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