History Main / WholePlotReference

* ''TwelveAngryMen'' is another stock plot that's been much copied. It's been done on ''TheOddCouple'', ''HappyDays'', and ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' just to name a few. The former is interesting in that series star Jack Klugman was in the original film. While it might not be the original example, many examples of the RogueJuror trope will probably call upon this in some way.

* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' did ''Film/{{Poltergeist}}'', ''Film/BackToTheFuture'' and ''RockyIII'', as well as ''FamilyGuyPresentsLaughItUpFuzzball'' for ''Franchise/StarWars''.

* ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' also did this with a whole episode based off of ''TheDaVinciCode''. And one for ''JamesBond'' (or perhaps that style of spy fiction in general, it's hard to tell). They also once did ''Film/WhatsEatingGilbertGrape'', with squirrels.
** Lampshaded in "Return of the Bling," which is (as the name suggests) a ''LordOfTheRings'' parody. At the very end, Roger bites one of Stan's fingers off for no apparent reason. When Steve demands to know why, Roger just shrugs and says "They did it in the movie."
* ''{{Jimmy Two-Shoes}}'' had "I Am Jimmy", the first half of which was parallel to ''Film/IAmLegend'', with Jimmy and Cerbee being the last man and dog in [[{{Hell}} he]]-- Err, "Miseryville".
* ''{{Sealab 2021}}'' played this trope straight... on ''itself''. The show is a comedy "sequel" to ''Sealab 2020'', starting out simply with footage from the latter show being [[GagDub Gag Dubbed]] to episodes with increasing original animation. However, one episode, "7211" had the new voice actors re-dubbing a ''Sealab 2020'' episode verbatim, letting the original's boring plot and surreality of the situation play out for laughs. [[spoiler: Sealab still explodes at the end, of course.]]

* ''PinkyAndTheBrain'' did a parody of ''Film/TheThirdMan'' titled "The Third Mouse". This was just one of many Orson Welles in-jokes added into the show due to the Brain having [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed a vocal similarity to the actor.]]

* The ''{{Fillmore}}'' episodes "A Cold Day at X", "Two Wheels, Full Throttle, No Brakes" and "Immune to All But Justice" were essentially kid-friendly versions of ''Film/AssaultOnPrecinct131976'', ''GoneInSixtySeconds'' and ''LethalWeapon2'' respectively.
** Of course ''{{Fillmore}}'' as a whole is referencing every late 60's/early 70's Quinn Martin detective show.
* ''{{Rugrats}}'' did a an episode based on ''Literature/FlowersForAlgernon'', replacing Charly's temporarily heightened intelligence with Chuckie's [[FlowersForAlgernonSyndrome temporarily heightened sense of smell]], and an ItsAWonderfulPlot episode. There's also one where Angelica and Susie remade ''ThelmaAndLouise''.

* ''KidsNextDoor'' has done this many times, usually the genre of film can be discovered by the character in the lead role. Numbuh 5 is whenever it's a straight adventure film (''Franchise/IndianaJones'' or ''Pirates''). Numbuh 2 has become the star of various horror flick parodies. Anything in a genre that borrows from JamesBond goes to Numbuh 1.

* The ''StarWarsTheCloneWars'' episode "Senate Spy" shamelessly rips off Creator/AlfredHitchcock's ''Film/{{Notorious}}'', swapping [=CGI=] Anakin Skywalker & Padme Amidala for CaryGrant and IngridBergman.

* ''MartinMystery'' has done this at least twice, with ''Film/TheThing1982'' and ''Franchise/EvilDead''.
* ''CourageTheCowardlyDog'' did its own rendition of ''Theatre/TheNutcracker''...taking place in a dump.
* ''{{Minoriteam}}'' had "Evilfellas", a brilliant episode-long take on ''{{Goodfellas}}'' and ''{{Casino}}''. The action is moved to a circus world, with a MonsterClown filling JoePesci's roles. "[[MemeticMutation Funny, how]]?"
* The plot of the ''ThomastheTankEngine'' episode "Edward and Spencer" is reminiscent of ''The Tortoise and the Hare''.

