The long-running franchise in which the sipmac team rescues from oblivion a nixed Wikipedia contribution is back! Frankly, I don't understand how we are supposed to have a grasp of the posmodern civilisation without a List of Clichés, the raw material of most of our entertainement nowadays. Without further ado:List of Clichés
TV clichés
Medical Dramas
• Symptoms which are assumed early on to be a result of a common illness, but turn out to be a sign of a rare, very serious condition.("It's not the flu, it's cholera!"
• The main character portrayed as a medical genius who diagnoses and treats patients with unusual or rare illnesses after the rest of the medical staff has proven unable to figure out the problem
• The boss or mentor character who has a harsh, "tough love" approach to the job, a difficult love life, and a controversial way of doing things.
• The religious family or church group who refuse to allow a member (usually a child) treatment on the grounds that it would contravene the articles of their faith.
Reality TV Shows
See reality television.
• An establishing shot using a pan that moves slowly, then speeds up, then moves slowly again
• A shot of the moon that quickly zooms out
• Stereotypical contestants such as the gay one, the bigot, or the flirt
• Celebrity contestants who are most often past their prime or have only just become famous
• A "good cop/bad cop" pair on the judges panel of a talent-based reality show
• A Celebrity version or an All-Star show introduced after several regular seasons (Celebrity Big Brother UK; I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!)
• The shock eviction of a supposedly popular contestant by public vote or otherwise
• Edited-in pauses during the "voting out" sequence
Soap Operas
• Characters who experience tragedy and constantly changing relationships with no long-term effects
• The long-lost sibling (often a twin), who often turns out to be a villain or a fraud
• Affairs which result in a pregnancy of questionable paternity.
• The town villain, whose sole desire is to gain control of all the other citizens.
• Weddings, holiday parties, and other special occasions which end with the revelation of a scandal
• Characters have a tendency to say, out-loud, their dark secret, which is often heard by the person it would affect most.
• Most characters are oblivious to others problems.
Sitcoms
• Nuclear families headed by parents whose relationship dates back to college or even high school.
• The stay-at-home mother whose presence in the house is underappreciated but proves to be crucial to the survival of the family
• A situation where a main character has to choose between a popular clique/fraternity or his own friends.
• The middle-class working father, often absentminded or negligent at home
• The "cute kid," usually the youngest in the family, who rarely figures prominently in the plot but provides comic relief
• The fun aunt or uncle, often single or divorced, who seem like fun but are often irresponsible (Family Matters)
• A house in which the interior layout should be impossible given the architecture of the house as seen from the outside.
• A couch situated in the center of the room, allowing other characters to walk behind them (in real life, most couches in a standard living room would be back against the wall).
• Impossibly large and roomy urban apartments.
• No one ever sits with their back to the camera at the dinner table, even though it cramps everyone. If someone walks in, they will pull up a chair and force diners to move aside, rather than sit at the empty end.
• The hip, fiesty grandmother (Family Matters, Who's the Boss?)
• Any story focusing on underage drinking will involve someone going way overboard and a have a bad accident, often while driving home.
• An antagonistic relationship between the father and his mother-in-law (The Flinstones)
• Off-stage characters who are referred to in dialogue as having exaggerated physical features (Maris Crane in Frasier, Al's Mother in Home Improvement)
• Roommates that are complete opposites, such as a slob and a neat person, or a nerd and a womanizer.
• If a character is close to giving birth, such birth will probably occur in an inconvenient place (such as an elevator or the back seat of a car) and the delivery will have to be performed/assisted by the regular character who would be the most uncomfortable with such a scenario. Such births also happen in dramas, typically with similar comedic effect (like Worf delivering Keiko's child on Star Trek: The Next Generation.)
• Once the youngest child outgrows being "cute," a situation will be contrived to introduce a new young cast member.
• Supporting characters never need to knock; they simply walk into the main family's house. They rarely close the door behind them (although the door may miraculously close itself once out of camera-shot).
• A young supporting character will often look to the heads of the main family for support rather than his or her own parents.
• There will be at least one very special episode in which the show tackles drugs, sex, cheating, etc.
• Elementary school plays with Broadway production values, including elaborate costuming.
• When something shocking happens a character will say "I can't believe it". Then another character, usually a less educated one, will say "I know" and preceed to say something that isn't related towards the shock.
But wait, there's more!
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I hate these days. People are telling you to STFU. Just say it, no matter how stupid or offensive it is.