrogant ass. After a commercial he states, "[[SophisticatedAsHell Welcome back, stupid viewers. You'll watch anything! Go ahead, change the channel, you'll be back!]]"

* Parodied in the ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhostCoasttoCoast'' episode "Pavement", where Space Ghost revealed he "writes" the episode they're doing and becoming an arrogant ass. After a commercial he states, "[[SophisticatedAsHell Welcome back, stupid viewers. You'll watch anything! Go ahead, change the channel, you'll be back!]]"

* At the end of ''TheThreeStooges'' movie adaptation, the Farrely Brothers '''have to blatantly explain to the audience that all of the slapstick and violence was faked''', most notably to the kids (even though it wasn't even targeted toward children, it was targeted toward the adults that grew up on the original B&W shorts). And the sad part? They seemed dead serious about it.

* In Numb3rs, it may be true that there are cases where really sophisticated math are used in the show. "Self Organized Criticality" and "Cake Cutting Algorithm" are some major examples and most people would require analogies to understand them. But the analogies don't stop there. The producers pretty much use analogies for everything that would even be common sense. Even a simple task such as trial and error.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life 2}}: Episode Two'', we get [[http://i56.tinypic.com/33ygg2h.jpg this piece]] of developer commentary that basically says Valve had play testers who literally walked in circles for over 30 minutes because they didn't know they were going in circles. Because of it, Valve now makes their games have more broader visuals that cues the player on where they need to go next. This is more apparent in the ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' series where there are literally arrows telling you where you need to go, even though Left 4 Dead is a strictly linear game.

* In ''BobAndGeorge'', [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000507c Dr. Light argues, on panel, that readers can't tell the difference betwene the Author and Megaman.]]

** Chris Collinsworth and John Madden bleed this trope. "The team that has more points is in a better position to win the game." No shit, Sherlock.

* This logic is unfortunately used by a lot of FanDumb to insult the intelligence of people who prefer [[SubbingVersusDubbing dubbed anime to subbed]]. There's many reasons as to why dub-lovers don't enjoy subs as covered in the SubbingVersusDubbing article, but for a lot of the sub's FanDumb, it's just because that dub-lovers are lazy and stupid and just can't be bothered to read along to an anime.

Lastly, [[TropesAreNotBad this trope is not necessarily bad]]. Business administrators and anyone else whose job it is to explain things to others (like a coach or a presenter) know the "KISS" method ("'''K'''eep '''I'''t '''S'''imple '''S'''tupid") because of the fear that if something is ''too complex'' then no one will understand it, which is certainly true of TV plots. Thus, it's not a bad idea for a writer to assume that their audience are not geniuses and write accordingly, since no one will be entertained if they can't follow along the story. Of course, great care needs to be taken, since if a writer makes their story too simple they also risk alienating the audience who will angrily invoke this trope.

* The first issue of the comic Marville decides to [[DontExplainTheJoke explain some things to help you understand jokes]], including the backstories for Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man. This comic was made in 2002, where those three heroes counted as mainstream. [[ViewersAreGeniuses Then it flips around]] and the first few pages expect you to know who Ron Perelman is and be aware of controversy around the Atlanta Braves.

* When the unboxing video of ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2'' was released, Robert Bowling held up what he called "fully-functioning night vision goggles". Specifically, they're ''Modern Warfare 2''-branded [=EyeClops=] Night Vision infrared goggles, which are made from plastic and cheaper materials than any decent pair you'd find in stores and use the technology used when first developing night vision. Real night vision goggles that aren't actually toys cost hundreds of dollars, with military models costing well over $4,000. [=EyeClops=] was open about the item's status as a toy, while Infinity Ward was trying to pass it off as authentic tactical equipment and COD {{fan|Dumb}}s treated any claim that they aren't real military-grade optics as a personal attack to be met with much [[{{Stereotype}} accusation of homosexuality that's so prevalent in console communities]].
** With [=MW2=], a more serious example of this trope is with the developer abandoning dedicated servers, the developer console, modding ability and many other features most multiplayer shooters on PC have, with their proprietary IWNET being the only way to play online, for the sake of, they say, the 'casual gamer' who are apparently too dumb to operate those things, despite those features being in every FPS released since ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}''.
*** While pandering to the more casual demographic might have been Activision's ''stated'' reason for locking down some of the more traditionally complicated elements, a more likely explaination for why they did so is in an effort to [[DigitalPiracyIsEvil stamp out piracy of the game]]. [[WhatAnIdiot Limiting piracy by removing functional features]] ''never'' works in the publisher's favor, however, and it did not take the modding and cracking communities long to break through and re-enable everything that was locked down, precisely because they wanted those features back. This had the effect of [[NiceJobBreakingItHero making the pirated version a better product than the paid version while doing little to actually stop piracy]]. This is still an example though, as it reflects an executive assumption that the pirates would not be knowledgeable enough to break their restrictions.
*** The one button to play a game approach is really nice and all, but having no choice was the big issue. Being able to push a button, and not have to find a server that isn't an enforced "CROUCH / SNIPERS / ETC ONLY" server was also nice, but then once the game finds a server in your selected game mode for you, you're stuck with it until it becomes full or one with a better connection rolls around. Which means if the first server the game finds for you is filled with cheaters, your only options are to put up with them or ''quit playing''. ''Modern Warfare 3'' somewhat fixed this, re-adding a server browser and developer console to the PC version, though it's still apparent that they want you to play with IWNET (players can't rank up on dedicated servers, the server browser never actually worked until about six months after release, etc).

** Most website ads for Disney Channel shows from the past half-decade have the same issue.* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 "The Return Of Harmony"]], Discord says out his riddle in that the Mane six were to retrieve the Elements by finding them back where they began. It sounds completely hollow for Twilight Sparkle and she straight out guesses that the Elements were in the maze, which involves what she thought were "twists and turns". By the time the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 second part of the episode rolls]], all of her friends were broken and brainwashed. In a perfectly unnecessary bit of audience hand-holding, especially for those who had remembered watching the pilot episode, this episode ''repeats Discord's riddle'' in flashback, completely spoiling the moment.

* One of the truisms of advertising is that young men 15-25 are the most likely of any group to be swayed by advertising. This is partly because older people's buying choices are usually already set in stone and women tend to buy what their mothers or friends buy, but numerous studies also show that young men are actually more likely to ''believe'' an advertiser's pitch, especially if the advertiser appeals to their masculinity or ego. This leads to fiftysomething advertising executives trying to use tropes of which ''they have no understanding'' in a desperate attempt to attract that desirable target market, and treating viewers like morons in the process. Cue marketing fiascoes like the [[http://andrewteman.org/blog/2005/01/26/mcdonalds-wants-you-to-fck-its-sandwiches/ [=McDonald=]'s "I'd Hit It"]] bus ads.
* Averted in a marvelous triple-barrelled-trope example from an advert for Citroën. It's against EU law to promote a car at high speed in an ad. In practice that means actually showing a figure in km/h or MPH. So they pull a LoopholeAbuse, saying that if we quote a distance and a time we can leave it for the viewer to figure out the speed. It is presented in the form of yet another trope -- namely: ConvictionByContradiction. The scene is a courtroom and the defendant's alibi is that he has a witness putting him 50km away in under twenty minutes! As the representative for the defense remarked "Fifty kilometres in nineteen minutes in a normal saloon [sedan] -- impossible." Then the ConvictionByContradiction is subverted when the defendant is cleared and he and his representative step outside to his car (the product) and she says "I thought you said it was a normal saloon?"

