History BatmanGambit / LiveActionTV

{{Batman Gambit}}s in Live-Action Television.

* PlayedForLaughs on ''Series/ThirtyRock'': Jack cracks a joke about Liz, who then hands him an envelope with the exact words of his joke written inside. Taken UpToEleven when Jack responds by handing her an envelope that says "You will hand me an envelope with my joke written on it."

* ''Series/{{Probe}}'''s "[[Recap/ProbeComputerLogicPart2 Computer Logic, Part 2]]": Austin tries to fool the [[{{AI}} Artificial Intelligence program Crossover]] by asking it on what hand he wears his watch on. Crossover, realizing that Austin is right-handed and trying to trick it, responds that it must be on his right hand. Austin then pulls up his sleeves to show everyone that the watch is, indeed, on his right hand.

** In "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS2E3Weapon Weapon", it's revealed that the Terran Federation has a profession called a psychostrategist whose entire job is to work out these. Unfortunately a minor but essential piece of information isn't reported to him and the entire plan collapses. Thanks to his skill the psychostrategist realizes in advance this will happen and [[YouHaveFailedMe flees before the inevitable punishment]].

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E19InterArmaEnimSilentLeges Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges]]", Dr. Bashir believes he has discovered a Section 31 assassination plot on Romulus, but can't trust any of the other Federation personnel because they might be part of it. Desperate, he enlists the help of a sympathetic Romulan senator to stop it, even though the plot's target is her political opponent. [[spoiler: In reality, the "target" is a Federation mole and is never in any danger. The real purpose of the plot is to destroy the senator's reputation by getting her to violate security protocols, which she does because Bashir asks her to. The scheme works only because Sloan knows Bashir will always act honorably, and manipulates him into playing the "hero" for the benefit of the Romulans, while Sloan plays the part of villain.]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Captain Kirk lived for this trope. The aptly titled episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E10TheCormoniteManeuver The Corbomite Maneuver]]" features Kirk bluffing a powerful alien force. He later reuses this particular ploy in "[[Recap/StarTrekS2E12TheDeadlyYears The Deadly Years]]". His entire battle with the Romulan commander in "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E14TheBalanceOfTerror The Balance of Terror]]" features him and the Romulan commander pulling these on each other in rapid succession. Kirk and the Romulan are able to predict each other's behavior as being "just what they would have done." And in "A Taste of Armegeddon", Kirk is able to stop a centuries-old "clinical war" by destroying the war computers, abrogating the treaty between the two worlds. The two planets were now faced with the prospect of the horrors of real war, or actually working for peace.

* In the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' episode "[[Recap/FireflyE14ObjectsInSpace Objects in Space]]", River pulls one of these on [[PsychoForHire Jubal Early]], using both his insecurities and the rest of the crew to maneuver him into position to be ambushed by Mal. The only thing she didn't factor in was [[SpannerInTheWorks her brother's]] rather suicidal devotion to her.

** They pull one on Saffron in "Trash". Figuring she'd find some way to con them out of something to keep the Lasseter for herself, they engineer a fight between Mal and Inara so that she leaves angrily for her "assignment" ... in reality parking herself close to the drop spot and ambushing Saffron when she comes to claim the gun.

** During the series finale of the show Angel entrusted a portion of his plan to Harmony because he knew she would betray him to the Senior Partners. He actually lied about his part in the plan, resulting in Hamilton being unable to prevent any of the planned assassinations.

** Sheridan also performs one in ''Rumors, Bargains and Lies''. The League of Non-Aligned Worlds are rebuffing his attempts to set up a border patrol system, seeing ulterior motives where there aren't any. He provides them with plenty of ParanoiaFuel via Ivanova's [[spoiler:completely truthful]] SuspiciouslySpecificDenial. By the end of the episode, they're ''demanding'' to be protected by the White Star Fleet.

** In "Weapon" it's revealed that the Terran Federation has a profession called a psychostrategist whose entire job is to work out these. Unfortunately a minor but essential piece of information isn't reported to him and the entire plan collapses. Thanks to his skill the psychostrategist realizes in advance this will happen and [[YouHaveFailedMe flees before the inevitable punishment]].
** Also happens in the appropriately named episode "Gambit". That plan also fails due to unforeseen circumstances.

** The season 5 episode "For The Uniform" features one of these: After Eddington, a traitorous former Starfleet officer poisoning colonies, gives Sisko a copy of Les Miserables, Sisko realizes that Eddington is living out the role of Jean Valjean. Sisko uses this knowledge to convince Eddington to give himself up, as part of his Hero Fantasy.
** Better than all of the above: [[MemeticMutation IT'S A FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!]] Almost a GambitRoulette -- the plan relies on the FAAAAAAAAAKE being discovered in order for it to work -- and Sisko could have ended it all if it weren't so damn awesome. Brilliant BatmanGambit in that it's fueled by [[CrazyPrepared crazy preparedness]], like predicting how one character will react... and then predicting another character's reaction to the reaction.

