History Main / ViewersAreGoldFish

* Also used in ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}: Blood Curse''. The episodes are so short you wouldn't normally stop after just one, yet they remind you of what you just did twenty minutes ago. Now if you were playing the episodes as they came out, this was mildly helpful and made sense, but if you're playing the boxed console release today it can get annoying.

* ''Manga/{{Gintama}}'' mocks the tendency of [[ShonenDemographic shônen anime]] to do this mercilessly by, after recapping the basic, [[WidgetSeries Widgetish premise of the series]] in the first several episodes, Shinpachi inexplicably decides to do so once more... a hundred or so episodes later. Gintoki yells at him for it, and Shinpachi explains that viewers who've never tuned into ''Gintama'' before might be confused about [[ViewersAreGeniuses what the series was smoking up till that point]]. But 1) viewers who have never tuned into ''Gintama'' [[ArchivePanic probably shouldn't start trying to watch the series after a hundred or so episodes]] (though CommitmentAnxiety isn't entirely an issue), and 2) this entire scene was [[StockFootage likely repeated]] (with different dialogue) [[StockFootage to save up the anime's budget once again]]. ''Gintama'' pulls this trick often by having the voice actors speak over [[StockFootage a still of the Yorozuya apartment]], oftentimes {{lampshad|eHanging}}ing or directly stating that they were doing so in the same scene. Though when a serious plot arc comes around, they have a tendency to pull the same stunt other shônen anime do as well.

** The secpmd Italian translation of the manga, which was made for the 3-in-1 release in 2021, has a penchant of reminding the reader via footnotes that the card effects seen in the manga aren't always the exact same as in [[TabletopGame/YuGiOh the real card game]]. ''Every single time a card is played''. Even if the effect is the same, but the text of the manga version is not ''an exact match'' of its real life counterpart. This means that you can be reminded of the exact same thing for like ''30 times'' in a single volume.

* In the second half of ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'''s second season, every single episode reintroduces every character with BossSubtitles stating their names and Quirks, because in the span of a week between each episode [[SarcasmMode anyone would forget every single character's name]].

* This seems quite normal for most book series, as the new books sometimes come after months, if not years. It's just really glaring if you read the books within a few weeks; for example, the [[Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt Drizzt Do'Urden]] novels are notorious for it. Also in the ''Literature/WarOfTheSpiderQueen'' hexalogy which was writen by six different authors under the supervision of seventh one (who wrote the Drizzt novels). One of these books used this even inside itself, sometimes within the same chapter, to the point where it got annoying.

* ''Literature/OneQEightyFour'' has a habit of repeating information when it isn't neccessary. For instances where it's Tengo repeating back something Fuka-Eri said, it makes a certain sense since Fuka-Eri's odd speaking style can be difficult to understand exactly what she means. But discriptions of character appearances are given several times within the same section with seemingly no reason other than to pad out the word count.

* On the subject of wizards named Harry, the early ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books were pretty bad about this. Rowling liked to remind readers of pretty much anything important that happened in earlier books. Even things like mentioning that Harry is going to school to become a wizard. Arguably the most awkward example was when one of Harry's textbooks reminded him of what a Muggle is. By the fourth book, this had tapered down, and it stopped completely around the fifth book.

* ''Radio/AmericanTop40'' and ''Radio/AmericanCountryCountdown'': Especially with the classic shows, at the top of one of the hours, the host will announce new affiliaties and sometimes afterward he'll state, "If you're joining us for the first time, this is (name of show), where we count down the top 40 hits of the week, from 40 all the way to No. 1." This was, again, for the benefit of listeners who may have actually be listening one of the shows for the first time.

* Despite airing sequentially, the two parter episodes of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' begin with a recap of the previous episode.

* Although short-term memory loss is often associated with conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's in eldery people, there are certain conditions that can occur even in younger people involving short-term memory loss. Some people have suffered it as a result of trauma or a stroke, they literally forget things immediately after ceasing to think of them and must write everything down to be able to do daily tasks or things like taking a bus or going someplace, and rely on a caregiver for help. Interestingly, long-term memories, things from before the trauma, may not always be affected, though it can.

%%* Haruki Murakami's ''Literature/OneQEightyFour'' is really terrible with this. Have you forgotten what Tengo's ears look like or did you just zone out and not even absorb any of the last ten pages? Don't worry, another summary is coming right up.

* Haruki Murakami's ''Literature/OneQEightyFour'' is really terrible with this. Have you forgotten what Tengo's ears look like or did you just zone out and not even absorb any of the last ten pages? Don't worry, another summary is coming right up.

* ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' is notorious for this - almost every time Edward comes up, his looks get described ''in full''.

** While possible to guess solely through the process of elimination, In 3-5, the correct reason to suspect the killer involves remembering that [[spoiler: his mask glows red in the dark]], which is only really shown through a brief gag two cases prior.

* ''Film/TheRoom'': Let's play a drinking game. Take a shot every time Lisa tells her mother she doesn't love Johnny anymore. Or every time Mark tells Lisa he can't sleep with her because Johnny is his best friend. Or every time someone mentions that Lisa and Johnny are about to get married. Enjoy the hospital visit!

* ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel'': This show is really bad for this. It's particularly annoying for British viewers, because the advert breaks are arranged differently -- a reminder of something that happened ten minutes ago on the show when it is shown in the U.S. may have happened two minutes ago for British viewers. The sepia tone, as though they're showing something that happened in the 1920s and not, like, five minutes ago is what really makes it classic on ANTM.
* ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'': A show praised for being one of the most intelligent on television, succumbed to this later in its run, due to [[ExecutiveMeddling the higher-ups complaining]] the plot was too convoluted for people to follow. So, generally, in the last season the first half-minute after the commercial break is devoted to the narrator summarizing everything else to happen in that episode at speeds that would make the ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle'' narrator blush.
* ''Series/AustinAndAlly'': In the double-length episode "Chapters and Choices".

* ''Series/{{Bones}}'': This show in season 4 injected some jarring recaps ''halfway through each episode'', which were designed to tell viewers what unfolded merely half and hour ago. Even if, say, a viewer jumped in at that point from watching another program, it still seems stupid, simply because ''Bones'' does not take much effort to follow (like any procedural crime drama).
* ''Conmen Case Files'': This show is horrible about this, at least judging from the "Nick Gage" episode. At least 75% of the running time is taken by the narrator endlessly repeating that Nick Gage is, in fact, a conman, and that he has, in fact, conned people, and that these people have lost money. To this conman. Who conned them. For their money. That were conned away. By Nick Gage the conman.

** Does this all the time. First you see the crime scene, then they talk about the evidence, then they process it in the lab and remember collecting it, then they talk about why it matters and when someone has a EurekaMoment, they show you which specific piece of evidence was important.

* ''Series/DeadliestWarrior'': This Spike TV show has a major case of this. After every single part of the analysis of the "warriors", there's a recap of the whole episode up to that point. Then again, the show isn't particularly intellectually challenging in the first place.

* Creator/DisneyChannel: Practically every show on this network nowadays feels the need to have the show's logo appear in the bottom right corner of the screen after they return from commercial break. 'Cause, you know, we somehow didn't see the "We're back" bumper telling us which show this was. Though that's really more there for if people are recording the show. It's just as annoying, though.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' did this in its series 8 premiere. When Clara is trapped among the cyborgs, she recalls the Doctor's words from literally just a few minutes ago: "They're not breathing...how long can you hold your breath?" in order to let viewers know why she suddenly takes a deep breath and holds it.
* ''Series/FlashForward2009'' has repeated Mark and Olivia Benford's flashforward at least once per episode, more or less beating the viewer over the head with reminders that he's drinking and she's cheating. Word is that viewers might have ExecutiveMeddling to thank for this. Unsurprisingly, the more popular storylines tend to involve characters whose flashforward was only shown once, or who didn't have one at all.
* Game shows – The host will explain [[RulesSpiel the game's objectives and requirements to win]], even though viewers may know them by heart (especially if the show has been on for a long time); likely, this is a Standards and Practices requirement.

* ''Series/HannahMontana'': Has done this before, in the ToBeContinued hour-long specials such as "Jakey Breaky Heart" and "Should I Neigh or Should I Go?" Justifiable, however, in one regular episode, because it was from the second or third season, and Miley was having a flashback from the beginning of the first season.

* ''Series/HoratioHornblower'': "The Duel" (aka "The Even Chance") of this mini-series has a minor example from the script, as the writing had its hits and misses. Archie Kennedy is constantly shown as Horatio's particular friend among the midshipmen. It's a first episode and SayMyName didn't achieve the highest numbers as in subsequent parts, but it clearly established that Archie Kennedy and Horatio are friends. Archie's lost during a BoardingParty because the villain of the story untied the boat he was in. When Horatio and said villain duel to death, Jack boasts that he's gonna kill him, just as he killed his little pal Archie. Horatio just wrinkles his forehead, asking: "Kennedy?" Instead of being angry or demanding that they arrest him for confessing to murder. Hornblower and writers, we remember Archie!
* Lampshaded in the first episode of ''Series/JasonKing''. King is pitching his TV adaptation to an American network executive, who insists that he repeat an exposition scene (with the plot discussed by the heroes, then the villains) in case the audience didn't get it the first time.

