Tropes Media Browse Indexes Forums Videos Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Tools
Cut List New Edits Edit Reasons Launches Images List Crowner Activity Un-typed Pages Recent Page Type Changes Changelog
Tips
Creating New Redirects Cross Wicking Tips for Editing Text Formatting Rules Glossary Edit Reasons Handling Spoilers Word Cruft Administrivia FAQ
Tropes HQ
About Us Contact Us Advertise DMCA Notice Privacy Policy Report Bug
Go Ad-Free Changelog
  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Highlight Links
 

Follow TV Tropes

Following

Narm Cleanup

Go To

I've decided to start a cleanup thread for Narm, since it seems to attract a lot of misuse and complaining. Like I said in my ATT post, "some misuse is easy to catch (e.g. saying a joke is Narm when Narm by definition can't be a joke), a lot of examples fall into grey areas that seem like misuse but it's hard to tell. Like nitpicks that at first glance seem to be valid examples, but feel like stretches the more you think about them."

I think one of the main reasons for misuse is that most people aren't clear on what Narm actually is. To my understanding, it's when a scene is intended to be dramatic, but comes off as cheesy/funny unintentionally. But going by the page description, it's kind of vague what actually qualifies something as Narm. At the top, it says "Narm is a moment that is supposed to be serious, but due to either over-sappiness, poor execution, excessive Melodrama, or the sheer absurdity of the situation, the drama is lost to the point of surpassing "cheesy" and becoming unintentionally funny." But then later on in the same page, it gives a much more vague definition:

In CGI movies or video games unrealistic movements or facial expressions may result in Narm. Dated special effects during dramatic scenes can cause Narm for younger audience members who were raised on nothing less convincing than the Phantom Menace. Totally Radical dialog in cartoons or commercials pandering to children can also be a rich source of Narm. Even a good performance in a bad movie can evoke Narm if the actor's performance isn't enough to save the scene.
That last sentence I feel just confuses the whole thing. It makes it sound like absolutely anything can count as Narm, no matter if it works in context or not.

Most often, Narm is misused to mean "anything I personally don't think worked," whether or not it was intended as dramatic or comes off as funny. And when a work is high-profile enough, hoo boy, pretty much every scene is Narm to somebody. You can look at the Narm subpages for Doctor Who, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones and find tons of examples of people nitpicking the tiniest of details in a scene and blowing whatever it is out of proportion.

Another problem is that since it's such a subjective trope, it's not clear if there's supposed to be any sort of in-fandom consensus on the example in-question, or if every example is valid under the "it's called YMMV for a reason" excuse, even if the only person who thinks the example is Narm is the troper who adds it in.

I think it needs to be clearer whether nitpicks are valid examples of Narm, especially since nitpicking overlaps so often with barely-disguised complaining. The most frequent offenders for Narm entries I see are complaining, nitpicking, adding jokes, and ZeroContextExamples. I'm going to use Venom (2018) as an example, with my comments in bold:

