History Main / TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat

* The ''{{Batman The Animated Series}}'' episode featuring the {{Clock King}} used this trope. Fugate's tape perfectly predicted what Batman would do, down to the second. Of course, this is Fugate's gimmick.

* In ''TheMagicSchoolBus'' book about the Solar System, when they lose Ms. Frizzle and have to rely on her notes to learn about the Solar System and find her, she has written down the statement "Arthur, are you still listening?"

* A sketch in ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' has a reluctant barber play a tape of hair-cutting sounds and small-talk:

::In his defense, it was a reasonable guess.

** This, of course, is [[HandWave handwaved]] by the fact that Delta is the Alpha AI's logic unit, and so explained that he used logic to predict what Church would ask his recording. He just happened to be remarkably accurate.

*** The tape wasn't really a recording, though. It was a magical [[AWizardDidIt something]] Pegasus made so they could hold their duel. It is heavily implied that they were communicating in real-time thanks to it. The "for show" duel when he calls a random kid on the audience to play for him and writes down all the moves he has to make to win, though, is a more than straight example. Also justified in that his eye can see both the oponent's mind and both their decks, plus [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem he created the game]][[hottip: well, technically the game in general dates back to ancient egypt, Atlantis, the Nazca civilization, and several other cultures even before that in the other twelve dimensions, but he created the specific format of the 21st century Earth card-based variant]].

* In TerryPratchett and NeilGaiman's ''GoodOmens'', Agnes Nutter leaves a box containing her Nice and Accurate Prophecies in the care of several bankers successively to be delivered to her descendent Anathema at the right time. The ones who are tempted to open the box to find out what's inside inevitably find an envelope with their name on it, containing a letter decrying them for not following her instructions and naming something horribly embarrassing or compromising about their life if they don't close the box right now.

** Also, they [[DoingInTheWizard went to the trouble of explaining]] that he had recorded not a conversation, but bits and pieces, and was using some voice-recognizion program to trigger appropiate responses.

* Subverted to the highest degree in the Spanish-language ''Planeta Absurdo'', when the supervillain tape begins to adress two characters who, at the moment, are busy playing a tabletop game. And made even weirder because said supervillain is supossed to be a precognitor.

** A couple of scenes later, [[BigLippedAligatorMoment a limbo band shows up]], and the guard on tape is seen dancing along to the music.

*** The tape wasn't really a recording, though. It was a magical [[AWizardDidIt something]] Pegasus made so they could hold their duel. It is heavily implied that they were communicating in real-time thanks to it. The "for show" duel when he calls a random kid on the audience to play for him and writes down all the moves he has to make to win, though, is a more than straight example. Also justified in that his eye can see both the oponent's mind and both their decks, plus [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem he created the game]].

* In TerryPratchett and NeilGaiman's ''GoodOmens'', Agnes Nutter leaves a box containing her Nice and Accurate Prophecies in the care of several bankers successively to be delivered to her ancestor Anathema at the right time. The ones who are tempted to open the box to find out what's inside inevitably find an envelope with their name on it, containing a letter decrying them for not following her instructions and naming something horribly embarrassing or compromising about their life if they don't close the box right now.

** WordOfGod: Actually, half-subverted. It's a possibility the author didn't consider, but...it makes sense.

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* In ''LiarLiar'', a tape was being played in a courtroom as evidence. Carrey (playing an attorney in the movie) says that there's no proof the man his client is heard having sex with isn't her husband, right before she says "You're so much better than my husband!"

* In ''FerrisBuellersDayOff'', Ferris prepares one to answer the intercom if anyone rings the doorbell at his house.

* ''FightClub'' has one that's not a tape, but works on the same principle:
-->'''Narrator:''' You guys are making a mistake.
-->'''Cop:''' You said you'd say that.
-->'''Narrator:''' I'm not Tyler Durden!
-->'''Cop:''' You said you'd also say that.
-->'''Narrator:''' (beat) OK, I am Tyler Durden. We are aborting this mission right now.
-->'''Cop:''' You said you'd ''definitely'' say that.

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* In ''TheMagicSchoolBus'' book about the Solar System, when they lose Ms. Frizzle and have to rely on her notes to learn about the Solar System and find her, she has written down the statement "Arthur, are you still listening?"

