History Main / SoapWithinAShow

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]

* There's a Theatre/{{Wicked}} oneshot "Blackout" in which Elphaba and Fiyero mock a (radio) soap opera that Galinda (and Boq) are obsessed with, when the power goes off during a pivotal moment of the show. They try and predict the ending, with many of the ridiculous tropes mentioned above.
* The Series/HouseMD fanfiction "Woman" has House and Cameron having a bet by trying to predict the storyline of one of House's soaps that he watches.

* Classic ''Series/DoctorWho'' had one of these... [[RecycledInSpace FROM ANOTHER PLANET!]]

* ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' had a parody of K-Dramas entitled ''Attitudes and Feelings, Both Desirable and Sometimes Secretive'', or ''Taedo''. It featured accidental BrotherSisterIncest, assassins, FunWithSubtitles, [[{{Doppelganger}} doppelgangers]], IncurableCoughOfDeath, and Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}.

* ''Seducción Salvaje'' in the ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'' episode of the same name, is an over-the-top telenovella, which leads inevitably to a TrappedInTVLand plot.

** And in ''Max Payne 3'', there's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvSDEe_jjNA&feature=related Amor e Damas,]]'' a parody of Latin American ''telenovelas''.

* Grim of ''WesternAnimation/TheGrimAdventuresOfBillyAndMandy'' is addicted to the show ''[[Franchise/MyLittlePony My Troubled Pony]]''. Two [[StockParody Stock Parodies]] for the price of one!

-->'''[[TheChick Fiona]]''': Lighten up, Roger! We just got off a mission!

-->'''Ron:''' Oh please, are they still teasing that Charity and Dannie are gonna get together?
-->'''Kim:''' Like that's ever gonna happen. It would end the series.

--> "I love you... but I have a problem."

* ''Series/{{MADtv}}'' had a parody of K-Dramas entitled ''Attitudes and Feelings, Both Desirable and Sometimes Secretive'', or ''Taedo''. It featured accidental BrotherSisterIncest, assassins, FunWithSubtitles, [[{{Doppelganger}} doppelgangers]], IncurableCoughOfDeath, and Wrestling/{{Edge}}.

** Later on, [[spoiler: Peridot]], of all people, ends up hooked on a Canadian summer-camp drama called ''Camp Pining Hearts''. Or rather, hooked on [[UpToEleven one episode for 78 hours]]. At first, Steven decides not to tell her there's more than one episode. Eventually, she watches more, as she and Steven agree that season 5 was terrible, and she even gets [[spoiler: Lapis Lazuli]] into it.

--_> (''sobbing'') I just can't believe Stark would stoop to that right in the middle of Montana and Dakota's wedding.

--->"Let me get this straight. Does anyone '''not''' have amnesia?"
--->"I don't remember."

--> (''sobbing'') I just can't believe Stark would stoop to that right in the middle of Montana and Dakota's wedding.

# A roguish, TroubledButCute hunk that all of the women want (often wearing an EyepatchOfPower).

* ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' has ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heJrK751zi8 Lords and Ladies]]''.
** And in ''Max Payne 3'', there's ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvSDEe_jjNA&feature=related Amor e Damas]]'', a parody of Latin American ''telenovelas''.

* The soap opera in ''[[Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' hasn't received a title yet, but [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1101.php we have a vague idea of its plot]] and as of this writing, [[http://www.missmab.com/Comics/Vol_1109.php it has ensnared three different characters]].
* SpriteComic ''Oldskooled'' has the ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden''-based soap "[[http://oldskooled.comicgenesis.com/archive.html?date=20010219 All My Ninjas]]" in one arc. It's irresistible to anyone save [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]], who'd rather drink beer and gets annoyed that the bartender would rather watch the soap than do his job. Besides scenes from the show, we see Mario's attempts to put a stop to things.

* One of the main characters in ''The Real Blonde'' acts in an insipid daytime soap opera despite being a classically trained actor. He hates it, but likes the money enough to stay. He eventually leverages his character's popularity to get his ex-girlfriend's character killed.

