History Main / StrictlyFormula

** 2023 saw its releases slip into this as well. Not only do most booksstar an {{always female}} protagonist (with only three new releases featuring a gender customizable protagonist) and each one is heavily (if not, purely) romance-based, this time there is ''only one'' love interest who is gender customizable (even in the new releases with gender customizable protagonists, with only two new releases featuring more than one love interest) and those with gender-locked protagonists mostly deal with ForbiddenLove.

* The later books released for ''VisualNovel/ChoicesStoriesYouPlay'' have turned into this from April 2019, onward. Each new series is released every month, always stars a female protagonist and each one is heavily (if not, purely) romance-based. There are three love interests for the main character: a white male [[CreatorsPet that is usually forced on our protagonist and receives the most screentime]], a less prominent second male love interest that usually fits the role of "best friend" and a [[GayOption token female love interest]] that receives the least screentime (and when she ''does'' appear, she's usually paywalled). The plot revolves about something generic involving the protagonist (reporting for a news station, being a singer, visiting family for a summer vacation, attending a bachelorette party, parenthood etc.) that could have worked just as well with a male protagonist (but every "gender-locked" book always has to have a female protagonist for some reason). Each book has reused character designs for many characters (even the ''main character'') and each book is a standalone.

It should also be worth noting that [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny the inventor of great ideas that are much copied can sometimes retroactively acquire a reputation for being formulaic]].

** Many pop-culture references, internet memes, [[IncrediblyLamePun lame puns]], jokes related to the actors in the movie[[note]]even if they have nothing to do with the actual movie he's currently ''reviewing''[[/note]], jokes lambasting the writers/actors/directors/etc., [[ObligatoryJoke will be made]].

** After the plot summary/review is over, he makes a short critical appraisal of the film, e.g., "The moral isn't ''bad'' for kids, but the acting was terrible and the jokes were really lame", ending it with a IncrediblyLamePun relating to the film.

See also StatusQuoIsGod and SameStoryDifferentNames.

Why, then, is almost every one of the top-rated shows on TV like this? Why do romance novel series and detective novel series outsell works that follow a different pattern? Why do some even get praise from critics as well as awards?

Why, then, is almost every one of the top-rated shows on TV like this? Why do romance novel series and detective novel series outsell works that follow a different pattern? Why do some even get rave reviews from critics and even awards?

Why, then, is almost every one of the top-rated shows on TV like this? Why do romance novel series and detective novel series outsell works that follow a different pattern?

* Fandango's ''Brian the Minion'' shorts follow the same basic formula: The titular [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe minion]] sits down to watch a Creator/{{Universal}} movie, [[Franchise/BackToTheFuture old]] or [[WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets new]]. [[WesternAnimation/{{Minions}} Kevin, Stuart, and Bob]] come in and disrupt his experience, causing Brian to get angry. The usher comes in and, always jumping to the wrong conclusion, kicks Brian out, to the other three minions' mocking laughter.

* Fandango's ''Brian the Minion'' shorts follow the same basic formula: The titular [[WesternAnimation/DespicableMe minion]] sits down to watch a Creator/{{Universal}} movie, [[Film/BackToTheFuture old]] or [[WesternAnimation/TheSecretLifeOfPets new]]. [[WesternAnimation/{{Minions}} Kevin, Stuart, and Bob]] come in and disrupt his experience, causing Brian to get angry. The usher comes in and, always jumping to the wrong conclusion, kicks Brian out, to the other three minions' mocking laughter.

** Since the "Blocks" era (2002–2006), each episode has followed the same distinct pattern (which varies by season). The street stories are condensed into one block and shown at the beginning, while either ''Series/ElmosWorld'' or ''Elmo the Musical'' is shown at the tail end. Starting in Season 38 and lasting until Season 45, Murray opened each show by talking to real people who demonstrated "the Word on the Street" and would announce the sponsors at the end.

