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* DirtyCommunists: One episode featured a Russian operative going back in time to prevent the break-up of the SovietUnion; he succeeded, resulting a CrapSackWorld where the Soviets had conquered the US and Pleasantville had been renamed Pleasantgrad.
to:
* DirtyCommunists: One episode featured a Russian operative going back in time to prevent the break-up of the SovietUnion; [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]]; he succeeded, resulting a CrapSackWorld where the Soviets had conquered the US and Pleasantville had been renamed Pleasantgrad.
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* CirclingBirdies: Tommy hears these after crashing into a tree and when his head gets hit during a brawl.
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** In the episode "The Exor-Sis", Tommy and Merton hire a Catholic priest to perform na exorcism on Becky. The priest falls to the floor and passes out, so they take his Instant Holy Water Tablets and put it into the spa.
to:
** In the episode "The Exor-Sis", Tommy and Merton hire a Catholic priest to perform na an exorcism on Becky. The priest falls to the floor and passes out, so they take his Instant Holy Water Tablets and put it into the spa.
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* FantasyKitchenSink
to:
* FantasyKitchenSinkFantasyKitchenSink: Werewolves, vampires, zombies, witches, demons, robots from the future, escapees from 50s movies - you name it, it shows up.
Changed line(s) 120 (click to see context) from:
* IAmNotWeasel: "Hey, I ain't fightin' no bear!" (This was said to Tommy...who is most certainly NOT a bear.)
to:
* IAmNotWeasel: IAmNotWeasel:
** "Hey, I ain't fightin' no bear!" (This was said to Tommy...who is most certainly NOT a bear.)
** "Hey, I ain't fightin' no bear!" (This was said to Tommy...who is most certainly NOT a bear.)
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* InsistentTerminology: Merton does ''[[BerserkButton not]]'' like being called a nerd, and is more than happy to remind you that he's a "goth".
to:
* InsistentTerminology: InsistentTerminology:
** Merton does ''[[BerserkButton not]]'' like being called a nerd, and is more than happy to remind you that he's a "goth".
** Merton does ''[[BerserkButton not]]'' like being called a nerd, and is more than happy to remind you that he's a "goth".
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* LawyerFriendlyCameo: [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffy the werewolf slayer.]]
to:
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: LawyerFriendlyCameo:
** [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffy the werewolf slayer.]]
** [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffy the werewolf slayer.]]
Changed line(s) 204 (click to see context) from:
* WeirdnessMagnet
to:
* WeirdnessMagnetWakeUpGoToSchoolSaveTheWorld: Of course, the heroes rarely have to go very far from school on their adventures. At least one classmate and two teachers were villains of the week (a demon, another demon and a witch doctor).
* WeirdnessMagnet: Pleasantville in general, and Tommy and his friends more specifically.
* WeirdnessMagnet: Pleasantville in general, and Tommy and his friends more specifically.
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* WholePlotReference: Happened a lot to accommodate the RunningGag. The most obvious example is ''The Mertonator''.
to:
* WholePlotReference: WholePlotReference:
** Happened a lot to accommodate the RunningGag. The most obvious example is ''The Mertonator''.
** Happened a lot to accommodate the RunningGag. The most obvious example is ''The Mertonator''.
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* FreezeFrameBonus: In S2E15 "Mr. Roboto" we get a brief shot of [[MakesSenseInContext the inside of Mr. Geiger's head]] when he's talking to Merton. We get small gags in information like his style of dress([[PerkyGoth Buget Goth]]) and his most recently rented movies, all of which are [[CallBack movies the show has previously referenced]] among the few seen are:
to:
* FreezeFrameBonus: In S2E15 Episode 2x15 "Mr. Roboto" we get a brief shot of [[MakesSenseInContext the inside of Mr. Geiger's head]] when he's talking to Merton. We get small gags in information like his style of dress([[PerkyGoth Buget Goth]]) and his most recently rented movies, all of which are [[CallBack movies the show has previously referenced]] among the few seen are:
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* FreezeFrameBonus: In S2E15 "Mr. Roboto" we get a brief shot of [[MakesSenseInContext the inside of Mr. Geiger's head]] when he's talking to Merton. We get small gags in information like his style of dress([[PerkyGoth Buget Goth]]) and his most recently rented movies, all of which are [[CallBack movies the show has previously referenced]] among the few seen are:
** Manchurian Candidate (Episodes 2x13 and 2x14 "The Manchurian Werewolf")
** Nightmare on Elm Street (Episode 2x06 "Sandman Cometh")
** Purple Rose of Cairo (Episode 1x03 "Butch Comes to Shove")
** Cat People (Episode 1x04 "Cat Woman")
** Return of the Swamp Thing (Episode 1x08 "That Swamp Thing You Do")
** The Mummy (Episode 1x10 "Stalk Like An Egyptian")
** The Exorcist (Episode 1x20 "The Exor-Sis")
** Manchurian Candidate (Episodes 2x13 and 2x14 "The Manchurian Werewolf")
** Nightmare on Elm Street (Episode 2x06 "Sandman Cometh")
** Purple Rose of Cairo (Episode 1x03 "Butch Comes to Shove")
** Cat People (Episode 1x04 "Cat Woman")
** Return of the Swamp Thing (Episode 1x08 "That Swamp Thing You Do")
** The Mummy (Episode 1x10 "Stalk Like An Egyptian")
** The Exorcist (Episode 1x20 "The Exor-Sis")
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: A rather glaring example shows up in "Baby on Board." The B-plot of that episode sees Lori trying to hold an interview with Dean Anders, the head of Havermill College (her dream school), only to be repeatedly interrupted by Tommy and Merton's shenanigans. When Merton is kidnapped and taken to space, Tommy gets Lori--who's in the middle of the last chance Dean Anders will give her--to come with her, prompting the frustrated dean to reject Lori's application. To solve the problem, Tommy ''beams Dean Anders into space with them,'' where she also observes Tommy turn into a werewolf. She's discovered his secret (a huge problem throughout the show) and knows that aliens/supernatural creatures exist...and we never hear from her again. It's clear that a ResetButton isn't pushed either, because Lori gets into Havermill on the strength of what happened to her. So besides the main trio, there's a random college dean who's been saddled with some of the most groundbreaking information in the world--and no one knows what she's doing about it.
to:
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: A rather glaring example shows up in "Baby on Board." The B-plot of that episode sees Lori trying to hold an interview with Dean Anders, the head of Havermill College (her dream school), only to be repeatedly interrupted by Tommy and Merton's shenanigans. When Merton is kidnapped and taken to space, Tommy gets asks Lori--who's in the middle of the last chance Dean Anders will give her--to come with her, back him up on a rescue mission, prompting the frustrated dean to reject Lori's application. To solve the problem, Tommy ''beams Dean Anders into space with them,'' where she also observes Tommy turn into a werewolf. She's discovered his secret (a huge problem throughout the show) and knows that aliens/supernatural creatures exist...and we never hear from her again. It's clear that a ResetButton isn't pushed either, because Lori gets into Havermill on the strength of what happened to her.Dean Anders's adventure in space. So besides the main trio, there's a random college dean who's been saddled with some of the most groundbreaking information in the world--and no one knows what she's doing about it.
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* RecycledSet: The bookmobile, which from the outside looks like a typical bookmobile. But inside it turns into a generic spacious room with rows of shelves, and wooden doors you'd see in their school. Of course you could say AWizardDidIt considering the show.
** And (as detailed below), Dean Anders, one of the heads of Havermill College, who shows up for one episode, learns Tommy's secret (and doesn't get EasyAmnesia to have it removed), and is never heard from again.
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* SpiderPeople: The girls with spider eyes in ''Pleased To Eat You.''
to:
* SpiderPeople: The girls with spider eyes black-clad trio in ''Pleased "Pleased To Eat You.''"
