Line #12 Main/HandyRemoteControl


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4	[[quoteright:331:[[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hankscorpio.jpg]]]]
5
6	A handheld variant of the BigRedButton.
7
8	You want to have a character be able to do something like activate a machine or detonate a bomb in a cool way without the need to be right up next to it? The obvious plot solution would be for the character to reach into their pocket and produce a little remote control device. It often has a big button ([[BigRedButton sometimes red]]) to push and an incredible range to activate something miles away. It can also be a PlotSensitiveButton if it does different things depending on the current need.
9
10	This allows a way for the character to show confidently that he's had a trump card all along and was waiting to use it.
11
12	See also the UniversalRemoteControl if you ever want to play god.
13
14	----
15	!!Examples:
16
17	[[foldercontrol]]
18
19	[[folder:Advertising]]
20	* According to one ad for the Advertising/SeattleMariners baseball team, Edgar Martínez has a remote in his car that controls the retractable roof of Safeco Field (now known as T-Mobile Park). He keeps it right next to his garage door opener.
21	[[/folder]]
22
23	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
24	* Lelouch of ''Anime/CodeGeass'' fame is fond of these. He often carries a Handy Remote Control, sometimes shaped like a chesspiece, that lets him detonate strategically-placed bombs, perform basic maneuvers (i.e. opening fire) with a fifteen-foot gun-toting robot, or activate various forms of phlebotinum such as the technology-paralyzing Gefjun disruptor EMP rays.
25	* The Dictator Switch from ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}'' is a gadget which makes any person, animal or object disappear without leaving any trace behind by simply pressing the button. [[RetGone No one remembers the existence of the person who was erased]], except for those who witnessed their disappearance, such as the one who pressed the button. It is typically used by dictators to erase whoever opposes them. At one point, Nobita received this gadget from Doraemon because he wished Gian had never existed. He then used the switch to get rid of Gian, and eventually erased everyone from existence because he dreamed of everyone mocked him, including Shizuka and Doraemon. [[spoiler:As it turns out, it is a tool for teaching AnAesop about interpersonal relationships rather than being an actual weapon for dictators. Doraemon then reappears and undoes the disappearance by pressing the switch again.]]
26	* In ''Manga/DotHackLegendOfTheTwilight'', Shugo gets the Twilight Bracelet, that basically does whatever is convenient to the storyline. It has also been in the possession of Kite and possibly Tsukasa.
27	* Vegeta from ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' has a remote to recall his spacepod to his location. With the amount of punishment Vegeta has taken at the point he uses it it must be one tough piece of machinery. The same remote can also be used to self-destruct another spaceship.
28	* ''Manga/SgtFrog'': Kululu's [[BuffySpeak iPod remote... thingy.]]
29	* In ''Manga/YuYuHakusho'', Roto uses one of these during the Dark Tournament to threaten Kurama's mother by saying that pressing the red button will signal his brother, who has been stalking her, to kill her. It appears from other character comments to be his single strategy in any given fight.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Asian Animation]]
33	* ''Animation/HappyHeroes'': In Season 2 episode 3, Headmaster Tele uses a remote with a single button on it to control multiple items in the classroom, such as the desks and the blackboard.
34	[[/folder]]
35
36	[[folder:Comic Book]]
37	* Franchise/{{Batman}} usually has at least one in his Utility Belt. ComicBook/TheJoker sometimes carries one too.
38	* The fourth issue of ''ComicBook/GlobalFrequency'' features a terrorist threatening to detonate a bomb using a hand-held remote control with a BigRedButton.
39	* ''Comicbook/{{Watchmen}}'': The remote is [[spoiler:for Ozymandias' television, showing Manhattan how he has saved the world from nuclear war]].
40	-->'''Dr Manhattan:''' What's that in your hand, [[spoiler: Veidt]]? Another ultimate weapon?\
41	'''[[spoiler: Ozymandias]]:''' Yes. Yes, you could say that.
42	[[/folder]]
43
44	[[folder:Comic Strips]]
45	* In ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' the remote control for the TV has only one button, as does the remote for the garage door, causing a mix-up once.
