OK, after reading the sitcom cliche thread I realized that many of the ‘Clichés’ people were listing seemed like they had been used a lot, but then I thought “I don’t actually remember any sitcoms where that occurred”.
So how many times does the plot device have to occur to become cliché?
My personal choice is three.
So, on that note, I’m starting the “Son of sitcom cliché thread” wherein the clichés are listed with three or more examples.
taken from: the above referenced wikipedia link A character displays a hidden talent which goes against his/her general persona. [ol]
[li]Taxi - Jim Ignatowski plays the piano at Elaine’s (?) black tie event.[/li][li]Family Guy - Peter plays piano brilliantly when he’s drunk[/li][li]Malcom in the Middle - Reese being a really good cook[/li][li]Just Shoot Me - It’s discovered that Dennis Finch’s penis is ‘just a little bit bigger’ than those from the porn he watches[/li][/ol]
Well one I can think of only two for, so maybe someone can help.
Protagonist gets selected to a jury, where he or she is the lone standout and eventually is vindicated. This happened in both The Odd Couple episode that reminisces about when Felix and Oscar met. And it was also in a Happpy Days episode where Fonzie and Howard were both on a jury and Fonzie was the holdout on a purse snatching case. Maybe someone else can come up with a third.
This also happened on an episode of Andy Griffith in which Aunt Bea was the holdout. This episode is also notable in that the defendant was played by a then unknown Jack Nicholson.
Fred Flintstone was the foreman of the jury for a case against The Mangler. The other jurors had a tough time convincing Fred that he was stealing the jewels, not “putting them back”. Finally Fred gave in under pressure from the other impatient jurors (including Barney).
Crossing Jordan did it. Why any lawyer would want a medical examiner on the jury where the case is heavy on forensics is beyond me. It’s been too long since I saw the episode to recall if they explained it – perhaps both lawyers had run out of peremptory challenges, or they had both been completely high.
Matlock did it. The recap I’m reading at least indicates that Matlock himself couldn’t believe anyone would want him on the jury.
Monk did it. But they put an interesting spin on it.
This also happened in an episode of Doogie Howser, where Vinnie was sitting on a jury for an assault case. As I recall, he deliberately provoked one of the other jurors into punching his lights out to demonstrate how the defendant might have lost his temper against the mouthy A-hole plaintiff.
I think it happened in All in the Family, too; Edith was sequestered on a jury and was getting a lot of pressure from everywhere because she didn’t think the defendent was guilty. Everyone else was like, “Just convict the Hispanic guy so we can go home already!” I don’t remember how that one ended, though.
How about the “Character is pet-sitting, pet dies/runs away/gets lost, character tries to buy a replacement pet and pass it off as the original, wackiness ensues” cliche?
Rudy and Cliff did it with a hamster in The Cosby Show. Sophia did it with Dreyfuss the dog in The Golden Girls. And the whole family did it with multiple goldfish in one of the later episodes of Grace Under Fire.
Maybe someone can come to my rescue (…), but I remember an episode of All in the Family where Edith is a member of a jury in a highly publicized and controversial case.
Upon Preview: Oh, Google really does take five seconds. Link to wiki page. Episode 9, Season 1
