Sadist Show: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
{{trope}}
[[File:sadist_7860.jpg|link=Garfield (Comic Strip)|frame|Life is funny...if you enjoy pain.]]
[[File:sadist 7860.jpg|link=Garfield (Comic Strip)|frame|Life is funny...if you enjoy pain.]]




{{quote|''"What I see here is a dozen people, all trying to make each other miserable. You disgust me, but it's also faintly amusing. Carry on."''|'''Quote from an attorney in a Dutch court (translated)'''}}
{{quote|''"What I see here is a dozen people, all trying to make each other miserable. You disgust me, but it's also faintly amusing. Carry on."''|'''Quote from an attorney in a Dutch court (translated)'''}}


There's a German word, ''[[Schadenfreude]].'' It means "the joy you get at seeing other people's misfortune" (Schaden = "damage", Freude = "joy"). The [[Sadist Show]] is built on it. In this kind of show, there are no sympathetic characters whatsoever, and nobody will ever [[Pet the Dog]]. Everybody is both obnoxious and incompetent, beyond even the [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]] -- the audience can't really root for them. The fun is in seeing the characters [[Deus Angst Machina|suffer more than they deserve]], more than Job, [[The Chew Toy|more than possibly everybody in the history of the human race combined]]. In short, it's a comedy, but not in the Shakespearean sense.
There's a German word, ''[[Schadenfreude]].'' It means "the joy you get at seeing other people's misfortune" (Schaden = "damage", Freude = "joy"). The '''Sadist Show''' is built on it. In this kind of show, there are no sympathetic characters whatsoever, and nobody will ever [[Pet the Dog]]. Everybody is both obnoxious and incompetent, beyond even the [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]]—the audience can't really root for them. The fun is in seeing the characters [[Deus Angst Machina|suffer more than they deserve]], more than Job, [[The Chew Toy|more than possibly everybody in the history of the human race combined]]. In short, it's a comedy, but not in the Shakespearean sense.


And not just any old misfortune, like getting an [[Anvil on Head]]. The agony in a [[Sadist Show]] is a very sharp kind, the one that reminds you how totally unfair life is. It isn't a [[Sadist Show]] unless the characters suffer the very opposite of poetic justice. For instance, if our [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]] has been mugged, that's not enough. If the poor dope runs to report the mugging, and is arrested for jaywalking, and has to sit in jail while the mugger walks past their cell every day, that's the [[Sadist Show]].
And not just any old misfortune, like getting an [[Anvil on Head]]. The agony in a '''Sadist Show''' is a very sharp kind, the one that reminds you how totally unfair life is. It isn't a '''Sadist Show''' unless the characters suffer the very opposite of poetic justice. For instance, if our [[Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist]] has been mugged, that's not enough. If the poor dope runs to report the mugging, and is arrested for jaywalking, and has to sit in jail while the mugger walks past their cell every day, that's the '''Sadist Show'''.


Sometimes, there will be a character who the audience kind of sort of roots for, but not really. One form is the [["No Respect" Guy]] (like Frylock from ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'') who tries to act decent but fails. However, the audience doesn't exactly root for them, because they're so ineffective, and they're usually a bit of a stick in the mud too. Another form is a [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath|Heroic Sociopath]], who is as vile as the rest of the cast, but is at least competent (like Brock Sampson from ''[[The Venture Brothers]]''). But they're too evil to really cheer for, and how sympathetic can they be if they're stuck with the rest of these losers? ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'', with its emphasis on failure, reminds us that Brock may be competent, but he's in a pointless dead-end gig, and one that he is so over-qualified for that it's humiliating.
Sometimes, there will be a character who the audience kind of sort of roots for, but not really. One form is the [["No Respect" Guy]] (like Frylock from ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'') who tries to act decent but fails. However, the audience doesn't exactly root for them, because they're so ineffective, and they're usually a bit of a stick in the mud too. Another form is a [[Heroic Comedic Sociopath|Heroic Sociopath]], who is as vile as the rest of the cast, but is at least competent (like Brock Sampson from ''[[The Venture Brothers]]''). But they're too evil to really cheer for, and how sympathetic can they be if they're stuck with the rest of these losers? ''[[The Venture Brothers]]'', with its emphasis on failure, reminds us that Brock may be competent, but he's in a pointless dead-end gig, and one that he is so over-qualified for that it's humiliating.
