The Wisecracking Smart Middle Child - Alex Dunphy (Modern Family); Darlene Connor (Roseanne); Randy Taylor (Home Improvement)
Required Spinoff Crossover - Cliff and Norm visit the Tortellis (The Tortellis); Barry Goldberg visits his old school (Schooled); The Mandalorian visits Boba Fett (The Book of Boba Fett)
Cousin Oliver - a new character added as a last-gasp attempt to revive a fading series. Named for a character on The Brady Bunch, the lameness of the Cousin Oliver attempt in general is delightfully sent up in the 8th Season Simpsons episode “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show.”
MacGuffin: the hero or cast has to find a specific object - every episode of Warehouse 13, many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, some of the episodes of Gilligan’s Island
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome - A character dropped from the cast without explanation, usually early in a series’ run. Named for Richie Cunningham’s disappeared older brother; also applies to Tina Pinciotti of That 70s Show and Jerry Conner, fourth child of Dan and Roseanne Conner.
Commercial Break Cliffhanger - Ratchets up the suspense for a commercial break in order to keep viewers attention. Used in Dukes of Hazzard, Get Smart, game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and reality shows like Hell’s Kitchen.
The Wisecracking Smart Middle Child - Alex Dunphy (Modern Family); Darlene Connor (Roseanne); Randy Taylor (Home Improvement)
Required Spinoff Crossover - Cliff and Norm visit the Tortellis (The Tortellis); Barry Goldberg visits his old school (Schooled); The Mandalorian visits Boba Fett (The Book of Boba Fett)
Cousin Oliver - a new character added as a last-gasp attempt to revive a fading series. Named for a character on The Brady Bunch, the lameness of the Cousin Oliver attempt in general is delightfully sent up in the 8th Season Simpsons episode “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show.”
MacGuffin: the hero or cast has to find a specific object - every episode of Warehouse 13, many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, some of the episodes of Gilligan’s Island
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome - A character dropped from the cast without explanation, usually early in a series’ run. Named for Richie Cunningham’s disappeared older brother; also applies to Tina Pinciotti of That 70s Show and Jerry Conner, fourth child of Dan and Roseanne Conner.
Commercial Break Cliffhanger - Ratchets up the suspense for a commercial break in order to keep viewers attention. Used in Dukes of Hazzard, Get Smart, game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and reality shows like Hell’s Kitchen.
You Can’t Thwart Stage One - evil always prevails…up to the middle. The Good Guys always prevail in the end
The Wisecracking Smart Middle Child - Alex Dunphy (Modern Family); Darlene Connor (Roseanne); Randy Taylor (Home Improvement)
Required Spinoff Crossover - Cliff and Norm visit the Tortellis (The Tortellis); Barry Goldberg visits his old school (Schooled); The Mandalorian visits Boba Fett (The Book of Boba Fett)
Cousin Oliver - a new character added as a last-gasp attempt to revive a fading series. Named for a character on The Brady Bunch, the lameness of the Cousin Oliver attempt in general is delightfully sent up in the 8th Season Simpsons episode “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show.”
MacGuffin: the hero or cast has to find a specific object - every episode of Warehouse 13, many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, some of the episodes of Gilligan’s Island
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome - A character dropped from the cast without explanation, usually early in a series’ run. Named for Richie Cunningham’s disappeared older brother; also applies to Tina Pinciotti of That 70s Show and Jerry Conner, fourth child of Dan and Roseanne Conner.
Commercial Break Cliffhanger - Ratchets up the suspense for a commercial break in order to keep viewers attention. Used in Dukes of Hazzard, Get Smart, game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and reality shows like Hell’s Kitchen.
You Can’t Thwart Stage One - evil always prevails…up to the middle. The Good Guys always prevail in the end
Two Decades Behind - styles, customs, and / or technology in a show set in contemporary times are visibly outdated. Visible in the Simpsons, where Marge is a housewife, wears a dress and a beehive, the not particularly religious Simpson family goes to church every Sunday wearing 1950s-esque Sunday best, and so on.