-->But we are! ... or did you mean to each other?

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' has a ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'' parody with androids.

Subtrope of ShowWithinAShow. When a SoapOpera is depicted in works from another genre, it is nearly always done as an [[StylisticSuck over-the-top parody]] of the genre or at least as a quick portrayal of cliched forms of its tropes, including [[SoapWheel (but by no means limited to)]]:

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'''s ''All My Circuits'', formerly the TropeNamer--apparently a sitcom focused on a family of robots, plus one human to act as the TokenMinority. Whenever we see it, it's a dizzying blend of random plot twists and relationship beats with minimal context, usually resulting in an incomprehensible mess. It stars [[LargeHam Calculon]], whose character mentions having six [[EvilTwin evil identical septuplets]], and no less than ''four'' [[SplitPersonality split personalities]]. One PreviouslyOn segment, after a particularly rapid-fire burst of EasyAmnesia, featured this exchange:

* In ''Animation/TechnotiseEditIJa'', terrible soap operas exist in the future too, with a twist. The woman's "a robot... my heart is made of metal!" and the man reveals... "I am in fact... an alien! I don't even have a heart!" as a [[ShockingSwerve shocking twist.]]

-->A disheveled priest interrupts two lovers (male boss and female employee) in an office.\\

* ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'''s ''All My Circuits''. (Formerly the TropeNamer.)
** Starring [[LargeHam Calculon]], whose character mentions having six [[EvilTwin evil identical septuplets]], and no less than ''four'' [[SplitPersonality split personalities]].
*** Best shown by the episode's recap:

* The whole plot of the DonaldDuck comic series by Silvia Ziche, "Il Papero Del Mistero" (Duck Mystery). Scrooge [=McDuck=] wants to renew his TV channel's program so he employs the whole Duck and friends family to star in a soap opera with an over-the-top plot based on improvisation.

** An early episode featured the gang watching a telenovela and making their own story as they didn't know what was going on. The scene had two women fighting and ended with one of them being thrown down a flight of stairs.

** What really set it over the top was the opening theme song was done ''in Spanish''! All of this makes a little more sense when you realize that James Roday (Shawn) is actually James Rodríguez, and is of Mexican descent.

* The Australian film, ''You and Your Stupid Mate'' had the protagonists trying to get their favourite soap opera, a ''Series/{{Neighbours}}'' parody, uncancelled. In the end [[spoiler: they fail and start watching a ''Series/HomeAndAway'' parody instead.]]

* Similar to the example from ''Series/{{Friends}}'', ''Dan and Becs'' had Becs land an important role on real-life Irish soap ''Fair City'', which rapidly transformed into a soap fitting of this trope, with Eastern European sex slaves, hitherto-unknown fatal illnesses and al Qaeda terrorist bombings (in a tiny Dublin bistro).

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Hilariously, in "The French Mistake" Sam and Dean are transported into [[RealWorldEpisode a reality where their life is a TV show]]. Dean is [[FauxHorrific absolutely horrified]] to discover that his actor starred in the soap drama ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' (which is an actual show that Creator/JensenAckles starred in, and archival footage from his appearances on it is used).

* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Roger watches what's supposed to be ''Series/{{Dynasty}}'', but the only scene we ever see is the two main women slapping each other and calling each other "bitch" in turn. The scenery changes sometimes, but they are always doing the same thing.

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Series/{{Emergency}}'': While laid up with a broken leg in "The Nuisance," Johnny becomes hooked on a glacially-paced soap opera, despite thinking it's garbage. Every episode we see has a woman on a FreudianCouch talking about her philandering husband and her inferiority complex towards her mother, while the psychologist accuses her of being hostile towards various people. During different segments, the psychologist sits closer and closer to her couch, and her position on it becomes more alluring. After Roy and Lopez get injured, they become fans as well, and the episode ends with the woman and the psychologist about to start an affair.