Tropescilloscope: Truth in Television

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

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