Here’s another vote for the “Technology is Evil and Secretly Plotting Our Demise” theme. Why is it that just about all systems that become sentient immediately either want to become more human or commit genocide? :rolleyes:
There’s plenty of overlap there.
Yeah, I realize that, but what I mean is that most stories about AI are either:
- “Humanity is cool, and therefore I should try to be just like them!”
- “Humanity is outmoded, and therefore I should eliminate them!”
Although I’m not quite sure which category that one movie falls under, where the Smart House decides to make the Sexy Female Protagonist his prisoner and have mutant superbabies with her…
I got another one (one that I’ve never seen mentioned in past iterations of this topic):
Every black church is the charismatic kind, featuring a theatrical preacher, a hand-clapping choir, and a congregation that “gets the spirit”. Chances are the TV show or movie will show the church singing one of three songs: “This Little Light of Mine”, “What a Friend We Have In Jesus”, or “Oh Happy Day”.*
Now, I grew up in a black Pentacostal church, so I’m not denying that the stereotype is based in truth. But not every black church is like this. In fact, many of them are quite reserved and conservative (like AME churches). And there are so many gospel hymns to choose from that it would be a rare event to find a choir singing something as old and played-out as “This Little Light of Mine”, which is more of a song for children. Most churches that I’ve been to use contemporary gospel music.
*I wish most movies that used the “black church” cliche would follow The Color Purple’s lead and use original music for the church scenes.
I hate when an answering machine reveals someone’s secret to the person their deceiving. Like when the phone rings while two people are making out and the guy says “Don’t answer it” and the woman is all “Tee hee, I’m such a sexy mama because I’m not going to answer my phone mid-coitus” then the machine picks up and it’s the guy she’s cheating on her boyfriend with and insted of saying “Yeah, it’s Dave, gimme a call” he goes into this big monologue about their relationship.
I know that not everyone has voicemail (or caller ID, for that matter), but sexy swinging singles who are juggling relationships usually do have voicemail, because it’s convenient and you can check your messages from anywhere. Lazy writers.
Instant Run-away from the Japanese.
Particularly egregious offenders: Inuyasha, Final Fantasy VII
Bad guy “Now you die!”
Good guy beats him to within an inch of his life.
Bad guy “Cough, hack. You’ve beat me!? I can’t go out like this so I shall run away.”
Good guy “Damn! He got away.”
The rage I felt at FFVII every single time it happened.
Straight men with no drag experiance can disguise themselves as women so fully that not only does nobody notice but other straight men find them attractice.
Dramatic cliche: Two characters who hate each other’s guts are trapped and have no choice but to cooperate.
(Babylon 5 turned the cliche on its head in one episode where Londo and G’Kar are trapped in a lift. G’Kar decides that he’s OK with dying if it means Londo dies under circumstances that don’t trigger the occupation reprisals for a Narn killing a Centauri.)
Yeah, that scene is greak. G’kar laughs hysterically when he realizes he gets to watch Londo die.
You took so long to explain this, (and I’ve never heard of it) that I have trouble seeing this as a cliche’. How many movies/TV shows have used this?
IIRC, in Shanghai Noon, Jackie Chan’s character suggests doing the ‘play sick’ routine, to which Mr. Wilson responds, “Does that still work where you’re from? Cos that’s pretty much all played out around here.”
Damn, I’d forgotten about that. Good call.
Plus someones staggers across a desert is dieing of thirst and then comes across an oasis,after a gulp of water they stop drinking and then start splashing water over their head.
I’m not sure if this one was covered, as I haven’t read this thread in a bit, but the recent episode of Heroes reminds me of it.
There will come a time when the story can’t continue unless some sort of secret data is obtained, but it’s password protected. Fortunately, no one ever comes up with a random, technically sound password - they always pick their anniversary date, kid’s name, whatever. How many stories would come to a screeching halt if characters made their password “blue8dog”?
I’ve heard this kind of mistake referred to as a plot trapdoor: similar to a plot hole, but necessary for the story to keep moving–one of those cliches in fiction you have to sigh, suck up, and accept for the sake of interesting storytelling.
One that always gets me (there’s an example of this with Scully in The X-Files): there’s a serial killer / poltergeist / whatever on the prowl. Hero or heroine is alone in the house at night. She or he hears a suspicious noise… and gets up, in the dark, to wander around looking for it?
I don’t know about you guys, but there’s some stalking menacing danger afoot and if I hear a suspicious noise in an empty house? All lights are on, cellphone with the police’s number is in one hand, very sharp/blunt heavy weapon in the other hand…
This isn’t really a cliche of the plot or situation, but I’m getting to hate the impossibly detailed blowup from video footage. Dammit, there’s only so many pixels in a video image! Once you’ve blown them up you have a big picture of a 5x5 pixel square!
Enhance… enhance… enhance…
If enhancing and creating data from nowhere was so easy and amazing, wouldn’t we set up computers to automatically enhance pictures to massive detail without anyone having to give it multiple commands?
Even better is when they do something like “well, we can see the back of his head… can you extrapolate what his face looks like?” “Sure!”
Okay, three lines hardly seems like “so long”, but I was thinking specifically about an episode of Sex in the City. I know I’ve seen in movies/tv shows where a phone is unanswered, only to have the machine pick up and important secret information is revealed to the unintended party.
My problem is that answering machines are old technology, but I understand that answering machine types are loathe to acknowledge this. Interestingly, in my quest to find other examples of answering machine exposition, I came across this, wherein the author slams answering machines only to reach the same conclusion that I must: “I hereby recant my conclusions and assumptions (ass, you, me, and so forth) about answering machines. Clearly, while my friends and family are just keen on the voicemail, they are aberrations in world that still digs the answering machine.”
A little one from “Law & Order” - whenever Van Buren/Creagan’s phone rings, it’s always about the exact case that they are discussing with Greevy/Logan/Briscoe et al…
and… happy, well dressed, flamboyant, balanced, friendly, likeable gay people. Why don’t we ever see any grumpy, slovenly, curmudgeonly gay sons of bitches?
mm