History Main / TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment

A type of BaitAndSwitchComment that, usually, introduces the CoolAndUnusualPunishment to torment our characters. How it works is as follows:

Bob has just done something bad enough to get in some serious trouble, and his actions come with a price to pay. Alice is about to dish out some serious retribution, except that when Alice tells Bob what his punishment is going to be, [[{{Unishment}} it sounds very minor and painless; it may not even sound like a punishment at all]].

However, just when Bob is [[HopeSpot beginning to think that he got off easy]], it is [[TheReveal revealed]] that his punishment is much more grave and dire than he has, [[CueCardPause for a brief moment]], come to expect, and the circumstances are [[OhCrap further beyond his control than he realizes]]. He's gone [[FromBadToWorse out of the frying pan and straight into the fire]], and it's going to take everything Bob's got and ''more'' to get out of this mess.

Typically, The Not So Harmless Punishment is introduced with a very misleading name or presentation which gives the character the idea that this is something he doesn't have to worry too much about but is quickly shown to be the opposite of what he was initially expecting. Other times, the punishment may be described in a way that, at first, sounds rather pedestrian, giving the protagonist the chance to give a cocky response about how he can handle something like that, only for subsequent details to describe how the punishment really is something truly horrible. Occasionally, a GilliganCut is used to sell the gag.

See also: CoolAndUnusualPunishment, which is occasionally what these punishments turn out to be, as well as KillerRabbit, HappyFunBall, MaximumFunChamber, SuperFunHappyThingOfDoom, TheWindowOrTheStairs, and BaitAndSwitch. TheReveal and HopeSpot are usually the most vital components that model the gag.

Not to be confused with NotSoHarmlessVillain.

[-Bear in mind that, given TheReveal's large part in most examples, you should expect to find many '''SEMI-SPOILERS''' ahead.-]

Typically, TheNotSoHarmlessPunishment is introduced with a very misleading name or presentation which gives the character the idea that this is something he doesn't have to worry too much about but is quickly shown to be the opposite of what he was initially expecting. Other times, the punishment may be described in a way that, at first, sounds rather pedestrian, giving the protagonist the chance to give a cocky response about how he can handle something like that, only for subsequent details to describe how the punishment really is something truly horrible. Occasionally, a GilliganCut is used to sell the gag.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' episode "The Roboto Gambit", Tri-Klops attacks the palace with an army of skeletons that can [[PullYourselfTogether regenerate]], and ''[[AsteroidMonsters multiply]]'' (without Skeletor's approval) and he is actually winning. He starts to get such a big head, that he considers [[TheStarscream turning against Skeletor after taking the palace]]. However, he ultimately loses, and when he does, Skeletor shows up to drag him back to Snake Mountain, leading to this scene at the end in the villain's throne room:

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' episode "The Roboto Gambit", Tri-Klops attacks the palace with an army of skeletons that can [[PullingYourselfTogether regenerate]], and ''[[AsteroidMonster multiply]]'' (without Skeletor's approval) and he is actually winning. He starts to get such a big head, that he considers [[TheStarscream turning against Skeletor after taking the palace]]. However, he ultimately loses, and when he does, Skeletor shows up to drag him back to Snake Mountain, leading to this scene at the end in the villain's throne room:

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' episode "The Roboto Gambit", Tri-Klops attacks the palace with an army of skeletons that can regenerate, and ''multiply'' (without Skeletor's approval) and he is actually winning. He starts to get such a big head, that he considers turning against Skeletor after taking the palace. However, he ultimately loses, and when he does, Skeletor shows up to drag him back to Snake Mountain, leading to this scene at the end in the villain's throne room:

*** [[MagnificentBastard Lord Vetinari]] loves doing this. Just previously, he'd informed Moist that if he didn't accept the terms, Moist could just [[TheWindowOrTheStairs walk out that door over there and never hear of this again]]. Naturally, it opens onto an extremely deep pit. The villain actually chooses that option given the same choice.
*** The next time Moist appears, he thinks he's getting the same treatment. So he borrows a pencil from Drumknott and gently tosses it through the door...[[spoiler: and is shocked to discover a floor, much like the one he's firmly standing on, at approximately the same level. He's got the Post Office running like clockwork; what kind of moron does he think Vetinari is, gambling Moist's life like that when he's already being put to good use?]]
** Also inverted in a joke used both in ''Discworld/GuardsGuards'' and ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'', in which it's mentioned that dwarfs punish thieves by "hanging them up by the... town hall. Sometimes for ''days''.".

->'''Fry:''' And what if I don't want to be a delivery boy?\\

** During a HalloweenSpecial, the Yugopotamians believe that Earth is preparing for war because of all the costumed (turned real) monsters. When confronted, Timmy announces that war is on, and as the Yugopotamians leave they drop a "P-Bomb". While others are worried, Timmy is not, and announces that the P stands for Piñata.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'' the Foreign Legion's local DrillSergeantNasty tells the recruits "No taking in the ranks or I will have you burried up to your ancles in the sand!" When count Duckula notes that it dosn't sound too bad, one of his fellow legionaries tells him that "He burries you head first".

* In ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'' the Rock 'N' Roll IdiotHero Duo embraces the King of England's orders to "put them in the [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Iron]] [[Music/IronMaiden Maiden]]," at which point the King makes his orders more explicit, "Execute them."

