Tropescilloscope: Truth in Television

When a trope actually does happen in Real Life. (read more at tvtropes.org)

Film Frequency (%) Film Frequency (#)

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