History Main / ItSeemedLikeAGoodIdeaAtTheTime

* Owning a pet could turn into this trope in said pet's final years. The pain of watching a beloved dog or cat getting old, getting sick, and dying could make you wonder why you decided to get them in the first place considering the [[MayDecemberFriendship inevitable heartbreak]] experienced in the end.

* Owning a pet could turn into this trope in said pet's final years. The pain of watching a beloved dog or cat getting old, getting sick, and dying could make you wonder why you decided to get them in the first place considering the inevitable heartbreak experienced in the end.

* In what's likely an homage to ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' (see Live-Action TV), ''Film/StarTrek2009'' has Sarek tell a young Spock, "Marrying your mother was logical." [[note]][[CallBack In a later scene]], Sarek admits to Spock that this wasn't entirely true; he married Amanda because he loved her.[[/note]]

* In what's likely an homage to ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', ''Film/StarTrek2009'' has Sarek tell a young Spock, "Marrying your mother was logical." [[note]][[CallBack In a later scene]], Sarek admits to Spock that this wasn't entirely true; he married Amanda because he loved her.[[/note]]

Compare the situational trope, NiceJobBreakingItHero, as well as ActuallyAGoodIdea, DidntThinkThisThrough, IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney and NotQuiteTheRightThing.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Haley [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0959.html says this]] about her tendency in older strips to both [[{{Stripperiffic}} dungeon-delve with a bare midriff]] and get into {{Designated Girl Fight}}s "while hurling offensively gender-charged insults".

-->'''Ian:''' Okay, the important thing to remember is that it seemed like a really good idea at the time.
** Upon finding Girad's Gate, Roy decides to destroy it to prevent Xykon from using it. Unfortunately, [[spoiler:this action drives the gods to believe they need to destroy the world to prevent the Shark from escaping]].

-->-- [[WebVideo/TheMusicVideoShow The Music Video Show]], [[https://youtu.be/1XKp6s1Xs44 Episode 53]]

* The 1975 comedy film called, ''It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time'', starring Stephanie Powers and John Candy.

* In the ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' movie, Crow attempts to escape the Satellite of Love by ''digging a tunnel'' through space. When asked why he decided to bore a hole through the hull of the ship, he responds, "I calculated the odds of this working vs the odds that I was doing something incredibly stupid and... I went ahead anyway."

->''[[Music/KatyPerry You]] joined [the army] because you broke up with your boyfriend...you'll wake up one day, totally over your boyfriend, thinking 'Oh My God, I joined the army.'''

[[folder:Film — Animated]]
* ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie''. Maybe don't create the world's strongest Pokémon to use for your own personal gain/world domination without any way to control it. Also see GoneHorriblyRight.
[[/folder]]

-->''''Lisa:''' How could you?\\

* On Aeroflot Flight 593, the plane's captain took his two children into the cockpit to let them sit at the controls of the brand-new and impressive Airbus A310. The captain's teenaged son, [[CaptainObvious who had no idea how the plane really worked]], inadvertently disabled the autopilot. The flight crew, unfamiliar with the state-of-the-art autopilot, were unable to regain control of the aircraft. Flight 593 crashed, killing all 75 people on board.

Compare the situational trope, NiceJobBreakingItHero, as well as DidntThinkThisThrough, IWasYoungAndNeededTheMoney, and NotQuiteTheRightThing.

* ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie''. Maybe don't create the world's strongest Pokémon to use for your own personal gain/world domination without any way to control it. Also see GoneHorriblyRight.

* Said word for word by Story!Loki in issue #16 of ''Comicbook/LokiAgentOfAsgard'' when their best (and only) friend began to question ''why'' they turned her soul into a piece of magical jewellery. Come to think of it if you apply this reasoning to most of young Loki's plans they begin to make a strange amount of sense... [[RefugeInAudacity sometimes they even work]].

[[folder:Film]]
* ''American Outlaws''

* The 1975 comedy film called, ''It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time'', starring Stephanie Powers and John Candy.

* ''Film/{{Solaris 2002}}''
-->'''Chris Kelvin''': Why did you kill yourself?\\
'''Gibarian''': It seemed like a good idea at the time, now I think I made a mistake.
* In ''Film/MissionImpossibleGhostProtocol'', after the Kremlin explodes, Ethan is taken to hospital and is suspected to be responsible for the explosion. The Russian cop Sidorov is sent to the hospital to investigate, but Ethan manages to free himself and climbs out of the window to [[TrashLanding jump down into a refuse container]], but realises that it's way too high.
-->'''Sidorov:''' Not a good idea.\\
'''Ethan:''' Seemed like one three minutes ago.