** Has this in spades. For one example, consider Eloise Hawking: brought up briefly in one episode two seasons before she actually became important. The PreviouslyOn segments showed clips from that episode in the one she reappeared in.

* ''Series/MaddigansQuest'': After "Newton", the flashbacks at the opening to each episode repeatedly reminded us that yes, the Fantasia had in fact managed to get hold of the solar converter. Apparently the fact that most of the cast was spending most of their time running around either trying to steal or protect the thing wasn't enough to keep it in our minds.
* ''Series/MasterChef'': Repeats almost exactly what happened in the previous 20 seconds after every commercial break, leading to an episode that counted down the seconds remaining for the Pressure Test twice.
* ''Series/{{Medium}}'': Always done: Whenever Allison has her [[EurekaMoment ding ding ding! moment]], we get a flashback to earlier in the episode so the show can reinforce the connection she's making -- even if it just happened 20 minutes ago.

* ''Moment of Truth'': This game show suffered from this. Every time they came back from commercial break, they would recap half of the embarrassing questions asked of a contestant already. They would also show extended Coming Up Next segments, recap previous shows, and show clips of upcoming shows in commercials. This resulted in 75% of the show being scenes you've seen FIVE TIMES ALREADY.

** Tends to be an offender whenever they don't have enough [[EducationThroughPyrotechnics TNT]]... uh, material to fill an hour. Segments are usually started by a recap of what happened five minutes ago and ended by a preview of what's coming up next, making about a third of the whole show pure repetition. Granted, it does mean you can tune in at almost any time and not miss a beat, but it also makes the show exceedingly hard to watch on a streaming service. It got especially bad in later seasons, as there began to be fewer myths per episode and therefore more padding was needed to fill out the episode.
** This from the very show that [[JustForFun/TropesExaminedByTheMythBusters debunked the myth of goldfish only having a three-second memory]]. OK, so Adam's tank had about a three-second ''lifespan''....

** ''Series/DealOrNoDeal'' triple-dips in this trope, starting off every episode with a flashback to the previous one, then stopping midway through to recap. Plus each contestant usually has some kind of sob story or noble intention for their winnings, which Howie Mandel will usually point towards the beginning and then harp on incessantly throughout the show.