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' episode "The Roboto Gambit", Tri-Clops attacks the palace with an army of skeletons that can regenerate, and ''multiply'' (without Skeletor's approval) and he is actually winning. He starts to get such a big head, that he considers turning against Skeletor after taking the palace. However, he ultimately loses, and when he does, Skeletor shows up to drag him back to Snake Mountain, leading to this scene at the end in the villain's throne room:

-->'''Skeletor:''' Don't despair, Tri-Clops, things didn't turn out too badly... For ''me''. After all, if your plan had succeeded, I have no doubt you'd seized power for yourself!\\
'''Tri-Clops:''' N-no, Skeletor, [[BlatantLies the thought never crossed my mind!]]\\
'''Skeletor:''' Really? Well, in that case, you're free to go...\\
''[Tri-Clops gives a look of relief for a second]''\\

''[Hits a button on the device that Tri-Clops used to control the skeletons, and the henchman slowly turns around as they rise to their feet behind him. Cue EvilLaugh from Skeletor as the scene fades to credits]''

* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' episode "The Roboto Gambit", Tri-Clops attacked the palace with an army of skeletons that could regenerate, and ''multiply'' (without Skeletor's approval) and he was actually winning. He started to get such a big head, that he considered turning against Skeletor when he had taken the palace. However, he ultimately lost, and when he did, Skeletor showed up to drag him back to Snake Mountain, leading to this scene at the end in the villain's throne room:

* In a ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' episode where Homer portrayed King Henry VIII. He responds to Ned Flanders' (as Thomas More) objections to seceding from the Church by offering to canonize him. [[GilliganCut Cut to]] Ned being fired out of a cannon.
** [[FridgeBrilliance Canonizing, in the Catholic Church, is recognizing someone as a saint (declaring their sainthood canon). The first requirement is that they be dead...]]

** At the beginning of [[Film/SpongeOutOfWater the series's second movie,]] Mr. Krabs tortures Plankton with a knock knock joke ("Who's there?" "Jimmy." "Jimmy who?" "Jimmy back my formula!") Plankton responds that while that was ''stupid'', it wasn't ''torture'', to which Mr. Krabs tells him to wait. After a few seconds, Spongebob understands the joke, revealing the true torture: his signature annoying laugh.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/CountDuckula'' the Foreign Legion's local DrillSergeantNasty tells the recruits "No taking in the ranks or I will have you burried up to your ancles in the sand!" When count Duckula notes that it dosn't sound too bad, one of his fellow legionaries notes that "He burries you head first".

!!Examples

* ''FanFic/{{Hivefled}}'''s prequel ''Reprise''; Gamzee gets in trouble with his captors for [[DisproportionateRetribution not smiling]]. TickleTorture is uncomfortable but bearable until they decide to "[[GlasgowGrin immortalise the moment]]". This is what happens when one of your AbusiveParents is a MonsterClown.
* In ''FanFic/MirrorsImage'', Twilight decides to punish one of her changling guards by naming it Sucker Punch. Although this crosses over into CoolAndUnusualPunishment, most changlings prefer to not be named, and thus, being named really is that bad.
* ''FanFic/TheStalkingZukoSeries'', FridgeLogic would dictate that the cooler punishment in the Boiling Rock would be driven useless by any firebender that can keep himself warm or has a resilience to cold. Not so much when the extreme temperature differences cause the prisoner to catch "cooler fever" and he has to defend himself from the other prisoners and the guards while horribly ill.
* [[spoiler: Princess]] Rainbow Dash in ''FanFic/TheGreatAlicornHunt'' informs the board of Alicorn Academy, that for their failure as an academic institute whose [[PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad confusing policies]] and ex-hippie teachers who force students to agree with their views and politics for a passing grade, have made it a breeding ground for hipsters, windmill crusaders and terrorists like the crownbreakers. To punish the institute, they will be getting......matched donations. Instead of the government just giving them the money they need, it will match whatever donations they receive from Alumni or from fundraisers and so on. This doesn't sound like much of a punishment, until Dash reminds them that their reputation has fallen in the eyes of their alumni, that virtually none of them donates anything and they've been relying almost exclusively on the crown funds, which have now been cut off.
* Yuugao in ''[[http://ficwad.com/story/270232 Eroninja]]'' is punished for almost killing Suzume (in retaliation for her attempt on Naruto's life) by... Naruto having sex with her every night for a month. Seems great initially, except Naruto goes out of his way to wear her out which, on top of a huge workload dealing with an upcoming event, means she gets through each day barely conscious.

* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'', when Gozer demands that the Earth [[HowWouldYouLikeToDie choose the shape of its destroyer]], Ray immediately thinks of The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, being the one thing that he believes could not possibly ever hurt us. Unfortunately, he fails to consider that even the most innocuous creature can be made dangerous [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever if you make it big enough]].
* In ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'' the Rock 'N' Roll IdiotHero Duo embraces the King of England's orders to "put them in the [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Iron]] [[Music/IronMaiden Maiden]]," at which point the King makes his orders more explicit, "Execute them."
* In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', HangingJudge Jonathan Crane gives Gotham's wealthy the choice between death and exile. Those who choose exile must leave Gotham...by walking over thin ice, which inevitably breaks and dumps them into lethally cold water. Though, those that choose death are sentenced to execution...[[MortonsFork by exile.]]
* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Jabba sentences Luke and Han to be fed to the Sarlaac. Han quips that it doesn't sound so bad, until [=C3PO=] translates the bit about, "in his belly, you will find a new definition of 'pain and suffering' as you are slowly digested over a... thousand years."
-->'''Han:''' On second thought, let's pass on that, huh?
* ''Film/{{Barbarella}}'' seems to enjoy her experience with the Excessive Machine, until she realises it's going to kill her with sexual pleasure.

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' Harry is punished for speaking out against Umbridge in class by being made to write lines... [[DisproportionateRetribution with a magic quill that carves the phrase he's writing deep into his hand, using his own blood as ink.]]

