Line #34 Main/CantGetInTroubleForNuthin


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14	%% Have only one Quote per page, Please.
15
16	->''"What does a guy have to do to get nicked in this town? What does a man have to do to get some attention 'round here?"''
17	-->-- '''Tez "technically you could call me a serial killer" On Toast''', ''WebVideo/KateModern: The Last Work''
18
19	A character wants to get in trouble, either for their own reasons ([[MischiefForPunishment such as enjoying]] [[{{Unishment}} the punishment]] or to [[GetIntoJailFree get access to a prison]]) or to [[{{Frameup}} frame someone else]]. This trope is a combo inversion of CantGetAwayWithNuthin and SelectiveEnforcement.
20
21	The first form of this trope is often found in {{doppelganger}}, shapeshifting, and body-switcher stories. A character looks exactly like their archenemy or rival. Instead of moping or trying to revert, they immediately [[FrameUp plan to ruin their enemy's life by getting into all sorts of trouble for which the original will be punished.]] May also occur in a non-fantastic situation, where the character is never seen, but (unsuccessfully) tries to frame the other.
22
23	In the second form of the trope, reminiscent of a SpringtimeForHitler plot, a character wants to be punished in order to escape a worse fate. Perhaps they want to be sent to bed without a disgusting dinner, or maybe a homeless person would rather go to jail than starve or freeze to death outside.
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25	Unfortunately for the story's focus, every single thing they do [[PlagueOfGoodFortune is appreciated by the intended victims]], from telling them their hat looks stupid ("What? Oh! I hadn't realized I'd put on the wrong hat this morning!") to burning down their house ("Thank you! That house was full of crappy artwork insured for well more than it was worth! I can finally buy medicine for my poor children, and a house that doesn't have asbestos leaking from the ceiling!"). This even happens when the character would typically get in trouble with the victims [[HairTriggerTemper for merely imagined]] [[{{Tsundere}} slights.]] The gratefulness is usually in direct proportion to the heinousness of the misdeed. Either that, or the character is typically so lawful and good that the idea of them actually doing something bad is so unthinkable to everyone else that they immediately dismiss the possibility that it's true, and the bad thing is promptly blamed on whatever unlucky schmuck happens to be nearby. They ''had'' to have done it, it's the only explanation that makes sense!
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27	A twist on this that's usually done in comedy situations is when the character keeps trying to get in trouble by doing ''big'' misdeeds and failing, but eventually commits a ''small'' one by accident (jaywalking and littering are common examples) and ''then'' gets what they wants.
28
29	Occasionally the character will find that the person they are impersonating is the TokenEvilTeammate, so anything cruel that they do comes off as ''nicer'' than usual. May overlap with PokeThePoodle. See also GetIntoJailFree and KarmaHoudini.
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31	This plot can be tweaked by having the characters' opponents realize what he is attempting and seek to frustrate him, preventing him from being arrested, or making sure to remove the very point of why he wants to be in prison.
32
33	Contrast UnintentionallyNotoriousCrime.
34
35	----
36	!!Examples of the first type:
37
38	[[foldercontrol]]
39
40	[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]
41	* In ''Film/AngelOnMyShoulder'' the soul of gangster Eddie Kagle is placed in the body of Judge Frederick Parker by the devil, with instructions to destroy Judge Parker's reputation. However, everything Eddie tries ends up making him look ''better''.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Webcomics]]
45	* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': the first arc involving Ellen (Elliot's misguided OppositeSexClone). She wanted to get Elliot in trouble at school, but threatening bullies didn't result in any punishment, insulting the principal caused him to realize the insults were accurate, and trying to pick an inappropriate topic of discussion [[PokeThePoodle when the topic wasn't inappropriate enough]] just led to a situation that was overwhelmingly embarrassing for Ellen instead.
46	* ''Webcomic/LeagueOfSuperRedundantHeroes'': Bad Good Girl [[http://superredundant.com/?comic=566-a-cause-for-villainy seethes]] at how great her alter ego Good Girl's rep has gotten and decides to do something to ruin it. So she beats up some random happy-looking guy on the street.
47	-->'''Good Girl:''' Turns out he was a '''wanted serial killer'''! The Mayor is giving me a medal tomorrow!
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Western Animation]]
51	* Happened on the FreakyFridayFlip episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius''. Jimmy and Cindy failed each other's tests and then tried to damage each other's reputations.
52	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'' featured Jake and his sister Haley swapping bodies. While waiting for a chance to undo it, Jake tried to destroy her good reputation while she tried to ''build'' him a good reputation he'd not like.
53	* Not a mystical or lookalike version, but often in ''WesternAnimation/BabyLooneyTunes'' and similar spinoffs, one character (usually Sylvester or Daffy) would try to frame another character (Bugs or Tweety Bird, respectively) without being seen. Usually, this would be seen as a misguided yet heartfelt attempt at kindness, such as planting a tree in the middle of the living room rug on what just happened to be Arbor Day.
54	* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': The only reason Danny ever overshadows people, aside from information gathering.
55	[[/folder]]
56
57	----
58	!!Examples of the second type:
59
60	[[folder: Audio Drama]]
61	* In the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' drama ''Doing Time'' (part of ''[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho142TheDemonsOfRedLodge The Demons of Red Lodge and Other Stories]]''), the Doctor gets arrested, and Nyssa tries to get arrested as well in order to get into the prison. She steals a bracelet from a jewelry stall, but the stall's owner turns out to have stolen all his wares anyway, so he's arrested and she's released. Then she tries breaking into a warehouse but manages to choose the only empty one on the estate. When she ''is'' arrested, it's because she was framed.
