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iBlerSC
Since: Dec, 1969
SkyRender
Since: Jul, 2010
2011-02-10 13:46:00
That's one of the sillier versions of They Have the Scent!, one that relies on Fridge Logic to justify it.

I'm wondering if there is a trope for this scenario that I often see in investigative shows: It's an arbitrary connection between a smell and a suspect.
Investigator arrives at the scene. Assistant: I like that cologne/perfume you're wearing. Investigator: I'm not wearing any cologne/perfume. (Later, in interrogation, the Investigator says with a dawning look of realization) I recognize the cologne/ perfume you are wearing, YOU killed so-and-so!
I've seen it played three different ways: 1. A character complements the cologne an investigator is NOT wearing at the scene of the crime. 2. A character is sensitive/allergic to a certain key smell, which turns out to be the smoking gun if the suspect has it on him/her. 3. A main or side character suddenly has the same condition as the suspect, leading the investigators to determine who the suspect is. ex: Character A: I recognise that fruity smell... Character B: Oh, yeah. I'm suddenly diabetic, that smell is me being diabetic. At no other time in the episode or series will I continue to be diabetic, this will never be mentioned again. Ever. Character A: (look of realization) The suspect must be diabetic!
It drives me nuts, and I've seen it in everything from Monk to NCIS.
Never once do the characters consider that more than a single bottle of a cologne brand is made, and more than one person could be wearing said brand, or the fact that the suspect no longer wears said brand (it's probably been weeks since crime scene discovery and interrogation).