* In ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', Tim, unable to cope with ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', is admonished by his boss for getting cross with a child who wanted to buy a Jar Jar Binks doll. When he asks his boss what he's going to do about his behavior, his boss responds, "I'm going to have to let you go." Tim, relieved that he's being let off the hook when he thought he was going to be fired, takes a brief moment before understanding that firing him is exactly what his boss had intended doing all along.
* Happens in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' in "My Soul on Fire, Part 2" where the Janitor punishes J.D. for convincing everyone to come to his wedding on such short notice by keeping him at the top of a lighthouse for ten minutes...
--> '''J.D.:''' But that doesn't explain why these fish are taped to my hands!
--> ''Cue the flock of seagulls hungry for fish.''
* On ''Series/PerfectStrangers'', a Myposian acquaintance of Balki's challenges Larry to a duel. Larry accepts after Balki tells him it involves boxing the loser's ears. Then Balki explains to Larry that in Mypos, "boxing one's ears" means putting the ears ''in a box''.
* In ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Klinger is wrongly court martialed, and faces a dishonorable discharge. He initially plans to plead guilty to get out of the army, but Colonel Potter tells him that he would have to do hard labour in military prison, lose his VA benefits and spend the rest of his life as a convicted felon, and therefore he must fight the charges.

* Inverted in one episode of ''Series/BabylonFive''. Delenn tells Sheridan about a Minbari custom, and what precisely a woman can do to a man who tries to abuse the custom:
-->'''Delenn:''' She can even cut off his... oh, what is the human word for it...\\
''[Long pause while Delenn tried to remember the word and Sheridan gets an absolutely terrified look on his face]''\\
'''Delenn:''' Access to her family.
* {{Inverted}} in ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' when [[EnfantTerrible Megan]] draws up a contract for Drake and Josh's bet: the loser "must die ... [[CueCardPause his hair pink.]]"

* Used in a third-person fashion, quite likely ripped from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent''. Hanners is checking some bookkeeping for her CorruptCorporateExecutive mother, trying to find the source of an error. Marten asks her what will happen to the employee who made the mistake once he's found, and Hanners replies that he'll be fired.
-->'''Marten:''' Oh, that doesn't sound so...\\
'''Hanners:''' Out of a cannon, into a volcano.
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': The Robot King making clear that the mad-scientist-for-hire is not to touch the computer systems containing the King's brain:
-->'''LOTA:''' Should any of you even approach those systems, LOTA would be required to fire you.\\
'''Kevyn:''' Okay, I get it.\\
'''LOTA:''' Out an airlock.
* The Spanish-language webcomic ''A Friki's life" does this in a strip when a man sent to Hell is forced to choose between being tortured, or having sex with a chicken for all eternity. After he choses the chicken, it's revealed that it's a 2-meter tall chicken with a passion for BDSM.

* For [[http://www.brunothebandit.com/d/19980904.html many crimes,]] ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'' [[http://www.brunothebandit.com/d/19980908.html sentenced to clean the streets of the city.]] Thoroughly. [[spoiler:With his tongue.]]

--> '''Chief Justice:''' I sentence you to a lifetime of horror on Monster Island... Don't worry, it's just a name.
--> ''[[GilliganCut Cut to]] Lisa and others being chased by monsters.''
--> '''Lisa:''' He said it was just a name!
--> '''Man:''' What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a ''peninsula''.

-->'''Chalmers:''' Skinner, you're fired!
-->'''Skinner''' ''(offended)'': Excuse ''me'', did you just call me a liar?
-->'''Chalmers:''' No, I said you were fired.
-->'''Skinner:''' Oh... ''([[BeatPanel Beat]])'' That's much worse...
* A ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'' episode has aliens threatening Donald Duck with twenty lashes with a wet noodle. He laughs it off and tells them to make them fifty. Turns out the "noodle" is a giant, living, carnivorous worm.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' Beej and Lydia (and others) are playing baseball in the Neitherworld. At some point it is announced that the game has changed to "Sudden Death", meaning that the losers will have to stand in the "Losers' Circle", an area enclosed by a rope. Beej is unimpressed (as he's been dorking around the entire game anyway) until the "circle" opens up into a fang-lined maw that belches a fireball into his face.
* On ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Fairly Odd Parents]]'', Timmy once had to brave the "horrifying trials" of the "sadistic" Yugopotamians; these trials include [[{{Unishment}} walking through a flowery meadow, hugging a teddy bear, and eating chocolate]] [[labelnote:*]]To the Yugopotamians, these really ''are'' {{Not So Harmless Punishment}}s: fun and nice things cause them actual physical harm[[/labelnote]]. A later episode features Timmy cockily accepting another challenge from the Yugopotamians, expecting more of the same, only this time he has inadvertently signed up for a gladiatorial fight to the death. [[spoiler: Subverted in that, when he's given the chance, Timmy suggests a ball pit as his combat arena and pillows as weapons, giving him the advantage.]]
** Also on ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Fairly Odd Parents]]'', during a HalloweenSpecial, the Yugopotamians believe that Earth is preparing for war because of all the costumed (turned real) monsters. When confronted, Timmy announces that war is on, and as the Yugopotamians leave they drop a "P-Bomb". While others are worried, Timmy is not, and announces that the P stands for Piñata.
* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Lucius [[YouAreGrounded grounds Beezy]]. Jimmy scoffs at this...until Beezy explains that being grounded in Miseryville means being BuriedAlive.
* [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Porky Pig]] runs afoul of some leprechauns in "Wearing of the Grin", and is sentenced to wear...the [[ClingyMacguffin Green Shoes]]. Porky at first is pleased at how well they fit, until they take control of his feet and send him dancing across the landscape.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In "[[Recap/FuturamaS1E1SpacePilot3000 Space Pilot 3000]]", Leela informs [[FishOutOfWater Fry]] that in the future, people are assigned job chips, and those who refuse their assigned role are fired... out of a cannon and [[HurlItIntoTheSun into the sun]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' episode "The Roboto Gambit", Tri-Clops attacked the palace with an army of skeletons that could regenerate, and ''multiply'' (without Skeletor's approval) and he was actually winning. He started to get such a big head, that he considered turning against Skeletor when he had taken the palace. However, he ultimately lost, and when he did, Skeletor showed up to drag him back to Snake Mountain, leading to this scene at the end in the villain's throne room:
-->'''Skeletor:''' Don't despair, Tri-Clops, things didn't turn out too badly... For ''me''. After all, if your plan had succeeded, I have no doubt you'd seized power for yourself!\\
'''Tri-Clops:''' N-no, Skeletor, [[BlatantLies the thought never crossed my mind!]]\\
'''Skeletor:''' Really? Well, in that case, you're free to go...\\
''[Tri-Clops gives a look of relief for a second]''\\
'''Skeletor:''' ...IF you can reach the door!\\
''[Hits a button on the device that Tri-Clops used to control the skeletons, and the henchman slowly turns around as they rise to their feet behind him. Cue EvilLaugh from Skeletor as the scene fades to credits]''
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''; In the episode "Time Traveler's Pig", Blendin Blandin is seen in the stinger being sentenced to fix all the damage that the kids caused to the time stream. The later episode "Blendin's Game" reveals he also had to serve jail time, a "[[LongerThanLifeSentence life squared]]" sentence.

* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', "Raising Gazorpazorp", in a [[LadyLand world dominated by women]] Rick awaits sentencing for a "rogue penis" with his granddaughter, Summer, and [[GenderInvertedTrope doesn't get the stereotypical "woman-punishment" that he was expecting]].
-->'''Ma-Sha:''' Rick and Summer of Earth, for the crimes of treason against womankind and for creating the sound of which we do not speak because it does not exist, you are hereby sentenced to–\\
'''Rick:''' What, what, what — a night on the couch? \\
'''Ma-Sha:''' ...''death''.\\
'''Rick:''' Ooh, gerp.\\
'''Summer:''' I hate you so much right now.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', the Trokkle King's TreacherousAdvisor fools the king into abdicating his throne to Brainy Smurf... But Brainy proves an obnoxious ruler, so now all the trokkles decide to overthrow him. When the original Trokkle King finds out about this, he gets frightened and goes to warn the other smurfs, because he knows that when the trokkles overthrow a king, they ''[[NotHyperbole throw him over]]'' a cliff, literally.

* A similar thing happened in a ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' episode where Homer portrayed King Henry VIII. He responds to Ned Flanders' (as Thomas More) objections to seceding from the Church by offering to canonize him. [[GilliganCut Cut to]] Ned being fired out of a cannon.

* ''Film/{{Barbarella}}'' seems to enjoy her experience with the Excessive Machine, until she realises it's going to kill her with sexual pleasure.
* In ''Film/BillAndTedsExcellentAdventure'' the Rock 'N' Roll IdiotHero Duo embraces the King of England's orders to "put them in the [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Iron]] [[Music/IronMaiden Maiden]]," at which point the King makes his orders more explicit, "Execute them."
* In ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises'', HangingJudge Jonathan Crane gives Gotham's wealthy the choice between death and exile. Those who choose exile must leave Gotham...by walking over thin ice, which inevitably breaks and dumps them into lethally cold water. Though, those that choose death are sentenced to execution...[[MortonsFork by exile.]]
* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'', when Gozer demands that the Earth [[HowWouldYouLikeToDie choose the shape of its destroyer]], Ray immediately thinks of The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, being the one thing that he believes could not possibly ever hurt us. Unfortunately, he fails to consider that even the most innocuous creature can be made dangerous [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever if you make it big enough]].

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Jabba sentences Luke and Han to be fed to the Sarlaac. Han quips that it doesn't sound so bad, until [=C3PO=] translates the bit about, "in his belly, you will find a new definition of 'pain and suffering' as you are slowly digested over a... thousand years."
-->'''Han:''' On second thought, let's pass on that, huh?

* In Creator/RobertAHeinlein's ''Literature/HaveSpaceSuitWillTravel'', Kip is told that [[AlwaysChaoticEvil the evil race]] will get their home planet rotated. He wonders why the crowd hearing the sentence sounds shocked and upset about that, since all planets rotate. It is then explained to him that the planet will be "rotated 90 degrees out of space-time" which puts the planet alone in a private universe. Which he thinks is not good but not worthy of getting that upset about. Then he finds out the planet doesn't get to take their sun with them...

* Inverted in one episode of ''Series/BabylonFive''. Delenn tells Sheridan about a Minbari custom, and what precisely a woman can do to a man who tries to abuse the custom:
-->'''Delenn:''' She can even cut off his... oh, what is the human word for it...\\
''[Long pause while Delenn tried to remember the word and Sheridan gets an absolutely terrified look on his face]''\\
'''Delenn:''' Access to her family.

* {{Inverted}} in ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' when [[EnfantTerrible Megan]] draws up a contract for Drake and Josh's bet: the loser "must die ... [[CueCardPause his hair pink.]]"
* In ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Klinger is wrongly court martialled, and faces a dishonorable discharge. He initially plans to plead guilty to get out of the army, but Colonel Potter tells him that he would have to do hard labour in military prison, lose his VA benefits and spend the rest of his life as a convicted felon, and therefore he must fight the charges.