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Comic Books]]
65	* Both types are a fairly common plot in ''ComicBook/TheBeano'', such as Dennis the Menace disguising himself as Walter and pulling pranks to try and get him into trouble, or Roger the Dodger trying to get himself grounded in order to escape revenge from the last set of people he's pranked.
66	** One ''Oor Wullie'' strip has him reading ''ComicBook/TheBeano'' ([[FakeCrossover also published by DC Thompson]]) and deciding to emulate Dennis the Menace, but every time he tries to pull off a prank, it turns out to be beneficial (such as a water pistol attack missing and watering his mum's flowers). By the end, his parents are asking him why he can't be this helpful all the time.
67	* One ''ComicBook/LuckyLuke'' comic has the Daltons try to break into a maximum security prison where they think a huge treasure is buried. When they see how heavily defended it is (Gatling guns and all) they instead try to get arrested, not knowing that it's actually used as a base of operations by the corrupt mayor, arranging for dangerous criminals to be sent there to work for him, so he always lets them off with a scolding and a pat on the cheek (Averell liked it). And when the Daltons finally break in, it turns out the idea of treasure was never there to begin with: their cellmate told them about it so as to get rid of their snoring.
68	[[/folder]]
69
70	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
71	* Sometimes given as an explanation for Wally's behaviour in ''{{ComicStrip/Dilbert}}''. He knows that his severance package would be greater than his future wages, so he's trying to get fired. The company know this as well, so they just put up with him. This is based on [[TruthInTelevision an actual colleague of Scott Adams at Pacific Bell]].
72	* At the beginning of a weeklong arc in ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot'', Roger declared that he was going to take Jason golfing after school the following day, never mind that Jason was clearly utterly uninterested in the game. The final panel of the Monday comic that week showed Ms. O'Malley, Jason's teacher, on the receiving end of a hailstorm of paper darts, yelling "Jason Fox, are you ''trying'' to get detention!?" (His scheme failed.)
73	* In a 2020 ''ComicStrip/GasolineAlley'' arc, a family of thieves break out of prison and start work on a new con. When it doesn't work out they break back in, but find out their sentence is over. After this, they try robbing a grocery to get back in, but the storekeeper just feels sorry for them.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	[[folder:Fan Works]]
77	* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': In "The Clouds," Soapy's attempts to get himself arrested so he can spend the winter in a warm jail cell are continually thwarted. He tries vandalism, petty theft, and playing the caddish masher, all to no avail and at times resulting in his receiving AmusingInjuries.
78	* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12998962/1/The-Dark-Lady-Tonks The Dark Lady Tonks]]'', [[Literature/HarryPotter Tonks]] repeatedly fails at getting recognized as a dark witch because people keep mistaking her various criminal activities for good deeds (like trying to kill someone with a reducto to the head, only for the guy to turn out to be a death eater who himself was trying to assassinate Amelia Bones).
79	* The ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII'' fanfiction ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/394020/1/The_Zors_Pizza_Chronicles The Zor's Pizza Chronicles]]'' has a sequence in which the main characters decide to die and go to Hell because there's a creature there that can be used to [[spoiler:revive Aeris]]. In order to get there, they need to do something bad first before dying, but Cloud finds that everything he tries backfires - for example, snuffing out Cosmo Candle at Cosmo Canyon, only to be congratulated by a parent whose kids were always getting burnt by the flames.
80	[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
83	* ''Film/AmericanPsycho'', both the book and the movie. Patrick Bateman commits a series of heinous crimes including chasing a hooker with a chainsaw, going on a shooting spree, blowing up several police cruisers, and hiding in his office as a helicopter searches for the perp. While hiding, he phones his lawyer and confesses to everything, but later on, nothing has come of this. He meets his lawyer, who laughs the whole thing off and mistakes him for someone else. Bateman becomes angry (who had just called "Bateman" spineless, after all, Patrick Bateman couldn't pull off a murder, let alone about 20), informs the lawyer that he IS Bateman, and insists the crimes actually happened. He is apparently saved again when the lawyer informs him he had dinner with someone he supposedly killed just a few weeks ago, tells Bateman he no longer finds this funny, and leaves. Bateman slinks down in his chair and delivers a speech about how there are no more barriers to cross, etc. In both the book and the movie, Bateman is shown to suffer from hallucinations and other psychotic (duh) episodes. It is left unclear whether he really does embody this trope, with the reason being that everyone is so interchangeable to each other that they can't notice when someone dies, or whether he imagined the whole thing.
84	* In ''Film/AnAmericanWerewolfInLondon'', the titular werewolf realizes what he is and tries to get thrown in jail for the night, to no avail.
85	* The main plot of ''Film/{{Bamboozled}}'' is an example of this trope. The main character is a Black producer who wants out of his job at a television studio. So he creates the most racist show possible called the ''Mantan: The New Millennium Minstrel Show'', hoping he'll get fired. [[SpringtimeForHitler Instead of the show offending people, it becomes a huge hit making the producer rich, much to his shock and disappointment]].
86	* The protagonist of ''Film/CemeteryMan'' has a job that involves shooting zombies in the head when they rise from the graveyard where he works. By accident, one day he kills someone who wasn't already dead. Nobody believes him when he tries to come clean to the cops. [[spoiler:The entire last act of the movie is him performing more and more depraved acts in a desperate existential attempt to write his own destiny. The denials from the authorities as to his guilt get more and more bizarre.]]
87	* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/{{Chopper}}'' as mass murderer Mark Reade confesses to shooting a man in self-defense to the police, and brings in the murder weapon. When the police don't believe him, he claims that he has "Never been as insulted in his whole life". He later laments that he used to be a dangerous criminal and now can't even get arrested.
