History Series / TruCalling

* ForWantOfANail: As with most time travel plots, small changes can have the biggest impacts... so this happens at least OncePerEpisode, and in a way is kind of an EveryEpisodeEnding type of theme.

* BittersweetEnding: Several episodes have Tru still unable to prevent the person who asked her for help from dying; rather, she's supposed to help accomplish some sort of goal for them before their death which was not fulfilled the first time around. [[spoiler:This occurs as early as the second episode, where she discovered that she wasn't supposed to prevent a firefighter's death, but instead help him save a little girl who died in the original timeline. Unfortunately, [[TearJerker she'd never counted on falling for him in the process]].]]

* NecessaryFail: One episode has Tru tries to save a gunshot victim with the usual tactics, by preventing his death. Her efforts cause [[spoiler:an innocent bystander to die when he shouldn't]]. Third time lucky, right? '''Wrong'''. [[spoiler:This time, a girl dies of a fatal heart condition and the initial victim had the compatible heart she needed.]] The reason the original scenario was a bad ending was because [[spoiler:his heart was damaged and thus rendered worthless]]. [[spoiler:The solution is make sure the first victim dies in a way that allows his heart to be salvaged and given to the girl with the disease.]]

* SchoolgirlLesbians: [[spoiler:Jen and Amy in "Star-Crossed".]]

* NotSoDifferent: Jack (Tru's EvilCounterpart) taunts Tru with this a few times. Of course, he may actually have a point...

%%* {{Adorkable}}: Davis easily.

[[quoteright:200:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TruCalling.jpg]]

[[EpunymousTitle Tru Davies]] (Creator/ElizaDushku) is a hot young morgue worker who one day discovers she can hear the voices of the recently deceased. And they pretty much only say one (surprisingly cryptic) thing: "Help Me". This triggers a [[GroundhogDayLoop time reset]] to before they died, and Tru uses everything she knows about the deceased and her own skills in an attempt to save them. This also affords her the opportunity to fix mistakes in her and her brother's lives and to make sure she [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption never progresses with her love interest]] by resetting any positive development.

* PlayingAgainstType: The comedian Zach Galifianakis in a rare dramatic role.

* DeadpanSnarker: More than one character, actually.

* {{Adorkable}}: Davis easily.
* TheBadGuyWins: In some episodes where Jack Harper is present. (Though whether he's really the bad guy is left up in the air.)
* BittersweetEnding: Several episodes have Tru still unable to prevent the person who asked her for help from dying; rather, she's supposed to help accomplish some sort of goal for them before their death which was not fulfilled the first time around. [[spoiler: This occurs as early as the second episode, where she discovered that she wasn't supposed to prevent a firefighter's death, but instead help him save a little girl who died in the original timeline. Unfortunately, [[TearJerker she'd never counted on falling for him in the process]].]]
* BodyOfTheWeek: Asking for help, of course.

* EnemyMine: Tru and Jack in the final episode.

* GroundhogDayLoop: In addition to the basic "rewound day" premise, there was an episode from the first season that actually followed this trope closely, in which she relived the day at least four times over, thanks to [[spoiler: screwing up so many times that other victims' corpses had to ask for her help too]].
* HornyScientist: Davis.
* IdiosyncraticWipes: To denote when a character's "Rewind" power was activating itself (and when you were going to or coming from commercial break).
** [[{{WMG}} By an odd coincidence,]] the rewinding effect is similar to that used at the start and end of each episode of ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'', also starring Eliza Dushku.
* MentalTimeTravel: Dead body asks for help, whoosh. One chance to save them [[spoiler: unless someone else dies in the attempt]].

* NotableNonSequitur: Happens in pretty much every episode.

* NotSoSmallRole: Jason Priestly.
* ParentalSubstitute: Davis is this towards Tru.
* PlayingAgainstType: Zach Galifianakis in a rare dramatic role.

* SmugSnake: Jack.
* TerminatorTwosome: When others work against Tru's attempts to change the timeline.
* WasItReallyWorthIt: Asked by Tru to Jack in one of the final episodes, where [[spoiler: Jack lets a woman fall to her death to make sure that she still dies the day she's supposed to even after he realized he was starting to have feelings for her]]. Jack's answer: [[spoiler: No. It definitely wasn't.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Jack, of course... and possibly even Tru, depending on your perspective.

* ChristmasEpisode: "'{{Twas the Night Before Christmas}}... Again". Though the episode before it, "Enough", was the series finale on Fox, this Christmas episode is, sadly, the very last episode, and the only Christmas episode that aired on the [[Creator/{{Syfy}} Sci Fi Channel]] during the marathon on January 21, 2008 (even though it was a little late for Christmas).

* ChristmasEpisode: "'{{Twas the Night Before Christmas}}... Again". Though the episode before it, "Enough", was the series finale on Fox, this Christmas episode is, sadly, the very last episode, and the only Christmas episode that aired on the SciFiChannel during the marathon on January 21, 2008 (even though it was a little late for Christmas).

* GenreSavvy: Davis, especially as regards to Jack.

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TruCalling.jpg '''''Help Me'''''

** [[{{WMG}} By an odd coincidence,]] the rewinding effect is similar to that used at the start and end of each episode of ''{{Dollhouse}}'', also starring Eliza Dushku.

* CompleteMonster: Tru's dad. He [[spoiler: had his wife killed because she was Tru's equivalent and him Jack's, and he couldn't deal; it is often mentioned that his treatment of his children went back and forth between absentee dad and constant pressurer; he then helps Jack kill Luc, offers Harrison a job solely to turn him against Tru... and finally, when Harrison learns that his father and Jack were working together, he strangles Harrison -his own son- when he won't agree to not telling Tru anything. Luckily for Harrison, he can't go all the way with it, but he had every intention of killing his son with his bare hands.]]

* BittersweetEnding: Several episodes have Tru still unable to prevent the person who asked her for help from dying; rather, she's supposed to help accomplish some sort of goal for them before their death which was not fulfilled the first time around. [[spoiler: This occurs as early as the second episode, where she discovered that she wasn't supposed to prevent a firefighter's death, but instead help him save a little girl who died in the original timeline. Unfortunately, [[{{Tearjerker}} she'd never counted on falling for him in the process]].]]

* WasItReallyWorthIt: Asked by Tru to Jack in one of the final episodes, where [[spoiler: Jack lets a woman fall to her death to make sure that she still dies the day she's supposed to even after he realized he was starting to have feelings for her]]. Jack's answer: [[spoiler: No. It definitely wasn't.]]

''Tru Calling'' is an American [[SpeculativeFiction Spec-Fi]] series that aired on the Fox network. Despite grabbing a large cult following, the show was sadly cancelled.

[[EpunymousTitle Tru Davies]] is a young hot morgue worker who one day discovers she can hear the voices of the recently deceased. And they pretty much only say one (surprisingly cryptic) thing: "Help Me". This triggers a [[GroundhogDayLoop time reset]] to before they died, and Tru uses everything she knows about the deceased and her own skills in an attempt to save them. This also affords her the opportunity to fix mistakes in her and her brother's lives and to make sure she [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption never progresses with her love interest]] by resetting any positive development.