* Any of Chris's antics during his college career in ''Literature/ThePaleKing''.
* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series, Nanny Ogg's primary method of functioning is explicitly described as, "Nanny's philosophy of life was to do what seemed like a good idea at the time, and to do it as hard as possible. It had never let her down."
* A nonfiction book by Bill Fawcett cataloguing such events in RealLife uses the trope as its title.
* [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden]] cites this word for word when he admits that he may have kinda thrown himself out of a moving car. He had a plan. Sort of.
* The ''Literature/HorribleHistories: 20th Century'' novel lists a whole bunch of useless 20th century inventions that ''seemed'' like good ideas, but weren't. They're even referred to with the acronym "[[FunWithAcronyms SLAGIATT]]" - "Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time!"
* In the opening quote for one of the chapters in ''Literature/TheGrimnoirChronicles'', this is the defense offered by the people who accidentally caused the Dust Bowl by magically altering the weather.

[[folder:Live Action Television]]

** Malloy making several judgment mistakes in "A Jumper-Code 2," in the concluding call of the episode (a possible jumper on a tall ledge); Malloy makes a high-risk move that, while it works out well, could have gotten either him and/or the jumper killed or badly hurt.

* ''Series/YoungIndianaJones'' episode "Demons of Deception" ("Verdun" and "Paris")
-->'''Remy Baudouin''': I can't believe you actually did that. You could have ended up in front of a firing squad!\\
'''Indiana Jones''': They'll never figure it out.\\
'''Remy Baudouin''': But still, you lost your courier's job, and you put yourself back in the mud. You're crazy!\\
'''Indiana Jones''': It seemed like a good idea at the time. Some men got to live another day.

* Comes up in almost each plan by John in ''Series/{{Farscape}}''.

* ''[[Series/LoisAndClark Lois & Clark]]: The New Adventures of Superman'' episode "Tempus Fugitive"

* ''Series/TheMentalist'': In "Red Queen", Jane is taken hostage by [[spoiler:Hightower]] and forced to drive off. He's found a few blocks away in a now-wrecked car, at which point Lisbon asks him what happened.
--> '''Jane:''' She was unwrapping her hand. The moment I was waiting for.\\
'''Lisbon:''' To crash the vehicle?\\
'''Jane:''' It seemed like a smart idea at the time.
** Of course, it being Jane, [[spoiler:none of this was true. Jane and Hightower [[BatmanGambit staged the whole thing]] so that Hightower, who had been framed for murder, could escape. She was never even in the car; Jane drove it off and crashed it to create a plausible scenario for her to have gotten away in order to throw investigators off her trail.]]

* One stand-up comedian says that this is the reason why men do so many stupid and idiotic things, because guys aren't thinking about the past or the future and are only concerned with having a good time right now. He uses UsefulNotes/BillClinton as an example, and claims Bill would have gotten off scot free if he had just told the truth.
-->"Mr. President, are we to understand that she just walked right into your office and started... well, you know."\\
"Seemed like a good idea at the time!"
* ''Series/ICarly'' episode "iSell Penny Tees":
-->'''Unnamed child''': You already pre-paid us. For the whole month. (holds a wad of cash up to Carly and Freddie)\\
'''Carly''': (to Freddie, who looks at her weirded out) ...It seemed like a good idea at the time.
* On ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' a young grade-school girl visits the office on a class assignment to learn about government, and finds Ron Swanson to talk with. He happily shares his disapproving views on the government and taxation, and gives her a going-away present of a Claymore mine, telling her "Protect what's yours." Her mother later visits, furious at her daughter being given ordnance, and Ron utters the trope phrase.
* ''Series/AirCrashInvestigation'': The root cause of some of the disasters caused by pilot error. "Kid in the Cockpit" concerned a famous Russian case where a senior airline pilot allowed his teenage son to take the controls of a brand new Airbus A310. The teen inadvertently disabled the plane's autopilot and the flight crew, unfamiliar with the state-of-the-art aircraft, failed to bring it back under control. [[HilarityEnsues Tragic hilarity ensued]]. An especially needless tragedy given that the investigators found that everything would have been fine if [[ForWantOfANail they had just let go of the control column]].
* In the 2nd episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', when Malcolm's Mother ([[spoiler:who had been interrogating Malcolm and the boys believing that they were responsible for the destruction of one of her dresses]]) finds out how the boys had been surviving her punishments, Malcolm and the boys get desperate and they attempt to flee once they get found out by creating a tunnel. When their mom (who had calmed down) goes to re-confront them, she finds their room completely destroyed, while Malcolm puts the icing on the cake:
--> '''Malcolm:''' (''[[BreakingTheFourthWall turns to the viewers]]'') "I swear to god! On paper, this was a great idea!"
* Lampshaeded in an episode of ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow'' after another screw-up by [[ThoseTwoGuys Lewis and Oswald]]:
--> '''Drew:''' ''Everything'' seemed like a good idea at the time! Lead paint seemed like a good idea at the time! Living under high tension lines seemed like a good idea at the time! Nuclear blasts you could watch seemed like a good idea at the time!