** Quark pulled one in the Season 3 episode "The House of Quark." Quark finds himself in charge of a Klingon house, and the only way to save it from being conquered is to face his rival in a duel to the death. Rather than try to fight someone he has no hope of beating, he shows up for the duel, but [[ISurrenderSuckers immediately surrenders.]] He then goads his opponent into trying to kill him, all while reminding the crowd they all knew the outcome before they even walked into the room. His opponent is more than happy to oblige -- until Gowron stops him and strips him of his honor for trying to kill someone as pathetic and low as Quark. Just as planned.
** In "Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges", Dr. Bashir believes he has discovered a Section 31 assassination plot on Romulus, but can't trust any of the other Federation personnel because they might be part of it. Desperate, he enlists the help of a sympathetic Romulan senator to stop it, even though the plot's target is her political opponent. [[spoiler: In reality, the "target" is a Federation mole and is never in any danger. The real purpose of the plot is to destroy the senator's reputation by getting her to violate security protocols, which she does because Bashir asks her to. The scheme works only because Sloan knows Bashir will always act honorably, and manipulates him into playing the "hero" for the benefit of the Romulans, while Sloan plays the part of villain.]]

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Captain Kirk lived for this trope. The aptly titled episode "The Corbomite Maneuver" features Kirk bluffing a powerful alien force. He later reuses this particular ploy in "The Deadly Years". His entire battle with the Romulan commander in "The Balance of Terror" features him and the Romulan commander pulling these on each other in rapid succession. Kirk and the Romulan are able to predict each other's behavior as being "just what they would have done." And in "A Taste of Armegeddon", Kirk is able to stop a centuries-old "clinical war" by destroying the war computers, abrogating the treaty between the two worlds. The two planets were now faced with the prospect of the horrors of real war, or actually working for peace.

** Spock's fiancée T'Pring pulls one on him in "Amok Time". Rather than choose her actual boyfriend as her champion in a duel to the death to dissolve the engagement, she chooses Kirk, reasoning (correctly) that whoever wins will be too upset about killing his best friend to go through with the wedding. [[spoiler: Even when [=McCoy=] [[TakeAThirdOption Takes A Third Option]] and both Kirk and Spock survive, she still gets her way.]]
* Sticking with Star Trek, there is the big one pulled during the GrandFinale of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Getting everyone home safe involved one hell of a BatmanGambit on the Borg. [[spoiler:Admiral Janeway from the future steals a time-traveling ship and knowledge of a neurolytic pathogen and travels to present Janeway's timeline so as to speed up the trip home by some 19 years, thanks to a Borg Transwarp Hub and a some subtle mindgames she plays with the Borg Queen. The mindgames continue until the Queen finally "checkmates" Future!Janeway and assimilates her... which was ''exactly'' what Future!Janeway wanted, as she had taken the pathogen... an anti-Borg weapon. Assimilation meant the Borg-killing bug would hit the Borg collective from the top down, crippling them and allowing ''Voyager'' to complete its daring run for home.]]
* Another Star Trek one. In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' two-parter "The Best of Both Worlds", Commander Shelby briefs Captain Picard on a possible Borg attack plan involving separating the stardrive and saucer sections and attacking it with the stardrive with the saucer as a distraction, despite Commander Riker feeling the plan would fail as they'd lose the saucer's impulse engines. When Picard is assimilated into Locutus of Borg, Riker decides to use that plan knowing that Picard would know of the plan. When they catch up to the cube following the devastating Battle of Wolf 359, they initiate the plan and the Borg fall for it, ignoring the saucer and going after the stardrive, allowing an away team to beam in and rescue Picard.

** ''Abyss'': [[spoiler:Brainiac started removing Chloe's memories, knowing that in his desperation, Clark would rebuild the [[DeusExMachina Fortress]] to save her, which allows Brainiac to take over the Fortress, fully morph Davis into Doomsday and possess Chloe, which is another gambit as Brainiac knows Clark will never hurt Chloe even with Brainiac inside her.]]
** The whole episode of [[spoiler:''Roulette'']] is one courtesy of Chloe Sullivan. He did it right under Clark's nose. Like all things involving Oliver, it is of rather dubious morality. She claims [[IDidWhatIHadToDo she did what she had to do]], and for the most part she anticipated Oliver's actions, but with [[PhysicalGod Clark]] involved but not knowing the plan, it could [[GoneHorriblyWrong go horribly wrong]] very easily.
** Amanda Waller pulls off one in ''Absolute Justice''. It looks like she's having the members of the long-retired ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica killed as a continuation of the government frame that originally put them out of business. Reality is [[spoiler: she's provoking the surviving JSA members to come out of retirement to get back in the game, and meet and inspire the new generation of superheroes, because of something coming that will cause the planet to need all of its heroes]].

