10 most annoying movie/tv cliches

[SeverinR]

This one might not apply to fantasy too much, but some do.

10 Most Annoying Movie/TV Cliches - clipd.com

Parking: the reason why drivers find parking? Simple, writing is life with the boring part removed. Searching for, finding and walking to the destination is commonly the boring part.

Hero fights multiple enemies, but the enemy only attacks one at a time. I believe this is the white hat syndrome. Honor in fights, only happen in honorable fights. In life and death, you kill or be killed. You kill the person distracted by someone else, before they kill you, when you're distracted.

Bumbling husband: in this day and age, people want strong women characters, so they make dependant husbands. Can't have two strong people.
I believe the bumbling nerd trying too hard to get the girl is good, but the bumbling really needs to end before too long, or else why would a hot tough girl stay with him? (Except movies like Zombie land, it was either the bumbling boyfirend or the violent tempered older guy with the twinkie fetish.)

 

[wordwalker]

I know.

I always put the "white hat syndrome" down to lazy fight choreography: a smart fighter can take on multiple foes, by dropping one in the instant before the next reaches him, but the battle isn't taking the trouble to show that. (Same thing with "stormtrooper marksmanship:" I always pretend the thugs had less time and more distance to make those failed shots at before the hero reaches cover. Batman Animated Episode 1 does it right.)

 

[cdgallantking]

Searching for, finding and walking to the destination is commonly the boring part.

Walking to the destination is like 90% of all fantasy, isn't it? :tongue:

 

[Guy]

Endless magazine capacity has always been one of my pet peeves.

 

[stephenspower]

Giant NYC apartments where people without real jobs live.

 

[CupofJoe]

Of those listed "Can't explain! No time!" is my grievance... If I hear that I'm usually reaching for the remote control... For me it is very weak/lazy writing. a claptrap for faux tension.
And expanding on stephenspower's point... People that have "real" jobs but can take a three hour lunch break or a few days off and no-one notices/cares at their place of work.

 

[deilaitha]

Endless magazine capacity has always been one of my pet peeves.

Or a a quiver that never runs out of arrows.

 

[Fyle]

Good list, I never totally noticed the infinate excelleration. I always took notice to how empty the roads are (not many car chases end cause the participants get caught in traffic).

Not Another Teen Movie makes fun of the ugly girl one.

 

[Bansidhe]

Personally, I'm tired of the "strong woman equals shrieking, demanding banshee" syndrome. I don't quite know how this got started, but somehow the idea of a strong female character giving a male hero hell, whining constantly about me, me, me, or doing nothing but complaining--or never letting a male character forget what a loser she thinks he is (and yet that otherwise competent male hero still, somehow, finding the shrew attractive) just grates on my nerves. I'm a woman, and I want to smack both characters when I see this happen.

A woman can still be perceived as strong (and REAL), with vulnerabilities, and while still supporting a male hero instead of giving him grief every step of the way.

 

[Nobby]

I can't believe nobody has defended the countdown to ultimate destruction that always gets countermanded with very few seconds left on the clock. I mean, c'mon, the hero could stop the clock with half an hour left but chooses to wait until the seconds are ticking down...go for rule of cool!

AGH! I have a love hate relationship with TV Tropes LOL

 

[ThinkerX]

Parking. I visited a relative in San Francisco a few years ago. Ended up having to park the rental car half a mile from his apartment.

When I was with the 'van service,' I drove around quite a few people with terminal illnesses. Their lives were not so much 'dramatic' as they were 'boring'...and 'painful.' Say's something when the highlight of the day or week is a twenty minute ride to a Doctors office.

I never really bought into the TV version of the 'ugly duckling' (nerd girl turning into hot chick). I will note that my daughter and her friends/relatives, when in High School, spent a LOT of time mucking about with cosmetics. My daughter used to get up an hour early to beautify herself for school, and some of her friends rose even earlier.

And like other posters here, I was never impressed by car chases that never got mired in traffic, guns with seemingly limitless supplies of ammo, and gun battles in which hundreds of rounds were fired with no bystanders getting clipped.

 

[Jabrosky]

I sometimes wonder if the fat bumbling husband with an idealized wife is a self-projection on the (usually male) creators' part. As a fat guy myself, I can vouch that most fat people, myself included, would prefer mates who take better care of themselves. Even so-called "fat acceptance" activists can be like this. If you're a fat guy who has difficulty getting female attention in real life, it's very tempting to create fantasies where you have a beautiful woman on your arm without working for it.

Alternatively, it could be more chivalric to poke fun at the male lead than the female.

 

[Logos&Eidos]

I sometimes wonder if the fat bumbling husband with an idealized wife is a self-projection on the (usually male) creators' part. As a fat guy myself, I can vouch that most fat people, myself included, would prefer mates who take better care of themselves. Even so-called "fat acceptance" activists can be like this. If you're a fat guy who has difficulty getting female attention in real life, it's very tempting to create fantasies where you have a beautiful woman on your arm without working for it.

Alternatively, it could be more chivalric to poke fun at the male lead than the female.

Personally I'm of the opinion that the oafish husband angelic wife was a way of catering to the ego(self-esteem) of a certain section of the female audience. I mean who doesn't want to be believe that they are completely indispensable to their mate.

 

[Amanita]

I have to admit that I've never been overly bothered by most of these tropes but since I don't watch too many action movies, the parking one especially seems a bit like people never needing to use the toilet in important moments. I don't think there's really any need to include it if it doesn't further the plot in some way.
Many instances of the bumbling husband and/or shrieking, pushy wife often make sure to have the husband be the one actually competent if something really important goes on or finally making the decisions which matter despite of giving in to his wife in smaller matters.
I'm actually the kind of girl who's never wasted time on make-up during high school and doesn't do so now either, so when I did turn up with professional styling at the graduation ball, there was some hint of the "nerd-girl transformation"-thing but nowhere nearly as extreme as it is in those movies of course. I don't consider myself horribly ugly in my natural state either.

 

[NOTACOP]

I can't believe nobody has defended the countdown to ultimate destruction that always gets countermanded with very few seconds left on the clock. I mean, c'mon, the hero could stop the clock with half an hour left but chooses to wait until the seconds are ticking down...go for rule of cool!

On this same note timers on bombs with actual clocks kill me. The detonation timer would be internal and adding an outward facing clock is not only superfluous but also just adds wiring that could potentially not work.