Haven't been able to read all the pages, but has anyone mentioned the ever observant cop who notices that 'it's June, an
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Ceer — 9 years ago(June 04, 2016 07:38 PM)
It doesn't matter the topic of the scifi show. It could be time travel, aliens among us, or some secret society. The characters try to hide their scifiness. They make sure they don't mention the future or the past, they hide that they are from another world, or are careful nobody follows them to their secret hideout. In the real world nobody would care if you accidentally slip your from the year 7325. They'd think your nuts. Nobody would care if you started speaking in your planets' language of Beta Alpha Prime. You're a super nerd. And the fact you run from corner to corner always looking over your shoulder? Paranoid nut ball high on meth.
Yeah, it's a show and all but nobody really believes in time travel, aliens living on our planet, or a secret organization formed to fight the forces of evil. Sure, some of you are saying "it's possible!" But do you think your neighbor is from the future? Or he is truly from another world (well.), or that he saved the planet 10 times over from robotic lizards?
As an experiment just try to do those things in public.
I seem to remember reading a blog where it would be fun to pretend to be The Doctor and let slip that you are from the future. Maybe it was like Talk Like a Pirate day.
Edited: Found it!
http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/pretend-to-be-a-time-traveler-day-december-8/
My counter argument is that I'm offended. -
Ceer — 9 years ago(July 17, 2016 10:45 AM)
As far as I can tell there are 4 different kinds of neck snaps.
The neck snap from behind which is a big production with lots of movement usually done in slow motion.
The one handed neck snap usually comes as a surprise. The guy doing the neck snap is usually holding the victims jaw almost in a caress. Then snap!
The bent over neck snap usually occurs after a big tussle. The victim is bent over at the waist and the neck snapper grabs him by the head/neck and quickly lifts until crack.
There is a lesser used one in which the two grapplers are facing back to back. The neck snapper grabs the victim by the head and breaks his neck over his shoulder.
I wonder if the snapping of necks is done because it is cheap and quick.
My counter argument is that I'm offended. -
gottaluvafriend — 9 years ago(September 20, 2016 12:03 AM)
Some sympathetic character, not a villain, in a precarious position trying to climb a cliff wall is about to make it to the top, someone is there reaching down to help, and the climber's foot slips. Sometimes the person reaching down grabs the climber's hand just in time.
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Ceer — 9 years ago(October 15, 2016 07:57 PM)
When the hero must stop the evil computer program from completing or an email of utmost secrecy from being sent he will grab his gun and shootthe monitor? And in a burst of sparks the world is saved.
My counter argument is that I'm offended. -
Good-Will — 9 years ago(November 12, 2016 01:49 AM)
This is an observation on the genius hacker who can break into the big system database or local hard drive on anyone's laptop just by typing rapidly for about 10 seconds and then shouts "I'm in!" (This has been done to death).
If they do that then they never bother to log off after they find whatever they want to find, hence alerting the person that owns the laptop that someone has been using it as soon as they get back or try to log in from another computer.
Always remember to log off, genius hacker!!!
If the opposite of Love is indifference, what's the opposite of Hate? -
Ceer — 9 years ago(November 25, 2016 10:55 AM)
Small town girl/guy wants to escape her/his boring country life to experience the excitement of the big city.
Big city girl/guy wants to escape her/his hectic life to experience the calm and relaxing of small town life.
My counter argument is that I'm offended. -
bingoboss — 9 years ago(December 31, 2016 11:21 AM)
These are a few chliches that get under my skin when I notice them:
- Roger Ebert's "Me-Push-Pull-You" rule, where if a man and a woman are running from danger, the man will drag the woman behind him by the hand, while she gasps and tries to keep up.
- Kitchen Karaoke, where female leads dance around the kitchen to a song blasting on the soundtrack, pretending to sing into spoons and spatulas, shutting cabinet drawers with their hips, etc.
- Fake Punk Rockers (mostly in 1980s films), where a tough "punk rock" character simply has blue hair and some eye make-up. Too bad the actors almost never have the nerve to go all the way and shave their heads, wear a mohawk, safety-pin piercing, etc.
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pjmcgill142 — 11 years ago(August 08, 2014 12:47 AM)
Haven't been able to read all the pages, but has anyone mentioned the ever observant cop who notices that 'it's June, and isn't it a little warm to be wearing a jacket?' that is concealing a bad guy's firearm grenade thermonuclear device.
For years, I used to think every single Hollywood movie was made in June. -
awdlnd — 11 years ago(August 24, 2014 07:45 PM)
Most annoying cliche is the computer sound effects. It is really distracting for me.