  • The scene of Eddie freaking out on the medical table is presented as the teaser's Money-Making Shot. It... doesn't quite work as intended, which isn't helped by it being sped up, making it look like a parody.
    • The final trailer features a more complete version of the clip showing Venom's face "shutter" over Eddie. Whether or not this works or if it looks like a cheap special effect depends on who you ask.
    • What makes the freakout even more narmful is that Eddie's screams are different screams playing on top of each other. The actual film lacks this strange effect. This example seems fine to me, but falls into the "The trailer is Narmy but the finished product isn't" doublespeak.
  • The leaked trailer revealed some pretty terrible lines (“The guy you work for is an evil person.”). Tom Hardy's horrible New York...ish(?) accent isn't doing the delivery any favors either. And it really does not help that his voice cracks on the reading of "evil person". Thankfully, that line is not in the film proper. Do we keep examples that are purely in the trailers? Also an example of "thing falls flat" instead of "thing is funny."
    • Hardy's line reading of "You're not real, you are just in my head." sounds like he's suffering from Elmuh Fudd Syndwome. At worst, he sounds like Adam Sandler's signature Manchild babbling. However there's some speculation that, based on the context of the scene and Eddie's stumbling movements, he's actually drunk, or perhaps even overdosed on medication (considering he was seen taking a bunch of pills, thinking he's sick). That and it could be a case of Reality Ensues, as it's unlikely anyone would keep the mental clarity to speak normally as an alien parasite is slowly bonding with their body. Natter. Goes back and forth between snarky complaints and defending the moment. Also nitpicking.
    • Movie trailers cutting quotes out of context to form a new sentence is nothing new, but the editing on the line "you will only hurt bad people" is particularly poor, and it's very easy to hear that the line has been cut together out of separate pieces of dialogue. Not really a dramatic thing, so I don't think it counts as Narm. And it definitely isn't funny, it just falls flat.
    • How Jenny Slate's character pronounces "symbiote" note . Plus, her giving firm, equal stress to all three syllables like she's speaking some foreign language. Luckily, this was cut from the theatrical release. Nitpicking and not funny.
    • The shot of Eddie crashing straight through a half-fallen tree in the forest that he could just as easily have ducked under comes across as more comedic than cool, as if they just needed an additional gratuitous shot of something breaking. Especially if your mind goes to Victor from Wet Hot American Summer and his inexplicable refusal to jump over anything. It really does not help that the evil bad-guy vehicle chasing him looks like a slightly modified golf cart. The context for this one in the movie is that Venom is taking control of his body and forcing him to blindly flee through the woods to escape the Life Foundation. Context makes it not-Narm. Cut?
    • Although it may look better in the context of the full scene, Eddie flying 50 feet into the air on his motorcycle off a slightly steep hill seems to rather severely break the laws of physics. Clearly written before the movie came out. Cut?
  • The Jump Scare (on both sides of the fourth wall) where Venom suddenly shouts Eddie's name as he brushed his teeth would have been much more scary if not for the fact that the latter Screams Like a Little Girl. There's also the fact that he somehow throws himself backwards so hard that he crashes into the bathroom wall. Intended as comedic, so it isn't Narm.
  • Remember how creepy and awesome that shot from the second trailer of the symbiote forming around Eddie's face in order to eat a guy was? In the third trailer, the potential Nightmare Fuel of that moment is significantly undercut by Venom slobbering all over the man's face with its tongue in an amusingly over-the-top manner. One is reminded of the scene with Patrick licking the yellow popsicle, or perhaps "This is the taste of a liar".... This seems pretty in-character for Venom. I'm not sure with this one.
    • The guy who Carlton Drake subjects to Orifice Invasion in the third trailer would have been disturbing, if not for the victim's bland expression. Moment that falls flat; not funny. Cut.
    • The symbiote's Venom-face forming on the end of Eddie's arm to talk to him strongly resembles a deranged hand puppet rather than a vicious alien parasite. There's also the fact that they can communicate telepathically, making that sequence unnecessary. Seems fine.
    • Venom's violent threats to his enemies are this if they're not aggressively tasteless Black Comedy. His threat to mutilate a man until he's "like a turd on the wind" is particularly groan-inducing, especially coming after a genuinely frightening threat. How It Should Have Ended was even driven by this to make a video on just the trailer for the very first time, in which he mangles a bunch of other sayings. Pretty sure they are intended as comedy, so it's not Narm. Cut.
  • The animation of the yellow symbiote just looks like mozzarella cheese come to life. Nitpick. Also... inaccurate? It's more of a mucus yellow.
  • After Venom heals Eddie's broken legs, he flatly states "My legs! They were broken... and now they're not broken..."
  • "HOSPITAL!!!! (extremely long pause) Now!" Zero-Context Example.
  • Eddie and Anne quite casually discussing cannibalism as one of the symbiote's favorite activities. It's something that would probably sincerely shock and disgust the average person and likely require therapy, and yet it's bandied about like it's a pretty normal occurrence. These kinds of entries are tricky to me. They seem valid at first glance, but there's something off about them. I don't think this one counts if the work itself is treating the moment lightly.
  • Any menace from Cletus Kasady is completely undercut by Woody Harrelson's truly ridiculous wig. A common comparison is that it causes him to look like a live-action Sideshow Bob, or a make-up-less Pennywise. Uses complainy word-choice. Otherwise fine.
  • Kasady promising that there will be "carnage" after he gets out is so on-the-nose that it feels like it's straight out of a parody. First off, that's not an example of Anvilicious. Secondly, this verges on a nitpick to me. I'm not sure. It's not really funny, just lame.
  • The final trade of words between Venom and Riot before the final battle is nothing but total Ham-to-Ham Combat - that and the two symbiotes happen to be Perpetual Smilers, which just gives off the feeling that they don't really give that much of a damn about their goals.
    Riot: Venom...Get in the rocket!
    Venom: No! We won't let you destroy this world!
    Riot: Then die!
Nitpicking?
  • Towards the end of the film, it's revealed that Venom used to be something of a loser on his home planet, like Eddie. This is his entire reason for wanting to save the Earth. Moment played as a joke, so it isn't Narm.
  • Despite angrily forcing Eddie to spit out cooked meats because they're no longer living animals, the symbiote develops a taste for tater tots, and it practically demands that Eddie buy some during a conversation in the ending. The director admitted in an interview that the writers just thought it was funny and put it in the script. It unfortunately invites comparisons to a similar tots-focused scene in Napoleon Dynamite as a result. Entry admits it's a joke. So it isn't Narm.
  • Drake having bonded with Riot is treated as a huge shocking twist going into the final battle... except for the fact that the audience was already well aware of it and saw the whole process. It feels very much like a consequence of Executive Meddling to give Riot more screentime. Another tricky example. Seems to fall under "scene doesn't work" instead of "scene is funny."
  • Right after Eddie is separated from the symbiote, a rather obvious ADR overdub replaces the intended "fuck you" with the much less vicious "we're done". Not really funny, just falls flat.
  • Eddie's "DRAKE! STOP!" sounds less like he's in pain and more like a little kid telling his Big Brother Bully to stop giving him a wedgie. Nitpicking. Most people wouldn't even pay this sequence any mind.

