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Five-Man Band cleanup

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Five-Man Band has been receiving a lot of misuse. As was concluded in this TRS thread, it needs a massive cleanup. There are over 30 subpages and almost 3500 wicks to be gone through. This thread is for organizing the cleanup effort and discussing any and all examples to be added and cut.

What is correct use of the trope?

  • The characters must be part of a team, that is, a team dynamic must exist between members of the band.
  • There must be exactly 5 team members

Format for examples

In an effort to cut down on misuse as well as get rid of all the Zero Context Examples, we are trying to shift all examples to the following format. If you are familiar with a current work and can do a writeup for it, please do so and post it here.

The sandbox for sorting examples is here.


Completed

Subpages:

  • Other (Moved and redirected to a Just for Fun page, as that is what is was acting as.)

Still needs work

Wicks (Related To page):

  • B-V

I will keep this post updated with the progress made, and any other needed information.

Edited by MacronNotes on May 19th 2022 at 8:59:40 AM

Gideoncrawle Elder statesman from Put out to pasture Since: Dec, 2012 Relationship Status: With my statistically significant other
Elder statesman
#1351: May 29th 2017 at 12:17:14 PM

In the Rangers case, Theo as The Chick is an obvious shoehorning. It has been stated many times that The Chick must be female, no exceptions.

Bigotry in the name of inclusion is still bigotry.
acrobox Since: Nov, 2010
#1352: May 29th 2017 at 1:02:53 PM

That said all these examples that have people that operate as a team, even if they don't fit the FMB, can still be listed under The Team if you want to keep a 'group dynamics/roster' entry on the page. And then you can find other Party Member roles that might even fit some of them better than trying to shoehorn the five legendary roles.

edited 29th May '17 1:03:39 PM by acrobox

DrakeClawfang Since: Apr, 2010
#1353: Jun 1st 2017 at 7:28:01 AM

Fair enough on the Rangers. Does the Zeta crew still fit though?

ChaoticNovelist Since: Jun, 2010
#1354: Jun 1st 2017 at 11:32:55 AM

It looks alright to me. I have one caveat; does the player character, as the leader, actually make decisions for the group? Oftentimes, when the player is supposed to be a leader, what ends up happening is that they go along with whatever their strategist/best friend/etc. says (i.e. the programed plot of the story).

k410ren Since: Jan, 2016
#1355: Jun 1st 2017 at 4:22:48 PM

Would this work as a Five Bad Band?

"I'll show you the Dark Side." CM actors and kills
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#1356: Jun 1st 2017 at 5:39:54 PM

Utterly inaccurate use of The Dark Chick is enough to disqualify it all on its own (which is not to say it's the only problem).

I honestly don't know what it is with this trope, although I've wondered before whether the problem is that the concept is really just an invention of this site.

Xtifr World's Toughest Milkman Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Having tea with Cthulhu
World's Toughest Milkman
#1357: Jun 2nd 2017 at 12:34:57 AM

The problem is twofold:

First, for a long time, this was one of the only team tropes we had, which is why it started getting shoehorned for everything from three-person teams to teams with ten or twelve members. (And, of course, non-teams, ditto.)

Second, the name is really generic. So people assume it's a lot broader than it is. It's honestly a terrible name for such a specific trope. But renaming it at this point is probably hopeless. Or, at least, a nightmare no one sane wants to face. :)

Speaking words of fandom: let it squee, let it squee.
nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#1358: Jun 2nd 2017 at 2:14:19 AM

I was actually referring to Five Bad Band - which I've basically never seen correct examples proposed for here. At least Five-Man Band, name problems aside, does get some accurate usage.

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#1359: Jun 2nd 2017 at 7:48:03 AM

Five Bad Band is/was the worst kind of snowclone: one made just to make it. There's no reason that the villains can't have a Five-Man Band; Five Bad Band is Five Man Band But Evil. And worse, ithe definition allows it to be fuzzy: "also that Five Bad Bands are more fluid than Five Man Bands, open to more roster changes, and there may not even be five of them, though there's never less that four. " This trope was made to be misused.

edited 2nd Jun '17 8:10:08 AM by Madrugada

DrakeClawfang Since: Apr, 2010
#1360: Jun 6th 2017 at 4:38:16 PM

@1354 - Sally explains the mission objectives because she knows the layout of the ship and how to reach certain areas, but it is the player that orders around the other three, and you also give Sally orders in a few spots. Conversely Sally never really orders you, just lets you know how to do things.

papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1361: Jun 8th 2017 at 3:26:53 PM

I have a question about the use of The Chick. From what I've read the chick is the character that mediates arguments in the group and ensures that they work together. However most uses of this trope seem to use it to describe the most feminine character in a group. The example I'll use here is Mikuru Asahina from Haruhi Suzumiya who fits the idea of being the most feminine of the group but she never fills the peacekeeping role. Is this a misuse of the trope or not?

