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SpoilerTV - TV Spoilers

USD POLL : What is the worse overused plot device on a TV show?

17 Sept 2013

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Today's User Submitted Daily (USD) Poll was submitted by astar who was picked randomly from our Poll Submissions (see below).

Let us know in the comments what you voted for and why?

Want to see your Poll posted on the site? Click the Blue Button below

You can see all the previous User Submitted Polls here.

You can vote for 2 Options.


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39 comments:

  1. McSwarek17 September 2013 at 11:10

    Temporary love interest cheating on the main hero/heroine as a quick means to end the relationship

    ReplyDelete
  2. Coastal517 September 2013 at 11:16

    I like me some love triangles - I dig the angst. I voted for character development that later didn't happen. I hate that above all. Then I voted for villains turned good - boring.

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  3. Kami17 September 2013 at 11:18

    love triangle and forgetting about character development - and connected with this one: using established character as a plot device even if it doesn't make any sense that they would or wouldn't do sth

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  4. Bazooka17 September 2013 at 11:37

    Can someone tweet this to Julie Plec?

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  5. melbye17 September 2013 at 11:40

    Hooking up characters and then that becomes the show's focus, shippers are the main culprit here. Also killing for the sake of killing.

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  6. Lou17 September 2013 at 11:44

    Oh so many love triangles and on/off romance annoys the hell out of me. I don't mind killing characters off if it feels earned and they stay that away. One of my biggest issues and reason why I stopped watching SPN was how it kept killing off all the interesting secondary characters which was bad enough then bringing them back again and losing the impact it should have.


    Character death should have meaning and a lasting impact, so whilst Breaking Bad is so heartbreaking to watch right now seeing characters die on that show it isn't just because the writers want to do a shocking cliffhanger or increase ratings it is because the full consequences of Walter's actions have lead everyone into this dangerous path.

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  7. Coastal517 September 2013 at 11:52

    Ah ha ha, you think Peck?

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  8. Mukul Kandara17 September 2013 at 11:58

    Creating character development and ignoring it later on as if it didn't happen a.k.a. Chuck Cunningham Syndrome.

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  9. calamitydjane17 September 2013 at 12:00

    LOL

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  10. lostrocks4ever17 September 2013 at 12:04

    Easy. I hate plot devices to do with romance, because, to be brutally honest, I couldn't care less about relationships in shows. That is, relationships that are abused for plots. And I can't stand love triangle, I've never found a storyline improved by a love triangle. *rant over*

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  11. ThatRyanEllis17 September 2013 at 12:28

    Juliet/Jack/Kate/Sawyer. The Love Quadrilateral.

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  12. Matthew17 September 2013 at 12:29

    Killing off a character when the writers no longer know where to put them.

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  13. tvmonkey17 September 2013 at 12:32

    All of the above

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  14. Kami17 September 2013 at 12:38

    Yeah, I've forgotten about that. I hate when they're doing it

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  15. Ellison Gray17 September 2013 at 12:43

    This has TVD written all over it LOL

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  16. vargesz17 September 2013 at 12:53

    The "creating character development and ignoring it later on as if it didn't happen" one is probably the worse but I really, really hate "love triangle dramas". I kind of surprised to see that amnesia didn't make the list though as much as sometimes it annoys me it's still one of my favorite things, if done right.

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  17. CP17 September 2013 at 12:57

    Can I say "All of the above"? lol


    I voted love triangle.

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  18. N2717 September 2013 at 13:36

    Out of the up above I went with Love triangle and villain turned good. But how about torture. Torture is even in The vampire diaries.

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  19. Justyna Kubica17 September 2013 at 13:37

    I'm going with first and the last option. Those two probably annoy me the most.

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  20. Babar Suhail17 September 2013 at 13:47

    Done.

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  21. TechDevil17 September 2013 at 14:16

    Such a difficult pick. I'm gonna go with "killing and resurrection characters too much" simply because these days, I truly never believe a character is dead until the final episode has aired. Dead on TV could just as well mean back next season these days. I also picked "on/off again couples" simply because way too many couples on TV break up and get back together. In my opinion, when you are in a relationship with someone, you are in a relationship with them for real. If it breaks, then it obviously did not work. Trying again after that = silly. But others will have different objections on that.

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  22. Pablo Troncoso17 September 2013 at 14:43

    On/off couples: it gets old really quickly

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  23. João Costa17 September 2013 at 15:09

    Having the main character father/mother revealed as the villain.

