I would say "grandfather clause", but that would imply that it was beloved in the first place.
If I wasn't too scared, I'd take this up for TRS and have the name changed. If Gamasutra had dignity, why not this?
Edited by MelsHellishTropeyHole All living things kneel before your master!
Previous Trope Repair Shop thread: Ambiguous Name
, started by thatsnumberwang on Apr 12th 2014 at 10:52:36 PM
Wouldn't most musical numbers from musicals count as this? Ok, they sometimes do reveal some important plot information in the lyrics but usually not. That said, I don't want to start adding them mainly because that would seem like way to many examples.
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Musical numbers are an accepted part of the art form of a musical, so no. If you pretended that all musicals are actually supposed to be plays where events/emotions are expressed through full realism, as if the addition of music were weird and random and out of nowhere instead of the chosen and widely agreed-upon method of expression, then it would count, but that's not the case. Musical numbers that actually do come out of nowhere and have nothing to do with anything exist, for sure—the "theatre" subfolder gives a pretty decent list—but they're certainly the exception rather than the rule. Elaborating on relevant emotions, learning about a relevant character's motivations, or giving relevant exposition are all totally legitimate uses of musical numbers even if there's no action.
But is he a CUTE evil overlord?
Supreme Poison Dart Frog
I'm noticing a lot of the examples listed are jokes and gags. Do those really count? Someone else mentioned that they're probably Rule of Funny, and anyway an intentional 5–10-second gag (even if it's weird or random) doesn't have the "What the ever-loving hell is happening, why is this in the movie, when will it stop" effect that I assumed was associated with BLA Ms.
But is he a CUTE evil overlord?
fuck you
how in the world is this supposed to be a "trope" of any kind? i'll never understand the fanaticism surrounding the whole TGWTG group that was (is?) so prominent on tvtropes (nevermind other pockets of internet nerd sub-cultures). this is like a relic now, one that was embarrassing from day one. what nerve of you people to coin such terms around this pedestrian shit.
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Regardless of manners I think the point still stands: This is a really broad and not particularly useful trope, the specifics of which are better covered by more specialized, existing tropes. This was really only created out of slavish devotion to the That Guy With the Glasses series. Even the name doesn't make much sense to someone who wasn't big into Channel Awesome five years ago. I suggest a serious reworking if this one is going to remain.
You know, considering the many cutaway gags Family Guy has, I'm surprised no one bothered to just simply make a full page of the BLAM of the show.
(deleted because I didn't look for what I was after first)
Edited by Lheticus
Is there a sex scene equivalent to BLAM? Especially these days as more and more shows are ramping up the sexual content to "keep up with the Joneses / HB Os" I'm sure I can call to mind a few examples of shows (film and TV) that treat their sexual content in a BLAM way. YMMV but shows that come to mind include Good Wife, Game of Thrones (beyond the whole "sex-position" rationale), Sense8, and even going back a few years the 1999 series Peter Benchley's Amazon for some reason decided to toss in a pointless nude scene, and that show aired on prime time in Canada. Doesn't have to be sex scenes, could also be sexually provocative content. The infamous Carol Marcus underwear scene in Star Trek Into Darkness, for example, which might even be listed already as a straight BLAM though I haven't checked.
Edited by toonman2 Hide / Show Replies
Gratuitous Sex Scene would be one, for YKTTW. Or just use BLAM.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
Professional Lurker
Could Random Events Plot be considered the Logical Extreme of this trope?
Does the Southern Island scene from Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire count? Lati@s appears out of nowhere, takes you flying straight down to Southern Island for a quick battle with the villain team and a free Legendary Pokemon, and then it is never mentioned or reference made to it again.
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I fail to see why this is YMMV. Can anyone provide an example that would pass an as an example, but still be subjective?
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Because sometimes the BLAM is relevant to the narrative in an abstract way, even if it doesn't directly advance the plot. For instance, the Ferngully scene where the goana sings a disturbing song about wanting to eat Zach doesn't advance the story, the goana comes out of nowhere, and then it's never seen again, but it's relevant thematically in that it represents the danger of the rainforest. Zach previously was just chopping down trees without a thought, now he's turned from the hunter to the hunted. From there one could form an argument that the scene being called a BLAM isn't a BLAM to everyone, as it might have a meaning to some. Few storytellers intentionally put in a BLAM; the scene in question usually served some purpose to them.
