Stupid TV/Movie Character Tricks

[Trekker4747]

There's plenty of things movie and TV chracters do that's just dumb.

Really, really dumb. And many of these things are common cliches in movies and TV.

For example. Our "hero" character walks in on a murder scene. The criminals have fled, leaving behind the body and murder weapon.

Now, any normal, sane, rational, thinking person wouldn't touch a dammed thing and leave. But if you're a movie/TV character you walk up to the murder weapon and PICK IT UP (Often this is when the authorities will arrive) and sure enough becaue the hero was "caught in the act" and holding the murder weapon he gets accused with the crime.

Anything else along these line?

Any other common dumb things characters do in TV and movies?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Might as well get an obvious one out of the way: Villains who set a bomb with a big red countdown timer to tell the hero how long he has till it goes off.

 

[Hermiod]

Using rope instead of heavy metal restraints and especially tying people to moveable, destructable objects like chairs.

 

[JoeZhang]

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uw6OwJQDCoM



(yes I'm aware of the background but most of the people who would have saw that would not be).

 

[Gaius Baltar]

last episode of heroes season 2

Spoiler: heroes spoiler

when adam and peter are trying to enter the vault to destroy the virus why doesn’t peter use his powers so that him and adam can simply walk through the vault door like how they escaped from the company jail cell in previous episodes but know instead peter spends a large part of the episode trying to rip with vault door open with telekinesis while adam stands by silently

 

[auntiehill]

The one that always irritates me is the one that Roger Ebert used to gripe about for years---THE TALKING KILLER. I mean, Jesus---in the real world, you'd just shoot the person you wanted to kill, but in the movies? Hell no. The villain gets the hero in his sights and rather than simply shoot the guy dead, he decides, "Hmm. Let me stand here, pointing my gun at him, and take 20 minutes to discuss all the details of my nefarious plan, so that the loyal sidekick has time to come around from behind and disarm me."

I liked how Austin Powers made fun of this. The son is yelling, "Just shooot him!" while Dr. Evil is describing the shark tank he plans to put Austin in.

 

[John Picard]

Using rope instead of heavy metal restraints and especially tying people to moveable, destructable objects like chairs.

I bet I could tie you with rope to a chair and you'd not be able to escape.

Let me add to that the nefarious car chase scene:

Two vehicles screaming down a road/highway and one is shooting at the other. Rather than slamming on the brakes and executing a maneuver, the vehicle being pursued attempts to outrun the other.

 

[Hermiod]

Using rope instead of heavy metal restraints and especially tying people to moveable, destructable objects like chairs.

I bet I could tie you with rope to a chair and you'd not be able to escape.

Not if I was a character in a TV show you couldn't. It never works!

 

[backstept]

"I need to speak with you in private." *takes 2 steps away and starts talking while obviously still within earshot of the other people in the room who magically can't hear what we're talking about*

 

[John Picard]

Using rope instead of heavy metal restraints and especially tying people to moveable, destructable objects like chairs.

I bet I could tie you with rope to a chair and you'd not be able to escape.

Not if I was a character in a TV show you couldn't. It never works!

Damn you!

 

[Kegek]

Well, there's always stitled, cliched dialogue. I caught the end of a rather dull sci-fi film the other day (Descent I believe it was called, had Michael Dorn as a cigar-chomping villain from what I deduced). Near the conclusion, the generic fellow who I assume was the hero turned to the girl and said 'All I need...'

'...is right here', he and I completed in perfect unison. If I can quote lines from a movie I haven't seen, there's a problem. I find I can do that a lot. A film doesn't have to be astonishingly original, but it shouldn't feel like a cut'n'paste job either.

And yeah, I'm with auntiehill. The talking killer and, in general, lengthy discussions during action sequences (apparently, while in a firefight is a great time to discuss the philosophical differences between yourself and the villain, and maybe one of you can indulge in a little exposition while you're at it) are a great way to deflate the drama, or enter the terrain of melodrama.

 

[The_Book_Of_G'Kar]

I wouldn't think putting a big red timer on a bomb would be too dumb, since the villain would need to know how much time they have to put a large distance between themselves and their hopefully ensuing explosion. But then again, you would think they would somehow have the means to have a detachable timer or something!

 

[Vendikarr]

last episode of heroes season 2

Spoiler: heroes spoiler

when adam and peter are trying to enter the vault to destroy the virus why doesn’t peter use his powers so that him and adam can simply walk through the vault door like how they escaped from the company jail cell in previous episodes but know instead peter spends a large part of the episode trying to rip with vault door open with telekinesis while adam stands by silently

Spoiler: Heroes spoiler

That's the stupid hero syndrome. They made Peter so powerful they had to dumb him up to counter his power. Why Adam didn't suggest it, I have no idea.

 

[Hermiod]

Not if I was a character in a TV show you couldn't. It never works!

Damn you!

Well, not unless you're the guy from Enterprise's "Shadows of P'Jem". Or failing that, Chanta Rose.

 

[Aragorn]

Bad guys never need to see a body to confirm that the hero is dead. And when the hero has been captured, the main bad guy won't stick around to see his demise and will be shocked when the hero returns later on to thwart the evil plan!

On soap operas, characters can never believe someone is back from the dead despite how many times they've seen it happen to other characters. Or they're surprised that the bad guy who's been a thorn in their side for years and responsible for numerous evil deeds is responsible for the current evil plot.

 

[Timby]

Bad guys never need to see a body to confirm that the hero is dead.

To be fair, this does happen in Scream 3.

 

[Gary Mitchell]

I noticed a cliché today while watching "Just Shoot Me". A character sits down alone on a sofa. The camera pans over to the second character who is talking. After a little while, the camera pans to first character who is now asleep on the sofa. Second character comes over to the sofa to cover the first character with a blanket.

 

[archeryguy1701]

Any horror movie. Peopla are dying, things are going wrong, it's just a general bad day for the characters, you don't go opening doors where mysterious noises are coming from. Or you don't say, "Jimmy? Is that you?" Because whoever comes bursting out the door is never Jimmy.

 

[Trekker4747]

Any horror movie. Peopla are dying, things are going wrong, it's just a general bad day for the characters, you don't go opening doors where mysterious noises are coming from. Or you don't say, "Jimmy? Is that you?" Because whoever comes bursting out the door is never Jimmy.

Or sometimes... it IS Jimmy!!!!

 

[JoeZhang]

Any horror movie. Peopla are dying, things are going wrong, it's just a general bad day for the characters, you don't go opening doors where mysterious noises are coming from. Or you don't say, "Jimmy? Is that you?" Because whoever comes bursting out the door is never Jimmy.

Oh my god, we are trapped with a murderer - let's spilt up!