Line #124 WebVideo/Chroma


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chroma_cover.jpg]]
2	''Chroma'' is a French WebVideo series hosted by Karim Debbache acting as the SpiritualSequel of ''WebVideo/{{Crossed}}'', during which Karim once again talks about movies and cinema in general. The first season was made between January 2016 and May 2017, each episode focusing on a different movie and delivering a particular message or food for thought about cinema.
3
4	Funded popularly on Ulule, Chroma got a budget of a whopping 200,000€, allowing the show to have more special effects, a completely redesigned setting for the show, and creating an overarching plot besides the movies each episode is focused on.
5
6	Since the plot involves [[AlternateUniverse parallel universes]], here are the characters for the sake of clarity:
7	* Karim Debbache, the host of the show in universe 1.
8	* Jérémy Morvan, the sound engineer in universe 1.
9	* Gilles Stella, the camera operator in universe 1.
10	* Kamel Debbiche, Karim's [[AlternateSelf counterpart]] in universe 2 who travels to universe 1.
11	* Jérémy Morvain, Morvan's counterpart in universe 2 who follows Kamel.
12	* Gilles Stello, Stella's counterpart in universe 2 who doesn't follow Kamel and Morvain.
13	* The Loony Mustached Operator, also from universe 2, who does follow them.
14
15	The series is complete with 12 episodes:
16
17	* ''Film/Troll2'', an apparently GenreBusting movie about a family stumbling into a village full of hostile goblins.
18	--> What is a (bad/good) film?
19	* ''Film/{{Rollerball}}'' (the 2002 remake), an action movie featuring a Dystopia in which an ordinary hero participates in the eponymous sport.
20	--> All figurative films are political on two different levels.
21	* ''Film/HighlanderIITheQuickening'': the much-reviled sequel of Film/{{Highlander}}.
22	--> A fictional film has a [[WorldBuilding diegesis]].
23	* ''Film/{{Signs}}'': the science-fiction movie from Creator/MNightShyamalan featuring a family living an apparent alien invasion.
24	--> Films are screens. And [[AlternateAesopInterpretation we are the projectors]].
25	* ''Film/ParanormalActivity'': a ''found footage'' movie featuring a couple harassed by a malicious spirit.
26	--> A good film is a film that effectively uses [[CameraTricks the tools specific to the moving pictures medium]].
27	* ''Film/MacAndMe'': a ripoff of Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial.
28	--> The meaning of a film shouldn't be altered by [censored] [[EnforcedPlug pecuniary considerations]].
29	* ''Film/{{Vidocq}}'': a French DetectiveDrama featuring the famous inspector.
30	--> Just because a film is [[StylisticSuck unpleasant to look at]] doesn't mean it's a failure.
31	* ''Film/KnockOff'': a convoluted action movie by Hong-Kong star director Tsui Hark starring Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme.
32	--> The movies we love say a lot about who we are.
33	* ''Film/SilentNightDeadlyNight'': a 1984 SlasherMovie where the killer is dressed as Santa.
34	--> In a film, it's very hard to [[PoesLaw tell the difference]] between what's descriptive and what's prescriptive.
35	* ''{{Film/Gremlins}}'': The famous movie from Creator/JoeDante where the eponymous creature wreak havoc on a suburban town.
36	-->Cinema is a collective art.
37	* ''{{Film/Goodfellas}}'': The iconic gangster film from Creator/MartinScorsese.
38	-->All films are linked together.
39	* ''Film/{{Carnosaur}}'': A B-horror film about a MadScientist who recreates dinosaurs from chickens.
40	-->Cinema has no birth date.
41
42	After years of speculation and anticipation, Gilles unfortunately confirmed in 2024 that there [[CutShort wouldn't be a second season]], primarily because he, Karim and Jérémy no longer live in the same cities and because Karim is no longer comfortable with appearing on camera.
43	----
44
45	!Tropes found in ''Chroma''
46
47	* AbsurdlySharpBlade: Karim saw ''Knock Off'' so many times on [=DVD=] that he describes the [=DVD=] as "sharp as a fucking razor". When thrown, it can slice through someone's cheek and get stuck in their head.
48	* AccidentalMurder: PlayedForLaughs in Episode 8 when the aforementioned [=DVD=] ends up stuck in the skull of an unfortunate [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext man in a pastis bottle costume]] who just happened to be standing next to Gilles when Karim tried to throw the [=DVD=] at him to prevent the Loony Mustached Operator from stealing it and missed (then again, if he hadn't missed, the [=DVD=] would presumably have killed Gilles instead). Unlike [[spoiler:the ending of Episode 12 where Morvain kills Morvan, forcing the team to [[DisposingOfABody get rid of his body]] and [[StartingANewLife disappear]]]], this is merely a short gag which is irrelevant to the plot and never mentioned again.
