15 Overused TV Tropes That Have Overstayed Their Welcome

Wonders never cease, is what comes to mind when any new show is aired, as there is another new take on an old concept. There doesn’t seem to be any dearth of creativity in every genre on TV, and if there is, then zombies and vampires are there to save the day. There are many clever shows on TV but even these can’t seem to avoid some tropes which have been hashed and rehashed till we’re utterly sick of them. Here are 15 TV tropes which need to be done away with pronto:

Short haired girls are edgy

Short haired girls are edgy

Image Source : static.tvtropes.org

Give long-haired girls a chance to be edgy too, all you screenwriters. Whenever a girl with short hair comes on the screen, you can be sure that she’d be portrayed as someone subversive, artsy, seductive, and a spaced out musician.

Clean break ups

There doesn’t seem to be any messy break-ups on TV. Especially when there’s a cute guy or girl already around. The characters just seem to have no baggage ever!

Elevators

Elevators seem to be a favorite spot of screen writers to start romances. The Good Wife and Mad Men have both overused this elevator romance concept. It’s seems all screenwriters, poor creatures, share the same fantasy, as their schedule doesn’t allow them to meet anyone anywhere except the elevator!

Twin soulmate

Image Source : static.tvtropes.org

Nobody has doppelgangers with whom the sexy, brooding man is in love with, thus when he meets you, he’ll fall in love with you instantly. Shows really need to let go of this fantasy, especially The Vampire Diaries, which has done this trope to death.

The no-fun spouse

Somebody has to take the trash out! The spouses are always ridiculed as they’re the ones cleaning up and generally looking after the family, while the hero is out gallivanting. And then they get left by said hero or heroine as the hard-working spouses who made life so easy for them, are no fun!

Off the case

This line has been repeated in every detective show from the beginning of time, or rather TV time. It’s a surefire way to make the detectives break every rule in the book to nab the bad guy.

The bad guy waiting in a dark room

The bad guy waiting in a dark room

The door opens, the light is switched on and voila – there’s the villain the hero has been running from the whole day, sitting in his chair. This too has been seen too often now. 

The gruesome torture tray

Technology has become “smart” but not some shows, which are still stuck with the tray of torture. Some new methods to scare people into telling all, is desperately required.

Daddy issues

Characters which are flawed, whether they’re heroes or complicated non-heroes, always have issues with daddy to explain why they’re the way they are. Very few have problems with mom or any other relative – this TV trope also needs to be adjusted a little.

You’ve got to trust

No one trusts like the heroines on TV, when the hero asks her to blindly trust him and play along. She does too, and gets in all kinds of shenanigans, her trust still intact!

White savior

According to TV shows, only the white person, male or female can play the role of the savior. There’s been an effort to show other races in savior roles, but just maybe, one in a team of 12!

The bulletproof vest

Just as your tears start to roll down for the poor dead handsome hero, he gets back up again, as good as new, thanks to the vest.

Slow clap

Slow clapping seems to convey greater appreciation, especially in the minds of writers, as we see this trope every time someone needs applause a lot more than is conveyed by usual clapping. 

Blame it on destiny

Destiny certainly works in mysterious ways; no one can deny that, but when it’s used to justify weird coincidences, it’s just a little too much to swallow!

The dive / walk away

You’d be nearly jumping from the couch because of the huge explosion, but not the hero – he’ll either dive or do the walk away, as cool as ever!

Overused TV tropes are the fall back strategy of many shows, when they can’t think of  anything, but TV producers and writers really need to challenge themselves to come up with new things.

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