* Parodied in a series of Disaronno Amaretto commercials in which the viewer is taught the [[SarcasmMode oh-so-secret recipes for such obscurely named mixed drinks]] as "Disaronno on the rocks with lemon" [[spoiler:(You pour Disaronno in a glass with ice, then add lemon.)]], "Disaronno with milk" [[spoiler:(You pour Disaronno & milk into the same glass.)]], and even just "Disaronno on the rocks." [[spoiler:(You guessed it.)]]

* Video-game themed ads for [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwlE1aASc4g&feature=related Collin's College.]] "Can you believe we get paid to do this?" No, I ''can't'' believe you get paid to sit there mashing on a controller and misrepresenting the hours and hours of mind-numbing work that go into making the simplest games, and the marketer who put you up to it should be fired!
* The infamous ads for the U.S. military: A couple for the Air Force will be about piloting [=UAV=]'s or engineering aircraft, but the rest will make service look like a summer camp that teaches you to twirl a rifle and then sends you off to college for free. There were even ads for the U.S. Marine Corps (now discontinued) featuring a marine battling various mythological monsters.
* Ads for the Russian military: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGUT9jX6en8 There is a series of commercials]] featuring all of Russia fawning over a hauntingly beautiful recruit named Vasily which implies that if you join the Russian army, you'll earn the respect of your family and neighborhood, be reunited with your childhood friends, date gorgeous blonds, make ridiculous amounts of money and ''meet Santa.'' The commercials also really love to beat you over the head with how much cash Vasily has to throw around (did he just buy his father a Rolex?) which seems especially cynical and predatory considering how poor many Russians are. If you were/knew people who were involved in Chechnya, it will make you [[BerserkButton distinctly uncomfortable.]]

* ''GIJoe'' was not allowed to advertise their action figures during the show, because [[CensorshipBureau the FTC]] determined that kids couldn't tell the ads were not part of the program. This is the case with all American children's programming on broadcast television; many television stations had to take an FCC fine because one mention during an ad on Pokémon that Pikachu-shaped Eggo waffles were available meant that the FCC classified it as the equivalent of an {{Infomercial}} and was an offense that threatened their license to broadcast. However they look the other way for cable because of a lack of regulatory authority of non-broadcast television, though usually {{Nickelodeon}} and Creator/CartoonNetwork, along with the advertisers have the good sense to regulate themselves to avoid the angry mom crowd.
* A series of radio [=PSAs=] featuring an inept superhero (the ads note that unlike saving the world, saving a life, by giving blood, is easy). The hero chucks a meteor into space and accidentally destroys the moon. A horrified witness notes "that means no more tides" then feels the need to have them clarify "tides are created by the moon" after it. (But then again, the Sun creates tides too.)
* An ad for for a trail of a new cosmetic product says the first 100 callers will get a free sample, it then shows in the bottom left corner a counter with "callers" and a progressively rising number. Do they honestly believe viewers think there is a dynamic, connected system for displaying that information, better yet that the number returns to zero every time the commercial airs again?
** Similarly, a commercial being shown recently will display the 800 number to call, and the announcer will say "If the number is blinking, it means that lines are open."
* An advert for Heinz (estd. 1869) pointed out that "nobody knows what 'estd.' means".
* A kitchen appliance repair company has a radio ad that says "you wouldn't perform your own root canal, and you wouldn't change the brakes on your car, so ''why even try'' to repair your kitchen appliances? Call the pros at [...]" The italicized portion sounds like it's being said sarcastically, but nope, they're being sincere.
* Ads for [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_poem Song Poems]], lyrics set to music for a fee, frequently avoided using the term "lyrics" because it was assumed that most of the audience wouldn't know what it meant.
* Defrosting trays are advertised as using "space-age technology" to magically thaw your food. In reality, conducting heat is a ''fundamental property of metal'' that we've known about since prehistory. The trays are made of a cheap aluminum alloy that simply does a good job of it. There's nothing "space-age" about it, except maybe the price.
* For a while several ads promised you a better deal if you saw something on the screen. One was for a watch with LCD "hands" and they made a big deal about "did you see the hands disappear", which the small print at the bottom of the screen told you that it all happens too fast for the human eye to see.

* In the second season of ''Anime/YuGiOh'', in the finals of the Battle City Tournament, the villain Marik Ishtar repeats his evil scheme and that he hides behind a decoy at least five times per episode, for about 10 episodes, saying something like "These fools don't realise that I am Marik!"
** ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' in general is like this. Not only do the characters constantly tell you what their cards do, but apparently no one in the show has ever actually played the game before and must periodically binge drink in order to forget everything they learn in an episode. The first season with duel monsters is excusable because there were no actual cards until later. It gets a little grating when [[ShowDontTell they constantly tell you how skilled someone is]] but their big strategy consists of...summoning a monster with higher attack power...I'm sure that's effective at killing that one other monster, but it's not really much of a strategy.
** [[FourKidsEntertainment 4Kids]] also had the habit of making perfectly clear when a character was being brainwashed (which happens all the time in the Battle City season). They were also very creative - they would alternately add a golden border around the character, give him red or golden pupils, add an echo effect to the character's voice and went as far as to superimpose the image of the brainwasher on screen, just to make ''clear'' that said character is definitely being brainwashed. In the original Japanese version, they just got the usual MindControlEyes.
** In the 4Kids dub of ''Anime/YuGiOh5Ds'', there's a little segment that happens during the duel sometimes when someone plays a card. This is meant to give info on the card just played. Sometimes if it's a monster, the segment will give you information on the card's attribute, level, attack and defense points. Something you can learn by looking at the card. Thanks, 4Kids.
*** Made even worse when that little segment gets the attribute WRONG like in episode 66...

* In ''SpiritedAway'', the English version has Chihiro saying early on that she saw Haku [[spoiler:as a dragon]], when in the Japanese version she just stays silent and realizes later on (through ThePowerOfLove) that [[spoiler:Dragon=Haku]].

* In the manga ''Manga/KyoukaiNoRinne'', small notes at the side tell us the purpose of whatever supernatural object is being used. Even if said object has already been used (and noted) several times in the past.
* The author's notes for ''EerieQueerie'' can become almost insulting by pointing out things that have already been explained numerous times over. A particular example is when Mitsuo is drawing a picture of a ghost ([[ISeeDeadPeople that only he can see]]) so Hasunuma can "see" what she looks like. There's an arrow pointing to Hasunuma that says "he can't see her".
* An early episode of {{Claymore}} had Raki thinking to himself about how Claire is [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human, half-yoma.]] Then he immediately restates that Claire is a HalfHumanHybrid with different wording. Then he restates a third time that Claire is [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human, half-yoma]], just in case the viewers didn't get it. Did we mention that Claire is a HalfHumanHybrid? Because she's [[HalfHumanHybrid half-human, half-yoma, you see.]] She's a yoma, [[OverlyLongGag but part of her is human, too.]]

* [[FanFic/MSLNTestDummies Admiral Tigerclaw]] manages to do this with references, bizarrely enough. Whenever one is made, he will do everything he can to drive the fact that he made a ShoutOut into your apparently thick skull, including at one point having the ''characters themselves'' comment on something being a reference in-story. None of them have really been anything remotely obscure, so it's pretty silly.

* In the [[WesternAnimation/TheLordOfTheRings 1978 animated version]] of ''TheLordOfTheRings'', ExecutiveMeddling had Saruman's name changed to Aruman, for fear that viewers would have trouble differentiating between his name and that of Sauron. This was apparently only decided after about half the dialogue was recorded, however, leading to the ironic situation that the character is referred to as Saruman and Aruman interchangably in the film.

