There are 2 that I would like to see constitutionally banned. It’s been a few years since they’ve been used, so we’re due.
Teenage student, for some inane reason, pretends to be a member of the oppsite sex. Of course, student falls for member of the sex student is pretending to be. Object of love is also loves student, but now questions own sexuality. All is resolved when student comes clean.
Father/son or Mother/daughter somehow, magically switch places. Hijinks ensue. They find new respect for each other.
From all the examples listed in this thread, one thing is clear. There are no more writers in Hollywood, only recyclers.
Teen in a wheelchair is told that (insert activity not usually associated with people in wheelchairs) can’t be done. Teen goes against everyones wishes and does it anyway despite lack of training/danger level. Teen does it and does it well and everyone is happy and teen isn’t grounded forever. (Ron Howard, are you reading this?)
“Practical jokes” - The gang play practical jokes on each other until someone gets seriously hurt. Now everyone is upset, except…it was all a joke, the “hurt” person gets the last laugh.
“High Society” - The gang attends a high society event and cause a lot of trouble (pie fight?), but in the end only our characters are noble and the society people are nasty snobs.
“Take your medicine” - A character has to take a pain pill or sedative, and takes it right before his big presentation to the bosses. Variation - his friends, trying to be helpful, slip him more medicine in his drink, each not realizing all the others are doing the same.
“Hero” - A character is mistakenly thought to be a hero. He plays along, until the guilt builds up and he confesses at a public ceremony in his honor.
“Dreams”:
Characters act out the plot of a famous movie. (typically Casablanca)
Character has a sex dream about another character. What does it mean?
Character is turning into a jerk, until a dream makes him realize it, and he goes back to his old self.
“Death”:
Character has a brush with death, and turns over a new leaf; he is then presented with numerous opportunities he must refuse as part of his vow; new leaf lasts one episode.
One character saves another’s life. Saved character becomes annoyingly grateful…until he saves the other’s life, making them even.
Our local milk marketing board has a really funny commercial based on the basic Lassie plot, with a glass of milk, which just sits there, saying and doing nothing, playing Lassie’s part!
Almost every show has a Rashamon-type episode, where the characters gather to discuss an incident just happened, and the actors play out the same event from one of character’s point of view. Very few since Akira did it right.
Um…how’s about half the plotlines ever used on Voyager?
The Starship Voyager enters a ((spatial anomaly, nebula, area of space around a black hole, etc)) and receives a ((garbled distress call, jolt that causes everyone to fall down dramatically)). They soon discover that ((there is another ship stuck there that turns out to also be Voyager, they have been stuck in a “temporal loop”, aliens have been messing with the time line)) and they have to ((free themselves from the anomaly/temporal loop, defeat the aliens and repair the time line)) before ((Voyager is destroyed, the universe is permanently damaged, the crew goes insane)).
Almost every episode from the first season can be summarized by picking one of each of those options.
Of course my favorite plotline is the one where the Skipper and the Professor dream up a brilliant scheme to get everyone rescued, but Gilligan blunders in and messes things up, but everyone forgives him.
Remember, if you’re ever stranded on a deserted island, KILL GILLIGAN!
1 ) Innocent guy runs from cops while trying desperately to prove his innocence.
2 ) Two brothers. One stable and secure, the other, not. Screwed up brother gets into trouble, stable brother bails him out.
3 ) Innocent guy is charged with murder. You know he’s innocent 5 minutes into the damn thing, the rest of the audience knows he’s innocent, but, you have to sit there for the remaining 111 minutes waiting for the jury to absolve the freakin’ guy. Usually ends in a big blowout with lawyer(s)\client(s) congratulating each other.
4 ) Lawyer finds out that he’s been getting guilty clients off. Lawyer gets depressed. Lawyer contemplates his existence. ETC ETC.
You have also just summed up the plot of every Richard Gere movie that isn’t a political vehicle about Red China (Oscar contender?); I’m assuming, since I didn’t go see the Red China one, he might have been a bastard in that one, too. I tend to think that Richard Gere plays even more unrepentant sons of bitches than Tom Cruise. After all, usually his characters even realize that they’re bastards, they just feel justified. Tom Cruise always seems to think he’s just another reasonably nice guy and doesn’t even realize what a putz he’s being until he almost loses his love interest.
Bewitched is the champion plot recycler of all time. It makes Voyager look like it was written by Isaac Asimov and Gilligan’s Island like Shakespeare.
Let’s see, some other “classic” plotlines: Lost in Space: Doctor Smith’s greed and stupidity imperils the Robintons.
I Love Lucy: Lucy wants to do something that Ricky won’t approve of. So she comes up with a wacky scheme (often involving disguises) that comes unraveled.
Columbo: We see a murder committed by someone with a seemingly foolproof plan. But shabby bumbling Detective Columbo picks at the suspect until his alibi falls apart.
The Beverly Hillbillies: The Clampett’s ignorance of modern life leads to misunderstandings. (Ok, so maybe I’m veering more into theme than plot).
Best friend discovers that he/she is in love with buddy/galpal’s girlfriend/boyfriend. Maybe the girlfriend/boyfriend feels the same way, but in the end they decided to not act on their feelings because they both love buddy/galpal too much to hurt him/her.
Someone/something we like is replaced by machines/robots/cyborgs thanks to evil greedy businessmen. That which we like is fired/headed to the trash heap until the robots go nuts and start attacking everyone in sight. That which we like ends up rescuing the evil businessman and destroying the machines and everything is returned back to normal. Bad technology, bad!
