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* NothingButSkinAndBones: {{Subverted}} in an episode. Drew is on a hunger strike and when Mr. Wick comes to see him at home, Wick finds Drew lying on the couch due to lack of energy and is now extremely skinny. But it turns out that Drew knew Wick was coming over and he got an assist from a pizza delivery man who is naturally extremely skinny. The pizza guy is willing to help because Drew on a hunger strike is costing him business. They lay on the couch together, covered by a blanket, arranged in a way that it looks like Drew's head is on the other guy's body.
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* RunningGag: Every employee Mr. Wick callously fires on-screen is named Johnson.
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* FurAndLoathing - An activist vandalized the store after pretending to be a buyer in order to get Drew to bring the fur coats within arm's reach. The manager of the fashion department was on a FirstNameBasis with her.
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* FomerlyFat: Drew's girlfriend Nikki Fifer. One of the reasons that she broke up with Drew was that being with him was causing her to start putting on weight again.
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* FomerlyFat: FormerlyFat: Drew's girlfriend Nikki Fifer. One of the reasons that she broke up with Drew was that being with him was causing her to start putting on weight again.again.
* FurAndLoathing - An activist vandalized the store after pretending to be a buyer in order to get Drew to bring the fur coats within arm's reach. The manager of the fashion department was on a FirstNameBasis with her.
* FurAndLoathing - An activist vandalized the store after pretending to be a buyer in order to get Drew to bring the fur coats within arm's reach. The manager of the fashion department was on a FirstNameBasis with her.
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* FomerlyFat: Drew's girlfriend Nikki Fifer. One of the reasons that she broke up with Drew was that being with him was causing her to start putting on weight again.
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* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn - On one episode, parodying ''TheFullMonty'', Drew and the boys form a strip act in order to earn enough money to replace a dog they accidentally had neutered.
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* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn - On one episode, parodying ''TheFullMonty'', Drew and the boys form a strip act in order to earn enough money to replace a prize-winning breeding dog they accidentally had neutered.
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* OutOfOrder: ABC aired most of the episodes in the final season badly out of production order, causing confusiong with the story lines, though TBS aired the episodes in the correct order.
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* OutOfOrder: ABC aired most of the episodes in the final season badly out of production order, causing confusiong confusion with the story lines, though TBS aired the episodes in the correct order.
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* OutOfOrder: ABC aired most of the episodes in the final season badly out of production order, causing confusiong with the story lines, though TBS aired the episodes in the correct order.
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A {{Dilbert}}esque look at office life, about a nice but overweight, unattractive man with a low-paying dead-end job as the Assistant Director of Personnel of the Winfred Louder department store (there is no Director of Personnel).
to:
A {{Dilbert}}esque ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}esque look at office life, about a nice but overweight, unattractive man with a low-paying dead-end job as the Assistant Director of Personnel of the Winfred Louder department store (there is no Director of Personnel).
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** While always a BadBoss, Wick became more exaggerated and wacky as the seasons went by. During the [[OscarBait Emmy Bait]] episode, Mimi points out that Wick is essentially a cartoon character.
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* NeverMyFault: Nikki breaks up with Drew because she blames him for her weight gain, saying she went from FormerlyFat to just plain fat by being around someone "who loves to eat." It didn't occur to her that Drew didn't exactly force her to eat any food, nor did his weight balloon out of control during this period.
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zero context examples and questionable examples for this trope are being purged. Please remember a Big Beautiful Woman a female character who is fat and portrayed as attractive. Examples must make both of those things clear. I don\'t think character was meant to be found more attractive as she was gaining weight.
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* BigBeautifulWoman: At the start of season 3, Drew is dating a thin woman called Nicki Fifer. In the first episode she appears in, she claims to have just recently lost eighty pounds and that she is, normally, a very BigEater. But then as the season progresses, she appears fatter and fatter, having the actress wear bigger and bigger fat-suits. Eventually she is an out and out BigBeautifulWoman, much bigger even than the already hefty Drew.
** We even see a scene of what Drew considers FetishFuel: He's grabbing a midnight snack when Nicki appears in her pyjamas and they act out the TopGun scene in which TomCruise feeds his lover seductively. The difference is that Nicki is eating far more, and all her food is fattening stuff like a whole can of whipped cream, and an entire bottle of syrup.
** We even see a scene of what Drew considers FetishFuel: He's grabbing a midnight snack when Nicki appears in her pyjamas and they act out the TopGun scene in which TomCruise feeds his lover seductively. The difference is that Nicki is eating far more, and all her food is fattening stuff like a whole can of whipped cream, and an entire bottle of syrup.
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trope was renamed
* OutOfCharacterAlert: Mimi was nice around Drew when her baby was born, but since she treated Drew normally while pregnant, the baby thought she was someone else when acting nice.
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* SomethingTheyWouldNeverSay: Mimi was nice around Drew when her baby was born, but since she treated Drew normally while pregnant, the baby thought she was someone else when acting nice.
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Rename
* BeenThereShapedHistory: Drew's mom. While a secretary at NASA, she made an off-hand comment about sending men to the moon just when one Senator Kennedy was visiting.
-->'''Drew:''' Mom, you're [[ForrestGump Florence Gump]].
-->'''Drew:''' Mom, you're [[ForrestGump Florence Gump]].
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* TheGump: Drew's mom. While a secretary at NASA, she made an off-hand comment about sending men to the moon just when one Senator Kennedy was visiting.
-->'''Drew:''' Mom, you're [[ForrestGump Florence Gump]].
-->'''Drew:''' Mom, you're [[ForrestGump Florence Gump]].
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* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first season is unrecognizable compared to the rest of the series.
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* ClevelandRocks - They even used a cover of the TropeNamer as an opening for several season
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* ClevelandRocks [[UsefulNotes/{{Cleveland}} Cleveland Rocks]] - They even used a cover of the TropeNamer as an opening for several season
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** There's even an episode where they randomly meet on an internet chat site and start to develop an online romance (neither is involved with anyone at the time). When Drew figures it out, he is somewhat traumatized.
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** There's even an episode where they randomly meet on an internet anonymized Internet chat site and start to develop an online romance (neither is involved with anyone at the time). When Drew figures it out, he is somewhat traumatized.
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* TooDumbToLive - Oswald. A total exagerration of the typical sitcom dumb friend.
