What are the most overused cliches in Movies and TV shows that annoy you?

[Chicken Drummer]

Can be anything

I will start with

In TV soaps where the most new characters happen to have a big secret they have.

[Lothaeryn]

You'd have to list the entire TV tropes website, it exists for a reason.

Personally though, Chekov's gun, its obv as fuck its going to be used, stop beating around the bush.

[Dziubla]

Overprotective parents, dumb as rocks teenagers. Masculinization of female characters. Also, all the double standards (though I don't think double standards can exactly be called a trope, but w/e).

[Kyphael]

Every Quentin Tarantino movie.

[Doctor Amadeus]

Really super smart all seeing all knowing child.

[Jotaux]

Keeping a secret to protect their loved ones.

[exochaft]

Really super smart all seeing all knowing child.

I think this embodies part of what drives me nuts in movies/TV shows more than the tropes themselves: breaking my suspension of disbelief when the clear intent is to be serious and real.

If you've been a parent or are around children quite often, you know that children will always do the stupidest things imaginable at some point, no matter how "smart" they are. My kid shows some signs of real intelligence when it comes to certain subjects, but he still does stupid crap all the time that makes no logical sense. Children by definition are not fully developed and lack real, extensive experience that shapes the reason and logic (heck, I feel even ppl in their 20's still lack this development). Making children super smart and the bastion of sound logic and reason is just so out there that it breaks my suspension of disbelief.

Perhaps it's my science background, but along these lines, the trope of adding scientific-sounding words to describe gadgets or scientific procedures to make them more believable. For example, many shows/movies believe that if you add the word "quantum" to the beginning of a description for an item/process, it suddenly makes sense. Ironically enough, this happens sometimes in scientific research on a different level, where they throw a string of nice-sounding descriptors or jargon in their works just to make their ideas sound more important or true... real life version of trying to suspend people's disbelief, I suppose?

Anyways, I don't think tropes by themselves are necessarily bad or boring, especially in a comedic setting. It's like hearing a joke over and over, yet it never gets old. Tropes usually tend to fail or annoy people when content tries to take itself a lot more seriously than it should.

[draynay]

Will they or won't they?

UST gets real tiresome real fast.

I'm pretty sure this was my answer the last time we had this thread too.

edit - At least I'm consistent

[aeuhe4yxzhds]

Religion. any time that comes up, i just skip the episode.

[Highelf]

A 100lb girl beating every thing up with ease.

When you can tell a personal politic or agenda is being pushed.

[tikcol]

The evil white man and the dumb black criminal

[Mrbleedinggums]

You'd have to list the entire TV tropes website, it exists for a reason.

Personally though, Chekov's gun, its obv as fuck its going to be used, stop beating around the bush.

I actually enjoy Chekov's gun when it's either used stealthily or it's used tongue-in-cheek as a form of comedy.

[Shakadam]

The little girl being the "chosen one" and savior of "insert whatever relevant thing here"


It's always a little girl for some reason.

[Puupi]

Hallucinations.

[Lothaeryn]

I actually enjoy Chekov's gun when it's either used stealthily or it's used tongue-in-cheek as a form of comedy.

I do too, when a character mentions it off screen as an aside during a casual conversation.

But too many films/shows just straight up do close-ups on the damn plot device and its obvious as hell that its a checkov's gun at that point, its a waste of suspense.

[Very Tired]

The boss bad guy killing his own henchmen.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

• Protagonists regularly violate the rules/code of conduct/procedure/the law and get away with it. How did these people wind up in an important position in the first place?

• Protagonists being condescending towards each other.

• Stereotypical depictions of teenagers.

• Stereotypical depictions of military men.

• People being shot by a bullet or stabbed and instantly dropping dead. It's so quick and painless.

• A character is shot/stabbed and then has their final words... and then their head or hand drops.

• After a dying character fall unconscious (signified by their head or hand dropping), and the characters around them treat that character like he is dead and stop trying to save him... even though they still have a few minutes to save him by getting him immediate medical attention.

• Characters surviving the unsurvivable. Don't push a character out of a three story window and then turn around and say "he survived!".

• Characters coming back from the dead. Why kill them off in the first place if you were going to bring them back anyway? There's no consequence anymore.

• Villains with plot armor; they evade the heroes at every turn until the grand finale when they are FINALLY allowed to be taken out.

• Evil churches.

• Evil cults.

• Romance subplots that don't go anywhere and only exist to string the viewer along until they are resolved at the end of the show. They aren't even actual relationship; they're just ship teases and flirting.

• Pairing the spares at the end of the show. Feels like a consolation prize half the time.

• Love triangles that exist only for artificial drama.

Personally though, Chekov's gun, its obv as fuck its going to be used, stop beating around the bush.

^

I would prefer if foreshadowing was more subtle, or if there was a longer time between a checkov's gun being introduced and when it actually came back.

Really super smart all seeing all knowing child.

^

I especially hate the "genius hacker teenager" trope.

I often feel like screenwriters don't know what teenagers and kids are like. They either write them as ludicrously competent, or stereo typically stupid.

[Agent Smith]

I hate that part in a funny / family movie where everything seems lost and bereft of hope, then something miraculous happens and everything is fixed or justified. That midway point before the climax. You know what im on about.

[Mitobunny]

That one where the whole movie could be solved with an adult conversation.

[Lothaeryn]

That one where the whole movie could be solved with an adult conversation.

Anyone else feel like Black Panther could have been resolved much more peacefully that way?