Doctor Who

Quote of the Week

Well, she did kill me but she used her remaining lives to bring me back.  As first dates go, I’d say that’s mixed signals.

The Doctor (Matt Smith)

Doctor Who (2011)

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Chick 1 in Movie Quotes 379 Comments

Troperiffic Tuesday!: One Steve Limit

Chick 1 says:

This week’s trope is once again an example of how the world of fiction often doesn’t (and possibly shouldn’t) mirror the real world.  Ever notice how in most books, TV shows, and movies no one has the same name?  But in the real world people share first, last, or both names all the time.  There is a very important reason that it doesn’t happen often in fiction; it’s confusing.

When you are creating a story and the universe in which your characters will live, everything is completely new to your audience, even if the plot takes place in modern day America.  And there are a lot of details to keep track of.  Having two characters with the same name or even similar sounding names, even if it is more realistic, will just muddy the waters. (Anyone else wonder in Lord of the Rings if they were talking about Sauron or Saruman?)  Thus almost all fictional works have a One Steve Limit. Read more

Posted on October 2, 2012 by Chick 1 in Tropes 205 Comments

Troperiffic Tuesday!: Stuff Blowing Up

Chick 1 says:

In continuing to explore my friend’s own personal genre of Men of Honor Blowing Stuff Up, this week we look at … Stuff Blowing Up.  Explosions are such a staple of movies that they are basically a subgenre of tropes.  And the reason for their rampant use isn’t nearly so deep or complicated; explosions are cool and people, especially men, like them.  They’re an awesome way to anchor an action set piece and they look great visually.  Should you put explosions in your movie?  Unless you’re working on a Jane Austen adaptation the answer is yes!  And even then you should at least consider it.  (I think I just invented my own genre.) Read more

Posted on August 28, 2012 by Chick 1 in Tropes 7,368 Comments

Quote of the Week

I’m the Doctor.  I’m worse than everybody’s aunt.

The Doctor (Matt Smith)

Doctor Who (2010)

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Chick 1 in Movie Quotes Leave a comment

Troperiffic Tuesday!: MST3K Mantra

Chick 1 says:

It’s time to give you a little help with all these tropes I’ve been dishing out so this week we will discuss How To Deal With Tropes.  Because, let’s face it, learning about tropes can really screw with your ability to enjoy a movie or tv show.  You start realizing that almost everything is a trope and suddenly everything seems cliched and you can tell the entire plot of a movie from the trailer.

It’s OK.  You can move past this.  And the MST3K Mantra can help.  Read more

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Chick 1 in Tropes 150 Comments

I Can’t Wait!: Random News from the World of Geeks

Chick 1 says:

The Hobbit: In case you haven’t heard, after much speculation Peter Jackson confirmed that The Hobbit will be expanded into three movies instead of the originally planned two.  Despite my love and trust for Jackson and the whole Lord of the Rings team, my response to this announcement is a big weary sigh.

I know they had lots of extra footage from Lord of the Rings, thus the 3 hour theatrical releases and the 4 hour extended cuts (which I consider the True Movies) but the Lord of the Rings books were more than 3 times longer than The Hobbit.  Once again they have lots of extra footage, as well as details they want to pull from the Appendices; Tolkien wrote volumes of notes about Middle Earth outside of his novels.  Although I remain skeptical, I already know that Jackson, et al will be getting a lot of my money over the next couple of years.  They probably just tripled the amount.

Doctor Who: Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!! Read more

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Chick 1 in I Can't Wait! 9 Comments

Troperiffic Tuesday!: Big Damn Heroes

Chick 1 says:

It’s the moment we go to the movies to see; the Damsel in Distress, or the Mentor, or the Innocent Bystander is about to be killed by the Big Bad, but at the very last second the lead bursts in and saves the day, making him the Big Damn Hero!

The entrance of the Big Damn Heroes is one of the most popular tropes in movies today, especially big blockbuster popcorn movies.  It creates a huge rush of adrenaline and rightly so.  As conflict is the heart of all drama, waiting until the last minute to rescue the victim makes maximum use of this tension.  And it’s usually accompanied by a swell in the music. Read more

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Chick 1 in Tropes 4,756 Comments

Troperiffic Tuesday!: CPR (Clean, Pretty, Reliable)

Chick 1 says:

Whether you live or die in a movie or TV show depends on how secure your contract is.  But if you’ve been signed on for the sequel or the next season, then any medical emergency can easily, though dramatically, be solved through CPR!

In the real world, CPR stands for Cardiopulminary Resuscitation.  But in trope world it stands for Clean, Pretty, and Reliable.  What’s the difference?  In real life, CPR is an emergency procedure used to buy time for a victim until more advanced treatment can be given.  If someone’s heart and/or breathing stop then brain damage and tissue death can set in fairly quickly.  CPR gets the blood and oxygen flowing in an attempt to delay the damage until the patient can be revived.  But CPR alone usually does not revive the patient.  But not so in Hollywood! Read more

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Chick 1 in Tropes 75 Comments

Troperiffic Tuesday!: Deconstruction

Chick 1 says:

I have a friend who is an engineer.  When he was a child, he took apart a telephone just to see how it worked.  That is a great example of what the Deconstruction trope is all about.  We take apart a trope, a character, a genre, or even a series to see what makes it tick.  Or what would happen if we did…this?  

Deconstruction is an idea that is used in many disciplines besides storytelling but the goal is the same; to gain a better understanding of something by disassembling it. One of the most popular types of narrative Deconstruction is to ask what would happen to this trope, character or plot device if the rules of Real Life applied to it.  As Deconstruction often, not always, comes across as darker it can sometimes be interpreted as an attack on whatever is being deconstructed.   But it can give us a better understanding of how things work and an even bigger appreciation for tropes, characters, and stories we already love.  Read more

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Chick 1 in Tropes 108 Comments

Troperiffic Tuesday: Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking

Chick 1 says:

This week on Troperiffic Tuesday, we take a look at a very old trope, used as a comic element long before our modern obsession with tropes.  So what’s so funny about Arson, Murder, … and Jaywalking?

There is a certain structure and rhythm to comedy.  I am not remotely educated in the craft of comedy which you will discover as you read the rest of this sketchily researched article but I will attempt to give some foundation here.  There are as many different structures for jokes as there are genres and it’s not just for sitcoms and stand up comedians.  Action movies and dramas need humor too in order to release the tension. Read more

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Chick 1 in Tropes 197 Comments
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