Have a question about how the TVTropes wiki works? No one knows this community better than the people in it, so ask away! Ask the Tropers is the page you come to when you have a question burning in your brain and the support pages didn't help.
It's not for everything, though. For a list of all the resources for your questions, click here. You can also go to this Directory thread
for ongoing cleanup projects.
Ask the Tropers is for:
- • General questions about the wiki, how it works, and how to do things.
- • Reports of problems with wiki articles, or requests for help with wiki articles.
- • Reports of misbehavior or abuse by other tropers.
Ask the Tropers is not for:
- • Help identifying a trope. See TropeFinder.
- • Help identifying a work. See MediaFinder.
- • Asking if a trope example is valid. See the Trope Talk forum.
- • Proposing new tropes. See TropeLaunchPad.
- • Making bug reports. See QueryBugs.
- • Asking for new wiki features. See QueryWishlist.
- • Chatting with other tropers. See our forums.
- • Reporting problems with advertisements. See this forum topic.
- • Reporting issues on the forums. Send a Holler instead.
Ask the Tropers:
openA Troper adding huge WallOfText entries on Stupid Evil Film
nebuladragon has been adding constant Wall of Text entries on the Stupid Evil pages regarding the animated villains including an uneccesary summary of their actions as well as uneeded bullet points that feels more like natter than legitimate criticism. I mean I can see the point of the examples but surely they can be severely trimmed down just to focus on the flaws of their plans?
Edited by Loekman3openWeird character folder quote change Film
On 26th Oct, sapphyblue change the folder quote in Mark Hoffman's character folder on Characters.Saw: Jigsaw and Accomplices from a quote said by Hoffman himself:
To one said by another character to him (incidentally, the one Hoffman told the aforementioned line to):
I find this change rather weird because I've never seen any character folder or character-specific page use quotes said by other characters to describe the one whom the folder/page addresses (even if they give an idea of who the character is). I'm not really sure how I should deal with this, though. Is it best if I send sapphyblue a notifier? Should I bring this issue on a forum thread? Or should I do something else? Perhaps it's better to leave it as it is?
Edited by Inky100openIs this a trope? Film
So, I was just discussing an apparent trope with some friends and after listing a few instances of it occurring, we went to check for a listing on TV Tropes.
However, we weren't able to find it. This may be a search failure, or perhaps the example is a variant of a larger trope, or perhaps doesn't meet the qualifications for a trope.
So, I figured we'd just ask. First, let me give three examples of this trope:
1.) In the film Battleship (2012), modern sailors commandeer the decommissioned World War II battleship USS Missouri with the aid of retired Navy veterans serving as tour guides.
2.) In the tv show Battlestar Galactica (2004), the Battlestar Galactica, a hybrid battleship/aircraft carrier in space that fought in the earlier war, is in the final stages of being decommissioned and converted to a museum when the inciting attack occurs, and a largely ceremonial force scrambles to reactivate a partially mothballed ship. The ship had been due to become a museum commemorating the first Cylon War and an educational center, with much of its outer armor and a number of weapons having been stripped. Due to its age and operating conditions, the ship is unofficially known as "The Bucket" by the crews of both Pegasus and Galactica. In fact the Galactica's starboard launch pod was outfitted as a Cylon war museum, which remained intact until the final mission against the Cylon colony.
3.) In the tv show Star Trek Picard, in the second to last episode of season 3, the titular character and his immediate allies are in need of a ship. They seek help from Geordi La Forge, Picard's former chief engineer, who is now a commodore in charge of the Starfleet Museum. Geordi reveals that he has restored the Enterprise-D from piecing together bits of sister ships intending it as a museum piece, but which is now the only functioning Starfleet ship not controlled by the Borg. They take the museum ship to battle.
If you can't tell by now, the trope involves a museum ship or a ship being actively decommissioned being rushed back into battle, as a glorious last ride sort of thing.
Did we miss the entry for this, or is this something not documented yet on TV Tropes?
Thank you, Pinkunz
Edited by pinkunzresolved The Wiz - Which Trope to Use? (Resolved) Film
I placed a trivia fact about the Wiz being an Acclaimed Flop on its trivia page, but did not realize I used the wrong trope, and made several edits.
hello86 removed it wholly, citing that it was missue, wasn't that trope and was instead Vindicated by History.
Since I don't want to merely put it back and cause an edit war on my part, I'm asking here: would it make sense I put it back as the corrected listing? I've also sent a DM to ask hello86 to talk things out.
ETA: I have seen that the new fact applies under the YMMV page instead and was moved there, so it looks like everything is done properly. Nothing else needs to be discussed and it doesn't need to be put it back at all since it wasn't deleted.