[[folder:Radio Show]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder: Real Life]]

* The mega-popular image hosting site Imgur instituted paid advertisements in June 2015. The first company to attempt it was Warner Brothers Records. The WarnerBrosRecords account had dropped to almost -60,000 reputation in less than a week. They made three whole posts before the account was reset due to this intense negative reception. This was mere days after the forced removal of NSFW comments (which in no way was related to the incoming advertisers, trust us), that sparked a mini-revolt by the community at large. Imgur reinstated NSFW comments as an option that was off by default.

* There are some who could argue this Trope explains every decision made in the entire length and breadth of '''HUMAN HISTORY'''.

--> '''Hobbes:''' I'll pass, thank you. I'm not interested in that stuff. I didn't [[DealWithTheDevil sell my soul to the devil.]]
-->'''Calvin:''' Neither have I.
-->'''Hobbes:''' [[NoodleIncident Yes, but you nearly did once.]]
-->'''Calvin:''' Well, it seemed like a good offer!

-->'''Jesse James''': A war against the railroad... what the hell was I thinking?
-->'''Frank''': Well, I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time.

-->'''Mason Verger''': The good doctor approached me with a piece of broken mirror and said...[Flashback: Lecter is holding a shard of broken glass]
-->'''Hannibal Lecter''': Try peeling off your face...
-->'''Mason Verger''': ...and feeding it to the dogs. [Flashback: Verger peels his face off.] Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

-->'''Dr. Dix''': I hate fishin'.
-->'''Chief Jesse Stone''': So do I.
-->'''Dix''': So why'd you suggest it?
-->'''Stone'''': Seemed like a good idea at the time, doesn't cost me anything.

-->'''Lucy [=McClane=]''': Daddy, you're out of your mind.
-->'''John [=McClane=]''': What're you talkin' about?
-->'''Lucy [=McClane=]''': You shot yourself!
-->'''John [=McClane=]''': [groaning] It seemed like a good idea at the time.

-->'''Calvera:''' What I don't understand is why a man like you took the job in the first place, hmm? Why, huh?
-->'''Chris:''' I wonder myself.
-->'''Calvera:''' No, come on, come on, tell me why.
-->'''Vin:''' It's like a fellow I once knew in El Paso. One day, he just took all his clothes off and jumped in a mess of cactus. I asked him that same question, "Why?"
-->'''Calvera:''' And?
-->'''Vin:''' He said, "It seemed to be a good idea at the time."

-->'''Jerry Conlaine''': But you could've left! Why'd you stay up here all these years?
-->'''Del Knox''': Seemed like a good idea at the time. Know what I mean, kid?

-->'''Chris Kelvin''': Why did you kill yourself?
-->'''Gibarian''': It seemed like a good idea at the time, now I think I made a mistake.

-->'''Sidorov:''' Not a good idea.
-->'''Ethan:''' Seemed like one three minutes ago.

* A nonfiction book by Bill Fawcett cataloging such events in RealLife uses the trope as its title.

-->'''Remy Baudouin''': I can't believe you actually did that. You could have ended up in front of a firing squad!
-->'''Indiana Jones''': They'll never figure it out.
-->'''Remy Baudouin''': But still, you lost your courier's job, and you put yourself back in the mud. You're crazy!
-->'''Indiana Jones''': It seemed like a good idea at the time. Some men got to live another day.

-->'''Lily van der Woodsen''': Really, Rufus, what were you thinking? You threw her a surprise birthday party and had her face painted on a cake with a tiara?
-->'''Rufus Humphrey''': It seemed like a good idea at the time.
-->'''Lily van der Woodsen''': So did flannel and acid wash-jeans, but they weren't flattering either.

