the stale , standard , connect-the-dots storyline 
(ROOT (NP (DT the) (NN stale) (, ,) (NN standard) (, ,) (NML (S (VP (VB connect) (HYPH -) (NP (DT the) (HYPH -) (NNS dots))))) (NN storyline)))
(ROOT (NP (DT ) (NN ) (, ) (NN ) (, ) (NML (S (VP (VB ) (HYPH ) (NP (DT ) (HYPH ) (NNS ))))) (NN )))