History Main / NeverGiveTheCaptainAStraightAnswer

Occasionally, [[JustifiedTrope some rationale]] is offered. Perhaps the person who encountered the weirdness is simply too stunned to explain what's going on. Another possibility is that the situation is too sensitive to discuss over a possibly insecure line of communication. Or perhaps the person who encountered the weirdness doesn't ''know'' what's going on, and is calling someone who might be able to figure it out.

* Happens in the first ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'', although in a subversion both people are in the same room, and Foaley tells Commander Root to come look at the screen instead of explaining that [[spoiler:Butler is putting on a suit of medieval armor in order to fight a troll.]]

*** It's also quite possible, given the situation, that he can't quite bring himself to actually say the words.

* Justified in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episode "Old Friends Not Forgotten". Yularen has Anakin and Obi-Wan fly ''all the way into orbit'' to receive the transmission instead of beaming it to them because it's their first contact with Ahsoka since she left the Jedi Order.

* ''Series/StrangerThings'': In "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street", Police Chief Jim Hopper is called via radio to check out for himself [[spoiler:an apparent suicide at Benny's Diner.]]

Now, if this were a real spaceship [[note]]okay, we don't actually have spaceships complex enough to have "bridges" or "captains" yet, but just bear with us here -- and the point also applies just as well to the mundane sea-bound ships we ''do'' have[[/note]], your duty would be to give a short, concise description of the problem. To do otherwise would be irresponsible to the point of criminality.

But this is TV, and we need TheCaptain in this scene. That is why you Never Give the Captain a Straight Answer. Instead, you say something like, "You'd better come see for yourself," or the ubiquitous "Sir, I think you'd better (come) see this...," giving the character a reason to enter the scene, with the added bonus of allowing a surprised reaction to the crisis when he arrives.

[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
* ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2'': When Stoick tries to drag Hiccup out of the dragon sanctuary, Gobber, after learning that Valka is alive, just tells Stoick, "You might want to take this one...hooboy..."

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'' in its various incarnations is far and away the most common user.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. In "Skin of Evil" a monster made of sludge rises out of a pool of slime. When Commander Riker is ordered to report on the situation, all he can come up with is, "Trouble."
** Ditto on ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' when Major Kira commanding the ''Defiant'' returns through the wormhole where, on the station, Commander Sisko asks the major what she found. Kira, visibly terrified, says, "Trouble!"
** And again when Odo calls Sisko to the promenade, saying that he'll "let [Sisko] be the judge" of whether or not what's going on is a problem. Somewhat {{Justified}} in that what's happening is that Kira's been possessed by a Prophet, and Sisko, who knows them best, really is the best judge on if it's a problem.

* Fairly JustForFun/{{egregious}} in ''Series/DoctorWho''
** Invoked in "Robot". The Brigadier tries to explain to the Doctor what the situation is like before he leaves, but the Doctor refuses to have any of it for DramaQueen reasons:
--->'''Brigadier:''' The thing is, there's been another robbery--\\

** "The Stolen Earth". Independently and in different countries, Sarah Jane Smith and Martha Jones desperately try to find out what's just happened to the ''entire planet'', only to have whoever's nearby insist that they have to see it for themselves. Sylvia Noble (Donna's mum) and the Torchwood team have similar reactions, but in their case the info is only hidden from the viewers.
** Subverted in "The Time of Angels". Christian and Bob request clarification when told to "Come and see" by a squadmate: "It's not a school trip. Just tell me." [[spoiler:It is, in fact, the Weeping Angel -- using their companions' voices. It still kills them.]]

* A rather cruel example comes from the ''Series/InspectorMorse'' episode "In Service of All the Dead", when Morse and Lewis climb a belltower. Morse is badly winded by the climb and clearly suffers from terrible vertigo (he can't bear to look up or down, or even move around). Lewis, by contrast, is skipping around happily when he sees a corpse far below and tells the elderly Morse that he'd best come see for himself.

