Cerebus Syndrome: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"This is how it starts: first with the jokes, then comes the heavy stuff."''|'''Dr. Zoidberg''', ''[[Futurama]]''}}

A [[Tone Shift]] towards [[Dramedy]] over the course of a comedy series' run, named for the process undergone by the print comic ''[[Cerebus|Cerebus the Aardvark]]''. (It should not be confused with [[Issue Drift|the slide from drama to]] [[Author Tract]] which happened much later in the same comic's run, due to [[Creator Breakdown]].) It's any story/series which starts out light, episodic, and comedic, and then assumes dramatic elements and a more coherent [[Continuity Creep|continuity]]. It chiefly occurs in works where parts have been broadcast/published before other parts have been written, as that means the older parts can't be revised into conformity.

May be a case of [[Growing the Beard]] if it actually works. Either way, fans may not wait to declare it [[Ruined FOREVER]]. See also [[Cerebus Retcon]], [[Sudden Downer Ending]], and [[Knight of Cerebus]]. Inverse of [[Reverse Cerebus Syndrome]]; if both of them happens, it's [[Cerebus Rollercoaster]]. An instance of [[Mood Whiplash]]. When this entire process happens in a single moment, it's a [[Gut Punch]].

Compare to [[Shoo Out the Clowns]], where the [[Plucky Comic Relief]] are written out of the show (or possibly killed off) to show that things have become serious. When this happens to actors in [[Real Life]], it's known as [[Tom Hanks Syndrome]].

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== Anime and Manga ==

** The non-RPG games have an undead Bowser and Bowser's risky plot to expand his empire into outer space.

* ''[[Call of Duty]]: World at War'''s [[Nazi Zombies]] mode appears to be suffering from the syndrome.

** The second map, Verruckt, was more of the same, with Perk-a-cola machines and electro-shock defenses. And the EVIL teddy bear.

** But the third map, Shi no Numa, not only features four well-defined characters, but has lots and lots of easter eggs hinting to the origins of the zombies, and most of all, [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyM3lTBjmvQ&feature=related This.]

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Index Syndrome]]

[[Category:Series Tropes]]

[[Category:Tone Shift]]