Some people are just better than others. Whether it's by being The Chosen One, having Superpowerful Genetics or just being a plain old Born Winner, this character is special. These characters are born with The Gift that just makes every character …| TV Tropes
Only you have been deemed worthy to describe the secrets of... The Chosen One. Take it for granted that they are The Only One. These characters have been chosen by some force and they are now the only ones capable of resolving the plot. The …| TV Tropes
The Born Winner is a badass. Of course they are; they were born that way. Born Winners are badasses because of what they are rather than what they do. They're Aliens among Puny Earthlings, demons among mortals, robots among meatbags, or a magic- …| TV Tropes
A French Game Show hosted for years by Nagui, Tout le monde veut prendre sa place translates as "Everybody wants to take their place", and is marketed around the world as Hold Onto Your Seat. Premiered on France 2 in 2006, it became a surprise …| TV Tropes
Travel between different universes can be a tricky thing. Sometimes, time passes more quickly in your home universe, so that when you return from a trip to another one, everyone you know is dead. Other times, you can spend weeks, months, or even …| TV Tropes
Common assumption on the early years of the Internet, then a typical joke and quickly becoming a Discredited Trope. Back in the dim recesses of history, the Internet was predominately populated by computer savvy people, which were assumed to be …| TV Tropes
A staple of fantasy adventures. The Hero is just an ordinary, humble young farmboy/hunter/etc. living and working in a simple, tranquil, pastoral land until destiny (and his mentor) comes knocking, normally knocking down his house or town in the …| TV Tropes
AKA: "Died with X days left until retirement". Retirony is a Portmanteau of retirement and Irony, though how much of the latter it has is up for debate. Retirony is a way to make the audience feel sorry for a character's death without having to …| TV Tropes
Competence porn is a term invented by Leverage writer John Rogers (see here) and used by a lot of critics since — read here, here, here, and here. It's the thrill of watching bright, talented people plan, banter, and work together to solve …| TV Tropes
Every so often a TV Series, Film, or even radio talk show will make a reference to another one, usually in the same market niche or genre. Most of the time it's just a simple Shout-Out or a Homage, and if it's a Comedy Series, you can expect at …| TV Tropes
A common concept of the sci-fi and fantasy genres (and especially games of those genres) is the notion of not an organization, not a clan, not a city, but an entire race of bad guys who brag about how Evil they are. Though the Trope Namer is …| TV Tropes
A boss that is beaten through trickery rather than brute force. This is usually enforced by making the boss completely invulnerable to conventional attacks, forcing you to find another strategy to defeat it — which usually involves one of …| TV Tropes
Good versus Evil. White hat versus black hat. The shining knight of light and destiny with flowing cape versus the dark mustache-twirling, card-carrying force of pure malevolence. The Republic, The Alliance, The Federation and/or La RÃ& …| TV Tropes
The limit of the Willing Suspension of Disbelief for a given element is directly proportional to its funniness. Any violation of continuity, logic, physics, or common sense is permissible if the result gets enough of a laugh. This is the comedy …| TV Tropes
Creating a completely new culture from scratch can be a daunting task. Think about everything the word culture encompasses—music, food, architecture, clothing, etiquette, dance, religion, and combative traditions, to name a few, and even if …| TV Tropes
The Evil Counterpart of the Great Big Book of Everything. An old leatherbound book with engravings depicting unpleasant creatures, prophecies of certain doom, and spells that do everything from turning toenails green to stopping (or causing) The …| TV Tropes
Character AlignmentLawful Good | Neutral Good | Chaotic GoodLawful Neutral | True Neutral | Chaotic NeutralLawful Evil | Neutral Evil | Chaotic Evil The Dungeons & Dragons Character Alignment system originally defined characters' moral …| TV Tropes
One way of building background is to have the characters refer to things without explaining exactly what those things are. The slight confusion caused is balanced by the sense given of a larger world, outside the plot. If a story is extended to a …| TV Tropes
A Time Skip is similar to the Distant Finale, but rather than coming at the end of a series, occurs somewhere in the middle, usually between seasons or Story Arcs. A Time Skip can also happen when a series gets a sequel that picks up after the …| TV Tropes
A character prone to gnomic, sarcastic, sometimes bitter, occasionally whimsical asides. The Deadpan Snarker exists to deflate pomposity, point out the unlikelihood of certain plans, and deliver funny lines. Typically the most cynical supporting …| TV Tropes
Nearly every conflict in fiction is caused by the Big Bad, the character directly responsible for the plot and likely sending out various minions and lieutenants to make the hero's life busy. But what about a greater enemy who is indirectly …| TV Tropes
A word or phrase that appears throughout an Arc as a Motif. Arc Words can be a way to hint at the Aesop or one of the themes of a show, often in the form of a question the characters must find an answer to. Alternately, they can be used for …| TV Tropes