* A more overtly magical version in StephenKing's ''NeedfulThings''. Leland Gaunt leaves a tape for his [[TheDragon Dragon]], Ace Merrill, giving instructions for what he should do. When Ace considers ignoring the instructions and just stealing Gaunt's stuff, the tape starts up again on its own and threatens him. It's at this point that Ace realizes that the tape player isn't even plugged in.

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** In "The Parting Of The Ways": The Doctor's recorded message to Rose: at the climax of the message -- and only then -- the recording seems to know that Rose has moved and turns to face her. This was intentional on the part of RussellTDavies.

* Hyde does this to Jackman in {{Jekyll}} (written by the same writer as ''Blink''): being a SuperpoweredEvilSide, he knows exactly how Jackman thinks.

* In ''{{Lexx}},'' all of history is a StableTimeLoop, with each [[EternalRecurrence Cycle of Time]] connected to the last by the Time Prophet: a psychic who can see the future as it occurred in the previous cycle. When a petitioner asks her about some mineral deposits, she instead recites a message to Stanley Tweedle, knowing that 5000 years later, he will accidentally trigger an archived recording of this session during a crisis. (And when he forgets one digit from the address she has him memorize, she shouts it at him the moment he turns the tape back on.)

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** WordOfGod: Actually, half-subverted. It's a possibility the author didn't consider, but...it makes sense.

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* In a ''[[JusticeLeague JLA]]'' story arc, the Justice League went back in time and got killed. Nightwing assembles a back-up League as per Batman's instructions. When the new team is brought together, they watch a video Batman made for them. Green Arrow starts ranting at some point, to which video Batman yells, "SHUT UP, QUEEN!"
* Not a tape, but in X-Factor v.3 #200-201 Longshot gets a reading off a bobby pin to find out where Sue Reed has disappeared to. [[spoiler:He ends up in Latveria, having a conversation with Layla Miller. Layla is not actually there, but is replying to Longshot because she knows what he will say.]]

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** [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-315 SCP-315]] is a set of 95 of such videos, though each of them is one-use only.

-->'''That Chick:''' Oh, by the way, this has been an answering machine the whole time. Leave your message after the beep! * beep!*

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* In one ''{{Zits}}'' strip, Jeremy comes down to breakfast with a series of cards, each answering questions his mother asks (like, "How do you want your eggs?") in order. Jeremy's mother eventually grows tired of this, saying, "I'm not as predictable as you think. Jeremy's next card: "Wanna bet?"

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* TheFrantics: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFldBVWFgWo Last Will and Temperament.]] Boot To The Head! ''Every'' Boot To The Head. Perfectly timed with statements to get subjects to drop their BOOT TO THE HEAD * WHATHONK* guard.

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*In ''LiarLiar'', a tape was being played in a courtroom as evidence. Carrey (playing an attorney in the movie) says that there's no proof that it was the voice of his client, right before names are said on the tape.

* ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' predated Colbert with a similar gag in the episode "Hush". When everyone in Sunnydale lost the ability to speak, Giles used an overhead projector and pre-written transparencies to brief the Scooby Gang on the Gentlemen, the demons responsible for stealing Sunnydale's voices. At one point, Buffy and Willow mime separate suggestions of how to dispose of the Gentlemen, and Giles immediately displays transparencies explaining why the plans wouldn't work.

** But fails epically when he start scolding Cuddy as she enters his room, while facing to the wall. Only, it's a janitor... the Cuddy only enter some later, as House starts the scolding again, ''with the very same words''. Living tape on!

* Dr. Cox pulls this on JD in an episode of ''{{Scrubs}}'' with a video, in order to rant at him without needing to be present. JD sheepishly switches off the television, but it suddenly switches back on by itself, complete with an admonishment for doing so.
**That's a fantasy. [[SarcasmMode JD has them sometimes.]]

* This troper uses instant messaging extensively at work, and has an IM client that warns him when someone has just started typing, but haven't sent, a message. More often than not, I have a fair idea what someone is going to say, or ask, and have fun freaking people out by answering them in advance. To the point where several people are utterly, genuinely convinced I have hacked their computers, or have secret cameras somewhere.

*** Not only that, but Lelouch and [[spoiler: Schneizel]] scarily similar in terms of personality. It must be easier than you'd think to trick a super-genius if you yourself are ''also'' a super-genius with lots of similar, and some identical, traits to the super-genius you want to out-super-genius... SoYeah.