88	* ''Film/HoubaOnTheTrailOfTheMarsupilami'': Pablito is trying to get thrown in jail to join with Dan Geraldo and help him escape. However, when he pretends to steal an old woman's bag a few meters away from policemen, the corrupt cops aren't paying attention and [[NeverMessWithGranny he just gets a few cane strikes for his troubles]].
89	* [[PlayingWithTropes Played with]], briefly, in ''Film/LastActionHero''. The newly self-promoted BigBad gets his hands on a magical ticket that lets him escape [[ShowWithinAShow his movie]] into the "real" world. Soon after, he sees two kids mugging, possibly killing, a third to steal his shoes. Befuddled by this (and the fact that they weren't instantly arrested like in the {{Troperiffic}} movie he came from) he goes to a nearby garage and shoots the mechanic. Then twice more. Then loudly shouts through the streets of New York, "I have murdered a man and would like to confess!" Someone yells back "[[RefugeInAudacity SHUT UP, we're trying to sleep!]]" Cue AsideGlance and an instantaneously hatched diabolical scheme.
90	* In ''Film/LaughterInParadise'' (and its 1970 remake ''Some Will, Some Won't''), Captain Russell has to spend 28 days in jail in order to [[OnOneCondition inherit 50,000 pounds]]. He makes numerous attempts to get arrested for minor offences and fails in all of them. For example, he very obviously shoplifts only for a pickpocket to steal the loot off him seconds before he's nabbed by the store detectives.
91	* PlayedForLaughs in ''Film/TheNewGuy'', as Diz constantly tries to get expelled from his school so he can get a fresh start at a new one, but the guidance counselor is a HippieTeacher, so he never actually gets in trouble... until [[FelonyMisdemeanor he breaks a mop in front of the Principal]], who expels him immediately for vandalizing school property.
92	* In ''The Noose Hangs High'', Creator/AbbottAndCostello try to commit a crime to GetIntoJailFree. It doesn’t out work so well because they target the wrong people (e.g. stealing something from a guy who stole it himself).
93	* ''Film/ThatManFromRio'': Adrian rescues his girlfriend Agnes when she's abducted in Paris and spirited away to Rio, where she drags him into an adventure with one hair's-breadth situation after another. As they're driving to Brasilia in their underwear (getting caught in a fierce storm shortly before) he has enough and pulls into a police station. He turns himself in, running off a list of offenses -- entering their country without a passport, using a plane ticket he stole from an old pensioner, getting into fights with several people, including policemen, indecently dressed, and driving a stolen car -- but as he speaks French the policeman doesn't understand a word. Adrian throws his hands up and exclaims "Nothing -- just Rio and Brasilia!" and the policeman cheerfully points the way. Back on the road, he mutters "I should take up crime!"
94	* In ''Film/ThreeOClockHigh'', Jerry tries to avert a fight with a bully by getting himself suspended. His efforts to offend his English Lit teacher backfire when [[spoiler: she falls for him]]
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Jokes]]
98	* An odd Jewish story/joke has a dead man turned away from Heaven on the grounds that he's ''never sinned,'' which the system wasn't designed to cope with. He's returned to Earth and given one day to commit a sin so that he can get past the Pearly Gates. Unwilling to do anything really evil, he wanders around in increasing desperation until finally a woman propositions him. They sleep together, but in the morning he freezes in terror when she tells him he did "such a good deed last night."
99	* In a joke from Communist Eastern Europe, a man is so desperate he tries to get into prison. At first, he tries by stealing bread from a (state-run) bakery -- but the employees just pity him, knowing well enough how much it sucks to be hungry. Then he goes to a bookshop and steals the collected works of Marx and Engels -- but the employees are glad to finally get rid of those doorstops. Now he is so desperate he walks into a party meeting and shouts: "Down with Communism!" After which he gets reprimanded: "Are you crazy? Can you imagine what would have happened to you [[FlockOfWolves if there was a single real Communist in here]]?"
100	[[/folder]]
101
102	[[folder:Literature]]
103	* ''Literature/TheBookThief'' has Liesel blow up in outrage at Ilsa Hermann when she tells her she can no longer afford to send her laundry out for Rosa to clean. After Liesel yells at Ilsa, she feels terrible about it and decides to tell [[ApronMatron Rosa]] what she's done in hopes of getting punished. Much to her frustration, Rosa (who is usually a very strict disciplinarian) tells Liesel [[ObliviousGuiltSlinging she doesn't believe she'd say such horrible things.]] The narration notes that Liesel would have rather gotten a beating.
104	* In the Creator/OHenry short story "The Cop and the Anthem", Soapy the bum wants to spend the winter in jail rather than on the street, but can't get arrested for anything. [[spoiler: That is, until the end of the story, where he decides to get a job just before his arrest for loitering.]] This story was adapted into a Freddy The Freeloader sketch on ''The Red Skelton Show''.
105	* In Terry Pratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' series, there is a character named "Done It" Duncan, for his habit of telling the city watch, "Whatever it was, I done it!" in order to be given a bowl of soup and a night in jail out of the cold. They never believe him, but sometimes let him stay anyway, because his [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial suspiciously specific denials]] make him a pretty good informant ("it was me that done it, not Coatface's boys like everyone says").
106	* In ''[[Literature/DoctorDolittle Doctor Dolittle's Return]]'', Dr. Dolittle tries in vain to get himself thrown into jail so that he can write his book in peace and quiet. When he finally succeeds, the animals break him out and he has to start over again.