49	* AgentScully: Karim acknowledges that this trope can be used to help the audience accept the supernatural explanation by making the down to Earth explanation increasingly unlikely, but he criticizes its use in ''Signs'' (where the policewoman is just being a dick about it) and ''Paranormal Activity'' (where Micah ''does'' believe there is something supernatural going on, but [[ArbitrarySkepticism doesn't trust demonologists]] and [[BullyingADragon does his best to antagonize the demon]]).
50	* AlanSmithee: {{Invoked}}, [[spoiler:Kamel]] explains this pseudonym's meaning[[note]]Directors could use it to disguise their work on a rejected or bad movie.[[/note]] in the third episode.
51	* AlienBlood: People possessed by the Pseudonyms have yellow transparent blood (implied to be [[ToiletHumor urine]]) instead of red blood.
52	* AlternateAesopInterpretation:
53	** Invoked for ''Signs'', where Karim and Kamel are identical in everything... except their opinion about the film. Karim thinks the film fails because he forcefully passes plot devices as "divine signals", which can fool the characters but not the viewers. Kamel points out that nothing in the film actually proves that the aliens are hostile, and that the characters who perceive divine signals might just as well be completely wrong; but the viewer is still led into adopting their point of view.
54	** Mocked in the review for ''Mac And Me''. When Jeremy starts doing the same thing with the aliens from the movie, theorizing they were evil, Karim openly calls it bullshit and somewhat racist.
55	** {{Discussed}} in Episodes 9 and 10, in which Kamel explains why he believes ''{{Film/Halloween\|1978}}'' and ''Gremlins'' are misinterpreted as perverted for the former and racist for the latter by some analyses.
56	* AlternateUniverse: Different parallel universes are featured, and Karim and Kamel are [[AlternateSelf alternate versions of each other]]. The differences between their respective universes are sometimes small (for instance, in Kamel's world, people apparently count in [[UsefulNotes/EsperantoTheUniversalLanguage Esperanto]]), sometimes important and relevant to the plot (the [[EldritchAbomination Pseudonyms]] are found in Karim's world but not in Kamel's).
57	* AluminumChristmasTrees:
58	** In-universe, in Episode 3, [[spoiler:Kamel]] criticizes ''Highlander 2'' for going for the cliché "CorruptCorporateExecutive trying to monopolize a vital resource" plot and says it never happens in real life. Well this kind of people do exist, as the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_electricity_crisis California electricity crisis]] proves it, to [[spoiler:Kamel]]'s shock.
59	** In Episode 12, Karim reacts with [[RealityIsUnrealistic disbelief]] when Gilles and Kamel explain to him that the method featured in ''Carnosaur'' for recreating dinosaurs by genetically engineering chickens is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Horner_(paleontologist) actually being tried out by geneticists with some success]].
60	* ArcWelding: Each episode not only focuses on a movie, but also presents an overarching plot in which the greatest movies ever made are [[RetGone disappearing from existence]] and similar movies of far worse quality have become notorious in their place.
61	* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking:
62	** Karim point out that in ''Knock Off'', Van Damme's character, a simple jeans salesman, is able to hold his own against the Russian mafia, the Hong Kong triad, the CIA and even fruit sellers.
63	** In the final episode, we can see that [[spoiler:Jérémy Morvain]] is wanted for murder, extraction-injection of piss for blood in a body, and theft of a book in a library.
64	* BadFuture: In Episode 7, a [[ItMakesSenseInContext portrait]] of Creator/OrsonWelles shows Karim a future where good movies have disappeared, resulting in everyone having bad taste, wearing ridiculous outfits or cracking bad jokes.
65	* BadgeGag: The fake passport [[spoiler:Morvain obtains in the last episode to flee the police]] is an obvious forgery, the picture is a photo of Creator/DannyTrejo.
66	* BaitAndSwitch: The seventh review starts with Orson Welles telling Karim in a dream to review [[Film/CitizenKane a film that revolutionized cinematic techniques, where the titular character dies early on and where we learn what happened through flashbacks recounted by people who knew him]]. Karim proceeds to review ''Vidocq''.
67	* BerserkButton:
68	** Many of Morvan's jokes have this effect on Karim and prompt a BigShutUp, he's so fed up with them he even [[DisproportionateRetribution headbutts him]] in the opening of Episode 1.