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: A rather glaring example shows up in "Baby on Board." The B-plot of that episode sees Lori trying to hold an interview with Dean Anders, the head of Havermill College (her dream school), only to be repeatedly interrupted by Tommy and Merton's shenanigans. When Merton is kidnapped and taken to space, Tommy gets Lori--who's in the middle of the last chance Dean Anders will give her--to come with her, prompting the frustrated dean to reject Lori's application. To solve the problem, Tommy ''beams Dean Anders into space with them,'' where she also observes Tommy turn into a werewolf. She's discovered his secret (a huge problem throughout the show) and knows that aliens/supernatural creatures exist...and we never hear from her again. It's clear that a ResetButton isn't pushed either, because Lori gets into Havermill on the strength of what happened to her. So besides the main trio, there's a random college dean who's been saddled with some of the most groundbreaking information in the world--and no one knows what she's doing about it.
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** Unsurprisingly for a late 90s / early 2000s show, there were a few at ''The Phantom Menace''. The villain of the RedScare episode argued that in his version of history, audiences didn't have to live through the disappointment. Merton had to give him that one.
to:
** Unsurprisingly for a late 90s / early 2000s show, there were a few at ''The Phantom Menace''. The villain of the RedScare episode argued that in his version of history, audiences didn't have to live through the disappointment. Merton had to give him that one.
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** Unsurprisingly for a late 90s / early 2000s show, there were a few at ''The Phantom Menace''.
to:
** Unsurprisingly for a late 90s / early 2000s show, there were a few at ''The Phantom Menace''. The villain of the RedScare episode argued that in his version of history, audiences didn't have to live through the disappointment. Merton had to give him that one.
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** Tommy and Merton even got one of these jokes in when Tommy was hypnotized and only barely conscious. Merton began referencing ''TheManchurianCandidate'' and Sinatra's career, only to get [[DopeSlap smacked upside the head]].
to:
** Tommy and Merton even got one of these jokes in when Tommy was hypnotized and only barely conscious. Merton began referencing ''TheManchurianCandidate'' ''Film/TheManchurianCandidate'' and Sinatra's career, only to get [[DopeSlap smacked upside the head]].
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* CoolKidAndLoserFriendship: The quaterback Tommy befriends the nerdy goth Merton because he's the only one who can help him with his lyncanthropy. Prior to that, he didn't even know his name. Oddly, Becky Dingle seems to be the only other teeenager to realize the cool guy is friend with his loser brother in season one.
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* ChristianityIsCatholic / FantasticCatholicism: Christian an biblical references tend to be Catholic like the use of Latin language.
** In the episode "The Exor-Sis", Tommy and Merton hire a Catholic priest to perform na exorcism on Becky. The priest falls to the floor and passes out, so they take his Instant Holy Water Tablets and put it into the spa.
** In the episode "The Exor-Sis", Tommy and Merton hire a Catholic priest to perform na exorcism on Becky. The priest falls to the floor and passes out, so they take his Instant Holy Water Tablets and put it into the spa.
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This is not an actual example of Dont Explain The Joke. Please don\'t pothole it unless it\'s a joke that is explained, which ruins the joke.
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** From the episode ''Pleased To Eat You'', the spider-lady named Charlotte's last name is Web. [[DontExplainTheJoke Yes, as in]] ''Literature/CharlottesWeb''.
to:
** From the episode ''Pleased To Eat You'', the spider-lady named Charlotte's last name is Web. [[DontExplainTheJoke Yes, as in]] in ''Literature/CharlottesWeb''.
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Deleted line(s) 157 (click to see context) :
* RealitySubtext: Tommy's werewolf form was a bit more drastic (as evidenced in the pilot), but the actor playing him had an allergic reaction to the glue used, to it had to be toned down to the more subtle appearance.
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* EasyAmnesia
to:
* EasyAmnesiaEasyAmnesia: Becky gets the "convenient bump on the head" version at the end of the genie episode.
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* WhatDoTheyFearEpisode: "Fear and Loathing in Pleasantville". Lori is afraid of heights, Merton is afraid of a slasher movie killer, and Becky is afraid of drowning. Tommy, who claims to have no fear, is shown to be terrified of being alone and / or having his secret exposed.
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* RussianReversal: "You don't throw party, party throws you."
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** When Tommy has difficulty wolfing out, he insists that it's never happened to him before.
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* AndThisIsFor: During "Commie Dawkins":
-->'''Tommy:''' That's for Pearl Harbour!
-->'''Merton:''' That was the Japanese! Touching sentiment, though.
-->'''Tommy:''' That's for Pearl Harbour!
-->'''Merton:''' That was the Japanese! Touching sentiment, though.
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Changed line(s) 180 (click to see context) from:
** This show seems to hate on Celine Dion a lot.
to:
** This show seems to hate on Celine Dion a lot.lot - she's also one of the many possible causes-of-death for which Merton's planned.
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** Unsurprisingly for a late 90s / early 2000s show, there were a few at ''The Phantom Menace''.
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* BigNo: Referenced.
to:
* BigNo: Referenced. "No protracted moan of "NOOO"?"
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* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The reasons the gang give to Corey Feldman on why they [[spoiler:staked Corey Haim]].
to:
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
** The reasons the gang give to Corey Feldman on why they [[spoiler:staked Corey Haim]].
** The reasons the gang give to Corey Feldman on why they [[spoiler:staked Corey Haim]].
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** Merton describes magic-black-marketeer Maxwell Fong as a keeper of an ancient secrets, a master of the dark arts, and an above-average Scrabble player.
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* ResurrectionSickness: Merton in the first episode of season three, complete with a reference to Han Solo in ''Return of the Jedi''. Then it turns out it's not just temporary; the serum that brought him back is also a poison.
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Changed line(s) 118 (click to see context) from:
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffy the werewolf slayer.]]
to:
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffy the werewolf slayer.]]
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* FetishFuel: In-universe. As Merton's listing off different cures for lycanthropy he sounds incredibly... interested.
to:
* FetishFuel: In-universe.{{Fetish}}: InUniverse. As Merton's listing off different cures for lycanthropy he sounds incredibly... interested.
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** Gil, the son of the BigBad.
Changed line(s) 23 (click to see context) from:
* BadassNormal: Lori.
to:
* BadassNormal: Lori. She may not have werewolf powers like Tommy, but she's still a talented kickboxer who easily holds her own in a fight.
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** BigBadWannabe: His son.
to:
** BigBadWannabe: His Gil, his son.
Changed line(s) 69 (click to see context) from:
* DemotedToExtra: Recurring characters [[ThoseTwoGuys Tim & Travis]] gradually received less screen time as the series progressed, to the point that one of [[PutOnABus left the show]] and the other was only mentioned once afterward, purely to explain where the other was.
to:
* DemotedToExtra: Recurring characters [[ThoseTwoGuys Tim & Travis]] gradually received less screen time as the series progressed, to the point that one of them [[PutOnABus left the show]] and the other was only mentioned once afterward, purely to explain where the other was.
Changed line(s) 83 (click to see context) from:
* Fetish Fuel: In-universe. As Merton's listing off different cures for lycanthropy he sounds incredibly... interested.
to:
* Fetish Fuel: FetishFuel: In-universe. As Merton's listing off different cures for lycanthropy he sounds incredibly... interested.
Changed line(s) 85 (click to see context) from:
* {{Flanderization}}: Merton's ego and intellect, and Tommy's stupidity.
to:
* {{Flanderization}}: Merton's ego and intellect, and Tommy's stupidity.
Changed line(s) 117 (click to see context) from:
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Muffy the werewolf slayer.
to:
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffy the werewolf slayer.]]
Changed line(s) 166,167 (click to see context) from:
* SidekickGlassCeiling: Poor, Poor Merton.
* TheSmartGuy: Merton.
* TheSmartGuy: Merton.
to:
* SidekickGlassCeiling: Poor, Poor Merton.
Merton.
* TheSmartGuy: Merton.
* TheSmartGuy: Merton.
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* ThoseTwoGuys: Tim & Travis, until one of them was PutOnABus.
to:
* ThoseTwoGuys: The twins Tim & Travis, until one of them was PutOnABus.
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* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The reasons the gang give to Corey Feldman on why they [[spoiler:staked Corey Haim.]]
to:
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The reasons the gang give to Corey Feldman on why they [[spoiler:staked Corey Haim.]]Haim]].