107	* In one of the sequels to ''Series/DoctorInTheHouse'', a character tries to deliberately fail his final medical exam. (If he passes, he will be obligated to marry a woman he no longer loves.) He attempts to deliberately fail the written exam but, never having failed a test in his life, finds he is unable to deliberately write down wrong answers. He gets drunk before his final oral exam and refuses to answer one of the questions. The examiner then realises that he has been using that diagnostic example too much and thanks the student for drawing it to his attention. At this point, he might still have passed if he had not then thrown up on the examiner.
108	* The ''Literature/DrThorndyke'' novel ''Mr. Pottermack's Oversight'' contains a comedic sequence in which the SympatheticMurderer tries to get rid of his victim's wallet by deliberately taking it places that are notorious for pickpockets, only to find that when he wants his pocket picked nobody seems interested.
109	* Invoked in the ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' spin-off novel "Life Signs" when the crew have to infiltrate a high-security prison to find a doctor who may be able to treat Inara's terminal illness. As the crew's only doctor, Simon Tam has to join them on the planet, but Mal Reynolds notes that Simon is too clearly not the kind of person who would normally commit a crime serious enough to merit him being sent to a prison like this. With that in mind, Simon's cover story when asked why he's in this prison is that he was framed for embezzlement while working in an office.
110	* ''Literature/TheGoodSoldierSvejk'' features a character called Friedrich Welfer, who receives a yearly allowance until he gets his doctoral degree. Since this allowance is bigger than his payment as a doctor would be, he purposely prolongs his studies as long as possible. However, when UsefulNotes/WorldWarI breaks out, he has to take a "military exam", and receives his doctorate despite writing "Lecken Sie mich am Arsch!" (meaning "Kiss my ass") to every question.
111	* What starts off ''Literature/HentaiPrinceAndTheStonyCat''. The main character Youto Yokodera is a complete pervert and is doing actions to get a sexual thrill. However, all of his actions in doing so are thought of as good deeds (such as he polished the tile floors of the school so as to see girls' panties in the reflection he is rewarded for cleaning the school).
112	* In ''Literature/JoyInTheMorning'', Bertie Wooster tries everything to get Florence Craye to call off their engagement. Finally he kicks her beloved little brother in the pants, and she thanks him: he had destroyed some of her scrapbooks, and she was going to kick him herself.
113	* This is essentially the plot of the short story "The Misguided Halo", in which someone gets a, well, halo due to a celestial bureaucratic mix-up. This being not exactly a desirable fashion accessory for a mid-20th century businessman, he attempts first to cover it up (the only hat he can find that's large enough is a piece of a marching band costume that the dog has been using for a bed, so it's both unsightly and stinky) and then to get rid of it by "sinning". Except that everything he does is taken by the angel who gave him the halo in the first place to be either a good deed or an attempt at one.
114	* ''Wringer'' has Palmer deliberately getting detention so his "friends" (who take great pleasure in killing pigeons) won't see his pet pigeon follow him home. Played straight when he confesses to spitting on the floor (the first time) and she forgives him (to his dismay). Subverted when he spits again and promptly lands himself in detention.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
118	* ''Series/ThirtyRock'': After attaining A-list celebrity status, Tracy desperately wants out. He tries disgracing himself publicly, but all of his boorish antisocial antics are embraced as the quirks of a genius artist by an adoring public.
119	* In ''Series/TheATeam'' episode "[[Recap/TheATeamS1E4ProsAndCons Pros and Cons]]", the team investigates a prison where inmates are forced to fight the death. To get into the jail they plot to get themselves arrested. When BA drives dangerously, the team acts drunk and insults the police they are let loose because the {{Dirty Cop}}s already have federal heat on themselves. So Hannibal demands the keys and drives their van through a window of the sheriff's office.
120	* In an episode of ''Series/Batman1966'', the Penguin, acting as a respected restaurateur as part of a FalselyReformedVillain scheme, has considerable difficulty when he actively ''tries'' to get thrown in prison so that he can consult an expert forger criminal colleague. When he was finally sent to prison, he learned [[spoiler: the colleague was just getting released]].
121	* An episode of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' had the VictimOfTheWeek in the B plot turn out to have been a homeless man. He tried to get sent to jail (for free food and shelter) by punching a police officer. Said officer realized what he was doing and left him handcuffed, apparently failing to realize this would lead to his death.
122	* In ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', during the period when [[StarCrossedLovers Niles was married to Mel, but knew Daphne loved him back]], Mel would only agree to a divorce if he showed himself up as a rude, boorish man whom ''she'' wanted rid of. Nothing he attempted worked: for instance, when he made comments about someone having a drinking problem, he was praised for his insight and courage in speaking up, and the man immediately swore off alcohol.
123	* In ''Series/GetSmart''
124	** Max has to [[GetIntoJailFree get into jail]] to retrieve a microfilm off a convict... all his attempts to get arrested backfire, but he finally gets caught for littering - he gets the sentence he needs by insulting the judge.
125	** Max has to lose a lot of money gambling so KAOS will think he can be bribed. Unfortunately he keeps winning instead. Then he tries to stage a drunken brawl with the Chief, but the KAOS agent is distracted each time, so he has to keep breaking SoftGlass bottles [[ButtMonkey over the Chief's head]].
126	* Some of the members of the eponymous club in ''Series/{{Glee}}'' try to improve their reputations by getting in trouble. Even an impromptu musical in the library just gets praise from the librarian and an invitation to perform at her church.