* ''Film/JennifersBody'' stars Creator/AmandaSeyfried as a [[HollywoodHomely plain Jane]]. In case the constant dialogue that about her appearance wasn't enough for the viewers to figure out that she's unattractive, the character is named Needy. Later, [[spoiler:Needy breaks out of the insane asylum and plots to kill Low Shoulder, the Satan-worshiping band that sacrificed Jennifer to Satan. When she explains while hitchhiking that she needs to get to a concert because it's going to be the band's last show, the camera pans over to a road sign reading "Low Shoulder," just in case you didn't get it.]] To be fair on the first point, again, it's Amanda Seyfried as a plain Jane. If they didn't mention it at every chance they get, people would probably assume that she was supposed to be hot.
* There's a drinking game where every time Orlando Bloom as [[TheLordOfTheRings Legolas]] says something unnecessary, you have a shot.
** "So, it's a drinking game?"
** "So, Orlando Bloom's contract specified he get a lot of dialog?"
* A few crop up in ''Film/TheMatrix'' trilogy:
** [[ExecutiveMeddling Complaints from higher ups]] that no one would understand the original purpose of ''Film/TheMatrix'' (a computer that uses the brain and nerve cells of its inhabitants) meant they had to change it to a blatantly impossible idea that they are an energy source.
** Executives also had Neo's ending speech changed, as they figured not everyone would understand the word "chrysalis." This makes you wonder how the Architect's talk of "systemic anomalies" got through.
*** By the time a movie series gets to its third release, its usually successful enough that the writers/directors have more leverage to fight executive meddling....alternatively, it's such a failure that the budget has been reduced to whatever the film-crew has in their pockets and the executives just don't care anymore. Obviously the second one doesn't apply here, but it does happen, from time to time.
** And in the third film, the Oracle was recast because of the previous actress dying. The in-universe reason for the change in her appearance was explained in a dialogue in her first scene. And then the explanation was repeated every single time she appeared after that in case the audience was too thick to wrap its heads around it.
* A variant occurs in the 1939 film adaptation of ''Film/TheWizardOfOz'' when [[ExecutiveMeddling studio brass]] forced the producers to make Dorothy's adventures in Oz AllJustADream. Apparently they thought [[SciFiGhetto viewers were too sophisticated to accept that a fantasy land like Oz could be real.]] Go figure.
* The main plot of ''Film/MenInBlack'' was toned down to something not very logical because the original plot was about two alien species about to enter war, and the bug (a 3rd race) was there to provoke it. The audience will obviously be confused about THREE alien races.
* This conversation from ''{{Bowfinger}}'': "That's too much for the audience to have to think about. They have to know that the guy's name is Cliff, they have to know that he's on a cliff. That the Cliff and the cliff is the same. It's too cerebral! We're trying to make a movie here, not a film!"

* Clearly the belief of [[SeltzerAndFriedberg Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer]]; their movies only contain references to movies made in the past year, presumably in the belief that no one has memories past a year, and wouldn't know the reference of, say, ''TheSmurfs''.
** And if there's a reference, you can bet somebody will immediately mention what the reference is to.
* Something of a {{lampshade|Hanging}}d subversion occurs in ''[[Film/TwentyFourHourPartyPeople 24 Hour Party People]]'', which begins with Tony Wilson crashing a hang-glider. He turns to the camera and tells us that was symbolic of what will happen to him. "I'll just say one word: 'Icarus'. If you get it, great. If you don't, that's fine too. But you should probably read more." The movie expects that most people will get the (not particularly novel or obscure) reference, but also feels the need to be really proud of the fact that it doesn't explain itself.
** It's more of a reference to how Tony Wilson really acted, as can be seen throughout the film.
* ''Film/TheMadnessOfKingGeorge'' is an adaptation of the play ''Theatre/TheMadnessOfGeorgeIII''. Nigel Hawthorne stated (possibly as a joke) that the change was to prevent people from thinking the film was the third in a series, but the author and the director insist that it was to make George's royalty more prominent in the advertising, especially in areas where George III isn't instantly known by that name. In America, George III of the United Kingdom is commonly known as simply "King George," since the first two don't figure anywhere near as [[TheAmericanRevolution prominently in American history]].

* The American edition of the ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' film had the scenes at the beginning cut out because [[ExecutiveMeddling executives]] thought the cuts between Present Connor at and Past Connor would be too confusing. Naturally, the European and Japanese versions retained the scenes.
* ''Film/EnemyMine'' was apparently forced to include subplot about their enemies operating a mine. On the basis that people wouldn't understand the title could be rephrased as "My Enemy", and would want to know where the mine was. Maybe they could have had someone [[LandMineGoesClick step on one too]].

* In the otherwise excellent ''SympathyForMrVengeance'', the deaf character's girlfriend is often shown spouting anarchist slogans and handing out pamphlets. When the factory owner kidnaps her, she tries to threaten him with claims that she's part of an anarchno-terrorist underground that will find and kill him if he messes with her. [[spoiler:It sounds completely hollow, and he kills her anyway. At the very end, when it looks like the factory owner has come out on top of the cycle of vengeance, he's suddenly confronted by a mysterious group of toughs, who promptly murder him. In a perfectly unnecessary bit of audience hand-holding, the film ''repeats the girl's threats'' in voice-over, completely spoiling the moment.]]

* The repeated use of location tags was parodied in ''StartTheRevolutionWithoutMe'', a farce set during the days before the French Revolution. Several times during the first fifteen minutes, we are reminded by a [[LargeHam stentorian narrator]] that the story takes place in 1789. Later the location tags run with it; "Paris, 1789", "A small country inn, 1789", [[OverlyLongGag "Later that same day, 1789"]]
* Parodied in ''{{Dragnet}}'' movie, when the PAGAN cult's full name is shown for the first time.
-->'''Joe:''' ''(reading)'': People Against Goodness And Normalcy...P-A-G-A-N...PAGAN!
-->'''Pat:''' ''(sarcastically)'': Good, Joe.
* In the trailers for ''AngelsAndDemons'', we see the word "Illuminati". Then, it spins upside down, and turns out to be an ambigram, so it still says "Illuminati". Then, Nick Cage or somebody says "It's the Illuminati!". Inspired.
* After a few test screenings the producers decided that the story of ''Film/SuperMarioBros'' wasn't "tracking" too well, namely the concept of a [[ParallelUniverse parallel world]]. Numerous subplots and expanded scenes were then cut out to focus more on the story at-hand while important concepts were conveyed through [[{{Infodump}} exposition]] added by later [[LoopingLines ADR-looping]] every time a character was offscreen or facing the other way. Most atrociously, the [[SmellySkunk animated intro]] was added to the beginning of the movie to explicitly explain the parallel world and its evolved dinosaurs, which otherwise would have been a surprise second act.
* In ''Film/{{Stardust}}'', Michelle Pfeiffer and another witch are both hunting the same girl, Yvaine. When they meet, Michelle gets mad and puts a curse on the other woman, saying, among other things, that she will not be able to see/hear/touch the girl, and that she will not perceive her even if she's right there. Later on the witch puts a spell on Yvaine's companion, which angers her and she starts trying to hit and kick the witch. However, this does not work, and there is almost a force-field type thing around the witch. Cue the voice-over of the curse, just in case we forgot about it and were utterly confused as to why Yvaine couldn't touch her.
* The advertising for ''WestIsWest'' goes out of its way to tell viewers that it's a sequel to ''EastIsEast''. Because that wasn't obvious from the name.
* Lest, with all these examples, one believes that this trope is nothing but a viewer myth perpetrated in the wrong belief that ExecutiveMeddling is '''often''' caused by this, and people in Hollywood don't really think we're idiots, one blog writer told this (allegedly) true story on the /Film podcast: When director PaulThomasAnderson was making his 2002 film ''PunchDrunkLove'', the man from the studio marketing department charged with making the film's trailer showed the finished product to Paul before release. Anderson was displeased with it, to say the very least, [[NeverTrustATrailer because the trailer was very generic and did not showcase the fact that the movie is ''anything'' but your typical romantic comedy/Adam Sandler vehicle]].The marketer's response? To very condescendingly tell Paul, "Paul, Paul, you have to understand, the people watching your movies aren't very bright, so we have to tell them what to think and what to feel or they won't know what to do with the movie." Anderson demanded the marketer be removed from the project, and to this day, he has a large hand in what the trailers/marketing look like for his films. But, allegedly, the guy he fired still has a job in his field. Lovely.
* There are a number of 1950s sci-fi [[BMovie B movies]] that go so far as to put definitions of words used in their exposition ''in the exposition''. The classic example is when a scientist describes a monster growing at "an accelerated, or speeded-up, rate." This is justified (a little) by the assumption on the filmmakers' part that their primary audience would be young boys. Films that illustrate this abound on the MysteryScienceIndex3000, including ''TheAmazingColossalMan'' and ''ItConqueredTheWorld''.
* In keeping with how the original novel was handled (see Literature, below), the American version of the first [[Film/HarryPotter Harry Potter film]], ''HarryPotter/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone'', was retitled ''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone''. This required every scene in which the term "Philosopher's Stone" was mentioned to be shot twice, with the actors changing the words to "Sorcerer's Stone". Viewers in Canada and the UK can see examples of these alternate scenes in the making-up featurettes on the DVD/Blu-ray release.

