Tropescilloscope: Captain Ersatz

A character who is meant to be very similar to one from another series, but just different enough to avoid copyright infringement. (read more at tvtropes.org)

More Tropes Show Within a Show And I Must Scream Hoist by His Own Petard Creator Cameo Riddle for the Ages The Power of Love Screw the Rules, I Have Money! Ripped from the Headlines Plucky Comic Relief Villain with Good Publicity Dirty Old Man Drowning My Sorrows Belligerent Sexual Tension Married to the Job Bury Your Gays Punctuated! For! Emphasis! Badass Normal Sexy Discretion Shot Brutal Honesty Improbable Aiming Skills Our Vampires Are Different Batman Gambit Cain and Abel Off-into-the-Distance Ending Needs Wiki Magic Love The '60s Bullying a Dragon Woman Scorned An Axe to Grind Badass Boast Stealth Pun Evil Sounds Deep The Atoner Would Hit a Girl Knife Nut Roaring Rampage of Revenge Shower Scene Happily Married Historical-Domain Character Artistic License – History The Smurfette Principle Anti-Villain folderlabel Reality Ensues Deconstruction Our Zombies Are Different Hooker with a Heart of Gold Blood Knight Shout-Out Non-Indicative Name Beta Couple Together in Death Documentary The Reveal All Girls Want Bad Boys Distracted by the Sexy Gender Flip Public Domain Feature Films Slasher Smile The Load Older Than They Look The Place Casting Gag An Aesop Karma Houdini Big Applesauce Determinator aka: The Determinator Rule of Symbolism Foregone Conclusion Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane Dumb Blonde Mistaken for Gay Shoot the Shaggy Dog Drugs Are Bad Obviously Evil Chekhov's Gunman Thriller Action Survivor Shirtless Scene Ironic Echo Slashed Throat Car Fu Vitriolic Best Buds Psycho for Hire Big Bad Let's Get Dangerous! Dropped a Bridge on Him Hate Sink Improbable Infant Survival aka: Infant Immortality Redshirt Army Australian Movies Spared by the Adaptation Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome Mind Screw Man on Fire Fatal Flaw Damsel in Distress Ship Tease Neck Lift Love at First Sight You Have Got to Be Kidding Me! Blatant Lies Mr. Fanservice Cloudcuckoolander Madness Mantra Laser-Guided Karma Say My Name Conspicuous CG Take a Third Option Red Oni, Blue Oni Alas, Poor Villain Parental Substitute Took a Level in Badass Double-Meaning Title Unreliable Narrator Biopic Break the Haughty Retired Badass Did Not Get the Girl Catch-Phrase Rich Bitch Slasher Movie Adults Are Useless La Résistance Alliterative Name Not What It Looks Like Girl-on-Girl Is Hot Real Life Award-Bait Song Grey and Gray Morality Beauty Is Never Tarnished Fanservice Extra Hypocrite Fourth Date Marriage Bloody Hilarious B-Movie Extreme Doormat Meaningful Name Dissonant Serenity Nice Job Fixing It, Villain! Rape as Drama Empathic Environment Rewatch Bonus Artistic License – Military Properly Paranoid The Dreaded Canadian Movies The Ace Demonic Possession My Greatest Failure What You Are in the Dark Jitter Cam Wrong Genre Savvy Pre-Asskicking One-Liner As the Good Book Says... 20 Minutes into the Future Manchild Drill Sergeant Nasty Covers Always Lie Failed a Spot Check The Brute Badass in a Nice Suit Bavarian Fire Drill My Beloved Smother And Starring Superhero Double Entendre The Alleged Car Rule of Cool Early-Bird Cameo Creative Closing Credits Video Credits Overly Long Gag The Dragon Improvised Weapon Whole Plot Reference Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" Freudian Excuse Film Noir Index Never Found the Body Straight Gay Only a Flesh Wound Victoria's Secret Compartment Token Minority Malevolent Masked Men Parental Neglect Police are