* UglyGuyHotWife - Used straight and subverted countless times--Drew's hooked up with Wanda Sykes and an aged Mrs Partridge, but has also slept with characters played by Jenny Mccarthy, Christa Miller, and more. Unusual for the trope, its made clear that Drew dates mostly on an actual relationship and not simply looks. In a HighSchoolReunion episode the (still attractive) cheerleader who used to mock him was suddenly attracted to him because he was a respectible guy with a steady job. And some would say Sykes and Mrs Patridge are still hot. In the literal sense he ends the series married to [[{{Titus}} Cynthia]] [[Series/{{Lost}} Watros]].
* UglyGuyHotWife - Used straight and subverted countless times--Drew's hooked up with Wanda Sykes and an aged Mrs Partridge, but has also slept with characters played by Jenny Mccarthy, Christa Miller, and more. Unusual for the trope, its made clear that Drew dates mostly on an actual relationship and not simply looks. In a HighSchoolReunion episode the (still attractive) cheerleader who used to mock him was suddenly attracted to him because he was a respectible guy with a steady job. And some would say Sykes and Mrs Patridge are still hot. In the literal sense he ends the series married to [[{{Titus}} Cynthia]] [[Series/{{Lost}} Watros]].
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* TooDumbToLive - Oswald. A total exagerration exaggeration of the typical sitcom dumb friend.
* UglyGuyHotWife - Used straight and subverted countless times--Drew's hooked up with Wanda Sykes and an aged Mrs Partridge, but has also slept with characters played by JennyMccarthy, [=McCarthy=], Christa Miller, and more. Unusual for the trope, its it's made clear that Drew dates mostly on the basis of an actual relationship and not simply looks. In a HighSchoolReunion episode episode, the (still attractive) cheerleader who used to mock him was suddenly attracted to him because he was a respectible respectable guy with a steady job. And some would say Sykes and Mrs Patridge Partridge are still hot. In the literal sense sense, he ends the series married to [[{{Titus}} Cynthia]] [[Series/{{Lost}} Watros]].
* UglyGuyHotWife - Used straight and subverted countless times--Drew's hooked up with Wanda Sykes and an aged Mrs Partridge, but has also slept with characters played by Jenny
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* AThreesomeisHot: Drew has the opportunity, but falls asleep first.
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* AThreesomeisHot: AThreesomeIsHot: Drew has the opportunity, but falls asleep first.
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* RogerRabbitEffect: When DaffyDuck made a [[TheUnexpected surprise appearence]].
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* RogerRabbitEffect: When DaffyDuck made a [[TheUnexpected [[UnexpectedCharacter surprise appearence]].
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* BerserkButton - Drew Carey stated that the ''Friends'' theme song became this for him in real life. He had nothing against the show itself, or any of the actors, but hated his show being called a "Friends clone" just because it was a sitcom about someone who ''had friends''.
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* BerserkButton - Drew Carey stated that the ''Friends'' theme song became this for him in real life. He had nothing against the show itself, or any of the actors, but hated his show being called a "Friends clone" just because it was a sitcom about someone who ''had friends''. (And then ABC went and put his [[WhoseLineIsItAnyway other show]] right up against ''Friends''.)
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%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1297312512026760100
%% Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
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* EvenEvilHasStandards: Mr. Wick may be a BadBoss, but when Mimi insults his mother over the phone, well let's just say he dosen't take it lightly:
-->''Mr. Wick'' "Mimi, I may be power-mad, I may be a corporate weasel, I may even be a sleaze-bag, but I am first and foremost a mama's boy, and you NEVER EVER insult the mama of a mama's boy"!
-->''Mr. Wick'' "Mimi, I may be power-mad, I may be a corporate weasel, I may even be a sleaze-bag, but I am first and foremost a mama's boy, and you NEVER EVER insult the mama of a mama's boy"!
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* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Season one of ''The Drew Carey Show'' and a "Best Of" episode DVD have been released, but not the rest of the seasons. Even if the rest of the seasons were released, the episode "Two Drews and the Queen of Poland Walk Into a Bar" would be heavily censored (when it premiered, it garnered a lot of protests from Polish-American anti-defamation groups who thought the subplot of Mimi being related to Polish royalty -- and the jokes that followed -- was offensive, so all reruns -- including syndicated showings -- removed the "Mimi is Polish royalty" subplot and replaced the original cold opening teaser with one from a previous episode)
** Warner Bros. explained recently that the reason more [=DVDs=] of this show haven't been produced is because of music licensing issues.
** Warner Bros. explained recently that the reason more [=DVDs=] of this show haven't been produced is because of music licensing issues.
to:
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Season one of ''The Drew Carey Show'' and a "Best Of" episode DVD have been released, but not the rest of the seasons. Even if the rest of the seasons were released, the episode "Two Drews and the Queen of Poland Walk Into a Bar" would be heavily censored (when it premiered, it garnered a lot of protests from Polish-American anti-defamation groups who thought the subplot of Mimi being related to Polish royalty -- and the jokes that followed -- was offensive, so all reruns -- including syndicated showings -- removed the "Mimi is Polish royalty" subplot and replaced the original cold opening teaser with one from a previous episode)
**Warner Bros. explained recently that the reason more [=DVDs=] of this show haven't been produced is because of music licensing issues.
**
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** In 1997, ABC forced a crossover stunt on ''Drew'' and the other Wednesday night sitcoms - ''Coach'', ''Ellen'' and ''GraceUnderFire''. Titled "Viva Las Vegas," the idea was that characters from the four shows would be in Las Vegas for different reasons and encounter each other. Only a couple characters from each series did this, however, and they amounted to [[TheCameo cameos]] at best. This series' contribution was "Drew Gets Married." Notably, Drew himself was the only one to appear in every show that night.
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** In 1997, ABC forced a crossover stunt on ''Drew'' and the other Wednesday night sitcoms - ''Coach'', ''Ellen'' ''{{Coach}}'', ''{{Ellen}}'' and ''GraceUnderFire''. Titled "Viva Las Vegas," the idea was that characters from the four shows would be in Las Vegas for different reasons and encounter each other. Only a couple characters from each series did this, however, and they amounted to [[TheCameo cameos]] at best. This series' contribution was "Drew Gets Married." Notably, Drew himself was the only one to appear in every show that night.
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Whoops.
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* AThreewayisHot: Drew has the opportunity, but falls asleep first.
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* AThreewayisHot: AThreesomeisHot: Drew has the opportunity, but falls asleep first.
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* AThreewayisHot: Drew has the opportunity, but falls asleep first.
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Trope page was deleted.