* On ''Series/PerfectStrangers'', a Myposian acquaintance of Balki's challenges Larry to a duel. Larry accepts after Balki tells him it involves boxing the loser's ears. Then Balki explains to Larry that in Mypos, "boxing one's ears" means putting the ears ''in a box''.
* Happens in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' in "My Soul on Fire, Part 2" where the Janitor punishes J.D. for convincing everyone to come to his wedding on such short notice by keeping him at the top of a lighthouse for ten minutes...
-->'''J.D.:''' But that doesn't explain why these fish are taped to my hands!\\
''Cue the flock of seagulls hungry for fish.''
* In ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', Tim, unable to cope with ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', is admonished by his boss for getting cross with a child who wanted to buy a Jar Jar Binks doll. When he asks his boss what he's going to do about his behavior, his boss responds, "I'm going to have to let you go." Tim, relieved that he's being let off the hook when he thought he was going to be fired, takes a brief moment before understanding that firing him is exactly what his boss had intended doing all along.

* For [[http://www.brunothebandit.com/d/19980904.html many crimes,]] ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'' [[http://www.brunothebandit.com/d/19980908.html sentenced to clean the streets of the city.]] Thoroughly. [[spoiler:With his tongue.]]

* The Spanish-language webcomic ''A Friki's life" does this in a strip when a man sent to Hell is forced to choose between being tortured, or having sex with a chicken for all eternity. After he choses the chicken, it's revealed that it's a 2-meter tall chicken with a passion for BDSM.

* Used in a third-person fashion, quite likely ripped from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent''. Hanners is checking some bookkeeping for her CorruptCorporateExecutive mother, trying to find the source of an error. Marten asks her what will happen to the employee who made the mistake once he's found, and Hanners replies that he'll be fired.
-->'''Marten:''' Oh, that doesn't sound so...\\
'''Hanners:''' Out of a cannon, into a volcano.
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': The Robot King making clear that the mad-scientist-for-hire is not to touch the computer systems containing the King's brain:
-->'''LOTA:''' Should any of you even approach those systems, LOTA would be required to fire you.\\
'''Kevyn:''' Okay, I get it.\\
'''LOTA:''' Out an airlock.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' Beej and Lydia (and others) are playing baseball in the Neitherworld. At some point it is announced that the game has changed to "Sudden Death", meaning that the losers will have to stand in the "Losers' Circle", an area enclosed by a rope. Beej is unimpressed (as he's been dorking around the entire game anyway) until the "circle" opens up into a fang-lined maw that belches a fireball into his face.
* On ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Fairly Odd Parents]]'', Timmy once had to brave the "horrifying trials" of the "sadistic" Yugopotamians; these trials include [[{{Unishment}} walking through a flowery meadow, hugging a teddy bear, and eating chocolate]] [[labelnote:*]]To the Yugopotamians, these really ''are'' {{Not So Harmless Punishment}}s: fun and nice things cause them actual physical harm[[/labelnote]]. A later episode features Timmy cockily accepting another challenge from the Yugopotamians, expecting more of the same, only this time he has inadvertently signed up for a gladiatorial fight to the death. [[spoiler: Subverted in that, when he's given the chance, Timmy suggests a ball pit as his combat arena and pillows as weapons, giving him the advantage.]]
** Also on ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Fairly Odd Parents]]'', during a HalloweenSpecial, the Yugopotamians believe that Earth is preparing for war because of all the costumed (turned real) monsters. When confronted, Timmy announces that war is on, and as the Yugopotamians leave they drop a "P-Bomb". While others are worried, Timmy is not, and announces that the P stands for Piñata.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In "[[Recap/FuturamaS1E1SpacePilot3000 Space Pilot 3000]]", Leela informs [[FishOutOfWater Fry]] that in the future, people are assigned job chips, and those who refuse their assigned role are fired... out of a cannon and [[HurlItIntoTheSun into the sun]].
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''; In the episode "Time Traveler's Pig", Blendin Blandin is seen in the stinger being sentenced to fix all the damage that the kids caused to the time stream. The later episode "Blendin's Game" reveals he also had to serve jail time, a "[[LongerThanLifeSentence life squared]]" sentence.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/HeManAndTheMastersOfTheUniverse2002'' episode "The Roboto Gambit", Tri-Clops attacked the palace with an army of skeletons that could regenerate, and ''multiply'' (without Skeletor's approval) and he was actually winning. He started to get such a big head, that he considered turning against Skeletor when he had taken the palace. However, he ultimately lost, and when he did, Skeletor showed up to drag him back to Snake Mountain, leading to this scene at the end in the villain's throne room:
-->'''Skeletor:''' Don't despair, Tri-Clops, things didn't turn out too badly... For ''me''. After all, if your plan had succeeded, I have no doubt you'd seized power for yourself!\\
'''Tri-Clops:''' N-no, Skeletor, [[BlatantLies the thought never crossed my mind!]]\\
'''Skeletor:''' Really? Well, in that case, you're free to go...\\
''[Tri-Clops gives a look of relief for a second]''\\
'''Skeletor:''' ...IF you can reach the door!\\
''[Hits a button on the device that Tri-Clops used to control the skeletons, and the henchman slowly turns around as they rise to their feet behind him. Cue EvilLaugh from Skeletor as the scene fades to credits]''

* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Lucius [[YouAreGrounded grounds Beezy]]. Jimmy scoffs at this... until Beezy explains that being grounded in Miseryville means being BuriedAlive.
* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'': Porky Pig runs afoul of some leprechauns in "Wearing of the Grin", and is sentenced to wear...the [[ClingyMacguffin Green Shoes]]. Porky at first is pleased at how well they fit, until they take control of his feet and send him dancing across the landscape.
* A ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'' episode has aliens threatening Donald Duck with twenty lashes with a wet noodle. He laughs it off and tells them to make them fifty. Turns out the "noodle" is a giant, living, carnivorous worm.
* In the episode of ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'', "Raising Gazorpazorp", in a [[LadyLand world dominated by women]] Rick awaits sentencing for a "rogue penis" with his granddaughter, Summer, and [[GenderInvertedTrope doesn't get the stereotypical "woman-punishment" that he was expecting]].
-->'''Ma-Sha:''' Rick and Summer of Earth, for the crimes of treason against womankind and for creating the sound of which we do not speak because it does not exist, you are hereby sentenced to–\\
'''Rick:''' What, what, what — a night on the couch? \\
'''Ma-Sha:''' ...''death''.\\
'''Rick:''' Ooh, gerp.\\
'''Summer:''' I hate you so much right now.