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
49	* The central plan of ''WesternAnimation/TheWrongTrousers''. The titular trousers have the controls mounted on them at first; but Feathers modifies them by creating a remote control for them. He first has fun making Wallace go everywhere unwillingly, then uses them in his elaborate diamond heist.
50	[[/folder]]
51
52	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
53	* The TV remote from ''Film/AdventuresInDinosaurCity'', with the power to manipulate reality.
54	* Jason Bourne has one in ''Film/TheBourneIdentity'' that makes cars' alarms go off, creating handy distractions.
55	* ''Film/CloudAtlas'': The supervisor at Papa Song's uses a remote device he produces from his pocket to make Yoona's [[ExplosiveLeash slave collar]] slit her throat.
56	* The Joker uses one to blow up a hospital in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.
57	* ''Film/TheFifthElement'' Zorg's ZF-1s come with a handy remote to demonstrate the weapons numerous features.
58	* The bank robber has one of these for the hostages' bomb vests in ''Film/{{Hancock}}.''
59	* ''Film/RushHour2'': Hu-Li has one of these so she can set off a grenade [[spoiler:in Lee's mouth]] at a moment's notice.
60	* In ''Film/StarTrekGenerations,'' Soran has a remote to activate his missile, and cloak it.
61	* Given that the protagonists in ''Film/StayTuned'' are TrappedInTVLand, the remote control is rather central to the plot.
62	* Inverted in ''Film/{{Swordfish}}'' as the hostages wore bomb vests and they would be detonated when they left a certain proximity. As long as they stayed within the building, they were safe.
63	* In ''Film/ThinkBig'', a TeenGenius has developed a remote control that can be used to control anything. She stows away with the main characters after she learns that it is supposed to be handed over to criminals.
64	* In ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'', Film/JamesBond has a ChaseScene using his remote control, which allows him not only to control his gadget car without being exposed in the driver's seat, but also to see where he's going in the device's video screen.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Literature]]
68	* Nadia has one in the first book of the Literature/RedMarsTrilogy. It was pressed on her by Arkady, her lover and the leader of the rebellion, in a moment of madness, then mostly forgotten. Then, long after Arkady's death, the peaceful caravan she's travelling with gets [[DeathFromAbove targeted]] by the government/metanational forces on Phobos just because there are members of the first hundred with it. Nadia used the remote, and we're reminded that [[ColonyDrop Arkady led the team that build the Phobos base]].
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
72	* In ''Series/TheATeam'', the team is helping a firefighter group end the interference of a rival group. The heroes placed a firebomb in the enemy's firehouse early in the story. When the villains interfere with a dispatch, a member of the A-Team calmly produces a remote control, pushes the button and notes, "Your firehouse is on fire." The villains radio back to their firehouse and are stunned to hear that the team was not bluffing.
73	* Multiple examples in ''Series/BabylonFive''
74	** The CommLinks used by Babylon 5's staff is shown to be useful for this function, including as a remote control for their video screens [[spoiler: and for remote-controlled {{Cool Starship}}s rigged with [[NukeEm thermonuclear warheads]].]]
75	** And, on occasion, a purpose-built remote:
76	--->[[spoiler:'''[[SmugSnake Mr. Morden]]:''' [[TemptingFate So what are you going to do, Mollari? Huh? Blow up the island?]]]]\
77	[[spoiler:'''[[MagnificentBastard Londo]]:''' Actually, [[NukeEm now that you mention it...]] ''[[[KineticClicking click]]]'']]
78	* [[Series/BurnNotice Michael Weston]] is a fan of these.
79	* Subverted in one ''Series/DoctorWho'' episode, where the Doctor threatens to use one of these to activate the [=TARDIS's=] SelfDestructMechanism. [[BrandishmentBluff There is in fact no such mechanism; the "remote" is actually a Jammy Dodger.]]
80	* The original ''Series/MissionImpossible'' television series abounds with these, containing a single pushbutton, which can cause whatever action is next called for in the plot. So common that it's one of the stock shots that appears in the closing credits of many eps. Barney also rigged entire cars for remote control and drove them under pretty tough routes, at least once per season; sometimes with people inside, sometimes not.
