Clarification:: Main/Drama Bomb

Drama Bomb seems to be just complaining in the description an examples about moments someone thinks is excessively dramatic. As in something like Wham Episode Done Badly.

Weird, around here it's a character trope (as in, I am a Drama Bomb, as are certain friends of mine, though that could just be using it as a different name for Drama Queen really)

^^ A lot of them aren't even done badly: some of them are drama-ish events that get stale the way the series represents them; the rest appear to be Wham Episodes with the Serial Numbers Filed Off.

What exactly is the difference between Drama Bomb and Wham Episode, anyway? I've been meaning to look into this for a while.

Hrm - I suppose a Drama Bomb could be seen as the precise point at which Cerebus Syndrome kicks in, assuming a sharp divide between Cerebus-y and non-Cerebus-y in that work.

The Wham Episode, meanwhile, does not necessarily alter the show's position on the Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness, as demonstrated by Wham Episodes in such shows as new-BSG and the kile.

edited 12th Oct '10 12:55:41 PM by Iaculus

The written description of Wham Episode seems to lean heavily on the writers pulling off a Twist Ending and/or Nothing Is the Same Anymore and wouldn't occur in works where Status Quo Is God. The Drama Bomb as I understand it "in the wild" cam come from anywhere or nowhere and is much more general - I would say it's probably the Super-Trope to Wham Episode. The Drama Bomb is a conflict generator on an explosive scale in whatever form it takes. The Done Badly form tends to involve characters carrying the Conflict Ball in a major way.

However, I can and have used Drama Bomb in a manner that is probably interchangable with Wham Episode (such as when the Eve Online expansion "Apocrypha" had its storyline cause several stars to flare, obliterate a habited planet and heralded the appearance of wormholes throughout the galaxy). So I may be being overly pedantic.

edited 12th Oct '10 6:10:34 PM by Elle

What's a Drama Bomb?

It's common in light-hearted comedy shows. It tends to follow a long period of no dramatic developments. It can be pulled off badly. It's something major that audiences can become desensitized to.

But what IS IT?

edited 25th Oct '10 7:44:49 AM by TripleElation

Okay, so a Drama Bomb is when things are moving along at a fairly predictable, light pace, and the writers decide to suddenly kill someone, or overhaul the series' premise with some massive event that supersedes any Negative Continuity that may have previously existed. It is intended to mark a shift into more dramatic territory for a work. (Incidentally, this seems like it now overlaps with Cerebus Syndrome.)

A Wham Episode generally occurs in an already dramatic series and marks a massive Twist Ending or similar event that punches the audience in the face and brings them back for the next book/season/whatever.

edited 25th Oct '10 8:11:26 AM by Fighteer

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