--->'''Chief Justice:''' I sentence you to a lifetime of horror on Monster Island... Don't worry, it's just a name.\\
''[[[GilliganCut Cut to]] Lisa and others being chased by monsters.]''\\
'''Lisa:''' He said it was just a name!\\
'''Man:''' What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a ''peninsula''.

--->'''Chalmers:''' Skinner, you're fired!\\
'''Skinner''' ''(offended)'': Excuse ''me'', did you just call me a liar?\\
'''Chalmers:''' No, I said you were fired.\\
'''Skinner:''' Oh... ''[[[BeatPanel Beat]]]'' That's much worse...
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', the Trokkle King's TreacherousAdvisor fools the king into abdicating his throne to Brainy Smurf... But Brainy proves an obnoxious ruler, so now all the trokkles decide to overthrow him. When the original Trokkle King finds out about this, he gets frightened and goes to warn the other smurfs, because he knows that when the trokkles overthrow a king, they ''[[NotHyperbole throw him over]]'' a cliff, literally.

--> '''Kazan:''' Cancel that order!
--> '''East-Meg Judge:''' You mean you're ''not'' sending them to Siberia?
--> '''Kazan:''' No, I mean they're not getting any winter clothing!
* A regular event in ComicBook/MortadeloYFilemon when the Super threatens them with a punishment should they manage to mess up their new assignment. E.g., he promises them they'll be put into the Guinness Book of World Records. And yes, they will - between the pages, and with an oversized vise pressing the book back into shape...

* In ''Film/{{Idiocracy}}'', Joe is sentenced to one night of rehabilitation when his decision to irrigate crops with water caused population riots after the price of the Brawndo Corporation's stock plummeted. It turns out that "rehabilitation" is a type of public execution modeled as a SquashMatch with HomicideMachines.

* Creator/WoodyAllen's film ''Film/TakeTheMoneyAndRun'' has a pretty nasty punishment that's made even more harmful. As the narrator states, "Food on a chain gang is scarce and not very nourishing. The men get one hot meal a day... a bowl of steam."
** Which is then shortly followed by an [[InvertedTrope inverse]] of the trope, a man who didn't give a good day's work is hauled into another room, and the warden takes Virgil over to show him "what he's got to look forward to." We see the the shadow of what appears to be the man tied to the ceiling being whipped by another guard (and sounds of whipping and the prisoner wincing seem to confirm this), but after Virgil and the warden walk through the door, we find out that the guard is whipping the prisoner's ''shadow'', instead.
* In ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}'', when Gozer demands that the Earth [[HowWouldYouLikeToDie choose the shape of its destroyer]], Ray immediately thinks of The Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, being the one thing that he believes could not possibly ever hurt us. Unfortunately, he fails to consider that even the most innocuous creature can be made dangerous [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever if you make it big enough]].

* In ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', Jabba sentences Luke and Han to be fed to the Sarlaac. Han quips that it doesn't sound so bad, until [=C3PO=] translates the bit about, "in his belly, you will find a new definition of 'pain and suffering' as you are slowly digested over a... thousand years."

* ''Film/{{Barbarella}}'' seems to enjoy her experience with the Excessive Machine, until she realises it's going to kill her with sexual pleasure.

* In Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Discworld/GoingPostal'' Moist Von Lipwig is offered (as an alternative to being hanged, again) the job of Postmaster General. It's a job for life, just quite possibly not for long as it's already claimed the lives of several other "volunteers".
** [[MagnificentBastard Lord Vetinari]] loves doing this. Just previously, he'd informed Moist that if he didn't accept the terms, Moist could just [[TheWindowOrTheStairs walk out that door over there and never hear of this again]]. Naturally, it opens onto an extremely deep pit. The villain actually chooses that option given the same choice.

** Also inverted in a joke used both in ''Discworld/GuardsGuards'' and ''Discworld/FeetOfClay'', in which it's mentioned that dwarfs punish thieves by "hanging them up by the...town hall. Sometimes for ''days''.".

* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'' Harry is punished for speaking out against Umbridge in class by being made to write lines... [[DisproportionateRetribution with a magic quill that carves the phrase he's writing deep into his hand, using his own blood as ink.]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* In ''Series/{{Spaced}}'', Tim, unable to cope with ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'', is admonished by his boss for getting cross with a child who wanted to buy a Jar Jar Binks doll. When he asks his boss what he's going to do about his behavior, his boss responds, "I'm going to have to let you go." Tim, relieved that he's being let off the hook when he thought he was going to be fired, takes a brief moment before understanding that firing him is exactly what his boss had intended doing all along.
* Happens in ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' in "My Soul on Fire, Part 2" where the Janitor punishes J.D. for convincing everyone to come to his wedding on such short notice by keeping him at the top of a lighthouse for ten minutes...
--> '''J.D.:''' But that doesn't explain why these fish are taped to my hands!
--> ''Cue the flock of seagulls hungry for fish.''
* On ''Series/PerfectStrangers'', a Myposian acquaintance of Balki's challenges Larry to a duel. Larry accepts after Balki tells him it involves boxing the loser's ears. Then Balki explains to Larry that in Mypos, "boxing one's ears" means putting the ears ''in a box''.
* In ''Series/{{MASH}}'', Klinger is wrongly court martialled, and faces a dishonorable discharge. He initially plans to plead guilty to get out of the army, but Colonel Potter tells him that he would have to do hard labour in military prison, lose his VA benefits and spend the rest of his life as a convicted felon, and therefore he must fight the charges.