-->'''Spock:''' ''(about his mother)'' Emotional, isn't she?
-->'''Sarek:''' She has always been that way.
-->'''Spock:''' Indeed. Why did you marry her?
-->'''Sarek:''' At the time it seemed the logical thing to do.

-->'''Quark''': I still don't understand why you'd want to come here in the first place.
-->'''Zek''': Simple, really. I came to find new financial opportunities for the Ferengi people.
-->'''Rom''': In the [[MirrorUniverse alternate universe]]?
-->'''Zek''': Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

--->'''Sisko''': In other words, you saw which way the wind was blowing and switched sides.
--->'''Dukat''': It seemed like a good idea at the time.

-->'''Terry Lee''': Good timing, Major.
-->'''Major Ellis''': Oh, it was quite simple. All I had to do was follow the baskets you chaps so thoughtfully pushed off the truck.
-->'''Terry Lee''': It seemed like a good idea at the time.

-->'''Bubbles''': You're not really marrying Lahey's ex-wife are ya? [snip]
-->'''Ricky''': Look Julian, I was baked out of my mind, it seemed like a good idea at the time alright?

-->"Mr. President, are we to understand that she just walked right into your office and started... well, you know."
-->"Seemed like a good idea at the time!"

-->'''Unnamed child''': You already pre-paid us. For the whole month. (holds a wad of cash up to Carly and Freddie)
-->'''Carly''': (to Freddie, who looks at her weirded out) ...It seemed like a good idea at the time.

-->'''Blow Fly:''' What did you do?!
-->'''Trash-A-Pillar:''' Uh, nothing! I just clicked on this little link that said [[TooDumbToLive “Download this virus to win one million dollars”!]]
-->'''Scummy Screen:''' ''(Congested and obviously ill-looking)'' It seemed like a good deal at the time…

** It happens when Jackie destroys the talismans. He had hoped that their power would be destroyed and would end people misusing them, but unfortunately their powers can't be destroyed; only their hosts (which were the talismans at the time) can. Their powers then sought out new hosts and he inadvertently started [[GottaCatchThemAll the talisman hunt]] [[HereWeGoAgain all over again]].

-->''''Lisa:''' How could you?
-->'''Homer:''' Well, all the childless drunks at Moe's thought it was a great idea.
-->'''Lisa:''' ''(Angry'' Let's just get some sleep.

[[/folder]]

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Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-simpsons&episode=s14e08

** Of course, it being Jane, [[spoiler:none of this was true. Jane and Hightower [[BatmanGambit staged the whole thing]] so that Hightower, who had been framed for murder, could escape. She was never even in the car; Jane drove it off, crashed it, and claimed she'd run from the crash scene to throw the investigators off her trail.]]

[[folder: Video Games]]

** It happens when Jackie destroys the talismans. He had hoped that their power would be destroyed and would end people misusing their powers, but unfortunately their powers can't be destroyed; only their hosts (which were the talismans at the time) can. Their powers then sought out new hosts and he inadvertently started [[GottaCatchThemAll the talisman hunt]] [[HereWeGoAgain all over again]].

* The Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Japan was several years into its occupation of most of East and South-East Asia but was running low on oil and other vital supplies. America gradually stopped selling Japan things due to outrage over Japan's conduct in the Sino-Japanese war, which drove Japan into even more desperate straights as they tried to invade and secure oil-producing regions in the Pacific. Attacking the American base at Pearl Harbor was supposed to prevent loss of face on the Japanese part, to show the Americans that Japan was not to be trifled with. Instead, it provided an instant and undeniable ''causus belli'' for Americans to directly enter a war that had previously been distant and often considered 'not our problem'. Unfortunately for the Japanese forces, America's wartime production massively outdid their own. Naval Marshal General Yamamoto famously said "I fear all we have done is to [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant awaken a sleeping giant]] and fill him with a terrible resolve."

->[[Music/KatyPerry You]] joined [the army] because you broke up with your boyfriend...you'll wake up one day, totally over your boyfriend, thinking 'Oh My God, I joined the army.'

* When he was 21, Creator/TomLehrer thought it a good idea to write "The Old Dope Peddler". Later, he called the song "Chilling".

** Hitler declaring war on the United States after the United States declared war on Japan. Hitler wanted to be able to sink the American ships which were bringing much-needed supplies to England... but he didn't stop to think that the only reason that the United States wasn't doing more than providing supplies was because there was no state of war between Germany and the U.S.