History InternalDeconstruction / LiveActionTV

* Season four of ''Series/StrangerThings'' deconstructs the general premise of the show ([[KidHero kid and teenage heroes]] in a small town battling a paranormal threat) by showing the actual ''impact'' that all these deadly and obviously supernatural events are having on the town. The townsfolk are increasingly confused, terrified, and grief-stricken and begin to wonder what sort of unholy curse has afflicted their homes. They become paranoid, nervous, and easily panicked into a hysteria. And such a hysteria occurs thanks to Jason, an EvilCounterpart to the main characters; a teenager who realizes the town is under an unnatural threat, but unlike the heroes, is an arrogant, [[SociopathicHero sociopathic]], and ignorant JerkJock whose [[WrongGenreSavvy failure to understand the nature of the enemy]], prejudices, and [[TheoryTunnelVision refusal to admit being wrong]] ends up [[spoiler:disrupting the heroes' efforts at a critical juncture, giving the BigBad his first [[TheBadGuyWins major victory]] against them.]] Said victory ends up devastating the town and causing the biggest number of deaths yet, leading to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere a mass-exodus as people finally get fed up and move elsewhere]]. The show's signature ''Franchise/DungeonsAndDragons'' homages are also deconstructed by reminding viewer of [[SatanicPanic just what exactly DND was going through]] at the time the story takes place and using it as a plot point, with the Satanic Panic's onset being another cause of the mass hysteria that pervades the town. By the end of the season, DND is demonized and feared as HollywoodSatanism thanks to everything.

** Multiple later series also dismantle the idea of the Federation being a PerfectPacifistPeople. ''Deep Space Nine'' and ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' prominently feature Section 31, an [[NoSuchAgency amoral black ops division]], showing that the Federation has just as many skeletons in the closet as its enemies and similarly demonstrates that it can be just as ruthless. ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' starkly shows the consequences of Starfleet's imperialism and demonstrates that it can be just as prejudiced as any of its enemies. Finally, ''Lower Decks'' shows that for every heroic idealist serving in Starfleet, there are just as many corrupt, venal bureaucrats who are more interested in their own careers than actually serving Starfleet's ideals and are willing to screw over other officers for their own ambitions.

* ''Series/{{Victorious}}: "The Worst Couple" deconstructs both Beck and Jade's toxic relationship and Jade's transformation from an abrasive bitch to borderline sociopathy. As a favor to Sinjin, the gang goes on a Newlywed Game-style game show that Sinjin is pitching. Beck and Jade get into an incredibly petty fight, which culminates in Beck saying on TV he's not happy with their relationship and them winning the worst couple award despite no one else playing dating yet. After the incident, things get PlayedForDrama. Beck feels remorseful for his outburst, but recognizes that he shouldn't brush off how he felt and tries to talk with her. Jade, unlike Season 1, where she was more willing to talk if they were having issues in "Robarazzi" and "Jade Dumps Beck", wants to forget about what happened because she's too stubborn to admit they're having severe problems. At this point, the rest of the group starts distancing themselves from them and flat-out telling them when confronted about it. Jade's personality hits new lows when she runs over Sinjin and insults her friends while they're in earshot. This proves to be the last straw for Beck, and he demands that they either work to fix their issues or break up. Jade walks out and threatens to end the relationship on her terms if he doesn't follow. Beck almost leaves, but backs out at the last second, and Jade too almost walks back in, but is unwilling to swallow her pride and dumps him. It's not until Jade undergoes long-overdue CharacterDevelopment and Beck realizes why he liked her to begin with that the two reconcile. After this, their relationship is shown to be far less toxic.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' has the character of Raj, who is so insecure around women that he literally cannot talk to them unless drunk or drugged up. This is largely treated as a joke; how he shuts up immediately when they're around and how he quickly becomes a smooth talker after one sip of alcohol. While never quite giving it up as a joke, later episodes he confides how frustrating it is to be that socially inept while his (also very nerdy) friends are going on to have meaningful romantic relationships.

* ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'': "[[Recap/DrakeAndJoshEpisode48JoshIsDone Josh Is Done]]" is a deconstruction to Drake and Josh's relationship. Usually, Josh puts up with Drake's inconsiderate behavior towards him, but this time, he gets fed up with it and decides to cut ties with Drake for good. Without Drake, Josh is actually having a good time since he no longer has to worry or stress about Drake screwing stuff up for him. Meanwhile, without Josh, Drake cannot function in life since he no longer has Josh to help him out. At the end, Drake realizes how much he actually needs Josh and how toxic he was to Josh's life.

** In the classic series, the Doctor is an itinerant wanderer who frequently inducts random humans from the contemporary time period and takes them on adventures until real-life circumstances cause the companion to be dropped, [[PutOnABus one way]] or [[KilledOffForReal the other]]. The new series deconstructs this by having consequences for a young woman running off with a strange traveler for a long period of time (the exact consequences have varied per companion). For example, when Rose disappears, her mother is frantic with worry and her boyfriend is accused of her murder. A similar idea had previously been touched upon in the last story of the original classic series, in which Ace goes home and finds she was presumed dead.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''
** In the episode "The Zeppo", the NonActionGuy Xander is confined to the sidelines while his friends fend off a mass demonic invasion. Meanwhile, he deals with an event that could have similarly disastrous consequences, which is treated as [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold the main story while the so-called "apocalypse" is seen only in glimpses]]. The next day the others are commenting that nobody will ever know that the world almost ended last night and they stopped it, reflecting Xander's own situation. The episode deconstructs how the main protagonists think they are unique and special for what they do, when [[HeroOfAnotherStory there are probably plenty of other people doing the same thing all over the world]].
** The Grand Finale featured the unleashing of the Slayer power to [[TheChosenMany all potential slayers]], which may number into the thousands worldwide. It was portrayed as a triumphant moment of empowerment and relieving Buffy of the stress of being TheChosenOne. The following year on ''Series/{{Angel}}'', they come across a mentally scarred girl in a mental hospital who was suddenly given enhanced Slayer strength and abilities. She mutilated and nearly killed Spike before they were able to bring her down. The "Season Eight" comics would end up showcasing how bad an idea this was even further by having a recurring villain that was a terrorist with Slayer powers.
** A similar thing happens in the seventh season by deconstructing Buffy's HeroicSacrifice of the fifth season, where she refused to let anything happen to Dawn and instead let herself die in her place. Giles points out that by doing that the world kept a relatively helpless girl and lost the Slayer, and that there may come a time when she has to let go of her friends in order to save the world.

* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' has the character of Raj, who is so insecure around women that he literally cannot talk to them unless drunk or drugged up. This is largely treated as a joke; how he shuts up immediately when they're around and how he quickly becomes a smooth talker after one sip of alcohol. While never quite giving it up as a joke later episodes he confides how frustrating it is to be that socially inept while his (also very nerdy) friends are going on to have meaningful romantic relationships.
* ''Series/{{Blackadder}}'': The ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' series is a hilarious satire of the madness of World War I. However, the final episode plays that madness for grimness rather than comedy: the characters who we've come to love and laugh at are being sent to a pointless demise, the people in charge don't give a damn, and as the reality of the situation dawns on them, they quickly go from quirky to despondent. Even the acerbic Blackadder can't make light of the situation. [[spoiler: The final scene is an unusually sympathetic Blackadder wishing his comrades good luck, and the characters getting killed in the trenches. What began as satire ends as a horrific tragedy]].