Crime Drama: Police address suspect as "Police!" 100 yards away from perp without taking measures to surround perp first, initiating a pointless chase.
The "one phone call" thing when arrested.
The timed phone call trace that never provides enough time to triangulate.
Any "too cool" characters. Horatio is the master of this and it's so comically done that he gets by with it. Another current example would be the Graceland cast. They always use the appropriate lingo and have to explain all the tricks they know to their fellow cops so the audience knows what they are talking about. Another would be Harmon on NCIS or LL not-so-cool J on NCIS:L.A. I would throw Hawaii Five-O in this category but that entire show is a cliche.
Crime shows where only one investigative team is needed. Sometimes it's the detective in charge, other times it's the CSI team. Also, situations where these people have free reign to go to some other country on some half military mission. -
Ceer — 11 years ago(September 01, 2014 12:30 AM)
When faced with an alien or supernatural there will always be the quick fix, the silver bullet, the answer, the rules. Shot to the head brings down a zombie, aliens fall prey to germs, vampires stake to the heart, werewolvesthe silver bullet.
I'm like a wild animal, girl I'm more scared of you than you are of me. -
Cuish — 11 years ago(September 05, 2014 02:15 PM)
- Whenever two characters are about to kiss, something always interrupts them so they don't do it. Like if a phone goes off or someone walks in on them or something.
- In superhero films, other characters that the hero is familar with don't recognise their voice if they happen to meet them in costume.
My blog:
http://cuish-common-room.blogspot.co.uk/
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Ceer — 11 years ago(September 27, 2014 04:51 PM)
When the hero is tied up/tied down the villain will roll out a small table filled with knives. There are small knives, big knives, pointy knives, hooked knives, serrated knives, etc. The camera shows this all to us and the villain laughs evilly. The villain then ignores his collection of knives and punches the hero unconscious.
Of course the knives are to shock the audience and fill them with dread. I'm actually glad we don't get to see the knives being used. I'm not into torture porn. But it would be nice if they just skipped show of knives.
I'm like a wild animal, girl I'm more scared of you than you are of me. -
Aswena — 11 years ago(October 13, 2014 02:22 AM)
The most absurd cliché: police cars using their loud sirens when they go to the place the character they want to arrest is supposed to be even if the roads are completely empty or during the night, so that the character hears them coming and has enough time to hide or to escape
Some other clichés, certainly already mentioned:- when the hero has a family, there is a sequence in which he or she is looking at his or her sleeping children
- when the hero visits the victim or suspect's apartment, there are a lot of photos on walls or furniture and very often by chance one of these photos gives him a clue or the whole explanation to a mystery or investigation
- on standard quality photos it is possible to zoom in indefinitely with high resolution
- when the hero has to download a file it often takes a lot of time while somebody or the police are coming
- bombs are often stopped at the last second by the hero
- some characters seem not being aware they were shot by a bullet until they notice blood on their body
- villains always take their time to kill the hero so finally he can escape or is providentially helped by someone at the very last moment (the villain is killed at the same moment he was supposed to shoot the hero)
- key witnesses are rarely under sufficient protection by the police even if it is obvious the villain will kill them (it also works with the next likely victim in a series of murders)
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Good-Will — 11 years ago(October 22, 2014 10:22 PM)
You have to wonder whether the writers of Sharknado (which is loads of fun) have been studying this thread and taking notes.
A more recent cliché is for the FBI to be portrayed as extremely incompetent.
That used to be the prerogative of the local police force (plod) when the big guns came in, but now the big guns themselves are depicted as making the most basic of mistakes.
Regarding the FBI:- The lead actor/actress playing an FBI agent will always decide to try to drive to the ongoing crime scene rather than call the local police to prevent the crime or the criminal(s) from escaping. A fast car speeding through traffic from 10+ miles away is always going to get there faster than the local plod.
- Apparently the FBI can track anyone anywhere if they have their mobile phone on unless they actually intend to commit a crime. In which case they have a burner who's messages they can't intercept even and whose origin they can't locate even when they call a suspect that they're monitoring.
- Rerouting web traffic through Lithuania and North Korea gives you at least 24 hours leeway before the FBI can trace the source of the email/video/website/whatever.
- The FBI can't locate the originator of a video posted on Youtube if it's posted anonymously.
I have more examples but these are just a few.
If the opposite of Love is indifference, what's the opposite of Hate?
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Ceer — 11 years ago(November 02, 2014 06:38 PM)
No one ever just bumps into another person in television or movie. If it happens the bumped person was either pick pocketed, something was slipped into their pockets, or if there was blood drawn they've been either poisoned or infected.
I'm like a wild animal, girl I'm more scared of you than you are of me.