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: It turns out that Corey Feldman, the actor who played Edgar Frog in ''TheLostBoys'', is a ''real vampire!'' So is his costar Corey Haim; apparently some interesting things were going on backstage of that movie...
to:
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: It turns out that Corey Feldman, the actor who played Edgar Frog in ''TheLostBoys'', ''Film/TheLostBoys'', is a ''real vampire!'' So is his costar Corey Haim; apparently some interesting things were going on backstage of that movie...
Changed line(s) 56 (click to see context) from:
'''Merton:''' What do you think, I have a kit to purge evil spirits from a dog?! *[[BeatPanel beat]], smirk* Because I ''do''.
to:
'''Merton:''' What do you think, I have a kit to purge evil spirits from a dog?! *[[BeatPanel beat]], *{{beat|Panel}}, smirk* Because I ''do''.
Changed line(s) 92 (click to see context) from:
** "Merton, ''[[ThatCameOutWrong bone me!"]]''
to:
** "Merton, ''[[ThatCameOutWrong bone me!"]]''me]]!''"
Changed line(s) 96 (click to see context) from:
** In one episode, Sloan, the latest [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monster of the Week]], is a hot girl that both Tommy and Merton want to ask to prom, turns the former against the latter in order to give him the kiss of death (as she's already done with Merton) by blatantly implying that Merton said he was gay.
to:
** In one episode, Sloan, the latest [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monster of the Week]], MonsterOfTheWeek, is a hot girl that both Tommy and Merton want to ask to prom, turns the former against the latter in order to give him the kiss of death (as she's already done with Merton) by blatantly implying that Merton said he was gay.
Deleted line(s) 102 (click to see context) :
* IAmYourFather: He's not literally Tommy's father, but he is the werewolf that bit him, making a joke based on the Darth Vader Halloween costume he was wearing at the time.
* ItsAWonderfulPlot: Tommy gets to see what the world would be like if he never became a werewolf.
Changed line(s) 118 (click to see context) from:
** Then there was the episode involving a girl named [[{{Carrie}} Terri]] who is an outcast in school who suddenly gains psychic powers.
to:
** Then there was the episode involving a girl named [[{{Carrie}} [[Film/{{Carrie}} Terri]] who is an outcast in school who suddenly gains psychic powers.powers.
* LukeIAmYourFather: He's not literally Tommy's father, but he is the werewolf that bit him, making a joke based on the Darth Vader Halloween costume he was wearing at the time.
* LukeIAmYourFather: He's not literally Tommy's father, but he is the werewolf that bit him, making a joke based on the Darth Vader Halloween costume he was wearing at the time.
Changed line(s) 156 (click to see context) from:
*** Tommy even gets in on the act in the WonderfulLife episode, where he gets to pull this on Merton:
to:
*** Tommy even gets in on the act in the WonderfulLife [[ItsAWonderfulPlot Wonderful Life]] episode, where he gets to pull this on Merton:
Changed line(s) 185 (click to see context) from:
** Tommy taking an unpopular shy girl with [[{{Carrie}} secret psychic abilities named Terry to the dance]].
to:
** Tommy taking an unpopular shy girl with [[{{Carrie}} [[Literature/{{Carrie}} secret psychic abilities named Terry to the dance]].
Deleted line(s) 194 (click to see context) :
* WonderfulLife: Tommy gets to see what the world would be like if he never became a werewolf.
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* BecomingTheGenie: Temporarily happens to Becky in the aptly titled episode, "I Dream of Becky."
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* SpiderPeople: The girls with spider eyes in ''Pleased To Eat You.''
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[[quoteright:233:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/BigWolfOnCampus_5507.bmp]]
->I used to own this town\\
Now it's all turned upside down\\
I wish I could figure out\\
Do you think?\\
It's just a phase I'm going through?\\
-- OpeningTheme
Local high school jock Tommy Dawkins (Brandon Quinn) has nothing to worry about until he's bitten by a werewolf. Not knowing what to do, he befriends the local effeminate genius goth Merton Dingle (Danny Smith) and together [[TheyFightCrime they team up to fight the weirdness and monsters]] that pour into the town of Pleasantville, even though almost everyone believes that their protector, "The Pleasantville Werewolf", is viciously dangerous, all the while Tommy tries to keep his life as normal as possible and go out with Stacy Hanson (Rachelle Lefevre). When Stacy moves out east to begin college early, the boys meet Lauren "Lori" Baxter (Aimée Castle) who discovers Tommy is a werewolf and helps them in their supernatural encounters.
The series lasted from April, 1999 to April, 2002. A total of 65 episodes in 3 seasons. An incredibly lighthearted show that essentially existed to parody shows like ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Charmed}}'', and replace their {{Wangst}} with lighthearted slapstick and goofy wordplay. A Canadian production, it ran on the [[Creator/ABCFamily Fox Family Channel]] and YTV.
----
!!Provides examples of:
* ActionGirl: Kickboxing classmate Lori Baxter, who shows up after the first season.
* {{Adorkable}}: Merton.
* AllMythsAreTrue
* AmbiguouslyGay: Merton, depending on the episode.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The reasons the gang give to Corey Feldman on why they [[spoiler:staked Corey Haim.]]
-->'''Lori:''' He tried to make me his vampire bride.\\
'''Merton:''' He buried me alive.\\
'''Tommy:''' He borrowed money from me and never gave it back.
* BadassNormal: Lori.
* BalloonBelly: In one episode, Merton drinks a strange nectar (given to him by man-eating spider-people, no less) that causes him to rapidly gain weight. By the end of the episode, and thanks to a convenient time-skip montage, he's back down to his normal size.
** In another episode, Tommy gains weight and gets a small one of these.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: It turns out that Corey Feldman, the actor who played Edgar Frog in ''TheLostBoys'', is a ''real vampire!'' So is his costar Corey Haim; apparently some interesting things were going on backstage of that movie...
* BigBad: The Werwolf Syndicate Leader.
** BigBadWannabe: His son.
* BigEater: It comes with the whole werewolf thing, Tommy just can't get enough meat in his diet. It's what gets him discovered by the population at large.
** Even Tommy can [[spoiler:pile on the pounds and get fat]] and does so in one episode, though he [[spoiler:loses it by the end of the episode.]]
* BigManOnCampus: Tommy Dawkins. Referenced in the show's title.
* BigNo: Referenced.
* BluffTheImpostor
* BrainsAndBrawn: Tommy is the Brawn, Merton is the Brains.
* BroughtDownToNormal: In one episode, Tommy gets his lycanthropy extracted from him. He enjoys it for a while, until he realizes that the process is making him weaker and weaker until he would die. Oh, and that the doctor that did the extraction was planning on using the... extraction to create a werewolf army to take over the world.
** There's also an episode where Tommy is mysteriously sent to a "What if?" dimension in which he was never bitten by the werewolf, and also tore his ACL removing him from the football team and putting him in the glee club. [[spoiler:A rival football player was bitten instead and quickly proves to be a bad werewolf. Tommy quickly is rebitten to save Lori and Merton and realizes that being the Pleasantville Werewolf is better than the alternative.]]
* BuriedAlive: Merton by Haim.
* ButtMonkey: Merton.
* CameBackWrong: The cure for petrification turns out to be itself a deadly poison, allowing Fong to extort Tommy for the cure to the cure.
** Also, Lori's ex-boyfriend, Rob. He came back as a zombie.
* CanadaDoesNotExist: Pleasantville can easily be seen as an Anytown, USA and there aren't really any specifically Canadian cultural references.
* CardCarryingVillain: The Evil Werewolf Syndicate.
* CassandraTruth: Merton runs into a couple of these, including "Corey's a real vampire" and "My childhood imaginary friend is trying to kill you."
* CelebrityIsOverrated: Tommy choosing between friendship and social status in "Pleased to Eat You".
* ChessWithDeath: Parodied. Tommy takes the "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" approach and challenges Death to several different games. Death beats him every time.
* ChopSockey
* CityOfAdventure: If it's paranormal and dangerous, it'll show up in Pleasantville. Right down to its nice sounding name, it's a very transparent expy of [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Sunnydale]].
* ContinuityDrift: In the episode with the cat girl, Merton mentions that he's only allergic to cats, sneezing whenever the titular cat woman appears. In the episode with the hell hound, he's sneezing whenever he's near the dog.
