0
...
KENT
Our top story, the population of parasitic tree lizards has exploded, and local citizens couldn't be happier! It seems the rapacious reptiles have developed a taste for the common pigeon, also known as the 'feathered rat', or the 'gutter bird'. For the first time, citizens need not fear harassment by flocks of chattering disease-bags.
Later, Bart receives an award from Mayor Quimby outside the town hall. Several lizards slink past.
QUIMBY
For decimating our pigeon population, and making Springfield a less oppressive place to while away our worthless lives, I present you with this scented candle.
Skinner talks to Lisa.
SKINNER
Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.
LISA
But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?
SKINNER
No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.
LISA
But aren't the snakes even worse?
SKINNER
Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.
LISA
But then we're stuck with gorillas!
SKINNER
No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.
The game has passed the Godzilla Threshold:
http://tvtropes.org/...dzillaThreshold
Quote
There is wisdom in facing a threat with a proportionate response. Sure, There Is No Kill Like Overkill, but it'll likely cause a lot of avoidable collateral damage, and it'll guarantee that tomorrow the next threat is stronger. But there are times when the threat is so great and things have gone so horribly wrong that there is no appropriate response. The situation is so dire that it justifies the use of any and every thing that might solve it, no matter how crazy, nonsensical, or horrific, regardless of cost or collateral damage.
Things are at the point where even summoning Godzilla, king of monsters and patron saint of collateral damage, could not possibly make the crisis any worse. The situation has crossed the Godzilla Threshold.
This is where experience comes in; veteran gamers know that this is where you have to get sneaky. Newbies usually wind up casting Summon Bigger Fish:
http://tvtropes.org/...ummonBiggerFish
Quote
Of course there is Always a Bigger Fish, but sometimes they aren't willing to just pop up out of nowhere and get you out of the current mess. That's where this trope comes in. Summon Bigger Fish is when you get another monster/god/whatever to fight the current one, and hope once the smoke is cleared the one you just called will leave you alone, or at least be weakened enough by the fight to be taken out with less insane tactics. Sadly, the odds that doing this only makes things worse is actually almost 50/50— Evil Is Not a Toy, after all— but then again, once you've crossed the Godzilla Threshold, anything is a viable option.
This had been escalating prior to the existence of ECM, certainly, but that is when it passed the Godzilla Threshold.
There is a reason these are called, "tropes;" they are the stereotypical common mistakes that lead to situational comedy. Is this supposed to be the first Massively-Multiplayer Online Sit-Com?
This is why no one agrees on what they think should be fixed, but everyone thinks it's broken, now.
*The best part is that it explains the existence of Jar-Jar Binks and Queen Amidala as due to being forced to roleplay with an 8-year-old girl
The problem is that it inevitably leads to...
