Tropescilloscope: "Shaggy Dog" Story

A struggle or quest which is unexpectedly rendered moot when it ends. (read more at tvtropes.org)

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