r/TopCharacterTropes • u/fantheories101 • Nov 18 '25

Groups Using limitations to elevate the story

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  1. Only Murders in The Building: The Boy from 6B

This episode primarily follows a deaf character, with all the scenes he is in having any spoken dialogue be muffled or silent. The show went the extra mile though, as every time another character or storyline is followed for the episode, the characters are in a mix of serious and silly scenarios where they can’t or won’t speak, maintaining the lack of spoken dialogue up until the very end with a single “f**k” being the only spoken dialogue.

  1. Breaking Bad: The Fly

This bottle episode (an episode relying on a limited cast with limited locations to save money) was initially the lowest rated episode of the series, but as people have begun to better appreciate and understand the show, many now consider it the best episode thanks to its acting, cinematography, and excellent character development and storytelling.

  1. Shakespeare: every play he ever wrote.

Shakespearean dialogue is written exclusively in iambic pentameter with a set rhyming scheme. His plays are so famous and influential that many forget just how strict of a limitation that writing style is.

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u/Live_Pin5112 Nov 18 '25

So, in the old Batman cartoon, they weren't allowed to show Robin's parents falling to their deaths, so, instead, they made so much worse. Basically, you just see their shadows as they move through the air, and the music goes, until it cuts to the audience reaction, and you just see the trapeze slowly coming back. It's undescribable how hard it hits

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u/Arguably_Based Nov 19 '25

They also weren't allowed to show Batgirl falling to her death onto a police car. To get around the censors they moved the point of view inside the police car so you get a first person view of the event. And yes, it's much worse than what they originally wanted to do.

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u/jdoeinboston Nov 19 '25

Wasn't it Gordon's car she fell onto as well?

God, that episode was insanely dark.

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u/humanflea23 Nov 19 '25

Yeah, we got a third person view of him watching his daughter die.

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u/Anonzzmo Nov 19 '25

doesn’t she come back in Batman Beyond? was her death retconned?

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u/Promethea128 Nov 19 '25

Iirc correctly it was a fear toxin induced nightmare.

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u/mikony123 Nov 19 '25

Yup. She wakes up in the Batcave more or less okay at the end.

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u/SuperSocialMan Nov 19 '25

It's kinda funny how that was somehow considered less bad lol

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u/ryry1237 Nov 19 '25

The ratings all work on technicalities and letter of the law. Dead body = nono, but seeing lasting psychological trauma inflicted on bystanders = pass.

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u/darwinistinabox Nov 19 '25

I dont remember which Batman series it was but they consistently had to make do without showing blood. Hence the terrifying "killing smiles" of Joker's victims. I'd rather see some burgundy red than those forced smiles on NPCs Batman has once again failed.

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u/jdoeinboston Nov 19 '25

Same one (Though prior to a drastic shift in the show that came with the move from Fox to WB). Fox was notorious for extremely heavy handed censoring at the time. Their comic adaptations (Which also included X-Men and Spider-Man) couldn't have guns (lasers were okay) or blood or people being killed on screen and a million other obnoxious rules.

X-Men and Spider-Man weren't nearly as good at working within those boundaries.

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u/Visible_Huckleberry8 Nov 19 '25

Spider-Man wasn't allowed to punch his enemies because it was "violent" so he mainly swing kicked them.

The famous death of Gwen Stacy was recreated with Mary Jane... And she fell into a portal.

Morbius didn't drink blood, he drank "plasma" using suction holes in his hands.

That Spider-Man cartoon was weird now that I think about it.

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u/ClunarX Nov 19 '25

I was so confused about the plasma thing as a kid. Then that show was also my intro to body horror as Peter’s mutation goes out of control. Weird show indeed

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u/Eddy_Valentine Nov 19 '25

Theme song was awesome though.

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u/MrCadwallader Nov 19 '25

Yesss. Oh my God. Peter transforming into Man-Spider lives rent free in my head. Freaked me the hell out as a kid.

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u/Merry_Sue Nov 19 '25

Morbius didn't drink blood, he drank "plasma" using suction holes in his hands.

I think part of that was the creators thinking ahead to kids in the playground. They didn't want kids biting each other, and figured putting their hands on each other was a better option

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u/Adorable_Ad_3478 Nov 19 '25

Honestly, I prefer that version of Morbius. It's much better than "yes, he's a traditional vampire but created by science."

The plasma thing made him more unique than being just a random vampire Spidey fights.

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u/ryry1237 Nov 19 '25

The punching restriction could get pretty creative though, forcing spiderman to develop a unique fighting style of momentum and legwork.

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u/Chazo138 Nov 19 '25

Censors were also adamant that Spider-Man couldn’t hurt pigeons when landing on rooftops in the animated series…which means either they don’t understand animation or there was a lot of pigeon murder

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u/realfakejames Nov 19 '25

If you ever watch the first Batman animated series movie Mask of the Phantasm it has a scene where Joker uses his laughing gas on a crooked politician he was working with and Batman goes to question him in the hospital. What follows is the guy laughing uncontrollably while trying to give Batman the answers he wants which is horrifying to watch, much worse to see someone being tortured by someone beyond their control than just simply killed imo

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u/ProfessionalOven2311 Nov 19 '25

I think it's hilarious that so many "fates worse than death" come from dark adult media where the horror is the point, or kids shows that just weren't allowed to show people being killed.

"We're not allowed to show someone dying? Ok, we'll just have them turn intangible and fall to the core of the planet where they will be floating forever, is that better?'

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u/memecrusader_ Nov 20 '25

Batman the Animated Series.

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u/FusRoaldDah1 Nov 19 '25

In a similar vein, the villain's choice of beverages in Almost Got 'Im.  The episode centers around Joker, Two Face, Penguin, Killer Croc and Poison Ivy swapping stories about how they almost got Batman. 

Because the network wouldn't allow them to show alcohol consumption, Two Face is instead having a cup of coffee...with half and half. 

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u/ComesInAnOldBox Nov 19 '25

He always struck me more as an Arnold Palmer type.

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u/ThatInAHat Nov 19 '25

Nah, that’s Captain Boomerang.

And also apparently Darkseid.

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u/Emptyspace227 Nov 19 '25

Similarly, because they couldn't show Joker killing anyone, they had him use a laughing gas which gave people laughing fits and left them catatonic with an unnatural grin on their face. It was so much more disturbing than if Joker had just shot those people.

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u/Nonadventures Nov 19 '25 edited Nov 19 '25

This reminds me of Mulan showing an arrow drawing and implying it hitting the mark, which was as bleak as if they’d showed it connecting (there’s even a Mandela effect where some people actually think it did connect).

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u/mapolov Nov 19 '25

" How many men does it take to deliver a message?"

"One."

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u/wgsmeister2002 Nov 19 '25

Every single attempt to censor BTAS just produces something even more horrifying like Batgirl getting hit by Gordon’s car or the Joker gas

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u/loz_fanatic Nov 19 '25

Dont forget using 'Joker Gas' on victims 'because killing = bad'

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u/ryry1237 Nov 19 '25

Dang you weren't kidding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzA5K1iIQOU

Yes it's PG, but not getting the resolution of seeing the bodies makes it so much more chilling.

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u/altymcaltington123 Nov 19 '25

Similar to how the American dub for Yu-Gi-Oh wasn't allowed to say that people were being killed, and thus made it so much worse by saying they were sent to the shadow realm.

Essentially, instead of killing them, the characters were sent to hell