Useless Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism Extremely Short Timespan Made of Explodium Meet Cute Accidental Murder Animated Credits Opening Improbable Weapon User Nice Job Breaking It, Hero! Romantic Comedy Curse Cut Short Dirty Coward Dual Wielding The Quiet One Manipulative Bastard Evil Cannot Comprehend Good The Faceless Historical Villain Upgrade Dressing as the Enemy Obstructive Bureaucrat Unspoken Plan Guarantee Papa Wolf Faking the Dead Maybe Ever After Back from the Dead The Cameo Gorn Unwitting Instigator of Doom Military and Warfare Films Russian Films Actually Pretty Funny Very Loosely Based on a True Story Black Comedy Gone Horribly Right Famous Last Words Have a Gay Old Time Offscreen Moment of Awesome Disguised in Drag Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! Moment Killer Disney Death Martial Arts Movie Depraved Bisexual Villain Opening Scene Ominous Latin Chanting Undying Loyalty Annoying Younger Sibling Hong Kong Films Fiery Redhead Deadpan Snarker Market-Based Title Wounded Gazelle Gambit The X of Y Vacation Films Race Against the Clock Fate Worse than Death Betty and Veronica Arch-Enemy Genre Savvy Storming the Castle Spanner in the Works Cat Fight Dies Wide Open Missing Mom Apocalypse How World of Ham Cool Guns Danny Peary Cult Movies List Adaptation Expansion As Long as It Sounds Foreign Blackmail Toplessness from the Back Framing Device Mighty Whitey The Oner Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking Due to the Dead Suspiciously Specific Denial Dramatic Gun Cock Posthumous Character Every Car Is a Pinto Bittersweet Ending "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue Ugly Guy, Hot Wife Smug Snake Animal Title Index Catapult Nightmare Fatal Family Photo O.O.C. Is Serious Business Captain Ersatz From Bad to Worse Honor Before Reason Rousing Speech Asshole Victim Sequel Escalation Suddenly SHOUTING! Corpsing Revenge Mad Scientist Sir Swears-a-Lot Last-Name Basis Break the Cutie Credits Gag Manly Tears Kick the Son of a Bitch No Antagonist Spiritual Successor Accidental Misnaming Brother–Sister Incest The Bad Guy Wins Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds Refuge in Audacity Artistic License – Biology Leave the Camera Running Totally Radical Vomit Indiscretion Shot Here We Go Again! Blonde, Brunette, Redhead Knight Templar Be Careful What You Wish For Darker and Edgier Fun with Acronyms All Men Are Perverts True Companions The Film of the Book Word of God Hollywood Darkness Dwindling Party Abusive Parents Stock Footage Loads and Loads of Characters Punch-Clock Villain Naked People Are Funny As Himself Exact Words "Awesome McCool" Name Adaptation Name Change Death Glare Taking You with Me Major Injury Underreaction Alpha Bitch Historical In-Joke Colour-Coded for Your Convenience aka: Color Coded For Your Convenience Rule of Three Police Brutality Setting Update Amusing Injuries It's All About Me He Knows Too Much Eagleland It's Personal The Un-Favourite aka: The Un Favorite Faux Affably Evil Dramedy Drives Like Crazy Decoy Protagonist Intergenerational Friendship Match Cut N-Word Privileges Early Installment Weirdness Adaptational Heroism Funny Foreigner Adaptational Villainy Bare Your Midriff Cool Old Guy Evil Counterpart Serial Killer German Films Four-Temperament Ensemble Adapted Out Bond Villain Stupidity Dark Action Girl Villain Protagonist Fan Disservice Title Drop Vampire Fiction Your Cheating Heart Retcon Impaled with Extreme Prejudice BFG Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas He Who Fights Monsters Camp Gay Nice Guy In Name Only Informed