History Main / TableSpace

* ''The Heavy Water War''. When one character is suddenly promoted to the director of the plant producing heavy water for the German occupiers, he's given a 22-bedroom house with servants. His wife is shown to be uncomfortable with the sudden change in their lifestyle, and when seated at the far end of the table she moves down to her husband's end.

** One episode has the family housesitting Burns' mansion and having dinner at the incredibly long table. "Mom, Bart's making faces at me... I think."
--> '''Homer:''' "LOOK HOW LOUD I HAVE TO YELL!!!"
** When Mr. Burns tries to adopt Bart as his son, they dine like this even though it's not all an intimate way to eat.

* Done in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'', when Arthur imagines what it would be like if his parents never spoke to each other again.

* In the Literature/LordPeterWimsey book ''Thrones, Dominations'', Harriet Vale, newly married to Lord Peter, is still getting used to some of his eccentricities, including "the passion for ritual that set ten feet of mahogany between husband and wife at a solitary meal."

* In an episode of the ''WesternAnimation/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' revival, George wins a booby-trap filled mansion and forces Ape to live there with him. This trope is put in play at dinner time, where Ape sits at one end with a sullen look while George nervously sits on the other far end. When George asks for the salt, Ape slides it down the table, where it is quickly destroyed by said booby-traps.

* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': In the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "[[Recap/StrongBadEmailE122Dreamail dreamail]]", Strong Bad's dream e-mail includes a sequence where Strong Bad and The Cheat have breakfast sitting at opposite ends of a long table (made from an autographed reproduction of the front door from ''[[Series/TwoTwoSeven 227]]'', no less).

** Magrat and King Verence are seen doing this in ''Literature/LordsAndLadies'', because Verence has to sit at the head of the table, and Magrat sitting at an angle to him makes conversation almost as awkward as sitting at the other end. It's made awkward on several levels, not just because they're trying to have a conversation during dinner, but because they're ''engaged to be married''. Magrat eventually gets fed up with Verence having to shout so she can hear him, and gets the butler to move her chair to the other end. It gets lampshaded, with Magrat noting that she's heard about this sort of thing but always thought it only happened in stories until it happened to her.

** One episode has the family housesitting Burns's mansion and having dinner at the incredibly long table. "Mom, Bart's making faces at me... I think."

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. A subtle version takes place in the pilot episode, when Oliver Queen returns home five years after the yacht he and his father was on sunk. One change he doesn't like is that [[ParentWithNewParamour his mother has gotten remarried]] to his late father's business partner Walter Steele. Oliver is seated down one end of the table with his best friend and kid sister, while his mother Moira and her new husband are seated down the other.

%%* ''Series/MrBean''.

* Used to nightmarish effect in the 2010 movie ''Film/{{Victim}}'' where the MadDoctor has dinner with his "daughter". In actuality she was the man he kidnapped who beat his real teenage daughter until she was rendered brain dead, and who subjected him to various medical procedures and mind rapes to make him look like and believe he was his daughter as an elaborate form of karmic revenge.

* Used to nightmarish effect in the 2010 movie ''Victim'' where the MadDoctor has dinner with his "daughter". In actuality she was the man he kidnapped who beat his real teenage daughter until she was rendered brain dead, and who subjected him to various medical procedures and mind rapes to make him look like and believe he was his daughter as an elaborate form of karmic revenge.

* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': In season 1, Wilson Fisk has a huge narrow table in his penthouse's dining room. Since he lives alone, at least until Vanessa enters his life, this doesn't mean much to him. However, it does get used for a demonstration of how strong Fisk is when he flips the table over in a fit of rage after Madame Gao threatens him.

%%* ''Disney/BeautyAndTheBeast''.

%%* Happened in the Literature/LordPeterWimsey book ''Thrones, Dominations''.

** Magrat and King Verence are seen doing this in ''Discworld/LordsAndLadies'', because Verence has to sit at the head of the table, and Magrat sitting at an angle to him makes conversation almost as awkward as sitting at the other end. It's made awkward on several levels, not just because they're trying to have a conversation during dinner, but because they're ''engaged to be married''. Magrat eventually gets fed up with Verence having to shout so she can hear him, and gets the butler to move her chair to the other end. It gets lampshaded, with Magrat noting that she's heard about this sort of thing but always thought it only happened in stories until it happened to her.
** {{Discussed|Trope}} in ''Discworld/MakingMoney'', but the narration then adds "[[BelligerentSexualTension Moist and Adora Belle]] didn't try it, but instead huddled together."
** Lampshaded in ''Discworld/UnseenAcademicals'': "It is a regrettable fact that when two people are dining at a very large and impressive dining table they sit at the opposite ends of the long axis [...] even Lord Vetenari and Lady Margalotta had apparently signed up to the idea." Given all the rumors (both in- and out-of-universe) that the two are more than friends, or at least {{friendly rival}}s, [[ShipSinking this may put a lie to them]].

-->-- ''Discworld/MakingMoney''

* One episode of the WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes, "From Hare to Heir", had Bugs Bunny promise Yosemite Sam (who is short on money) a million pounds provided he keep his HairTriggerTemper (get it) in check. What follows is Bugs deducting bit by bit with each outburst. In one scene, as Bugs and Sam are eating at different ends of a very long table, Bugs frequently asks for various things, forcing Sam walk all the way down to the far end of the table. Each time as he's walking all the way back to be seated, Bugs calls back for another item. This causes Sam to lose his temper, prompting Bugs to reduce 300 pounds (which makes Sam go into a rage-inducing fit, taking away 400 pounds more).