Another issue with Narm is the distinction between moments that are unintentionally funny on their own, and moments that are only unintentionally funny after Memetic Mutation or similar feat. Does the latter truly count as Narm? Because you can make the case that everything that has ever been made can fall under that.

Edited by MisterApes-a-lot on Mar 31st 2019 at 7:06:31 AM

MisterApes-a-lot Since: Mar, 2018
#801: Jul 16th 2021 at 8:13:15 AM

Yeah, you can cut that example.

TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#802: Jul 17th 2021 at 7:36:00 AM

  • From Jurassic World:
    • Blue coming to the rescue at the end of the movie — in slow motion — comes across as being a little less dramatic than intended. Doesn't explain what's comical about this scene.
    • The Dimorphodons may be a real species, but seeing what looks like a Pteranodon with a T. rex head still looks goofy. Nightmare Retardant, not Narm.
    • The very name of the film, being a combination of the first two film titles rather than something new. Not a moment; reeks of complaining
    • Woman in high heels outruns dinosaur. Eyes are rolled. Last sentence is complaining, and this is already listed under Narm Charm
    • The scene with the dying Apatosaurus might come off as overly dramatic to some. Doesn't explain what's comical about the scene; Weasel Words suggest this is a shoehorn
    • Some of the Product Placement is pretty forced and awkward, especially the loving shot of Owen taking a long pull from a Coca Cola bottle. Complaining, doesn't describe a serious moment
    • Many have pointed out how playing the Jurassic Park music theme as the movie pans over the buildings of the Jurassic World park was somewhat cringe-worthy, since it was missing the primary thing that made the original moment special, the actual dinosaurs. "Thing Falls Flat", not "Thing Is Funny"
    • The It Can Think moments from the Indominus Rex really stretch the suspension of disbelief for some people. It's one thing to have her figure out she is help captive and ambush her captors to escape. It's another when she is implied to have figured out she was being watched by thermal cameras, changed her body temperature to fool them and later removed her implant before figuring out it was allowing to track her- all things even a human in this situation would have a hard time figuring out. Complaining and Fridge Logic
    • Kamada yelling “it can camouflage!” in strained tones whilst battling the I.Rex comes across as unnecessarily laboured exposition. Complaining
    • Lowery’s role as the Audience Surrogate, decrying the current park while praising the original park as “legit”, comes across as thin and illogical fan service considering that, in-universe, the original park was a failed concept that shut down before it even opened. The dialogue Lowery has on the subject was so ham-handedly pandering to the original that it pulled some viewers right out of the movie as a result. Complaining and Fridge Logic