127	* On an episode of ''Series/ICarly'', Carly and Sam are planning a big 50th-webcast show. Sam gets detention for the night on which the show was being held, though, so Carly and Freddy decide to broadcast the show from detention. Trouble is, no matter what they do, it backfires (Carly pulls a fire alarm; there was a real fire. Freddy graffitis a window; it gets washed off. Carly breaks a teacher's chair; she's so happy that she gets a paid vacation she doesn't investigate. Freddy grabs the principal's phone and slams it to the ground; Principal Franklin has recently gotten a new phone advertised to be MadeOfIndestructium.) Eventually, Carly gets detention for slamming her locker in frustration from the failed attempts of getting in trouble, from a SadistTeacher, and Freddy hides in a closet.
128	* On an episode of ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Reese wanted to avoid going to a formal dance with his girlfriend so he tried to goad her into a fight by insulting her. When that didn't work, he deliberately got himself grounded but his mom saw right through the plan and told him he was grounded after he went to the dance. Finally, he admitted to his girlfriend that he didn't want to go and she told him that he made a promise so he was going to have to attend and, after that, she would break up with him.
129	* ''Series/TheMiddle'': In "The Last Whiff of Summer", Sue attempts to get attention from her father by deliberately misbehaving so he will have to punish her. However, her attempts to be a 'bad girl' fall solidly in PokeThePoodle territory and Mike fails to even notice.
130	* In a Polish comedy/slice of life show ''Series/{{Ranczo}}'' (eng: the Ranch) the main antagonist, [[HarmlessVillain village mayor]], gets himself elected to Senate and has at least a few instances of it, like going to his first day of job utterly shitfaced and having a meltdown how terrified of this new responsibility he is. Another one is showing up to a talk show having (this time accidentally) taken drugs and under their influence proclaim his head hurts in the middle of a debate and walk out. In both cases, his reputation rises because public opinion finds him pretty relatable.
131	* In an episode of ''Series/TheRedSkeltonShow'', Freddie the Freeloader wants to get sent to jail for Christmas because it's nice and warm, and he likes the people there. But no matter what he does, he can't get there. Then he meets someone who gives him the incentive to remain on the outside. Only then does he get dragged off to jail.
132	* In ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', George needs to be fired from the Yankees to get a more lucrative title with the Mets but is actively praised for wearing/damaging Babe Ruth's clothes and 'streaking' during a ballgame in a flesh-colored body suit. In the end, by dragging George Steinbrenner’s World Series trophy around the stadium’s parking lot with his car, he finally manages to do something that would have gotten him fired, except that Mr. Wilhelm barges in at the last second to take credit for it and get himself fired because he was up for the same Mets job.
133	* ''Series/SoAwkward'': In "Parentology", Martha feels abandoned by her workaholic mother, so she tries to get into trouble at school to be noticed, with the help of Jas. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it seems, with Lily--who is usually just standing on the sidelines--usually copping the blame.
134	* In the earlier seasons of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', Sam is rather disgruntled by the fact that, despite their tendency to pull the exact same stunts in pursuit of the MonsterOfTheWeek, Dean is the one who builds up an impressive criminal record while Sam's name doesn't even appear in any legal database. Despite the advantages in the, you know, [[BuffySpeak not-getting-arrested]] department. Dean finds the entire situation amusing.
135	-->'''Dean:''' "You innocent, harmless young man, you!"
136	* In ''Series/YoungDracula'', Ingrid pulls the fire alarm at school, setting off the sprinklers at the same time, in a deliberate attempt to get suspended so she can prove to father how evil she is. A horrified Vlad shows up and turns off the alarm... just in time to get blamed for setting it off.
137	%%* There have been ''at least'' two comedy programs that have involved people trying to get into prison for some reason by deliberately pulling a fire alarm when they knew there was no fire - only for a fire to break out in the area shortly before the fire department arrives.
138	[[/folder]]
139
140	[[folder:Music]]
141	* Mike Rutherford's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CgzRhjweSI "Couldn't Get Arrested."]]
142	[[/folder]]
143
144	[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
145	* Comes up sometimes when a heel with a title is desperately trying to retain it by getting himself disqualified. No matter what he does -- hitting his opponent in the crotch, using a foreign object, slapping the referee, or just getting himself counted out - an authority figure (assuming it's a face) will just keep restarting the match with no disqualifications. (Of course, this often ends up playing right into the heel's hands, since [[TheUnfettered he can now do whatever he wants short of murdering his opponent with no consequences]], so maybe it's a subversion.)
146	** A notable occurrence was in a late 2006 edition of Smackdown when Undertaker and Kane, known as the Brothers of Destruction, wrestled as a tag team for the first time in five years against newcomers Montel Vontavious Porter and Mr. Kennedy. MVP and Kennedy tried to walk out and get counted out, only for Theodore Long to restart the match with no countouts. Shortly after, they got themselves disqualified, leading Long to restart the match again with no disqualifications or countouts. From then on, it was a one-sided match with Undertaker and Kane utterly destroying the heels, to the massive approval of the audience.
147	[[/folder]]
148
149	[[folder:Theatre]]
150	* The plot of the 1938 musical ''Theatre/LeaveItToMe'' involved a bathtub manufacturer being made an ambassador to the USSR as an unwanted reward for campaign contributions and trying various schemes to get himself recalled.
151	[[/folder]]
152
153	[[folder:Video Games]]
154	* The goal of the Jester in ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'' is to get lynched, so Jesters try to act as suspiciously as possible to get themselves voted up (the town doesn't want to deliberately eliminate Jesters because they kill one person who didn't vote innocent). Of course, it's entirely possible that either the town is [[TooDumbToFool too oblivious to pick up on the hints you're dropping]], or the person you randomly accused of being mafia (you're going to look ''very'' suspicious if you push to get a townie, especially a powerful role, lynched) really ''is'' a member of the mafia, resulting in the town thinking you're a capable investigator and keeping you alive.