Deleted line(s) 29 (click to see context) :
* BlackComedyRape - Once episode features Lewis coming into Drew's house visibly shaken and proceeds to tell Oswald how the monkeys at Drug Co. attempted to rape him after having sex drugs tested on them. Oswald and the StudioAudience proceed to find the situation hilarious. Oswald goes on to make several jokes about it.
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* BlackComedyRape - Once episode features Lewis coming into Drew's house visibly shaken and proceeds to tell Oswald how the monkeys at Drug Co. attempted to rape him after having sex drugs tested on them. Oswald and the StudioAudience proceed to find the situation hilarious. Oswald goes on to make several jokes about it.
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* RapeAsComedy - Once episode features Lewis coming into Drew's house visibly shaken and proceeds to tell Oswald how the monkeys at Drug Co. attempted to rape him after having sex drugs tested on them. Oswald and the StudioAudience proceed to find the situation hilarious. Oswald goes on to make several jokes about it.
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* TheVoice - Drew's first boss, until he was fired and finally appeared after cleaning out his desk
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* TheVoice - Drew's first boss, until he was fired and finally appeared after cleaning out his deskdesk.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Oswald's lost son turned up in an episode. After that, he was never seen again, nor mentioned.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Oswald's lost son turned up in an episode. After that, he was never seen again, nor mentioned.
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* ManMadeHouseFlood: Drew has a crush on a (female) plumber, and punctures a pipe so he can call her and get her to come round to his house.
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[[quoteright:298:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/DrewCareyTVFaves_2130.jpg]]
->''I got screwed by the system. I'm always gettin' screwed by the system. That's my role in life: I'm the system's '''bitch'''!''
A {{Dilbert}}esque look at office life, about a nice but overweight, unattractive man with a low-paying dead-end job as the Assistant Director of Personnel of the Winfred Louder department store (there is no Director of Personnel).
He is the perpetual [[TheEveryman everyman]] who can never seem to get [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption ahead in life.]] Bad things never stop happening to him. He still hangs out with his friends from high school, Lewis, Oswald and Kate (who started as [[PlatonicLifePartners purely platonic friends]] with Drew only to become his later love interest). Also, his dog is crippled.
As part of his job he has to deal with his [[BadBoss sadistic boss]] Mr. Wick and Mimi, an obnoxious co-worker who only got the job by threatening to sue because Drew didn't hire her for another job. And that is all on top of general [[IncompetenceInc office bureaucracy]].
The series would go on to become sillier and cartoonish as it went on, due to having more creative freedom due to being uncancellable for a time. Later seasons would have Mimi and Drew engaged in prank wars that would escalate to the point where Mimi drugged Drew and dropped him off at the Great Wall of China. Several episodes were made littered with intentional mistakes pointed out to the audience, which they could tally for a contest (which were often random, over-the-top sight gags, ranging from hairstyle changes, actor changes, characters being replaced by sock puppets, and an entire scene being done in {{Machinima}} using TheSims). Other notable silliness includes an episode done mostly in improv (to spoof Drew Carey's role as host of ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway)'', and an episode where Oswald and Lewis are treated by a dentist who is a very over-the-top Dr. Frankenstein parody.
Drew and Ryan Stiles (Lewis) became fixtures for ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' that also featured several other cast members briefly.
Sort of a WorkCom, but one which focuses on a single character rather than an ensemble.
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* ActorAllusion: One episode has [[HappyDays Marion Ross]] and [[LostInSpace June]] [[Series/{{Lassie}} Lockhart]], playing Drew and Lewis' mothers respectively, discussing how their children are messed up because the perfect mothers on old television set the bar too high.
** Additionally, Drew's mom was often referred to as "Mrs. C."
* AgeInappropriateDress: A problematic customer.
* TheArtOfBraRemoval - Drew has problems dealing with bra straps.
* {{Auction}}
* BadBoss: Mr. Wick. He frequently fires random workers and takes great pleasure in doing so.
-->''(telling a bedtime story)'' "Once upon a time... Johnson was fired."
* BasementDweller
* BerserkButton - Drew Carey stated that the ''Friends'' theme song became this for him in real life. He had nothing against the show itself, or any of the actors, but hated his show being called a "Friends clone" just because it was a sitcom about someone who ''had friends''.
* BigBeautifulWoman: At the start of season 3, Drew is dating a thin woman called Nicki Fifer. In the first episode she appears in, she claims to have just recently lost eighty pounds and that she is, normally, a very BigEater. But then as the season progresses, she appears fatter and fatter, having the actress wear bigger and bigger fat-suits. Eventually she is an out and out BigBeautifulWoman, much bigger even than the already hefty Drew.
** We even see a scene of what Drew considers FetishFuel: He's grabbing a midnight snack when Nicki appears in her pyjamas and they act out the TopGun scene in which TomCruise feeds his lover seductively. The difference is that Nicki is eating far more, and all her food is fattening stuff like a whole can of whipped cream, and an entire bottle of syrup.
* BuryMeNotOnTheLonePrairie - Drew's great uncle Alfred's last wish was to buried in Drew's backyard.
* ButLiquorIsQuicker - When Lewis realizes if a girl drinks, and he doesn't, his chances of getting some increase.
* CaptainMorganPose - In one episode his boss does a CaptainMorganPose while wearing spandex shorts, noooot a pretty sight.
* CastingGag - [[HappyDays Marion Ross played Drew's mom. Tom Bosley played Mimi's dad.]] When [[ThePartridgeFamily Shirley Jones]] played an older love-interest of Drew, they ''had'' to bring his mom in for them to meet. And Danny Bonaduce played her adult son.
* CelebrityParadox - Drew Carey once appeared as a one-shot character on ''HomeImprovement''. Tim Allen later appeared on ''The Drew Carey Show'' as himself, where Drew knew him from watching ''Home Improvement''.
* TheChewToy - The protagonist, Drew.
-->'''Drew:''' I'm gettin' screwed by the system. I'm ''always'' gettin' screwed by the system. That's my role in life: I'm the system's ''bitch''.
** Best described by BadBoss Mr. Wick
-->'''Mr. Wick''': "Oh look everybody, Carey's detected an irony! He's smart, smarter than me... and ''yet'', I make more money. ''*deadpans*'' Oh look, now ''I've'' detected an irony."
* ClevelandRocks - They even used a cover of the TropeNamer as an opening for several season
* CloudCuckooLander - Oswald and Lewis. The former is a dimwit, the latter is crazy. They're often paired together. HilarityEnsues.
* ComedicSociopath: Lewis. Originally depicted as being as dumb as Oswald, as time went on he was revealed to be not so much stupid, but crazy and comedically heartless at times.
