Throughout this site, some tropers have a habit of adding in potholes and references to their favorite reviewers in entries, e.g. "Come see (reviewer)'s take on it here!"
Not only is it often unnecessary, but in some cases if the critic in question is a Caustic Critic it can be used to invite complaining, on top of crossing over into Reviews Are the Gospel territory since these tropers often treat these reviewers as if their opinion is fact.
Per this thread in Wiki Talk
, this thread has been created in Long-Term Projects to clean up this kind of thing and Reviews Are the Gospel-type stuff in general.
REMEMBER: This criteria, made by mightymewtron, should be followed for knowing when to keep reviewer potholes:
Edited by themayorofsimpleton on Feb 3rd 2021 at 3:28:10 PM
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The Nostalgia Chick quote doesn't really add anything to the example, so I think it can go.
Bringing up the following examples from Christmas with the Kranks and it's YMMV page.
- Artistic License – Religion: Father Zabriskie is a guest at the party at the end. As Roger Ebert noted, Catholic priests don't get Christmas Eve off, since Midnight Mass is a major event in Roman Catholicism.
- Santa Clausmas: Roger Ebert noted in his review that none of the houses have crucifixes or nativities on their front yards, which is somewhat expected in a typical suburban neighborhood. Ebert suspected that showing even the slight implication of religious people forcing their views on other people's throats in the movie would offend conservative Christian groups, so the filmmakers decided to play it safe and have every house display secular decorations. Ebert wrote in a later Q&A that these same religious groups endorsed the film, which he found both ironic and (given the movie's premise) disturbing.
- Jerkass Woobie: As JonTron, Film Brain, and The Nostalgia Critic put it, Luther would be just the most irredeemable asshole who just goes out of his way to piss people off in other circumstances, but considering the situation, and said people who are far worse than he is, you're more likely to sympathize because of all the crap he goes through.
The Ebert mentions at least add some context to their respective examples. I don't think anything would be lost by cutting the three critics listed under Jerkass Woobie, unless those three people are literally the only people to have that opinion.
This might be the dumbest and most pointless reviewer quote I've ever seen and I'm removing it right now. (not the example, just the quote)
Mario Party YMMV Awesome Levels:
- Waluigi's Island from Mario Party 3 has many tricks and traps that aren't needlessly unfair, including one in front of Game-Breaker Boo, as well as an island that shifts its spaces.
Ryan of BrainScratch Commentaries: ANARCHY!
Edited by MissConduct on Dec 22nd 2021 at 10:34:17 AM
I agree with the removal, but you probably should've gotten consensus first.
Discarded and Feeling Blue
Eh, if something is that blatantly shoehorned, I think it's OK to remove it without asking first. Not every issue needs consensus to resolve.
Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness
Bringing up the following example from Neil Breen:
- Captain Obvious: Most of the fundamentals Neil teaches in The Neil Breen Five-Film Retrospective are common sense to anyone who's watched at least one behind-the-scenes featurette or commentary track of a film's DVD release. For example, he dedicates over an hour discussing what makes a good "character image", but it never goes beyond the superficial. Lampshaded by Half in the Bag when they reviewed the retrospective.
Jay: I can see [Neil] explaining this to some dumb relative at a Christmas dinner party, but... anyone else with cursory knowledge will already know this stuff.Mike: Neil Been is the uncle that won't leave at the end of the party.
It's one of those entries that misuses "lampshaded" to basically mean "discussed", and I personally don't think it adds anything other than unnecessary snark. I say cut.
tfw 0 Fandreas
T'is the season, from the Christmas Episode page:
- Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, where they're human now but talking about the Christmas where they weren't:
The Nostalgia Chick: Yes, please recount to us the event that we were all present for!
Doesn't really add anything of value. I say cut.
Lots of coffee
It basically looks like a complainy ZCE too.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Found these:
From YMMV.Ultraviolet:
- Narm: The flaming sword scene ends with a goddamn squirt gun being brought in. Apparently Super-Soakers beat flaming swords every time.
From YMMV.Red Notice:
- Captain Obvious Reveal: There were so many hints foreshadowing the final twist of the movie that many in the audience figured it out long before the climax. The Honest Trailers crew in particular calls this out on their episode on the movie.
From Trivia.Half Past Dead:
- Fake Russian: Steven Seagal as Sascha, something Roger Ebert noted.
From the top of Beyoncé:
Those first three mentions don't add anything of value. The entries are also all very low context. Less sure about the Todd in the Shadows one, but we could probably get a better quote than that.
The Mask Does Not Laugh
From NightmareFuel.Public Service Announcements Health:
- Snake: Perhaps one of their most notorious ones, this PSA famously scared both The Nostalgia Critic (in his "Top 11 Anti-Drug PSAs" video) and JonTron (in his "Anti Drug Games" video). A drug-dealer named Snake, half-hidden in shadow, introduces himself and speaks of how far you'd be willing to go to get more drugs from him. His voice becomes more and more distorted as he moves in a fluid manner, saying how we'll "steal from your parents, lie, cheat on your homeboys" to get drugs. And as he's talking, his body shape becomes less and less human. He finishes up by saying, "Now, some folks will tell you that I'm dealin' in poison. But hey, do I look like the kind of guy who'd do that to a kid like you?" He then appears in the light, revealing he is a human snake, and hisses in a distorted voice, "Yessss!" The ad ends with a freeze-frame of Snake hissing at the camera with his long, forked tongue flailing about.
