Basic Trope: A show's theme song explains key plot elements of the series.
- Straight: The theme song of Charlie and Dean explains how the titular characters became friends, as well as a few basic elements of the show's plot.
- Exaggerated: The theme song goes into detail about every single event, and even changes depending on what's happening in the episode.
- Downplayed:
- The theme song has a brief line mentioning that Charlie and Dean made friends one day at school.
- The theme song is instrumental, but shows a montage of Charlie and Dean going through various Once an Episode occurrences.
- Justified:
- Charlie and Dean themselves are mentioned to write and perform the theme song, and they wanted it to be about their experiences.
- The song is a framing legend that the show proper is based on.
- Inverted: There's an episode of Charlie and Dean showing the writing of the theme song and explaining how the lyrics were chosen.
- Subverted: The theme song to Charlie and Dean seemingly describes the title pair, but the Pilot shows two characters who do not match the description in the song.
- Double Subverted: Then the Pilot ends with Charlie and Dean developing into the characters described in the theme song.
- Parodied: The theme song goes off on multiple tangents which are then admitted to be not important to the story. Charlie and Dean becoming friends is only given a brief mention near the end.
- Zig-Zagged: ???
- Averted:
- The theme song has nothing to do with the show.
- The show doesn't have a theme song.
- Enforced:
- To let the viewers know what happens in the show right off the bat.
- Alternatively, there wasn't any time to explain how Charlie and Dean met, but the producers still wanted there to be an explanation in the actual show somewhere.
- Lampshaded: "We've been friends a long time. Remember the theme song?"
- Invoked: ???
- Exploited: Alice joins the cast and wants to know more about Charlie and Dean. Somehow, she discovers the theme song.
- Defied: ???
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "You ever notice how TV shows have theme songs that tell you what happens in the plot?"
- Deconstructed: (continuing from Exaggerated) As every episode essentially spoils itself in its intro, fans of Charlie and Dean see no enjoyment in observing the arrival of each new episode, and thus find new shows, slowly disintegrating the Charlie and Dean fanbase, and resulting in Charlie and Dean getting cancelled due to not having frequent and/or avid viewers.
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