Think death is the cruelest fate? Think again. There are several things much worse: torture, taxes, and tofu, to name but a few. More often than not, some unfortunate soul will experience it. Originally, this phrase was used to mean the rape of …| TV Tropes
A thing that a character needs to obtain in order to cash it in later for a Plot resolution. For example, let's say that our intrepid hero must steal a key, then find the Treasure Chest of Galumphry that the key will open, then remove the Orb of …| TV Tropes
A statement regarding some ambiguous or undefined aspect of a work, the Word of God comes from someone considered to be the ultimate authority, such as the creator, director or producer. Such edicts can even go against events as were broadcast, …| TV Tropes
Sometimes you track down the monster and pull the rubber mask off to reveal the janitor. Sometimes you try that, and the monster gobbles you up. And sometimes you don't get either way. You are left with nothing except the tracks, the sightings, …| TV Tropes
Goblins in fiction are usually small, ugly creatures which tend to be evil, crabby, and/or mischievous. While they're smaller and weaker than orcs (when the word doesn't refer to the same creature) and trolls (most of the time), goblins may make …| TV Tropes
She's making her list, she's checking it twice, and she's checking off your name after she's killed you nice, probably for making it personal. And in the above example, she's even quoting her own movie poster blurb. But it's okay, you deserve it …| TV Tropes
A moment when a normally competent character suddenly becomes incompetent — knowingly or otherwise — which fuels an episode, a plot line, or any number of smaller threads. Coined by Hank Azaria on Herman's Head: Azaria would ask the …| TV Tropes
A cause of many or most of the bad happenings in a story, and often the main cause of most or all of them. A Big Bad could be a character with Evil Plans or it could be an omnipresent situation, such as a comet heading towards the Earth. In a …| TV Tropes
So you're The Hero on a dangerous quest, you gather The Team and rally that Ragtag Bunch of Misfits to your cause. Battles are fought, Character Development is had, Fire-Forged Friends are made, and hearty laughs are shared by all. Then, as you …| TV Tropes
A plot in which the character is caught in a time loop, doomed to repeat a period of time (often exactly one day) over and over, until something is corrected. Usually, only one character or group of characters realizes what's going on, or at …| TV Tropes
Any situation where the bad guy has been dealt a seemingly mortal blow which they could not possibly have survived, and it looks as though The Hero has won — but a couple of scenes later comes the twist: they're Not Quite Dead. On the …| TV Tropes
When listing three or more things, the comedy rule is to not finish strong, but to list some strong examples followed by a very weak example, for the funny. Sometimes this will stick to the Rule of Three, but sometimes a proper Long List will …| TV Tropes
Say you're watching your favorite action movie. Bob is in a car chase and the bad guys are right behind him. He sees a sharp turn up ahead next to a brick wall. Thinking ahead, Bob decides to drift at the last second so he can cause his pursuers …| TV Tropes
Any time the heroes/anti heroes get to save the day in a big, awesome manner. For instance, say that the poor Damsel in Distress is looking her fate dead in the face, and is seemingly resigned to it, because it seems that Nothing Can Save Us Now& …| TV Tropes
"MacGuffin" (a.k.a. McGuffin or maguffin) is a term for an object or element in a story that drives the plot, but serves no further purpose. It won't pop up again later, it won't explain the ending, and it won't do anything except possibly …| TV Tropes
As you know, we are Describing the trope As You Know here. This is a form of exposition where one character explains to another something that they both know, but which the audience doesn't or may have forgotten. In discussions of science fiction …| TV Tropes
A common tactic for fictional criminals (especially murderers) is to plant false clues at the scene of the crime, framing someone else or otherwise sending law enforcement on wild goose chases. Sometimes, however, they take things too far and the …| TV Tropes
A specific portable item which is Bigger on the Inside than it is on the outside. Much bigger. It may not look it, but that's because it contains Hammerspace. Because the holding capacity of the bag comes from internal Hammerspace, a thoroughly …| TV Tropes
A Time Machine is the main prerequisite for Time Travel and all the other fun that goes along with it. Time Machines in fiction can boil down to a few simple types. The type of machine can combine with any of the different ways of experiencing …| TV Tropes
You have to Be Careful What You Wish For, because oh boy are you gonna get it. More often than not, a wish-granting entity (genie, vengeance demon, holodeck, leprechaun, and so on) has some sort of contractual clause stating that they have to …| TV Tropes
Anton Chekhov, master of the short story, gave this advice: If it's not essential, don't include it in the story. The term has come to mean any object that later turns out to be important. For example, when a character finds a mysterious necklace …| TV Tropes