** In the classic series The Doctor was an itinerant wanderer who would frequently induct random humans from the contemporary time period and take them on adventures until real-life circumstances caused the companion to be dropped, [[PutOnABus one way]] or [[KilledOffForReal the other]]. The new series deconstructed this by having consequences for a young woman running off with a strange traveller for a long period of time (the exact consequences have varied per companion). For example, when Rose disappeared her mother was frantic with worry and her boyfriend was accused of her murder. A similar idea had previously been touched upon in the last story of the original Classic Series, where Ace goes home and finds she was presumed dead.
** Later still, the character of the Doctor himself was given the same treatment: his habit of getting into the middle of any trouble, and of causing vast death and destruction to defeat an alien force, resulted in him being pegged by many as the greatest threat to life in the universe. A RenegadeSplinterFaction of [[FantasticReligiousWeirdness the Church of Silence]] arose devoted entirely to his undoing and raised a LaserGuidedTykeBomb to that end.
** This was already being done in the Literature/VirginNewAdventures, a DarkerAndEdgier version of the series showing the Seventh Doctor becoming more morally ambiguous. It could even be considered this began well before the [[OlderThanTheyThink Classic Series ended]]; in "Resurrection of the Daleks" companion Tegan leaves because she can't handle the violence.
** The new series also interrogated why the Doctor needs companions in the first place (because they get jaded and need fresh eyes to see the universe, and [[MoralityChain because they tend to go bad places without someone else around]]), and what effect repeated loss of companions has on them (emotional trauma and withdrawal), then followed through by showing what happens when they try to TakeAThirdOption and emotionally distance themselves from their companions - the Doctor has no-one they can confide in when dealing with trauma, and the companions are left LockedOutOfTheLoop, ignorant of what's going on.
** The First Doctor's tenure goes into this after a while. After he quickly abandons being straight-up nasty he goes on a lot of adventures which portray him as a flawed but brilliant saviour and adventurer. A whole string of companion losses, {{Downer Ending}}s and problems simply too big for him to overcome soon makes it very explicit that he's just a troubled and very lonely old man, stuck in a box he can't control and with nowhere to go. Some of the more obvious examples of this are "Mission to the Unknown" (everyone dies and the Doctor never even shows up), "The Daleks' Master Plan" (the Doctor wins but by committing a genocide and two of his companions die in the process), "The Massacre" (the Doctor fails to do anything to stop a historical massacre and Steven spends the whole story watching everything get worse while being powerless to intervene), "The Ark" (simply by arriving in a time period the Doctor is altering it for the worse, and the long-term consequences of his meddling can be absolutely disastrous) and "The Savages" (a civilization which venerates him as a hero is actually a [[YouBastard very classist society which ignores its real social problems to watch his adventures on viewing screens]]).
** "The Face of Evil". The Fourth Doctor lands on a horrible, primitive planet full of vicious monsters and warring tribes with spears, and slowly discovers that he was responsible for making it that way in the first place (by saving the day in an adventure we never see, and not bothering to think about the long-term consequences of his actions). In fact, one of the tribes worships him as their GodOfEvil, a merciless creature of destruction who EatsBabies.
** "Midnight" deconstructs the Doctor's usual mode of operation by putting the Tenth Doctor in a situation where ''he's'' treated as the MonsterOfTheWeek and the monster takes his role: his attitude and behaviour get the supporting cast suspicious from the start, he's the prime suspect when it becomes clear the monster is possessing someone on board, he's unable to even identify what the monster is, let alone how to deal with it, while it turns all his tactics against him, and in the end the monster's only defeated by a last-minute HeroicSacrifice from a HeroicBystander before the Doctor can be thrown to his death.

* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' humorously deconstructs its use of the ImagineSpot. A few episode are shown from the perspective of the other characters and [[InnerThoughtsOutsiderPuzzlement show how what J.D. says makes little sense to the other characters]]. In particular, his "pause to contemplate" motion is not instantaneous like implied but J.D. in fact zones out for upwards of 30 seconds or more. People have played tricks on him in that stage and he has injured himself doing one while running.