** He could be allergic to hell hounds.
* ContinuitySnarl: On three occasions Tommy meets other werewolves. Each of these three appearances completely contradict the others regarding werewolf society (although this is {{Lampshaded}} in one of the episodes, in which Merton is surprised to find that the female werewolf Tommy meets, unlike the last group, has no desire to turn him evil).
* CoolCar: Merton drives a ''hearse''.
* CrazyPrepared: When Merton [[spoiler:[[TakenForGranite is turned to stone by Medusa]]]], it is discovered that Merton has prepared tapes to be viewed should anything happen to him, where he explains how to cure him of any supernatural fate that might befall him, even going as far to use title cards so that the tapes can simply be fast forwarded to the applicable cause of death. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, after hours of fast forwarding, it turns out being turned to stone is not covered on the tapes.]] Also note that the potential causes of death the tapes cover ''include Celine Dion''.
** Not quite as impressive, but still:
-->'''Tommy:''' Okay, so he's a hell hound. It's not his fault; can't you do something?\\
'''Merton:''' What do you think, I have a kit to purge evil spirits from a dog?! *[[BeatPanel beat]], smirk* Because I ''do''.
*** Apparently there were dark suspicions about the neighbor's dog.
** When he "suits up" to go up against Vampire!Corey Haim. He even lampshades this when he points out that the headband might be a bit "too effeminate".
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Tommy.
* CursedWithAwesome: He may not be able to touch silver, or even think of kissing his crush without inadvertently transforming, but his powers come in handy both with fighting evil and scoring touchdowns.
* CurseCutShort: A demon is opening a portal to hell and before he can say hell, he's interrupted by Lori's cry of "Hello!"
** Plus they usually avoid saying hell outright at all. This is especially noticeable in episodes with demons; often Hell will be Hades, or the Underworld.
** Merton is quite fond of swearing. See:
-->'''Merton:''' Anytime you wanna come over and kiss my a--\\
'''Tommy:''' Hey!
** and:
-->'''Merton:''' We, and by that, I mean [Tommy], are gonna deregulate all over your sorry-- (his voice is then muted by the universal remote-wielding villain of the week. It's still extremely obvious what his mouth says).
* DamnedByFaintPraise: Merton combines this with StealthInsult. "I think you combined the articulation of Arnold Schwarzenegger with the emotional range of Jean Claude van Damme." Tommy doesn't get it.
* DemotedToExtra: Recurring characters [[ThoseTwoGuys Tim & Travis]] gradually received less screen time as the series progressed, to the point that one of [[PutOnABus left the show]] and the other was only mentioned once afterward, purely to explain where the other was.
* DirtyCommunists: One episode featured a Russian operative going back in time to prevent the break-up of the SovietUnion; he succeeded, resulting a CrapSackWorld where the Soviets had conquered the US and Pleasantville had been renamed Pleasantgrad.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Danny Smith, who played Merton wrote and sang the theme song. This is referenced twice, in one episode Merton is seen composing said song, and in the last episode, he appears during the opening and remarks "I wrote this!"
** Danny Smith also wrote the theme song for the ShowWithinAShow Chucky's In Da House.
** He also wrote the "Chunky N Funky" song for the hilarious Fat!Merton breakdancing scene in the episode "Pleased To Eat You".
* DramaBombFinale: The season two finale.
* DumbassHasAPoint
* EasyAmnesia
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Merton since he's goth after all. And all the vampires in the show.
* TheEndOfTheBeginning: Said by Tommy at the end or the series.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Anytime Tommy thinks he's found a way to get rid of being a werewolf. (Or Merton, See SideKickGlassCeiling)
* FantasticComedy
* FantasyKitchenSink
* FauxPaw: An episode features a {{werecat}} who performs the FauxPaw maneuver.
* Fetish Fuel: In-universe. As Merton's listing off different cures for lycanthropy he sounds incredibly... interested.
-->'''Merton:''' Well there's the wooden stake through the heart! ''(slams his fist against his chest)'' UNF! Then there's the silver bullet through the head. BAM! YEAH!
* {{Flanderization}}: Merton's ego and intellect, and Tommy's stupidity.
* TheFool: Tommy.
* FurAgainstFang: Whenever Tommy fights a vampire.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: On two separate episodes, Tommy used the fake ID name of Hugh G. Balzak.
** In the pilot episode Merton's sister flat out states "Hey, Merton, if you're done downloading nudie pics of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, dinner's ready."
** Tommy tells Merton that part of him wants to tell Lori he's a werewolf. "And I wonder what ''part of you'' (pelvic thrust) that is."
** Merton goes looking for a way to reverse a spell online. The method he finds fails, and the website claims he didn't want it badly enough, leading him to yell "You don't understand how bad I want it!" just as his sister walks in. "I thought Mom and Dad blocked those sites?"
** "Merton, ''[[ThatCameOutWrong bone me!"]]''
** Merton talking about trying to impress a girl he likes with money: "I just want her to know, I've got a big wad and I'm willing to blow it all on her!"
** "Tommy, she's got balls." (bowling balls).
** "How does Merton excite you?" Lori, when trying to get Tommy to change into a werewolf, followed by denial from Tommy.
** In one episode, Sloan, the latest [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monster of the Week]], is a hot girl that both Tommy and Merton want to ask to prom, turns the former against the latter in order to give him the kiss of death (as she's already done with Merton) by blatantly implying that Merton said he was gay.
*** "Well, I guess what Merton said is true. You really don't like girls. He said you're really into sports and hanging out with the guys, and girls aren't really your thing." -Sloan
* GRatedDrug: Time travel for Merton in the episode with the watch. The guy that gives him the watch tells him [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything the first try is free]]. After that, Merton's intelligence is slowly sapped with each use of the watch.
* GroinAttack: The first time Merton and Tommy face Butch, Tommy can't seem to transform and he decides that he'll just handle this as himself. Merton promptly kicks him between the legs, forcing him to change. "Just in case."
** Tommy and his evil twin both fight dirty.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Tommy and Merton.
* IAmYourFather: He's not literally Tommy's father, but he is the werewolf that bit him, making a joke based on the Darth Vader Halloween costume he was wearing at the time.
* IAmNotWeasel: "Hey, I ain't fightin' no bear!" (This was said to Tommy...who is most certainly NOT a bear.)
** Not to mention that in both of the alien episodes, he's mistaken for a "dog beast of Kardak", followed by a "What are you doing here?"
* IdiotHero: Tommy was {{flanderized}} into a full-on dunderhead in the second season, though he was a stereotypical jock in the first season and had his moments of sheer stupidity. (Like when Merton had nearly all his intelligence stolen by a villain, but he ''still'' managed to outsmart Tommy.) A character guessed that Tommy was a werewolf and refereed him being "special", prompting him to relive grade school memories of being forced to join the reading group that met in the basement.
* ImaginaryEnemy: Vince, Merton's psychotic and extremely jealous imaginary friend who comes back after Merton goes through his childhood toys and proceeds to sabotage Merton's real friendships.
* ImaginaryFriend: Vince, Merton's imaginary friend who comes back after Merton goes through his childhood toys.
* ImagineTheAudienceNaked: Tommy suggests that Lori imagine ''she's'' naked just before they have to give a presentation together. When Lori corrects him, he points out that there's a hot girl in the class and he wouldn't be able to concentrate.
* ImAHumanitarian: The [[MonsterOfTheWeek Spider-People]], who fatten up Merton to eat him.
* InsistentTerminology: Merton does ''[[BerserkButton not]]'' like being called a nerd, and is more than happy to remind you that he's a "goth".
** "Goths have lairs, nerds have labs. Ergo, I am not a nerd. ({{beat}}) Please disregard my use of the word 'ergo'."
* InkBlotTest
* InvisibleStreaker: Merton in one episode.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: Even though she is openly humiliated by his existence, Merton is viciously protective of her when he finds out she is going on her first date.
* LampshadeHanging: Besides the RunningGag of "Hey, this plot is just like that movie." Tommy once asked Merton to explain how Butch, a character from a 50s 'educational' film, could jump out of the projection. Merton tries to come up with some convincing TechnoBabble but only confuses himself, to the point where he doesn't know where he is anymore.
