History Main / DoorRoulette

* The WarnerBros ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had an episode where Batman and Robin had to save Commisioner Gordon from a virtual reality simulation constructed by ComicBook/TheRiddler. The first obstacle Batman encounters is a DoorRoulette. This being the Riddler, however, the doors were all labeled with clues as to what was behind them. The door labeled "crazy intent", you guessed it, had an oncoming locomotive.

* In the WanderOverYonder episode "The Void", while trying to escape a dimension where literally anything can happen, Slyvia repeatedly opens a single door to find a way out. Behind it contains tons of [[FreezeFrameBonus Freeze Frame Bonuses,]] including Lord Hater taking a shower, Wander and Slyvia's concept art, a photo of Wander's voice actor Jack [=McBrayer=], a photo of [[CraigMcCracken Craig McCracken]] and a message saying, [[spoiler:"Thanks for watching Wander Over Yonder and for taking the time to still frame this! - [[CraigMcCracken CM"]]]]

* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' has the KnightsAndKnaves riddle variation.

** ''BugsBunny and The Three Bears'': Bugs was trying to escape the house, but behind every door he tried was Mama Bear, whom he had seduced in an earlier scene. "Tell me more about my eyes!"

* The {{Filmation}} ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' episode "The Nine Lives of Catwoman" started with this.

* In the Gene Wilder version of ''WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', the "one door leads to two different locations" variation is used.

* The ''[[ComicBook/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicIDW My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic]]'' comic book had Chrysalis challenge the Mane 6 to find her behind one of the doors in her castle. The wrong doors had creepy movie references behind them, such as PhantomOfTheOpera or a priest of Kali from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheTempleOfDoom''.

* FleischerStudios cartoon BimbosInitiation has this happen.

* Neo's path to the Architect in ''TheMatrixReloaded'' had roulette doors.

* In the EnsembleCast comedy NothingButTrouble, there is a sequence where a character tries to open several doors in a hallway, only to find bizarre things like tombstones or a room full of bats (and guano). Unusually for this trope, they're not stock footage but actually there. It's a very strange house.

* [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/11p31 A nice webcomic example]] in ''Webcomic/AdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', in the "Punch Dracula" arc.

** Jack Moffitt wrote "The Lady and the Tiger" which is a continuation of the above story. In it, [[spoiler: The door the princess pointed to had the tiger behind it. The man who opened the door then quickly opened the other door, behind which stood his beloved. He hid himself behind the two open doors and the tiger killed the girl. He turned out to be one of the two thieves who died with Christ.]]

* There was once a recurring ArchieComics strip called ''Open the Door, Dilton'', where Dilton Doiley would open doors leading to VisualPuns based on their labels; a door leading to 'Tennis Court' featured a player being sentenced a $500 fee for a double-fault by the judge, and a 'Roller Derby' had people racing derby hats on wheels.

* ''HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' has this when Harry and his friends are in the Department of Mysteries and they're trying to find which door is the one with all the glass balls seen in Harry's dreams.

* ''Series/ThePriceIsRight'' did it with the Showcase Showdown.

* The WarnerBros ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had an episode where Batman and Robin had to save Commisioner Gordon from a virtual reality simulation constructed by TheRiddler. The first obstacle Batman encounters is a DoorRoulette. This being the Riddler, however, the doors were all labeled with clues as to what was behind them. The door labeled "crazy intent", you guessed it, had an oncoming locomotive.

* there was once a recurring ArchieComics strip called ''Open the Door, Dilton'', where Dilton Doiley would open doors leading to VisualPuns based on their labels; a door leading to 'Tennis Court' featured a player being sentenced a $500 fee for a double-fault by the judge, and a 'Roller Derby' had people racing derby hats on wheels.

* Happened in the ''WesternAnimation/CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode "Courage in the Big Stinking City", where behind door number 1 is StockFootage of [[Franchise/{{Godzilla}} King Ghidorah]], behind door number 2 is stock footage of a shark, and behind door number 3... is a cute girl playing a violin. [[spoiler: Until she [[NightmareFuel turns around, revealing a monstrous screaming face]].]]

