Tropescilloscope: Artistic License – Biology

Inaccuracies in biological fact in a work of fiction, in the service of the story. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Artistic License – History Anti-Hero Bi the Way Break the Cutie Contrived Coincidence Trailers Always Spoil Pretty Little Headshots Line-of-Sight Name Card-Carrying Villain No Name Given Sequel Hook Obstructive Bureaucrat You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Parental Neglect Oh, Crap! Gold Digger The Ghost Rewatch Bonus Sexy Discretion Shot Bait-and-Switch Bittersweet Ending Off with His Head! Dirty Cop Rated M for Manly The Great Depression No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Foreshadowing The Dreaded Heel–Face Turn Chekhov's Gun Nothing Is Scarier Police are Useless In Name Only Naïve Newcomer Jerkass Has a Point Plucky Comic Relief Mundane Made Awesome Pimped-Out Dress Major Injury Underreaction Not Quite Dead Frame-Up The Cameo Wham Line Martial Arts Movie Fourth Date Marriage Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Red Herring Composite Character Meaningful Name Catch-Phrase Character Development Pyrrhic Victory The Stinger Show Within a Show Award-Bait Song French Films The Hero Dies Fainting Non-Indicative Name Big Bad Casting Gag Actor Allusion Honor Before Reason Ambiguous Disorder Adaptation Name Change Large Ham Mad Scientist Dramedy Russian Films One Steve Limit Film Noir Paper-Thin Disguise Revenge Brother–Sister Incest Very Loosely Based on a True Story Gorn Does This Remind You of Anything? Villain with Good Publicity Hollywood Darkness Serious Business Say My Name Black Best Friend Abhorrent Admirer As You Know Imagine Spot Dissonant Serenity Disappeared Dad Toplessness from the Back Cool Old Lady Hidden Depths Happily Married Ascended Extra La Résistance The Power of Love Deal with the Devil Action Prologue Not Using the "Z" Word Horror Comedy Ghost Fiction Manipulative Bastard A.I. Is a Crapshoot Badass Grandpa Exact Words Mind Screw Retirony Recycled IN SPACE! Artistic License – Military Reality Is Unrealistic Grievous Bottley Harm Roaring Rampage of Revenge Animal Title Index Villain Ball Lock and Load Montage Leave the Camera Running Bland-Name Product I Want My Beloved to Be Happy Beware the Nice Ones Improvised Weapon Coming-of-Age Story Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Big Bad Duumvirate Smug Snake Undying Loyalty Pragmatic Villainy Kick the Dog Shut Up, Hannibal! Mooks N-Word Privileges Irony The Oner BFG You Killed My Father folderlabel Everyone Has Standards Unwitting Instigator of Doom Eye Scream All There in the Manual Face Death with Dignity Big-Bad Ensemble Shown Their Work Film Noir Index Ax-Crazy Dark Action Girl Artistic License – Biology It's Personal Precision F-Strike Daylight Horror Adults Are Useless Ambiguously Gay The '80s Canadian Movies Historical Hero Upgrade Kids Are Cruel Deliberate Values Dissonance Bullying a Dragon Spared by the Adaptation Token Minority Needs Wiki Magic Love Ass Shove The Smurfette Principle Market-Based Title Anguished Declaration of Love Calling the Old Man Out Scenery Porn Jerkass Race Lift I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Mercy Kill Black Dude Dies First Yandere He Who Fights Monsters Darker and Edgier As the Good Book Says... Establishing Character Moment Shipper on Deck Femme Fatale Greater-Scope Villain Psycho for Hire Insane Troll Logic Manchild A God Am I Artistic License – Law An Axe to Grind Important Haircut Fatal Family Photo Room Full of Crazy Hero of Another Story Madness Mantra Bond Villain Stupidity The Musical Vampire Fiction Insistent Terminology Get Out! Brainless Beauty Demonic Possession Hair-Trigger Temper Vacation Films Air-Vent Passageway Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Dual Wielding Death of a Child I Need a Freaking Drink Together in Death Throwing Your Sword Always Works Star-Crossed Lovers The Big Guy Hong Kong Films Adaptation Distillation Product Placement Fanservice Defrosting Ice Queen Chiaroscuro Jerk with a Heart of Gold Captain Ersatz NO INDOOR VOICE One-Word Title Ms. Fanservice Flashback No Antagonist Stock Footage Setting Update Defiant to the End Arranged Marriage Amoral Attorney Bloody Hilarious Chase Scene Chekhov's Gunman Friend to All Children All Men Are Perverts Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Peek-a-Boo Corpse The Quiet One Amusing Injuries Broken Bird Sealed Evil in a Can Cain and Abel The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Take That! Public Domain Feature Films Stuff Blowing Up Becoming the Mask Eureka