    Other examples from the page 
  • This exchange between Owen and Claire from the very end of the film, which even Chris Pratt can't stop from sounding hilariously forced:
    Claire: So what do we do now?
    Owen: Stick together I guess. [DRAMATIC PAUSE] For survival.
  • Hoskins's reaction to the I. rex breaking into the aviary. It almost sounds like he's aroused by it.
  • The death of Delta. While fighting the Indominus rex, she is flung into a gas grill, which suddenly ignites and burns her to cinders as soon as she hits it. On top of that, the grill had not been shown in any previous scene, making it unexpected and almost cartoonish that she would hit one of all things.
  • The goofy little "OOoo!" (or "Wooohhh!") noise Nick makes when Indominus rex overturns the pickup truck. It almost undermines the intended horror of the scene.
  • According to the script, Masrani Flies Like Crazy to the point where Claire is begging him to concentrate on his piloting while riding with him and his instructor throws up after they land. The shots of the helicopter flying in a perfectly unremakable manner and the calm interior scenes make it look like everyone is childishly overreacting.
  • Owen's horrified and disgusted reaction to Claire not knowing her nephews' ages. The attempt at shaming Claire for being a bad aunt just ends up making Owen look comically judgmental.

RobertTYL Since: Oct, 2019 Relationship Status: Holding out for a hero
#803: Jul 17th 2021 at 11:42:52 PM

[up] Feed all the above to the Mosasaur. She's hungry.

This one from Dracula: Dead and Loving It seems like a misuse:

Narm: Mina screaming and fainting onto her bed after a cross burns her hand can come across as this. - The movie itself is a comedy, made by the same guy behind Spaceballs. Pretty sure that scene is SUPPOSED to be funny...

Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#804: Jul 22nd 2021 at 6:47:27 AM

Bringing up the following examples from The Flash 2014 S 7 E 18 Heart Of The Matter Part 2:

  • Narm: The Lightning-Saber battle between Barry/Thawne and Godspeed. Many, many fans raged at how not-Flash-like this was.
  • Narm Charm: Whereas others thought the final battle was this, a really fun Cool vs. Awesome moment that only comic books and comic book shows could get away with. Fans also bring up that it's not all that different than what the Legends have done in previous seasons.

TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#805: Jul 22nd 2021 at 9:00:36 AM

[up] Cut both, those are blatant misuse.

BlueGuy (Ten years in the joint)
#806: Jul 22nd 2021 at 2:19:36 PM

Narm.Pinball seems like it might be entirely misuse. It's a short subpage, so I've copied all its examples below:

  • Gottlieb's Raven is universally derided for the Faux Action Girl on its backbox translite photograph, who utterly fails to look like a jungle fighter with her well-coffed '80s Hair. For context, this is what the example refers to. I'm not sure if a single photograph can constitute a moment that can be ruined by Narm. As written, I think edges towards complaining.
  • Similarly, Laser War might have sold its theme better if the "warriors" weren't graduates of the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy more concerned with keeping their hairstyles intact than shooting their enemies. This is referring solely to the backboxContext  artwork again, not anything within the game. Even if it provided more context, I have doubts that it would really count for the same reason as Raven.
  • Cue Ball Wizard loses what little gravitas it has with its cartoonish sound effects. This one's clear-cut misuse, since it's not trying to be dramatic in the first place (as the example itself admits).
  • Popeye Saves the Earth tries to merge the popular comic strip character with an Anvilicious Green Aesop and a cluttered playfield. The results were about as well as you'd expect. This is more complaining than anything.
  • One of the messages during the Attract Mode of The Shadow is "AIDS is real - Protect yourself" ZCE that I'm not sure would fit even with context - it's not any more laughable than the "Winners don't use drugs" screen on '90s arcade games.