** In ''Read it and Weep'' most of the episode is spent recounting a book that Rainbow Dash is reading. The book is essentially ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' , with ponies.
** "Dragonshy" is basically Literature/TheHobbit with Fluttershy as Bilbo and Twilight as Gandalf. [[FridgeBrilliance The first sign of the red dragon?]] [[StealthPun Smog]]

* ''RegularShow'' - the episode "High Score" is a WPR towards the documentary ''King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters'', with GBF being an {{Expy}} of real-life video game champion Billy Mitchell.
** The episode "Video Game Wizards" is a another towards TheWizard. They even have a power glove like device that turns to be a dud.

* TheBardOnBoard (anything by WilliamShakespeare)

** The episode ''Cape Fear'' deserves special mention for it's loving homage to...uh, ''Film/CapeFear''--both the original and the remake. This episode established the 'the film's main theme as Sideshow Bob's {{leitmotif}}, and it's fair to say that the music is now remembered more as Bob's theme than it is the film's.

* ''GarfieldAndFriends'' was very fond of these, especially in its ''US Acres'' sequences.

* ''{{Rugrats}}'' has an episode where Tommy's maternal grandfather tells them the story of Passover, which the babies imagine themselves in, while a later episode did the same with the story of Hanukkah. Another episode involves Suzie dreaming she is Dorothy from the ''Wizard of Oz''

* ''Series/{{Stargate SG-1}}''
** The season 7 episode "Fallout" was basically ''Film/TheCore'' [-[[RecycledInSpace ON LANGARA!]]-] and [-MINUS {{HOLLYWOOD SCIENCE}}!-]

** [[VideoGame/SoulSacrifice Soul Sacrifice]] revolves around horrific creatures that were once men (and animals) born from profane magic, which is spread by [[DealWiththeDevil a shining, innocent-looking entity.]] The only way to kill said monsters is to use said magic, which will end up transforming YOU into a monster eventually for others to kill in an endless cycle. Souls, despair, and hope are all central to the story, as despair is what triggers the transformation from man to beast. [[spoiler: The main storyline also involves a HoYay -filled relationship between two sorcerers, one of which locks himself into an endless loop in order to save his 'dear friend'.]] [[Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica Yeah,]][[RunningGag it's that kind of game.]]

* ''[[SeltzerAndFriedberg Epic Movie]]'' was essentially the storyline of ''The Chronicles Of {{Narnia}}: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' with a ShallowParody of everything else they could think of bolted onto it. Likewise, ''Meet The Spartans'' did the same for ''[[ThreeHundred 300]]'', as did ''Disaster Movie'' for ''{{Cloverfield}}'' and ''Film/VampiresSuck'' for both ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' and ''NewMoon''.
* Similarly, most of the first ''ScaryMovie'' follows closely the plot of ''Film/{{Scream 1996}}'' (with some scenes from the second and a slew of late 90s horror in-between) and the second is mostly based on ''Film/TheHaunting1999''. (the others have the main plot being an amalgalm instead, with the third being a mix of ''Film/TheRing'' and ''Film/{{Signs}}'', and the fourth mixes ''Literature/TheWarOfTheWorlds'', ''TheVillage'', ''TheGrudge'' and ''{{Saw}}'')
* ''OBrotherWhereArtThou'' is based off of Homer's ''Literature/TheOdyssey''. Although the entire plot is only loosely similar, there are certain parts that mirror the source material quite closely, such as the cyclops and the sirens.

* The ''{{Fillmore}}'' episodes "A Cold Day at X", "Two Wheels, Full Throttle, No Brakes" and "Immune to All But Justice" were essentially kid-friendly versions of ''Film/AssaultOnPrecinct13'', ''GoneInSixtySeconds'' and ''LethalWeapon2'' respectively.

* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' received much praise for its visuals, but criticism for its storyline being basically a retelling of (pick one [[XMeetsY or more]]) ''DancesWithWolves'', ''AManCalledHorse'', ''Film/TheLastSamurai'', ''FerngullyTheLastRainforest'', ''AtlantisTheLostEmpire'',''PrincessMononoke'', ''Nausicaa'', ''CallMeJoe'', and/or ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}''.

* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' received much praise for its visuals, but criticism for its storyline being basically a retelling of (pick one [[XMeetsY or more]]) ''DancesWithWolves'', ''AManCalledHorse'', ''Film/TheLastSamurai'', ''FerngullyTheLastRainforest'', ''AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' and/or ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}''.