Edited by Nethiliaopen Horror movie scene plagues my mind I need help Film
No I'm not really sure if it's a movie or a TV series but I remember distinctly some years back I was browsing You Tube when I came into this scene of a man finding out the corpse of an old man in front of him was a mechanical contraption designed to mimic human life and he just have all these creepy flashbacks and I was wondering if this was a movie or a show and if it was what was its name thanks you very much
resolved Edit War Film
Tropers/rjung is edit warring in Miracle Mile. Course of action:
Other than that, the troper in question is saturating the page with complaining edits, in the process misusing Idiot Ball, Idiot Hero and "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot (along with cross-wicking the movie under CHATP).
Edited by TropiarzopenScreenplays as a work type Film
To elaborate: If cinema, as a medium, had fan fiction for it, they would be called unproduced screenplays.
This a request to add screenplays as an additional work type to the list of possibilities. Because there is a wealth of screenplays and "up for grabs" ones at that too — it begs the question, shouldn't we cover them?
It can cover produced ones of course, theater as well as teleplay, and tropes that deal with adaptation differences or other things.
What does the community say?
(I tried looking in the forums but haven't found a related discussion... yet)
openQuint- why "Great White Hunter" and not "Nails on a Chalkboard"? Film
For TV Tropes Video Examples, the clip from Jaws showing Quint's introduction is listed as having Great White Hunter for the primary trope and Nails on a Chalkboard as a secondary trope; furthermore, this clip is visible on the Video Examples page for "Great White Hunter" but not on the Video Examples page for "Nails On A Chalkboard", despite the latter trope being what makes the scene one of the film's most iconic (not to mention Quint's Establishing Character Moment), and the former being a secondary (at best) part of the scene (Quint's Great White Hunter tendencies are better shown in the scenes on the Orca).
In my honest opinion, the clip showing Quint's introduction scene should have "Nails on a Chalkboard" as the primary trope, and "Great White Hunter", "Father Neptune", and "Establishing Character Moment" as secondary tropes.
openUnnecessary folders? Film
on the Awesome page for The Avengers (2012), all of the examples are put into folders based on the film's chronology. I assumed this was due to the page being excessively long, but they don't appear as such on a desktop (can't say the same for mobile). Additionally, the foldering being by chronological events in the film and not by how the content was released (trailers, film, meta, etc) makes me question whether this page needs folders. any input?
Edited by cocohelloopenFlowers for Algernon Film
I'm hoping someone will add one of the earliest examples of this trope.
A CHUMP AT OXFORD (1940) reveals Stan Laurel's backstory: he was Lord Paddington, Oxford's greatest scholar and athlete. Then a falling window sash hit him on the head. He lost his memory and wandered off. Much later, the brainless amnesiac Stan and his pal Oliver Hardy are awarded tuition at Oxford, where the same window again falls on Stan's head, restoring his genius intellect and fighting skills. He then beats up a mob of bullies, becomes Albert Einstein's adviser, and acquires Hardy as a valet whom he condescendingly calls "Fatty." The very same window hits him a third time, restoring his Stan Laurel persona. For once this trope has a happy ending (at least from Ollie's perspective.)
Edited by DougMolitoropenSector 7 (Korean Movie) Film
Can this film Sector 7 be added on on?
This monster film contains a feral monster who is quite possibly very tragic since it was driven by experimentations and harvesting of many butterfly like creatures being used for fuel under Lee Jeong Man, whom brought up an experiment upon. The monster which i can describe this man eating predator as a miserable creature being subjected to tremendous cruelty.
openWhich fits better? Film
A while back, I added "My Animal" to the Bittersweet Ending page, primarily with:
- My Animal: Heather and Jonny don't get back together and Heather's family has deteriorated further, with Hardy blaming her sexuality for their father's death and Cooper fighting him in her defense. That being said, Heather transforms and kills Jonny's abusive boyfriend Rick, and with Heather being asked to leave her home as a result, things may very well get better for her from there.
However, when the movie got its own page, instead there was:
- Downer Ending: Heather gives in to her wolf side, murdering Richard. Afterward, her mother orders her to leave town for her protection, which Heather does, going toward an uncertain future leaving both her family and Jonny behind.
Maybe I'm just way too optimistic primarily considering the monologue at the very end of the movie, I dunno which is right, and if it's the latter, would it be good to add a "Ray of Hope" Ending entry?
Edited by RedBerryBlueCherryopenEdit war and consent for Fridge entry correction Film
The very first entry created for Fridge.Saw X was added by TT Fan, and it initially looked like this:
- Gabriella's death is most likely what inspired John to let Amanda oversee the traps in Saw II. As explained in that film:
Hoffman: Why do you need Amanda in the game?Kramer: To ensure that the rules are followed.