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* The comics in ''Mad Magazine'' featuring Monroe, a whiny, ugly teenage loser. His stories often end with something nasty and painful being done to him.
* The comics in ''Mad Magazine'' featuring Monroe, a whiny, ugly teenage loser. His stories often end with something nasty and painful being done to him.
* Also Mad's ''Spy vs. Spy'' by Prohias. Unlike in the golden age cartoons such as [[Tom and Jerry]], one of the two spies always died a horrible death.
* Also Mad's ''Spy vs. Spy'' by Prohias. Unlike in the golden age cartoons such as [[Tom and Jerry]], one of the two spies always died a horrible death.
* ''[[Ziggy]]'', the titular character is always getting the short end of the stick, and the other human characters he comes across are sarcastic and indifferent towards him at best, and cruel to him at worst. No wonder he only has animals as friends-- but then again his pet parrot Josh isn't all that nice to him either.
* ''[[Ziggy]]'', the titular character is always getting the short end of the stick, and the other human characters he comes across are sarcastic and indifferent towards him at best, and cruel to him at worst. No wonder he only has animals as friends—but then again his pet parrot Josh isn't all that nice to him either.
* ''[[Funky Winkerbean]]'' started as a standard humor comic strip, and eventually morphed into a treatise on existential despair and the futility of life.
* ''[[Funky Winkerbean]]'' started as a standard humor comic strip, and eventually morphed into a treatise on existential despair and the futility of life.
* [[Spider-Man]] can tend this way, [[Depending on the Writer]]. At the best of times, writers make sure to show how his superheroic life makes his mundane life more difficult. At the nasty end of the scale, he can't keep a girlfriend ([[One More Day|or wife]]), job, or residence; he's roundly hated and on the run from both the police, the mob, and a veritable army of [[Super Villain|Super Villains]]; all of his friends are dead, insane, on drugs, insane AND on drugs, or refuse to take his phone calls because he's so unreliable; and he intermittently suffers injuries, power fluctuations, web-fluid shortages, and costume damage. {{spoiler|[[Ultimate Spider-Man|And at one point, his heroism winds up killing him!]]}}
* [[Spider-Man]] can tend this way, [[Depending on the Writer]]. At the best of times, writers make sure to show how his superheroic life makes his mundane life more difficult. At the nasty end of the scale, he can't keep a girlfriend ([[One More Day|or wife]]), job, or residence; he's roundly hated and on the run from both the police, the mob, and a veritable army of [[Super Villain]]s; all of his friends are dead, insane, on drugs, insane AND on drugs, or refuse to take his phone calls because he's so unreliable; and he intermittently suffers injuries, power fluctuations, web-fluid shortages, and costume damage. {{spoiler|[[Ultimate Spider-Man|And at one point, his heroism winds up killing him!]]}}
** How pathetic can it get? There was a three issue run in the early 90s where, because Peter had been so busy with superheroics ''and'' his mundane life, he forgot to do laundry and had to fight crime in a dirty, slightly mildewed costume. ''Everyone'' he encountered commented on the smell and made remarks about his personal hygiene.
** How pathetic can it get? There was a three issue run in the early 90s where, because Peter had been so busy with superheroics ''and'' his mundane life, he forgot to do laundry and had to fight crime in a dirty, slightly mildewed costume. ''Everyone'' he encountered commented on the smell and made remarks about his personal hygiene.
* ''[[Life in Hell]]''. [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]].
* ''[[Life in Hell]]''. [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]].
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* When [[Philip K. Dick]] was going through his darkest days of depression and insanity, he wrote some ''very'' painful stories, most of which consist of him bashing down his protagonists so that even suicide seems like a happy option.
