Tropescilloscope: "Shaggy Dog" Story

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

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