69	** Karim also loses it when Kamel says he wishes ''Vidocq'' never existed, even though they both just panned it, because he believes every movie has a reason to exist.
70	** Kamel does not tolerate parodies of ''Goodfellas'' and when Morvain shows him one he made, he ''[[ShootTheTelevision kicks the screen]]''.
71	* BewareTheSillyOnes:
72	** Morvan is shown to be a surprisingly good kung-fu fighter in Episode 1, he even has the upper hand against Karim even though the latter is armed with a nunchaku.
73	** He and the Loony Mustached Operator are also scarily effective at deleting good movies from existence after being possessed by the Pseudonyms.
74	** Morvain [[spoiler:shoots Morvan dead]] in Episode 12 as payback after [[spoiler:the latter tried to possess him too]] in Episode 5.
75	* BigWhat: Karim has this reaction after a DoubleTake when he learns that ''[[TheDitz Jérémy]]'' of all people is a fan of Creator/JeanPaulSartre's ''Being and Nothingness''.
76	* BrickJoke: In the first episode, Morvan mentions the "Pseudonyms", undefined monsters that "drink your blood and replace it with pee". A few episodes later, [[spoiler:the Pseudonym-possessed Loony Mustached Operator and Morvan]] are shown to bleed urine.[[note]]It's a pun on the French expression "pisser le sang" ("to piss blood" i.e to bleed heavily), inverted in "saigner de la pisse" ("to bleed piss").[[/note]]
77	* BullyingADragon: Karim mocks the tendency of Micah in ''Paranormal Activity'' to deliberately antagonize the supernatural presence in his house in a sketch where Jeremy is playing a threatening demon who is being bullied by Gilles like he's a little kid.
78	* ByNoIMeanYes: In Episode 8, Karim says that Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme and Tsui Hark "almost" enjoyed working with each other. He then clarifies that by "almost", he means "not at all".
79	* CallBack:
80	** The stoic cop saying "papers, please" was already a recurring character in ''Crossed''.
81	** In episode 5, Morvain mentions that he has a "commerce qualification, option small pets", also a joke from ''Crossed'', where Morvan claimed to have the same qualification when asked [[WhatExactlyIsHisJob what his job even is]]. This gag undergoes a CerebusRetcon in the final episode, where [[spoiler:Morvain kills Morvan]]: since ''Chroma'' is set before ''Crossed'', this means [[spoiler:Morvain [[KillAndReplace impersonated Morvan]] after killing him and is actually the one who answers the question in ''Crossed'']].
82	** Like in ''Crossed'', Karim loves (badly) drawing sphinxes for no reason.
83	** Charles from ''Crossed'' also reappears and serves once again as a living censor bar in Episode 6.
84	* CallingShotgun: [[spoiler:Kamel]] immediately does it when [[spoiler:Arturo offers him to travel to the other universes]] in Episode 3.
85	* TheCameo:
86	** Several of Karim's friends appear in episode 6, notably the WebVideo/JoueurDuGrenier, whose own episodes Karim was co-writing at the time.
87	** Episode 3 features a vocal one from famous French voice actor Daniel Beretta (better known as the voice of Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger).
88	* CensoredForComedy: The film's countless product placements and Karim's {{Precision F Strike}}s are censored by a melodica note and a blurring machine in the ''Mac And Me'' review. Of course, by the end the blurring machine breaks and Karim asks the melodica man to stop it already.
89	* CerebusSyndrome: Downplayed as comedy remains prominent, but after Episode 3 the plot thickens from pure gags to an overarching story which influences the video themselves.
90	* ChekhovsGun:
91	** A literal example, Morvain is shown to own a gun in Episode 8, then [[spoiler:shoots Morvan dead with it]] in Episode 12.
92	** Discussed and defined in Episode 4, in which Karim regards the instances of this trope in ''Signs'' as lazy writing, while Kamel points out that they may instead be interpreted as coincidences misconstrued by the main characters as divine signs.
93	* CloudCuckooLander: Jérémy Morvan. In Episode 5, he shows glimpses of his appartment and day to day life, with emphasis on his hippopotamus and tiger slippers. His AlternateSelf Jérémy Morvain shares this trait, for instance in Episode 12, we see him sleep and eat ''simultaneously''.
94	* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: The show uses blue lighting [[spoiler:in Karim's universe]] and red lighting [[spoiler:in Kamel's]]. The title sequence is also colored differently depending on [[spoiler:who reviews the movie]].
