History Main / ImprobablyPredictable

Compare TheAnticipator and BadassMindsThinkAlike.

** The show will occasionally SelfParody its use of OnceAnEpisode gags and {{Catch Phrase}}s by having the characters predict exactly when they will happen.

'''Phineas:''' Ferb! [[CatchPhrase I know what we're gonna do today!]]\\

'''Phineas:''' [[CatchPhrase Hey, where's Perry?]]

* ''Series/{{QI}}'''s gimmick is that it's a quiz that penalizes boring/obvious answers rather than wrong ones. When this happens, a klaxon goes off and the answer appears on the huge screens in the studio to prove that it was expected. Generally speaking, this means CommonKnowledge answers, but sometimes the show predicts the panellists' jokes (''specific'' panellists, in a few cases). The very first episode had an example of this, when the revelation that Caravaggio had cut a guy's testicles off over a game of tennis led to Danny Baker saying, "New balls, please!" In another example, Jimmy Carr was taken aback to set off the klaxon when his answer to the most dangerous thing to do in bed was "reverse cowgirl".

* In one strip of ''Webcomic/EverydayHeroes'', we get [[http://eheroes.smackjeeves.com/comics/1990776/spiithoooft/ simultaneous]] SpitTake prediction.

[[folder: Audio Drama]]

A friend or someone else who knows a character well will tell another person how the first character will react to some piece of news. Often, he will quote the character's reaction directly. Later on, when the first character receives the news, he or she will react exactly, down to the letter, how the friend said he would. Similarly, this trope can often involve one character preemptively pantomiming a character's response as they stand behind them, showing off exactly how predictable their friend is (or how well they know him or her). This trope could also involve a predictable character's friend finishing his sentences for him. If they're really showing off, they will have the response written beforehand to show them. Finally, this trope is illustrated when a person counts down [[ThreeTwoOne "three...two...one..."]] to the other character having a reaction about something.

* In one sketch on ''Dave Allen At Large'', Dave is playing Literature/SherlockHolmes. He is with [[TheWatson Watson]]

''[the clock strikes midnight, the lights go out, and we hear several gunshots. When the lights come back on, we see Holmes holding a smoking gun, pointed at a dying Watson]''\\

'''Eliot:''' Damn. ''([[SideBet pays up to Finch]])''\\
'''Finch:''' ''(boogie dancing)'' I told you! He never says 'good', only 'morning'!\\

'''Eliot:''' Damn! ''(pays up to Jack)''\\

'''Finch:''' [[BigNo Nooo!]] ''(pays up to Eliot)''\\

'''Eliot:''' [[RuleOfThree DAAAAMN!]] ''(pays up again)''

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': In "Butt Out", Cartman asks his friends to help him hide from the anti-smoking activists who want to kill him, and they decide to get help from the Big Tobacco Company. However, Kyle is against the idea because he thinks [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall it will go about the way many episodes do]].
-->'''Kyle:''' What we really should do is go to our parents right now and take responsibility for smoking ourselves, even if it means getting grounded.\\

-->'''21:''' All right, she's coming in low and slow. That's classic Monarch look-at-my-cool-new-thing approach.
-->'''Sgt. Hatred:''' Should I ready the extinguishers?
-->'''21:''' Please. He only uses fire and lasers at night. I got my money on acid or a magnet kind of thing.
-->(cut away)
-->'''The Monarch:''' [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Ready the acid magnet!]]
* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'', when Boimler returns to the Cerritos at the beginning of season 2, he explains to his friends that he got transporter cloned. This is immediately followed by Tendi paying Rutherford for guessing that would be the reason Boimler was inevitably transferred back. When asked how he guessed, Rutherford explained that it seemed like "a Boimler thing to do."

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'', this takes place when Timmy wishes his parents had superpowers, then when he finds they are too busy with fighting evil that they can't take care of him, and wishes that they weren't superheroes, but Cosmo's and Wanda's wands don't work:

* Turned UpToEleven on ''Series/ThirtyRock'': Jack makes a joke, and Liz hands him an envelope predicting that joke. Then Jack hands ''her'' an envelope, predicting ''her'' prediction of ''his'' joke. By later seasons, this is simply an accepted character trait, that Jack knows absolutely everything about Lemon. For example, he uses this to describe ''precisely'' how Liz's holiday went (down to the tree ornaments), and not only the movie that she's going to, but when/where/how/why. [[spoiler:Then it's revealed she has a boyfriend. Who he knew ''nothing'' about, and [[SubvertedTrope never saw coming]].]]

Compare TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat and StrangeMindsThinkAlike. This trope is often utilized for a BatmanGambit because this type of plan requires knowledge of a likely character behavior. If the one making the prediction is not established knowing the other person well, this trope crosses into GambitRoulette.

* A 2011 radio ad for Verizon's high speed network has a woman talking about how fast her connection is. She goes on to say "[my friend] will forget about that ticket soon. Because 52 seconds ago, her boyfriend just changed his [[Website/{{Facebook}} relationship status]] to ''single''." She goes on to talk some more about the network, and then returns to count down "Three, two, one" at which point [[DramaticDrop there is the sound of shattering glass]] and a scream.

* In one episode of ''Series/{{Bones}}'', Booth reveals that he knows Brennan's computer password, because he knows how she thinks. He also knows what she changes the password to -- twice.

* ''Series/{{QI}}'''s gimmick is that it's a quiz that penalizes boring/obvious answers rather than wrong ones. When this happens, a klaxon goes off and the answer appears on the huge screens in the studio to prove that it was expected. Generally speaking, this means CommonKnowledge answers, but sometimes the show predicts the panellists' jokes (''specific'' panellists, in a few cases). The very first episode had a example of this, when the revelation that Caravaggio had cut a guy's testicles off over a game of tennis led to Danny Baker saying, "New balls, please!" In another example, Jimmy Carr was taken aback to set off the klaxon when his answer to the most dangerous thing to do in bed was "reverse cowgirl".

'''Timmy, Cosmo and Wanda:''' They're so superpowerful, they're invulnerable to magic.

--->'''Phineas:''' Somebody should make an all terrain vehicle that ''really'' goes over ''all'' terrains!\\

** Candace also does this in one episode where she's able to predict what's happening after Phineas and Ferb finish another daily adventure, including their mom calling the boys in for snacks and Ferb giving out his OnceAnEpisode non-sequiter, such as "You know the gladiators were Roman, not Greek."

-->'''The Monarch:''' Ready the acid magnet!