Moment Damsel in Distress Hero Antagonist Red Oni, Blue Oni Dark and Troubled Past Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Last-Name Basis O.O.C. Is Serious Business Drill Sergeant Nasty Eagleland Bunny-Ears Lawyer "Well Done, Son!" Guy Plot Hole Re-Cut Smoking Is Cool Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Combat Pragmatist Deconstruction Action Survivor I'm a Humanitarian Moment Killer Vitriolic Best Buds Failed a Spot Check Tempting Fate Gone Horribly Right Henpecked Husband Cool Car Freeze-Frame Bonus Missing Mom Properly Paranoid Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Alas, Poor Villain Men Are the Expendable Gender Drugs Are Bad Face–Heel Turn Diabolus ex Machina Blackmail Depraved Bisexual Action Genre Index of Film Westerns Mystery and Detective Films Tap on the Head Rule of Symbolism Batman Gambit My Beloved Smother Morality Pet Not So Different All for Nothing Disguised in Drag Body Horror Wretched Hive Those Wacky Nazis Fantastic Racism Adaptational Attractiveness Badass Bookworm Mr. Exposition Whole Plot Reference Faux Affably Evil After the End Fanservice Extra Word of God Genre Throwback Police Brutality Insult Backfire Outrun the Fireball Took a Level in Badass Famous Last Words Posthumous Character Reality Has No Subtitles For Want of a Nail Redshirt Army No Ending Woman Scorned Bad Boss Break the Haughty Actually Pretty Funny Beauty Is Never Tarnished Slap-Slap-Kiss The Voiceless Drives Like Crazy Cool Old Guy What the Hell, Hero? Made of Explodium Fire-Forged Friends Overprotective Dad Rasputinian Death Neck Lift My Greatest Failure Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Anachronism Stew Dramatic Irony Lighter and Softer Hoist by His Own Petard Cat Fight World of Ham Good Is Not Nice Artistic License – Physics Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Biopic Book-Ends Closed Circle Extremely Short Timespan Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas Villain Song Department of Redundancy Department The Mole Fun with Acronyms The Casanova Pragmatic Adaptation Facial Horror Light Is Not Good Badass in a Nice Suit Sanity Slippage Animal Motifs As Long as It Sounds Foreign Humiliation Conga Never My Fault Evil Cannot Comprehend Good Soundtrack Dissonance The Reveal Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Sassy Black Woman The End... Or Is It? Badass Longcoat Suddenly SHOUTING! Deliberately Monochrome From Bad to Worse Adaptation Expansion Pre-Asskicking One-Liner Totally Radical Deus ex Machina Fan Disservice Only Sane Man Curb-Stomp Battle Creepy Child Half the Man He Used to Be Exactly What It Says on the Tin Bavarian Fire Drill The Stoic Reckless Gun Usage The Place Guile Hero Informed Ability Apocalypse How Evil Is Petty Playing Gertrude Dull Surprise Green-Eyed Monster Protagonist Title Mistaken for Gay Disney Death Mighty Whitey Knight Templar Love at First Sight Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor The Stoner Destination Defenestration The Vamp An Arm and a Leg Adaptational Heroism Annoying Younger Sibling Demoted to Extra Final Girl The Chick Country Matters Man on Fire Foil Thriller This Is Gonna Suck Epic Fail Red Shirt Obviously Evil Slasher Movie For the Evulz You Have Failed Me Danny Peary Cult Movies List Leitmotif Adaptational Badass Implacable Man Cold-Blooded Torture Determinator Take a Third Option Suspiciously Similar Substitute Fake Shemp Accidental Misnaming Chewing the Scenery May–December Romance Cool Shades Your Head A-Splode Creator Cameo How We Got Here Unusual Euphemism The Cavalry Comically Missing the Point Left the Background Music On The Dog Bites Back Idiot Ball Dirty Coward Stealth Pun Beard of Evil Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Aside Glance Intrepid Reporter Broken Aesop timeperiod The Un-Reveal Chekhov's Skill The Alcoholic Loads and Loads of Characters You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Curse Cut Short Advertised Extra She Cleans Up Nicely Papa Wolf Big Damn Heroes I Did What I Had to Do Reasonable Authority Figure Death by Sex Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Dumb Blonde Evil vs. Evil Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Meaningful Background Event Hooker with a Heart of Gold Camera Abuse In the Back The Faceless Dressing as the Enemy Riddle for the Ages Laser-Guided Karma Dark Reprise Rule of Three Agony of the Feet Unreliable Narrator From Nobody to Nightmare Animated Credits Opening Ripped from the Headlines Domestic Abuse Manly Tears Science Fiction Films Shirtless Scene Hell Is That Noise Black Comedy