Edited by 199.19.145.133
Excuse me does Gale singing karaoke of the song "Major Tom (Coming Home)" by German musician Peter Schilling from a DVD hank found as one of the evidence in the episode of breaking bad called Bullet points the episode after Gale's death be considered as a BLAM point?
An example in the TV Tropes section of this article states "The fact that the Real Life moments were being posted about meant that they were being mentioned again, thus disqualifying them." Wouldn't that mean that all examples in every medium were mentioned again, thus not making them Big-Lipped Alligator Moments? If so, that means that this article is useless, because there are no Big-Lipped Alligator moments to post about.
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The Real Life examples were mentioned again in real life. If they're mentioned outside of the work, they still qualify.
I'm a Troper!!!
Only tangentially related, but I totally heard the last few lines ("I am the very model of a modern major general") in the style of Professor Elemental.
Is the (in)famous Big Lipped Alligator Moment really a BLAM? I was watching the movie today and the gator is shown again, he's even mention by another character. Don't BLAM's have to not be mentioned again?
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You know, it's facts like this that make me really hate this trope name.
See you in the discussion pages.
I strolled on here to make this very point. The supposedly trope-making scene is actually quite an important one in the film, with two of the main characters evading death by befriending an alligator that was supposed to eat them, and later on same reptile helps defeat the villain, even giving a brief reprisal of the musical number that is allegedly "never mentioned again" in the process. If it weren't the neat acronym, I'd be suggesting a rename.
I thought it was the out-of-nowhere transforms-a-sewer-into-a-ballet-pool musical element of the whole scene that rendered it a BLAM?
@Prof Peanut No, that would make it a Disney Acid Sequence.
Edited by Girog
There is the little fact that the scene violates the film's own in-universe rules, and not for Rule of Funny or Rule of Cool. By the film's own logic, Charlie and the gator should not be able to understand each other. If the film made any attempt to explain the contradiction or even Handwave it then the scene wouldn't be this trope, but the film doesn't. The scene just happens somehow.
The Tropesaurus
How can Real Life have Big Lipped Aligator moments? The point is that they are never referred to on the show gain, but since we're here talking about them... by definition, they shouldn't be possible in Real Life.
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By that definition, you can't have a BLAM, period (since, even if it happened in a movie or TV show, we're talking about it). I would say that a BLAM is possible in real life if the incident made no sense in the context of anything else that was going on at that particular point in time and was never referred to again within a reasonable window of time afterward. Or would that just be considered a non sequitur?
Edited by RAFritz
Sure you can have a BLAM by that definition - it has to be never spoken of again ON THE SHOW. We, being outside the tv show, can freely talk about it. But Real Life is a show we can never be outside of.
I think -we- cannot have a BLAM, but a real life BLAM can happen. Suppose you see it happen to other people, they'd be 'the show'.
Real Life examples seems to have been removed. They even say that it's anybody's guess how it's possible.
Little late on the uptake, but probably brought on by bad drug trips.
so, how come this is subjective?
It's not exactly naive. And it can happen. But it's tough. And definetly worthwhile. Hide / Show Replies
So I take it that the perception of whether or not a moment is ridiculous is what makes this a subjective trope? I mean it seemed like a pretty objective trope to me, I was surprised to see it under YMMV.
My tropes launched: https://surenity2.blogspot.com/2021/02/my-tropes-on-tv-tropes.html Hide / Show Replies
I'm befuddled myself.
"Freedom is not a license for chaos" -Norton Juster's The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics
Dunkies addict
Otaku: If you're really serious about renaming this, go to "Trope Repair Shop" on the fora, and start a thread there. We don't cut tropes for having bad names.
My posts make considerably more sense read in the voice of John Ratzenberger.