** Well, if he ''didn't'' he'd be dead... SoYeah...

*In LiarLiar, a tape was being played in a courtroom as evidence. Carrey (playing an attorney in the movie) says that there's no proof that it was the voice of his client, right before names are said on the tape.

* A variant in ''{{Primer}}'': Aaron [[spoiler:records all his conversations before traveling back to the first day of the storyline, then listens to them and repeats his lines to ensure that everything goes as before. The ploy is revealed when Abe travels back and takes his past self's place--he deviates from the original conversation, resulting in Aaron responding to something he didn't say.]]

* Semiexample in {{Discworld/Thud}}; there's an ancient recording of the dwarf king talking about peace with trolls, and a warhungry dwarf listening shouts that it must be a fake, a trick. The recording then says that there will be people who think this is a fake, a trick.
* In The Magic School Bus book about the Solar System, when they lose Ms. Frizzle and have to rely on her notes to learn about the Solar System and find her, she has written down the statement "Arthur, are you still listening?"
* Not a recording, but a more medieval fantasy example occurs in the Rhapsody series by Elizabeth Haydon. When one character's estranged brother sends a diplomatic envoy to speak to him, the diplomat has a series of papers, with the brother's anticipated responses to everything the character says. The diplomat is finally caught off guard when there was no pre-planned response to the man actually saying "Thank You."

* A variant in Daniel Suarez' {{Daemon}}. The Daemon is nothing more than a set of computer programs (admittedly, highly advanced) written by Matthew Sobol before his death. However Sobol programmed enough flexibility contingencies into it that it can react to every threat presented to it with an appropriate response. The preprogrammed [=CGI=] "doppelganger" of Sobol is sophisticated enough to have conversations with people to a limited degree. (It can be confused by statements to which it has no appropriate response, in which case it will inform you that you need to re-frame your query.) Justified since in general, people (and companies, and governments) can be very predictable, and Sobol was a genius and master of XanatosRoulette.
* In Pratchett and Gaiman's GoodOmens, Agnes Nutter leaves a box containing her Nice and Accurate Prophecies in the care of several bankers successively to be delivered to her ancestor Anathema at the right time. The ones who are tempted to open the box to find out what's inside inevitably find an envelope with their name on it, containing a letter decrying them for not following her instructions and naming something horribly embarrassing or compromising about their life if they don't close the box right now.

* In ''TheITCrowd'':
** Denholm not only knows enough to be prepared for his son to show up, but enough to know that he'll cause a fuss and start flirting, and prepare a specific tape for that circumstance.
** Also with Roy's troubleshooting audiotape, which answers the tech support phone by asking "Have you tried turning it off and on again?". Created out of sheer exasperation with the number of people whose problems can be solved with this.

* ''Nowhere Man'' has an episode where Thomas Veil finds a pirate broadcast show that mirrors his own situation. When he goes to the show's producer, the man eventually leaves the room and Veil goes to the tape recorder on which he'd been dictating the plot of the next episode. After rewinding it, he starts the tape, which talks about how the hero grabs a tape recorder, rewinds it, and starts it.

* In ''Definine Article'' Eddie Izzard does a bit wherein a tape teaching French corrects the listener. "'La plume du mon oncle est bingy bongy dingy dangy.' The tape would go, 'Non! Oh non! La plume du mon oncle ne ''pas'' bingy bongy dingy dangy!!'"

* In the {{Eroge}} SnowSakura, the main character's father sends him tapes like this repeatedly including, in one [[MultipleEndings ending]] [[spoiler:sending him a wedding ring needed to propose to his Love Interest (and [[KissingCousins cousin]]) weeks before its needed, and orchestrating the entire proposal ''via tape''.]]

* In a Loading Ready Run [[http://loadingreadyrun.com/videos/view/82/prepared-interview video]], someone records their half of an interview beforehand.

* A frequent LooneyTunes gag. Typically the character would respond to a radio news announcement, and the radio would answer back, somewhat sarcastically.
* The Dilbert television series had an episode in which Dilbert talks to a tape recording of his mother, during which he angrily asks if he's so predictable that she can tape her half of the conversation ahead of time. He is. To the point where it tells him to put back the soup can he tries to steal.