155	[[/folder]]
156
157	[[folder:Webcomics]]
158	* Although Florence in ''Webcomic/{{Freefall}}'' had previously been jailed just for her association with a wanted criminal, when she tried turning herself in for tampering with a global robot update ([[TheFettered because she's strongly conditioned]] for being lawful and good), the robotic police were too generous.
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Web Original]]
162	* An amusing thread on Platform/FourChan talked about a GM doing this to wangsty [[AntiHero anti-heroes]] that were getting on his nerves.
163	-->'''Player:''' Eternally I fight a war on two fronts. I must protect the city, and I must battle the inner demons of my own cruel desires! What are we up against this week?\
164	'''GM:''' [[RefugeInAudacity The Kruel Klown Koalition]]. They're racist clowns. With mutant battle-koalas.\
165	'''Player:''' Damnit! [[KickTheDog I go burn down an orphanage.]]\
166	'''GM:''' They're all [[ComicBook/FantasticFour skrull]] infiltrators. You make the front page of the Times for your heroism.
167	[[/folder]]
168
169	[[folder:Western Animation]]
170	* This happened in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AngelaAnaconda'', where Angela forgets to wear green on St. Patrick's Day. She tries to get detention so that she can avoid getting pinched during recess, and fails each time. She manages to escape this fate when she turns her jacket inside out to green.
171	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheBatman'', a new vigilante named "Rumor" starts catching and imprisoning all of Gotham's supervillains. To avoid this fate, The Penguin tries to get arrested by Batman, only for Batman and Robin to ignore him as he pretends to steal a priceless painting.
172	* In the ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars'' episode "Bleu Cheese Bros", Lawrence Limburger takes over a prison so he can get more minions by recruiting the convicts and deliver the soil to Plutark. Throttle, Vinnie, and Modo try to get themselves arrested by destroying a building and running a red light, but the building was scheduled to be demolished anyway and the police were prevented from arresting them for running a red light because of a report of a jailbreak.
173	* In season five of ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'', Mr. Peanutbutter wants to be seen as a "tough guy" who can be believable as the tough protagonist of his dream project. His insults are seen as tough love and by committing battery, he accidentally realigns one guy's shoulder and fixes another's strabismus.
174	--> Smoking Rhino: You are truly a kind and approachable character.
175	--> Mr. Peanutbutter: And tough?
176	--> Smoking Rhino: Tough not to love, you big galoot!
177	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' has Darkwing trying to get arrested so that he can [[GetIntoJailFree infiltrate a prison for supervillains]]. After repeatedly failing in his attempt to commit crimes, he is finally arrested [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin for jaywalking]]. (The police officers only agree to send him to the super-prison when he demonstrates that he can also do scary shadow puppets.) When Darkwing put on the supervillain costume he was wearing when he was arrested, he joked he should be arrested just for wearing such a ridiculous outfit, [[HilariousInHindsight and that was, in fact, the reason he was arrested for jaywalking]]. Made even more hilarious when you realize the police, and thus the super-prison, are on HIS side, so infiltration should have been trivial for him.
178	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Detention}}'' centered around the kids who normally got detention trying ''not to,'' and Shelley Kelley, a TeachersPet who never got it, was ''trying'' to get it. Everything the poor girl did only resulted in praise... deflate all the basketballs? Great, now they'll fit through the baskets easier. Flood the gym? "We've been meaning to clean that. Thanks!"
179	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Detentionaire}}'', Lee crosses the 13th Graders, [[TheDreaded The most feared students at A. Nigma High]], by wandering into their territory following a clue. They demand that Lee fight them at 3:15 after school, but Lee isn't initially worried due to his year-long detention taking place at that exact time. He only starts to freak out when [=VP=] Victoria gives Lee an amnesty day due to a clause in the student charter ([[spoiler:With TheReveal of Victoria's [[BitchInSheepsClothing true nature]], this might have been intentional]]). His first plan is to intentionally get into trouble, first by starting a food fight, and then by putting framed pictures of himself in the trophy case. This fails to get him detention because both Barrage and [=VP=] Victoria don't believe he did it, citing that he just got a detention-free day, why would he do anything that might endanger that? When getting in trouble doesn't work, Lee's second plan is to try and frame the 13th Graders, but that doesn't work out either. In the end, Lee decides to just man up and fight them.
180	* In ''WesternAnimation/DudleyDoRight'', the titular character tries to get kicked out of the Mounted Police so that he can [[FakeDefector infiltrate Snidely Whiplash's gang]], but everything goes wrong, from "You blew up the dam! The irrigation problem has been solved!" to "You burned down that building! We had been trying to tear it down for years and never got around to it!". He finally does manage to get in trouble, though...[[spoiler: by eating his peas with a knife]], something no Mountie should ever do!
181	* In ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', Bloo wanted to be sent to bed without the awful, casserole-like dinner Frankie was trying to make. Unfortunately for him, everyone else got the blame because Herriman had hidden [[ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin a stash of carrots]] in his room and didn't want them discovered. Bloo ended up eating ''all'' of the dish. The way Frankie insisted upon this implies she considered it his actual punishment.
182	* ''WesternAnimation/KampKoral'': In "[[Recap/KampKoralS1E7WhatAboutMeepHardTimeOut Hard Time Out]]", Patrick's antics get [=SpongeBob=] sent to TimeOut, leading Patrick to try to get sent there too to keep his friend company. When he spills a trash can, Krabs doesn't care because he found a fully wrapped candy bar inside. Patrick then releases a swarm of urchins, but they eat all the trash and leave the camp cleaner than before. Even him wrecking the outhouse by driving it into the lake doesn't bother Krabs because it needed to be cleaned anyways. Patrick then throws his neckerchief on the ground, and [[DisproportionateRetribution this]] is what gets him in time out.