81	* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': [[MadScientist Pearl Forrester]] once installed electrodes in Professor Bobo's brain, allowing his body to be controlled by an "all-in-one universal remote we got at Target for nine bucks".
82	** Also: "Push the button, Frank."
83	* One of the opening sequences to ''Series/NewsRadio'' showed [[ConspiracyTheorist Joe]] using a small device to force a traffic light to change.
84	%%* Al's handheld device in ''Series/QuantumLeap.''
85	* SG teams in ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' routinely use remote detonators with their bricks of C4. These became a substantial plot point in one or two episodes, such as the incident where the Atlantis team rigged a Wraith base to explode, then talked their way out by brandishing the remote detonator. They left the detonator in the base with the guy who had been stuck in the FaceHeelRevolvingDoor for a couple episodes, and [[RedemptionEqualsDeath he activated it as soon as the Atlantis team was clear]].
86	* In the original ''[[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Star Trek]]'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS3E1SpocksBrain Spock's Brain]]", Spock's brainless body is hooked up to a remote with perhaps twelve buttons that allows the operator to cause Spock to walk, turn, and (somehow) grab the antagonist's arms and deactivate her wrist control (itself a sort of Handy Remote Control).
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:Video Games]]
90	* In ''VideoGame/BackToTheFuturePartIIAndIII'', Marty [=McFly=] finds a remote control at the drive-in in 1985 that he can use to summon the [=DeLorean=] for time travel.
91	* The disruptor in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' is a one-handed device where Batman just gently pushes the stud on top to shut down an inconvenient henchman's gun or blow up a concussion mine. It's significantly smaller than the bulky, gun-like disruptor of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'', although it does lose the ability to deactivate jammer backpacks. Both discrepancies are explained with sufficient in-game exploration: the guns available in Arkham City come either from TYGER's own forces or through Penguin's successful gun-import operations, and [[spoiler:the latter only function because Hugo Strange is his willing supplier, making it easier for the residents to kill each other without giving them tools to break out or resist his own forces. All of the firearms the handheld Disrupter will work on were actually ''designed'' to be disabled by a properly programmed remote control]]. Hugo has no specific contingency plans to deal with Batman having a disruptor (and it's possible the Riddler already had his own version by the game's start), relying on WeHaveReserves (and gunships) as needed.
92	* In ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor2'', practically every weird piece of technology or magitech is controlled by a character whipping out their cell phone.
93	* Danzaiver, the ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' stand-in from ''VideoGame/EvilZone'', uses one of these to call in a KillSat strike in one of his super moves.
94	* The original ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' and its expansions (and by extension, ''VideoGame/BlackMesa'') have this for the satchel charges you can pick up.
95	* Franchise/JamesBond is no stranger to this, especially in video games.
96	* ''VideoGame/HeartOfTheSwarm'': When Kerrigan finally confronts Mengsk, he's seen with an unlit cigar. He brings the lighter to it... only to reveal it's actually the trigger to the Xel'Naga artifact, which he unleashes on her. [[spoiler:Too bad for him Jim Raynor was also there]].
97	** ''[[VideoGame/AgentUnderFire James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire]]'' is the grand master of this, with ''two'' gadgets: the Q-Decryptor and the Q-Remote. The former can open all locked doors and download data from computer mainframes. The latter could "steal" remote-control signals and allow Bond to use them remotely.
98	** ''[[VideoGame/{{Nightfire}} 007 Nightfire]]'' cools this down somewhat by limiting Bond to the Decryptor, which opens doors with four-digit codes. It takes some time to complete the task until you get the software upgrade, which cuts down the time needed.
99	** ''VideoGame/GoldenEyeRogueAgent'' features the "EM Hack," which means that [=GoldenEye=] can project EMP bursts and control electronic objects. He can activate machine traps, open doors, bugger up his assailants' guns, all kinds of cool stuff.
100	* Dr. Fetus from ''[[VideoGame/MeatBoy Super Meat Boy]]'' has one of these remotes, and routinely presses it before and after boss fights to deal with Meat Boy. At one point, he even throws it at Meat Boy to knock him into some salt.