* In an example similar to ''Film/BatmanBegins'' above, the makers of ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood'' apparently assumed that viewers would not remember that Daniel Plainview's plan was to cut a deal with Union Oil and lay a pipeline to the coast so that he would no longer have to pay rail-tanker fees to Standard Oil unless this fairly simple plan were explained again and again every five minutes or so for the entire length of the film.
* The marketing for the sequels to ''[[TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' is a bit like this. Despite the fact that all three sequels use the main characters on the posters, and the title is in the same [[UsefulNotes/{{Fonts}} font]], it uses the handle 'The Twilight Saga' which never appears onscreen in the credit sequences.
* In Michael Bay's Transformers, the first thing Megatron does upon being revived is to loudly announce "'''I am MEGATRON!!!'''" Just in case we hadn't figured that out. Justified in-story...almost everyone at the facility had been calling him either "Mega-Man," "Ice-Man," or "N.B.E.-1" for ''YEARS.'' So he was probably trying to get it into the thick skulls of the Sector Seven staff, and not the thick skulls of the audience.
* In Back to the Future Part II, Doc Brown has to go to the board to explain to the audience the principle of parallel realities attached to time travel. In fact this is a time where the audience is taken for a moronic bunch of popcorn eaters.
* The HistoricalDrama ''Agora'' obviously assumed no one knows what the difference between a Socratic philosopher and an engineer is. And it's probably right, sadly.

* ''Film/BlackHawkDown'': SPC John Grimes is based on a desk clerk who was sent into action as a last minute replacement - and fought very well. However, Pentagon requested his name be changed, because the guy was dishonorably discharged from the military and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping his underage daughter. So far, so good. However, the filmmakers obviously thought that the audience are idiots - every time Grimes appears on screen, someone calls him "Grimes" (whether it makes sense or not), the guy uses the name "Grimes" referring to himself, or is seen writing his name on his helmet, letter-by-letter - G-R-I-M-E-S.
* At the end of ''TheThreeStooges'' movie adaptation, the Farrely Brothers '''have to blatantly explain to the audience that all of the slapstick and violence was faked''', most notably to the kids (even though it wasn't even targeted toward children, it was targeted toward the adults that grew up on the original B&W shorts). And the sad part? They seemed dead serious about it.
* HalleBerry's character in ''Film/TheFlintstones'' was supposed to be named Rosetta Stone, but the studio executives thought that no one would get the joke. She was renamed Sharon Stone (with the actress' permission).

* The 1997 live-action film of ''Film/MrMagoo'' ended with the disclaimer: "The preceding film is not intended as an accurate portrayal of blindness or poor eyesight. Blindness or poor eyesight does not imply an impairment of one's ability to be employed in a wide range of jobs, raise a family, perform important civic duties or engage in a well-rounded life. All people with disabilities deserve a fair chance to live and work without being impeded by prejudice." [[SarcasmMode Presumably in case viewers thought it was a documentary.]]
* ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'': When the Doctor says "We eliminated all self-preservation in them." Destro's response is "English, doctor?"

* A certain best-selling British novelist was invited to write a short story for a magazine. In the story, the author wrote that the main character and a friend meet in a coffee shop and drink lattes. The editor insisted that latte be changed to cappuccino, because he thought that the readership, who were mainly from the lower/working class, wouldn't know what a latte was.

* In French the title has been changed to mean "Harry Potter at the Wizards School".

* Invoked in the Creator/FrederikPohl short story "Day Million", as an omniscient narrator who's describing life in the 28th century grows increasingly angry with what he assumes to be the present day reader's ignorant disbelief.
* ''ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' constantly spoofs this trope by having an adult character say a word, then assume that the orphans wouldn't know what the word means and try to define it for them, to which one orphan or another (usually Klaus) almost always interrupts "We ''know'' what it means." The author also often uses various words and phrases in the actual narration, then explains them in a humorous way as they apply to the situation at hand, such as describing "takes the cake" as "a phrase which here means that more horrible things had happened to them than just about anybody" in ''The Reptile Room''. The Baudelaires are generally shown as being far more intelligent than anyone gives them credit for, and the [[AdultsAreUseless adults of the series]] routinely underestimate them and never put much stock in anything they say, something which usually results in more unfortunate events.
** Leading to those who FollowTheLeader ripping off the "a word which here means..." while [[MisaimedFandom apparently under the impression that it was supposed to be dead serious]].
* The book ''The Design of Everyday Things'' was originally titled ''The Psychology of Everyday Things''. The author, Donald A. Norman, even liked the acronym, POET. However, while the academic community liked the title, the business community did not. Bookstores placed the book in their psychology section, apparently oblivious to its ''contents''.

* Many game shows (e.g., ''Series/{{Survivor}}'') explain the rules of the game ''repeatedly'' to players and viewers alike as if hosts don't know which people have [[RealityShowGenreBlindness never seen the show before yet are playing regardless]] or in case someone just randomly tuned in to find the game show on and they've never seen it before.
** Justifiable in some games like ''ThePriceIsRight'' or ''Series/{{Survivor}}'' where they play different challenges each game, especially if it's a ''new'' challenge or game that was added to the game.
*** Justified with the [[RunningGag Check Game]].
** This overlaps with OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: ''Series/{{Survivor}}'', ''Series/TheAmazingRace'', ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel'' and all the rest are ''required'' to state the prizes and rules in every episode due to laws regulating transparency, competition, and lotteries. Whether or not ViewersAreMorons, the federal government isn't, so the repetitions will remain.
** British MP Ann Widdecombe called the presenter on ITV's The Chase out on this. When the host said he had to explain the rules again for people who'd forgotten them, she did so for him, quickly, simply and precisely so she could get back on with the game.
* Documentary shows often do this, because again, they don't know whether you're a twelve year old who has never taken a physics class before in their lives or a grad student getting their Ph.D in physics. For just ''one'' example.
* Did you forget what show you're watching despite the fact that every newer cable box or digital TV displays the title and synopsis immediately after changing the channel? Not to worry, for many networks now display the program's name on-screen either coming out of break or for the entire episode. And now with {{Twitter}}, said plug is now in "[=#=]CamelCase" with a convenient hashtag ready to go for online discussion.