* CrossOver - With ''NYPDBlue'', of all shows.
** Also with ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' on a few April Fools episodes.
** In one episode, the gang watches a how-to video about roof repair hosted by none other than [[HomeImprovement Tim Taylor]]. (This is ironic, as [[CelebrityParadox Tim Allen appeared in an earlier episode as himself]].)
** In 1997, ABC forced a crossover stunt on ''Drew'' and the other Wednesday night sitcoms - ''Coach'', ''Ellen'' and ''GraceUnderFire''. Titled "Viva Las Vegas," the idea was that characters from the four shows would be in Las Vegas for different reasons and encounter each other. Only a couple characters from each series did this, however, and they amounted to [[TheCameo cameos]] at best. This series' contribution was "Drew Gets Married." Notably, Drew himself was the only one to appear in every show that night.
* TheDanza: Drew Carey is played by... Drew Carey.
* {{Disproportionate Retribution}}: Mimi constantly, starting all way back to the pilot episode where she lashes out at Drew for ''assuming'' he wasn't going to hire her based on her looks when all he did was tell her they would get back with her.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Wayne is asked to create a disco style theme for Drew Live 2. [[SmallReferencePools Naturally]], it manifests as a ShoutOut to ''Shaft''.
* DoppelgangerDating
* EditedForSyndication: "Two Drews and the Queen of Poland Walk Into A Bar" hasn't been seen uncut and uncensored since its premiere due to complaints from the Polish community about the jokes. Also, the episodes that aired on the superstation channel ION cut out all jokes and references to male genitalia.
* EmbarrassingMiddleName
-->'''Mimi:''' ''Drew'' '''Allison''' '''''Carey'''''? God, all three of your names are for girls.
** And note that that is Drew's actual middle name.
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: Mimi.
* {{Flanderization}}: Drew remained the everyman, but Oswald's stupidity, Lewis' oddness and Kate's promiscuity were ramped up. Mimi's make-up was just overdone and her clothing just poor fashion, later she practically wears clown make-up and aims to wear the most gawdy outfits imaginable.
* FurAndLoathing - An activist vandalized the store after pretending to be a buyer in order to get Drew to bring the fur coats within arm's reach. The manager of the fashion department was on a FirstNameBasis with her.
* FakeBrit - Technically [[strike:British]] American Scotsman CraigFerguson played Englishman Nigel Wick.
** FakeAmerican - When CraigFerguson broke the FourthWall, he would always use an American accent.
*** In one of the April Fool's episodes, during a ''HeeHaw'' reference, he uses his real accent to do a "SAAAALUTE!" to his home town.
* FormallyNamedPet: Drew and Lewis bribe Oswald into voting to sell Buzz Beer by giving him a bunny. He immediately names it Commander Bun-Bun and starts to act like a DiabolicalMastermind with a RightHandCat.
* FurryFandom - A girl Drew dates in one episode turns out to be a furry.
* GagPenis - During "Dog and Pony Show", one of Drew's coworkers turned out to have one, as displayed behind the counter.
-->'''Drew:''' ''(drains his beer)'' You think you'd be more popular...
* GoingToSeeTheElephant: In one episode, Drew and his friends visit Hershey, Pennsylvania just because they can smell the chocolate from the highway.
* GroinAttack: Mr. Wick is shot in the crotch with a crossbow at one point, and has to have one of his testicles removed.
* TheGump: Drew's mom. While a secretary at NASA, she made an off-hand comment about sending men to the moon just when one Senator Kennedy was visiting.
-->'''Drew:''' Mom, you're [[ForrestGump Florence Gump]].
* HelloNurse: Oswald's mom was explicitly this for his friends when they were younger, and when she makes an appearance she is played by Adrienne Barbeau.
** Diedrich Bader and Adrienne Barbeau also did the voices of [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold Batman]] and [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Catwoman]], though it was in two different series.
* HeterosexualLifePartners - Oswald and Lewis
** Drew Carey and Ryan Stiles became a RealLife version after this show, ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' and most other projects.
* HeyLetsPutOnAShow
* IAmOneOfThoseToo: During the improv episode, Oswald is pretending to be German while talking to a bartender to see if she cheats him. She immediately says she was born in Germany and starts talking to him in German. He then says he is actually from a small town France called Germany. She then says she went to school in France for several years and starts speaking French.
* ICallHimMisterHappy: Oswald nicknamed his genitals "the Olsen twins".
* {{Irony}}: Drew finally managed to get Mimi fired by convincing Mr. Wick to put her into a cubicle, which she refused to do. Later her and Drew's brother put their camper in his backyard and Drew discovered she was claustrophobic, which is a medical condition that would release her from the circumstances of why she was fired. When he learned that he went crazy over the moral obligation and getting her out of his backyard vs. not having to deal with her at work.
* {{Jerkass}}: On Lewis, Ryan Stiles has said that he's "less of a character and more a jerk".
** Mimi as well. This trope describes practically her entire character, although she certainly has her share of PetTheDog moments.
* ImpossiblyTackyClothes - Mimi
* KarmaHoudini: Mimi has got away with a number of things including sending Drew to China. When he returned, he burned her desk down to its frame. She was very scared by his subsequent threats of retribution.
** The one time he acted officially to get her fired for a prank that embarrassed him and the company, it turned out Kate was responsible.
* [[KavorkaMan Kavorka Woman]]: Mimi.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Season one of ''The Drew Carey Show'' and a "Best Of" episode DVD have been released, but not the rest of the seasons. Even if the rest of the seasons were released, the episode "Two Drews and the Queen of Poland Walk Into a Bar" would be heavily censored (when it premiered, it garnered a lot of protests from Polish-American anti-defamation groups who thought the subplot of Mimi being related to Polish royalty -- and the jokes that followed -- was offensive, so all reruns -- including syndicated showings -- removed the "Mimi is Polish royalty" subplot and replaced the original cold opening teaser with one from a previous episode)
** Warner Bros. explained recently that the reason more [=DVDs=] of this show haven't been produced is because of music licensing issues.
* LieDetector
* LiveEpisode: With all the folk from Drew Carey-hosted ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' guest starring the fellows from Whose line- Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady, Chip Esten, Greg Proops and Brad Sherwood.
* LoudOfWar: The episode "A House Reunited" has Mimi attempting to drive Drew out of his house by loudly playing "Panama" for three days.
* MayDecemberRomance: One of Drew's relationships.
* NotWearingPantsDream
* OrphanedPunchline: The very first line of the series. The camera pans across the bar and winds up on Lewis, who's telling Oswald:
-->'''Lewis:''' [[AcceptableTargets And that's why the French don't wash]].