* When [[Philip K. Dick]] was going through his darkest days of depression and insanity, he wrote some ''very'' painful stories, most of which consist of him bashing down his protagonists so that even suicide seems like a happy option.
* ''The Gap Cycle''. Hooooo, boy, ''and HOW''. It's even represented by an ''actual'' sadist show in which a large-breasted woman ''cuts off her breasts'' with a rusty knife, then guts herself. [[Fridge Horror|On a nightly basis, thanks to future technology - but she still feels everything.]]
* ''The Gap Cycle''. Hooooo, boy, ''and HOW''. It's even represented by an ''actual'' sadist show in which a large-breasted woman ''cuts off her breasts'' with a rusty knife, then guts herself. [[Fridge Horror|On a nightly basis, thanks to future technology - but she still feels everything.]]
* ''Justine'' by the [[Marquis de Sade]] is nothing but a [[Sadist Show]] punctuated by philosophical monologues. The world is not just indifferent, but actively malevolent. Justine is consistently punished for her decent behavior while her persecutors experience nothing but boons for their cruelty and selfishness.
* ''Justine'' by the [[Marquis de Sade]] is nothing but a Sadist Show punctuated by philosophical monologues. The world is not just indifferent, but actively malevolent. Justine is consistently punished for her decent behavior while her persecutors experience nothing but boons for their cruelty and selfishness.


== Live Action Television ==
== Live Action Television ==
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** The US adaptation of ''[[The Office]]'' will occasionally flirt with this, but seldom rely on it. However, the Dinner Party episode...
** The US adaptation of ''[[The Office]]'' will occasionally flirt with this, but seldom rely on it. However, the Dinner Party episode...
** The same goes for ''[[The IT Crowd]]'', often in a big way.
** The same goes for ''[[The IT Crowd]]'', often in a big way.
* The [[Britcom]] ''[[Bottom]]'' (as well as its spiritual predecessor ''The Young Ones'') exists entirely so the audience can watch two only-slightly-sympathetic [[Loser Protagonist|Loser Protagonists]] sharing an apartment, arguing, dreaming up [[Zany Scheme|Zany Schemes]] that inevitably fail, beating the hell out of each other, and suffering fatal injuries at least once every three episodes. Edmondson, Mayall, and Planer also joined forces for ''[[Filthy Rich and Catflap|Filthy, Rich, and Catflap]]''. This sort of show is really Edmondson and Mayall's specialty.
* The [[Britcom]] ''[[Bottom]]'' (as well as its spiritual predecessor ''The Young Ones'') exists entirely so the audience can watch two only-slightly-sympathetic [[Loser Protagonist]]s sharing an apartment, arguing, dreaming up [[Zany Scheme]]s that inevitably fail, beating the hell out of each other, and suffering fatal injuries at least once every three episodes. Edmondson, Mayall, and Planer also joined forces for ''[[Filthy Rich and Catflap|Filthy, Rich, and Catflap]]''. This sort of show is really Edmondson and Mayall's specialty.
* ''[[Peep Show]]'' is another [[Britcom]] to fit this trope, a cringingly awkward black comedy following, once again, two only-slightly-sympathetic [[Loser Protagonist|Loser Protagonists]] as they ruin their own chances in life and love.
* ''[[Peep Show]]'' is another [[Britcom]] to fit this trope, a cringingly awkward black comedy following, once again, two only-slightly-sympathetic [[Loser Protagonist]]s as they ruin their own chances in life and love.
** Every single episode can be summed up as Mark Corrigan narrowly avoids a fleeting moment of happiness.
** Every single episode can be summed up as Mark Corrigan narrowly avoids a fleeting moment of happiness.
* ''[[Married... with Children]]''. What redeeming moments the characters had were very few and far between, and such moments were almost always the exclusive purview of Al and to a lesser extent Bud.
* ''[[Married... with Children]]''. What redeeming moments the characters had were very few and far between, and such moments were almost always the exclusive purview of Al and to a lesser extent Bud.