* In an episode of ''TheWeirdAlShow'', The Hooded Avenger mentions a bunch of impressing-sounding achievements he has, including a [=PhD=]. The network demanded that [=PhD=] be defined for kids who wouldn't understand the term (although they made no such requests for any of the other obscure/made up information), so Al explains it to Bobby...who replies with "Duh, I'm not an idiot."
* Used in ''Series/{{Bones}}'', when called upon at a trial as an expert witness, Brennan goes on about the skeletal remains as though she was talking to fellow scientists, using [[{{Technobabble}} technical jargon]] and hardly stopping to take a breath. The prosecution was furious with her behavior, but she refused to talk down to the jury, believing that they could follow her. She later had a talk with her superior on the matter, who rationally explained to her that most of the world is unfamiliar with the very field she is a master of and that presenting things in a simplified manner will allow her expertise to help the case.

* An episode of ''NewsRadio'' involved the use of a polygraph. The executives didn't think the average person would know what a polygraph was, so they made the writers put something in that explained it. The writers got even though, because whenever someone mentions the polygraph, Dave chimes in that a polygraph is a lie detector. Whoever he was talking to always responds, "Dave, I'm not an idiot."
* Parodied in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment''
--> '''Maeby''': ''I know what the shape of a banana reminds you of, and I know when I say nuts it makes you giggle''
--> '''College Kid''': * giggles*
--> '''Maeby''': ''But, do you have any other response to "here's a banana with nuts?"''
--> '''College Kid''': ''Whooooohohoho!'' * giggles*
--> '''Maeby''': ''Why are we even going after this idiot demographic?''
* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' does this quite often, especially when the dubiously highly intelligent character Mohinder is involved. Complete with set-ups of characters asking questions to prompt the explanation.
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' has a sketch all about this, where a TV executive suggests showing the last five miles of a highway; the show gets ridiculously high ratings. In the same sketch, the aforementioned executives decide to change the titles on old TV series to make them seem new (e.g. "I Married Lucy").
* The scenes of ''Series/{{Lost}}'' in which Daniel Faraday (or almost any character) explains time travel are slow-paced and overly pronounced with a head tilt and dramatic music ("we just don't know where we are - dum dum dum - in time!" for the millionth-time-over "explanation"). In a show where audiences are expected to believe an oft-parodied amount of wacky situations and plot lines, time travel must be thoroughly explained, lest the skeptics start wars on the internets. There's also the conversation between Miles and Hurley where Hurley seems unable to grasp that, despite the StableTimeLoop, since this isn't ''their'' past, they can still die.
** The conversation was meant to parody the sort of arguments that often occur between Lost fans, and was not intended to be an explanation at all. Notably, both Hurley and Miles wind up being wrong, but in different ways.
** Also, Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert) got a role in ''Cane'', on opposing network CBS. They said he wouldn't be allowed for guest spots in ''Lost'' because viewers would be confused by him being in two shows. (''Cane'' got the axe in just one season because of the writer's strike; Carbonell returned to ''Lost'', and in season 6 was promoted to the main cast).
** There's also the unnatural way that some characters talk when a long forgotten plot point or character is brought back as though the writers forgot that the first four seasons take place in an ExtremelyShortTimespan. For instance, in season 4 Michael returns and this is mentioned by Ben. Sawyer immediately says "the same Michael that killed two women and betrayed us?", when it's only been a couple of weeks in the show's timeline.
* Played with when HarryHill appeared on ''LightLunch'' as the presenter reluctantly gave the details to contact for a copy of the recipe Harry was cooking, which was [[MythologyGag Chops]] and [[NameAndName Mash]].
* Probably ''should'' be invoked by ''{{Smallville}}'', if the message boards are any indication...
--> '''Fan 1:''' How did the Fortress get repaired? Brainiac infected it!
--> '''Fan 2:''' When Brainiac was killed, the Fortress obviously [[NoOntologicalInertia slowly recovered and went back to normal]].
--> '''Fan 1:''' ...They should just say that instead of making the fans assume that.
* GrantMorrison claims that a planned ''[[TheInvisibles Invisibles]]'' TV series was cancelled because an executive thought no one could understand the concept of telepathy.
** Or maybe just trying to understand [[MindScrew EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE INVISIBLES.]]