* The original ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Classic}}'' and its sequel, ''Galactica 1980'', succumbed to this several times. It wasn't so much homage or parody as... wholesale plot theft, usually in response to the Dreaded Deadline Doom. Example: "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero" came from ''TheGunsOfNavarone''.

* ''RedDeadRevolver'', as a game where the ShowdownAtHighNoon is a frequent occurance, has a quickdraw tournament in the vein of ''TheQuickAndTheDead''.

* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' received much praise for its visuals, but criticism for its storyline being basically a retelling of (pick one [[XMeetsY or more]]) ''DancesWithWolves'', ''AManCalledHorse'', ''TheLastSamurai'', ''FerngullyTheLastRainforest'', ''AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' and/or ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}''.

** ''Film/ThroneOfBlood'' was basically ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' in medieval Japan

* The plot of ''IpMan 2'' heavily borrowed from that of ''RockyIV''. This includes: a rival-turned-friend killed in a fight against a foreign fighter, the main character trained to avenge his death, and the fact that the fighter in question was supposed to be an unbeatable juggernaut. Ip Man himself went as far [[spoiler: as giving a speech promoting tolerance like Rocky did after he won the match]].

** They also dished out a {{Hangover}} episode.

* The original ''OuterLimits'' did "haircuts" (as the production team called them) of "Literature/BeautyAndTheBeast" ("The Man Who Was Never Born") and ''Theatre/{{Macbeth}}'' ("The Bellero Shield"). Coincidentally, both episodes starred Martin Landau.

* The plot of the MarvelComics villain miniseries ''Identity Disc'' is taken directly from TheUsualSuspects.

** The episode ''Cape Fear'' deserves special mention for it's loving homage to...uh, ''Film/CapeFear''--both the original and the remake. This episode established the remake's main theme as Sideshow Bob's {{leitmotif}}, and it's fair to say that the music is now remembered more as Bob's theme than it is the film's.

** The episode ''Cape Fear'' deserves special mention for it's loving homage to...uh, ''Film/CapeFear''--both the original and the remake. This episode established the remake's main theme as Sideshow Bob's {{leitmotif}}, and it's fair to say that the music is now remembered as Bob's theme than it is to the film.

** The episode ''Cape Fear'' deserves special mention for it's loving homage to...uh, ''Film/CapeFear''--both the original and the remake. As a result of the episode, its fair to say that the movie's main theme is now more associated with Sideshow Bob than it is with the film.

** ''BubbaHoTep'' - "Return Of The King"

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' has an entire episode based on the movie ''Ladyhawke'', down to the eclipse. It's {{lampshaded}} by Prue: "I swear I saw this in a movie once."

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'' did a few of these. Notably, a season one episode was a take on ''Film/{{Ghost}}, with a young man killed by gangsters as part of a larger conspiracy and sorting out the mystery behind his death with Piper's help (who becomes a CompositeCharacter of Oda Mae and Molly), and a season three episode that's essentially ''Film/LadyHawke'', complete with lovers who are separated thanks to one turning into a wolf by night, and the other a hawk by day.

* "Battle Aboard the St. Anne", and "Pokemon Shipwreck" two episodes of a three-part arc on the [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Pokemon anime]], were directly inspired by ''ThePoseidonAdventure''.

* There's a series of [[strike:manga]] illustrated stories that transform a lot of fairy tales into yuri, and twist the ending. For example, "Literature/SnowWhite" ended with the eponymous character living with the seven woman and "Literature/TheLittleMermaid" ended with the protagonist falling in love with her [[BrotherSisterIncest sister]] since the princess was a flirt who didn't notice her.
* ''Anime/{{Pretear}}'' is ''Literature/SnowWhite'' made into a MagicalGirl series.

* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' received much praise for its visuals, but criticism for it's storyline being basically a retelling of (pick one [[XMeetsY or more]]) ''DancesWithWolves'', ''AManCalledHorse'', ''TheLastSamurai'', ''FerngullyTheLastRainforest'', ''AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' and/or ''Disney/{{Pocahontas}}''.

* ''{{Rugrats}}'' has an episode where Tommy's maternal grandfather tells them the story of Passover, which the babies imagine themselves in, while a later episode did the same with the story of Hanukkah. Another episode involves a Suzie dreaming she is Dorothy from the [[strike:Lizard]] ''Wizard of Oz''