Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down TV Shows' Most Overused Tropes That Really Need To Be Retired

People Break Down TV Shows' Most Overused Tropes That Really Need To Be Retired
Image by Free-Photos from Pixabay

Some of the greatest moments of our lives are spent glued to the television. Great shows have created and broken relationships, given us reasons to laugh and cry, and made life more bearable. So of course we follow all of our stories like sycophants. Thus believing we know how to best tell the stories, and which ways of creating storylines are overdone.

Yes, there are many story dictated twists and turns and character developments we're exhausted at seeing. How many more long-lost siblings will Meredith Grey find?

But what do we really know? If we think we can do better, then do so. Write it, submit and see what happens. Out of curiosity let's see what issues people are clamouring about the most.

Redditor u/Dangerous-Staff9172 wanted to trade notes on what we're tired of seeing when watching our favorite tv shows, by asking:

What TV show trope needs to retire?

I've been watching daytime soap operas since I was a child. And I have seen anything and everything... twice. If the characters and the stories are woven just right you don't mind the repetition. I can of course do with a little less amnesia.

Just do it Already!

Angry Season 9 GIF by FriendsGiphy

"Writing in a relationship crisis for the main couple just to keep things interesting. Or keeping apart two people who would have done it 6 seasons ago if it were real life, because the writers are milking the romantic tension to death."

- PointsOutYourGrammar

Oh Boo-Whoo

"The always present sad story for every freaking person on talent shows."

- broadsharp

"Same with Shark Tank. "Sorry, (whimper) it's just, the financial crisis hit us so hard in '08 (sobbing) and we sunk everything we had into this solar powered flashlight." Someone will usually make an offer, while Keven says it's a crap idea."

- NikonuserNW

"My wife and I were watching Chopped and a woman told one of those stories and said she'd give the prize money to some kind of medical research. A little bit later, they asked another contestant what he would do with the money and he said he'd go out and buy a bada** car. I couldn't stop laughing. He's my favorite all time talent show contestant."

- puckit

SHOOT!

"When someone in a horror movie picks up a weapon, uses it on whatever's chasing them AND THEN FREAKING DROPS IT! Like, you can still use that weapon! C'mon!"

- Oldforestwalker

"Or they knock down the assailant but don't take their weapon while they're stunned! I hate this so much. Like, dude has a gun. Why are you running away, just take it and shoot him or at least throw it in the river or something Jesus Lord."

- ItsGotToMakeSense

"Wait, I can explain!"

"The misunderstanding, which usually involves someone saying "Wait, I can explain!" before the other person storms off."

- TheRogueToad

"Entire storylines built off of misunderstandings or miscommunications are just boring and frustrating. Okay I will agree, there are exceptions to this, for comedy it can work well if done properly, like when Holly meets Kevin in 'The Office' and thinks he has special needs. Hilarious."

- LadyGisela

I'll Be Back...

funeral im back GIFGiphy

"If some dude dies off screen, ie in an explosion, they almost always end up returning. Only way characters did is if they're outright shot in the face."

- Nathan_Gio

Returning from the dead is the best. I love when characters rise again. I can do without the brain-dead behavior in horror films. Half of those people got what they deserved. I

Meal Companion

morgue GIF by South Park Giphy

"Morgue worker/Coroner tech/Autopsy tech eating lunch right next to a body. We don't do that."

- Last_Sundae_6894

Wasted Time

"When characters have every reason to just talk or say a very obvious thing out loud but wont, in order to artificially inflate and extend a conflict. And when characters get extra dumb suddenly to create pointless conflict to pad episodes."

- Illidariislove

"A similar trope, or maybe a sub-category of that trope, is when Character A has something very important to say, but Character B keeps interrupting them and talking over them, and Character A doesn't get to say what they needed to say, which leads to disastrous consequences."

"In real life, if someone won't let you talk, but what you have to say is extremely important, you don't just give up, you YELL! I am very shy and introverted and I hate interrupting people, but even I would just yell in that scenario!"

- woozapooza

Realistic...

"People with average jobs living in swanky, expensive places. Oh, this 4000sf urban industrial downtown loft? It's just where my garage band practices."