183	* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' had the titular character going to detention because [[spoiler:Ron had Rufus in the entire high school all along]] while getting the girl in trouble with her principal, Mr. Barkin.
184	** Also subverted when the titular character had cheerleading practice [[spoiler:as her dad appears, not knowing that there is a hole in his car made by the robotic Bebes while they capture the wrong person: Ron Stoppable (disguised as Mr. Dr. Possible) only to be brought to her arch nemesis, Dr. Drew Lipsky (often known as Dr. Drakken).]]
185	** Often Subverted as her parents punish her for lying during Halloween and losing trust in Ron Stoppable (as Dr. Drakken and Duff Killigan were arrested)
186	** Subverted in the 2005 movie as Kim and Ron rescue Mr. Dr. Possible from Dr. Drakken (shortly before she and Monique went shopping).
187	** Also subverted as Camille Leon (disguised as Kim Possible) snuck into Club Banana (without Monique's permission) and stole the designs so she could make pirated clothing, framing the teenage girl (a la ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit''). Camille Leon's evil plan of making pirated clothing was foiled as Ron finds out that his girlfriend is the real thing (and not a fake and a flake) (similar to Flash the Wonder Dog from ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers''). Unfortunately, Mr. Barkin was also arrested by the fashion police for [[spoiler:crossdressing as a queer Bluto-esque woman with a rubber chicken]] as his actual punishment during the end of the episode, aptly titled "Fashion Victim".
188	* There was a ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' episode where Hank tries to get arrested so he could apologize to Bill, who was in jail and refusing Hank's visits. Hank, being the by-the-book stick-in-the-mud that he is, attempts this by first jaywalking in front of a cop (who was busy writing a parking ticket and didn't notice), and then by entering a convenience store with two cops inside, taking off his shirt, and pointing to the "No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service" sign (the cops told him that's not a law, just store policy, and the cashier said he never enforces it). The thing that finally does the trick is when he gives a parked (empty) cop car a very light bump from behind with his own truck.
189	-->'''Cop:''' ''[slamming Hank against the jail cell door]'' You scratched the bumper sticker from my daughter's school, ''jackass''!
190	** In another episode, Bobby and Joseph are trying out a book full of pranks but they keep accidentally achieving positive results. For example, trying the classic salt shaker spill on Connie causes a nearby girl to invite her to lunch.
191	* ''WesternAnimation/LittlestPetShop2012'' had Blythe Baxter driving without a license (similar to Mia Thermopolis in ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'') but a police officer prevented the 13-year-old girl from driving a truck filled with sweets (while rescuing her LPS friends), making Roger Baxter (her dad) punish his daughter by [[spoiler:taking away her cell phone]] but fails as her LPS friends recover it (while he is not looking) and film a reenactment of the same incident earlier (while using the same sweet truck), with Roger Baxter in hot pursuit, thus destroying his dummy racing buddy. He soon apologizes and joins his daughter in a race [[spoiler:as forgiveness]] at the end of the episode.
192	* On ''WesternAnimation/TheMarvelousMisadventuresOfFlapjack'', Flapjack tried to make enemies, but everything he did ended up making him new friends.
193	* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/PepperAnn'', Pepper-Ann wanted to get into detention (which she normally does) to keep her friend who got detention company, by doing nothing but wearing a bucket on her head and dancing like a moron in all her classes. She fails to get detention but is referred to the school counselor.
194	* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePinkPanther'' concerned the titular character trying to get sent to prison so he can get a Christmas dinner.
195	* A vintage ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' cartoon has Popeye and Bluto trying to injure themselves so they'll be ministered to by nurse Olive - to their frustration all their attempts are thwarted by dumb luck. Popeye finally pulls out a can of spinach and force-feeds it to Bluto, who becomes a dynamo of flying fists. Popeye ends up happy in a body cast as Bluto looks on jealously.
196	** In the series where Bluto was renamed Brutus, Olive was a {{sculpt\|ors}}ress wanting a beaten-down person to model for her.
197	** In another remake of the original plot, Popeye ended up being ejected from the hospital because it was for dogs and cats. Bluto started barking while Popeye made cat sounds. The two of them were taken to "Happy Valley Screwball Institute".
198	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheProudFamily'' episode "Pulp Boot Camp" Penny wants to go undercover as a bad girl for a journalism assignment. She figures the best way to do this is to get sent to detention. She tries graffitiing lockers, drawing funny mustaches on school photos, and even pulling the fire alarm with a bunch of signs pointing to her. None of these work, but walking in late to class finally does.
199	* In the ''WesternAnimation/RatedAForAwesome'' episode "Club Detention" the guys started a club to make detention more fun, but since Thera never gets in trouble she couldn't join and no matter what she tried she couldn't get detention. It later turned out that [[spoiler:the vice principal was making up her own crazy rules to keep the guys in detention and eventually expel them, and she was giving Thera special treatment because she's an honors student]].
200	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow'' have the titular characters attempting to go to jail, thinking that they'd get treated a whole lot better. They do this by trying to ''break in''. The warden, though, just laughs off their attempts... until [[NiceJobBreakingItHero they destroy the warden's stuffed dog.]]
201	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', Homer tries to get himself disabled so he can work at home, but he doesn't get hurt. At one point, he walks around a hardhat area with no helmet and falling stuff keeps missing him. A wheelbarrow full of bricks falls on someone else, prompting Homer to quip "Probably better that ''didn't'' hit me."
