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“Gifted” kid as troublemaker Live Action TV
I feel like a recurring theme in some TV shows is the “gifted” kid. His/her/their parents keep talking about how “gifted” the kid is… despite the fact that the kid lacks common sense or is simply a brat. I feel like it comes close to some other tropes (maybe a distant relative of “Paper Tiger”?), but is there a name for this trope specifically?
Some examples…
- Curb Your Enthusiasm — “The Doll” — Larry cuts the hair of a girl’s doll at her request… then it turns out the girl didn’t know dolls’ hair doesn’t grow back. She’s old enough to know better. Later in the episode, the mother proudly proclaims her daughter is gifted/attends a school for gifted kids. Larry is incredulous.
- King of the Hill — “Hank’s Bully” — a new kid in the neighborhood keeps tormenting Hank (a grown man), and when Hank raises a fuss, the parents insist the kid just has a “precocious sense of adventure” — and brag that he attends a school for gifted kids.
- Everybody Loves Raymond — “Annoying Kid” — Ray & Deborah befriend a couple with a really bratty kid who picks on Ray. The parents eventually proudly mention that the kid is “gifted” and in a school program for gifted kids, as if that excuses his misbehavior.
Edited by NileReader
I for one welcome... Live Action TV
You'll typically see this one on TV, but is there a trope that's on the level of
"I for one welcome our new robot overlords"
Not necessarily that the robot overlords exist (or aren't there), but when presented with it, a person talks about being okay with it or even enjoys the idea.
Overlooked Evidence Live Action TV
Evidence has been left at the scene of the crime. The police have searched the area and/or the criminal has rigorously cleaned the scene. And yet, a separate character - often an amateur detective (or Sherlock himself), the aggrieved or guilty party - nevertheless manages to find (and often pocket!) an overlooked (HOW?!) piece of critical evidence.
Seen most recently in Kristen Bell's Netflix show The Woman Across the Street.. Girl in Window where Bell notices (and grabs) an easily-visible earring to use as A Clue.
Main Cast Plays Different Characters in a Story Set in Distant Past Live Action TV
I was watching the Leverage episode "The Van Gogh Job," where a WWII vet is recounting a story from his past, and in those flashbacks, major players in the story, including his younger self, are played by the main cast of Leverage. I've seen similar happen in other shows with a one-off episode about a story that happened in the distant past. Is there a trope name for this?
Like "Artistic Licence: Economics", but for a character's *personal* financial situation Live Action TV
Is there a trope that works like Artistic Licence: Economics, except that it's not about an entire society or economy, but about an individual character's personal financial situation? For instance, in Derry Girls there's a character who works as a surgeon, but his daughter's eighteenth birthday party looks more like that of the daughter of a major stock market investor or someone like that. And the US movie and TV industry seems to keep producing shows and movies supposedly set in New York City where characters who are supposed to be middle class or even service sector workers live in apartments that, in Real Life, apparently only fairly wealthy people would be able to afford in that city.
Edited by RaphaelL
Mocking after a mistake Live Action TV
If someone messes up, and others immediately mock them for it in a certain manner, what trope is it? It's not Once Done, Never Forgotten, as that's consistently mocking after all that is said and done.
The example in question is from QI, initially assigned to what is now a disambiguation.
- Within moments of Stephen messing up the "They say of the Acropolis..." line, the others have already created a song around it.
(It's not Voice Clip Song either as the song creation does not involve software of any kind)
Edited by Berrenta
Trope for fiction with a "value inverted tone"? Live Action TV
Is there a trope to describe the general tone of a work of fiction where everything that sounds cool is actually terrible and/or everything that sounds terrible is actually awesome? Like all blessings are Blessed with Suck and all curses are Cursed with Awesome? You encounter this kind of tone in spy fiction pretty often. The Burn Notice intro is a good example:
Badass former spy- lives like a bum with no resume or money.
Love interest- violent psychopath.
Best friend- stabbing him in the back and informing on him to the feds.
Other badass spies- bitchy little girls.
Badass former spy's mom- Overbearing scold.
Is there a trope for this tone?
Always failing Determinator, Played For Laughs? Live Action TV
Is there a trope for a character who is a Determinator, but they fail EVERY time they try and their failure is Played for Laughs? They might be The Chew Toy, or suffer Comedic Sociopathy, perhaps a Humiliation Conga, but it won't stop them from trying again next time.
Edited by sprspike
Where a extremely minor character appears, disappears, and makes more apperances years later Live Action TV
In *Hawaii Five-0*, there's a SWAT Commander who appears for a brief few lines in the fifth season. Five years later, the same actor reappears on the show in the same role and has a few appearances throughout the tenth season. Any idea what this could be called?
Actor's home movies used as character's Live Action TV
An actor is playing a character in a TV show. One episode features old home movies of the character's childhood or youth, and the actor's home movies are used for realism's sake.
If the actor is a Former Child Star, old performances can be used too, as long as copyright allows it.
Edited by Mac_R
When the thing you're searching for is not a thing but a person? Live Action TV
Like in the 39 Steps, the end result of the search is a person. Or in Star Trek, Plato's Stepchildren, the people are searching for Jesus, or likewise Da Vinci Code the grail's secret is the living descendant: Sophie
Edited by nilhead
rotating protagonist Live Action TV
In the Amazon series Class of 07, it feels like the story is being told from Zoe's point of view as she has the first scene and she enters the party.
Then it seems like Saskia's story and Genevive's story.
A season finale being a bit brighter than the rest of the plots Live Action TV
Some series like Extras, American Auto, Life and Times of Tim and Archer thrive on bad things happening to the characters, but the series' finale seems a little easier on them. I think people like to see a win every once in a while
Boss decay Live Action TV
When the series starts, the OG boss is strict, has dark secrets, but is still likeable. Season finale comes and OG boss gets killed while facing their demons and doing the right thing. This is a branching point, in some series the replacement is a fish out of water but tries to earn the respect of the underlings (e.g. Castle). In others, the replacements are farcically incompetent, corrupt, and eventually get switched out to progressively worse people. By the end the big bad becomes the chief and the main characters become outcasts. Prime example: Blindspot (X-Files also had shades of this). Is there a name for the second scenario?
Oppsite of SarcasticClapping Live Action TV
A character impresses the people he's with to such a point that they give him a genuine round of applause. What would that fall under?
Dropping a knife to your unrestrained hand to stab your opponent Live Action TV
It’s when you have a knife, and while trying to stab someone with it the person you’re gonna stab holds your knife arm and restrains it so you drop the knife to your unrestrained hand to stab them like with Arya and the Night King.
Criminal goes after the investigator Live Action TV
Common trope in Film & TV: the investigator is getting close (or sometimes, not close at all), so the villain goes after them. Often a lame device to advance the plot. Do we have a trope name for this?
Similar-sounding word slyly used in place of a swear Live Action TV
Is it a trope when a line a character says is meant to slyly imply the usage of a swear or slur?
I’m watching a show where a guy greets a knitting group with “what’s up, my knitters?” which is clearly meant to sound like “my—“… well, you know. I want to know if this is a trope or just a uniquely clever joke.
Not sure if Getting Crap Past the Radar, or Mondegreen Gag or Parenthetical Swearing fit.
Edited by BatteryPoweredAmp
Identical Signature = Forgery? Live Action TV
The hero realizes that a signature has been forged on one or more documents because the suspect signatures are absolutely identical. The explanation is that nobody ever signs their name exactly the same way twice, so if there's a whole set of identical signatures, they must all be forgeries.
I've seen this twice: in an episode of Highlander the Series and one of The Lone Ranger. Has it been used anywhere else? Is there a trope that covers it?