Rape Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Here We Go Again! Expository Hairstyle Change Dark Is Not Evil The Ditz Grey and Gray Morality All There in the Script Babies Ever After Crazy Jealous Guy Five-Man Band Shower Scene Gainax Ending Freudian Excuse Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies A Date with Rosie Palms Shoot the Shaggy Dog Anachronic Order Storming the Castle Earn Your Happy Ending Interrupted Suicide Celebrity Paradox Cloudcuckoolander Bad "Bad Acting" Super Strength Humans Are Bastards Tagline Improbable Weapon User Shout-Out Darkest Hour Rich Bitch The Bully Bald of Evil Evil Sounds Deep Mexican Standoff Stealth Hi/Bye Parental Substitute MacGuffin Would Hurt a Child Mood Whiplash Badass Normal Historical Villain Upgrade Awesome, but Impractical Drowning My Sorrows Black Comedy Aluminum Christmas Trees Adorkable Blood Knight Fantasy Films Wounded Gazelle Gambit Cool Guns Death Glare Gratuitous English Married to the Job Romantic False Lead Up to Eleven Adaptational Villainy Daddy's Girl Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Driven to Suicide Broken Pedestal Those Two Bad Guys Too Dumb to Live The Mafia Cassandra Truth More Dakka Funny Foreigner Big Applesauce The Dragon Arch-Enemy Psychopathic Manchild The Brute Neck Snap Author Appeal Heterosexual Life-Partners "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Sadistic Choice Dutch Angle Evil Counterpart Australian Movies Taking You with Me There Is No Kill Like Overkill Would Hit a Girl Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Rule of Funny Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking "Awesome McCool" Name Gender Flip Big Fancy House Faking the Dead The '60s The Atoner Betty and Veronica Fingore Central Theme The Hero Back from the Dead Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Only in It for the Money Pet the Dog Bowdlerise Groin Attack Auto Erotica Badass Boast Nice Guy B-Movie Time Skip Dropped a Bridge on Him Redemption Equals Death Rousing Speech Mama Bear Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Anyone Can Die Military and Warfare Films Foregone Conclusion A Father to His Men Affectionate Parody Truth in Television Genre Savvy Rape as Drama Manic Pixie Dream Girl German Films Boom, Headshot! The Sociopath Spell My Name with an "S" Male Frontal Nudity Hypocrite Not So Above It All Suspiciously Specific Denial The Starscream Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Brick Joke Cowboy Cop Only One Name Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Heroic BSoD Took a Level in Jerkass Heroes Want Redheads Sci-Fi Horror Catapult Nightmare Slashed Throat Laughing Mad Bar Brawl Serial Killer Kill It with Fire Ominous Latin Chanting Eldritch Abomination Continuity Nod Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun It's All About Me Have a Gay Old Time And I Must Scream It Can Think Call-Back Impaled with Extreme Prejudice Children Are Innocent Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Genre Shift My God, What Have I Done? Pay Evil unto Evil Jump Scare Off-into-the-Distance Ending Names to Run Away from Really Fast Knife Nut Decoy Protagonist Brutal Honesty Rule of Cool Enemy Mine Sole Survivor Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy Gory Discretion Shot It Will Never Catch On Better to Die than Be Killed Alliterative Name Made of Iron Spanner in the Works Jerk Jock War Is Hell Conspicuous CG Attempted Rape Well-Intentioned Extremist Psychological Thriller Running Gag Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Improbable Aiming Skills Affably Evil Killed Mid-Sentence Fat Bastard Does Not Like Shoes Our Vampires Are Different Victoria's Secret Compartment Translation Convention Obfuscating Stupidity And Starring Love Triangle Captain Obvious Guns Akimbo Training Montage Skewed Priorities Heroic Sacrifice British Films Early-Bird Cameo Belligerent Sexual Tension Christmas Movies Index Overly Long Gag Breaking the Fourth Wall He Knows Too Much Evil-Detecting Dog Straight Gay Historical-Domain Character As Himself Black and Gray Morality An Aesop Mythology Gag Logo Joke Artistic License – Geography Four-Temperament Ensemble Double Entendre Fatal Flaw Woman in White Naked People Are Funny Death Seeker Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Retired Badass Getting Crap Past the Radar Alpha Bitch What You Are in the Dark Instant Death Bullet Spiteful Spit All Girls Want Bad Boys Villainous Breakdown The Film of the Book Dogged Nice Guy Armor-Piercing Question Really Gets Around Music Stories Lampshade Hanging Our Zombies