Pinball cleanup thread
MisterApes-a-lot Since: Mar, 2018
#807: Jul 22nd 2021 at 2:32:09 PM

Yeah, I think those can all be safely cut.

Primis Since: Nov, 2010
#808: Jul 22nd 2021 at 11:56:00 PM

Found these on YMMV.Jeff Waynes Musical Version Of The War Of The Worlds:

  • Narm: In the stage show, as shown in the 2006 live DVD. Most of the background film being synchronised with the music works really well, but the "dancing heatray" during Horsell Common looks a bit silly.
    • This is taken Up To Eleven in the New Generation stage show where not only is the heat ray seen "dancing" multiple times, but there are also two occasions where it thrashes around as if it was having an epileptic seizure. Luckily, they appear to have toned it back down a bit when they updated the film (again) for the Final Arena Tour.
    • During an emotional moment in the "Thunderchild" song ("flashing heat-rays pierced the deck"), the word "pierced" can unfortunately be misheard as "pissed".
    • If you don't find the cry of Ulla scary, it's going to sound awfully silly.

None of these really strike me as "dramatic moment is rendered funny".

The only one that I think even fits that criteria is one about "Thunder Child", but even then, it hardly ruins the moment. Here's the line in question. I didn't even notice the weird pronunciation until I read this example.

TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#809: Jul 23rd 2021 at 1:07:59 PM

Resident Evil has a lot of bad examples... But I'll focus on the RE 4 examples for now.