* ParachuteInATree: Tim Allen (AsHimself) gets stuck in the tree in Drew's back yard after a failed parachute publicity stunt. Drew doesn't cut him down since the idea of having a celebrity stuck in your tree is funnier than letting him leave.
* ParodyAssistance: When the producers were going to do an episode making fun of sci-fi conventions and the fans who go to them in costume, they wanted to have a couple of characters dress up as aliens from ''Babylon 5''. The creators of B5 agreed... and sent their own makeup people to do the alien makeup effects.
* ThePeteBest - Before Mr. Wick, Drew had another boss in Season 1 named Mr. Bell, played by Kevin Pollack.
* PimpedOutDress - Mimi's offbeat FairytaleWeddingDress.
* RapeAsComedy - Once episode features Lewis coming into Drew's house visibly shaken and proceeds to tell Oswald how the monkeys at Drug Co. attempted to rape him after having sex drugs tested on them. Oswald and the StudioAudience proceed to find the situation hilarious. Oswald goes on to make several jokes about it.
* ReallyGetsAround: In high school Kate was so promiscuous that she was nicknamed "Give It Away Kate."
* RecursiveCrossdressing: Parodied in "Drew's Inheritance," which centered on the wacky hijinx resulting from the will of the Careys' late eccentric television-and-movies-obsessed Uncle Cecil. Each potential recipient had to fulfill a condition somehow relating to a favored movie. His condition for Steve Carey was to dress like a woman pretending to be a man. Generally a [[WholesomeCrossdresser]], Steve wore a suit for the will reading and remarks that he's already fulfilled the condition. The executor comments that Uncle Cecil didn't think that one through very far.
* ReTool: When Drew finally leaves abusive corporation Winfred Lauder for an incompetent Internet startup.
* RealSongThemeTune: See below.
* ReplacedTheThemeTune: "Moon over Parma" to "Five O'Clock World" by The Vogues to "Cleveland Rocks" by Presidents of the United States of America.
* RightBehindMe
* RightOnTheTick: songs "Five O'clock World" and "Cleveland Rocks."
* RoadTripEpisode: An episode has the main cast piling into the Buzz Beer van and travelling to New York in an attempt to sell the beer outside a baseball game.
* RogerRabbitEffect: When DaffyDuck made a [[TheUnexpected surprise appearence]].
* SecretlyWealthy: In the episode "Y2K, You're Okay," the the gang withdraws their life savings in fear of the upcoming event. It turns out that Lewis had $37,000 in his account.
---> '''Drew:''' $37,000!? Mister "Hey, I'm a little short this week, can I borrow a buck?"
---> '''Lewis:''' I must've said that, what, 37,000 times?
* SexyCoatFlashing: Drew does it to surprise Kate when the two are dating. Unfortunately, Kate has organised a surprise dinner with her grandparents.
* ShoutOut: Drew's {{Ghoulardi}} shirts.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Mimi. Double points for being a FashionVictimVillain.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Spot the Mistakes, every season around April Fools' Day; usually held as a contest.
** The show also had a number of "theme episodes", or just simple seemingly out-of-place moments (such as a sudden musical number to resolve the serious A-plot), that would have some off-kilter take on things; this was due to Drew Carey having cannily signed a contract to produce the show for a set number of seasons and that protected it from a large amount of ExecutiveMeddling, allowing him to [[ProtectionFromEditors do whatever the hell he wanted]] to a certain extent. It became infamous enough for these episodes that Weird Al even mentioned it in his song about TV:
--->"-and a special all-PigLatin episode of Drew Carey!"
** For a time during the middle seasons this was considered to be the charm of the show, as there literally was nothing else like it on American television.
* SomethingTheyWouldNeverSay: Mimi was nice around Drew when her baby was born, but since she treated Drew normally while pregnant, the baby thought she was someone else when acting nice.
* SpeakingSimlish: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6wQxEWkh6U&feature=related Seen Here]] Upon the show opening the characters speak in "blah, blah" form with a talk bubble showing the meaning. (Drew Carey has a cameo appearance in the original [[TheSims Sims]] game)
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Kellie replacing Kate
* SweaterGirl: Oswald's mom was said to wear tight angora sweaters.
* TalkToTheHand:
--> Steve: Bro, I wanted to tell you something for a long time...I play for the other team.
--> Lewis Kiniski: I knew it, he's gay.
--> Steve: No, I mean the other softball team. And, if you think I'm gay, well... talk to the hand [sticks out his hand].
--> Lewis Kiniski: [to Steve's hand] Oh, hello.
* ThemeTune: Oddly, all three openings used - "Moon Over Parma", "Five O'Clock World", and "Cleveland Rocks" - are also {{Real Song Theme Tune}}s
* TitleSequenceReplacement - The "Cleveland Rocks" TitleSequence is the only one used in syndicated reruns.
* TooDumbToLive - Oswald. A total exagerration of the typical sitcom dumb friend.
* UglyGuyHotWife - Used straight and subverted countless times--Drew's hooked up with Wanda Sykes and an aged Mrs Partridge, but has also slept with characters played by Jenny Mccarthy, Christa Miller, and more. Unusual for the trope, its made clear that Drew dates mostly on an actual relationship and not simply looks. In a HighSchoolReunion episode the (still attractive) cheerleader who used to mock him was suddenly attracted to him because he was a respectible guy with a steady job. And some would say Sykes and Mrs Patridge are still hot. In the literal sense he ends the series married to [[{{Titus}} Cynthia]] [[Series/{{Lost}} Watros]].
* UncannyValleyMakeup: Mimi. Enough said.
** Tammi Faye Baker played her mother at one point for good reason.
* VerySpecialEpisode - Parodied, alongside OscarBait material with CerebusSyndrome-type stories.
* VitriolicBestBuds - Later seasons showed that Drew and Mimi really know each other better than any of their friends and by the last season they basically admitted it to each other. Mimi even became family by marrying his brother and in the last season [[spoiler: when his brother was caught having an affair, Drew took Mimi's side.]]
** There's even an episode where they randomly meet on an internet chat site and start to develop an online romance (neither is involved with anyone at the time). When Drew figures it out, he is somewhat traumatized.
* TheVoice - Drew's first boss, until he was fired and finally appeared after cleaning out his desk
* WholesomeCrossdresser - Drew's brother Steve, one of the few Western examples of this trope
* WondrousLadiesRoom:
-->'''Larry:''' How come there's no couch in the men's room?