The Wisecracking Smart Middle Child - Alex Dunphy (Modern Family); Darlene Connor (Roseanne); Randy Taylor (Home Improvement)
Required Spinoff Crossover - Cliff and Norm visit the Tortellis (The Tortellis); Barry Goldberg visits his old school (Schooled); The Mandalorian visits Boba Fett (The Book of Boba Fett)
Cousin Oliver - a new character added as a last-gasp attempt to revive a fading series. Named for a character on The Brady Bunch, the lameness of the Cousin Oliver attempt in general is delightfully sent up in the 8th Season Simpsons episode “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show.”
MacGuffin: the hero or cast has to find a specific object - every episode of Warehouse 13, many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, some of the episodes of Gilligan’s Island
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome - A character dropped from the cast without explanation, usually early in a series’ run. Named for Richie Cunningham’s disappeared older brother; also applies to Tina Pinciotti of That 70s Show and Jerry Conner, fourth child of Dan and Roseanne Conner.
Commercial Break Cliffhanger - Ratchets up the suspense for a commercial break in order to keep viewers attention. Used in Dukes of Hazzard, Get Smart, game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and reality shows like Hell’s Kitchen.
You Can’t Thwart Stage One - evil always prevails…up to the middle. The Good Guys always prevail in the end
Two Decades Behind - styles, customs, and / or technology in a show set in contemporary times are visibly outdated. Visible in the Simpsons, where Marge is a housewife, wears a dress and a beehive, the not particularly religious Simpson family goes to church every Sunday wearing 1950s-esque Sunday best, and so on.
Not Allowed to Grow Up – sometimes called “perpetual childhood”. Commonly found in animated shows like Family Guy and the Simpsons (Maggie has been a baby for what – thirty-five years now?), and to a lesser degree in live-action shows. Occasionally results in #3 (‘Cousin Oliver’) above to replace characters as they age out, as in My Three Sons.
The Wisecracking Smart Middle Child - Alex Dunphy (Modern Family); Darlene Connor (Roseanne); Randy Taylor (Home Improvement)
Required Spinoff Crossover - Cliff and Norm visit the Tortellis (The Tortellis); Barry Goldberg visits his old school (Schooled); The Mandalorian visits Boba Fett (The Book of Boba Fett)
Cousin Oliver - a new character added as a last-gasp attempt to revive a fading series. Named for a character on The Brady Bunch, the lameness of the Cousin Oliver attempt in general is delightfully sent up in the 8th Season Simpsons episode “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show.”
MacGuffin: the hero or cast has to find a specific object - every episode of Warehouse 13, many episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, some of the episodes of Gilligan’s Island
Chuck Cunningham Syndrome - A character dropped from the cast without explanation, usually early in a series’ run. Named for Richie Cunningham’s disappeared older brother; also applies to Tina Pinciotti of That 70s Show and Jerry Conner, fourth child of Dan and Roseanne Conner.
Commercial Break Cliffhanger - Ratchets up the suspense for a commercial break in order to keep viewers attention. Used in Dukes of Hazzard, Get Smart, game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and reality shows like Hell’s Kitchen.
You Can’t Thwart Stage One - evil always prevails…up to the middle. The Good Guys always prevail in the end
Two Decades Behind - styles, customs, and / or technology in a show set in contemporary times are visibly outdated. Visible in the Simpsons, where Marge is a housewife, wears a dress and a beehive, the not particularly religious Simpson family goes to church every Sunday wearing 1950s-esque Sunday best, and so on.
Not Allowed to Grow Up – sometimes called “perpetual childhood”. Commonly found in animated shows like Family Guy and the Simpsons (Maggie has been a baby for what – thirty-five years now?), and to a lesser degree in live-action shows. Occasionally results in #3 (‘Cousin Oliver’) above to replace characters as they age out, as in My Three Sons.
The Unseen Character – a character whose voice may be heard, but whose face is never actually shown: Charlie (Charlie’s Angels), Mrs. Wolowitz (The Big Bang Theory), Norm’s wife Vera (Cheers), Niles’ wife Maris (Frazier), etc.
(does this count? It’s an annual thing. But very special. Not just Halloween-themed, but traditionally non-canonical in that there is no expected continuity with the show’s main events or characters’ timelines.)