* Played straight and subverted multiple times in ''{{NCIS}}''. [=McGee=], Ducky, or Abby will sometimes go off into {{technobabble}} while explaining what they have just found. Gibbs will either cut them off and demand the bottom line, or ask for a translation. Sometimes, they will cut themselves off.
--> '''Abby:''' The hair's missing a protein called -- You know what, it doesn't matter what it's called, the important thing is it's not there.
** It was called ''Navy NCIS'' [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment (Navy Naval Criminal Investigative Service)]] in its first season because execs were worried that viewers would think it was part of the CSI franchise. Never mind that you'd have to assume that the "CIS" part stands for "Crime Investigation Scene". Never mind that the different number and order of the letters would actually be an easy way to indicate to someone who is only semi-literate that they ''aren't'' the same show. This was lampshaded by Tony early on when someone asked him if NCIS is like CSI - "only if you're dyslexic" - but even that's a stretch. More like "only if you don't know the alphabet and can't count to four".
* Those damn locational tags in ''Series/RobinHood''. Presumably, the show spent a lot of money on the software that had a shooting arrow flit across the screen and display a subtitle such as "Locksley" or "Sherwood" every time there was a change of scenery, because they use them ''all the time''. Especially irritating is when they stated the obvious, such as "Nottingham Castle" swishing across whenever there's an establishing shot of the castle; or when Kate tells Robin that Isabella wants to meet him in the meadow: cut straight to the meadow which is helpfully subtitled: "The Meadow." Thanks, show.
* A brief moment in ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', specifically the episode "August" has Astrid analyzing an Observer's notebook. She points out that there are thousands of symbols and not a single one repeats even once. Peter, [[InformedAbility who is supposed to have an IQ of 190, by the way,]] asks what that means, and Astrid has to explain that language is based on a limited number of repeating symbols. Thanks J.J. We'll figure out all this time travel/interdimensional/genetic engineering/mind melding nonsense ourselves, but please explain to us how the alphabet works.
* In an episode of ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' called "The Butter Shave", the same NBC executives who had previously offered Jerry a pilot now offered bad comedian Kenny Banya a chance at his own pilot since he does jokes (the viewers) don't have to think about too much.
** This trope was also used in "The Comeback" when George explains to Elaine and Jerry that he will not dumb his joke down "For some boneheaded audience", which cues everyone in the diner to look at him.
* In ''FlashForward'', the audience was never trusted to remember even one of the characters' flashforwards. So every single time something happened that had to do with one, we were once again shown that flashforward, usually in its entirety.
** This is probably more about allowing new viewers to drop into the show, than questioning the viewers' intelligence.
** An unfortunate amount of this sort of thing is probably due to exactly that effect: not assuming that your existing viewers are stupid, but that any NEW viewers will be hopelessly lost if the entire situation isn't explained to them every episode. It's one of the reasons that networks are so reluctant to greenlight very arc-heavy shows.
*** It also helps if the [[{{Padding}} episode runs a little short]].
* As the deleted scenes show, the ''ChappellesShow ''skit "Black Bush" was edited to not refer to John Ashcroft and Jeb Bush by name, and instead referred to their black counterparts in the edited skit as "Black Head of the CIA" and "Some Black Dude" respectively, to remind you of their jobs. Ashcroft and "Black Dick Cheney"'s roles were likewise almost entirely cut from the skit.
* Heavily lampshaded in ''Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'', partially as a TakeThat from Creator/AaronSorkin. Whether or not it was truly averted on the show, is somewhat debatable, as characters talk about how viewers aren't morons, but other parts of it consist of Sorkin preaching to the audience.
* In ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', "Weekend at Bobby's" uses this to a staggering extent. In the start [[spoiler: Bobby threatens a demon that he'll burn a bag containing "hers", which she claims is a myth, but when he does burn it the demon is destroyed.]] The moderately awake will remember that [[spoiler: ghosts can be killed by burning their bones and that demons are actually the spirits of the damned dead (a fact that is also made clear in the episode), so the bag must have contained her bones and the process works on demons.]] In the end [[spoiler: Bobby threatens to burn Crowley's bones.]] Do you get it now? Well in case you didn't [[spoiler: Crowley repeats the claim that it's a myth, while Bobby references the demon he destroyed at the beginning of the episode as evidence that it's not.]] In case you'd forgotten. Though it does at least make sense for him to bring it up again under the circumstances. But then the show proceeds to have a FLASHBACK to the starting scene, this time showing more clearly that [[spoiler: the bag contained bones, and how the demon burned up when he destroyed them.]] Then Bobby [[spoiler: specifically calls demons "ghosts with ego", just to make things ''absolutely clear''.]] With all that, it's astonishing they didn't feel the need to remind everyone that ghosts can be destroyed by burning their bones. After all, it's only happened on the show about 30 times.
** ''Supernatural'' generally has a bad case of this trope. As well as explaining the obvious, it isn't internally consistent and the writers seem to work on the assumption that nobody's going to think too hard about any of it. But there are [[MrFanservice other reasons]] [[{{HSQ}} for watching it]], so it all works out fine in the end.
* Amazingly averted at NBC during Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr.'s tenure as president there. Weaver believed so deeply that broadcasting should educate as well as entertain that he typically required NBC shows to include at least one sophisticated cultural reference or performance per installment. Unfortunately, this led to disputes with David Sarnoff, chairman of the board of NBC corporate parent RCA, as Sarnoff generally found Weaver's ideas to be either too expensive or too highbrow for company tastes.
* Viewers of “The [=McLaughlin=] Group” are advised of the next topic of discussion by a full-screen title card with accompanying music. Then there is a cutaway to a close-up of John [=McLaughlin=], now with the topic super-imposed at the bottom. Then John, just to be sure we’re all on the same page, sonorously announces the topic that his panel will now discuss.
* The creators of the highly [[SpeculativeDocumentary speculative]] ''WalkingWithDinosaurs'' and its follow-ups faced many angry criticisms by people who feared the audience might think that the computer-animated dinosaurs in the program are real, and be "fooled" into believing that everything the {{Narrator}} says is a true, scientific fact. They replied that people aren't that dumb -- they know that a lot of guesswork is involved. Sadly, many people ''did'' fall for everything, though the complementary books (which tried to justify the show's most [[SomewhereAPaleontologistIsCrying shakiest of science]]) sure helped in this.
* In ''TheWildWildWest'' episode "The Night of the Golden Cobra," the BigBad takes Jim, Artie and the daughter of Mr. Singh (Creator/BorisKarloff) to the cellar of Mr. S's palace [[spoiler: under which is part of the huge expanse of oil that he wants, and in which he ends up drowning]] and says out loud "We are in the cellar of the palace." It's moments like this that make you understand ''WonderWoman'' always using onscreen captions.
* Like ''TOS'' above, ''Series/{{Firefly}}'s'' pilot "Serenity" was deemed too cerebral by Fox executives, who told Whedon and Minear to write a more action-oriented first episode, which became "The Train Job". That was the start of a [[SarcasmMode long and satisfying relationship]].

* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', a raccoon was replaced with a rabbit for British readers, who apparently have no knowledge of what a raccoon is, nor the ability to look it up or infer it from context.

* This can happen in VideoGames, too -- often resulting in a ForcedTutorial (JustifiedTutorial or otherwise) or the player wanting to shout, "StopHelpingMe!" "To jump, [[TakAndThePowerOfJuju press the jump button!]][[hottip:*:[[{{Rayman}} Wowee, now that's what I call info.]]" "Use the control stick to move around!" It's understandable with more delicate controls [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits that involve more unusual elements]], [[ForcedTutorial but for nearly every game that involves walking and jumping to tell you how to do it is a little insulting]]. This is often done because they don't know whether or not you're a four-year-old playing their very first game or a thirty year old who's played games for years. Most older games don't give you such instructions and this is a relatively new trend.
** One of the more blatant examples coming from ''VideoGame/RockmanXover''. The main game's mechanic are extremely simple - one button jumps, the other fires your weapon, and there are card-collecting and RPGElements. That's it. The game ''still'' makes you sit through a ForcedTutorial.
** This arose from ''years'' of complaints about people having to dick around with the game before actually ''playing'' because they bought it used and it didn't come with a manual. (The used game trade used to be ''much'' larger and included PC games) Or, maybe the manual was based off of a beta version and was useless. Now that most modern games have a Tutorial mode, everyone's [[UnpleasableFanbase complaining about how they're being treated like morons when the game companies can never know whether or not this is your first game or not]].
*** Given how game companies are trying their best to kill the used game market, the hypothesis that they would have spent development resources on tutorials in order to satisfy the needs of people who buy used games is extremely dubious.
** And a tutorial is no good if, like some people, after being told a million times, [[TruthInTelevision you]] ''[[TruthInTelevision still]]'' [[TruthInTelevision can't figure out which shoulder/control stick buttons are which]] and dislike a game because [[WhatAnIdiot you think it's]] ''[[WhatAnIdiot "too complicated"!]]'' No, you just don't like it because you actually have to ''learn'' the controller in order to play it.
** It's actually rather [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality justifiable]] to assume this when designing games, especially puzzles like those seen in PointAndClick games or {{RPG}}s. What killed the Point And Click adventure genre? The amount of [[GuideDangIt (il)logical puzzles that relied on players having to be clairvoyant to figure them out]], having to brute force your way through trial and error, or even ''worse'', [[{{Unwinnable}} puzzles that couldn't be completed because]] [[LostForever players had to somehow realize that they were supposed to pixel hunt for something that looks like it's part of the backgroud or pick it up.]] Just because it's obvious to ''you'', the developer, doesn't mean that [[http://adventurers.keenspot.com/d/0077.html the players will]] [[http://www.oldmanmurray.com/features/77.html find it so]]. Then when Creator/TelltaleGames revived the point-and-click genre, they made their puzzles easier to figure out, [[UnpleasableFanbase which has caused them to get quite a lot of criticism from old-school point-and-click fans]].
*** This was even lampshaded by Testzero in the special edition of the game ''The Theater'' in which he found it rather surprising that a tester resorted to Trial and Error to get past an obstacle because he didn't realize that the previous room was giving him a clue. Also lampshaded from the ''players''' point of view was when [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] said that all puzzles in adventure games tend to seem rather illogical if the player is not on the same train of thought of the developers. If you don't want to be listed on the GuideDangIt page, assume your viewers are idiots.
** Every ForcedTutorial becomes a JustifiedTutorial when you consider the large number of people out there who think manuals are for sissies (or got a copy that did not come with a manual), would skip the tutorial if given the option, would skip all cutscenes if given the option, and then complain that they don't know what's going on, where to go next, or how to play the game.
** There are games nowadays that feel they have to ''explain what auto-saves are and how they work every time the player starts the game''. Admittedly, most of these are more along the lines of "You'll probably screw something up if you shut down during an auto-save" rather than "YOU DON'T HAVE TO BEAT THIS GAME IN ONE SITTING! REVOLUTIONARY!"
* Especially obvious in the ''Pokémon'' games. If you're on [[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Generation III]], don't assume players don't know how to battle! Both [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue the original games]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl Diamond and Pearl]] have the noticeable issue of being able to catch Pokémon before the catching tutorial.
** Also, did you know that it's still hailing? Because I don't think you could guess that, even though the game hasn't told you that it stopped, and you're still taking damage. Fortunately, ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' indicate the weather status on the side of the screen instead of directly pointing it out every turn. Combined with the faster rate at which the HP bar increases and decreases, this makes battles in Generation V less sluggish.
** Then there's the Gym advisor and type specialists who constantly like to remind you of their weaknesses. You don't ''have'' to talk to the gym advisor, and it's only from Generation IV onward where you can figure out a type's weaknesses and resistances from within the game. And then, you ''still'' have to use the Pokédex to figure out what types are what.
** As for the ForcedTutorial aspect, your mom in Generation II will ask you if you know how to use the Pokégear and then explain it regardless of how you answer. The Gen IV remakes fixed this.
* The infamous CD-i game ''VideoGame/HotelMario'' regularly assumes that the people playing the game have no clue about how to play. This includes BreakingTheFourthWall to tell the player to read the instruction book, or asking them if they "get the hint" when the pre-level cutscenes hint toward the level's gimmick.
* Many gamers accuse Creator/{{Nintendo}} of treating them like idiots due to Nintendo's encouragement of using the Wii Remote Jacket, a silicone shell that cushions the remote from impact. The jacket is Nintendo's protection ever since a handful of people broke their [=TVs=] or other items by not wearing the wrist strap and letting go of the controller or swinging so hard that the strap snaps. Some of these people even tried to sue Nintendo. These people are known in the gaming community as "wiitards".
** Many people think that this is Nintendo's problem generally, with one journalistic outlet noting their need to spend a total of four hours explaining why the Wii U is revolutionary.

