This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
From You Know That Thing Where:
Earnest: I've put up a discussion topic about switching out the current picture for another one, here's the link.
Ununnilium: Here's a variation on the Tomato Surprise: Our protagonist is going through a perfectly normal day. Only... something's wrong. The people around him are acting weirder and weirder. The protagonist soon realizes that he's in a Pod People situation, and attempts to either escape the town or confront the controller of the pod people... only, turns out *he* was the pod person; usually, some kind of robot that had forgotten he wasn't the real thing. I've seen this on Goosebumps, on Stargate SG-1, and on one show back in the early '90s I can't remember.
J. Random User: They did it to (who else?) Chief O'Brien on the DS 9 episode 'Whispers.' The O'Brien we were following was actually a clone sent by one of two alien factions who were going to have negotiations on the station, programmed to assassinate the leaders of the other factions.
Ununnilium: Dunno what the name should be, though. Send In The Clones Ending?
Idle Dandy: Another example is the Twilight Zone episode "After Hours," done on the original show and remade with Terry Farrell in the 80's. The main character turns out to be a mannequin who has to return to the store after her month of freedom.
Ununnilium: IIRC, in that second Goosebumps book, the girl does know about her own monstrousness, but the reader doesn't, making it a Tomato Surprise.
Your Obedient Serpent: What about the Outer Limits episode "Demon With A Glass Hand"? I'd say it was a Tomato in the Mirror, except that the stuff going on around our Tomato is very much Sci Fi Action Story, rather than an ordinary day in an ordinary life that just seems "off".
Kizor: Added the quote, even though the matter is just a Shout-Out (to Descates, no less) in flavor text in Alpha Centauri and not a plot point. If you don't think it fits, feel free to move it to Quote Bin or scrap it entirely.
Ununnilium: BTW, perfect quote. <3
Marionette: Classic Jack Kirby monster story from one of those 1950's anthology monster comics has a man attempting to convince people about an alien invasion, only to discover at the end that he is the invader. Painfully obviously the same story appears in Marvel: The Lost Generation #2 by John Byrne, the only difference being to set it in the Marvel universe.
Arilou: Is this the place to mention that Ravenloft actually had this listed as one of the conditions (along with direct mind-to-mind contact with Cosmic Horrors or REALLY badly botching a horror check) that prompts a Madness check? They called it "Malign Paradigm shift" IIRC.
Sci Vo: Sure is!
- I will! It's Boxey, the two women who made off with Baltar after his trial, and the president's hairdresser. What? Why is everyone looking at me?
Yes, yes, save it for Wild Mass Guessing. ``
Also, I'm adding some spoiler tags; just having the name of the episode/work here is itself a spoiler, but the details still merit some cover-up. ...meh, no I'm not. It's a really complex question as to where I'd put them. @.@
I am, however, pulling this out, as it isn't a twist at all:
- Movie example: In The Truman Show, the titular Truman has what seems to be an ideal life in the nice town he grew up in. However, he comes to realize that the town is really the set of the most popular reality show ever.
David Harmon: This is also the ending for the original short story "The Thing" (shapechanging/bodystealing alien in the Arctic), but I don't recall the author offhand.
Ununnilium: The name of the story was "Who Goes There", and, um, no it wasn't. >>
- Big (Oh) Boy. Hey, would he be repelled by a Lucky Cross?
Conversation In The Main Page.
Charred Knight: The entire point of that scene from Naruto is to show that Sasuke has become so obsessed with revenge that he will kill thousands of people for the crimes of three. His slowly losing sight of morality, and is seeing things only in black and white. Since three of the leaders of Konoha killed the Uchiha, then Konoha must be destroyed even though it will cause another war. Keep in mind that Madara only cares about starting another war since he believes that people get weak in times of peace.
Fast Eddie: Moved down a ton of quotes. Please see Administrative Policy.
Grev: Took out the TNG example with Data's "mom", because it's a straight Tomato Surprise. In fact, the last two segments of the episode are Dr. Soong (via hologram) asking Data not to tell her she's an android...and he complies.
Michael: The description suggests this is only when the person discovers they are not who they think they are, but an impostor. Some of the examples include cases where the person is who they think they are but that person is also something terrible. Which is correct?