95	* ConflictBall: Everyone in the crew picks it in the first episode where Karim headbutting Morvan out of frustration at his lack of seriousness leads to a lengthy gratuitous fight among the crew plus another man named Professor Kung-Fu. This is contrasted in episode 10, which is episode 1 as it happened in universe 2 (the review being about ''Gremlins'' instead of ''Troll 2''): released on schedule with everyone getting along.
96	* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: When Karim is about to make an [[DiscreditedMeme overused reference]] to ''Film/LaHaine'', Kamel [[DisproportionateRetribution threatens]] to [[SlashedThroat slit his throat]] with [[SinisterShiv a piece of a rusty can crudely attached to a dirty toothbrush]]... and [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill have a witch, a marabout, a druid and a voodoo priest curse him for 3 generations]].
97	* DamnedByFaintPraise:
98	** Karim just says ''Paranormal Activity'' was "interesting". When Kamel asks him whether he means "good", Karim replies "interesting" again.
99	** The least insulting word Karim comes up with to describe Creator/RobSchneider's filmography is "existent".
100	* DarkReprise: In the 8th episode's opening, a slowed-down, disturbingly ominous version of ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNI9falAtqY Allô, allô, monsieur l'ordinateur]]'' plays.
101	* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: Karim always refers to the demon in the ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' review as some variant of "the devilish demon from infernal hell".
102	* DisposingOfABody: In the last episode, [[spoiler: the corrupted Morvan is shot in the head by Morvain, leading to an epilogue where the crew goes to a farm to cut up the body and throw the pieces in a river]].
103	* DistractedByMyOwnSexy: Karim finds his identical alternate self Kamel very attractive and calls him a "sublime ephebe with a perfect skin" within seconds of meeting him.
104	* TheDitz: Jérémy Morvan (later Morvain), the microphone holder, is the self-proclaimed "joke guy" of the show and has some rather… bizarre shticks.
105	* DoNotDoThisCoolThing: Discussed. Creator/FrancoisTruffaut's famous quote about how anti-war movies all end up being pro-war is mentionned in the ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' review to point out that the film is very fast paced and yet, contrary to ''Film/Scarface1983'', does not end with an epic battle and an iconic death, but with the protagonist leading the kind of mundane and boring life he didn't want, thus avoiding that pitfall to an extent.
106	* DreamIntro: Episode 7 begins with Karim dreaming of a portrait of Orson Welles goading him into talking about a good movie for change. Karim proceeds to talk about Vidocq while we were led into thinking he'd talk about ''Film/CitizenKane''.
107	* DudeNotFunny:
108	** Morvan keeps acting like a clown on the inaugural episode of Chroma, and Karim berates him for that, eventually headbutting him.
109	** Morvan farting onscreen in Episode 5 shocks and offends everyone so much they receive a letter from the government asking to censor it.
110	* DullSurprise: Discussed in the ''Film/{{Signs}}'' review, which seems to be a contest of who can act the least. Not the worst, just... the least.
111	-->'''Karim:''' "...Yes? Ah, sorry, it seems Creator/MelGibson has crashed. Can someone reboot him? Quick, he's starting to have flashbacks!"
112	* EldritchAbomination: The Pseudonyms are tentacled monsters that can possess people by drinking their blood and replacing it with urine, and erase good movies from existence, we have no idea where they come from or even ''why'' they even do any of these things.
113	* TheEndingChangesEverything: A lot of twists happens near the end of each episode, changing the perspective of what's been happening during it. The most notable is at the end of Episode 3, where it's revealed that [[spoiler:the episode was hosted by Kamel all along and is actually set in his universe rather than Karim's]].
114	* EvilPlan: The Pseudonyms want to replace good movies with bad ones until every good movie is gone from existence, the team calls this plan the Great Substitution. In Episode 12, it turns out that this plan is doomed to fail because bad movies can't exist without good ones and conversely.
115	* ExecutiveMeddling: Discussed by Karim in Episode 2, 6 and 8. It has a tendency to ruin the movies of competent film directors, ruining the original intention and alienating said directors from the producer in the first place. Karim theorizes that ''Knock Off'' is a mockery of Hollywood.
116	* EyeScream: The special effects of ''Mac and Me'' are so hideous, Karim asks a dentist to make him blind, the dentist agrees and starts his ''drill''. This is just a throwaway gag, however, and Karim can still see afterwards.
117	* {{Fanboy}}:
118	** Karim doesn't even try to hide he's a huge one for Creator/JeanClaudeVanDamme, and spends a long sequence gushing about his badassery in ''Knock Off''.