lexicon Since: May, 2012
papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1363: Jun 9th 2017 at 12:24:12 PM

I have two more questions. First, why is the page for Five Bad Band open to editing but Five-Man Band is closed? Second, in the Writea Five Man Band page, it suggests that The Big Guy can be a person that can use something like a credit card or ID to get the group past obstacles, is this misuse?

edited 9th Jun '17 12:36:41 PM by papyru30

papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1364: Jun 9th 2017 at 9:23:35 PM

Also we could change the main trope page for Five Bad Band to say that it is six members at most (though only if it's a Sixth Ranger or Sixth Ranger Traitor as mentioned on the page already) and no less than four. That would clear up misconceptions about the number of members. Though doing this would require us to clean up the subpages.

Karxrida from Eureka, the Forbidden Land Since: May, 2012 Relationship Status: I LOVE THIS DOCTOR!
#1365: Jun 9th 2017 at 11:02:40 PM

I have two more questions. First, why is the page for Five-Bad Band open to editing but Five-Man Band is closed?
Five-Man Band is chronically misused. Though Five Bad Band could probably do with a lock tbh.

Second, in the Writea Five Man Band page, it suggests that The Big Guy can be a person that can use something like a credit card or ID to get the group past obstacles, is this misuse?
Yeah probably. The Big Guy is the combat expert, that sounds more like the territory of The Smart Guy.

Also we could change the main trope page for Five-Bad Band to say that it is six members at most (though only if it's a Sixth Ranger or Sixth Ranger Traitor as mentioned on the page already) and no less than four. That would clear up misconceptions about the number of members. Though doing this would require us to clean up the subpages.

No. I still don't know what the deal is with Sixth Ranger in relation to FMB, but four is definitely not a permitted number of members for a Five-Man Band. This trope is pretty rigid when it comes to who's on the team and how many people are a part of it.

edited 9th Jun '17 11:03:58 PM by Karxrida

papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1366: Jun 10th 2017 at 1:05:40 PM

I removed what I originally said here because I realized I was wrong. I'm sorry for my mistake.

edited 10th Jun '17 1:30:01 PM by papyru30

papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1367: Jun 10th 2017 at 1:25:13 PM

Never mind I just figured out the mistake I made and that it should be just five members sorry.

sansasnark Supreme Overlord Since: Jun, 2016 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Supreme Overlord
#1368: Jun 12th 2017 at 9:41:34 PM

The main characters of Riverdale fit the trope: Archie Andrews - The Hero Jughead Jones - The Lancer Betty Cooper - The Smart Guy Veronica Lodge - The Big Guy Kevin Keller - The Chick Cheryl Blossom - Sixth Ranger or Token Evil Teammate

Madrugada Since: Jan, 2001
#1369: Jun 12th 2017 at 10:14:41 PM

[up]No.

  • Veronica is not The Big Guy — she is not the one who is the most physical.
  • The Chick must be female and must be the emotional center of the group.
  • Jughead as The Lancer is questionable. The Lancer is the second in command to the Leader, and is often a Foil to him as well. Jughead is the comic sidekick at least as often (more, as I recall) as he's the Lancer.
  • The gender division must be four males and 1 female unless it's gender-inverted, then it has to be four females and one male.
  • They must operate as a team.

edited 12th Jun '17 10:14:56 PM by Madrugada

papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1370: Jun 23rd 2017 at 9:17:44 PM

[up]

  • I thought there could be two girls as long as one is The Chick, that's what Nocturna said. Anyways, I found this Five Bad Band from Dark Souls and it is a complete misuse of the trope, as it contains too many members. I wanted to present this to this thread and ask permission to remove it.
  • Dark Souls

acrobox Since: Nov, 2010
#1371: Jun 23rd 2017 at 10:15:27 PM

by virtue of being 9-12 people, not an example.

edited 23rd Jun '17 10:19:03 PM by acrobox

papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1372: Jun 24th 2017 at 12:44:56 AM

Also for future reference I will run examples that I want to remove by this thread if that's ok.

papyru30 from Colorado for summer break Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: Yes, I'm alone, but I'm alone and free
#1373: Jul 4th 2017 at 9:20:30 AM

acrobox Since: Nov, 2010
#1374: Jul 4th 2017 at 6:04:58 PM

yeah. with context they can still be The Team but evil, but 10 people split into 7 roles isn't 5 anything

edited 4th Jul '17 6:05:58 PM by acrobox

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#1375: Jul 6th 2017 at 8:08:06 AM

"Kid-Of-Heel Character" is so offensively bad both as a shoehorn and a pun that it should be burned.

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