In order to save money on camera shots or the wacky StockFootage, sometimes the shot would show the character opening the door, accompanied by a sound effect that indicates a wild animal, monster or other unexpected danger lurks on the other side without ever showing it. With CGI being more prevalent in filmmaking, though, this is becoming less of a problem. If the scene is lighter fare and/or PlayedForLaughs, you can expect the StandardSnippet from "Yackety Sax" to accompany those trying the doors. The funnier the setting, the more likely it is that the oncoming locomotive will show up behind one of the doors.

* ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine''. While the protagonists are looking for Paul inside a HallOfManyDoors, they open several doors leading to (a) King Kong reaching in to get Fay Wray, (b) an oncoming train (one of the Beatles slams the door shut) and finally (c) Paul giving a concert performance. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8B_UdaVVw4 here, starting at 4:50]].

* In ''CasinoRoyale1967'', Sir James and MoneyPenny end up in a hall with many doors which all look alike.

[[Music/HueyLewisAndTheNews http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doorroulette.jpg]]
[[caption-width:357:Round and round and round they go! Which door's the right one, nobody knows...]]

* The English dub of ''DuelMasters'' uses heavy editing to throw Mimi into this situation in one episode.

[[HueyLewisAndTheNews http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/doorroulette.jpg]]
[[caption-width:357: Round and round and round they go! Which door's the right one, nobody knows...]]

* In the original ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' manga, when Shadi is trapped inside Dark Yuugi's mind, he was forced to do this to find his way out. One door contained the true mind of Dark Yuugi while countless others held nasty surprises. It was implied that had his adversary not shown a rare bit of mercy and helped him at the last moment, he would have been lost there forever.

[[AC: {{Commercials}}]]
* There's a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercial where Cheeseasaurus Rex is wandering up and down a long hallway of all white doors trying to find the Macaroni and Cheese. He finds various silly and amusing things before he finally finds what he's looking for.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]

* The HarryPotter example in Film, above, also applies for the book that preceded the film. In fact, in the book there's actually a scene where the doors spin around the group like an actual roulette wheel.

[[AC: GameShow]]
* ''ThePriceIsRight'' did it with the Showcase Showdown.
* ''[[TreasureHuntUS Treasure Hunt]]'' used to do it with good prizes and booby prizes they called "klunks".
* ''AmericanGladiators''. The last part of The Eliminator challenge involved the contestants deciding which (paper) door to burst through. If they chose correctly, they had a free run to the finish line. If they chose the wrong one, they had to get past one of the gladiators.
* ''LetsMakeADeal''. The Big Deal of the Day was hidden behind one of three doors: Door Number One, Door Number Two or Door Number Three. A {{Zonk}} was hidden behind some doors earlier in the show.
* The American version of ''Series/HellsKitchen'' has an unusual variation. In the finale, Gordon Ramsay shows doors to the audience. The finalists stand behind the doors, and only the winner's door is ''unlocked''.
* Often used on ''TakeshisCastle'' for various events and chellenges.
* Subverted on ''Silent Library''. A recurring punishment is "Bad Door", with punishments including a zombie, a motorcycle spewing exhaust, and more.

[[AC: {{Music}}]]
* The HueyLewisAndTheNews video for "Heart And Soul" has Huey and the girl trying to escape from a house with a long hallway. One of the doors leads to a wild party. One leads to the band singing. Another leads to a vampire biting a victim. The next, to a track with an old-fashioned locomotive racing toward them, all of which Huey slams closed before finally finding the door leading back out to the normal world. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TdaXhpjHws Watch it here]], starting at approximately 2:53.