** Not to mention that when the season three premiere continued from where the season two finale had ended, Lori and Tommy's actors' hairstyles had changed and Tommy mentions this
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Muffy the werewolf slayer.
** Then there was the episode involving a girl named [[{{Carrie}} Terri]] who is an outcast in school who suddenly gains psychic powers.
* ManchurianAgent: The Evil Werewolf Syndicate does this to Tommy in the aptly named episode: "The Manchurian Werewolf".
* MistakenForGay: Tommy when he tries to bite a guy on the neck.
* MonsterOfTheWeek
* MrFanservice: There's Merton, the cute nerd with spiky hair who dresses all in black. Then there's Tommy who's very good-looking already and who's werewolf form gives him spiky hair, a goatee, sexy side burns, and tiny fangs. So girls can take their pick, cute and tiny, or big and manly.
* MisterSeahorse: Merton thanks to an alien, complete with shout outs to ''Junior'' and ''Alien''. The alien herself is the one to bring up the latter, when he asks how the birth is going to work.
-->'''Merton:''' Remember when the alien burst out of John Hurt's stomach? That was [[OhCrap disgust...ing]].
* TheMovieBuff: Merton.
* NewNeighboursAsThePlotDemands / RememberTheNewGuy: Usually related to Merton in some way: there's Allister Black (his sixth grade rival in D and D), Hilary Choates (his sixth grade love, with whom he promptly breaks up), and Bucky Ophendale (a guy he testified against and sent to juvie).
* NeverSayDie: Averted -- the cliffhanger for the first part of the Manchurian werewolf plot ends with Merton deadpanning: "We're going... to die."
* NightmareFetishist: Merton, full stop.
* NonActionGuy: Merton tends to spend fight scenes hiding behind his teammates.
** {{Lampshaded}} in an episode where Tommy is in a parallel dimension where he wasn't a werewolf and didn't fight evil with his friends. When he explains this and they get caught up in their "first" fight:
-->'''Merton:''' Where would I be in a fight like this?\\
'''Tommy:''' Hiding behind the girl.\\
'''Merton:''' Right. *Hides behind Lori*
** He also has other classic lines like this.
-->'''Merton:''' * After taunting someone who's now turning on him viciously* Hey remember that taunt I made? Let's pretend that never happened.
* NumberOfTheBeast: 666 victories for an evil wrestler = the Apocalypse.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: [[DontTryThisAtHome Eat wolfsbane]] before your first full moon after being bitten, and you don't become a werewolf. If you don't, you can still bite someone who has, and be cured by ingesting their werewolf antibodies. And apparently only specific types of werewolves are capable of creating new ones. And where there's an entire Syndicate of evil werewolves that can't, Tommy can.
** In addition to werewolves, there is also French exchange student who is a [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent werecat]].
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: While "normal" vampires do appear, one episode features special vampires, who only feed on [[spoiler:werewolves.]]
** [[spoiler:They are normal vampires, it's just that they thought all werewolves were evil, so they figured it was more moral to eat them than to feed on people.]]
* {{Parody}}: Everything. One particularly pointed example is the episode featuring a character named "Muffy The Werewolf Slayer". Gee, [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer who on earth could they possibly be poking fun at]]?
* PerkyGoth: Merton. Although more like "spastic, hyperactive" goth.
* PowerTrio: Tommy = Ego, Merton = Id, Lori = Superego.
* PutOnABus: Stacey Hanson, Tommy's main love interest, gets into college early and is replaced by Lori Baxter. (A case of RealLifeWritesThePlot; the actress playing Stacey decided to leave the show to attend college herself.)
** Travis Ekhart "picked up a trade" in the final season.
* PunnyName: The aforementioned "Hugh G. Balzak".
** From the episode ''Pleased To Eat You'', the spider-lady named Charlotte's last name is Web. [[DontExplainTheJoke Yes, as in]] ''Literature/CharlottesWeb''.
* ReadingIsCoolAesop: Or at least '[[SpaceWhaleAesop reading saves people who have been trapped in books by an evil bookmobile librarian]]'.
* RealitySubtext: Tommy's werewolf form was a bit more drastic (as evidenced in the pilot), but the actor playing him had an allergic reaction to the glue used, to it had to be toned down to the more subtle appearance.
* RecycledSet: The bookmobile, which from the outside looks like a typical bookmobile. But inside it turns into a generic spacious room with rows of shelves, and wooden doors you'd see in their school. Of course you could say AWizardDidIt considering the show.
* RefugeeFromTVLand: Butch. Merton and Tommy are aware that this makes no sense even by the standards of the world they live in, but it happens anyway.
* ResetButton: An episode centers around a watch that could wind back time. Eventually the watch is destroyed, which resets the events of the entire episode, which of course included Stacey discovering Tommy's secret and revealing she was okay with it.
* RunningGag: Merton would keep commenting how this week's plot was just like some movie; when asked what happened, he'd give a real world answer, e.g. the director's later career. His exasperated audience would demand to know about the ''movie'', only occasionally giving in to the urge to shake him. At one point, Merton starts detailing his experience with a cute girl in the movie theater, causing even more annoyance "the MOVIE! the picture movie!!"
** Tommy and Merton even got one of these jokes in when Tommy was hypnotized and only barely conscious. Merton began referencing ''TheManchurianCandidate'' and Sinatra's career, only to get [[DopeSlap smacked upside the head]].
*** In an episode where a {{Franchise/Terminator}}-esque robot disguised as Merton appears, Merton references the movie and Tommy and Lori, for once, know what he's talking about. Merton seems disappointed that he doesn't get to derail.
*** Tommy even gets in on the act in the WonderfulLife episode, where he gets to pull this on Merton:
-->'''Merton:''' I find it absurd that you'd mistake my meaning, but I was talking about the movie! What happened in the movie?
** Also, Merton tends to ask the MonsterOfTheWeek (especially when they're about to kill him), "So, you're a (Insert monster here), what's that like?"
* SecretKeeper: Merton and Lori.
* SeveredHeadSports: One episode had Tommy, Merton and Lori play "Keep Away" with the head of a crazed robotic school counselor (ItMakesSenseInContext).
* ShoutOut: As mentioned in the RunningGag, the plots were usually comparable to a movie (or ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode, in some cases). Although sometimes this went as far as being a WholePlotReference.
** There was even one to the movie ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}''.
** Not to mention an appearance by [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffy the Werewolf Slayer]].
* SiblingYinYang: Merton the unpopular goth nice guy senior, and Beckie his popular preppy evil freshman sister.
* SidekickGlassCeiling: Poor, Poor Merton.
* TheSmartGuy: Merton.
* SomethingElseAlsoRises: While hosting a radio show, a girl calls in, causing Merton to stand up suddenly.
* StacysMom:
-->'''Merton:''' You know, we never really talked about this before, but your mom is pretty h--\\
'''Tommy:''' The next word coming out of your mouth better be 'talented'.
* StalkerWithACrush: The team encounters a samurai who has been pursuing a woman (who doesn't reciprocate his feelings)... for the past ''900 years''. No wonder she tells him to move on.
* StrappedToAnOperatingTable
* TakeThat: "If we consult the Encyclopedia of Evil... ceremonial sacrifices, Celine Dion, ah, here he is, Cerberus."
** This show seems to hate on Celine Dion a lot.
*** It was a Canadian show produced in Montreal. Of course it hated on Celine Dion.
* ThisIsReality: Something-verted: Every single plot is compared to that of a movie, and the same movie generally contains the solution.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Tim & Travis, until one of them was PutOnABus.
* TriggerPhrase: The Evil Werewolf Syndicate hypnotizes Tommy and gives him one of these. Due to some bad timing, the intended phrase is replaced with "Pizza's here".
* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Tommy, Merton and Lori.
* VanHelsingHateCrimes: Muffy vs Tommy. She accepts that he's different by the end of the episode, although she's seriously weirded out by it.
* WackyCravings: Merton during his stint as MisterSeahorse.
* WeirdnessMagnet
* WholePlotReference: Happened a lot to accommodate the RunningGag. The most obvious example is ''The Mertonator''.
