History Main / BlackComedyBurst

* ''AmericanDad'' is certainly no slouch when it comes to black comedy, but it gets taken UpToEleven in an episode where Roger, working as a limo driver, spends a night chauffeuring around a group of drunk frat guys who run off without paying his fee (twenty dollars). He responds to this by [[DisproportionateRetribution systematically stalking and murdering them]]. The entire thing is PlayedForLaughs.

* ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' did this with [[GenkiGirl Pinkie Pie]]'s SanitySlippage in [[Recap.MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne "Party of One"]], and with [[{{Adorkable}} Twilight]] in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E3LessonZero "Lesson Zero"]]

BlackComedy can show up in the most unexpected places. A series might be the most generic and inoffensive DomCom around; the darkest subject matter it normally handles might be teens drinking alcohol or married people being tempted by another man/woman. And even then, the subject matter is likely to be [[FirstLawOfTragicomedies treated seriously rather than played for laughs]]; it might even be the subject of a VerySpecialEpisode.

But then along comes a moment when the series brings in a topic it would normally never touch with a ten meter pole (abortion, suicide, rape, Nazis, what-have-you) and treats it with just as much casual, lighthearted humor as it does recipes gone wrong or a TwoTimerDate. For that one moment, that one joke, the series becomes a BlackComedy, maybe even a DeadBabyComedy ... then it goes right back to being nice and innocuous again.

Note that, if a series already ''is'' a BlackComedy, it's still possible to fit this trope, but the [[BlackComedyBurst burst of black comedy]] has to be ''really'' extreme. For example, ''{{Seinfeld}}'' usually didn't shy away from dealing with plenty of dark subject matter, but it's usually [[SeinfeldianConversation just the characters discussing it]]. If they had done an episode where the MainCharacters actually raped or killed someone, and they still played it as much for laughs as ever, then it would still qualify as a BlackComedyBurst.

Related to GenreShift and MoodWhiplash.
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* On a ''BoyMeetsWorld'' HalloweenEpisode, everything's going along like a typical episode for the first act, nothing that might be objectionable for family viewing. Then a guy named Kenny is suddenly murdered. In the past, this series has treated sex, alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, and religious cults with deady seriousness in {{Very Special Episode}}s. When another human being is killed, however, the only response it gets is, "[[ShoutOut Oh my god!]] [[SouthPark They killed Kenny!]]" After that, the episode kills off a lot more people, including most of the MainCharacters, and it's mostly played for laughs. Of course, it's AllJustADream, but there was no way the audience could have known that before the first murder occurred.
* On ''HowIMetYourMother'' one episode has Ted trying to get a job designing a guy's house. As Ted talks to the guy, though, it becomes clear he's a SerialKiller who wants Ted to build him a sound-proof "murder house." While the all the characters are appropriately freaked out by this, Ted's run in with a serial killer is never played for anything but laughs. And it's usually such a sweet RomanticComedy.

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* ''MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', of all things, did this with [[GenkiGirl Pinkie Pie]]'s SanitySlippage in [[Recap.MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E25PartyOfOne Party of One]].
** They did it again with [[{{Adorkable}} Twilight]]! She literally goes crazy trying to learn some lesson on friendship so she can write about it in her weekly letter to Celestia.

** They did it again with [[{{Adorkable Twilight]]! She literally goes crazy trying to learn some lesson on friendship so she can write about it in her weekly letter to Celestia.

* The {{Victorious}} episode "Begging on Your Knees" features Cat accidentally getting phone calls from people who just had car accidents. One of these people dies on the line. Everyone seems a bit shocked and bewildered by this but [[ComedicSociopathy don't really say too much about it.]]

* On a ''BoyMeetsWorld'' HalloweenEpisode, everything's going along like a typical episode for the first act, nothing that might be objectionable for family viewing. Then a guy named Kenny is suddenly murdered. In the past, this series has treated sex, alcoholism, juvenile delinquency, and religious cults with deady seriousness in {{Very Special Episode}}s. When anothe human being is killed, however, the only response it gets is, "[[ShoutOut Oh my god!]] [[SouthPark They killed Kenny!]]" After that, the episode kills off a lot more people, including most of the MainCharacters, and it's mostly played for laughs. Of course, it's AllJustADream, but there was no way the audience could have known that before the first murder occurred.

* TheSimpsons, despite being a BlackComedy in concept, is [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism too idealistic]] to actually be considered one. The episode "Homer's Enemy," however, gives a good idea of what the series would be like if it were one. A {{Deconstruction}} based on [[ThisLoserIsYou a "real" character]] [[KafkaKomedy floundering to]]- and eventually getting killed by- the show's inherent silliness, it's considered one of the darkest episodes in the show's history.

* Not that ''MadMen'' was ever known for being light, but a guy randomly getting his foot sawed off by a lawn mower certainly qualifies, especially with all the dark jokes that came in the incident's wake.

But then along comes a moment when the series brings in a topic it would normally never touch with a ten meter poll (abortion, suicide, rape, Nazis, what-have-you) and treats it with just as much casual, lighthearted humor as it does recipes gone wrong or a TwoTimerDate. For that one moment, that one joke, the series becomes a BlackComedy, maybe even a DeadBabyComedy ... then it goes right back to being nice and innocuous again.

---> '''Harry:''' He's going to lose the foot.
---> '''Roger:''' Right when he got it in the door.

* Not that ''MadMen'' was ever known for being light, but a guy randomly getting his foot sawed off by a lawn mower certainly qualifies, especially with all the dark jokes that came in the incident's wake.

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