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** There was an in-universe example of this as well... In one episode, Francis babysits his brothers and sets up a "contest" to see which brother loves him most by doing random tasks for him. This quickly devolves into a brawl, and Francis briefly cuts in, saying something to the effect of "Whoa, whoa. This was supposed to be about love, and you've turned it into something ugly! ...Carry on." He then sits down with a drink and watches his brothers fighting, saying "This, too, pleases me."
** There was an in-universe example of this as well... In one episode, Francis babysits his brothers and sets up a "contest" to see which brother loves him most by doing random tasks for him. This quickly devolves into a brawl, and Francis briefly cuts in, saying something to the effect of "Whoa, whoa. This was supposed to be about love, and you've turned it into something ugly! ...Carry on." He then sits down with a drink and watches his brothers fighting, saying "This, too, pleases me."
* ''[[The Thick of It]]'' is a relentlessly cynical, sadistic show about [[Dirty Coward|dirty cowards]] and a near [[Villain Protagonist]]. The characters who aren't self-serving and malicious are hideously incompetent, and they all inhabit a realm where idealism goes to die. Oh, and it's about politics. But we repeat ourselves.
* ''[[The Thick of It]]'' is a relentlessly cynical, sadistic show about [[Dirty Coward|dirty cowards]] and a near [[Villain Protagonist]]. The characters who aren't self-serving and malicious are hideously incompetent, and they all inhabit a realm where idealism goes to die. Oh, and it's about politics. But we repeat ourselves.
* And then there's ''Cheaters''. The show's purpose is to be a private investigator service for people who think their significant other is being unfaithful. [[Dissimile|Except without the "private" portion.]] If the SO is indeed cheating, you don't have to pay any fees for hiring the show, but you are expected to confront them and the Other (Wo)Man in public with the host and camera crew trailing behind like [[Ambulance Chaser|Ambulance Chasers]], getting in the broken-hearted peoples' faces and asking "How do you feel?" Never once have they shown an investigation that exonerated the SO or had a happy ending. Is it any wonder the host was once stabbed on-camera by an enraged man?
* And then there's ''Cheaters''. The show's purpose is to be a private investigator service for people who think their significant other is being unfaithful. [[Dissimile|Except without the "private" portion.]] If the SO is indeed cheating, you don't have to pay any fees for hiring the show, but you are expected to confront them and the Other (Wo)Man in public with the host and camera crew trailing behind like [[Ambulance Chaser]]s, getting in the broken-hearted peoples' faces and asking "How do you feel?" Never once have they shown an investigation that exonerated the SO or had a happy ending. Is it any wonder the host was once stabbed on-camera by an enraged man?
* ''[[Naeturvaktin]]''/''[[Dagvaktin]]''/''[[Fangavaktin]]''/''[[Bjarnfredarson]]'' are about a [[Dysfunction Junction]] [[Comic Trio]] unintentionally (and occasionally intentionally) making each others's lives worse in a [[Crapsack World]]. ''[[Dagvaktin]]'' is the most extreme, dealing with the cast committing or enduring rape, murder and child abuse, as well as embarking upon a [[Mushroom Samba]] and breaking the index finger of a [[Jerkass]] surgeon with million-dollar hand insurance.
* ''[[Naeturvaktin]]''/''[[Dagvaktin]]''/''[[Fangavaktin]]''/''[[Bjarnfredarson]]'' are about a [[Dysfunction Junction]] [[Comic Trio]] unintentionally (and occasionally intentionally) making each others's lives worse in a [[Crapsack World]]. ''[[Dagvaktin]]'' is the most extreme, dealing with the cast committing or enduring rape, murder and child abuse, as well as embarking upon a [[Mushroom Samba]] and breaking the index finger of a [[Jerkass]] surgeon with million-dollar hand insurance.


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* ''[[Something Positive]]'' is a form of Sadist Webcomic that is more about characters surviving their lives while the world continues to spit at them. (Of course, how sympathetic you think they are depends on how you view the [[The Eeyore|passive-aggressiveness]] and sadism they react with.)
