Category:Characters As Device
"You mere device," he gnarled. "You platitude! You Golux ex machina!"
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In service to the plot, characters are given these roles, sometimes making them just plot devices with lines.
These "devices" can also be viewed as "component parts" from which more complex, realistic characters can be built, but television production usually means churning out episodes as quickly as possible to meet looming deadlines. Mediocre writers will merely take one of the following labels and slap a name on it. By contrast, better writers start with a character and slap two or more of the following labels on it.
Contrast Characterization Tropes, where the plot serves the establishment of the character.
Categories:
- Brain Chain
- Cast Filler Tropes
- Cops and Detectives
- Dead Herring
- Elders
- Fantastic Sapient Species Tropes
- Gender Dynamics Index
- Indexed and Nerdy
- Occupation Tropes
- Organization Index
- The Parent Trope
- A Pretty Boy Index
- Queer As Tropes
- Race Tropes
- Scrappy Index
- This Index Is Expendable
- Youngsters
Subcategories
This category has the following 18 subcategories, out of 18 total.
C
- Cops and Detectives (74 P)
E
- Elders (68 P, 1 F)
F
I
- Indexed and Nerdy (42 P)
L
- Legacy Tropes (11 P)
M
- Messenger Tropes (8 P)
O
P
- Parental Issues (101 P)
- A Pretty Boy Index (11 P, 1 F)
- Professional Cheesecake (10 P)
Q
R
S
- Scrappy Index (46 P)
T
- This Index Is Expendable (21 P)
Y
Pages in category "Characters As Device"
The following 200 pages are in this category, out of 954 total.
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- Disaster Scavengers
- Disposable Fiancé
- Disposable Vagrant
- Disposable Woman
- The Ditherer
- The Ditz
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!
- Doomed Appointment
- Doomed Defeatist
- Doomed Protagonist
- Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest
- Dr. Feelgood
- Dragon Rider
- Dreadful Musician
- The Driver
- Drop-In Character
- Dumb Muscle
- Dumbass DJ
- The Dutiful Son
E
- Eccentric Exterminator
- Da Editor
- Egocentrically Religious
- Elderly Sensei
- Elvis Impersonator
- Emergency Services Regular
- Empathic Healer
- Emperor Scientist
- Empty Shell
- Engineer Exploited For Evil
- The Engineer
- Enigmatic Empowering Entity
- Escape Artist
- Eternal Employee
- Ethnic Magician
- Ethnic Scrappy
- Etiquette Nazi
- The Everyman
- Evil Cripple
- Evil Jesuit
- Evil Minions
- Evil Orphan
- Excited Kids' Show Host
- Exclusively Evil
- Extreme Doormat
- The Extremist Was Right
- Extroverted Nerd
F
- The Faceless
- Fag Hag
- Fainting Seer
- Fairy Companion
- Fairy Godmother
- Fantasy Character Classes
- Fantasy-Forbidding Father
- Farmer's Daughter
- Fat Bastard
- Fat Best Friend
- A Father to His Men
- Faust
- Feral Child
- The Ferry Man
- The Fettered
- Fiery Redhead
- Fighting For a Homeland
- Fighting Irish
- The Fighting Narcissist
- Fixer Sue
- Flying Dutchman
- Focal Character
- Foreign Correspondent
- Forgetful Jones
- Former Child Star
- Fortune Teller
- Founder of the Kingdom
- Four-Star Badass
- Fourth Wall Observer
- Fox News Liberal
- Fragile Flower
- Friend in the Black Market
- Friend on the Force
- Friendly Enemy
- Friendly Rivalry
- Fully-Embraced Fiend
- Funny Foreigner
- Future Loser
G
- The Gadfly
- Gambling Addict
- Gayngster
- Gender Dynamics Index
- Genie in a Bottle
- Genius Bruiser
- Genius Cripple
- Genius Loci
- Gentle Giant
- Gentleman Adventurer
- Gentleman and a Scholar
- Gentleman Thief
- Ghost Extras
- The Ghost
- The Gift
- Giftedly Bad
- Girl Friday
- Girl of the Week
- Girl Posse
- Glorious Leader
- Glurge Addict
- God in Human Form
- God of Evil
- God of Good
- God Save Us From the Queen
- God-Emperor
- Good Samaritan
- Good with Numbers
- Gossipy Hens
- Grande Dame
- Grandparental Obliviousness
- Granola Girl
- Grease Monkey
- Greek Chorus
- Groupie Brigade
- Grumpy Bear
- Grumpy Old Man
- Guardian Entity
- Guardian of the Multiverse
- Gullible Lemmings
H
- Hair-Trigger Temper
- Hanging Judge
- Haunted House Historian
- He Who Fights Monsters
- He Who Must Not Be Heard
- He Who Must Not Be Seen
- Head-in-The-Sand Management
- The Heart
- Heartwarming Orphan
- Hello, Nurse!
- Herald
- Hermit Guru
- Hero of Another Story
- Hero Secret Service
- Hero Worshipper
- Heroic Bastard
- Heroic Bystander
- Heroic Neutral
- Heroic Wannabe
- Hidden Depths
- High School Hustler
- High School Rejects
- Hobbits
- Holier Than Thou
- Homeless Pigeon Person
- Hometown Hero
- Honey Trap
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold
- The Hopeless Replacement
- Horny Scientist
- Hot as Hell
- Hot Librarian
- Hot Scientist
- Hot Teacher
- Housewife
- Human Pack Mule
- The Hunter
- The Hyena
- Hyper Awareness
- Hypercompetent Sidekick
- Hypocrite
I
- I Just Want to Be Badass
- I Just Want to Be Beautiful
- I Just Want to Be Normal
- I Just Want to Be Special
- I Just Want to Be You
- I Just Want to Have Friends
- Identity Amnesia
- Idiot Houdini
- Idiot of the Week
- Ignorant of the Call
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance
- Ignored Expert
- The Igor
- The Illegal
- The Immune
- The Imp
- Impeded Messenger
- Impoverished Patrician
- In Harm's Way
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness
- Indian Maiden
- Inept Mage
- Inexplicably Awesome
- Inexplicably Identical Individuals
- The Informant
- Informed Loner
- The Ingenue
- Inhuman Resources
- Innocent Bystander
- Innocent Fanservice Girl
- Innocent Flower Girl
- The Inquisitor General
- The Insomniac
- Inspector Javert
- Inspector Lestrade