History Main / CantGetInTroubleForNuthin

-->--'''Tez "technically you could call me a serial killer" On Toast''', ''KateModern: The Last Work''

* The protagonist of ''CemeteryMan'' has a job that involves shooting zombies in the head when they rise from the graveyard where he works. By accident, one day he kills someone who wasn't already dead. Nobody believes him when he tries to come clean to the cops. [[spoiler:The entire last act of the movie is him performing more and more depraved acts in a desperate existential attempt to write his own destiny. The denials from the authorities as to his guilt get more and more bizarre.]]

* In ''AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon'', the titular werewolf realizes what he is and tries to get thrown in jail for the night, to no avail.

* In the ''SouthPark'' episode "Breast Cancer Show Ever," Cartman deliberately gets detention so that he can avoid having to fight Wendy Testaburger after school.

* In an episode of ''Series/{{Batman}}'', the Penguin, acting as a respected restaurateur as part of a {{Civillain}} scheme, has considerable difficulty when he actively ''tries'' to get thrown in prison so that he can consult an expert forger criminal colleague. When he was finally sent to prison, he learned [[spoiler: the colleague was just getting off]].

--> GM: They're all [[FantasticFour skrull]] infiltrators. You make the front page of the Times for your heroism.

A combo inversion of CantGetAwayWithNuthin and SelectiveEnforcement where the character actually wants to get in trouble, either for their own reasons ([[MischiefForPunishment such as enjoying the punishment]] or to [[GetIntoJailFree get access to a prison]]) or to [[{{Frameup}} frame someone else]].

The first form of this trope is often found in {{doppelganger}}, shapeshifting, and body-switcher stories. A character looks, for whatever reason, exactly like their archenemy or rival. Instead of moping or trying to revert, they immediately [[FrameUp plan to ruin that enemy's life by getting into all sorts of trouble for which the original will be punished.]] May also occur in a non-fantastic situation, where the character is never seen, but (unsuccessfully) tries to frame the other.

Occasionally the character will find that the person they are impersonating is a CompleteMonster or the TokenEvilTeammate, so anything nasty that they do actually comes off as ''nicer'' than usual. May overlap with PokeThePoodle. See also GetIntoJailFree.

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* Sometimes given as an explanation for Wally's behaviour in ''{{Dilbert}}''. He knows that his severance package would be greater than his future wages, so he's trying to get fired. The company know this as well, so they just put up with him. This is based on [[TruthInTelevision an actual colleague of Scott Adams at Pacific Bell]].

* ''DannyPhantom'': Pretty much the only reason Danny ever overshadows people, aside from information gathering.

* PlayedForLaughs in ''{{Chopper}}'' as mass murderer Mark Reade confesses to shooting a man in self defense to the police, and even brings in the murder weapon. When the police don't believe him, he claims that he has "Never been as insulted in his whole life". He later laments that he used to be a dangerous criminal and now can't even get arrested.

* In Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series, there is a character named "Done It" Duncan, for his habit of telling the city watch, "Whatever it was, I done it!" in order to be given a bowl of soup and a night in jail out of the cold. They never believe him, but sometimes let him stay anyway. Of course, he is a valuable source of information, as he often reveals who the real perpetrators were. "It was me, not Coalface's boys like everyone says".
* In ''[[Literature/JeevesAndWooster Joy In The Morning]]'', Bertie Wooster tries everything to get Florence Craye to call off their engagement. Finally he kicks her beloved little brother in the pants, and she thanks him: he had destroyed some of her scrapbooks, and she was just about to kick him herself.

* On an episode of ''Series/ICarly'', Carly and Sam are planning a big fiftieth-webcast show. Sam gets detention for the night on which the show was being held, though, so Carly and Freddy decide to broadcast the show from detention. Trouble is, no matter what they do, it backfires (Carly pulls a fire alarm; there was a real fire. Freddy grafitti's a window; it gets washed off. Carly breaks a teacher's chair; she's so happy that she gets a paid vacation she doesn't investigate. Etc.) Eventually, Carly gets detention for slamming her locker in frustration from the failed attempts of getting in trouble, from a SadistTeacher, and Freddy hides in a closet.

* At the beginning of a weeklong arc in ''{{Foxtrot}}'', Roger declared that he was going to take Jason golfing after school the following day, never mind that Jason was clearly utterly uninterested in the game. The final panel of the Monday comic that week showed Ms. O'Malley, Jason's teacher, on the receiving end of a hailstorm of paper darts, yelling "Jason Fox, are you ''trying'' to get detention!?" (His scheme failed, of course.)

* ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' features a character called Friedrich Welfer, who recieves a yearly allowance until he gets his doctoral degree. Since this allowance is bigger than his payment as a doctor would be, he purposely prolongs his studies as long as possible. However, when WorldWarI breaks out, he has to take a "military exam", and recieves his doctorate despite writing "Lecken Sie mich am Arsch!" (meaning "Kiss my ass") to every question.

* In ''[[DoctorDolittle Doctor Dolittle's Return]]'', Dr. Dolittle tries in vain to get himself thrown into jail, so that he can write his book in peace and quiet. When he finally succeeds, the animals break him out and he has to start over again.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' has Darkwing trying to get arrested so that he can [[GetIntoJailFree infiltrate a prison for supervillains]]. After repeatedly failing in his attempt to commit crimes, he is finally arrested [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin for jaywalking]]. (The police officers only agree to send him to the super-prison when he demonstrates that he can also do scary shadow puppets.) [[HilariousInHindsight When Darkwing put on the supervillain costume he was wearing when he was arrested, he joked he should be arrested just for wearing it and that was, in fact, the reason he was arrested for jaywalking]].

* An episode of ''DarkwingDuck'' has Darkwing trying to get arrested so that he can [[GetIntoJailFree infiltrate a prison for supervillains]]. After repeatedly failing in his attempt to commit crimes, he is finally arrested [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin for jaywalking]]. (The police officers only agree to send him to the super-prison when he demonstrates that he can also do scary shadow puppets.) [[HilariousInHindsight When Darkwing put on the supervillain costume he was wearing when he was arrested, he joked he should be arrested just for wearing it and that was, in fact, the reason he was arrested for jaywalking]].

->''What does a guy have to do to get nicked in this town? What does a man have to do to get some attention 'round here?''

* One episode of ''{{Detention}}'' centered around the kids who normally got detention trying ''not to,'' and Shelley Kelley, a TeachersPet who never got it, was ''trying'' to get it. Everything the poor girl did only resulted in praise...deflate all the basketballs? Great, now they'll fit through the baskets easier. Flood the gym? "We've been meaning to clean that. Thanks!"

* In ''YoungDracula'', Ingrid pulls the fire alarm at school, setting off the sprinklers at the same time, in a deliberate attempt to get suspended so she can prove to father how evil she is. A horrified Vlad shows up and turns off the alarm. just in time to get blamed for setting it off.

-->--'''Tez "technically you could call me a serial killer" On Toast''', ''{{KateModern}}: The Last Work''

A combo inversion of CantGetAwayWithNuthin and SelectiveEnforcement where the character actually wants to get in trouble, either for their own reasons ([[MischiefForPunishment such as enjoying the punishment]] or to [[GetIntoJailFree get access to a prison]]) or to [[{{Frameup}} frame someone else]].

* Not a mystical or lookalike version, but often in ''Baby LooneyTunes'' and similar spinoffs, one character (usually Sylvester or Daffy) would try to frame another character (Bugs or Tweety Bird, respectively) without being seen. Usually, this would be seen as a misguided yet heartfelt attempt at kindness, such as planting a tree in the middle of the living room rug on what just happened to be Arbor Day.

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* ''{{American Psycho}}'', both the book and the movie. Patrick Bateman commits a series of heinous crimes including chasing a hooker with a chainsaw, going on a shooting spree, blowing up several police cruisers, and hiding in his office as a helicopter searches for the perp. While hiding, he phones his lawyer and confesses to everything, but later on, nothing has come of this. He meets his lawyer, who laughs the whole thing off and mistakes him for someone else. Bateman becomes angry, (who had just called "Bateman" spineless, after all, Patrick Bateman couldn't pull off a murder, let alone about 20), informs the lawyer that he IS Bateman, and insists the crimes actually happened. He is apparently saved again when the lawyer informs him he had dinner with someone he supposedly killed just a few weeks ago , tells Bateman he no longer finds this funny, and leaves. Bateman slinks down in his chair and delivers a speech about how there are no more barriers to cross, etc.