Re the dance sequence in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: It has been suggested that this was thrown in by screenwriter Steve Kloves, who wrote all but the 5th movie, as one last Harry/Hermione shipping moment before he was forced to go with the official pairing. Kloves has stated that when he started writing the movies he had assumed Harry and Hermione would end up together, had written the first few films under this assumption -playing up their relationship- and was surprised when J.K. Rowling did not go this way.
Odinson
I think two new additions should be added to the Big-Lipped Alligator Moment Page. These two following instances come from the 1956 musical "An American In Paris", but were never discussed in the article. The first scene is when Oscar Levant's character, Adam, is sitting alone in his apartment, daydreaming about himself performing Gershwin's "Concerto in F" amongst a band comprised entirely of himself, to an audience that is basically himself for five minutes six seconds. When the scene is over, it is never even whispered to the other characters for the remainder of the film. Here it is: http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/247723/American-In-Paris-An-Movie-Clip-Adam-s-Fantasy.html
Another Big-Lipped Alligator Moment is the 20-minute "An American in Paris" ballet performed at the end, when the main character, Jerry (played by Gene Kelly) is facing a crisis of which the girl of his dreams is about to leave him for his best friend to America. As Jerry stares off to the distance, the scene then fades into this elaborate, silent dance sequence that somehow relates to how he felt throughout the course of the movie, but when we're watching it, we're just mesmerized by the visual effects and confused as hell as to what's going on, and, the worst (?) part is, once the scene is done, the woman has already come back to him, and the two walk off into the night, happily ever after, without a word spoken between them.
This drink is good! *Smash* I WANT MORE!
...How is this subjective? It's an out-of-place thing never again referenced on the show. No subjectivity there.
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If you want to see the discussion on the topic check out here. The idea of the trope is objective but 3/4 of the examples end up in arguments. The sheer level of maintenance needed for this trope indicates a subjective trope, regardless of the ideal "what it should be."
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/BLAM/LiveActionTV
Does the reference to a piece of Stock Footage count? (look towards the end of the page).
Anyway, here's the extract: Even Reality TV is not averse to this. One episode of Fame Academy, a BBC Talent Show, had footage of a governor (the part of the engine, not a U.S. Senator for a few brief seconds. Why this happened was never explained. This could possibly be a Stock Footage Failure.
—- Does this qualify?
People seem to be confused about what actually constitutes a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment. I've seen examples as stupid as "the character eats a bowl of cereal for a long period of time" or "characters have to flip through a few tv channels to get to a channel where an important new even is being shown." We need to find some way to teach people the difference between BLA Ms and filler.
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Personally, I think a lot of people keep missing the "over-the-top in ridiculousness even when compared to the rest of the work" criterion here.
On that note, I think these examples should be removed:
•That cannibals-on-the-island scene in the second Pirates Of The Caribbean movie. That scene is way too long to be a BLAM and although completely irrelevant to the plot, it's not really illogical and is already mentioned on the Wacky Wayside Tribe page.
- For A Few Dollars More starts with a random cowboy being shot, with no plot relevance.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas: The scene when Lock, Shock, and Barrel accidentally brings the Easter Bunny to Jack instead of
Sandy ClawsSanta Claus. Sure, it was funny, but what was the point?
- Despicable Me has one where the minions go to the big box store. They go around looking in wonder at and trying everything, but the plot is neither advanced nor set back.
I've been reading the article and it seems there are lots of examples that are actually just Rule of Funny or Rule of Cool. I for once think that for a BLAM to be a BLAM it has got to be played straight, as in they were not aiming to make it one.
I think the Sandman entry under comic books should be taken out. As was mentioned in the edit below it, the scene is relevant both in terms of plot and theme, so why even leave it there?
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Why does this "trope" still have its dumb and completely non-descriptive name that no one will get unless you were a Nostalgia Critic fan back in the early 2010s or a big TV Tropes browser? You say "that was a Big Lipped Alligator Moment!" outside TV Tropes, and you'll just get people cringing and asking what the hell you're talking about. Always baffled how a bunch of other old non-descriptive trope names based on in-"jokes" or niche references got renamed to something decent over the years yet this one persists in 2021, even after the Nostalgia Critic became an internet punching bag.
Edited by Slimeshady Hide / Show Replies