-->'''Drew:''' If there was, would you want to lay on it?
* WorkCom
* TheWorstSeatInTheHouse: Drew, Oswald and Lewis were all going after the same girl. Drew and Oswald each got tickets for a concert. Drew's were "restricted view" but he managed to convince [[TheDitz Oswald]] that that was better and traded tickets with him.
* XCalledTheyWantTheirYBack
* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn - On one episode, parodying ''TheFullMonty'', Drew and the boys form a strip act in order to earn enough money to replace a dog they accidentally had neutered.
* YourMakeupIsRunning
----
->''I got screwed by the system. I'm always gettin' screwed by the system. That's my role in life: I'm the system's '''bitch'''!''
A {{Dilbert}}esque look at office life, about a nice but overweight, unattractive man with a low-paying dead-end job as the Assistant Director of Personnel of the Winfred Louder department store (there is no Director of Personnel).
He is the perpetual [[TheEveryman everyman]] who can never seem to get [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption ahead in life.]] Bad things never stop happening to him. He still hangs out with his friends from high school, Lewis, Oswald and Kate (who started as [[PlatonicLifePartners purely platonic friends]] with Drew only to become his later love interest). Also, his dog is crippled.
As part of his job he has to deal with his [[BadBoss sadistic boss]] Mr. Wick and Mimi, an obnoxious co-worker who only got the job by threatening to sue because Drew didn't hire her for another job. And that is all on top of general [[IncompetenceInc office bureaucracy]].
The series would go on to become sillier and cartoonish as it went on, due to having more creative freedom due to being uncancellable for a time. Later seasons would have Mimi and Drew engaged in prank wars that would escalate to the point where Mimi drugged Drew and dropped him off at the Great Wall of China. Several episodes were made littered with intentional mistakes pointed out to the audience, which they could tally for a contest (which were often random, over-the-top sight gags, ranging from hairstyle changes, actor changes, characters being replaced by sock puppets, and an entire scene being done in {{Machinima}} using TheSims). Other notable silliness includes an episode done mostly in improv (to spoof Drew Carey's role as host of ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway)'', and an episode where Oswald and Lewis are treated by a dentist who is a very over-the-top Dr. Frankenstein parody.
Drew and Ryan Stiles (Lewis) became fixtures for ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' that also featured several other cast members briefly.
Sort of a WorkCom, but one which focuses on a single character rather than an ensemble.
----
!!This show provides examples of:
* ActorAllusion: One episode has [[HappyDays Marion Ross]] and [[LostInSpace June]] [[Series/{{Lassie}} Lockhart]], playing Drew and Lewis' mothers respectively, discussing how their children are messed up because the perfect mothers on old television set the bar too high.
** Additionally, Drew's mom was often referred to as "Mrs. C."
* AgeInappropriateDress: A problematic customer.
* TheArtOfBraRemoval - Drew has problems dealing with bra straps.
* {{Auction}}
* BadBoss: Mr. Wick. He frequently fires random workers and takes great pleasure in doing so.
-->''(telling a bedtime story)'' "Once upon a time... Johnson was fired."
* BasementDweller
* BerserkButton - Drew Carey stated that the ''Friends'' theme song became this for him in real life. He had nothing against the show itself, or any of the actors, but hated his show being called a "Friends clone" just because it was a sitcom about someone who ''had friends''.
* BigBeautifulWoman: At the start of season 3, Drew is dating a thin woman called Nicki Fifer. In the first episode she appears in, she claims to have just recently lost eighty pounds and that she is, normally, a very BigEater. But then as the season progresses, she appears fatter and fatter, having the actress wear bigger and bigger fat-suits. Eventually she is an out and out BigBeautifulWoman, much bigger even than the already hefty Drew.
** We even see a scene of what Drew considers FetishFuel: He's grabbing a midnight snack when Nicki appears in her pyjamas and they act out the TopGun scene in which TomCruise feeds his lover seductively. The difference is that Nicki is eating far more, and all her food is fattening stuff like a whole can of whipped cream, and an entire bottle of syrup.
* BuryMeNotOnTheLonePrairie - Drew's great uncle Alfred's last wish was to buried in Drew's backyard.
* ButLiquorIsQuicker - When Lewis realizes if a girl drinks, and he doesn't, his chances of getting some increase.
* CaptainMorganPose - In one episode his boss does a CaptainMorganPose while wearing spandex shorts, noooot a pretty sight.
* CastingGag - [[HappyDays Marion Ross played Drew's mom. Tom Bosley played Mimi's dad.]] When [[ThePartridgeFamily Shirley Jones]] played an older love-interest of Drew, they ''had'' to bring his mom in for them to meet. And Danny Bonaduce played her adult son.
* CelebrityParadox - Drew Carey once appeared as a one-shot character on ''HomeImprovement''. Tim Allen later appeared on ''The Drew Carey Show'' as himself, where Drew knew him from watching ''Home Improvement''.
* TheChewToy - The protagonist, Drew.
-->'''Drew:''' I'm gettin' screwed by the system. I'm ''always'' gettin' screwed by the system. That's my role in life: I'm the system's ''bitch''.
** Best described by BadBoss Mr. Wick
-->'''Mr. Wick''': "Oh look everybody, Carey's detected an irony! He's smart, smarter than me... and ''yet'', I make more money. ''*deadpans*'' Oh look, now ''I've'' detected an irony."
* ClevelandRocks - They even used a cover of the TropeNamer as an opening for several season
* CloudCuckooLander - Oswald and Lewis. The former is a dimwit, the latter is crazy. They're often paired together. HilarityEnsues.
* ComedicSociopath: Lewis. Originally depicted as being as dumb as Oswald, as time went on he was revealed to be not so much stupid, but crazy and comedically heartless at times.
* CrossOver - With ''NYPDBlue'', of all shows.
** Also with ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' on a few April Fools episodes.
** In one episode, the gang watches a how-to video about roof repair hosted by none other than [[HomeImprovement Tim Taylor]]. (This is ironic, as [[CelebrityParadox Tim Allen appeared in an earlier episode as himself]].)
** In 1997, ABC forced a crossover stunt on ''Drew'' and the other Wednesday night sitcoms - ''Coach'', ''Ellen'' and ''GraceUnderFire''. Titled "Viva Las Vegas," the idea was that characters from the four shows would be in Las Vegas for different reasons and encounter each other. Only a couple characters from each series did this, however, and they amounted to [[TheCameo cameos]] at best. This series' contribution was "Drew Gets Married." Notably, Drew himself was the only one to appear in every show that night.