* In the [[OHenry O. Henry]] short story ''The Cop and the Anthem'', Soapy the bum wants to spend the winter in jail, but can't get arrested for anything. [[spoiler: That is, until the end of the story, where he decides to get a job just before his arrest for loitering.]] This story was adapted into a Freddy The Freeloader sketch on ''The Red Skelton Show''.
* In Terry Pratchett's ''{{Discworld}}'' series, there is a character named "Done It" Duncan, for his habit of telling the city watch, "Whatever it was, I done it!" in order to be given a bowl of soup and a night in jail out of the cold. They never believe him, but sometimes let him stay anyway. Of course, he is a valuable source of information, as he often reveals who the real perpetrators were. "It was me, not Coalface's boys like everyone says".

* On an episode of ''Series/{{iCarly}}'', Carly and Sam are planning a big fiftieth-webcast show. Sam gets detention for the night on which the show was being held, though, so Carly and Freddy decide to broadcast the show from detention. Trouble is, no matter what they do, it backfires (Carly pulls a fire alarm; there was a real fire. Freddy grafitti's a window; it gets washed off. Carly breaks a teacher's chair; she's so happy that she gets a paid vacation she doesn't investigate. Etc.) Eventually, Carly gets detention for slamming her locker in frustration from the failed attempts of getting in trouble, from a SadistTeacher, and Freddy hides in a closet.

* In the earlier seasons of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Sam is rather disgruntled by the fact that, despite their tendency to pull the exact same stunts in pursuit of the {{Monster of the Week}}, Dean is the one who builds up an impressive criminal record while Sam's name doesn't even appear in any legal database. Despite the advantages in the, you know, [[BuffySpeak not-getting-arrested]] department. Dean finds the entire situation amusing.

* In an episode of ''{{Series/Batman}}'', the Penguin, acting as a respected restaurateur as part of a {{Civillain}} scheme, has considerable difficulty when he actively ''tries'' to get thrown in prison so that he can consult an expert forger criminal colleague. When he was finally sent to prison, he learned [[spoiler: the colleague was just getting off]].

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* In ''[[FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends]],'' Bloo wanted to be sent to bed without the awful, casserole-like dinner Frankie was trying to make. Unfortunately for him, everyone else got the blame because Harriman had hidden [[GRatedDrug a stash of carrots]] in his room and didn't want them discovered. Bloo ended up eating ''all'' of the dish.

* One episode of ''{{Detention}}'' centered around the kids who normally got detention trying ''not to,'' and Shelley Kelley, a TeachersPet who never got it, was ''trying'' to get it. Everything the poor girl did only resulted in praise...deflate all the basketballs? Great, now they'll fit through the baskets easier. Flood the gym? "We've been meaning to clean that. Thanks!"

* In one the sequels to ''DoctorInTheHouse'', a character tries to deliberately fail his final medical exam. (If he passes, he will be obligated to marry a woman he no longer loves.) He attempts to deliberately fail the written exam but, never having failed a test in his life, finds he is unable to deliberately write down wrong answers. He gets drunk before his final oral exam and refuses to answer one of the question. The examiner then realises that he has been that diagnostic example too much and thanks the student for drawing it to his attention. At this point, he might still have passed if he had not then thrown up on the examiner.

* In an episode of ''TheRedSkeltonShow', Freddie the Freeloader wants to get sent to jail for Christmas because it's nice and warm, and he likes the people there. But no matter what he does, he can't get there. Then he meets someone who gives him the incentive to remain on the outside. Only then does he get dragged off to jail.

* A vintage ''Popeye'' cartoon has Popeye and Bluto trying to injure themselves so they'll be ministered to by nurse Olive - to their frustration all their attempts are thwarted by dumb luck. Popeye finally pulls out a can of spinach and force-feeds it to Bluto, who becomes a dynamo of flying fists. Popeye ends up happy in a body cast as Bluto looks on jealously.

* This happened in a episode of AngelaAnaconda, where Angela forgets to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. She tries to get detention so that she can avoid getting pinched during recess, and fails each time. She manages to escape this fate when she turns her jacket inside out to green.
* One episode of {{Detention}} centered around the kids who normally got detention trying ''not to,'' and Shelley Kelley, a TeachersPet who never got it, was ''trying'' to get it. Everything the poor girl did only resulted in praise...deflate all the basketballs? Great, now they'll fit through the baskets easier. Flood the gym? "We've been meaning to clean that. Thanks!"
* In ''TheSimpsons'', Homer tries to get himself disabled so he can work at home, but he doesn't get hurt. At one point, he walks around a hardhat area with no helmet and falling stuff keeps missing him. A wheelbarrow full of bricks falls on someone else, prompting Homer to quip "Probably better that ''didn't'' hit me".