- maxrpms

"There's a video about Malcom in the Middle being a notable exception of this. Most shows portray stated middle income families living far beyond their means because it works better for advertising; if the story is about not having enough to replace a broken car, the Dodge Ram commercial feels inappropriate."

- enimaraC

Cue laugh track...

  • "The designated 'smart' character, except the writers don't know how to write smart people, so they just make every other character (even ones who've been previously established as quite intelligent) become really stupid whenever they're around."
  • Alternatively, the 'smart' person is smart because they use unnecessarily complicated language and scientific terms for everyday things, ie. "I recommend agitating the compound in a homogenous solution of dihydrogen monoxide and sodium chloride!" "HUH?! What's he saying?" "He says stir it in salt water." [cue laugh track]."
  • A character stepping into the room just in time to finish another person's sentence or otherwise deliver a dramatic line. It's such a tv staple that we've all come to accept it, but when you think about it it's really unnatural, like they've been standing outside the door for the last 10 minutes, waiting for their cue.
  • The big tough guy whose sole purpose is to get thrown around like a rag doll by the latest villain, to show how dangerous they are." - trout_a_la_creme

Pose...

Strike A Pose Whatever GIFGiphy

"Casting glamorous-looking 25-year-olds as 15-year-olds."

"Not only does it take me out of the setting, but it affects teen's self-image and probably also affects how adults see kids. I understand that when portraying certain subject matter, there are a lot less hoops to jump through if you don't cast a minor. But at least cast a babyfaced 21-year-old and don't dress them like they just got off a shoot for Vogue."

- polyhymnias

There really is no excuse to miscast. There are age appropriate actors everywhere... do it right. And in the end, some stories are just gonna loop back, especially if the show keeps continuing. So watch or don't.

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Karoline Leavitt
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Karoline Leavitt Slammed After Suggesting Reports Of Deadly Strike On Iranian Girls' School Are Just 'Propaganda'

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was criticized after she rejected reports that the U.S. struck a girls' elementary school in Iran, killing 175 people, insisting in remarks to the press pool that it's just Iranian "propaganda" that they've "fallen" for.

Iranian state media and health officials said the strike occurred early Saturday morning in Minab, in the country’s southern Hormozgan Province. Journalists from international news organizations have not been granted access to independently verify the reported death toll or the circumstances surrounding the strike.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @madswellness's TikTok video
@madswellness/TikTok

Woman Sparks Debate With Her Viral Hot Take That We Should 'Normalize Not Liking Dogs'

We're all different people with different interests, and it's perfectly okay that we like different things.

But there are some people who passionately, even vehemently, draw the line at other people liking or disliking dogs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @vanellimelli030's TikTok video
@vanellimelli030/TikTok

Model Accuses Fashion Brand Of Using AI To Recreate Her Looks For Ad Instead Of Hiring Her

There used to be laws in place for someone's likeness being used without their consent, and most certainly if their likeness was being used in an exploitative way for profit.

But now with the rise of AI-generated photographs, advertisements, and other digital products, the lines seem to have become muddied between the illegal stealing of someone's likeness and AI "inspiration."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @anissahm15's TikTok video
@anissahm15/TikTok

TikToker Secretly Records Unhinged Spectrum Employee Screaming At Her For Trying To Cancel Her Service

Employees in commission-based positions are feeling increasingly pressured to acquire new clients, retain previous clients, and solve the issues their clients call in about with high satisfaction ratings.

Even though tensions are high, and the pressure they're feeling may be unrealistic for any one person to take, that doesn't give them the right to mistreat people who do not want to sign up or want to cancel.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @hustleb***h's TikTok video
@hustleb***h/TikTok

Travel Influencer Posts Viral 'Hack' Using Hotel Coffee Maker To Wash Her Underwear—And We're Horrified

We've all worried about packing enough clothes when we go on a trip, especially when it's the really important stuff, like underwear and socks.

But travel influencer @tarawoodcox11 thoroughly grossed out the internet when she shared a hack for maintaining clean, or at least cleaner underwear, while on the go. The video was later shared by the TikTok platform @hustleb*tch where it went viral.

Keep ReadingShow less