** Tommy taking an unpopular shy girl with [[{{Carrie}} secret psychic abilities named Terry to the dance]].
* WhosOnFirst: Tommy's attempts to ask Merton what "Je ne sais quoi" means.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: The modus operandi of a MonsterOfTheWeek; trapping people in illusions of their greatest fears until they are literally scared to death.
* WitchDoctor: Male nurse St. Jacques.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Werewolves are evil as a matter of course, [[GoodIsDumb unless they're just too stupid]].
** The Evil Werewolf Syndicate has almost no problem taking new leader Tommy's order of "Stop being Evil". At least, until [[spoiler:Merton sends the previously mentioned werewolf-eating vampires at them, causing the only survivor to plot revenge.]]
*** Although [[spoiler:the survivor]] does show no signs of trying again after he is defeated and let off with a slap on the wrist.
*** Said character, makes [[IdiotHero Tommy]] look smart.
** The werewolves of Lycanthia also seem to not be evil. Apparently there's no reason to be evil in a kingdom of only werewolves.
* WonderfulLife: Tommy gets to see what the world would be like if he never became a werewolf.
* WouldHitAGirl: Tommy tries to talk things out rationally against a girl attacking him. When that didn't work he wasn't afraid to pile drive her into a table.
* {{Yandere}}: The MonsterOfTheWeek in the second season finale has a dangerous crush on Tommy, who doesn't feel the same way. What happens next justifies that episode being an example of a DramaBombFinale.
* YourVampiresSuck: {{Subverted}}.
* YouSexyBeast: Tommy begins to worry that perhaps Lori is only attracted to the werewolf part of him.
----
->I used to own this town\\
Now it's all turned upside down\\
I wish I could figure out\\
Do you think?\\
It's just a phase I'm going through?\\
-- OpeningTheme
Local high school jock Tommy Dawkins (Brandon Quinn) has nothing to worry about until he's bitten by a werewolf. Not knowing what to do, he befriends the local effeminate genius goth Merton Dingle (Danny Smith) and together [[TheyFightCrime they team up to fight the weirdness and monsters]] that pour into the town of Pleasantville, even though almost everyone believes that their protector, "The Pleasantville Werewolf", is viciously dangerous, all the while Tommy tries to keep his life as normal as possible and go out with Stacy Hanson (Rachelle Lefevre). When Stacy moves out east to begin college early, the boys meet Lauren "Lori" Baxter (Aimée Castle) who discovers Tommy is a werewolf and helps them in their supernatural encounters.
The series lasted from April, 1999 to April, 2002. A total of 65 episodes in 3 seasons. An incredibly lighthearted show that essentially existed to parody shows like ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Charmed}}'', and replace their {{Wangst}} with lighthearted slapstick and goofy wordplay. A Canadian production, it ran on the [[Creator/ABCFamily Fox Family Channel]] and YTV.
----
!!Provides examples of:
* ActionGirl: Kickboxing classmate Lori Baxter, who shows up after the first season.
* {{Adorkable}}: Merton.
* AllMythsAreTrue
* AmbiguouslyGay: Merton, depending on the episode.
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: The reasons the gang give to Corey Feldman on why they [[spoiler:staked Corey Haim.]]
-->'''Lori:''' He tried to make me his vampire bride.\\
'''Merton:''' He buried me alive.\\
'''Tommy:''' He borrowed money from me and never gave it back.
* BadassNormal: Lori.
* BalloonBelly: In one episode, Merton drinks a strange nectar (given to him by man-eating spider-people, no less) that causes him to rapidly gain weight. By the end of the episode, and thanks to a convenient time-skip montage, he's back down to his normal size.
** In another episode, Tommy gains weight and gets a small one of these.
* BeethovenWasAnAlienSpy: It turns out that Corey Feldman, the actor who played Edgar Frog in ''TheLostBoys'', is a ''real vampire!'' So is his costar Corey Haim; apparently some interesting things were going on backstage of that movie...
* BigBad: The Werwolf Syndicate Leader.
** BigBadWannabe: His son.
* BigEater: It comes with the whole werewolf thing, Tommy just can't get enough meat in his diet. It's what gets him discovered by the population at large.
** Even Tommy can [[spoiler:pile on the pounds and get fat]] and does so in one episode, though he [[spoiler:loses it by the end of the episode.]]
* BigManOnCampus: Tommy Dawkins. Referenced in the show's title.
* BigNo: Referenced.
* BluffTheImpostor
* BrainsAndBrawn: Tommy is the Brawn, Merton is the Brains.
* BroughtDownToNormal: In one episode, Tommy gets his lycanthropy extracted from him. He enjoys it for a while, until he realizes that the process is making him weaker and weaker until he would die. Oh, and that the doctor that did the extraction was planning on using the... extraction to create a werewolf army to take over the world.
** There's also an episode where Tommy is mysteriously sent to a "What if?" dimension in which he was never bitten by the werewolf, and also tore his ACL removing him from the football team and putting him in the glee club. [[spoiler:A rival football player was bitten instead and quickly proves to be a bad werewolf. Tommy quickly is rebitten to save Lori and Merton and realizes that being the Pleasantville Werewolf is better than the alternative.]]
* BuriedAlive: Merton by Haim.
* ButtMonkey: Merton.
* CameBackWrong: The cure for petrification turns out to be itself a deadly poison, allowing Fong to extort Tommy for the cure to the cure.
** Also, Lori's ex-boyfriend, Rob. He came back as a zombie.
* CanadaDoesNotExist: Pleasantville can easily be seen as an Anytown, USA and there aren't really any specifically Canadian cultural references.
* CardCarryingVillain: The Evil Werewolf Syndicate.
* CassandraTruth: Merton runs into a couple of these, including "Corey's a real vampire" and "My childhood imaginary friend is trying to kill you."
* CelebrityIsOverrated: Tommy choosing between friendship and social status in "Pleased to Eat You".
* ChessWithDeath: Parodied. Tommy takes the "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" approach and challenges Death to several different games. Death beats him every time.
* ChopSockey
* CityOfAdventure: If it's paranormal and dangerous, it'll show up in Pleasantville. Right down to its nice sounding name, it's a very transparent expy of [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Sunnydale]].
* ContinuityDrift: In the episode with the cat girl, Merton mentions that he's only allergic to cats, sneezing whenever the titular cat woman appears. In the episode with the hell hound, he's sneezing whenever he's near the dog.
** He could be allergic to hell hounds.
* ContinuitySnarl: On three occasions Tommy meets other werewolves. Each of these three appearances completely contradict the others regarding werewolf society (although this is {{Lampshaded}} in one of the episodes, in which Merton is surprised to find that the female werewolf Tommy meets, unlike the last group, has no desire to turn him evil).
* CoolCar: Merton drives a ''hearse''.
* CrazyPrepared: When Merton [[spoiler:[[TakenForGranite is turned to stone by Medusa]]]], it is discovered that Merton has prepared tapes to be viewed should anything happen to him, where he explains how to cure him of any supernatural fate that might befall him, even going as far to use title cards so that the tapes can simply be fast forwarded to the applicable cause of death. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, after hours of fast forwarding, it turns out being turned to stone is not covered on the tapes.]] Also note that the potential causes of death the tapes cover ''include Celine Dion''.
** Not quite as impressive, but still:
-->'''Tommy:''' Okay, so he's a hell hound. It's not his fault; can't you do something?\\
'''Merton:''' What do you think, I have a kit to purge evil spirits from a dog?! *[[BeatPanel beat]], smirk* Because I ''do''.
*** Apparently there were dark suspicions about the neighbor's dog.
** When he "suits up" to go up against Vampire!Corey Haim. He even lampshades this when he points out that the headband might be a bit "too effeminate".
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Tommy.
* CursedWithAwesome: He may not be able to touch silver, or even think of kissing his crush without inadvertently transforming, but his powers come in handy both with fighting evil and scoring touchdowns.
* CurseCutShort: A demon is opening a portal to hell and before he can say hell, he's interrupted by Lori's cry of "Hello!"
** Plus they usually avoid saying hell outright at all. This is especially noticeable in episodes with demons; often Hell will be Hades, or the Underworld.