* The main angle of Wrestling/{{TNA}} is that operating unhindered is simply the time in between the sieges of the promotion, which include Sports Entertainment Xtreme, "The Kings Of Wrestling"[[labelnote:*]][[Wrestling/ChrisHero not]] [[Wrestling/ClaudioCastignoli those]][[/labelnote]] to Planet Jarrett, the Main Event Mafia, Immortal, Wrestling/AcesAndEights, [[Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter The Director Of Wrestling Operations]] to the Almighty Beat Down Clan and GFW.

** At least one villain of the final case is ''always'' a CompleteMonster.

It should also be worth noting that [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny the inventor of great ideas that are much copied can sometimes retroactively acquire a reputation for being formulaic.]]

[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Because people who read/view them are freed up from discerning the structure and can concentrate on the language and the details]]. The writer has gotten the shape of the story out of the way of the content of the story. Many [[MonsterOfTheWeek Something-of-the-week]] shows express this trope to some extent, which can be both a strength and a weakness of that format. It begins to suck when the substance is so lacking that it seems like the formula is all that's there. And attempts to shake it up? TheyChangedItNowItSucks.

[[Administrivia/TropesAreTools The few who read/view for the shape of the story might be left behind]]. By way of consolation, they are given everything that is not Strictly Formula.

* Franchise/{{LEGO}} ''{{Toys/Bionicle}}'' in its early years ('01-'03). Whenever FanDumb starts an [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks it went downhill in '04]] topic on an online forum, someone always points out that all of those years followed the same formula: the six heroes are a given - the BigBad unleashes something bad - the village elders somehow know all about said bad things - heroes collect stuff - they go underground to defeat the current boss. Thankfully later years did away with this concept, and gave justification for the elders' secret knowledge. This argument is also frequently brought up when someone berates ''Bionicle'''s "replacement" line, ''Toys/HeroFactory'' for being too darn formulaic and predictable, though in the latter's case, that was the point, since LEGO wanted to avoid another overly-complex and difficult to follow storyline.

[[quoteright:350:[[WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/twa_full_revolution.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Hey, it's not a revolution until it revolves back around to where it ''started''."'']]

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[[quoteright:350:[[WebAnimation/TerribleWritingAdvice https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/twa_full_revolution.png]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''"Hey, it's not a revolution until it revolves back around to where it ''started''."'']]

[[folder: Arts]]

* {{Music/Weezer}}'s ''[[Music/WeezerTheGreenAlbum Green Album]]'' uses extremely similar song structures throughout. A lot these are things that are typical of pop songs in general, but there are specific repeated quirks like having the guitar solo reiterate the verse melody note for note (every song on the album) or starting the song with a guitar melody that is repeated vocally in the bridge later on (every song after the first four tracks). Even BSide tracks from the same era tend to do this.

** The only time where he rebelled against this was during his formative years -- when he painted ''Art/TheFallenAngel'' as a student, his technique was not yet the absolute perfection the Academy demanded and his imprinting of emotions was deemed more appropriate for {{Romanticism}} than for Academicism (aka, UsefulNotes/TheEnlightment). Mind you, the [[https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idealismo_art%3C!--C3--%3EADstico idealization]] of emotions meant some degree of dispassion.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]

* Rare in-universe music example with Music/{{KMFDM}}, whose lyrics frequently joke about how they’re releasing the same album over and over again (“Nothing new, it’s the same old shit / if it works this good why fuck with it”). It’s kind of an InformedAttribute since they do evolve their sound, but it’s done gradually enough (they release an album every two years, if that) that you might not notice how much they’ve changed until you compare two albums from eight years apart.

* Rare in-universe music example with Music/{{KMFDM}}, whose lyrics frequently joke about how they’re releasing the same album over and over again (“Nothing new, it’s the same old shit / if it works this good why fuck with it”). It’s kind of an InformedAttribute since they do evolve their sound, but it’s done gradually enough (they release an album every two years, if that) that you might not notice until you compare two albums from eight years apart.

* Rare in-universe music example with Music/{{KMFDM}}, whose lyrics frequently joke about how they’re releasing the same album over and over again (“Nothing new, it’s the same old shit / if it works this good why fuck with it”). The actual music is mostly an aversion since they do evolve their sound, but it’s done gradually enough that you might not notice until you compare two albums from eight years apart.