[[AC: {{Radio}}]]
* In ''TheGoonShow'' episode "The Yehti", Seagoon finds himself in a building where there is an express train behind almost every door, and flocks of sheep behind the rest. Later, accompanied by Eccles and Bluebottle, he follows Yeti tracks and finds himself in a hallway with a large number of doors. Opening each door in turn, they find things that Seagoon can perceive but the other two can't, things that the other two can perceive but Seagoon can't, things that the ''audience'' can perceive but the protagonists can't, the narrator taking a bath, attractive women who offer Eccles grapes and an explosion that, [[OnceAnEpisode as usual]], 'deads' Bluebottle. Only one door remains -- surely the Yeti must be behind it? [[spoiler:No, another express train.]]

* One of the co-operative mini-games in ''WiiParty'' has the actual doors -- some of them have boxing gloves on springs, some have wheels that run you over, and some have other Miis on the toilet. The object is to find the single door in each room that leads to the next one, and eventually meet up in the middle.

[[AC: {{Webcomics}}]]
* [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/11p31 A nice webcomic example]] in ''AdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', in the "Punch Dracula" arc.

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* The Ghost Zone in ''DannyPhantom'' has doors like this that float in midair instead of lining the sides of a hallway. They lead back to Earth, to other places in the Ghost Zone, or to other dimensions or even other time periods. In an odd twist, the Ghost Zone actually has been mapped, so whoever has the map won't have the problem of guessing which door leads where.
* [[TheSimpsons Bart Simpson]] encounters this when he's in the Shelbyville Zoo trying to leave without being eaten by a tiger.
* LooneyTunes:

* Happened in the ''CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode "Courage in the Big Stinking City", where behind door number 1 is StockFootage of [[{{Godzilla}} King Ghidorah]], behind door number 2 is stock footage of a shark, and behind door number 3... is a cute girl playing a violin. [[spoiler: Until she [[NightmareFuel turns around, revealing a monstrous screaming face]].]]
* Happens frequently on ''MuppetBabies'', where opening the closet door can be a risky proposition.

* The {{Filmation}} ''{{Batman}}'' episode "The Nine Lives of Catwoman" started with this.
* The WarnerBros ''BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had an episode where Batman and Robin had to save Commisioner Gordon from a virtual reality simulation constructed by TheRiddler. The first obstacle Batman encounters is a DoorRoulette. This being the Riddler, however, the doors were all labeled with clues as to what was behind them. The door labeled "crazy intent", you guessed it, had an oncoming locomotive.

* One episode of ''GarfieldAndFriends'', "Mystic Manor", had Garfield searching a haunted house for Odie and encountering this. Behind one door was [[ShoutOut Nancy and Sluggo]], behind another was the manor's crazy caretaker taking a shower, and behind another was a sunny beach crowded with surfers, which results in Garfield being drenched by a huge wave.
* In the ''EekTheCat'' episode "[=HallowEek=]", Eek was running around a room at the haunted house freaking out, and opens three doors, but there are different monsters behind them that scare him, and then he opens another door and [[MisterRogersNeighborhood Mr. Rogers]] is behind it uttering "Won't you be my neighbor?", which also scares him.
* In the "Mad Mod" episode of '' ComicBook/TeenTitans'', the Titans try to escape Mad Mod's "school". There's a wacky J-Pop number and the DoorRoulette is crossed over with ScoobyDoobyDoors as the doors change problematicity from second to second due to Mad Mod being an illusionist.

[[caption-width:357: Round and round and round they go! Which door's the right one, nobody knows...]]

The one trying the doors must be quick and slam the door before the danger on the other side emerges (or reaches out to grab them)!

Riddles, such as KnightsAndKnaves, may play some part in the process of deciding which door is the one that leads to reward or safety rather than confusion or danger. More enterprising or less white hatted heroes may fudge against the rules a bit and find [[TakeAThirdOption a more creative method]] to determine which door is the one they want. Sometimes the danger behind the doors is the villain who can do the OffscreenTeleportation trick and be behind each door progressively.

