Imagine them eating in slow-motion, and you've got about three selections from this list.
Did people in the 1960s, when TV was a relatively new source of entertainment, predict that at the end of the “Mr. McBeevee” episode of "The Andy Griffith Show," the previously-unseen-by-everyone-but-Opie titular character was going to appear? Like we would now. You see, Mr. B is a “Not So Imaginary Friend,” and because of Opie stating that he has 12 hands…The point I’m trying to make is: recognizing tropes have made us more cynical about TV, and that’s why I love them.
One of the reasons why shows like “Community” and “South Park” are so good is because they rarely go the easy route and do something that’s been seen a million times before. Their success comes from the way they subvert tropes, unlike, say, “Two and a Half Men” or “Family Guy,” both of which have been doing the same exact stories with the same exact jokes that “The Honeymooners” did in 1955. Just not as well.
On the following pages are 10 of my least-favorite TV tropes. If ever you’ve groaned at a character screaming in horror when they realize who their bedmate is, or turned the channel when someone thought they were high or drunk when they were actually just given a placebo, this list is for you. (Note: this is not the 10 WORST – it’s 10 that really bug me, even if some of my favorite shows use them. Please list your least favorites.)
#10. Ugly Guy, Hot Wife
TV Tropes Excerpt: "A very common trope, particularly in animation and sitcoms, is for a woman to be far more attractive than her significant other. This is largely a result of Hollywood-style casting for women's roles in which average-looking women are virtually unknown, leaving a large amount of hotties needing work."
Notable Examples: Peter and Louis Griffin on "Family Guy," Kevin James and Leah Remini on "The King of Queens," Homer and Marge Simpson on "The Simpsons," Harry Goldenblatt and Charlotte Yorke on "Sex and the City" (This one's so overused that I've put it down at #10, because it'd be too obvious of a #1 choice, no matter how obnoxious the idea of James Belushi schtupping Courtney Thorne-Smith is.)
TV Tropes Excerpt: "A common Sitcom plot where the total Jerk Ass learns his lesson, turns sweet and benevolent — and becomes absolutely intolerable, making the other characters yearn for the original personality. Eventually the character in question will revert to normal, and the reaction will either be relief, or realization that he really is worse in his obnoxious form."
Notable Examples: Bender from "Futurama," Peter Griffin from "Family Guy," Roy from "Wings," Reese from "Malcolm in the Middle," Toby from "The West Wing," Fun Bobby from "Friends" (This one's frustrating because you know the character who goes from jerk-to-friendly will be back to acting like an asshole by the end of the episode. It's a 22-minute/44-minute plot stall.)
#8. Annoying Laugh
TV Tropes Excerpt: "In some cases, the Annoying Laugh is used in place of actually fleshing out a character, since the type of annoying laugh can lead the audience to assuming the character basically is just as annoying as his or her laugh happens to be."
Notable Examples: Janice from "Friends", Kitty from "That '70s Show," Vince Masuka from "Dexter," Urkel
#7. Spicy Latina
TV Tropes Excerpt: "This character is very hot-blooded and confrontational, and often times has a rough background where they had to learn to defend themselves."
Notable Examples: Vanessa from "Six Feet Under," Carla from "Scrubs," Ana Lucia from "Lost," Gloria from "Modern Family," Santana from "Glee" (Replace every Spicy Latina — with the exception of Gloria — with a Sassy Black Nurse, and you've got yourself an improved show.)
#6. Exotic Animal in Urban Setting
TV Tropes Excerpt: This one doesn't have a definition because it's not a trope that exists. YET. It's been bugging me lately because of the horse from "2 Broke Girls," who the writers finally got rid of during Monday's episode. No, they didn't kill the thing, but rather sent him to a stable, out of the broke girls' Brooklyn backyard. In a show full of stupid characters, Chestnut might be the worst. Except for Peach. She's the WORST.