Ability Made of Iron Black and Gray Morality No OSHA Compliance Scenery Porn Heroic Sacrifice Not So Above It All Bald of Evil The Remake The Bully Take That! Femme Fatale Pragmatic Adaptation Ambiguous Disorder Easily Forgiven Facial Horror Grievous Bottley Harm Men Are the Expendable Gender Beware the Nice Ones Well-Intentioned Extremist Pretty in Mink The Ghost Leitmotif Loophole Abuse Time Skip Dark Reprise Curb-Stomp Battle This Is Gonna Suck Anguished Declaration of Love Recap / RiffTrax aka: Riff Trax Movies Logo Joke Brainless Beauty No Ending Pre-Mortem One-Liner Same Language Dub Vomit Discretion Shot Driven to Suicide Self-Deprecation Sassy Black Woman Bolivian Army Ending Your Head A-Splode Worthy Opponent Bound and Gagged Creepy Child Television Movie Index Affably Evil Freeze-Frame Bonus From Nobody to Nightmare Interrupted Suicide The '90s Scary Black Man Cool Car Black Comedy Rape Horror Doesn't Settle for Simple Tuesday Genre Throwback Death by Sex Nice Hat Children Are Innocent Crazy Jealous Guy Bland-Name Product Cassandra Truth Does This Remind You of Anything? Scenery Gorn Works Set in World War II Costume Porn Disney Villain Death Too Dumb to Live Eye Scream Bad "Bad Acting" The Chessmaster Auto Erotica Male Frontal Nudity Broken Pedestal A.I. Is a Crapshoot Does Not Like Shoes Red Eyes, Take Warning Parental Abandonment Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping Ax-Crazy Evil Is Hammy Ungrateful Bastard Pretty Little Headshots Meaningful Echo Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil Laughing Mad All Just a Dream Ascended Extra Leaning on the Fourth Wall Parental Incest The Stoner Overprotective Dad Eiffel Tower Effect Japanese Films Bowdlerise Only One Name Not Quite Dead Insane Troll Logic Daylight Horror Taking the Bullet Small Name, Big Ego Gilligan Cut Not Even Bothering with the Accent Expy Despair Event Horizon Body Horror Killed Mid-Sentence Friend to All Children Jump Scare Tagline After the End Irony Those Two Bad Guys Large Ham Antagonist Title Only in It for the Money Training Montage Gainax Ending Rasputinian Death Wicked Cultured Skewed Priorities The Stinger Tranquil Fury Obfuscating Stupidity Dogged Nice Guy Insult Backfire Green-Eyed Monster Screw This, I'm Outta Here! Lock and Load Montage Death Seeker Romantic False Lead Protagonist Title Psychological Thriller Flipping the Bird Idiot Ball The Smart Guy One-Word Title Precision F-Strike Stepford Smiler Frame-Up Mama Bear Fat Bastard Red Right Hand Fish out of Water Heterosexual Life-Partners Armor-Piercing Question Chewing the Scenery Artistic License – Law Trailers Always Spoil Awesome, but Impractical She Cleans Up Nicely Shell-Shocked Veteran Cool Shades Soft Glass No Name Given Italian Films Face Death with Dignity Advertised Extra Stalker with a Crush Pet the Dog Oh, Crap! Death of a Child Hero Antagonist Hypocritical Humor Downer Ending Eldritch Abomination Naïve Newcomer Cool Old Lady Once More, with Clarity! Based on a True Story Death by Adaptation Anachronic Order Adaptational Attractiveness Shipper on Deck Yandere Camera Abuse The Hero Dies Put on a Bus Dark and Troubled Past The '80s Adaptation Distillation The Musical One Steve Limit timeperiod Rated M for Manly Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? Love Triangle Five-Man Band A God Am I Anachronism Stew Suspiciously Similar Substitute Fire-Forged Friends Defiant to the End Really Gets Around Call-Forward Villain Song Film Noir Anti-Hero Sports Stories Why Did It Have to Be Snakes? Action Prologue The Ditz Attempted Rape Sci-Fi Horror Bar Brawl Instant Death