** At the beginning of the ''Key To Time'' arc, the Doctor asks what will happen to him if he refuses the White Guardian's order to find the parts of the Key, and is surprised by the answer of 'nothing'. The Guardian placidly clarifies "[[TimeCrash Nothing at all]]. ''Ever''."
** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E2TheHappinessPatrol The Happiness Patrol]]" arc, standard punishments are doled out by the Kandy Man, who loves "happy" and typically sweet-themed executions, like having molten-hot sugar poured down your throat until you either suffocate or are boiled alive.
** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E2TheEndOfTheWorld The End Of The World]]" has a variant, where the Doctor assumes what his {{Unishment}} will be, and is corrected.
--->'''The Doctor:''' What are you gonna do? Moisturise me?
--->'''Lady Cassandra:''' With acid.

* Inverted in one episode of ''Series/BabylonFive''. Delenn tells Sheridan about a Minbari custom, and what precisely a woman can do to a man who tries to abuse the custom:
--> '''Delenn''': She can even cut off his...oh, what is the human word for it...
--> [Long pause while Delenn tried to remember the word and Sheridan gets an absolutely terrified look on his face]
--> '''Delenn''': Access to her family.
* {{Inverted}} in ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' when [[EnfantTerrible Megan]] draws up a contract for Drake and Josh's bet: the loser "must die ... [[CueCardPause his hair pink.]]"
* In ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', upon learning Zack, Woody and Marcus set up a fake beauty pageant, Moseby punishes them by making it real. At first, the boys are ecstatic, before being told that they have to do the setup and cleanup all by themselves and aren't allowed to flirt with the contestants.

* Used in a third-person fashion, quite likely ripped from ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', in ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent''. Hanners is checking some bookkeeping for her CorruptCorporateExecutive mother, trying to find the source of an error. Marten asks her what will happen to the employee who made the mistake once he's found, and Hanners replies that he'll be fired.
--> '''Marten:''' Oh, that doesn't sound so...
--> '''Hanners:''' Out of a cannon, into a volcano.
* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': The Robot King making clear that the mad-scientist-for-hire is not to touch the computer systems containing the King's brain:
-->LOTA: Should any of you even approach those systems, LOTA would be required to fire you.\\
Kevyn: Okay, I get it.\\
LOTA: Out an airlock.
* The Spanish-language webcomic ''A Friki's life" does this in a strip when a man sent to Hell is forced to choose between being tortured, or having sex with a chicken for all eternity. After he choses the chicken, it's revealed that it's a 2-meter tall chicken with a passion for BDSM.

-->'''Virus''': Actually we were gonna have Lothar here cut your bollocks off, then start asking you some questions.
-->'''Assassin''': Wait...I think you have that the wrong way round.
-->'''Virus''': No. I don't think we do.

--> ''[Door begins lowering, revealing bunny ears]''
--> '''Lothar:''' Oh no, a rabbit. I'm sure we shall be savagely brutalized and devoured by the Easter Bunny's cousin. [[SarcasmMode I'm so frightened I'm forgetting to panic.]]
--> ''[Door lowers all the way, revealing a vicious, monstrous rabbit]''
--> '''Lothar:''' I [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] hate irony.
* At one point in ''Webcomic/DominicDeegan'', Stunt is exiled from a city that he wasn't particularly attached to. He mocks how weak the punishment is... and then realizes what the ''actual'' punishment constitutes - his best friend [[HeterosexualLifePartner Bumper]], who really liked the city, ''wasn't'' exiled. Suddenly Stunt's enthusiasm evaporates.

* For [[http://www.brunothebandit.com/d/19980904.html many crimes,]] ''Webcomic/BrunoTheBandit'' [[http://www.brunothebandit.com/d/19980908.html sentenced to clean the streets of the city.]] Thoroughly. [[spoiler: With his tongue.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'':
** "Gaz, Taster of Pork" ends with Dib demanding he be punished for putting a spell on his sister. He's given a crown of toilet brushes and ordered to clean a toilet. Feeling that the punishment is rather mundane, Dib takes one look inside the bowl and is immediately horrified by what he sees down there. Closing words explain that Dib is now cleaning the toilet ''with his head''.
** The titular room with a moose from the episode [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment "A Room With A Moose"]] would also qualify. No one can understand how the moose is meant to be a menace, not even Dib, who points out it's a big moose, but really, just a moose...at which point Zim sends several walnuts into the room, and Dib sees the moose eating the walnuts...which horrifies him for some reason. Confusing to the audience, but evidently effective against Dib.

