31.   They both fulfill their assignment, which is essentially to be plot devices.

32.   This dark comedy has an all-out villain, but Don John is merely a plot device.

33.   This fall, there seems to be an inclination to start sitcoms with decidedly unhumorous, even sorrowful plot devices.

34.   This may have been radical for television, but the plot devices and characterizations had a familiar shallowness.

35.   This engaging book runs the gamut of plot devices, effectively pairing charm and brutality, romance and rejection, shame and stature, humor and pathos.

36.   Though it is a conventional plot device, this forgetting offers a window on broader fantasies and anxieties.

37.   Using autism as a plot device may seem callous, but it pales next to the sordid twists that turn up at the end.

38.   Using witty dialogue and deft plot devices, Peters instills her protagonists with strength, high moral character and a deep sense of family.

39.   While gameplay in I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream may be standard, every over-used plot device has been refreshingly removed.

40.   At key instants, notably his attempt to bring in the Justice Department, Milo narrowly avoids tipping his hand through far-fetched plot devices.