I then changed the "As explained" to The Stinger because the dialogue mentioned Hoffman (who didn't appear in Saw II at all, so I assumed it must have been from this film's Stinger scene):
- Gabriella's death is most likely what inspired John to let Amanda oversee the traps in Saw II. As explained in The Stinger:
Hoffman: Why do you need Amanda in the game?
Then TTFan changed it back to how they left it before (albeit with some minor changes), starting an Edit War:
- Gabriella's death is most likely what inspired John to let Amanda oversee the events in the Nerve Gas House. As explained in that film:
Hoffman: Why do you need Amanda in the game?
Thing is, I'd like to get some permission to change the entry again and avoid to continue the Edit War, since I realized that the dialogue was actually from a scene in Saw V. My change would look like this:
- Gabriella's death is most likely what inspired John to let Amanda oversee the events in the Nerve Gas House. As explained in the house's pre-game flashback from Saw V:
Hoffman: You're assuming this is going to play out the way you want it to.
Just to note, I've also sent a PM to TTFan so they can give their own word about this, since considering the circumstances, I doubt how mods will deal with this (i.e., if they'll suspend TTFan or not).
Edited by Inky100openUnrelated reason for deleting a Moment of Awesome example? Film
On August 25th of this year, TylerFG96 deleted the following Saw III entry from Awesome.Saw, with the edit reason: "Tell me you missed the point of Eric Matthews' arc without telling me you missed the point of Eric Matthews' arc."
- The reveal that Eric Matthews actually escaped the bathroom after the second film by breaking his own foot, and then managed to catch up to Amanda and deliver a brutal Extreme Mêlée Revenge. Even after she gets away, he taunts her by shouting that she's not the real Jigsaw, effectively hitting her Berserk Button.
Even as someone who knows a lot about the Saw series, I'm not really sure how this is supposed to "miss the point of an arc" like Tyler is saying. Sure enough, things go worse for Eric after that moment, but the Awesome pages for the series feature plenty of similar examples citing moments of determination from characters who end failing one way or another, and I can agree this is still a good Awesome example either way, being Eric's Defiant to the End attempt against Amanda (and to a lesser extent, John).
Does anyone else have opinions about this removed example?
Edited by Inky100openTough Act To Follow clarification Film
Does this trope apply only to situations where the previous work was a smashing success, or can it be a tough act to follow due to how disastrous the previous installment was, making people turned off from the sole idea of a sequel? I know YMMV tropes can't be played with, further complicating matters (since it can't be listed as an inversion)
openPossible Square Peg, Round Trope Film
On Characters.Cool Cat Saves The Kids, I found some Politically Incorrect Hero entries with bits relating to the Coronavirus:
(emphasis added)
All politics aside, this feels like a case of Square Peg, Round Trope. The trope is about otherwise good characters who hold prejudiced, bigoted views, or at least act like they do. Unless that's involved in some way, I don't think a character's actions related to a disease qualify, no matter how controversial or potentially endangering they may be.
Nevertheless, I thought I might as well bring it up here, just in case there might be some nuances I'm missing. What do you guys think? Should these entries be edited to remove stuff related to the virus?
open Survivors Film
Is there a name for a Survivor of past horror/slasher/monster/experience, who has to return or even seeks out the originator of the trauma, in order to keep others safe from what they went through. Like when the Losers return to take on Pennywise, or Lorie Strode preparing for Michael, active Hunters?
openNot You Again Trope Film
Oh, No... Not Again! is obviously the trope for a situation repeating, but what about when you run into someone you wish you never would run into again though? Like with Home Alone 2 and Ginger's "It's her!" reaction to Mrs. Tweedy in the upcoming Chicken Run sequel too? There a trope for that or would it fit under the same umbrella?
openActor Allusion clarification Film
SOLVED: Production Throwback
Can Actor Allusion be also applied to the director or is it strictly for actors?
In Conspiracy Theory, one of the scenes has the characters hide in a crowded cinema, where they are screening Ladyhawke. Both were directed by Richard Donner and he picked the screened movie himself as a joke.
Edited by Tropiarz
A few days ago, the Values Dissonance entry on YMMV.The Black Stork was brought up in the Wall of Text cleanup thread. I agreed that it should be cut down, and ~Yindee later did so. A little while later, the cut text was added back, albeit broken up into bullet points now, by ~Fireblood who had originally added the entry.
Yindee PMed me for my opinion on whether I thought it counted as an edit war, and I think that it does since the entry is still very long even with bullet points, and I don't think that all of that information is truly necessary to illustrate the values dissonance. Thoughts?
Edited by Zarina