Notable Examples: Marcel the Monkey from "Friends," Bear from "B. J. and the Bear," Chestnut the Horse from "2 Broke Girls" ("Lancelot Link" is excepted because IT'S ABOUT TALKING MONKEYS)
TV Tropes Excerpt: "A character who's normally Book Dumb, The Ditz, or possibly even the Ralph Wiggum comes up with a valuable insight. The character most often heard belittling their intelligence sighs heavily and concedes, 'I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with him.'"
Notable Examples: Cosmo from "The Fairly Oddparents," Patrick from "Spongebob Squarepants," Brittany from "Daria," Nathan from "Misfits," Bill from "NewsRadio" (And this one's been on my mind because of the George Clooney movie, The Descendants, and specifically, the character of Sid. He's a lunkhead who asks inappropriate questions and laughs at Clooney's mom (his sort-of girlfriend's grandmother) having Alzheimer's, but when it's time for him and George to have a heart-to-heart, it turns out he's actually very wise and misunderstood gentle idiot. UGH. NO. Just keep them dumb. That's how we like 'em.)
TV Tropes Excerpt: "Two characters, often combative but with obvious Unresolved Sexual Tension, resist going into a full blown relationship for a rather long time. Usually the two characters will be presented so that "they will" is the conclusion to root for; only rarely is the question of whether the writers think they should in any real doubt."
Notable Examples: Ross and Rachel from "Friends," Ben and Leslie from "Parks and Recreation," J.D. and Elliot from "Scrubs," Mulder and Scully from "The X-Files," Sam and Diane from "Cheers," Niles and Daphne from "Fraiser" (Most shows — particularly sitcoms — go down this route at least once. I don't know why, either.)
TV Tropes Excerpt: "This is someone The Hero used to be with, but broke it off. Said Ex does not take rejection well."
Notable Examples: While I was thinking of obnoxious tropes (like this one!) and writing this article, my fiancée was watching "The Good Wife" on CBS. During a commercial break, a promo for an upcoming hilarious new episode of "Two and a Half Men" aired, and one of the clips showed Ashton Kutcher's ex-wife, Bridget (why, Judy Greer, why?), crashing her car into his house, because she's cray-cray. There are hundreds of examples of this, from both good shows and bad, and they're all equally annoying.
TV Tropes Excerpt: "A person you would expect to be a big Jerkass turns out to be the nicest person you've ever met, or at the very least has some redeeming qualities behind their tough demeanor. Occasionally, they'll actively try to make it a Hidden Heart of Gold."
Notable Examples: Kim Kelly from "Freaks and Geeks," Dr. Morris from "ER," Dean from "Supernatural," Dan from "Night Court," Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," Major Charles from "M*A*S*H" (I honestly can't think of a show that doesn't use this trope. Thing is, sometimes we want our jerks to remain jerks and not team up with the good guys. That's what ruined Spike as a character on "Buffy." It's not always a bad thing for characters to be just evil.)
#1. SLOW MOTION to Signify DRAMA
Every slow motion scene on TV is part of the worst trope EVER. (With the exception of this one, from "Spaced.") I hate slow mo. I bet it was created by the same monster who gave the green light to "Shasta McNasty" and canceled "Terriers." I'm on to you, Mr. Forced Drama. Go listen to your the Fray CD, very slowly.
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Annoying Laugh.
Notable Examples: you forgot Horshack from “Welcome Back, Kotter”
/showing my age
Here’s the question: Lois Griffin or Marge Simpson?
For me, Marge all the way. Definition of lady in the streets but a freak in the sheets (I’ve pieced together from 23 years or so).
Marge. Lois is a bitch.
Scrubs already had a sassy black nurse in Laverne. They killed her off in her only major story arc of the series. They couldn’t handle all that sass.
I actually liked Shasta NcNasty… BRING BACK SHASTA MCNASTY!!
I’ve had the biggest hard-on for Kristen Davis and when she shacked up with that Elmer Fudd lookin’ mutherfucker on the show, it made my penis weep.
My Terriers wounds had just healed from the LAST time someone mentioned it here and now you’ve ripped them wide open again.