** Merton is quite fond of swearing. See:
-->'''Merton:''' Anytime you wanna come over and kiss my a--\\
'''Tommy:''' Hey!
** and:
-->'''Merton:''' We, and by that, I mean [Tommy], are gonna deregulate all over your sorry-- (his voice is then muted by the universal remote-wielding villain of the week. It's still extremely obvious what his mouth says).
* DamnedByFaintPraise: Merton combines this with StealthInsult. "I think you combined the articulation of Arnold Schwarzenegger with the emotional range of Jean Claude van Damme." Tommy doesn't get it.
* DemotedToExtra: Recurring characters [[ThoseTwoGuys Tim & Travis]] gradually received less screen time as the series progressed, to the point that one of [[PutOnABus left the show]] and the other was only mentioned once afterward, purely to explain where the other was.
* DirtyCommunists: One episode featured a Russian operative going back in time to prevent the break-up of the SovietUnion; he succeeded, resulting a CrapSackWorld where the Soviets had conquered the US and Pleasantville had been renamed Pleasantgrad.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Danny Smith, who played Merton wrote and sang the theme song. This is referenced twice, in one episode Merton is seen composing said song, and in the last episode, he appears during the opening and remarks "I wrote this!"
** Danny Smith also wrote the theme song for the ShowWithinAShow Chucky's In Da House.
** He also wrote the "Chunky N Funky" song for the hilarious Fat!Merton breakdancing scene in the episode "Pleased To Eat You".
* DramaBombFinale: The season two finale.
* DumbassHasAPoint
* EasyAmnesia
* EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Merton since he's goth after all. And all the vampires in the show.
* TheEndOfTheBeginning: Said by Tommy at the end or the series.
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: Anytime Tommy thinks he's found a way to get rid of being a werewolf. (Or Merton, See SideKickGlassCeiling)
* FantasticComedy
* FantasyKitchenSink
* FauxPaw: An episode features a {{werecat}} who performs the FauxPaw maneuver.
* Fetish Fuel: In-universe. As Merton's listing off different cures for lycanthropy he sounds incredibly... interested.
-->'''Merton:''' Well there's the wooden stake through the heart! ''(slams his fist against his chest)'' UNF! Then there's the silver bullet through the head. BAM! YEAH!
* {{Flanderization}}: Merton's ego and intellect, and Tommy's stupidity.
* TheFool: Tommy.
* FurAgainstFang: Whenever Tommy fights a vampire.
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: On two separate episodes, Tommy used the fake ID name of Hugh G. Balzak.
** In the pilot episode Merton's sister flat out states "Hey, Merton, if you're done downloading nudie pics of Sabrina The Teenage Witch, dinner's ready."
** Tommy tells Merton that part of him wants to tell Lori he's a werewolf. "And I wonder what ''part of you'' (pelvic thrust) that is."
** Merton goes looking for a way to reverse a spell online. The method he finds fails, and the website claims he didn't want it badly enough, leading him to yell "You don't understand how bad I want it!" just as his sister walks in. "I thought Mom and Dad blocked those sites?"
** "Merton, ''[[ThatCameOutWrong bone me!"]]''
** Merton talking about trying to impress a girl he likes with money: "I just want her to know, I've got a big wad and I'm willing to blow it all on her!"
** "Tommy, she's got balls." (bowling balls).
** "How does Merton excite you?" Lori, when trying to get Tommy to change into a werewolf, followed by denial from Tommy.
** In one episode, Sloan, the latest [[MonsterOfTheWeek Monster of the Week]], is a hot girl that both Tommy and Merton want to ask to prom, turns the former against the latter in order to give him the kiss of death (as she's already done with Merton) by blatantly implying that Merton said he was gay.
*** "Well, I guess what Merton said is true. You really don't like girls. He said you're really into sports and hanging out with the guys, and girls aren't really your thing." -Sloan
* GRatedDrug: Time travel for Merton in the episode with the watch. The guy that gives him the watch tells him [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything the first try is free]]. After that, Merton's intelligence is slowly sapped with each use of the watch.
* GroinAttack: The first time Merton and Tommy face Butch, Tommy can't seem to transform and he decides that he'll just handle this as himself. Merton promptly kicks him between the legs, forcing him to change. "Just in case."
** Tommy and his evil twin both fight dirty.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Tommy and Merton.
* IAmYourFather: He's not literally Tommy's father, but he is the werewolf that bit him, making a joke based on the Darth Vader Halloween costume he was wearing at the time.
* IAmNotWeasel: "Hey, I ain't fightin' no bear!" (This was said to Tommy...who is most certainly NOT a bear.)
** Not to mention that in both of the alien episodes, he's mistaken for a "dog beast of Kardak", followed by a "What are you doing here?"
* IdiotHero: Tommy was {{flanderized}} into a full-on dunderhead in the second season, though he was a stereotypical jock in the first season and had his moments of sheer stupidity. (Like when Merton had nearly all his intelligence stolen by a villain, but he ''still'' managed to outsmart Tommy.) A character guessed that Tommy was a werewolf and refereed him being "special", prompting him to relive grade school memories of being forced to join the reading group that met in the basement.
* ImaginaryEnemy: Vince, Merton's psychotic and extremely jealous imaginary friend who comes back after Merton goes through his childhood toys and proceeds to sabotage Merton's real friendships.
* ImaginaryFriend: Vince, Merton's imaginary friend who comes back after Merton goes through his childhood toys.
* ImagineTheAudienceNaked: Tommy suggests that Lori imagine ''she's'' naked just before they have to give a presentation together. When Lori corrects him, he points out that there's a hot girl in the class and he wouldn't be able to concentrate.
* ImAHumanitarian: The [[MonsterOfTheWeek Spider-People]], who fatten up Merton to eat him.
* InsistentTerminology: Merton does ''[[BerserkButton not]]'' like being called a nerd, and is more than happy to remind you that he's a "goth".
** "Goths have lairs, nerds have labs. Ergo, I am not a nerd. ({{beat}}) Please disregard my use of the word 'ergo'."
* InkBlotTest
* InvisibleStreaker: Merton in one episode.
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: Even though she is openly humiliated by his existence, Merton is viciously protective of her when he finds out she is going on her first date.
* LampshadeHanging: Besides the RunningGag of "Hey, this plot is just like that movie." Tommy once asked Merton to explain how Butch, a character from a 50s 'educational' film, could jump out of the projection. Merton tries to come up with some convincing TechnoBabble but only confuses himself, to the point where he doesn't know where he is anymore.
** Not to mention that when the season three premiere continued from where the season two finale had ended, Lori and Tommy's actors' hairstyles had changed and Tommy mentions this
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: Muffy the werewolf slayer.
** Then there was the episode involving a girl named [[{{Carrie}} Terri]] who is an outcast in school who suddenly gains psychic powers.
* ManchurianAgent: The Evil Werewolf Syndicate does this to Tommy in the aptly named episode: "The Manchurian Werewolf".
* MistakenForGay: Tommy when he tries to bite a guy on the neck.
* MonsterOfTheWeek
* MrFanservice: There's Merton, the cute nerd with spiky hair who dresses all in black. Then there's Tommy who's very good-looking already and who's werewolf form gives him spiky hair, a goatee, sexy side burns, and tiny fangs. So girls can take their pick, cute and tiny, or big and manly.
* MisterSeahorse: Merton thanks to an alien, complete with shout outs to ''Junior'' and ''Alien''. The alien herself is the one to bring up the latter, when he asks how the birth is going to work.
-->'''Merton:''' Remember when the alien burst out of John Hurt's stomach? That was [[OhCrap disgust...ing]].
* TheMovieBuff: Merton.
* NewNeighboursAsThePlotDemands / RememberTheNewGuy: Usually related to Merton in some way: there's Allister Black (his sixth grade rival in D and D), Hilary Choates (his sixth grade love, with whom he promptly breaks up), and Bucky Ophendale (a guy he testified against and sent to juvie).
* NeverSayDie: Averted -- the cliffhanger for the first part of the Manchurian werewolf plot ends with Merton deadpanning: "We're going... to die."
* NightmareFetishist: Merton, full stop.
