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