* The ''{{Okami}}'' hinting system, not content with considering the players as pre-schoolers and telling you ''exactly'' what to do the instant you're faced with a puzzle, will also repeat it a few times while you're "solving" it, interrupting you in the process.
* ''WiiSports Resort'' forces the first person to play to sit through [[ForcedTutorial a 3 minute unskippable instructional video]] on how to attach and detach the Wii Motion Plus, and forces you to watch the video ''again'' if you haven't played in a while.
** That used to be the case; since then, there was a Wii update that removed the need to watch the above video more than once.
* Joked about in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', where an NPC in Flipside will, as he put it, "completely blow your mind" with completely basic knowledge like "press this button to jump!" about four or five chapters into the game. On the reverse, his equal in Flopside will tell you somewhat obscure tips about quirks in the controls that you actually may not have realized yet, and then says "Aw but you probably already knew that. I'll just be quiet."

* In the game Petz: Catz/Dogz 2, the characters often feel the need to tell you how to get to a place you've been to a billion times already - the very first place you can explore is Dolphin Coast, and yet right before the final boss you'll still get characters telling you "To get to Dolphin Coast, take the path on the right closest to the ocean...."
* A ''lot'' of Samus' dialogue in ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' is her [[ThatMakesMeFeelAngry blatantly describing how she's feeling at the moment]], rather than letting the audience infer that for themselves. Granted, Samus being a bit of a blank slate was something the game was meant to change, but this makes her feel less a full character and more a parrot.

* ''Zelda'' is very ''very'' concerned over the player having forgotten the sudden plot twist or their next targeted location...about 30 seconds after hearing it. And they repeat it about two or three times, just to make sure you don't forget again. Thanks [[MostAnnoyingSound Navi]].
** To be fair this can vary. Ocarina of Time gets a lot of bad press for doing this but in reality the game doesn't try to hold your hand as much as you'd think.
** Taken even further in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' with Fi. She would beep on EVERYTHING, right down to telling you your health is low and how to replenish it.
*** Despite the fact that Nintendo have yet to remove the signature beeping that occurs when your health gets too low.
* Based on some blue posts from the ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' forums, it seems that the developers think this trope is true. After months of several specs (such as Fire Mages, Beast Mastery/Survival Hunters and Destruction Warlocks) languishing far behind their other specs, Blizzard finally announced some buffs for patch 4.3, which ended up being rather simple number boosts with very little mechanics changes. When asked why it took so long for such simple changes, the devs replied with something along the lines of "if we accidentally make one of the weaker specs too strong, players might feel like they have to switch specs and they'll have to learn new rotations and whatnot and we don't want to confuse them". This outraged players of those specs who felt that that wasn't a valid reason for their favorite specs to be uncompetitive for half of Cataclysm. The "we don't want to add this change because it might confuse players" response has been used several times after that as well, with the same reaction from most players.
** Partly justified by the large numbers of posts inquiring (or ranting) about things that veterans regard as common knowledge. This tends to happen for most games with a large enough playerbase.
* Taken to its logical extremes with {{Ehrgeiz}}'s Quest Mode. The guy who gives you the tutorial gives you such helpful tips as, "To avoid a monster's attack use the R1 button. [[CaptainObvious Normally, you'd use your right index finger to press it.]]" and ''Use the L1 button [to jump]. [[CaptainObvious That will be pressed by your left index finger.]]"

* [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] in [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1860 this]] ''Webcomic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal''.

* In ''BobAndGeorge'', [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000507c Dr. Light argues, on panel, that readers can't tell the difference betwene the Author and Megaman.]]
* ''Webcomic/NerfNow'' proposes a sadly believable hypothesis on typical game publisher's decision process: [[http://www.nerfnow.com/comic/891 Game Of The Year Of All Years]] [[LowestCommonDenominator "Strategy evolved!"]], indeed.

* [[ChannelAwesome Luke Mochrie]] discussed this trope a bit in his Oscar Retrospective, suggesting that this is what the producers behind the Oscars believe, hence the extreme dumbing down and almost schizophrenic nature the Oscars of the past few years have taken.

* Subverted in an episode of ''[[TransformersGeneration1 The Transformers]]'', "Autobot Spike", where Spike comments on Autobot X being a "real metal Frankenstein" and is asked by Bumblebee about what Frankenstein is; Spike then goes on to say it would take too long to explain. However, Wheeljack patches Teletraan into a TV station to make Spike feel better, and the first thing Spike sees is an old Frankenstein movie. Plus, Spike refers to Autobot X, and later himself as Autobot Spike, as a Frankenstein monster ''several times'', to the point where it becomes laboured.