'''Dr. Kelso:''' *Gives Elliot an odd look*\\

''*J.D.'s eyes dart back and forth*''\\
'''Dr. Kelso:''' Would you look at that...
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' always portrayed the closeness of their group as being a very positive thing, including Robin and Ted becoming friends again after their break-up. Come Season 7 and we see that there are some real issues with them interfering with each others' lives and Ted learns that in order to move on with his life he needs to stop being so close with Robin.
** Furthermore, as noted above in the page quote, Ted and Robin's promise to get married if they reach a certain age and they're both single is gradually shown to be less romantic as it was first depicted and more a depressing indictment of how co-dependent and unlucky in love both of them are. Ted even realizes that him subconsciously holding a torch for Robin through this "back-up marriage" pact has likely caused him to self-sabotage some of his romances that could've potentially gone very well for him.
* ''Series/BurnNotice'' spent a solid four seasons of Michael playing up being the bad guy and doing borderline criminal activities to sell those roles in [[IDidWhatIHadToDo the name of the greater good]]. As it turns out spending all your time acting like a criminal means it is hard to sell to people that you are really a good guy. The point is made especially clear when the team is pitted up against the CIA.
* ''Series/TheCloser'' explored the real life consequences of Brenda's loose interpretation of the law and her tendency to arrange for untouchable criminals to get killed. The final season of The Closer featured Brenda being sued, losing money from paying for legal reasons, and being watched constantly by her superiors.
* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' gradually became a little bit more cynical of its own utopia themes, where under Roddenberry's direction TheFederation was a perfect society and had to fix social wrongs they found on other planets. Several of the later series deconstructed the Federation's depiction as a utopian society resolving social wrongs on other planets; something played straight throughout the early series.
** ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' took place partially from the perspective of various non-Starfleet citizens who viewed the Federation in a negative light for trying to change their ways of life with no regard for their own opinions, and since the titular space station was, well, stationary Sisko and his crew had to face the consequences for whatever changes they did enact. Half of the cast were neither Starfleet nor Federation citizens, and they viewed them as a "sleeping giant" that could either save them or crush them with no regard for how they want to live their lives.
** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' even had "[[Recap/StarTrekEnterpriseS02E022Cogenitor one episode]]" where a noble but ignorant attempt at social change led to a lot of hurt feelings and even someone committing suicide.