119	** He's also apparently a fan of Creator/TerenceHill and Creator/BudSpencer, but he denies it [[BadLiar very unconvincingly]].
120	* FinishingEachOthersSentences: When Gilles and Karim overcome the Pseudonyms' brain-washing and finally remember ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' in Episode 12, they keep finishing Kamel's sentences about it, to his annoyance.
121	* FluffyTheTerrible: Horrible monsters able to replace someone' blood with piss are lurking around. Their names? Pseudonyms. {{Downplayed}} as he word isn't cute sounding but doesn't sound threatening either.
122	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Episode 3, which places an emphasis on canon, features Jérémy and Gilles acting out of character. It foreshadows the fact that they are merely [[spoiler: alternate selves of the original crew belonging to a parallel universe]].
123	* FoundFootage: Part of Episode 5 is narrated that way, fitting the review's theme.
124	* GeniusDitz: Morvan and Morvain both show shades of this trope several times, for instance Morvain manages to perfectly remember and narrate the entire review of ''Gremlins'' in Episode 10.
125	* GetOut: When Jérémy does a fart joke in Episode 5, Karim orders him to leave the set. In Episode 6, Jérémy has to swear he won't do it again before being allowed to return.
126	* GreaterScopeParagon:
127	** While he only briefly appears, Arturo is implied to be one, as he appears to know more about parallel universes than any other character and sends Kamel's team to Karim's world to help defeat the Pseudonyms without fighting the latter directly.
128	** Archimed Kebab also qualifies, as he doesn't fight the Pseudonyms directly either but leaves riddles to help find the key to defeating them.
129	* HomemadeSweaterFromHell: Karim and Kamel both like wearing them.
130	* ImNotDoingThatAgain: In the ''Troll 2'' review, he notes that the only way to be scared by the film would be "to watch it on a smartphone, chased by twenty hungry wolves". Before adding "And that's something I'll never do [[NoodleIncident again]]".
131	* ImpaledPalm: In Episode 10, the Cerberus shoots a bullet through Karim's hand the second he misunderstands his riddle and shows his [=ID=].
132	* IntentionalEngrishForFunny: The video Jérémy directs in Episode 11 has ridiculously bad English subtitles, most notably when he says "[[Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay Hasta la vista... baby]]", which is subtitled "[[TranslationTrainwreck Until the view... little children]]".
133	* ItsALongStory: Jérémy holds the Loony Mustached Operator at gunpoint. Karim asks how he got a Beretta, and when Jérémy says the stock phrase, Karim just tells him to continue. Jérémy proceeds to recite his whole colorful life, getting sidetracked for so long the Loony Mustached Operator escapes when they were distracted by Jérémy's speech.
134	* JerkassToOne: While Karim and Kamel aren't exactly nice in the comedy moments, what with being prolific {{Deadpan Snarker}}s, the serious parts of their analysis have them somewhat respectful of the movies they review, even those they found bad. The two exceptions, one for each, are ''Mac and Me'', with Karim delivering the usual end-of-episode cinematographic aesop with genuine anger, and ''Silent Night Deadly Night 2'', which Kamel explicitly paints as an example of the worst fate cinema could suffer.
135	* KillAndReplace: Heavily implied in the last episode since [[spoiler:Jérémy Morvain kills Jérémy Morvan even though ''Chroma'' is set before ''Crossed'', in which a man calling himself Jérémy Morvan who looks exactly like ''Chroma'''s Morvan and Morvain does appear]].
136	* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: In Episode 12, when Morvain asks how long it took him to find the reel projector (needed to watch the reel they found in episode 10), Karim answers "four months". Four months is the actual time it took for the episode to come out due to technical issues.
137	* LikeRealityUnlessNoted: While it's generally assumed that Karim's universe is ours (aside from the Pseudonyms), as the films in it are the same as in reality (whereas in Kamel's universe, at least one real movie, ''Highlander 2'', doesn't exist until Arturo sends it to the team), it's somewhat implied that it might actually be a slightly different parallel universe since according to Episode 1, Gilles is the one who created ''You Can Leave Your Hat On'' in this universe rather than Music/RandyNewman. However, according to the same episode, Karim's team has been traveling to other universes before the show started, so another possibility is that Karim's team was originally from another universe and ended up living in ours.
138	* LivingPhoto: Episode 7 starts with Karim dreaming about a talking portrait of Orson Welles who shows him what the world will become if the Pseudonyms win.
