TvTropes's entry for Real World Episode
Aug. 7th, 2018 01:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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eerieindianaJumping between worlds is nothing new in Speculative Fiction. Each week, the characters may face evil versions of themselves, worlds where the Big Bad has won, and even worlds in which they themselves are the villains. However, no amount of dimension hopping can prepare them for the subject of this trope — jumping through a portal and ending up in a world with no aliens, monsters, magic powers, phlebotinum, or threats to humanity. Furthermore, everyone they meet seems to think that they are fictional characters. People, you have just successfully broken through the Fourth Wall; Welcome To The Real World. This truly is the ultimate reality, and furthermore, it's the world in which you, the person reading this, live.
In short, this trope is when fictional characters cross over into (a representation of) Real Life. At some point, they often meet their author. If they wander into a fan convention, they will be told Your Costume Needs Work.
This trope is related to, but distinct from, Refugee From TV Land. In Refugee from TV Land, a character is pulled out of a Show Within a Show, whereas a Real World Episode concerns characters the viewers have been following for some time prior to this, and no indication had yet been given that they were in fact fictional (other than the fact that they, y'know, exist in a TV series, movie, book, comic, or video game). Also, while the Refugee from TV Land plot often hangs lampshades on everything, a Real World Episode plot rarely does.
Compare Mage in Manhattan, Up the Real Rabbit Hole and Tomato Surprise. Compare and contrast with Through the Eyes of Madness and Mind Screw, both of which overlap with this. Contrast Trapped in TV Land (basically the inverse of this).
Sounds like This Is Reality, but it's very different. Definitely not to be confused with an episode of The Real World.
The final episode of Eerie Indiana, "Reality Takes A Holiday", has this as its plot. Marshall is sent a script of the episode, and suddenly his home turns into a movie set. His family and friends are actors, and everyone starts calling him Omri Katz, the name of his real life actor. Dash X (who is aware that he's just a fictional villain) tries to have Marshall killed by writing his death into the script, but Marshall prevents it in the end by secretly writing his death out at the last second. After he yells "Action!" his life returns to normal.
In short, this trope is when fictional characters cross over into (a representation of) Real Life. At some point, they often meet their author. If they wander into a fan convention, they will be told Your Costume Needs Work.
This trope is related to, but distinct from, Refugee From TV Land. In Refugee from TV Land, a character is pulled out of a Show Within a Show, whereas a Real World Episode concerns characters the viewers have been following for some time prior to this, and no indication had yet been given that they were in fact fictional (other than the fact that they, y'know, exist in a TV series, movie, book, comic, or video game). Also, while the Refugee from TV Land plot often hangs lampshades on everything, a Real World Episode plot rarely does.
Compare Mage in Manhattan, Up the Real Rabbit Hole and Tomato Surprise. Compare and contrast with Through the Eyes of Madness and Mind Screw, both of which overlap with this. Contrast Trapped in TV Land (basically the inverse of this).
Sounds like This Is Reality, but it's very different. Definitely not to be confused with an episode of The Real World.
The final episode of Eerie Indiana, "Reality Takes A Holiday", has this as its plot. Marshall is sent a script of the episode, and suddenly his home turns into a movie set. His family and friends are actors, and everyone starts calling him Omri Katz, the name of his real life actor. Dash X (who is aware that he's just a fictional villain) tries to have Marshall killed by writing his death into the script, but Marshall prevents it in the end by secretly writing his death out at the last second. After he yells "Action!" his life returns to normal.