* A similar thing happened in a ''[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Simpsons]]'' episode where Homer portrayed King Henry VIII. He responds to Ned Flanders' (as Thomas More) objections to seceding from the Church by offering to canonize him. [[GilliganCut Cut to]] Ned being fired out of a cannon.
** "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E8LisaOnIce Lisa on Ice]]" features a daydream Lisa has where she worries that failing her gym class would greatly damage her reputation later in life. In the daydream, the Chief Justice of the United States learns this just before swearing Lisa in as the new President.
--> '''Chief Justice:''' I sentence you to a lifetime of horror on Monster Island... Don't worry, it's just a name.
--> ''[[GilliganCut Cut to]] Lisa and others being chased by monsters.''
--> '''Lisa:''' He said it was just a name!
--> '''Man:''' What he meant is that Monster Island is actually a ''peninsula''.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E16BartVsAustralia Bart vs. Australia]]", when Bart manages to piss off the entire country of Australia, the family is offered an all-expenses paid vacation if he's willing to go and apologize. What they ''forget'' to tell him is that he will also get a swift boot in the ass, provided by a shoe roughly the size of him.
** In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E19SweetSeymourSkinnersBaadasssssSong Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song]]", after Superintendent Chalmers is angry enough at Skinner before Bart's dog causes a crisis, and Groundskeeper Willie falling on him seems to be the last straw:
-->'''Chalmers:''' Skinner, you're fired!
-->'''Skinner''' ''(offended)'': Excuse ''me'', did you just call me a liar?
-->'''Chalmers:''' No, I said you were fired.
-->'''Skinner:''' Oh... ''([[BeatPanel Beat]])'' That's much worse...
* A ''WesternAnimation/QuackPack'' episode has aliens threatening Donald Duck with twenty lashes with a wet noodle. He laughs it off and tells them to make them fifty. Turns out the "noodle" is a giant, living, carnivorous worm.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Beetlejuice}}'' Beej and Lydia (and others) are playing baseball in the Neitherworld. At some point it is announced that the game has changed to "Sudden Death", meaning that the losers will have to stand in the "Losers' Circle", an area enclosed by a rope. Beej is unimpressed (as he's been dorking around the entire game anyway) until the "circle" opens up into a fang-lined maw that belches a fireball into his face.
* On ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Fairly Odd Parents]]'', Timmy once had to brave the "horrifying trials" of the "sadistic" Yugopotamians; these trials include [[{{Unishment}} walking through a flowery meadow, hugging a teddy bear, and eating chocolate]] [[labelnote:*]]To the Yugopotamians, these really ''are'' {{Not So Harmless Punishment}}s: fun and nice things cause them actual physical harm[[/labelnote]]. A later episode features Timmy cockily accepting another challenge from the Yugopotamians, expecting more of the same, only this time he has inadvertently signed up for a gladiatorial fight to the death. [[spoiler: Subverted in that, when he's given the chance, Timmy suggests a ball pit as his combat arena and pillows as weapons, giving him the advantage.]]
** Also on ''[[WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents Fairly Odd Parents]]'', during a HalloweenSpecial, the Yugopotamians believe that Earth is preparing for war because of all the costumed (turned real) monsters. When confronted, Timmy announces that war is on, and as the Yugopotamians leave they drop a "P-Bomb". While others are worried, Timmy is not, and announces that the P stands for Piñata.
* On ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'', Lucius [[YouAreGrounded grounds Beezy]]. Jimmy scoffs at this...until Beezy explains that being grounded in Miseryville means being BuriedAlive.
* [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Porky Pig]] runs afoul of some leprechauns in "Wearing of the Grin", and is sentenced to wear...the [[ClingyMacguffin Green Shoes]]. Porky at first is pleased at how well they fit, until they take control of his feet and send him dancing across the landscape.

-->'''Skeletor:''' Don't despair, Tri-Clops, things didn't turn out too badly... For ''me''. After all, if your plan had succeeded, I have no doubt you'd seized power for yourself!
-->'''Tri-Clops:''' N-no, Skeletor, [[BlatantLies the thought never crossed my mind!]]
-->'''Skeletor:''' Really? Well, in that case, you're free to go...
-->''(Tri-Clops gives a look of relief for a second.)''
-->'''Skeletor:''' ...IF you can reach the door!
-->''(Hits a button on the device that Tri-Clops used to control the skeletons, and the henchman slowly turns around as they rise to their feet behind him. Cue EvilLaugh from Skeletor as the scene fades to credits.)''
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'', the Trokkle King's TreacherousAdvisor fools the king into abdicating his throne to Brainy Smurf... But Brainy proves an obnoxious ruler, so now all the trokkles decide to overthrow him. When the original Trokkle King finds out about this, he gets frightened and goes to warn the other smurfs, because he knows that when the trokkles overthrow a king, they ''[[NotHyperbole throw him over]]'' a cliff, literally.
* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''; In the episode "Time Traveler's Pig", Blendin Blandin is seen in the stinger being sentenced to fix all the damage that the kids caused to the time stream. The later episode "Blendin's Game" reveals he also had to serve jail time, a "[[LongerThanLifeSentence life squared]]" sentence.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' where Patchy the Pirate is throwing a party, he doesn't approve of the music of the Birdbrains, the band Potty hired, and tells them they have to walk the plank. They think he means they're fired, but he literally means WalkThePlank. However, [[ForgotICouldFly Patchy forgot they were birds and they managed to avoid jumping by flying away]].

--> '''Ma-Sha:''' Rick and Summer of Earth, for the crimes of treason against womankind and for creating the sound of which we do not speak because it does not exist, you are hereby sentenced to --
--> '''Rick:''' What, what, what -- a night on the couch?
--> '''Ma-Sha:''' ...''death''.
--> '''Rick:''' Ooh, gerp.
--> '''Summer:''' I hate you so much right now.

Bob has just done something bad enough to get in some serious trouble, and his actions come with a price to pay. Alice is about to dish out some serious retribution, except that when Alice tells Bob what his punishment is going to be, [[{{Unishment}} it sounds very minor and painless; it may not even sound like a punishment at all]]. [[ArsonMurderAndLifesaving Hey, maybe Alice isn't really mad at him at all]]. [[TemptingFate Hopefully so.]]

Bob has just done something bad enough to get in some serious trouble, and his actions come with a price to pay. Alice is about to dish out some serious retribution, except that when Alice tells Bob what his punishment is going to be, [[{{Unishment}} it sounds very minor and painless; it may not even sound like a punishment at all]].

** One more version gives the newcomer the choice between three cauldrons with manure: one with manure reaching waist, the other one with it up to the neck level, and the third one with it reaching ankles. The dude selects the third one, naturally, and starts chatting with its inhabitants. Soon, owever, a guardian imp opens the lid and calls, "OK, you've had a long enough break, hadn't you? Now go on EATING THE CONTENTS!"