139	* LookBehindYou: The Loony Mustached Operator shouts "watch out, a pastis man!" to distract Karim and try to steal the [=DVD=] of ''Knock Off'' in Episode 8. As it turns out, there's ''actually'' a man in a pastis bottle costume in the room [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext for no reason at all]].
140	* MagicAIsMagicA: In Episode 3, [[spoiler:Kamel]] criticizes ''Highlander 2'' for not obeying the clear established rules of the previous movie, saying that it takes the spectator away from the movie, and is a sign of disrespect.
141	* MistakenForRacist: In episode 10, Karim faces the Cerberus, who’s dressed as a policeman, only for the latter to ask "papers, please". Karim is pissed, apparently thinking the policeman is ask him that because he looks Arabic[[note]]face-based identity checks are an actual and serious problem in France[[/note]], while it was actually a riddle. As Kamel figures out, the policeman was asking to see not his "papiers" (papers) but his "pas-pieds" (not-feet), meaning his hands.
142	* MotorMouth: As a successor of ''WebVideo/{{Crossed}}'', Karim Debbache's fast elocution is par for the course.
143	* MultipleEndings: Discussed, ''Highlander 2'' has two endings, making [[spoiler:Kamel]] realize that the movie had a chaotic production, lifting some of the blame he's had for it.
144	* NamesakeGag: Archimed Kebab, the host of ''Chromatographe'', invented kebabs and named them after himself.
145	* PoliceBrutality: Even though the Cerberus's legitimacy as a policeman is questionable, the trope is invoked when he coldly asks "Papers, please" and then shoots through Karim's hand.
146	* PopCulturalOsmosisFailure: Karim and Kamel are alternate selves, but both movie buffs. However when Kamel mentions stuff like ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', Karim doesn't even know who Steven Spielberg is. [[spoiler: Turns out the possessed Jérémy and Loony Mustached Operator are somehow erasing good movies from existence, leading to Karim and the whole world not remember that they even existed]].
147	* PunnyName: A translator named France Lassion[[note]]This sounds roughly like "translation" spoken with a French accent.[[/note]] appears in a gag in Episode 5.
148	* RedFilterOfDoom: In Episode 8, the introduction features the possessed Jérémy erasing many movies from existence in a room, the whole scene being filtered in red.
149	* RetCon: While ''Crossed'' treated Kamel as Karim's second personality, ''Chroma'' reveals they're different individuals, which [[ContinuitySnarl contradicts a few gags]]. Another contradiction is that in ''Chroma'', Karim and Kamel deliberately wear slightly different outfits to help everyone tell them apart, but in ''Crossed'', they wear the same outfit.
150	* RetGone: Under the Pseudonyms' control, Morvan and the Loony Mustached Operator make good movies vanish from existence in Karim's universe, so the crew and supposedly everyone forgets about their existence.
151	* {{Retraux}}: Episode 12 starts with a short episode of ''Chromatographe'', a spiritual ancestor of ''Chroma'' which is DeliberatelyMonochrome and digitally aged.
152	* TheReveal: [[WhamEpisode Episode 3]] reveals the existence of parallel universes, allowing Karim Debbache to converse with an alter-ego, Kamel Debbiche.
153	* RewatchBonus: For all its silliness, the show’s plotline actually contains quite a bit of foreshadowing, referencing and subtle details that becomes more obvious on second watch:
154	** In episode 1, Morvan off-handedly mentions that Pseudonyms "drink your blood and replace it by urine" (which sounds like just a throwaway joke but becomes a plot point later on).
155	** [[spoiler:Kamel Debbiche]] doesn't say his name at the start of the third episode and the background is red this time, hinting that [[spoiler:he's not Karim Debbache and the episode is set in a different universe]].
156	** In episode 6, Morvan has a bandage on his right hand, after being wounded in his fight against Morvain in the found-footage section of episode 5.
157	** In episode 11, you can see the movie posters in the background gradually disappearing as the Loony Mustached Operator and Morvan keep erasing good films from existence (and since "all films are linked together", some films disappearing means that others never get made). In episode 12, as Karim and Gilles start remembering good movies, the posters also start reappearing.
158	* RiddleForTheAges: Many. What are the Pseudonyms and why do they want to erase good movies from existence? Why did Arturo choose to send Kamel's team to Karim's universe? Why can Archimed Kebab's reel undo the Pseudonyms' Great Substitution and why did he make it? Why did he leave riddles to find it? It's hard to tell whether these questions were meant to be answered in future seasons.