    Will cut 
  • Future Resident Evil games have been considered quite campy even with improved voice acting. It has surely evolved into self-parody in Resident Evil 4, with Leon howling in soul-wrenching woe at the deaths of the Mexican cop from Spain and the helicopter pilot who he knew for all of 10 minutes. Doesn't explain what's funny about Leon's agony
  • “No thanks...bro!” ZCE
  • When Leon finds a deep freeze room full of corpses infected with parasites, his reaction: "Sucks to be them." Sarcastic remark that was not meant to be taken seriously
  • Giant. Robotic. Salazar. Really, now? The fact that it had absolutely no thematic connection to either the previous areas or the key needed to enter the room was silly enough. The fact that the hands moved up and down to be used as lifts (which enemies could barely maneuver) was silly enough. Hell, the idea of Salazar spending money on a giant robotic statue of himself is enough narm for the entire series. But the chase at the end with falling pillars... Just what? Here's the scene, but sped up and set to a familiar piece of music. I suppose this could be rewritten in a more neutral tone, but even then this is poking fun at Fridge Logic
    • Tiny organic Salazar is also a rich source of narm, being a midget who looks about 40 years older than the 20 years of age he claims he actually is, dresses like a 18th-century nobleman, and sounds like an evil Frito Bandito despite being [allegedly] Spanish and shares his name with a B-list villain from 24. If his ludicrous giant robot wasn't enough, then you're sure to crack up at his comical temper tantrums each time Leon breaks his balls, or his insistence on referring to Leon as "Meestair Kennedy" (or, in one scene, "Meestair Scott Kennedy"). Not a moment; Salazar is meant to be seen as pathetic
  • When you get to the Island, you have to go through a kitchen-like area in the medical facility. When you walk past the oven, a mook bursts out of it and attacks you, on fire. And then when you examine the oven, Leon even comments, "What the hell was he doing in there?" A bizarre moment, but not particularly funny
  • Mike's appearance in this game could count as this. We never see his face, he shows up in a helicopter killing Ganados for two minutes, and he is killed by one of them. His death became a meme, as Leon is incredibly angered by the death of a guy he never saw and barely even knew. Weasel Words suggest this is a shoehorn. Leon being infuriated after an ally was murdered in cold blood seems like a perfectly reasonable emotional response
  • Leon's subsequent comm link conversation with Saddler, where he audibly shouts "Saddler, you bastard!!"...which is nonsensically censored in the captions as "Saddler, you..." *Bleep*-dammit!, not Narm
    • Every one of Leon's back-and-forths with the villains on his comm link, really. Even funnier when Saddler's reaction to Leon's groan-inducing quips is a good natured laugh. What a guy. Bad indentation, general example, most of these conversations are full of dark humour
  • At one point later in the game, Leon briefly succumbs to the parasite in him and tries to strangle Ada, forcing her to stab him in the leg and knee him away in order to stop him. Not only does the former wound fail to trouble him at all, but he then proceeds to give a "sorry" about as intense as if he had spilled water on her dress rather than tried to kill her. An otherwise intense and Nightmare Fuel inducing scene is ruined by Grade F voice acting from Leon. Complaining
  • There's a particular room in Salazar's castle that is absolutely batshit insane, even by the game's already bonkers-mad standards. It starts almost as soon as you walk in, where you have to ride a gigantic gear contraption just to get to the room proper. Then you have to traverse spinning carousels of doom while evading fire-breathing dragon statues that inexplicably fall to pieces upon the deaths of their operators. And did we mention that, for no particular reason at all, the entire room is filled with lava? Overall, it looks and feels like a Zelda dungeon wandered into the wrong game by mistake. It really has to be seen to be believed. Completely misses the point of this trope
  • Ada and Krauser's awkwardly worded exchange regarding the latter (as well as Wesker) not trusting the former: Ada tells Krauser that she met Wesker before Krauser did (as if how long you knew a person factors into how much you trust them). Krauser responds with "We'll see soon enough if you did." which makes it seem as if Krauser is trying to verify whether Ada is being honest about the exact point in time she met Wesker. Poorly written dialogue, no doubt, but not really funny
  • Being able to kill Salazar in five seconds with the right set up. All that build up into his monstrous flower Tetsuo form and...you blow his eye out with a Magnum and blast him into Salazar chunks with a bazooka. This is just a walkthrough
  • If you are from Spain (or speak Spanish at all), you can find that broken Spanish from the enemies quite narmy. Particularly because the "Spaniard" villagers speak with what's very clearly a broken Mexican accent. Misplaced Accent, not Narm
    • Speaking of linguistic issues, there's the name of the parasites behind this mess. Las Plagas. Sounds scary enough, right? Not so fast! You might think it means "The Plagues," but it really translates to The Pests. As if their greatest threat was annoying you and eating your food stores. Natter
      • It should be worth noting that the Spanish words for "plague" and "pest" respectively are actually inverted, as "peste" is the correct Spanish translation of the former. Naming the parasites "Las Pestes" would sound like Fluffy the Terrible to an English speaker the same way "Las Plagas" would sound to a Spanish speaker. Natter
  • Saddler's mutated form: he sprouts tentacles from his head that sport numerous eyes (he even has a large eye in his mouth). This form would be incredibly intimidating... if not for the fact that Saddler's human body is mostly unchanged and just dangles from the rest of the mutant's body. It ends up looking completely ridiculous. Nightmare Retardant, not Narm

    Keep? 
  • Saddler's big, hard, throbbing, killer tentacle wang. Salazar gets his own literal one-eyed snake when he goes One-Winged Angel. Needs more context, but I think tis can stay. The scene is meant to be horrific, but Saddler and Salazar's tentacles look too much like a certain organ to be taken seriously.
  • Leon's goofy-ass death... Wheeze? Moan? Whatever it is, it's a common cause of this in-game.
  • Accidentally (or deliberately) killing Ashley will result in Leon saying "Oh no..." with a delivery that sounds less like he just killed the president's daughter and more like he accidentally left his phone at work. This is accompanied by him kneeling dramatically, completely opposing the delivery of said line.
  • While Paul Mercier is a good VA for Leon, he does slip into some sort of accent near the end. After he saves Ada from her Unwilling Suspension situation, he asks her the usual "You okay?" stuff. Or rather, "You oKEH?" It's weird since, otherwise, his accent and delivery is on point everywhere else. Saddler was probably laughing at that, actually.

