Definitely needs a rename. Chekhovs Episode or, to throw my own in, maybe Retroactive Wham Episode.
Anyway, I see this thread petered out with no action taken. Like Lower-Deck Episode, this is named after an example; unlike Lower-Deck Episode, the name doesn't really fit independent of that. I Thought It Meant something like "it's quiet ... too quiet" expanded to 42 minutes plus commercials, or something. The title akes it sound much ore exciting than it is.
edited 9th Apr '10 12:07:22 PM by calieber
It's not exactly a prelude to anything directly. I like Set The Plot In Motion if there's nothing cleverer that's equally clear.
Is it just wham episodes being foreshadowed? It looks to me like it combines elements of Foreshadowing and The Producer Thinks of Everything.
edited 9th Apr '10 7:28:37 PM by calieber
^If it is more than wham forshadowing the main text is wrong.
Several examples aren't clear on what the wham is, making it hard to tell if they are interpreting the trope as you describe.
Some seem to be interpreting it as any kind of subdued (stealthy?) settup of fundamentals important later on:
- The season 3 Lost episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes" got mixed reviews and was considered odd and alienating by many fans at the time. However, this was the first episode to employ any kind of time travel, and laid the groundwork for everything that has happened in season 5 with Ms. Hawking.
edited 9th Apr '10 7:41:10 PM by Camacan
Ah, I see, I misremembered it as specifically about pilot episodes * and specifically pilot episodes that seemed boring and pointless at the time but were often referred back to later.
The trope namer wasn't the pilot, though, just the first regular episode.
edited 9th Apr '10 7:43:48 PM by suedenim
Jet-a-Reeno!^^^If this is so, "A seemingly weak episode early in a Story Arc that subtly sets events in motion that lead to a big payoff in the form of at least one Wham Episode later on."
Should be changed to "A seemingly weak episode early in a Story Arc that subtly sets events in motion that lead to a big payoff later." or suchlike. As it stands it looks like a big one-off payoff.
edited 9th Apr '10 7:47:19 PM by Camacan
Sooo — if the wording is right and it's specifically setting up Wham Episodes by stealth, there are some examples that don't fit.
- Dirk Gently's "holistic" philosophy isn't wrong in the context of the books—even the aside jokes are relevant later on.
This is no Wham Episode, but fits the generalised stealthy setup of stuff that is important to the plot later. Forgive me if this is nitpicking.
edited 10th Apr '10 12:47:29 AM by Camacan
I tried to clean it up a little but a lot of the examples are works I don't know and/or may refer to an actual Wham Episode, it's unclear.
edited 10th Apr '10 6:15:10 AM by calieber
It sounds more like a Stealth Chekhov or Stealth Fridge Moment.
I swear there was a trope for this beyond those.
I just had to do it: I present to you, the Ninja Chekhov
◊
(Not a name suggestion, just thought it looked funny.)
Crown Description:

Courtesy link.
The name has nothing to do with the trope. I admittedly haven't seen Babylon 5, but I honestly can't see even someone who HAS seen it actually getting this trope from the name alone.
Chekhov's Episode or Chekhov's Arc would be the obvious snowclone titles.
I guess it is.