* TheDanza: Drew Carey is played by... Drew Carey.
* {{Disproportionate Retribution}}: Mimi constantly, starting all way back to the pilot episode where she lashes out at Drew for ''assuming'' he wasn't going to hire her based on her looks when all he did was tell her they would get back with her.
* DoItYourselfThemeTune: Wayne is asked to create a disco style theme for Drew Live 2. [[SmallReferencePools Naturally]], it manifests as a ShoutOut to ''Shaft''.
* DoppelgangerDating
* EditedForSyndication: "Two Drews and the Queen of Poland Walk Into A Bar" hasn't been seen uncut and uncensored since its premiere due to complaints from the Polish community about the jokes. Also, the episodes that aired on the superstation channel ION cut out all jokes and references to male genitalia.
* EmbarrassingMiddleName
-->'''Mimi:''' ''Drew'' '''Allison''' '''''Carey'''''? God, all three of your names are for girls.
** And note that that is Drew's actual middle name.
* ExcessiveEvilEyeshadow: Mimi.
* {{Flanderization}}: Drew remained the everyman, but Oswald's stupidity, Lewis' oddness and Kate's promiscuity were ramped up. Mimi's make-up was just overdone and her clothing just poor fashion, later she practically wears clown make-up and aims to wear the most gawdy outfits imaginable.
* FurAndLoathing - An activist vandalized the store after pretending to be a buyer in order to get Drew to bring the fur coats within arm's reach. The manager of the fashion department was on a FirstNameBasis with her.
* FakeBrit - Technically [[strike:British]] American Scotsman CraigFerguson played Englishman Nigel Wick.
** FakeAmerican - When CraigFerguson broke the FourthWall, he would always use an American accent.
*** In one of the April Fool's episodes, during a ''HeeHaw'' reference, he uses his real accent to do a "SAAAALUTE!" to his home town.
* FormallyNamedPet: Drew and Lewis bribe Oswald into voting to sell Buzz Beer by giving him a bunny. He immediately names it Commander Bun-Bun and starts to act like a DiabolicalMastermind with a RightHandCat.
* FurryFandom - A girl Drew dates in one episode turns out to be a furry.
* GagPenis - During "Dog and Pony Show", one of Drew's coworkers turned out to have one, as displayed behind the counter.
-->'''Drew:''' ''(drains his beer)'' You think you'd be more popular...
* GoingToSeeTheElephant: In one episode, Drew and his friends visit Hershey, Pennsylvania just because they can smell the chocolate from the highway.
* GroinAttack: Mr. Wick is shot in the crotch with a crossbow at one point, and has to have one of his testicles removed.
* TheGump: Drew's mom. While a secretary at NASA, she made an off-hand comment about sending men to the moon just when one Senator Kennedy was visiting.
-->'''Drew:''' Mom, you're [[ForrestGump Florence Gump]].
* HelloNurse: Oswald's mom was explicitly this for his friends when they were younger, and when she makes an appearance she is played by Adrienne Barbeau.
** Diedrich Bader and Adrienne Barbeau also did the voices of [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold Batman]] and [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries Catwoman]], though it was in two different series.
* HeterosexualLifePartners - Oswald and Lewis
** Drew Carey and Ryan Stiles became a RealLife version after this show, ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' and most other projects.
* HeyLetsPutOnAShow
* IAmOneOfThoseToo: During the improv episode, Oswald is pretending to be German while talking to a bartender to see if she cheats him. She immediately says she was born in Germany and starts talking to him in German. He then says he is actually from a small town France called Germany. She then says she went to school in France for several years and starts speaking French.
* ICallHimMisterHappy: Oswald nicknamed his genitals "the Olsen twins".
* {{Irony}}: Drew finally managed to get Mimi fired by convincing Mr. Wick to put her into a cubicle, which she refused to do. Later her and Drew's brother put their camper in his backyard and Drew discovered she was claustrophobic, which is a medical condition that would release her from the circumstances of why she was fired. When he learned that he went crazy over the moral obligation and getting her out of his backyard vs. not having to deal with her at work.
* {{Jerkass}}: On Lewis, Ryan Stiles has said that he's "less of a character and more a jerk".
** Mimi as well. This trope describes practically her entire character, although she certainly has her share of PetTheDog moments.
* ImpossiblyTackyClothes - Mimi
* KarmaHoudini: Mimi has got away with a number of things including sending Drew to China. When he returned, he burned her desk down to its frame. She was very scared by his subsequent threats of retribution.
** The one time he acted officially to get her fired for a prank that embarrassed him and the company, it turned out Kate was responsible.
* [[KavorkaMan Kavorka Woman]]: Mimi.
* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: Season one of ''The Drew Carey Show'' and a "Best Of" episode DVD have been released, but not the rest of the seasons. Even if the rest of the seasons were released, the episode "Two Drews and the Queen of Poland Walk Into a Bar" would be heavily censored (when it premiered, it garnered a lot of protests from Polish-American anti-defamation groups who thought the subplot of Mimi being related to Polish royalty -- and the jokes that followed -- was offensive, so all reruns -- including syndicated showings -- removed the "Mimi is Polish royalty" subplot and replaced the original cold opening teaser with one from a previous episode)
** Warner Bros. explained recently that the reason more [=DVDs=] of this show haven't been produced is because of music licensing issues.
* LieDetector
* LiveEpisode: With all the folk from Drew Carey-hosted ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' guest starring the fellows from Whose line- Colin Mochrie, Wayne Brady, Chip Esten, Greg Proops and Brad Sherwood.
* LoudOfWar: The episode "A House Reunited" has Mimi attempting to drive Drew out of his house by loudly playing "Panama" for three days.
* MayDecemberRomance: One of Drew's relationships.
* NotWearingPantsDream
* OrphanedPunchline: The very first line of the series. The camera pans across the bar and winds up on Lewis, who's telling Oswald:
-->'''Lewis:''' [[AcceptableTargets And that's why the French don't wash]].
* ParachuteInATree: Tim Allen (AsHimself) gets stuck in the tree in Drew's back yard after a failed parachute publicity stunt. Drew doesn't cut him down since the idea of having a celebrity stuck in your tree is funnier than letting him leave.
* ParodyAssistance: When the producers were going to do an episode making fun of sci-fi conventions and the fans who go to them in costume, they wanted to have a couple of characters dress up as aliens from ''Babylon 5''. The creators of B5 agreed... and sent their own makeup people to do the alien makeup effects.