TantaMonty Since: Aug, 2017
#810: Jul 23rd 2021 at 4:15:26 PM

From Injustice: Gods Among Us:

  • At the end of Classic Battle, Regime Superman has flashbacks to his downfall as he's being sucked into the Phantom Zone. The final flashback is of him before the graves of his wife and unborn child. Yes, graves plural; in a display that's simultaneously too much and too little, their unborn child got an entirely separate tombstone yet wasn't assigned a proper name, the engraving reading "Baby Kent."
  • Superman's scream is up there with Dante's in terms of narm. ZCE and Fan Myopia
  • Yellow Lantern's outro consists of him trying his damn hardest to sound threatening, but it's ruined with the line "yellow is power." - In fact, a major problem some people have with the character in the game is that he just doesn't sound threatening at all. But perhaps that's the point, since Yellow Lantern is beaten handily by Green Lantern; and is actually very cowardly, immediately surrendering when faced by Heroic Superman. Justifying Edit + "Thing falls flat"
  • The way characters bounce between buildings in the Gotham City street-to-rooftop transition looks kind of goofy.
  • During challenge battles in the mobile version, the player is tasked with collecting five artifacts related to the character unlocked by completing the challenge, such as Batman's cowl or Deathstroke's rifle. During the challenge to unlock Darkseid, his gear is all inexplicably prefixed with "Omega," leading to such intimidating names as "Omega Boots." This actually makes perfect sense. Darkseid gets his powers from the Omega Effect, so it's only logical that his armour would also be named after it.
  • Early on in story, Superman bursts into a serious interrogation between Batman and the Joker. Superman barks a commanding, "Get away from him!" towards Batman. Batman's response? "I'm handling this." It's the disinterested, near-deadpan tone Batman uses that sells it.

I'm cutting the three marked examples, but let me know if there is any problem with the others.

Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#811: Jul 24th 2021 at 1:19:16 PM

Bringing up the following examples from Doctor Who TVM (The TV Movie):

BlueGuy (Ten years in the joint)
#812: Jul 25th 2021 at 4:20:03 PM

[up]x5 I went ahead and placed it on the Cut List (and removed the page from the index on Narm itself).

Edited by BlueGuy on Jul 25th 2021 at 7:20:22 AM

Pinball cleanup thread
Bubblepig [[Willy's Chocolate Experience The Unknown] from Meme universe (Experienced, Not Yet Jaded) Relationship Status: is commanded to— WANK!
[[Willy's Chocolate Experience The Unknown]
#813: Jul 26th 2021 at 12:05:37 AM

I found the Narm page of Battlefield Earth movie where most of the examples have most quotes and have less context. Should we remove the quotes or add more context?

“What is that? It's The Unknown!”
ImperialMajestyXO Since: Nov, 2015
#814: Jul 26th 2021 at 11:09:04 AM

[up] I'd say the latter, if possible

Shadow8411 Since: Jul, 2019
#815: Jul 29th 2021 at 5:59:28 AM

Bringing up the following examples from The Legend of the 10 Elemental Masters:

  • Narm: Loads. Ulillillia wrote this, after all.
    • When asked why Knuckles didn't create a bed for himself, he remarks, "I don't need sleep. I'm immune to it."
    • Anybody who's read Ulillillia's website knows what they're in for with the chapter "A Pizza Break". Suffice to say, Ivan does not disappoint them.
    • Knuckles can do just about anything, except drive a car, and he seems mildly bitter about the fact.

Do any of these count at all?

nrjxll Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Not war
#816: Jul 29th 2021 at 6:39:28 AM

They're all severely lacking in context and should probably be cut for that alone, or at least commented out.

Shadow8411 Since: Jul, 2019
#817: Jul 29th 2021 at 6:41:02 AM

If I commented them out, the page would be blank; the Narm entries are the only thing on the page.

Delibirda from Splatsville Since: Sep, 2020 Relationship Status: I wanna be your dog
#818: Jul 29th 2021 at 6:50:52 AM

They are misuse, too. Maybe we should cut the page.

