I’m sure you’ve seen it, either in a TV show or a movie:
Character D has no pulse and is not breathing. Characters A and B try desperately to revive D using CPR or those shocky-things. But it appears to be no use.
Finally, B says, “D’s gone. We have to accept it. It’s time to let D go.”
A and B stop trying to revive D. They cry.
Then A desperately starts trying to revive D again, usually prefacing the attempt with something like, “Come on, D! You never gave up on anything in your life! Don’t give up now!”
After a few more pounds on the chest or shocks with the paddles, D coughs and sputters back to life.
Now, I don’t object to seeing characters revived through the use of CPR and/or defibrillators. (Did you really think I didn’t know what the shocky-things were called?) What I object to is the dramatic device of having A and B stop resucitation, in order to make the audience believe the character really is dead, and then allowing the character to be revived by a second effort.
Think about it. CPR scenes basically fall into three categories:
1. Initial CPR attempt succeeds.
2. Initial CPR attempt fails, and the character remains dead.
3. Initial CPR attempt fails, there’s an emotional pause, and then a desperate second attempt succeeds.
Every desperate second attempt I recall seeing seems to have been successful — which means the only reason characters in category #2 remain dead is because they didn’t have anybody desperate enough to try again. How sad.
Screenwriters should just let this cliche die.