* NonActionGuy: Merton tends to spend fight scenes hiding behind his teammates.
** {{Lampshaded}} in an episode where Tommy is in a parallel dimension where he wasn't a werewolf and didn't fight evil with his friends. When he explains this and they get caught up in their "first" fight:
-->'''Merton:''' Where would I be in a fight like this?\\
'''Tommy:''' Hiding behind the girl.\\
'''Merton:''' Right. *Hides behind Lori*
** He also has other classic lines like this.
-->'''Merton:''' * After taunting someone who's now turning on him viciously* Hey remember that taunt I made? Let's pretend that never happened.
* NumberOfTheBeast: 666 victories for an evil wrestler = the Apocalypse.
* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: [[DontTryThisAtHome Eat wolfsbane]] before your first full moon after being bitten, and you don't become a werewolf. If you don't, you can still bite someone who has, and be cured by ingesting their werewolf antibodies. And apparently only specific types of werewolves are capable of creating new ones. And where there's an entire Syndicate of evil werewolves that can't, Tommy can.
** In addition to werewolves, there is also French exchange student who is a [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent werecat]].
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: While "normal" vampires do appear, one episode features special vampires, who only feed on [[spoiler:werewolves.]]
** [[spoiler:They are normal vampires, it's just that they thought all werewolves were evil, so they figured it was more moral to eat them than to feed on people.]]
* {{Parody}}: Everything. One particularly pointed example is the episode featuring a character named "Muffy The Werewolf Slayer". Gee, [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer who on earth could they possibly be poking fun at]]?
* PerkyGoth: Merton. Although more like "spastic, hyperactive" goth.
* PowerTrio: Tommy = Ego, Merton = Id, Lori = Superego.
* PutOnABus: Stacey Hanson, Tommy's main love interest, gets into college early and is replaced by Lori Baxter. (A case of RealLifeWritesThePlot; the actress playing Stacey decided to leave the show to attend college herself.)
** Travis Ekhart "picked up a trade" in the final season.
* PunnyName: The aforementioned "Hugh G. Balzak".
** From the episode ''Pleased To Eat You'', the spider-lady named Charlotte's last name is Web. [[DontExplainTheJoke Yes, as in]] ''Literature/CharlottesWeb''.
* ReadingIsCoolAesop: Or at least '[[SpaceWhaleAesop reading saves people who have been trapped in books by an evil bookmobile librarian]]'.
* RealitySubtext: Tommy's werewolf form was a bit more drastic (as evidenced in the pilot), but the actor playing him had an allergic reaction to the glue used, to it had to be toned down to the more subtle appearance.
* RecycledSet: The bookmobile, which from the outside looks like a typical bookmobile. But inside it turns into a generic spacious room with rows of shelves, and wooden doors you'd see in their school. Of course you could say AWizardDidIt considering the show.
* RefugeeFromTVLand: Butch. Merton and Tommy are aware that this makes no sense even by the standards of the world they live in, but it happens anyway.
* ResetButton: An episode centers around a watch that could wind back time. Eventually the watch is destroyed, which resets the events of the entire episode, which of course included Stacey discovering Tommy's secret and revealing she was okay with it.
* RunningGag: Merton would keep commenting how this week's plot was just like some movie; when asked what happened, he'd give a real world answer, e.g. the director's later career. His exasperated audience would demand to know about the ''movie'', only occasionally giving in to the urge to shake him. At one point, Merton starts detailing his experience with a cute girl in the movie theater, causing even more annoyance "the MOVIE! the picture movie!!"
** Tommy and Merton even got one of these jokes in when Tommy was hypnotized and only barely conscious. Merton began referencing ''TheManchurianCandidate'' and Sinatra's career, only to get [[DopeSlap smacked upside the head]].
*** In an episode where a {{Franchise/Terminator}}-esque robot disguised as Merton appears, Merton references the movie and Tommy and Lori, for once, know what he's talking about. Merton seems disappointed that he doesn't get to derail.
*** Tommy even gets in on the act in the WonderfulLife episode, where he gets to pull this on Merton:
-->'''Merton:''' I find it absurd that you'd mistake my meaning, but I was talking about the movie! What happened in the movie?
** Also, Merton tends to ask the MonsterOfTheWeek (especially when they're about to kill him), "So, you're a (Insert monster here), what's that like?"
* SecretKeeper: Merton and Lori.
* SeveredHeadSports: One episode had Tommy, Merton and Lori play "Keep Away" with the head of a crazed robotic school counselor (ItMakesSenseInContext).
* ShoutOut: As mentioned in the RunningGag, the plots were usually comparable to a movie (or ''Series/TheTwilightZone'' episode, in some cases). Although sometimes this went as far as being a WholePlotReference.
** There was even one to the movie ''Film/{{Pleasantville}}''.
** Not to mention an appearance by [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Muffy the Werewolf Slayer]].
* SiblingYinYang: Merton the unpopular goth nice guy senior, and Beckie his popular preppy evil freshman sister.
* SidekickGlassCeiling: Poor, Poor Merton.
* TheSmartGuy: Merton.
* SomethingElseAlsoRises: While hosting a radio show, a girl calls in, causing Merton to stand up suddenly.
* StacysMom:
-->'''Merton:''' You know, we never really talked about this before, but your mom is pretty h--\\
'''Tommy:''' The next word coming out of your mouth better be 'talented'.
* StalkerWithACrush: The team encounters a samurai who has been pursuing a woman (who doesn't reciprocate his feelings)... for the past ''900 years''. No wonder she tells him to move on.
* StrappedToAnOperatingTable
* TakeThat: "If we consult the Encyclopedia of Evil... ceremonial sacrifices, Celine Dion, ah, here he is, Cerberus."
** This show seems to hate on Celine Dion a lot.
*** It was a Canadian show produced in Montreal. Of course it hated on Celine Dion.
* ThisIsReality: Something-verted: Every single plot is compared to that of a movie, and the same movie generally contains the solution.
* ThoseTwoGuys: Tim & Travis, until one of them was PutOnABus.
* TriggerPhrase: The Evil Werewolf Syndicate hypnotizes Tommy and gives him one of these. Due to some bad timing, the intended phrase is replaced with "Pizza's here".
* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Tommy, Merton and Lori.
* VanHelsingHateCrimes: Muffy vs Tommy. She accepts that he's different by the end of the episode, although she's seriously weirded out by it.
* WackyCravings: Merton during his stint as MisterSeahorse.
* WeirdnessMagnet
* WholePlotReference: Happened a lot to accommodate the RunningGag. The most obvious example is ''The Mertonator''.
** Tommy taking an unpopular shy girl with [[{{Carrie}} secret psychic abilities named Terry to the dance]].
* WhosOnFirst: Tommy's attempts to ask Merton what "Je ne sais quoi" means.
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: The modus operandi of a MonsterOfTheWeek; trapping people in illusions of their greatest fears until they are literally scared to death.
* WitchDoctor: Male nurse St. Jacques.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Werewolves are evil as a matter of course, [[GoodIsDumb unless they're just too stupid]].
** The Evil Werewolf Syndicate has almost no problem taking new leader Tommy's order of "Stop being Evil". At least, until [[spoiler:Merton sends the previously mentioned werewolf-eating vampires at them, causing the only survivor to plot revenge.]]
*** Although [[spoiler:the survivor]] does show no signs of trying again after he is defeated and let off with a slap on the wrist.
*** Said character, makes [[IdiotHero Tommy]] look smart.
** The werewolves of Lycanthia also seem to not be evil. Apparently there's no reason to be evil in a kingdom of only werewolves.
* WonderfulLife: Tommy gets to see what the world would be like if he never became a werewolf.
* WouldHitAGirl: Tommy tries to talk things out rationally against a girl attacking him. When that didn't work he wasn't afraid to pile drive her into a table.
* {{Yandere}}: The MonsterOfTheWeek in the second season finale has a dangerous crush on Tommy, who doesn't feel the same way. What happens next justifies that episode being an example of a DramaBombFinale.
* YourVampiresSuck: {{Subverted}}.
* YouSexyBeast: Tommy begins to worry that perhaps Lori is only attracted to the werewolf part of him.
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