159	* RunningGag: Morvan, the Loony Mustached Operator and Karim all get their right hands wounded at some point (by a [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext flag-shaped cup]], a razor-sharp DVD and a gunshot respectively).
160	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: Jérémy Morvan quits in Episode 6 after Karim rudely rejects his theory about ''Mac and Me'', and is replaced with Jérémy Morvain.
161	* SequelHook: The last scene of the final episode features the Loony Mustached Operator appearing in the frame.
162	* SeriousBusiness: Gilles tells Karim he's going too far when he compares Creator/MNightShyamalan's failing career to the French singer Loïs Andréa's in Episode 4. When Karim says "as finished as Loïs Andréa's career" in Episode 6, [[BrickJoke Gilles is offended again]].
163	* ShoutOut:
164	** The storyline involving parallel universes is a parody of ''{{Series/Sliders}}'', a character is even named Arturo.
165	** Episode 3 starts with [[spoiler:Kamel Debbiche]] and [[spoiler:Jérémy Morvain]] playing chess on a beach in a homage to ''Film/TheSeventhSeal''.
166	** In Episode 5, Karim's alarm clock rings at 9:28, a subtle reference to ''Film/TheRoom2003''.
167	** The way Pseudonyms possess people is reminiscent of ''Film/InvasionOfTheBodySnatchers1978'', and the ending of Episode 5 is a homage to the film's TwistEnding.
168	** The opening of Episode 9 is a parody of the blood test scene in ''Film/TheThing1982''.
169	** In Episode 11, Jérémy keeps asking what's in the mysterious box Kamel found in the previous episode, and Kamel has to remind him he's ''not'' David Mills from ''Film/Se7en''.
170	* ShowWithinAShow: Episode 12 starts with the team watching a brief episode of ''Chromatographe'', the show Archimed Kebab hosted in the early 20th century, in which he analyzes the 1900 silent film ''Grandma's Reading Glass''.
171	* ShownTheirWork: The show is very well researched, Karim quotes and recommends a variety of books and articles throughout the reviews.
172	* SignificantAnagram: ''Chromatographe'' is hosted by Archimed Kebab, whose name is an anagram of Karim Debbache.
173	* SimilarlyNamedWorks: {{Invoked}}. The ''Film/Troll2'' review starts with a mention of ''House 5'', from the same director, and a long and confusing list of films that have similar names and [[DolledUpInstallment serial numbers]] without being related to each other. He later notes that ''Film/Troll2'' isn't a sequel to ''Film/{{Troll\|1986}}'' either. And then the list continues.
174	** In the Film/{{Carnosaur}} review, he makes another comically long list of films titled some variation of "Dead/Alive".
175	-->"Peter Jackson’s ''{{Film/Braindead}}'' had to be renamed ''Dead Alive'' for its release, not to be confused with ''Dead or Alive'', ''Dead or Alive'', ''Dead or Alive 2'', ''Dead or Alive Final'', ''Wanted Dead or Alive'' − the film not the series −, ''Wanted - Dead or Alive'', ''Hell’s Fury: Wanted Dead or Alive'', ''Dinosaurs Dead or Alive'', ''Hitler: Dead or Alive'', ''Alive or Dead'', ''More Dead than Alive'', ''The Dead are Alive'', or ''Dead or Alive''. They called it that lest people get it wrong."
176	* SoBadItsGood: Discussed at length in Episode 1, as Karim analyzes why exactly ''Troll 2'' is considered a bad movie even though it's very enjoyable thanks to how hilariously poorly made it is.
177	* DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible: Also discussed in several episodes, especially in Episode 6, in which Karim explains that he considers that unlike ''Troll 2'', ''Mac and Me'' is just atrocious and not worth watching because it completely distorts the meaning of ''Film/ETTheExtraTerrestrial'', the film it plagiarizes, with constant ProductPlacement and the entire removal of the ComingOfAgeStory elements of ''E.T.''.
178	* SoundtrackDissonance: ''Joy To The World'' plays in Episode 1 while Karim, Gilles, Jérémy and Professor Kung-Fu beat the shit out of each other.
179	* SpeakInUnison: Karim and his alternate self Kamel do that occasionally, even quoting [[Manga/DragonBall Gogeta]] together to bond.
180	* StartingANewLife: The final episode ends with [[spoiler:the team having to change their identities and flee to another country because Morvain is wanted by the police for the murder of Morvan]].