202	** In another episode, Bart, who is known to cause trouble 24/7, tries to cause mischief but every single attempt backfires with him winding up doing good deeds.
203	** In the episode where the family moves so Homer can work for Hank Scorpio, Bart is transferred to the special-ed class in his new school, where he's surrounded by a bunch of Ralphie [[{{Expy}} expies.]] When the rest of the family lists their grievances and ask Homer to go back to Springfield, Bart mentions that not getting in trouble due to his status as a special-ed student is one of the reasons why he wants to move back.
204	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''
205	** In the episode "Breast Cancer Show Ever", Cartman deliberately gets detention so that he can avoid having to fight Wendy Testaburger after school.
206	** In the episode "Death Camp of Tolerance", Mr. Garrison knows he will win a huge cash settlement if he sues for discrimination, so he begins acting stereotypically gay in class in the most inappropriate ways possible (even bringing in a sex slave and spanking him), hoping that he'll get fired for his behavior and then be able to file a lawsuit for discrimination against homosexuals. Instead, the faculty and the parents of the students praise him for his "courage" in refusing to be closeted. When Mr. Garrison insists to them that his behavior is offensive and should be punished, they finally ''do'' punish him... by sending him to the Death Camp of Tolerance for being a BoomerangBigot.
207	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
208	** In the episode "Bossy Boots", Pearl goes to work for the Krusty Krab during her summer vacation and makes multiple changes to the restaurant that effectively ruin her father's business. As it turns out, all the changes she made were because she was deliberately ''trying'' to get fired, as working at the Krusty Krab is "cutting majorly into her social life", but Krabs simply didn't have the heart to fire his own daughter. So [=SpongeBob=], who was sent to fire her anyway, "pretends" to fire her so she could go and enjoy her summer vacation.
209	** In "Doing Time", Mrs. Puff ends up [[KarmicMisfire being sent to jail due to Spongebob's reckless driving]]. A guilt-ridden [=SpongeBob=] enlists Patrick to help him break into jail to get Mrs. Puff out. Their first attempt at it, robbing a bank, fails because they're not ''remotely'' threatening as bank robbers.
210	* In one ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}}'' cartoon, [[BigBad Simon Barsinister]] tries to lure the hero into his DeathTrap, but first he has to gain his attention. So he and his henchman Cad decide to simply rob a bank. Unfortunately, Underdog is busy stopping a far bigger disaster, which takes priority, so while Simon and Cad get away with a fortune, they fail to make the hero show up. Then Barsinister decides to try robbing a toy store, hoping that such a heartless act will make Underdog come running. Again, the hero has to be elsewhere, saving actual lives, so the villain fails to make him show up (and winds up with a lot of toys he doesn't need). Finally, Simon decides to kidnap Underdog's girlfriend [[ActionGirlfriend Sweet Polly Purebread]], and ''that'' works. (Of course, Underdog ''wasn't'' busy this time, and he ''has'' been known to put her on hold in other episodes if there's a bigger crisis to deal with.)
211	* Lucky Lydia, in ''WesternAnimation/WhatACartoonShow'', was dared into kicking an old man's back. When she tried to apologize for this, he told her it put it back into place and he not only thanked but also ''paid'' her for this.
212	[[/folder]]
213
214	[[folder:Real Life]]
215	* Operation Greylord was a Federal Investigation into corruption amongst cops, lawyers, and judges in Chicago. The FBI wanted to send fake cases through the system as a sting to see if the targets would offer to let them buy their way out of trouble. So, they had federal agents impersonate drunk drivers all over town, trying to bait the CPD into arresting them. This proved maddeningly difficult, as the cops kept telling them to go home and sleep it off.
216	* [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_L%C3%B3pez_(serial_killer) Pedro López]], a Colombian {{serial killer}} claimed to have made over 300 victims across three countries, confessed to his crimes as early as 1978 — but was told off and released. The denial continued until a flash flood unearthed a mass grave containing many of his victims.
217	* Reportedly, Robert Beltran was so fed up with his commitment to ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' that he was willing to do ''anything'' to get fired, including asking for ridiculous pay raises; deliberately phoning in performances; and publicly accusing showrunner Brannon Braga of being gay. He even tried to have his character Chakotay enter a romance with Seven of Nine, played by [[RomanceOnTheSet Braga's girlfriend Jeri Ryan]], hoping to get Braga jealous enough to fire him. Unfortunately for Beltran, none of it worked: he got his raises; nobody cared about his performances; Braga just went along with the accusations; and Chakotay actually got a steamy relationship with Seven.
218	* When Creator/TomSka signed a brand deal with [=SurfShark=] VPN, he was shocked to find that they had a SurprisinglyLenientCensor, and started acting unprofessional in numerous ways just to find out what their limit was. This included name-dropping rival brands in the middle of videos, adding in crude jokes that hadn't been approved, doing the most AbusiveAdvertising he'd ever done, and only communicating via memes and [=GIFs=], but none of it made any impact. His contact at [=SurfShark=] even started sending [=GIFs=] back!
219	* Donny Osmond tells the story of being encouraged by his agent to rack up a minor arrest or two to get rid of his squeaky-clean image as a young adult. On one occasion, he saw his chance while walking ahead of a random cop, so he turned back nervously and started running. The cop stopped him but let him go as soon as he saw the name on his ID. Osmond later recounted that while it's long been said that a would-be actor "couldn't even get arrested in Hollywood", he had never heard of it being literally true until it happened to him. Unfortunately for his youngest sister ''Marie Osmond'', he was released from prison.
220	[[/folder]]

Context Main / CantGetInTroubleForNuthin