* Shows up occasionally on ''Series/{{Firefly}},'' usually with Wash calling Mal up to the bridge.
* Shows up in ''Series/{{Lost}}.''
-->'''Jack:''' You wanna tell me where we're going, Sayid?\\
'''Sayid:''' It's better that you see it for yourself.\\
'''Jack:''' [[LampshadeHanging No, I'm not so sure it is]].
* ''Series/{{Eureka}}'', pilot episode. "That's not all we've found — better come take a look."
* ''Series/BabylonFive'': It is ALWAYS "Captain, I think you need to see this" or "you'd better get down here". (They really need to work on adding some security to those links.) The station is ''five miles'' long, so the captain may have to travel a considerable distance to "see this." The lifts and core shuttle help speed up the trip, but they also break down or get sabotaged a lot, typically while the captain is trying to use them.
* As pointed out later on in [[http://www.qwantz.com/archive/001270.html the comic quoted at the top of this page]], television news frequently follows the FilmAtEleven version of this trope, [[ViewersAreGoldfish so as to keep us hooked]].

* A rare example from not only a non-genre series but a comedy, at that: In ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', Kevin calls Michael from a supermarket and tells him he'd better get over there and see... [[spoiler:what turns out to be a pregnant Jan]].
* In ''Series/{{Stranger Things}}'', "Chapter Two: The Weirdo on Maple Street," Police Chief Jim Hopper is called via radio to check out for himself [[spoiler:an apparent suicide at Benny's Diner.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WebVideo/CinemaSins'' dubs this the "You better come take a look at this" cliche.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyond'' Terry says he can't return to the cave immediately because something has come up. When Bruce asks what, he is told to look out the window as it is something he has to see for himself (In Terry's defence it is [[spoiler: The BatSignal so he probably thought Bruce would get a kick out of seeing it above Gotham again]]).

* WebVideo/CinemaSins dubs this the "You better come take a look at this" cliche.

* One of the most famous examples actually zig-zags the trope, in ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''. Without Kirk's knowledge, [[spoiler:Spock]] went down to Engineering and took a lethal dose of radiation while saving the ship. Kirk calls down to Engineering.

** It happens all the time on ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', too.

** "The Stolen Earth". Independently and all over the world, Sylvia Noble (Donna's mum), Sarah Jane Smith, Martha Jones, and Captain Jack Harkness all desperately try to find out what's just happened to the ''entire planet'', only to have whoever's nearby insist that they have to see it for themselves.

** It happens all the time in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', too.

* ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan''. Without Kirk's knowledge, [[spoiler:Spock]] went down to Engineering and took a lethal dose of radiation while saving the ship. Kirk calls down to Engineering.

** The second is when Kane wakes up.

*** The novelisation has Dallas envisioning all kinds of horrible scenarios as he rushes to Medical, only to find Kane awake and alive, so it wasn't very nice of Ash to do this.

* In ''Film/{{Alien}}'', Science Officer Ash does this to Captain Dallas twice.

** And again when Odo calls Sisko to the promenade, saying that he'll "let [Sisko] be the judge" of whether or not what's going on is a problem. Somewhat {{Justified}} in that what's happening is that Kira's been possessed by a Prophet, and only Sisko would know if it is a problem.

* Inverted in the ''Literature/HoratioHornblower'' series. Hornblower doesn't give his ''crew'' a straight answer--he simply gives them whatever relevant orders re necessary to carry out his plans. He does this for two reasons; one so that success will be more impressive to them, and two because he's mortally afraid of talking about an idea only to have it not work.

* Almost every time the ''Sea Tiger'''s intercom rings in ''Film/OperationPetticoat'', chances are good [[Creator/CaryGrant Captain Sherman]] will have to deal with this sort of call. One sequence revolves around about half a dozen of them happening in a row, chasing him from one end of his sub to the other and back.