Bullet Badass Longcoat Adorkable Mood Whiplash Fake Shemp Shut Up, Hannibal! All There in the Script Crapsack World Dying Moment of Awesome Reality Has No Subtitles Foreshadowing Artistic License – Geography Demoted to Extra Ambiguously Gay Jerk with a Heart of Gold Product Placement Bait-and-Switch Wham Line Bitch in Sheep's Clothing Arc Words Cluster F-Bomb Sinister Minister Bloodier and Gorier MacGuffin Heroes Want Redheads Author Appeal Stealth Hi/Bye The Great Depression The Starscream Blood from the Mouth Didn't Think This Through Not Using the "Z" Word Final Girl Retirony Screw the Money, I Have Rules! Flashback Hair-Trigger Temper Hidden Depths The '50s Berserk Button Pragmatic Villainy Immune to Bullets Beard of Evil Pyrrhic Victory The Mafia Bad Boss Broken Aesop Never My Fault Stuff Blowing Up Jerkass Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass Homage Throwing Your Sword Always Works Left the Background Music On Gold Digger Plot Hole Dull Surprise Artistic License – Gun Safety Important Haircut Villainous Breakdown You Killed My Father Henpecked Husband Music Stories I Just Shot Marvin in the Face Gory Discretion Shot Red Shirt Mexican Standoff Chiaroscuro One-Man Army Soundtrack Dissonance Horror Films Kids Are Cruel Combat Pragmatist Agony of the Feet It Can Think Outrun the Fireball '80s Hair Light Is Not Good Sadistic Choice Aluminum Christmas Trees The Casanova Bunny-Ears Lawyer Bi the Way Enemy Mine "The Reason You Suck" Speech Celebrity Paradox Serious Business The Big Guy Determinator Mundane Made Awesome I'm a Humanitarian Manic Pixie Dream Girl Greater-Scope Villain British Films I Need a Freaking Drink Face–Heel Turn Implacable Man Unresolved Sexual Tension NO INDOOR VOICE Ragtag Bunch of Misfits Spiteful Spit Make It Look Like an Accident Rule of Funny Humiliation Conga Mugging the Monster Race Lift Sacrificial Lion Politically Incorrect Villain Monumental Damage For Want of a Nail Deliberately Monochrome Nothing Is Scarier Genre Shift Establishing Character Moment What Happened to the Mouse? No-Holds-Barred Beatdown Lighter and Softer My God, What Have I Done? Badass Grandpa Psychopathic Manchild Zombie Stories Action Girl Kick the Dog Mooks Crucified Hero Shot Star-Crossed Lovers Getting Crap Past the Radar Meaningful Background Event Arranged Marriage Fingore Cat Scare Contrived Coincidence Funny Background Event The Un-Reveal Science Fiction Films Adult Fear Narrator Only Known by Their Nickname Deus ex Machina Dutch Angle Authority Equals Asskicking Ass Shove Smoking Is Cool Christmas Movies Index The Voiceless Disappeared Dad Badass Bookworm Big-Bad Ensemble No Celebrities Were Harmed Silence Is Golden Domestic Abuse Evil Brit Hell Is That Noise Fanservice Action Genre Amoral Attorney You Have Failed Me Big "NO!" "Well Done, Son!" Guy Everyone Has Standards Age Lift Black Dude Dies First Chekhov's Gun Visual Pun No-Sell Babies Ever After Wretched Hive May–December Romance The Cavalry The Dog Bites Back Central Theme Darkest Hour Wham Shot Fantasy Films Spell My Name with an "S" Real Life Writes the Plot Death by Irony All There in the Manual Redemption Equals Death A Date with Rosie Palms Humans Are Bastards Never Trust a Trailer Kill It with Fire Recycled IN SPACE! Adaptation Dye-Job Coming-of-Age Story I Want My Beloved to Be Happy In Medias Res Poor Communication Kills Deal with the Devil A Father to His Men Eyepatch of Power Deliberate Values Dissonance Crazy-Prepared Half the Man He Used to Be I Have Your Wife Big Fancy House Breaking the Fourth Wall Guile Hero Good Is Not Nice Composite Character Anyone Can