181	* StealthPrequel: While ''Chroma'' poses as the SpiritualSequel of ''Crossed'' with more budget (although the movies reviewed in ''Chroma'' aren't about video games, unlike in ''Crossed''), it's gradually revealed that it's actually set before ''Crossed'', that Karim and Kamel first met in their review of ''Signs'' and that [[spoiler:the Jérémy Morvan in ''Crossed'' is actually Jérémy Morvain, while the real Morvan is DeadAllAlong]].
182	* StylisticSuck:
183	** The segments where Gilles and Jérémy tell how movies would end if their plots made sense are made with crude [[HandPuppet Hand Puppets]].
184	** Karim and Gilles are both shown to be terrible at drawing, and some segments use their badly-drawn illustrations.
185	** Episode 4 shows part of a ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' fan film Kamel claims Karim directed featuring Gilles and Jérémy in ridiculous costumes poorly imitating martial arts.
186	** In Episode 11, Morvain shows Kamel an awful video he made blending quotes from ''Goodfellas'', ''Film/TaxiDriver'', ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay'' and the BulletTime from ''Film/TheMatrix'' with [[IntentionalEngrishForFunny awful English subtitles]] and ''[[Film/Titanic1997 My Heart Will Go On]]'' [[SoundtrackDissonance playing in the background]]. When he asks for feedback, Kamel answers by ''[[ShootTheTelevision kicking the screen]]''.
187	* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: In the last episode, after all the great movies reappeared, Karim makes a lengthy speech about the roots of cinematography but when he says that as long as there are people to go watch movies and talk about them, whatever the film, cinema will continue to exist from the most disgusting crap to the ultimate masterpiece and...
188	-->'''Kamel''': And everyone wins.
189	-->'''Karim''': But if everyone wins, no one loses!
190	-->'''Kamel''': Bingo!
191	-->'''Karim''': Then, we won!
192	-->'''Kamel''': Tringo!
193	-->'''Karim''': Cool! Let's party! ''(cue everyone partying)''
194	* TakeThat:
195	** Episode 4 mocks the French actor Creator/SamuelLeBihan's [[DullSurprise wooden acting]] with a barely animated deepfake of him.
196	** In the same episode, when Karim asks Kamel whether he likes ''Film/LiveFreeOrDieHard'' and ''Film/AGoodDayToDieHard'', Kamel answers "no" to the former question and "I don't give a shit" to the latter.
197	** Still in the same episode, Karim compares Creator/MNightShyamalan's failing career to the French singer Loïs Andréa's and alludes to the latter again in Episode 6. Both times, Gilles is the [[SeriousBusiness only person offended]].
198	* ThinkingTheSameThought: Happens several times to Karim and Kamel, especially when they first meet in Episode 4, they even play ''VideoGame/StreetFighterII'' together, [[MirrorMatch both pick Ryu]], [[FearfulSymmetry use the exact same moves]] against each other and eventually [[DoubleKnockout knock each other out]].
199	* ToiletHumor: Jérémy tells Karim to say "truck", only for him to fart. This is so bad [[SarcasmMode it offends someone who posts on Twitter]].
200	* VisualPun: Many, they're generally untranslatable. For instance, in Episode 2, while Karim mentions "Hollywood's upper crust", we briefly see a gratin[[note]]This works better in French because Karim says ''le gratin'', an expression meaning "the elite".[[/note]] with "Hollywood" written on it.
201	* VomitDiscretionShot: Happens twice to Gilles, first when he sees the hideous aliens in ''Mac and Me'' in Episode 6, then when he learns that Karim likes ''Knock Off'' in Episode 8.
202	* WhosOnFirst: When Karim asks Jérémy to write an opening about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Pellicano Pellicano]] in Episode 2, Jérémy writes one about pelicans in Spanish.
203	* WholeEpisodeFlashback: Episode 10 mostly consists of Jérémy Morvain remembering the first episode of his universe's ''Chroma'', which was a review of ''Gremlins'' instead of ''Troll 2''.
204	* JustForFun/XMeetsY: Discussed in Episode 9, where Kamel mentions that ''Film/SilentRage'', a SlasherMovie starring Creator/ChuckNorris, somehow got made presumably because of the belief that mixing 2 popular things will result in a hit. Then played for laughs when he then mentions he stopped believing this after [[ShowWithinAShow his films]] ''[[GratuitousNinja Ninja]] Cheeseburger'', ''[[Music/JayZ Jay-Z]] [[Franchise/TheMatrix Matrix]]'' and ''[[Franchise/StarWars Star Wars]] Sardou''[[note]]Michel Sardou is a French singer.[[/note]] all bombed.

Context WebVideo / Chroma