In order to save money on camera shots or the wacky StockFootage, sometimes the shot would show the character opening the door, accompanied by a sound effect that indicates a wild animal, monster or other unexpected danger lurks on the other side without ever showing it. With CGI being more prevalent in filmmaking, though, this is becoming less of a problem. If the scene is lighter fare and/or PlayedForLaughs, you can expect the StandardSnippet from "Yackety Sax" to accompany those trying the doors. The funnier the setting, the more likely it is that the oncoming locomotive will show up behind one of the doors.

An occasional variation is to have a room with no way out but the door one came in through, but opening it the second time, it now leads someplace else.

!! Examples:

[[AC: {{Anime}} and {{Manga}}]]

[[AC: {{Commercials}}]]
* There's a Kraft Macaroni & Cheese commercial where Cheeseasaurus Rex is wandering up and down a long hallway of all white doors trying to find the Macaroni and Cheese. He finds various silly and amusing things before he finally finds what he's looking for.

[[AC: {{Film}}]]
* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' has the KnightsAndKnaves riddle variation.
* ''HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' has this when Harry and his friends are in the Department of Mysteries and they're trying to find which door is the one with all the glass balls seen in Harry's dreams.
* ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine''. While the protagonists are looking for Paul inside a HallOfManyDoors, they open several doors leading to (a) King Kong reaching in to get Fay Wray, (b) an oncoming train (one of the Beatles slams the door shut) and finally (c) Paul giving a concert performance. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8B_UdaVVw4 here, starting at 4:50]].
* ''Film/TheAdventureOfSherlockHolmesSmarterBrother''. Professor Moriarty puts one of his henchmen through one of these tests, including tricking him into going through the wrong door and getting killed.
* Neo's path to the Architect in ''TheMatrixReloaded'' had roulette doors.
* Happens in ''{{Film/ForbiddenZone}}'' as part of the homages to old 1930's cartoons.
* In the Gene Wilder version of ''WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', the "one door leads to two different locations" variation is used.
* In the EnsembleCast comedy NothingButTrouble, there is a sequence where a character tries to open several doors in a hallway, only to find bizarre things like tombstones or a room full of bats (and guano). Unusually for this trope, they're not stock footage but actually there. It's a very strange house.
* In the 1949 film ''I Was a Male War Bride'', French army captain Henri Rochard ({{Cary Grant}}) experiences a variation on this trope. In the hallway of a U.S. Army office building in post-war Germany, he experiences {{Acronym And Abbreviation Overload}} in a hallway filled with solid office doors labeled with alphabet soup acronyms. He recites what he thinks the acronym on each door means until he comes to the women's restroom. He starts to recite what he thinks the acronym "LADIES" might stand for when a female corporal walks out.

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* [[http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml The Lady or the Tiger]] by Frank Stockton.

* The second of EdgarRiceBurroughs' ''Venus'' novels had one of these: only one of the room's multiple doors led to safety; all the others were deathtraps. (Once the jailers brought you in and left, the lights went out and the floor spun for a while so you'd lose track of which was the safe door.) Food and drink were provided -- most of it poisoned. Oh, and to discourage hesitation, after a while dangerous snakes started slithering in.

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]
* Candice set up a fixed, unwinnable version of DoorRoulette with her illusion powers in season 1 of ''{{Series/Heroes}}''. No matter what door Micah ran to, ''all the doors'' led him back to the room he was trying to leave.
* In ''TheTenthKingdom'', our heroes get past this trap in an unusual way: the father has had it at that point, so he picks up the toad who serves as the keeper and [[TakeAThirdOption tosses him into the corridor beyond one of the doors]], which immediately erupts into flame. They then decide to take the other door.
* ''TheMonkees'' - In the episode “Monkee Chow Mein,” Micky and Peter must choose between four doors to escape sudden death from the clutches of [[YellowPeril evil Chinese Restaurateurs]].
* In ''{{Series/Batman}}'' Catwoman did it with the choice of "The Lady or the Tiger", giving Batman a chance to catch her or die.