* In the first half of the series ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', Batman comments every alarm of the Batwave with the words "The Batwave".
** Admittedly, this was due to a gimmick where the "Batwave" would [[MerchandiseDriven activate some features of a toy.]] As a result, the Batwave was always ''[[MostAnnoyingSound really loud]]''.
* ''{{The Spectacular Spider-Man}}'' had Green Goblin mention that he had possession of a "[[ShapedLikeItself portable flash drive]]". In fact, this seems to be a common habit of any TV character ''whenever'' a flash drive is mentioned, even when they should know the person they're talking to has more than a passing familiarity with computers.
* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''; Peter rebuts the argument that British men are charming by saying "That's what they said about Creator/BenjaminDisraeli." Cut to Disraeli writing at his desk, then looking straight into the camera and saying "You don't even know who I am!"
* If you want bad, try seeing an episode of the 1960s ''The New Adventures of {{Superman}}''. Every episode has the narrator [[NarratingTheObvious explaining everything that is happening...even if it's the simplest action which you are, at the moment, watching.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': In [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 "The Return Of Harmony"]], Discord says out his riddle in that the Mane six were to retrieve the Elements by finding them back where they began. It sounds completely hollow for Twilight Sparkle and she straight out guesses that the Elements were in the maze, which involves what she thought were "twists and turns". By the time the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 second part of the episode rolls]], all of her friends were broken and brainwashed. In a perfectly unnecessary bit of audience hand-holding, especially for those who had remembered watching the pilot episode, this episode ''repeats Discord's riddle'' in flashback, completely spoiling the moment.
* The ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' holiday specials almost didn't have their now-famous jazz themes. ExecutiveMeddling tried to nix them and/or have them recomposed in a different style, on the grounds that "kids don't get jazz".
* Disney Channel aired a commercial for the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' website during a commercial break of ''Gravity Falls''. At one point in it, a subtitle is shown and it says "Watch Gravity Falls on Disney Channel". Y'know, the same show that is technically on and the exact same network that's showing it.
** Most website ads for Disney Channel shows from the past half-decade have the same issue.

* In the mid-90's, computer makers tried to make everything simple by overlaying the ordinary menus with a 'living room', look such as Packard Bell's "Navigator" and Microsoft's "Bob". Once everyone and realized it was dumb to click on a bunch of 'rooms' to get to the 'stereo room' to listen to a CD when you could just click the 'CD player' icon, it was never used again. Eventually better tutorial guides such as the "...for Dummies" series came out, along with computer classes and kids who used Windows and Mac at school everyday and found it no sweat to use and taught their parents how to use it, and the 'living room' interface died a slow death as it became known as useless "crapware".
* [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in the computer interaction design book ''About Face''. Developers of software only interact with people who know their software much better than any typical user would. Salespeople selling software only interact with people who are just getting their first look at the software they're selling and so naturally aren't very good with it. This sets up the fundamental conflict in software developing businesses where the developers continuously overestimate the skill of the users, salespeople continuously underestimate it, and no one pays attention to the bulk of software users who have middling proficiency.
* The entire Apple UI and design is this, along with ViewersAreGoldfish, and is now starting to creep into most other platforms - the whole "unified look and feel" is just a nice way to say it. As a developer you are essentially told that users are idiots who can't be bothered to find a directory with their stuff in it and aren't capable of changing settings. Even the API itself assumes that you as a programmer don't know what you want/are too stupid to do it right, and instead are only allowed to do it their way.

* Sports broadcasters now usually consistently display the name of a playoff event on the screen throughout the game just to remind us that yes, [[TooMuchInformation the Lakers are up 3-0 on the Oklahoma City Thunder in their best-of-seven Western Conference first round NBA playoff series airing here on TNT, where we know drama]], like we didn't know that from it already being reported in the newspaper, on ''{{Sportscenter}}'', by your buddies, on sports talk radio, or by the superfans around town parading around brooms. Team colors are also displayed in the scoring graphic, in case you forgot the team in white is the home team.
** Chris Collinsworth and John Madden bleed this trope. "The team that has more points is in a better position to win the game." No shit, Sherlock.
* Since NFL broadcasters gained the ability to insert graphics into live footage, they superimpose information such as the clock, score, direction of travel, possession, teams playing, and more directly onto the field.
** The NFL's need to remind viewers of opening week and holiday games, like we didn't know it was Thanksgiving already.
* Scooter the Baseball and Digger the Gopher. They were designed to explain the sport they were promoting (baseball and {{NASCAR}} respectively) in a fun animated style to kids. All of the hardcore fans of each sport wanted their various corpses burned at the stake as unneeded gimmicks.

* The after-championship game interview with the losing team, where they've been lucky so far in 90 years of broadcasting that the manager or coach hasn't answered the always-asked "How do you feel?" question with an FCC-record profane tirade and/or televised murder of said questioner.

* One time, the traffic tickets in San Diego went up in price. The announcement in a commercial went something like this: "Ticket prices are being raised by 10%. [[CaptainObvious This means that a ticket which was previously $100 will now be $110.]]"

* Then again, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_(radio)#Aftermath sometimes it is completely justified.]] Some may say that this was less audience stupidity and more awesome writing combined with a unlucky case of people coming in halfway through the show. Although there ''was'' an outcry over the show causing a panic, the panic itself was a hoax. The later coverage relied on readers believing this trope, added with NewMediaAreEvil.
* Probably why Website/YouTube is "re-introducing" bulletins, which is basically the Recent Activity text box, which originally was a replacement for bulletins. Now there are two places on the same page to send bulletins.
** At one point in time, they may have thought that average users (the kind who don't upload any videos and only write comments) didn't realize they had a channel, so they decided that it would be a good idea to make it so that, at some point when you posted a comment, a message would pop up asking you "Did you know you have your own [=YouTube=] channel?" along with a brief description. Not only would this have been entirely useless to anyone who doesn't upload videos, but this would show up ''regardless'' if you used your channel regularly or not. This meant everyone, from minor users to big-time channels, would get this message at some point when they posted a comment, even if you knew it very well since the site began.
* On November 9, 2011, the United States performed a test of the ''entire'' Emergency Alert System -- every radio and TV station at once. However, out of concern that ''someone'' might actually think there was a real emergency despite the traditional "this is a test" announcement, the government saw to it that the airwaves were saturated for several days in advance with news stories and {{Public Service Announcement}}s in an attempt to warn the braindead and the easily-panicked that nothing bad was actually happening. And in order to give them less time to panic, the test was reduced to 30 seconds in length from the three minutes that had been originally planned.

* This is actually a good thing when writing product instructions. Simplification for the hypothetical 'moron' translates to time savings for the better educated and the geniuses, if the latter don't ignore the instructions altogether because they already know how to use the device.
** This is what MurphysLaw was originally about about: if there is a right way and wrong way to do something, someone will do it the wrong way. An ideal product would allow no wrong way of operation.
* Tech Support personnel often speak to callers as if they don't know a mouse from a speaker. The idea being to provide support for the least technically oriented possible customer. This of course can be exceedingly frustrating for someone who is technically proficient and needs help rather than someone reading down a checklist.
* In the early days of BluRay, Creator/{{Disney}} provided collectors with a simple way of telling the discs apart from {{DVD}}s: the latter discs were decorated with simply the characters and/or a background, but the Blu-Ray labels also devoted half to a blue pattern. They later became even easier to tell apart when Disney decided to cut costs by giving [=DVDs=] simple gray labels. A while after that, Disney decided to help whoever '''still''' accidentally put the wrong discs in their players by writing the words "Disney DVD" or "Disney Blu-Ray" in a font larger than that of the main feature's title. Even movies and shows released only in one of those formats get labels like this.
* News tabloids in the UK will use words like 'Scientists' or 'Boffins' instead of the person's actual profession if they are reporting on some (probably fake) scientific discovery that probably never happened.

* Disney Channel recently aired a commercial for the ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'' website during a commercial break of ''Gravity Falls''. At one point in it, a subtitle is shown and it says "Watch Gravity Falls on Disney Channel". Y'know, the same show that is technically on and the exact same network that's showing it.

* Recently, the traffic tickets in San Diego went up in price. The announcement in a commercial went something like this: "Ticket prices are being raised by 10%. [[CaptainObvious This means that a ticket which was previously $100 will now be $110.]]"