* Todd Gack from ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' has figured out a "dating loophole" where he intentionally makes a bet with a woman that he knows he is going to lose, where the loser buys dinner for the winner. This allows him to essentially go on as many dates as he wants without ever having to actually ask any women out, and therefore never get rejected.
** Attempted by Jerry and George to switch Jerry's girlfriend with her roommate by suggesting a ''[[ThreeWaySex ménage á trois]]''. It relies on the following: '''1.''' His current girlfriend is disgusted by the suggestion and breaks up with him. '''2.''' She tells the roommate about it. '''3.''' The roommate is flattered to have been included and agrees to go out with him. '''4.''' His current girlfriend is so over him that she tells the roommate "if you want that pervert you can have him". [[spoiler:It all blows up in their faces when it turns out the girlfriend and roommate were both into it. George considers this development to have turned the plan into a true XanatosGambit, but Jerry is too uptight to go through with it.]]
*** In a later episode, George convinces the woman he is dating to kick out her male roommate, only to discover that all of the velvet furniture in the apartment that he loved was actually the roommate's and is now gone. Seeing no reason to stay in the relationship any longer, he tries to play the "ménage á trois" card in order to get dumped. [[spoiler:This time the girlfriend and roommate are not only into it, they thought of it before George did and had already been discussing it!]]

* ''Series/LastManStanding'': In "You've Got Male (or Female)," Kristen asks Mike to do the Gender Reveal party. Vanessa tries to get a sneak peek into the confetti cannon Mike acquired, only to get a faceful of green glitter. She gets him back later by rubbing her face all over his.

-->'''Michael:''' ''(voice-over)'' In the spy game you spend a lot of time getting people to betray their own. Most do it for money, some do it for spite. But the greatest achievement is to get a guy to turn on his own people because he thinks he's being loyal.

** He also does this in the Series Finale. [[spoiler: He takes out Jack's entire gang with an automated M60 rigged in the trunk of his car. For this to work, everyone would have to be standing in perfect proximity, the car would have to be parked precisely in the right area, the building's composition and orientation would have to be perfectly aligned, and most of all, this contraption would have to work flawlessly.]] The odds of this working are utterly abysmal, even by Hollywood standards.

** GoneHorriblyRight for Prop Joe in Season 5. After failing to convince Marlo Stanfield to join the coop, he sets up Marlo to get robbed by Omar. The result is Marlo changing his mind and joining the coop, [[spoiler: but it backfires. Marlo Stanfield begins scheming to destroy the coop from within by convincing Prop Joe's main drug contact, The Greek, to do business with him. He turns Prop Joe's nephew Cheese against him, which allows Marlo access to kill him. Afterwards, he disbands the coop and raises the price for the drugs he now controls.]]

* ''Series/TheAgency'': In "Soft Kills", the CIA learns that a terrorist cell targetting the wives of American servicemen destined in Spain got vital info from a leak provided by the wife of a Spanish minister, who happens to be a hardcore anti-American journalist publishing all sorts of conspiracy theories against TheWarOnTerror, has no interest whatsoever in telling them who was her intermediary, and they legally can do nothing to force her. So they sneak in her house and plain tell her that every single thing she wrote about them being [[WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk torture-happy]], [[TheEmpire power-hunger crazies]] who give no shits about international laws '''[[ShameIfSomethingHappened is true.]]''' She gives them everything they want right away.

* ''Series/{{Leverage}}''.

* Walt does this throughout ''Series/BreakingBad'' and he continually gets better at stringing together assassination plans and manipulating those around him as the show progresses. Eventually, he pulls off a huge gambit in the season 4 finale where he manipulates an elaborate set of events and people in order to[[spoiler: arrange for the ''BigBad'' of the season, Gus, to be blown up in a retirement home.]].

* Done by an antagonist in ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}''. Arrested for treason and facing a life sentence at least, he arranges the murder of an intelligence agent. He knows they won't look at him as a suspect because he was in prison at the time, but he expects the FBI to figure out that there's a connection between him and the victim and come looking for information, which he can then use as leverage to get himself a deal. If it hadn't been for the fact that he massively underestimated the victim's capabilities, it probably would have worked.