Tropescilloscope: Spanner in the Works

That imbecile has ruined all of my plans! (read more at tvtropes.org)

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