Die Off with His Head! Gratuitous English French Films Air-Vent Passageway Comically Missing the Point Continuity Nod Silent Movie Film Series Pimped-Out Dress The '70s Jerk Jock Karmic Death Toilet Humour aka: Toilet Humor Chuck Cunningham Syndrome Heroic BSoD Foil Slap-Slap-Kiss Artistic License – Physics And the Adventure Continues Mythology Gag Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold Line-of-Sight Name Evil Plan Up to Eleven Shown Their Work Names to Run Away from Really Fast You Have Outlived Your Usefulness Bring My Brown Pants Only Sane Man Male Gaze Jerkass Has a Point Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Trailer Mr. Exposition Defrosting Ice Queen Book-Ends Evil-Detecting Dog Calling the Old Man Out Even Evil Has Loved Ones Tap on the Head Truth in Television Morality Pet Unusually Uninteresting Sight Call-Back Tempting Fate Punny Name Fainting An Arm and a Leg Guns Akimbo Heel–Face Turn Hope Spot Aww, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other Card-Carrying Villain Animal Motifs Becoming the Mask Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene Country Matters Eureka Moment Fantastic Racism Cowboy Cop I Did What I Had to Do As You Know Big Damn Heroes Broken Bird Stylistic Suck The End... Or Is It? The Hero Horror Comedy Not So Different All for Nothing Sealed Evil in a Can Department of Redundancy Department How We Got Here Room Full of Crazy Evil Laugh War Is Hell Affectionate Parody Diabolus ex Machina Super Strength Novelization The Lancer Running Gag "Shaggy Dog" Story Kubrick Stare Closed Circle Cold-Blooded Torture Bloodless Carnage Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy The Sociopath There Is No Kill Like Overkill Big Eater Author Avatar Unusual Euphemism Chase Scene Better to Die than Be Killed Adaptational Badass Pun aka: Incredibly Lame Pun The Mole Kill 'em All The Alcoholic Handicapped Badass Evil Is Petty Heel Realization Epic Fail Hero of Another Story Mercy Kill Roger Ebert: Great Movies List Not So Stoic Woman in White Sequel Hook Would Hurt a Child For the Evulz The Stoic Disproportionate Retribution Historical Hero Upgrade Imagine Spot Dramatic Irony Never Trust a Trailer aka: Trailers Always Lie Reality Is Unrealistic Translation Convention More Dakka Abhorrent Admirer Hollywood Law Took a Level in Jerkass Sole Survivor Cruel and Unusual Death Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique Playing Gertrude Bottomless Magazines Daddy's Girl Epic Movie Index of Film Westerns Bond One-Liner Black Best Friend Actor Allusion Big Brother Instinct In the Back Bilingual Bonus Scare Chord Evil vs. Evil Ms. Fanservice Character Development Ambiguous Ending Even Evil Has Standards Butt-Monkey Expository Hairstyle Change Dirty Cop Destination Defenestration A Minor Kidroduction Offscreen Teleportation Groin Attack Canon Foreigner Insistent Terminology Mystery and Detective Films Boom, Headshot! Reckless Gun Usage Re-Cut It Will Never Catch On Reasonable Authority Figure Almost Kiss Sanity Slippage Pay Evil unto Evil The Chick Earn Your Happy Ending What the Hell, Hero? Neck Snap Ghost Fiction Random Events Plot The Lost Lenore Aside Glance Villain Ball Paper-Thin Disguise No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Intrepid Reporter Motor Mouth Those Wacky Nazis Those Two Guys Noodle Incident Developing Doomed Characters Exactly What It Says on the Tin The Vamp Chekhov's Skill Brick Joke Lampshade Hanging Corrupt Corporate Executive Get Out! Captain Obvious Twist Ending Peek-a-Boo Corpse She's Got Legs Dark Is Not Evil Red Herring Big Bad Duumvirate