* ''Series/PoliceSquad'': This was the infamous reason this show was cancelled -- the head of the ABC network thought viewers wouldn't be able to pay attention well enough to get it. It has since become a CultClassic.
* ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'': Does this...not infrequently. Sometimes it seems like a mood-building piece: showing the "[[AliceAndBob Alice learned that Bob had a girlfriend]]" scene as a short flashback, instead of merely recapping it, slowed the action down and caught the emotion better, perhaps. But it's still annoying, especially when we get to see the same "Alice remembers Carol being extremely rude to her that one time, and ''that's'' why they're still on edge around each other, did you forget?" scene in four episodes in a row.
* ''Series/{{Psych}}'': Uses a variation with it's "clue-vision", zooming in and then HIGHLIGHTING the clue Shawn just noticed (or flashing back on a line of dialogue or flashing back and again HIGHLIGHTING a clue as it is noticed). ALWAYS accompanied by Shawn making his squinty-eyed-I-just-found-a-clue-face (Lampshaded as such eventually when Gus points out that, yes, he also saw many of the same clues but never feel the need to make a silly face).
* Creator/GordonRamsay: Try to watch an episode of any show that this man is involved with (like ''Series/HellsKitchen''), and know in your heart that half of the show is recapping what just happened. Worst of all is the "Kitchen Nightmares revisited" episodes, where they go back to restaurants from earlier seasons: Ten minutes of old episode footage/recapping, two of Gordon Ramsay actually revisiting.
* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Averted Trope. Apart from the standard Previously On segments occurring at the beginning of each episode after the pilot, it assumes that viewers have a long-term memory, in the sense that it doesn't repeat flashbacks more than once.
* ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'': Done as a joke later on; J.D. is reminded of incidents that are not perceived as manly. The last flashback is him ordering an Appletini, which happened about fifteen seconds ago.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': Played in the above-referenced manner of using this to get away with blatant retcons. Early season plots are dropped and forgotten without ever being addressed, such as the fact Jor-El had seemingly sent Clark to ''conquer'' Earth; later when Brainiac tries to gaslight Clark by claiming Jor-El was a dictator, Clark acts with disbelief, forgetting that until this point he ''thought'' Jor-El was evil. Likewise, the show would sometimes try to slip in new wrinkles in the backstory, such as the introduction of Veritas, which cannot fit at all with previously established events, but figured that fans just wouldn't remember (making things very awkward when binge-watching the boxset). On a smaller scale, this would even apply in-between episodes, where they would often set up for a cliffhanger of Clark having royally pissed off Lana, Chloe, Lex, or anyone not involved in the {{Masquerade}}, in such a way it seems this is setting up for long-term hostilities, but its instead all completely forgotten about later.
* ''Series/{{Sportscenter}}'': Very frequently, this Creator/{{ESPN}} show will begin with a recap of the sporting event that the network just televised.
* Frequently occurs within one episode throughout the earlier days of the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' franchise, where an ad break will be followed by the CaptainsLog explaining what just happened before the break.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'': Parodied in the 1975 musical TV special ''It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman'', where Doctor Sedgwick sings a song about how his sole motivation is to get revenge on Superman and Switzerland (for turning him down for the Nobel Prize 10 times). It then cuts out midverse and promises that after the commercial it will reveal what terrible thing the doctor wants to do before he dies, as though everyone just missed or forgot him singing a song about how he wants revenge. And tells everyone to stay tuned for Chapter 4: Sedgwick's Revenge.
* ''Series/{{Teletubbies}}'': After the "watching the screen on one of the Teletubbies' stomachs" segment, the Teletubbies always shouted "Again, again again!" The creators invariably bowed to their wishes. Explainable (and arguably justifiable) by the intended target audience being ''under two years old''; some of the research the show was based on suggests the only thing its viewers are expected to take away from it is a vague lifelong sense of familiarity with some of the advertisers' logos.
* ''Series/TruCalling'' often had flashbacks during the second half of the episode to events from the first half. Probably done because, for much of its run, the show's first half hour aired at the same time as ''Series/{{Friends}}''.
* ''Series/{{Unforgettable}}'': The whole premise of this CBS police procedural is that the main character '''[[PhotographicMemory remembers everything]]'''. Evidently, they don't trust their viewers to remember this one-sentence premise, because ''every single commercial for the show'' has to remind them of this fact.
* ''Series/VeronicaMars'': Does a great deal of this, though it is somewhat justified in that its large cast means that characters will fade in and out of view with irritating regularity, leading casual viewers to be reminded of their existence. Add to that that the plot is often so thick with so many sub-plots and red herrings crossing each other that the plot can get very confusing at times. On the other hand, the overly long PreviouslyOn sequences that occur in every single episode except the first make this trope laughable when marathoning the show on DVD, as the PreviouslyOn will remind viewers of plot points brought up a single episode ago. This is especially true when it reminds you of the ending of the previous episode, which you just saw. This is especially infuriating when the same clip is used over and over to remind you of a single plot point.
* Creator/TheWB: This dying network came with a PreviouslyOn stunt that recapped the first half-hour of hourly shows, apparently for the benefit of viewers who were watching other channels for the previous half-hour. Programs subjected to this included ''Series/GilmoreGirls''.

** Whatever happened in the last five minutes of one episode will be recapped in the opening five minutes of the next, and whatever happened in the last minute before a commercial being repeated over the next twenty seconds after. While this can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if it happens between manga chapters, which are published once a week before being collected in volumes, and it can be used to {{show|DontTell}} a character's emotional state or thoughts, more often than not it's just padding.

** Whatever happened in the last five minutes of one episode will be recapped in the opening five minutes of the next, and whatever happened in the last minute before a commercial being repeated over the next twenty seconds after. In one instance, there's a flashback to something that happened ''seconds before''. While this can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if it happens between manga chapters, which are published once a week before being collected in volumes, and it can be used to {{show|DontTell}} a character's emotional state or thoughts, more often than not it's just padding.