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  24. Bradley Adams17 September 2013 at 16:05

    Love interest where the interest appears once a season (see Gabby in Hawaii Five-0). I mean what is the point? If you're gonna have a love interest at least have them appear at least occasionally.
    Good characters turned bad. Especially when the character was the best one on the show when they were good (e.g. Tony Almeida)
    Characters that are so stupid that a rabbit could replace them and do a better job. Can the writers not write a decent character?

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  25. Jorge Castro Salinas17 September 2013 at 18:36

    Creating character development and ignoring it later, such as what happened in Southland

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  26. Paula Ireri17 September 2013 at 19:48

    Love triangles and on/off couples are the worst thing ever, but I would also add the 'little male/female member of the main group who always need protrection and to be saved like if they were victims every episode'. Like Henry in OUAT or Claire/baby in LOST (don't get me wrong, I like them but it's annoying to see them as victims in almost every episode).

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  27. NiceGuyVan17 September 2013 at 19:53

    love triangles.... i still watch some shows that have it but just don't get attached to the characters involved in it. be it a double standard I don't care but as a guy I can't stand 2 guys 1 girl, where as sometime can tolerate 2 girls 1 guy tho this is kinda rare these days i think?. but mostuly i wish they just aren't there its to much bs drama.

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  28. phnxgrl17 September 2013 at 20:41

    Actually the Cliffhanger is the most over used plot device!

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  29. Maria17 September 2013 at 22:27

    creating character development and ignoring it later on as if it didn't happen: stuart in The big bang theory
    on/off again couples: rachel and finn in glee
    love triangle drama: Elena-Stefan-Damon in The Vampire Diaries
    constantly killing off characters that isn't needed: Charlie, etc. in Lost
    killing and resurrecting characters too much: dean and sam supernatural (dont get me wrong, if they are defenitely kill I'm done with the show).
    using characters more over others: Declan in Revenge. (i wish i could see more of him)
    villain turned good: spike in buffy
    good character turned villain: willow in buffy

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  30. Back In Black Tricksteress 9518 September 2013 at 03:17

    Before I even clicked onto this poll crappy romance was my first thought, therefore love traingles. Automatically when there's an attractive person there seems to be a love triangle. I don't even know you could call it love triangle!.

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  31. prpleight18 September 2013 at 07:51

    Not all of these are technically plot devices. Lazy writing yes, plot devices not really. I need to use the "other" box. Sexual tension between co-workers. Amnesia. Killing someone off but not finding a body...because they're coming back.

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  32. Matthew18 September 2013 at 09:21

    Yes, that's another thing that I hate. Making them do things they don't usually do and are totally OOC and just kill them off while they're at it.

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  33. Alex Forrest18 September 2013 at 12:54

    I can't choose because nearly all of these cliches annoy the crap out of me. I will say that I think The Vampire Diaries is a textbook example of how to get a ton of mileage out of every single item on the list.

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  34. Alex Forrest18 September 2013 at 12:55

    Word, word, a thousand times word. It feels like all of these plot devices are put into an assembly line that proceeds to churn out TVD scripts.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Alex Forrest18 September 2013 at 13:02

    I'd like to add:
    Characters being complete morons and/or forgetting things that happened 5 seconds ago for the sake of plot.
    The Woobie Bad Boy, a.k.a. a hot guy (usually with a six-pack) who repeatedly belittles, manhandles, abuses, rapes, or even murders women (and sometimes men), but is instantly forgiven for every single act by the female young adult audience because A) "He's sooooooooo hot!" B) "OMG, I love the angst, he's totally sorry for everything he did!". He will forever be shipped with the main heroine - who, meanwhile, will be called a bitch who doesn't deserve him every time she isn't nice to him - including if the people he raped and/or abused and/or killed happen to be her family, friends, or even she herself.

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  36. Casey Young18 September 2013 at 21:25

    OMG, you read my mind! XD

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  37. Michael Pantoustier19 September 2013 at 21:49

    Villain turned good

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  38. Dahne20 September 2013 at 07:34

    Love triangles and all other love shapes by far. Nothing good comes from them and all the characters end up annoying. A love triangle is the best way to get me to STOP watching a show. Other then that "will they / won't they" is the only thing that comes close. Generally by the time it is resolved I'm already 2 seasons into "who cares." As far as genre TV goes, I would say the constant resurrection of characters (Supernatural I am looking directly at you) has gone beyond tiresome into irksome. No death ever has resonance because you are so busy trying to figure out how and when the character is going to come back. Bringing Bobby and Abaddon back is another example of lazy writing on SPN.

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  39. Oceanic10810 October 2013 at 06:34

    Examples?

    ReplyDelete

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