Are Different Early Installment Weirdness Kubrick Stare Superhero Hate Sink Homage A Minor Kidroduction Loophole Abuse Never Trust a Trailer The Lancer Bloodless Carnage The Bad Guy Wins Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Villain Protagonist Taking the Bullet Fiery Redhead Meet Cute Romantic Comedy Wicked Cultured Bond One-Liner Race Against the Clock Pre-Mortem One-Liner Did Not Get the Girl Action Girl Disney Villain Death Framing Device She's Got Legs Didn't Think This Through Death by Irony Big "NO!" Downer Ending '80s Hair Fate Worse than Death Not Even Bothering with the Accent Not So Stoic Be Careful What You Wish For Scenery Gorn Politically Incorrect Villain Television Movie Index Scary Black Man Funny Background Event Anti-Villain Empathic Environment Kill 'em All Visual Pun Corrupt Corporate Executive Vomit Discretion Shot The Load Handicapped Badass Crazy-Prepared Once More, with Clarity! Beta Couple Adaptation Dye-Job Evil Plan Monumental Damage Adult Fear Real Life Developing Doomed Characters Call-Forward Self-Deprecation Antagonist Title Death by Adaptation Big Brother Instinct Same Language Dub Scare Chord The Chessmaster Maybe Ever After Video Credits Documentary Cruel and Unusual Death Fish out of Water Older Than They Look Poor Communication Kills Only Known by Their Nickname Title Drop Mugging the Monster Noodle Incident Crapsack World Big Eater Unspoken Plan Guarantee Red Right Hand Artistic License – Gun Safety Bring My Brown Pants Sinister Minister Camp Gay Ship Tease Double-Meaning Title Abusive Parents True Companions Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Despair Event Horizon The Alleged Car Zombie Stories Age Lift Deadpan Snarker Motor Mouth Blood from the Mouth Costume Porn Refuge in Audacity Sir Swears-a-Lot Match Cut Your Cheating Heart Karma Houdini Car Fu Extreme Doormat Dramatic Gun Cock The '90s Bottomless Magazines Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Authority Equals Asskicking Even Evil Has Standards What Happened to the Mouse? Soft Glass Wham Shot The '70s Stepford Smiler Film Series Let's Get Dangerous! Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold All Just a Dream Epic Movie No OSHA Compliance Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Bolivian Army Ending Male Gaze In Medias Res Twist Ending Cat Scare Heel Realization Make It Look Like an Accident Gilligan Cut And the Adventure Continues Italian Films No-Sell Shell-Shocked Veteran Every Car Is a Pinto Accidental Murder Almost Kiss One-Man Army 20 Minutes into the Future Those Two Guys Bury Your Gays No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Evil Is Hammy Unusually Uninteresting Sight The Ace The X of Y Dirty Old Man Sequel Escalation Eiffel Tower Effect Spiritual Successor Corpsing Meaningful Echo Only a Flesh Wound "The Reason You Suck" Speech Creative Closing Credits Red Eyes, Take Warning Bare Your Midriff Offscreen Moment of Awesome Novelization Cluster F-Bomb Worthy Opponent Not What It Looks Like Eyepatch of Power Butt-Monkey Ungrateful Bastard Villain Opening Scene Japanese Films Retcon Wrong Genre Savvy Works Set in World War II No Celebrities Were Harmed Determinator aka: The Determinator Silent Movie Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Adapted Out Jitter Cam Berserk Button Historical In-Joke Sports Stories Arc Words Due to the Dead Flipping the Bird Even Evil Has Loved Ones Punny Name Random Events Plot Expy Parental Abandonment The '50s Offscreen Teleportation Distracted by the Sexy Crucified Hero Shot Disproportionate Retribution Put on a Bus Bloodier and Gorier Tranquil Fury Silence Is Golden Bilingual Bonus Narrator The Remake Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Karmic Death Unresolved Sexual Tension Author Avatar Slasher Smile Ambiguous Ending Evil Laugh Hollywood Law The Lost Lenore Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Immune to Bullets Covers Always Lie Pretty in Mink Mr. Fanservice Punch-Clock Villain Nice Hat Never Found the Body Kick the Son of a Bitch Ironic Echo Stalker with a Crush Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Horror Films Blatant Lies Canon Foreigner Hypocritical Humor The Smart Guy Leaning on the Fourth Wall Real Life Writes the Plot Vomit Indiscretion Shot Sacrificial Lion Intergenerational Friendship "Shaggy Dog" Story Dwindling Party Reality Ensues Hope Spot I Have Your Wife Malevolent Masked Men Bound and Gagged Dies Wide Open Asshole Victim Evil Brit Stylistic Suck Dying Moment of Awesome Based on a True Story Small Name, Big Ego Easily Forgiven Parental Incest Credits Gag