* Lucky Lydia, in WhatACartoonShow, was dared into kicking an old man's back. When she tried to apologize for this, he told her it put it back into place and he not only thanked but also ''paid'' her for this.

* In the ''Rated A for Awesome'' episode "Club Detention" the guys started a club to make detention more fun, but since Thera never gets in trouble she couldn't join and no matter what she tried she couldn't get detention. It later turned out that [[spoiler:the vice principal was making up her own crazy rules to keep the guys in detention and eventually expel them, and she was giving Thera special treatment because she's an honors student]].

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* An amusing thread on one of the ImageBoards talked about a GM doing this to wangsty [[AntiHero antiheros]] that were getting on his nerves.
--> Player: Eternally I fight a war on two fronts. I must protect the city, and I must battle the inner demons of my own cruel desires! What are we up against this week?
--> GM: [[RefugeInAudacity The Kruel Klown Koalition.]]. They're racist clowns. With mutant battle-koalas.
--> Player: Damnit! [[KickTheDog I go burn down an orphanage.]]
--> GM: They're all [[FantasticFour skrull]] infiltrators. You make the front page of the Times for your heroism.

* An amusing thread on one of the ImageBoards talked about a GM doing this to [[Wangst wangsty]] [[AntiHero antiheros]] that were getting on his nerves.

* Robert Beltran reportedly wanted out of his commitment to ''StarTrekVoyager'' so desperately that he was willing to try almost anything to get fired, including deliberately giving his worse performance, and publicly accusing Brannon Braga of being gay.

* On an episode of ''[[ICarly iCarly]]'', Carly and Sam are planning a big fiftieth-webcast show. Sam gets detention for the night on which the show was being held, though, so Carly and Freddy decide to broadcast the show from detention. Trouble is, no matter what they do, it backfires (Carly pulls a fire alarm; there was a real fire. Freddy grafitti's a window; it gets washed off. Carly breaks a teacher's chair; she's so happy that she gets a paid vacation she doesn't investigate. Etc.) Eventually, Carly gets detention for slamming her locker in frustration from the failed attempts of getting in trouble, from a SadistTeacher, and Freddy hides in a closet.
* An episode of ''{{CSI}}'' had the VictimOfTheWeek in the B plot turn out to have been a homeless man. He tried to get sent to jail (for free food and shelter) by punching a police officer. Said officer realized what he was doing and left him handcuffed, apparently failing to realize this would lead to his death.

* In ''{{Seinfeld}}'', George needs to be fired from the Yankees to get a more lucrative title with the Mets, but is actively praised for wearing\damaging Babe Ruth's clothes and 'streaking' during a ballgame in a flesh-colored body suit.

* In ''{{Frasier}}'', during the period when [[StarCrossedLovers Niles was married to Mel, but knew Daphne loved him back]], Mel would only agree to a divorce if he showed himself up as a rude, boorish man whom ''she'' wanted rid of. Nothing he attempted worked: for instance, when he made comments about someone having a drink problem, he was praised for his insight and courage in speaking up, and the man immediately swore off alcohol.
* On an episode of ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Reese wanted to avoid going to a formal dance with his girlfriend so he tried to goad her into a fight by insulting her. When that didn't work, he deliberately got himself grounded but his mom saw right through the plan and told him he was grounded after he went to the dance. Finally, he admitted to his girlfriend that he didn't want to go and she told him that he made a promise so he was going to have to attend and, after that, she would break up with him.

* Some of the members of the eponymous club in ''{{Glee}}'' try to improve their reputations by getting in trouble. Even an impromptu musical in the library just gets praise from the librarian and an invitation to perform at her church.

* ''[[Series/ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]'' - after attaining A-list celebrity status, Tracy desperately wants out. He tries disgracing himself publicly, but all of his boorish antisocial antics are embraced as the quirks of a genius artist by an adoring public.

* In ''GetSmart'', Max has to get into jail to retrieve a microfilm off a convict...all his attempts to get arrested backfire, but he finally gets caught for littering - he gets the sentence he needs by insulting the judge.

* ''ElGoonishShive'': the first arc involving Ellen (Elliot's misguided OppositeSexClone). She wanted to get Elliot in trouble at school, but threatening bullies didn't result in any punishment, insulting the principal caused him to realize the insults were accurate, and trying to pick an inappropriate topic of discussion [[PokeThePoodle when the topic wasn't inappropriate enough]] just led to a situation that was overwhelmingly embarrassing for Ellen instead.