Edited by Delibirda on Jul 29th 2021 at 3:51:15 PM

"Listen up, Marina, because this is SUPER important. Whatever you do, don't eat th“ “DON'T EAT WHAT?! Your text box ran out of space!”
MisterApes-a-lot Since: Mar, 2018
#819: Jul 29th 2021 at 6:41:05 PM

Regarding the Narm.Battlefield Earth examples, I took a look at the page and I noticed that the ZCE entries that were just quotes used to be commented out, then somebody uncommented them out without giving an edit reason.

rjd1922 he/him | Image Pickin' regular from the United States Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: Love is for the living, Sal
he/him | Image Pickin' regular
#820: Jul 30th 2021 at 2:35:42 PM

On YMMV.The King And I, in the section about the 1999 animated movie. What do you think?

  • Anna and the crew warding off the dragon by singing and whistling. Made even more incredulous by the fact that it works. Valid
  • Anna constantly complaining of how she and the King's subjects must bow before him "like a toad"; not helping is her actually hopping like a toad while singing about her many complaints towards the King. Unsure if this is intentionally funny
  • When the king finds out that his son gave away his sacred pendant, his "Who, who, who?" is hilarious. I think this is valid, but I was the one who originally added it, so I'm biased
    The Nostalgia Critic: Your Daffy Duck impersonation's really gonna need some work.
  • Master Little's obsession with his teeth, as well as the Running Gag surrounding them being constantly knocked out by the monkey's antics. Intentionally funny
  • A lot of the character animation falls under this, with a lot of their gesturing coming off as over-the-top and jerky. Examples Are Not General
  • Sir Edward Ramsay receiving a letter from Kralahome insisting that Anna is in danger in the king's company. Without a second thought, he orders his vessel bound for England to change course for Siam to dethrone him. Shoehorned
    The Nostalgia Critic: We got a random letter! LET'S DESTROY A NATIOOOOON!!!

Keet cleanup
MisterApes-a-lot Since: Mar, 2018
#821: Jul 30th 2021 at 5:13:04 PM

For starters, I think you can cut all the Nostalgia Critic references. They don't really add anything except snarkiness.

  • Alright
  • Not clear if it's played for drama from how it's written. Reads as just a complaint.
  • Could use a little more context.
  • Cut.
  • Cut for being too general.
  • Fridge Complaining. Cut.

rjd1922 he/him | Image Pickin' regular from the United States Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: Love is for the living, Sal
he/him | Image Pickin' regular
#822: Jul 30th 2021 at 7:03:13 PM

[up]I added the Nostalgia Critic quote comparing it to Daffy Duck to demonstrate how the "Who, who, who?" sounds goofy.

Keet cleanup
mightymewtron Angry babby from New New York Since: Oct, 2012 Relationship Status: THIS CONCEPT OF 'WUV' CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!
Angry babby
#823: Jul 30th 2021 at 7:11:57 PM

The NC quote isn't bad to add, but the entry could stand to explain A) why it's meant to be a serious moment and B) what about his delivery makes it sound so cartoony.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Anddrix Since: Oct, 2014
#824: Aug 1st 2021 at 5:06:29 AM

Bringing up the following examples from OLD:

  • Narm:
    • Mid-Size Sedan’s Dull Surprise delivery of “oh damn” when his female companion’s body is discovered.
    • The kids running up to everyone and asking their name and job. It completely comes off as Shyamalan having trouble working this exposition in naturally, so he just threw this whole quirk in. The quirk can be seen as being Justified however, as Trent appears to be on the Autism spectrum with this being one of his tics.
    • Chrystal in the caves. While the context is appropriately horrifying, how her body contorts constantly somewhat makes the scene unintentionally funny. Although if bone contortions, the sound of bones cracking, and human pretzels aren't your thing, chances are you'll get the intended reaction.

Shadow8411 Since: Jul, 2019
#825: Aug 1st 2021 at 5:33:27 AM

  • I assume this was meant to be a dramatic moment that was let down by a Dull Surprise delivery, but the entry doesn't state this directly. Maybe it could do with more context.
  • The entry argues with itself, and even tries to justify a YMMV trope. An easy cut.
  • A scary moment that can come of as unintentionally funny, but only to some people. Not sure.


Total posts: 2,636
  • Show Spoilers
  • Night Vision
  • Sticky Header
  • Wide Load

Important Links

Ask The Tropers Trope Finder Media Finder Trope Launch Pad Tech Wishlist Reviews Go Ad Free!
Crucial Browsing
Resources
Top