History Main / DoorRoulette

What the heroes are looking for is behind one [[DoorTropes door]]. The problem is that the heroes stand in a long hallway or circular room lined with doors in any direction they care to proceed. Every other door but the exit has something [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal disheartening, dopey, dangerous, disastrous or deadly]] on the other side, but none of them are marked or visibly distinct from each other, so they have no choice but to try each one to find the way out. Named for the game of chance in which there's only one way to win and many ways to lose, DoorRoulette is the same thing -- lots of doors lead nowhere (or nowhere ''good''), but only one is the way forward.

* 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 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 problematically from second to second due to Mad Mod being an illusionist.

* ''Film/It2017'': Played for GallowsHumor when the titular MasterOfIllusion EldritchAbomination creates three doors in one room of its lair, labeled "[[BlatantLies Not Scary at All]]", "Scary", and "Very Scary". They choose the first door, take one look at what's inside, slam it, and force themselves to disbelieve the illusion instead.

** ''WesternAnimation/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 FemmeFatale and Axis spy Hata Mari but finds her behind every door, holding progressively more dangerous weapons.
** In "Yankee Doodle Daffy", talent agent Porky is trying to flee his own office but finds Daffy behind every door, doing a succession of musical numbers.

* The Music/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.

* The Creator/WarnerBros ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had an episode where Batman and Robin had to save Commisioner Gordon from a virtual reality simulation constructed by The Riddler. 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.

* The WarnerBros ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' had an episode where Batman and Robin had to save Commisioner Gordon from a virtual reality simulation constructed by The Riddler. 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 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 ''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 turns around, revealing a monstrous screaming face.]]

* Creator/FleischerStudios cartoon ''WesternAnimation/BimbosInitiation'' has this happen.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/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"]]]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/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.

* ''Seven Ancient Wonders'' by MatthewReilly has a pair of these puzzles in rooms as {{Death Trap}}s. The rooms quickly fill up with quicksand, and were designed to be disorientating to make it harder to find the correct door.

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

* In the 1949 film ''I Was a Male War Bride'', French army captain Henri Rochard (CaryGrant) experiences a variation on this trope. In the hallway of a U.S. Army office building in post-war Germany, he experiences AcronymAndAbbreviationOverload 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.

* In the film montage show, ''[=CineMagique=]'' at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney Studios Paris]], there's a scene where the main character is in the film, ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', and trying to find Jack in a hallway of doors. Behind each door he finds, in order: [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]], [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles the Parr family]], [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Inspector Clouseau]], [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]], [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]], and [[Film/TheExorcist Regan [=MacNeil=]]]. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It all makes sense in context]]. [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Sort of]].

* In the film montage show, ''[=CineMagique=]'' at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney Studios Paris]], there's a scene where the main character is in the film, ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', and trying to find Jack in a hallway of doors. Behind each door he finds, in order: [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]], [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles the Parr family]], [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Inspector Clouseau]], [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]], [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]], and [[Film/TheExorcist Regan [=MacNeil=]]]. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It all makes sense in context]].

* In the film montage show, ''[=CinéMagique=]'' at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney Studios Paris]], there's a scene where the main character is in the film, ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', and trying to find Jack in a hallway of doors. Behind each door he finds, in order: [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]], [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles the Parr family]], [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Inspector Clouseau]], [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lecter]], [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]], and [[Film/TheExorcist Regan [=MacNeil=]]]. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It all makes sense in context]].

* There was once a recurring ArchieComics strip called ''Open the Door, Dilton'', where Dilton Doiley would open doors leading to {{Visual Pun}}s 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.

* In the film montage show, ''[=CinéMagique=]'' at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Walt Disney Studios Paris]], there's a scene where the main character is in the film, ''Film/{{Titanic}}'', and trying to find Jack in a hallway of doors. Behind each door he finds, in order: [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow]], [[WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles the Parr family]], [[Franchise/ThePinkPanther Inspector Clouseau]], [[Film/TheSilenceOfTheLambs Hannibal Lector]], [[Film/TheLordOfTheRings Gollum]], and [[Film/TheExorcist Regan [=MacNeil=]]]. [[ItMakesSenseInContext It all makes sense in context]].

* The Literature/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.

* The second of Creator/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.

* 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]].

* FleischerStudios cartoon ''WesternAnimation/BimbosInitiation'' has this happen.

* ''[[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.

* Often used on ''TakeshisCastle'' for various events and challenges.

* [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Bart Simpson]] encounters this when he's in the Shelbyville Zoo trying to leave without being eaten by a tiger.
* WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes:

[[folder: Film ]]

* ''Film/{{Labyrinth}}'' has the KnightsAndKnaves riddle variation. Hoggle also helped Sarah escape the oubliette with a magic door. Open it one way and it goes to a cupboard. Open it the other way, and it leads outside.
* ''Film/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.

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* ''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]].

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** 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.

* '"WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': In "Affair Weather Friends", Mac, [[DrunkOnMilk on a sugar bender]], goes through the house of Bloo's new friend Barry and opens several doors trying to find him. One closet contains various possessions and a photo of a family that doesn't look like Barry's, the next is a StalkerShrine to Bloo, and the next contains said family BoundAndGagged. This shows that [[spoiler: Barry isn't what he seems.]]