* ThePeteBest - Before Mr. Wick, Drew had another boss in Season 1 named Mr. Bell, played by Kevin Pollack.
* PimpedOutDress - Mimi's offbeat FairytaleWeddingDress.
* RapeAsComedy - Once episode features Lewis coming into Drew's house visibly shaken and proceeds to tell Oswald how the monkeys at Drug Co. attempted to rape him after having sex drugs tested on them. Oswald and the StudioAudience proceed to find the situation hilarious. Oswald goes on to make several jokes about it.
* ReallyGetsAround: In high school Kate was so promiscuous that she was nicknamed "Give It Away Kate."
* RecursiveCrossdressing: Parodied in "Drew's Inheritance," which centered on the wacky hijinx resulting from the will of the Careys' late eccentric television-and-movies-obsessed Uncle Cecil. Each potential recipient had to fulfill a condition somehow relating to a favored movie. His condition for Steve Carey was to dress like a woman pretending to be a man. Generally a [[WholesomeCrossdresser]], Steve wore a suit for the will reading and remarks that he's already fulfilled the condition. The executor comments that Uncle Cecil didn't think that one through very far.
* ReTool: When Drew finally leaves abusive corporation Winfred Lauder for an incompetent Internet startup.
* RealSongThemeTune: See below.
* ReplacedTheThemeTune: "Moon over Parma" to "Five O'Clock World" by The Vogues to "Cleveland Rocks" by Presidents of the United States of America.
* RightBehindMe
* RightOnTheTick: songs "Five O'clock World" and "Cleveland Rocks."
* RoadTripEpisode: An episode has the main cast piling into the Buzz Beer van and travelling to New York in an attempt to sell the beer outside a baseball game.
* RogerRabbitEffect: When DaffyDuck made a [[TheUnexpected surprise appearence]].
* SecretlyWealthy: In the episode "Y2K, You're Okay," the the gang withdraws their life savings in fear of the upcoming event. It turns out that Lewis had $37,000 in his account.
---> '''Drew:''' $37,000!? Mister "Hey, I'm a little short this week, can I borrow a buck?"
---> '''Lewis:''' I must've said that, what, 37,000 times?
* SexyCoatFlashing: Drew does it to surprise Kate when the two are dating. Unfortunately, Kate has organised a surprise dinner with her grandparents.
* ShoutOut: Drew's {{Ghoulardi}} shirts.
* SitcomArchNemesis: Mimi. Double points for being a FashionVictimVillain.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: Spot the Mistakes, every season around April Fools' Day; usually held as a contest.
** The show also had a number of "theme episodes", or just simple seemingly out-of-place moments (such as a sudden musical number to resolve the serious A-plot), that would have some off-kilter take on things; this was due to Drew Carey having cannily signed a contract to produce the show for a set number of seasons and that protected it from a large amount of ExecutiveMeddling, allowing him to [[ProtectionFromEditors do whatever the hell he wanted]] to a certain extent. It became infamous enough for these episodes that Weird Al even mentioned it in his song about TV:
--->"-and a special all-PigLatin episode of Drew Carey!"
** For a time during the middle seasons this was considered to be the charm of the show, as there literally was nothing else like it on American television.
* SomethingTheyWouldNeverSay: Mimi was nice around Drew when her baby was born, but since she treated Drew normally while pregnant, the baby thought she was someone else when acting nice.
* SpeakingSimlish: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6wQxEWkh6U&feature=related Seen Here]] Upon the show opening the characters speak in "blah, blah" form with a talk bubble showing the meaning. (Drew Carey has a cameo appearance in the original [[TheSims Sims]] game)
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Kellie replacing Kate
* SweaterGirl: Oswald's mom was said to wear tight angora sweaters.
* TalkToTheHand:
--> Steve: Bro, I wanted to tell you something for a long time...I play for the other team.
--> Lewis Kiniski: I knew it, he's gay.
--> Steve: No, I mean the other softball team. And, if you think I'm gay, well... talk to the hand [sticks out his hand].
--> Lewis Kiniski: [to Steve's hand] Oh, hello.
* ThemeTune: Oddly, all three openings used - "Moon Over Parma", "Five O'Clock World", and "Cleveland Rocks" - are also {{Real Song Theme Tune}}s
* TitleSequenceReplacement - The "Cleveland Rocks" TitleSequence is the only one used in syndicated reruns.
* TooDumbToLive - Oswald. A total exagerration of the typical sitcom dumb friend.
* UglyGuyHotWife - Used straight and subverted countless times--Drew's hooked up with Wanda Sykes and an aged Mrs Partridge, but has also slept with characters played by Jenny Mccarthy, Christa Miller, and more. Unusual for the trope, its made clear that Drew dates mostly on an actual relationship and not simply looks. In a HighSchoolReunion episode the (still attractive) cheerleader who used to mock him was suddenly attracted to him because he was a respectible guy with a steady job. And some would say Sykes and Mrs Patridge are still hot. In the literal sense he ends the series married to [[{{Titus}} Cynthia]] [[Series/{{Lost}} Watros]].
* UncannyValleyMakeup: Mimi. Enough said.
** Tammi Faye Baker played her mother at one point for good reason.
* VerySpecialEpisode - Parodied, alongside OscarBait material with CerebusSyndrome-type stories.
* VitriolicBestBuds - Later seasons showed that Drew and Mimi really know each other better than any of their friends and by the last season they basically admitted it to each other. Mimi even became family by marrying his brother and in the last season [[spoiler: when his brother was caught having an affair, Drew took Mimi's side.]]
** There's even an episode where they randomly meet on an internet chat site and start to develop an online romance (neither is involved with anyone at the time). When Drew figures it out, he is somewhat traumatized.
* TheVoice - Drew's first boss, until he was fired and finally appeared after cleaning out his desk
* WholesomeCrossdresser - Drew's brother Steve, one of the few Western examples of this trope
* WondrousLadiesRoom:
-->'''Larry:''' How come there's no couch in the men's room?
-->'''Drew:''' If there was, would you want to lay on it?
* WorkCom
* TheWorstSeatInTheHouse: Drew, Oswald and Lewis were all going after the same girl. Drew and Oswald each got tickets for a concert. Drew's were "restricted view" but he managed to convince [[TheDitz Oswald]] that that was better and traded tickets with him.
* XCalledTheyWantTheirYBack
* YouCanLeaveYourHatOn - On one episode, parodying ''TheFullMonty'', Drew and the boys form a strip act in order to earn enough money to replace a dog they accidentally had neutered.
* YourMakeupIsRunning
----