** Multiple later series also dismantled the idea of the Federation being a PerfectPacifistPeople. ''Deep Space Nine'' and ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' prominently feature Section 31, an amoral black ops division that shows the Federation has just as many skeletons in the closet as its enemies and similarly demonstrates that it can be just as ruthless. ''Series/StarTrekPicard'' starkly shows the consequences of Starfleet's imperialism and demonstrates it can be just as prejudiced as any of its enemies. And ''Lower Decks'' shows that for every heroic idealist serving in Starfleet, there are just as many corrupt, venal bureaucrats more interested in their own careers than actually serving Starfleet's ideals and are willing to screw over other officers for their own ambitions.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': The team attempts to pull off one of their typical over the top-'no one could pull this off but us'-cons in "The White Rabbit Job" it goes horribly wrong and almost [[spoiler:leads to the suicide of the mark--who it turns out wasn't actually a bad guy of the type they take down]]. It's a deconstruction both of the 'playing God' vigilantism of the team and the fact that the majority of their cons are overly elaborate not out of necessity but for the fun and challenge they get out of it.
* The [[Recap/CommunityS5E01Repilot Repilot]] of ''Series/{{Community}}'' shows the darker implications of Greendale being a SuckySchool that the past four seasons had for the most part ignored. All the main characters' lives have gone down the toilet ([[DysfunctionJunction again]]) thanks to the poor education they received there, and the school itself is facing a lawsuit by another former student for the exact same reasons. [[spoiler: The cast resolves to return to Greendale and form a committee [[{{Reconstruction}} to make it a better place.]] ]]
* ''Series/TheBlacklist'' is basically picking apart the FBI's relationship with Reddington. Recently, his business has come under attack by a mysterious enemy who is sending assassins after his people. However, due to the fact that Red is sending the FBI after these criminals because it solely affects him, the FBI is slowly getting fed up with his demands and now questioning the viability of their arrangement. Ressler gets especially when [[spoiler: he misses his brother surgery due to a mission. His brother survives, but he is still pissed.]]
* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'' deconstructs the whole premise where a vampire "turns off his/her humanity" in season eight, when the siren Sybil arrives. [[spoiler: After she shows him a vision of what Hell looks like, Damon gets scared and turns off his humanity. While a vampire tends to do horrible things with his humanity turned off, Sybil ends up taking advantage of this and puts him under her complete control. She is even able to erase his memories of Elena to further control him. As a result, he kills Tyler under her orders and alienates all of his friends while being loyal to Sybil.]]
* ''Series/AmericanHousewife'' deconstructs Katie's relationship with the other mothers in her town with the second season premiere. [[spoiler: She attempts to apologize to all of them with an online video, but can't act sincere enough. Afterward, one of them tells her that the real problem is how she has treated them in the past. No one wants to be near someone who openly looks down on their lifestyle and acts like she is better than them for not participating. Katie's later attempts to fix things fail because she can't seem to stop insulting them as lonely and bored housewives living off their husbands' money. So, she has to resort to volunteering for the Spring Gala, something she really didn't want to do.]]
* ''Series/CobraKai'': The series deconstructs Johnny's characterization as the spoiled, rich bully who embraced Cobra Kai's thuggery in the first ''Film/TheKarateKid'' movie by showing that he was actually an emotionally abused youth who found an escape from his abusive stepdad and real mentorship (even if it was toxic) from Kreese and the Cobra Kai dojo. While Daniel's victory at the All-Valley tournament was a great accomplishment for him, for Johnny the loss caused him to lose the girl he loved, his surrogate father figure, and the one thing in his life that gave him meaning.
-->'''Johnny:''' Just because you live in a nice house doesn't mean nice things are going on inside.
** The series also takes to deconstructing the revenge on bullies and the inherent problems to Cobra Kai training. Unlike Miyagi-Do which trains a person both on and off the battlefield in equal balance, Cobra Kai isn't meant for out the ring lifestyle. Johnny had ideals that the Cobra Kai mentality can be put to good use and the positive traits to his dojo can be used to toughen up some victims and help give them the confidence to fight back and stand up for themselves. Unfortunately, it's only after the tournament that Johnny finally gets a massive wake up call: Without proper emotional training and restraint especially to bullying victims; The Cobra Kai mentality and training can ''only'' produce violent thugs and bullies; and when Johnny sees what he created, he's actually equally disgusted and horrified. [[spoiler:Things get a whole lot worse in the second season when Kreese takes over the dojo and the students that became bullies grew a hell of a lot worse, becoming RivalDojos with the newly-reborn Miyagi school out of sheer JerkAss hatred and ending in a full-blown ''bloodbath'' of a fight that puts many kids in the hospital, including Johnny's own (estranged) son. The season ends with Johnny being nothing ''but'' horrified.]]
* ''Series/KamenRiderGaim'' deconstructs a scenario that crops up occasionally in the franchise. Often in ''Franchise/KamenRider'', "wet" means "defeated"; with TheDragon or some other tougher-than-usual enemy roughing up a heroic Rider and throwing them into a nearby body of water. This allows the Rider to climb out, take time to regroup, and then come back for a rematch. In ''Gaim'', Zangetsu fights and gets blown into the water... and is presumed dead for the rest of the series. Even when [[spoiler:he turns up alive in the epilogue, he's in a coma thanks to oxygen deprivation]].