The Nostalgia Critic: [hiding under the camera at the end of the commercial and raising a finger pointing right] Go to the next one!
JonTron: YOU LOOK LIKE A SNAKE! WHAT? WHAT THE FUCK?! - Diving Board: Another terrifying PSA shows a woman standing on a diving board, ready to jump off into a pool. The narrator talks about the popularity of drugs and its effects. In the background, echoing voices can be heard encouraging the woman to jump. ("It'll be fun..." "It's cool..." "Try it...") Near the end of the ad, the narrator tells you to "know what you're jumping into" before you try something new as the woman jumps off the diving board. The scary part? The pool is empty. The fact that we hear a thud near the end doesn't help. Much like "Snake" above, this PSA also freaked out the Nostalgia Critic when he featured it in his top drug PSAs video:
NC: OH MY GOD! THERE'S NO WATER! THERE'S NO WATER IN THE POOL! OH MY GOD! THERE'S NO WATER IN THE POOL! OH MY GOD! WHAT A TWIST!
- Surgeon: "What if the joint were in someone else's hand? Would you still say marijuana is harmless?" Cut to a young man Strapped to an Operating Table... and then a stoned surgeon, with a scalpel in one hand and a joint in the other. The young man repeatedly has to remind the surgeon why he's there (Surgeon: "I've never had anybody die of tonsillitis before." Patient: "Appendicitis...") and no one else in the ER seems bothered by this. As the young man is put under, the surgeon looks down at him and says, "Now let's see if I can make a straight line!", laughs maniacally, and begins to bring the scalpel down on the patient. Thankfully, there are strict rules in the operating room that require surgeons to be sober before operating. To some, the surgeon acts so over-the-top that they can be more funny than scary, but some people may find the surgeon's over-the-top antics to be why the PSA is scary in the first place. Notably, it was featured in JonTron's "Anti Drug Games" video, where he had this to offer:
Jon: You know what, I think you've got a point there, it would be bad if my surgeon was smoking pot while operating on me. Here's a list of other things I wouldn't want him doing: ANYTHING ELSE BUT MY FUCKING SURGERY. Hahaha, you're really a piece of shit, aren't you?
Those reviewer references don't add anything of value; they're just unnecessary snark. And "this PSA scared an internet reviewer who comically overacts for a living" is not notable. You can cut all the mentions.
The Mask Does Not Laugh
Rodger that.
Lots of coffee
I think quoting a reviewer's explanation of why a PSA is scary can help establish it as a credible audience reaction, and not just one guy being scared about something. Stuff like "ahh it's scary kill it with fire!" isn't productive, though. Therefore, I don't think these quotes are very good explanations — just restating information that's already in the descriptions.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
From Singer Namedrop:
- Todd in the Shadows was particularly enraged that Lukas Graham's frontman Lukas Forchhammer, who already had two straight Self Titled Albums and some self-indulgent lyrics in "7 Years", had the guts to add an announcer shouting "Lukas Graham!"
Is the reviewer mention here necessary?
Avatar by Butterscotch Arts. Used under license.
I don't think it's relevant to the trope, so no.
Lots of coffee
It's complainy to boot.
I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.
Is this too short of a rewrite?
- Lukas Graham's "7 Years" has an announcer shouting "Lukas Graham!"
Bringing up the following examples:
From YMMV.Deja Vu:
- Took the Bad Film Seriously: In the opinion of Richard Roeper and A.O. Scott, Denzel Washington.
From Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark:
- To the Tune of...: "Bouncing Off the Walls" sounds strikingly similar to U2's "Vertigo," at least according to Todd in the Shadows.
From YMMV.Trouble:
- Squick:
- It bears repeating: this is a comic series about Peter Parker's parents, and aunt and uncle, meeting up as teenagers and having lots of sex. Keeping that knowledge in the back of your mind as you read through the comic adds a fine layer of "ew" to everything the characters do. As Linkara puts it a few times:
"Behold the answer to the question that nobody asked: 'What did Aunt May say to Uncle Ben when they first boned?'!"
"Oh, and there's something we never friggin' needed to see — Uncle Ben's O-face!"
- It bears repeating: this is a comic series about Peter Parker's parents, and aunt and uncle, meeting up as teenagers and having lots of sex. Keeping that knowledge in the back of your mind as you read through the comic adds a fine layer of "ew" to everything the characters do. As Linkara puts it a few times:
The Deja Vu entry is a ZCE, even with the reviewer reference.
The Todd mention is okay I think, but the entry is still low context.
I don't think the Linkara quote adds anything of value.
From YMMV.The Loud House S 1 E 11 Butterfly Effect The Green House:
- So Bad, It's Good: Believe it or not, this is The Mysterious Mr. Enter's opinion of "The Green House", primarily because he finds its Clueless Aesop regarding environmentalism (Mrs. Johnson holding Lincoln to the same standard as all her other students despite knowing that he has ten sisters, saving the environment being portrayed as gross) laughably bad.
This doesn't seem to be a widespread view.
tfw 0 Fandreas
Nuke from orbit. Also pretty ironic considering that entire video has him dropping one Clueless Aesop after another.
Edited by SpongeBat1 on Dec 28th 2021 at 9:12:41 AM
Came for the tropes, stayed for the cleanup.