Overused Plots in Movies and TV

[HeyButtahfly]

I don't know too many males who would call themselves "buttahfly"... but it's all good.

 

[D'Snowth]

Has anyone ever noticed how sometimes when the case of a male losing his wedding ring happens, he suddenly "always wears his ring" in the episode, yet in other episodes he never wore one.

One variation of that was the episode of M*A*S*H where B.J. starts gambling to try and earn more money to send home to his wife so she won't have to get a second job as a waitress in a bar... at one point, he offers his wedding ring as ante... no other time throughout the show did he wear a ring.

Likewise, we ALL know Frank was married but fooling around with Margaret, however, there was ONE episode where he DOES wear a ring, for whatever reason.

 

[Mo Frackle]

Thankfully underused plot: musical episodes.

 

[D'Snowth]

Yeah, I think Glee officially killed musical television for everybody.

 

[Twisted Tails]

Yeah, I think Glee officially killed musical television for everybody.

Thank you for giving me the reason why I don't watch that show. I don't watch it ever. Thank you for the good advice.

 

[Hayley B]

Aliens coming to this planet is a overused plot. (Neighbors, 3rd Rock from the Sun, A.L.F, etc)

If you want to go by themes. They sure like to use Wizard of OZ or Star Wars alot.

 

[CensoredAlso]

If you want to go by themes. They sure like to use Wizard of OZ or Star Wars alot.

Really, I hadn't noticed, lol.

 

[Drtooth]

Aliens coming to this planet is a overused plot. (Neighbors, 3rd Rock from the Sun, A.L.F, etc)

3rd Rock was the best of the bunch. Even better than Mork and Mindy. I just don't see anything outshining 3rd Rock's version of an alien sitcom. But that can be attributed to John Lithgow's bombastic performance. That show was a positive genre killer for me (as in it spoils everything else by its excellence). I don't think there ever will be an alien sitcom half as good as it, and I just can't take John's performance as serious. I saw an old movie where he was trapped in a large industrial freezer, and he was screaming help at the top of his lungs. This was supposed to be a dramatic moment in a dramatic movie... but anything he raises his voice, I think of ol' Dick Solomon, and I can't stop laughing.

Same thing happens to me with Jason Alexander. The episode of Criminal Minds where he's this deep philosophic killer, who spends the entire episode secreting an evil slimy voice... almost Freeza like, and then he screams when he's finally caught. I half expected him to say "GEORGE IS GETTING UPSET!!!!"

 

[D'Snowth]

I got to thinking about the Arthur episode "Arthur's Snow Biz", and realized that right there is another overused plot, at least in kids cartoons: whenever there's a bunch of snow, and the kids decide to take advantage of it by shovelling people's sidewalks and drives and what have you to rake in some cash... then inevitably, some kind of feud breaks out, which leads to competition.

 

[Mo Frackle]

The "locked in the basement" episode.
The "Disney World" episode.
The "hiding an animal from the parents" episode.

TV tropes has a lot of good ones.