Overused Plots in Movies and TV

[D'Snowth]

You know 'em and love 'em... age-old plots that get used over and over and over and voer and erov and vero and rove and oerv and eorv and veor and ovre and orev and over again to the point that no matter what the situation or what the characters or even what the franchise is that pretty much you're not even interested because you know what the outcome is going to be.

If you ask me, the top of this list belongs to the "Save the neighborhood" plot. You know it goes - a big conglomeration run by a greedy, power-hungry egomaniac decides he wants to tear down a seemingly happy establishment or neighborhood so he can put up a mall or a factory or something along those lines, and the characters from the neighborhood ban together and go on an adventure to save the neighborhood, which they do at the last minute.

Another is where you've got a main character who doesn't fit in, nobody likes him, people would rather ignore him, but then someone reaches out to him, accepts him into the norm of everyone else's life, something bad happens and it's fault so he runs away then everyone realizes how special he is and goes in search to bring him back.

Reminds me of an old theory I have that pretty soon, there will be no new TV shows, movies, stories, etc, because they all will have already been done before.

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

If you ask me, the top of this list belongs to the "Save the neighborhood" plot. You know it goes - a big conglomeration run by a greedy, power-hungry egomaniac decides he wants to tear down a seemingly happy establishment or neighborhood so he can put up a mall or a factory or something along those lines, and the characters from the neighborhood ban together and go on an adventure to save the neighborhood, which they do at the last minute.

*Tosses out Muppet movie script with similar plot*

Well, back to the drawing board!

 

[Beauregard]

One plot that is used in almost all tv series at one stage or another is where one character has a character flaw (Example, Wembly's wembling or Piglet being a coward in Winnie the Pooh) and all the other characters tell them that they should change it. So, the character goes to all the trouble of changing themselves to please the others. But now...NOW the other characters miss the old version of the main character and just get cross and make them change back.

It happens all the time, and it really annoys me because the other characters are just so selfish about it!

 

[Drtooth]

As any 1980's cartoon watcher can tell you, the words "Incredible Shrinking...." come to mind. Everybody did it in the 80's.... everybody did it in the 70's. Some people did it far into the 90's.

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

As any 1980's cartoon watcher can tell you, the words "Incredible Shrinking...." come to mind. Everybody did it in the 80's.... everybody did it in the 70's. Some people did it far into the 90's.

*Throws out script entitled "The Incredible Shrinking Muppet"*

I need to stop following up on every idea that pops into my head.

 

[D'Snowth]

As any 1980's cartoon watcher can tell you, the words "Incredible Shrinking...." come to mind. Everybody did it in the 80's.... everybody did it in the 70's. Some people did it far into the 90's.

YES! YES! YES! ! !

If not "Incredible Shrinking" then at least also "Attack of the 50 Foot" as well.

 

[ZeppoAndFriends]

You know one TV sitcom plot line that really gets on my nerves?

The one where someone is invited to stay as a guest and NEVER leaves, all the while getting more demanding and obnoxious as the episode progresses, until they are finally kicked out and all is right with the world.

I HATE those, I've seen them on at least six of seven shows and, despite the howling laugh track or studio audience, it never makes me laugh. It just makes me want to smack the guy upside the head with my tennis racket!

 

[D'Snowth]

That or the "evil twin" concept.

Depending on the show and the characters, like on Bewitched with Samantha's "evil" twin cousin Serena, but then there's a case like on I Dream of Jeannie where Jeannie not only has an evil twin sister named Jeannie, but an evil twin mother named Jeannie as well... that's pushing it a little.

Then there's occasions where there's a random episode where a guest character is added to the plot played by the same actor as one of the stars to cause trouble everyone's getting them mixed up and suddenly "Whoa! They look exactly alike! So who's the real one?"

 

[Gelfling Girl]

Not really quite the same, but sometimes there would be times when a guest star would be on a show, and they would just use that to get people to watch and just lag on the script writing.

 

[D'Snowth]

Not really quite the same, but sometimes there would be times when a guest star would be on a show, and they would just use that to get people to watch and just lag on the script writing.

Yup.

Either that, or if the ratings start slumping, they'll have a girl-on-girl make out session to bring the numbers back up, lol.