I would have added “Wise beyond their years children.” I hate that stuff. Kids are obnoxious, selfish assholes and don’t have a better understanding of the world than people who have 30+ years of life experience. Knock it off.
Fine, I’ll say it: Can we amend the “slow-motion” one to include the Alison Brie running in the western paintball episode as an exception to the rule? I’m pretty sure the necessary .gif/videos can be found somewhere on this site (or in the mind of virtually ever reader)
“(why, Judy Greer, why?)”
Say goodbye to THESE!
Lois > Marge
Betty > Wilma
Zooey > Emily
Zack Morris was kind of like “Jerk With a Heart of Gold” mixed with “We Want Our Jerk Back.” Every episode he shit all over his friends or some poor girl he was dating, learned an important lesson, acted like he changed, and the following week was at it all over again. “Oh that’s the Zack we know and love, being vaguely racist towards Native Americans and only accepting homeless people because the daughter was cute.”
Did people in the 1960s, when TV was a relatively new source of entertainment, predict that at the end of the “Mr. McBeevee” episode of “The Andy Griffith Show,” the previously-unseen-by-everyone-but-Opie titular character was going to appear? Like we would now. You see, Mr. B is a “Not So Imaginary Friend,” and because of Opie stating that he has 12 hands…The point I’m trying to make is: recognizing tropes have made us more cynical about TV, and that’s why I love them.
I understand maybe 20% of this paragraph.
Lois – comes from money and doesn’t have a fro.
“Dumbass man, highly intelligent wife who can never do wrong” is another. Thanks a lot, Tim Allen, et al.
Has any show gone from “really funny and a must-see” to “oh no, this is on? Change the channel” faster than Family Guy? I (and many of you, I suspect) LOVED that show when it first came out. It was funny. It pushed the envelop. No one knew if Stewie was really talking or not. But now? It’s the same three storylines over and over again, with different flashbacks but the same jokes. Just a terrible, terrible show. And don’t get me started on American Dad.
And don’t get me started on American Dad.
American Dad >> Family Guy
What about fat Americans? Starring Alabama.
@strike [www.youtube.com] relevant
@Matt That’s 80% of the point.
@Tubesteak That one’s awful, too, but I think of it as more of a movie trope, than TV. Like that kid from(500) Days of Summer. Know-it-all little turd.
I hate the “women be fightin’ over a guy” trope. It’s really annoying, unless they play it like Annie and Britta and they get over it.
I’d take Lois in a heartbeat. We already know when she gets some wine in her, she gets all freaky. And she isn’t afraid to take charge.
Peggy Hill.
I tend to think that character is more important than the situations they are thrown into. This is because a character is supposed to be a unique creature where tropes and situations repeat.
I like the way Community handles tropes, but I think a good chunk of why that works is because the characters are so well put together and thought out. Oppose that with the one dimensional guys on Two and A Half Men or Jim Belushi and I think you can tell a big difference.
I do love a lot of these ideas though and sitcoms in general. WKRP, Cheers, Sanford and Son, Arrested Development. Much love and a lot of interesting characters.
Oh and I can’t believe you watched 2 Broke Girls…although I am kicking myself for stopping and then re-starting How I Met Your Mother.
Another one maybe to add is “Gays being GAY” I have met maybe 1 fabulously flamboyant gay person in my life. The rest were just normal people working, living and all that shit.
P&R uses several of these. Will They Won’t They & Jerk with a Heart of Gold (Swanson) & Psycho Ex (Tammys) & Ugly Guy Hot Wife (April). You can make an argument for Dummy has a point too.
Precocious Kid. Mean Jocks/Nerds with Hearts of Gold. Husband Who Can’t Do Anything Right.
Whatever happened to the trope where two characters who live together fight over something and end up dividing their place in half with a white line?
Commercial tropes, there are thousands and they all suck.