* The quote at the top of the page isn't too much of an exaggeration of the ''Anime/{{Naruto}}'' anime, with whatever happened in the last five minutes of one episode being recapped in the opening five minutes of the next, and whatever happened in the last minute before a commercial being repeated over the next twenty second after. Although the actual purpose of this is more {{Padding}} than anything else. Then there are the many, many flashbacks. Often to three minutes ago.
** One of the most painful examples is the Zabuza arc where there were as many as 7 flashbacks in an episode during the final fights. Sometimes even to the episode that had just preceded it.
** Kakashi explained what the Sharingan does and how it works, and repeats it later on in the fight.
** Including, in all seriousness, an exact replica of the page quote. Let me restate that: ''They had a flashback to something that happened seconds before.''
** This happens less often in ''Shippuden'', though, although the Sasuke and Sai arc frequently reminded viewers that [[spoiler:Sasori's last words]] gave Sakura a tip on where to find one of his spies among Orochimaru's followers. The manga does this from time to time, although often as a way of illustrating what characters are thinking about.
** Actually works quite well after [[spoiler:Itach's death. Having a montage of all the good things he's done and finishing with a crying Sasuke (who up until that point, we haven't seen cry outside of a flashback of when he was a child) made a real TearJerker]]. Even if these same flashbacks were repeated numerous times.
*** Can be [[JustifiedTrope justified]] if it happens between manga chapters, which are published once a week before being collected in volumes, though within a chapter it gets a little boring.
*** Additionally, it can also be used as a way of [[ShowDontTell showing]] what is on characters' minds, especially when they're reflecting on something, such as when Kakashi realizes he should go to help Obito save Rin in "Kakashi Gaiden", recalling some of the points Obito and the Fourth Hokage made regarding the rules.

*** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that Yu-Gi-Oh chapters,

** ''Anime/YuGiOhTheMoviePyramidOfLight'' {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this during the Pegasus Versus Kaiba duel, where Pegasus started to ramble off the effect of his card (Cost Down) -- only for Kaiba to butt in and say that he already knows what the card does (though while this would normally be a subversion, Kaiba goes on to give a Cliffs Notes version of the effect anyway, thus making it a LampshadeHanging instead).
** Even though you really only need to see one duel to know what the card "Pot of Greed" does, they ''still'' say "I activate the Magic Card 'Pot of Greed,' which allows me to draw two new cards from my deck" almost every time the card is played. To be fair, the rules of the actual game state that you must announce each action you take right before you take it -- although most players just say "I play X card" and only explain the effect when asked. Then again, real cards also state their effects on them, which at the very least is more than can be said for the card images used in the dub.
*** Mocked to hell and back in ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' where multiple characters insist no one knows what Pot of Greed does.
** The volume forms of the manga can be pretty bad about this. While it would make sense to recap the last climactic action in one-chapter-a-week form, when you read them straight, it turns into:

*** [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in that Yu-Gi-Oh chapters, like many other manga, are released monthly. Thus when a new chapter comes out, it's much easier on the reader to have a quick refresher on something they read a month ago than it is for them to have to look up last month's issue to remember what happened last time.
** The ''Anime/YuGiOh'' {{anime}} did the same thing in the Battle City arc, with Marik explaining [[spoiler:"Those fools don't realize I am Marik!"]] in an internal monologue at least three times per episode.
** Also, in the duels against Arkana and Umbra & Lumis, said characters had to remind their opponents at least once per commercial break that whoever lost would be sent to the Shadow Realm thanks to the spiritual saws/glass. [[NeverSayDie 4Kids really wanted to make its point...]]
** The multi-episode duels are also pretty amusing when it comes to this. The episodes always start with a slow (usually dialogue-free) pan-up of the battlefield, showing the amount of Life Points and stats that each player and monster has; then the cheerleading squad thoroughly explains the situation and telling on how bad it is for [whichever good guy is dueling]; then [good guy] has an internal monologue reflecting about his situation in detail. After this recapping-the-duel-three-times routine, the episode finally starts moving forward. The dub actually goes one step beyond -- [[FillingTheSilence dialogue is added in the slow pan-up]] to explain the game, then the cheerleading squad explains it again, and the monologue (usually more talky than the original one) explains it a third time. Whew.
** There are also a ''lot'' of flashbacks to major events that already happened; due to the duels taking up so much time in an episode with not tons happening, there are sometimes more flashbacks than plot.

* Like many other animes, including ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', ''Anime/{{Slayers}}'' and ''Manga/SamuraiGun'', the anime version of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' split each episode in half for their single commercial break. As a result, immediately after the second half's eyecatch, the episode would replay the last scene of the first half. How jarring this was varied between episodes -- the episode "Cool Runnings! The Race of the Snowmen" was particularly jarring, repeating as it did a minute-long sequence of Cologne mocking Ranma for being foolish enough to challenge her, and Ranma's defiant retort. It also makes you sit through them telling you the plot of the show every time, starting on the second season.
* ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' did the same thing, sometimes making the repeat trivially different.