* ''Series/TheMandalorian'' is another ''Franchise/StarWars'' Internal Deconstruction. [[Film/ReturnOfTheJedi The fall of the Empire and revival of the Jedi Order]] did ''not'' instantly bring peace, happiness, and freedom for all. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Instead]] it has left the galaxy in turmoil and confusion as the Outer Rim loses any sense of order, the New Republic increasingly reaches out to assert power ([[MeetTheNewBoss sometimes quite brutally]]), Luke's new Jedi Order recluse themselves to rebuild (to the point that many don't even know they exist), [[TheRemnant Imperial Remnants]] try to make power plays, and a massive economic recession devastates numerous systems. For many communities, the only hope for law and justice comes in the form of [[BountyHunter the Bounty Hunters Guild]], which is a shadow of its former self and spends most of its time chasing bailjumpers, in contrast to its glamorous portrayal in ''[[Franchise/StarWarsLegends Legends]]''. The protagonist is not a mighty Jedi destined for greatness, but a [[ProudWarriorRace Mandalorian]] (the traditional ''enemies'' of the Jedi) bounty hunter scraping together a living in the post-war galaxy as he and his people grapple with the aftermath of decades of oppression, mistreatment, and retaliation for ancient sins from the Republic and Empire alike. The Force is portrayed less like a wondrous and benevolent BackgroundMagicField and more like scary, inscrutable sorcery wielded by mysterious figures that the average person has no understanding of. The {{Mooks}} that get killed by the dozen in the films [[NotSoHarmlessVillain are deadly and terrifying enforcers of brutal regimes]] to anybody who isn't a super-skilled hero with PlotArmor. A great many of the franchise's other tropes and conventions are heavily toyed with or [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], such as the supposedly AlwaysChaoticEvil Sand People appearing as friendly natives of Tatooine who happily give direction to the protagonists in exchange for a small payment.
* Season four of ''Series/StrangerThings'' deconstructs the general premise of the show ([[KidHero kid and teenage heroes]] in a small town battling a paranormal threat) by showing the actual ''impact'' that all these deadly and obviously supernatural events are having on the town. The townsfolk are increasingly confused, terrified, and grief-stricken and begin to wonder what sort of unholy curse has afflicted their homes. They become paranoid, nervous, and easily panicked into a hysteria. And such a hysteria occurs thanks to Jason, an EvilCounterpart to the main characters; a teenager who realizes the town is under an unnatural threat, but unlike the heroes, is an arrogant, [[SociopathicHero sociopathic]], and ignorant JerkJock whose [[WrongGenreSavvy failure to understand the nature of the enemy]], prejudices, and [[TheoryTunnelVision refusal to admit being wrong]] ends up [[spoiler:disrupting the heroes' efforts at a critical juncture, giving the BigBad his first [[TheBadGuyWins major victory]] against them.]] Said victory ends up devastating the town and causing the biggest amount of deaths yet, leading to [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere a mass-exodus as people finally get fed up and move elsewhere]]. The show's signature ''Franchise/DungeonsAndDragons'' homages are also deconstructed by reminding viewer of [[SatanicPanic just what exactly DND was going through]] at the time the story takes place and using it as a plot point, with the Satanic Panic's onset being another cause of the mass hysteria that pervades the town. By the end of the season, DND is demonized and feared as HollywoodSatanism thanks to everythin

** Multiple later series also dismantled the idea of the Federation being a PerfectPacifistPeople. ''Deep Space Nine'' and ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' prominently feature Section 31, an amoral black ops division that shows the Federation has just as many skeletons in the closet as its enemies and similarly demonstrates that it can be just as ruthless. ''Picard'' starkly shows the consequences of Starfleet's imperialism and demonstrates it can be just as prejudiced as any of its enemies. And ''Lower Decks'' shows that for every heroic idealist serving in Starfleet, there are just as many corrupt, venal bureaucrats more interested in their own careers than actually serving Starfleet's ideals and are willing to screw over other officers for their own ambitions.

** ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' even had one episode where a noble but ignorant attempt at social change led to a lot of hurt feelings and even someone committing suicide.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' gradually became a little bit more cynical of its own utopia themes, where under Roddenberry's direction TheFederation was a perfect society and had to fix social wrongs they found on other planets. ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' was the biggest example of where this happened, as half of the cast were neither Starfleet nor Federation citizens and they had this view of them as being a "sleeping giant" that could either save them or crush them with no regard with how they want to live their lives. ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' even had one episode where a noble but ignorant attempt at social change led to a lot of hurt feelings and even someone committing suicide.