101	* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'', Revolver Ocelot is surrounded by two opposing armies. He's killed both their commanding officers, and his six-shot revolver is out of bullets, yet not a single round is fired in his direction, because he's holding a detonator for explosives to sink the tanker they're all aboard.
102	* [[VideoGame/MetalGear Snake]] does this in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosBrawl'' to set off his C4. He even strikes a dramatic pose and says "Now!" dramatically.
103	* One of the unlockable weapons for the Engineer in ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'' is a remote control with a laser pointer which allows you to take manual control of your sentry.
104	[[/folder]]
105
106	[[folder:Web Comics]]
107	* In ''Webcomic/HolidayWars'', The EasterBunny has a remote that zaps and controls AprilFoolsDay, as seen [[http://www.th3rdworld.com/web-comic/Holiday-Wars/episode/Holiday-Wars-Episode-41 in this strip.]]
108	[[/folder]]
109
110	[[folder:Web Original]]
111	* In one story of the ''Literature/WhateleyUniverse'', Generator (Jade Sinclair) is being harassed by Peeper, the 'Howard Stern' of SuperHeroSchool Whateley Academy. She pulls out a remote control and uses it to drive a caterpillar-sized robot down his shirt, inside his pants, making it grab hold of the back of his briefs, then give him a wedgie, and ''then'' lift him forty feet in the air by the back of his shorts in the worst wedgie ever. Subversion: the remote control is a fake; the 'robot' is actually possessed by a copy of her own mind.
112	[[/folder]]
113
114	[[folder:Western Animation]]
115	* Professor Nimnul on ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' has one in a few episodes. Unlike most examples, Nimnul's one is pretty bulky and most of the time that he uses it, he has to press several buttons in sequence to activate a certain function.
116	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'' has Herb Muddlefoot get a high-powered universal remote that can control every device in his massive entertainment center, including the popcorn machine. It gets stolen by Megavolt to be used as a component in his latest plan, so Herb solves the problem of no longer being able to do everything from his couch by moving the couch so close to everything else that he can reach the manual controls with his feet.
117	* Almost all of Dexter's remote controlled inventions in ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' are controlled by a single red button (and optionally a joystick).
118	* Done a few times in ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible''. One of the {{MacGuffin}}s was a universal remote for any device.
119	* Doofenshmirtz on ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' will sometimes control his inators and other devices by pushing a single red button on a remote. In "Lawn Gnome Beach Party of Terror," this comes back to bite him because he has multiple remotes, each for a particular device, and no way to tell which is which. He inevitably uses the worst possible remote for the situation, and eventually releases Perry from his trap with one of the remotes, leading to another defeat.
120	* Parodied in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls1998''. The girls have been captured and are being lowered into acid by the villain, who is using one of these to control the lowering mechanism. The police arrive, arrest the villain, and try to use the remote to save the girls, but can't find the right button in time. Fortunately, turns out the girls were invulnerable to acid.
121	* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'', Green Goblin has a remote control device that activates a nanobot armor, turning Mark Allen from a regular boy into Molten Man at the press of a button.
122	* In ''WesternAnimation/SpeedBuggy'', the living car's freedom of movement can be overridden by Tinker's remote control.
123	* ''WesternAnimation/TotalDrama'': Chris [=McLean=] is usually carrying one or more of these in his pockets, with many such purposes as setting off a bomb, electrocuting someone, activating a launchpad under an unsuspecting contestant, or bringing up a viewscreen.
124	[[/folder]]
125
126	[[folder:Real Life]]
127	* With the amount of wireless communication protocols in smartphones, of which include cellular internet ([=3G/4G=]), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and now near-field communication, there are a plethora of things that can be controlled via your phone. Need to record something on your DVR but you're not at home? There's an app for that. Got home security connected to a base station and forgot to set the alarm? You can set it from your phone. Have a [[http://geek-and-poke.com/geekandpoke/2015/6/3/smartest-homes 'smart home' control system]]? That can be controlled from an app. The smartphone is so far the closest thing to a universal remote we have.
128	[[/folder]]

Context Main / HandyRemoteControl