History Main / SmashToBlack

* Joss Whedon apparently loves this trope, using it with all his shows:

*** Joss mentions in the commentary for ''Firefly'' that in order to avoid the automatic cuing of the commercial, they changed the color of the blackout, so Smash to Black became Smash to Almost Black But Really Just Very Dark Brown.

[[folder:Web Original]]
* The "Sex Survey Results" episode of ''WebVideo/LasagnaCat'' uses a Smash to ''Orange'' in its ending.

* In the ''VideoGame/ShovelKnight'' ''King of Cards'' campaign, after the credits, [[spoiler:King Knight is basking in his castle and monologuing that he got rid of every card and made his castle golden, and that he will be a king forever. The usual “The End” writes out. However, upon your attempt to return to press any button to go to the logo, the words “The End” disappear. Then, the door opens and Shovel Knight enters. King Knight prepares to battle Shovel Knight, and the screen smashes to black before finally going to the logo.]]

* ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' ends in a similar way to the ''Mass Effect'' example below. The actions in the final scene coincide with the soundtrack, cutting to black with the final piano note. And by actions, I mean [[spoiler:every version of Elizabeth (one of the two main characters) in the multiverse [[RetGone disappearing from existence]] before the camera, smashing into black with the last one--the one you've grown to know throughout the game. [[TearJerker Did I mention Elizabeth just drowned her father]] [[HeroicSacrifice at his own request?]]]] Bio Shock is just that kind of franchise.

* Used prominently in Telltale Games' more recent projects.

* The Franchise/StarWars video game ''Republic Commando'' ends with this, with the door of the gunship that the protagonist squad is in slamming shut after Boss says "Delta Squad! Lock and load!"

* Most of the episodes of seasons 1-6 of ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' ended like this, yet allowing the background music to end properly even after the end. Starting from somewhere around season 6, smashes to black are only seen on the DVD or iTunes versions of the episodes (note that the background music is ending within the episode, not after the smash to black), while on Nick.com and international versions of Nickelodeon, there are no smashes.

Before a commercial, television shows have traditionally done a FadeToBlack. Recently, though, television dramas skip the fading and cut the picture to a completely black screen. Typically, a Smash to Black will immediately follow a shocking moment such as a CliffHanger, a CommercialBreakCliffhanger, or a [[TheTeaser Cold Opening]], but can also follow a OneLiner or a moment of {{Deadpan Snark|er}}. Expect this to be called "Older Than The DVD" thirty years down the road.

* {{I|tWasHisSled}}nfamously, ''Series/TheSopranos'' [[NoEnding ended the]] ''[[NoEnding series]]'' this way, with Music/{{Journey}}'s "Don't Stop Believin'" cutting off mid-''word''.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' does this frequently, as observed on TelevisionWithoutPity:

* ''Music/TheBeatles: RockBand'' does this with "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," befitting [[NoEnding how the song itself ends]].

* Creator/PaulThomasAnderson is fond of ending movies this way--''Film/BoogieNights'', ''Film/{{Magnolia}}'', ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood''.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' shorts end in this manner on a regular basis.

* ''Film/AvengersAgeOfUltron'': As the New Avengers present themselves at the end, the music swells, Captain America steps up to them and says "[[AvengersAssemble Avengers... A--]]" Smash to credits.

* Inverted in the case of the ending of ''Film/TotalRecall'' which does a Smash To White.