* ''[[Something Positive]]'' is a form of Sadist Webcomic that is more about characters surviving their lives while the world continues to spit at them. (Of course, how sympathetic you think they are depends on how you view the [[The Eeyore|passive-aggressiveness]] and sadism they react with.)
* ''[[8-Bit Theater]]'' has an entire cast of idiots, sadists, and idiotic sadists. The main characters are Fighter, a nimrod who manages to be [[Too Dumb to Live]] and [[No One Should Survive That|too stupid to die]] at the same time ([[Obfuscating Stupidity|or maybe not]]); Black Mage, a psychotic murderer who kills any- and everyone that gets in his way (and a few others just for the hell of it); Red Mage, a [[Munchkin]] powergamer blissfully unaware of his own idiocy with no regard for anyone elses' well-being; and Thief, a duplicitous, greedy elf supremacist with no conscience. All their opponents are of matching idiocy, and the king of the local kingdom wears the literal interpretation of [[Dead Baby Comedy]] for shoes. In fact, the most sympathetic main character other than White Mage, the voice of reason, is Black Mage, as he's at least tried to change. Well, before it was revealed that in order to obtain his doomsday attack, he sacrificed orphans to a dark god. Said doomsday attack is also powered by love; i.e. it siphons love out of the universe, and the divorce rate goes up by a few percent every time he uses it.
* ''[[8-Bit Theater]]'' has an entire cast of idiots, sadists, and idiotic sadists. The main characters are Fighter, a nimrod who manages to be [[Too Dumb to Live]] and [[No One Should Survive That|too stupid to die]] at the same time ([[Obfuscating Stupidity|or maybe not]]); Black Mage, a psychotic murderer who kills any- and everyone that gets in his way (and a few others just for the hell of it); Red Mage, a [[Munchkin]] powergamer blissfully unaware of his own idiocy with no regard for anyone elses' well-being; and Thief, a duplicitous, greedy elf supremacist with no conscience. All their opponents are of matching idiocy, and the king of the local kingdom wears the literal interpretation of [[Dead Baby Comedy]] for shoes. In fact, the most sympathetic main character other than White Mage, the voice of reason, is Black Mage, as he's at least tried to change. Well, before it was revealed that in order to obtain his doomsday attack, he sacrificed orphans to a dark god. Said doomsday attack is also powered by love; i.e. it siphons love out of the universe, and the divorce rate goes up by a few percent every time he uses it.
** Even White Mage is becoming more of a [[Jerkass]], with her refusing to heal Black Mage when he has a spear through his head (though to be fair, it's [[Complete Monster|Black Mage]]). Also, to add insult to injury, Thief almost never gets his comeuppance, whereas Black Belt (an actually slightly sympathetic character) is the only character yet to have been [[Killed Off for Real]] (even the [[Big Bad|Big Bads]] turn up in Hell occasionally).
** Even White Mage is becoming more of a [[Jerkass]], with her refusing to heal Black Mage when he has a spear through his head (though to be fair, it's [[Complete Monster|Black Mage]]). Also, to add insult to injury, Thief almost never gets his comeuppance, whereas Black Belt (an actually slightly sympathetic character) is the only character yet to have been [[Killed Off for Real]] (even the [[Big Bad]]s turn up in Hell occasionally).
** Technically, Thief does get his comeuppance when he loses everything he has ever stolen when his bag of holding is frozen, then is shattered into a million pieces in order to kill one of the fiends. He is catatonic for several strips afterwards.
** Technically, Thief does get his comeuppance when he loses everything he has ever stolen when his bag of holding is frozen, then is shattered into a million pieces in order to kill one of the fiends. He is catatonic for several strips afterwards.
** It's true, he rarely gets his comeuppance, so it's just that more hilarious when Berserker strangles him with his own intestines. He has savagely attacked Thief at least 3 times by now.
** It's true, he rarely gets his comeuppance, so it's just that more hilarious when Berserker strangles him with his own intestines. He has savagely attacked Thief at least 3 times by now.
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