[[AC: GameShow]]
* ''ThePriceIsRight'' did it with the Showcase Showdown.
* ''[[TreasureHuntUS Treasure Hunt]]'' used to do it with good prizes and booby prizes they called "klunks".
* ''AmericanGladiators''. The last part of The Eliminator challenge involved the contestants deciding which (paper) door to burst through. If they chose correctly, they had a free run to the finish line. If they chose the wrong one, they had to get past one of the gladiators.
* ''LetsMakeADeal''. The Big Deal of the Day was hidden behind one of three doors: Door Number One, Door Number Two or Door Number Three. A {{Zonk}} was hidden behind some doors earlier in the show.
* The American version of ''Series/HellsKitchen'' has an unusual variation. In the finale, Gordon Ramsay shows doors to the audience. The finalists stand behind the doors, and only the winner's door is ''unlocked''.
* Often used on ''TakeshisCastle'' for various events and chellenges.

[[AC: {{Music}}]]
* The HueyLewisAndTheNews video for "Heart And Soul" has Huey and the girl trying to escape from a house with a long hallway. One of the doors leads to a wild party. One leads to the band singing. Another leads to a vampire biting a victim. The next, to a track with an old-fashioned locomotive racing toward them, all of which Huey slams closed before finally finding the door leading back out to the normal world. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TdaXhpjHws Watch it here]], starting at approximately 2:53.

[[AC: {{Webcomics}}]]
* [[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/11p31 A nice webcomic example]] in ''AdventuresOfDrMcNinja'', in the "Punch Dracula" arc.

[[AC: WesternAnimation]]
* The Ghost Zone in ''DannyPhantom'' has doors like this that float in midair instead of lining the sides of a hallway. They lead back to Earth, to other places in the Ghost Zone, or to other dimensions or even other time periods. In an odd twist, the Ghost Zone actually has been mapped, so whoever has the map won't have the problem of guessing which door leads where.
* [[TheSimpsons Bart Simpson]] encounters this when he's in the Shelbyville Zoo trying to leave without being eaten by a tiger.
* LooneyTunes:
** ''BugsBunny and The Three Bears'': Bugs was trying to escape the house, but behind every door he tried was Mama Bear, whom he had seduced in an earlier scene. "Tell me more about my eyes!"
** In the 1944 short "Plane Daffy", Daffy Duck flees to various exits from Axis spy-tomato Hata Mari — but finds her behind every door, holding progressively more dangerous weapons.

* Happened in the ''CourageTheCowardlyDog'' episode "Courage in the Big Stinking City", where behind door number 1 is StockFootage of [[{{Godzilla}} King Ghidorah]], behind door number 2 is stock footage of a shark, and behind door number 3... is a cute girl playing a violin. [[spoiler: Until she [[NightmareFuel turns around, revealing a monstrous screaming face]].]]
* Happens frequently on ''MuppetBabies'', where opening the closet door can be a risky proposition.
* In the first ''[[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoon, Leonardo and Raphael are in a hallway with a lot of doors in the Technodrome, when they decide to try to open them. From behind the first a missile comes out, but Leonardo says that there can't be missiles behind every door. Naturally, behind the second are about 20 Foot soldiers!

* The HarryPotter example in Film, above, also applies for the book that preceded the film.

* In the original ''CasinoRoyale'', Sir James and MoneyPenny end up in a hall with many doors which all look alike.

* ''YellowSubmarine''. While the protagonists are looking for Paul inside a HallOfManyDoors, they open several doors leading to (a) King Kong reaching in to get Fay Wray, (b) an oncoming train (one of the Beatles slams the door shut) and finally (c) Paul giving a concert performance. Watch it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8B_UdaVVw4 here, starting at 4:50]].

* In the "Mad Mod" episode of ''TeenTitans'', the Titans try to escape Mad Mod's "school". There's a wacky J-Pop number and the DoorRoulette is crossed over with ScoobyDoobyDoors as the doors change problematicity from second to second due to Mad Mod being an illusionist.