I particularly hate the “Dumb Dad” trope (According to Jim, Rules of Dating My Teenage Daughter, Family Guy, The Simpsons — though Homer was almost certainly the first — The Cleveland Show, Married w/ Children, etc)
“Nerds Desperate to Get Laid” (Married w/ Children, American Dad, Family Guy)
I’m praying that The Office won’t influence other shows to make “incorporating stupid internet memes” a trope. Every time they do it I want to murder the whole cast.
I always liked Harry Goldenblatt, because while he does follow the hot wife/schlub husband, he was a good guy, and instead of her putting up with his antics and stupidity, he put up with hers.
Black female judge.
Favorite trope ever: A show on the brink of cancellation uses self referential humor to discuss their own situation in secret code. St. Elsewhere did it well, but Arrested Development did it the best.
“The company needs money.”
“We could go to HBO, the Home Builders Organization”
“They can’t help us. I guess our only hope is show time.”
“Yes! We can have a show going on during dinner!”
Bully: The Next Generation – Character finds out their kid is bullying/being bullied. They go to talk to the other kid’s parent only to discover the parent was their bully!
Teen Hefner – Super mature teen character (usually found on CW shows) ends up banging/trying to bang an older woman, or teacher, and gets told “you’re going to be great when your older”
Nerd/Jock Superstar – Nerd/Jock character discovers they are good at a sport/class. Learns a valuable lesson.
Foreign Businessman – City/Country business man is confused by city/country ways, or just acts like an ass. Non-American businessman (usually Japanese, or German) are confused by everything, and are super super serious.
Women’s rights.
I have come to appreciate that Newsradio handled Will They or Won’t They with the second episode.
Lois > Marge. Lois is freakier and Marge has a gambling problem.
The love conquers all trope is pretty off base as are shows that have more than 4 women consistently hanging out.
AG: Didn’t Lois also succumb to the wiles of the one-armed bandit?
*ahem*
Spike > Every cast member on True Blood. There I said it.
Even after he went nice guy, he was still the best god damned character on that show.
How about bombs being stopped with only 0.0001 seconds left till detonation. Can’t you stop the shit with like 14 seconds left?
New super nice love interest of your friend turns out to be evil person from your past and friend just thinks your jealous when you warn them. In one of these I just wish the friend would actually be killed for being an asshole and not listening.
Those were off the top of my head. And Misfits fuckin rules.
Porky, I think Lois was a klepto, but I could be wrong. Don’t matter really, freakiness goes a long way.
Did you just refer to both the fairly oddparents AND spongebob? Wow, I’m getting old. I only know those because my kids watch them
I gotta knock points off for the Futurama reference on “give us our jerk back”. That wasn’t the story – that was the set up for the story. Bender is a jerk, Bender turns nice, they want the old Bender back – enter Robot Devil. Well, at least in that episode.
But what else are you going to do with Bender, this unquestionable best character in the show? I love the idea of a lazy robot.
Fairly Oddparents is odd in that Cosmo has said something brilliant in every episode, or at least all the ones I’ve sat through with my kids.
I second the “bombs stopped at the last half a milisecond” trope, though I quite liked seeing again the way that was twisted at the end of Goldfinger the other day – Connery was about to rip random wires out of a dirty nuke to try to stop it, when an actual bomb expert stopped him and turned it off “the right way”.
In regards to #5, Andy Dick’s character on NewsRadio was named Matthew, not Bill. Matthew.
(Also, Toby from The West Wing is a classic example of a “Jerk with a Heart of Gold.”)
‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with him.’ hahahahaha i love/hate cliches
The accidentally exorbitant gift. Happy Endings did that last night, and it’s annoying as fuck.
Pretty much any situation where if someone just said what there were doing instead of running around like a pussy, which is why I turn red from anger whenever I see someone watching Frasier reruns.
Whoa whoa whoa, the asshole with a heart of gold is a trope for good reason. That shit is quality story telling. Without Asshole with a heart of gold where would our Han Solos and Dr Coxes be?
Don’t forget It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Charlie has a thing for horses. He buys one and names it Peter Nincompoop. He owns it for a few hours and then sets it free in the streets of Philly. PS – Bender Rules!