** The Chaos Emerald four-parter had Sonic getting a new time travel gizmo in each part, and is told each time that they'll "enable him to circle the planet at the speed of light and enter the time warp". A little more grating in the sense that [[StockAudioClip the audio for the line was recycled for the other episodes]]. This WebAnimation/YouTubePoop [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-xkgnzc5mw flat out shows it (skip to 1:04)]]

* Most of ''Literature/The BerenstainBears'' books remind the reader that the title family lives in the big tree house, down a sunny dirt road, deep in Bear Country.

Sort of like how executives think ViewersAreMorons, they also think you have [[ForgetfulJones the memory of a goldfish]], which, according to an incorrect urban legend, lasts about three seconds. Because remembering what happens over the course of a ''whole thirty minutes'' or, god forbid, ''an hour'', is too difficult for [[ThisLoserIsYou your general media consumer,]] there is a handy little device called a {{Flashback}} that can be used to rewind, oh, five minutes or so to say, "Hey! This just happened, moron!" It may also come from an ancient survey that stated that [[WeAllLiveInAmerica Americans]] change the channel 20 times every minute on average.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonExplorers of Time/Darkness'' uses this a lot more than it should. Some of the most memorable scenes get flashed back to multiple times in the same cutscene, any time you escape from danger your partner feels the need to tell you what just happened, the ending cutscene is a collection of flashbacks, and occasionally your own character will flash back to what just happened, have an internal monologue about what just happened, tell the partner what just happened, and then the partner will repeat it back to you.\\
This is especially bad during the longer cutscenes that have one or two breaches so you can save between them. The game assumes that you saved at each break and forgot all that happened. Kind of hilarious when you see your partner reminisce about what happened a few seconds ago in a black-and-white flashback.
** The prequel, ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeonRescueTeam'', is also very guilty of this. At multiple times during the main plot, you will have a meaningful dream, wake up, wonder what that dream was about, flash back to the dream, and then wonder some more. There is no time in between where the player is allowed to save, so the player is guaranteed to experience all of these events in one sitting. That is, unless you experience the dream, let your character wake up, and then leave your handheld to charge for a few days; but it is doubtful the developers were expecting every single player to do this.

* ''Creator/TheABC'' news in Australia finishes their flagship 7pm news bulletin with a, "now, recapping our top stories" 1 minute summary.

* Used in the 1990s ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' cartoon. Justified originally in that it was a Saturday show. Later on, recaps continued to use the early episode clips, while adding ones from later events. This often resulted in only a breath of time being given to the last two to four weeks combined. They also had post-commercial scene replay, which didn't always mirror what had just happened!

** {{Justified|Trope}} in that many of these old stories -- ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'', the [[Myth/KingArthur Arthurian legends]], and so on -- were originally sung ballads from the days when few could read or write, and the repetition helped the person singing the ballad (and the listener, because some of these could be pretty long) remember what happened.

** ''Series/MinuteToWinIt'' takes this UpToEleven in the GSN version, especially in earlier episodes. First, just like ''Deal or No Deal'', each contestant always has some kind of sob story to tell, which is usually showcased early in the episode. Then the show will usually proceed to incessantly derail itself between games and after commercial breaks to remind the viewers of it at every opportunity possible. And with each game, after the Blueprint video explains the game, the host will sometimes recap the rules between the Blueprint and the game, or in a voice-over during the game (although they've gotten better about this variant lately), depending on how much {{Filler}} they need to achieve a CommercialBreakCliffhanger. If there's a commercial break before the game ends (and there frequently is), expect another recap after the break. GSN apparently not only think viewers are goldfish, but goldfish with AttentionDeficitOohShiny. At least the NBC version kept everything exciting all the time so sob stories felt a little more enjoyable. They also related to the game, not some random story that the viewers will forget right after they hear it because they want to watch the game. They also had them coming back from a commercial break, meaning you'll learn about the contestant for about 30 seconds, then get back to the game.

* ''ComicStrip/DickTracy'' spends every Sunday rehashing the previous week's action. Blog/TheComicsCurmudgeon once congratulated ''Dick Tracy'' for going UpToEleven with its recaps; it spent so long in one strip rehashing what happened yesterday that it ended with the plot ''less advanced'' than it had been the day before!