Line #150 Main/OverusedRunningGag


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5	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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15	[[quoteright:350:[[Webcomic/WebcomicName https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_oo1fi14jvh1vbwf2ko1_1280.png]]]]
16	[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://webcomicname.com/tagged/webcomic/chrono source]]]]
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18	->''"It's a running gag... well, it's limping a bit by now."''
19	-->-- '''Paul Merton''', ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou''
20
21	%% One quote is sufficient. Please place additional entries on the quotes tab.
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23	When the writers openly acknowledge that a RunningGag has run its due course, even as they are hauling it out again— [[RepetitiveAudioGlitch gain— gain— gain—]] '''[[PercussiveMaintenance WHACK]]'''
24
25	There we go. Anyhow, the use of a Running Gag is generally constrained over the course of one episode. But there are some jokes that the writers thought [[IfItWasFunnyTheFirstTime are just so funny that they should be used in another episode]], and another, and ''another'' and ''another''. Even if it isn't OncePerEpisode, it's still squeezed into the series wherever they see fit— [[SelfDemonstratingArticle fit— fit— fit— fit—]] '''THUMP'''
26
27	Okay. After a while, though, the writers will come to realize that the bit has started to peter out. Then one can be sure to start seeing plenty of LampshadeHanging and heavy {{subver\|tedTrope}}sion in the effort to keep the joke fresh, or tolerated. Once ''that'' wears thin, one can expect the bit to be dropped like a Christmas ham— [[RuleOfThree ham— ham— ham— ham—]] '''SMACK'''
28
29	Okay, that joke's ''really'' wearing thin. Before we continue, let's get that audio equipment fixed.
30
31	''One hour later....''
32
33	There, fixed. Anyhow, for this to be a trope, examples should ''not'' be subjective. They should be based on whether the writers have reacted to its overuse (lampshaded or used it less), rather than just a feeling that the gag has been used too much.
34
35	The inevitable fate of many a comedy catchphrase. Commonly confused with OverlyLongGag, which is when a single gag is stretched out for an irritatingly long time. That said, for any joke, good or bad, enough repetition can make people decide it's an Overused Running Gag.
36
37	The next step after this is RunningGagged, where the joke is terminated with extreme prejudice, once and for all. Or until they bring it back.
38
39	Compare DidntWeUseThisJokeAlready, when it's not a running gag, but still the writers are apologising for redoing the same joke. Also compare DiscreditedMeme, which this often leads to— [[OhNoNotAgain to— to— to— to—]] '''WHUMP'''
40
41	Okay, if it does that again, that audio equipment is gonna get a dose of [[StuffBlowingUp C-4]].
42
43	'''Note: This is for Administrivia/InUniverseExamplesOnly. Do not use this trope to [[Administrivia/ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontLike Complain About Running Gags You Don't Like]].'''
44
45	----
46	!!Examples of Acknowledged Overused Running Gags
47	* '''OverusedRunningGag/TVTropes'''
48	----
49	[[foldercontrol]]
50
51	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
52	* In a meta example, ''Manga/{{Bakuman}}'' featured the main characters working on a light-hearted comedy manga, but only a bit more than 10 chapters in, they're already making entire chapters based on the running gag of the main character saying "I dunno about that." This serves as one of the signs that this isn't the right sort of series for them.
53	* In ''VisualNovel/{{Clannad}}'', Okazaki attempts to make Kotomi more social by bringing her to new people and telling her to introduce herself, at which point she always turns around and introduces herself to Okazaki. The third time this occurs, Okazaki remarks that that particular gag is getting old.
54	* In ''Manga/CaseClosed'', Conan has to usually sedate someone then impersonate them using his voice changer to give his deduction at the end of almost every case. Kogoro (his most frequent target) almost catches on, that at one point when Conan speaks in his voice before Kogoro gets tranqed, the latter frantically feels himself around his face since he remarks that that should be around the time he feels a prick (the tranquilizer dart) in or around his neck; Conan shot him in the forehead instead. And Kogoro still comments on it before falling asleep, since he was also hit there before.
55	* In ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' there was a running gag throughout the Mahorafest arc of Takane always getting stripped, four times in total, largely because she used magical clothing that stopped working if she was knocked unconscious. When she reappears in the Magic World arc she forces several girls to wear it as well because it increases defense, so [[spoiler:when attacking the Cosmo Entelechia stronghold]] you can see the only one who knows about that and has to wear it herself nearly in tears. Contrary to all expectations, not one of them gets stripped this time.
56	* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
57	** Brock flirting with any older female he sees, before being hauled away by Misty/Max ([[EarAche by the ear]]), Bonsly (using Double-Edge) and Croagunk (getting Poison Jabbed [[AssShove in the ass]]). It's acknowledged in-universe by his companions (and even antagonists Team Rocket) occasionally getting annoyed at his antics. It was funny the first three times, then it just became old. For Croagunk's bit, it's a minor RunningGag in of itself for Dawn to get caught completely surprised whenever Brock makes an instant recovery.
58	** Making fun of Meowth's tendency for the bizarre {{Imagine Spot}}s, mostly from the other members of Team Rocket.
59	** Mispronouncing Bill and Stafan...er, Team Rocket's Butch and Best Wishes' Stephan's names. Both characters frequently mention that they're going to change their names after several characters get them wrong.
60	** Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny, and Don George, of whom there's a seemingly infinite number of them in every town found, all going by the same name and all looking alike; frequently it was pointed out by the protagonists who found this just straight up bizarre in each of their earliest encounters, with Brock being the only one to spot any sort of difference among all the Joys or Jennys in his womanizing ways.
61	** For a gag that's been on for far much longer than Brock's flirting, the Team Rocket motto. To date it has been lampshaded, parodied, plagiarized, exploited, and made fun of not just by the Rockets' eternal prey the "twerps", but even some of the one-shot characters!
62	** Clemont and his inventions which, as his little sister Bonnie points out many times, have dumb names and tend to explode for no good reason.
63	** And then Bonnie pulls a gag similar to Brock's by asking older girls to "take care of" (i.e. marry) Clemont, leading him to scold her and drag her away.
64	* In ''Anime/SayonaraZetsubouSensei'', during an episode [[DontExplainTheJoke explaining]] many of the series' jokes to newer audiences, the audience member asks about the background running gags. "It's like something we do OncePerEpisode." "[[SelfDeprecatingHumor What's funny about that?]]"
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Film -- Animation]]
68	* In the first two ''WesternAnimation/TheSwanPrincess'' movies, Puffin says, "No Fear!", so many times, Jean-Bob finally grabs Puffin's beak shut and threatens to tear it off if he says it again.
69	[[/folder]]
70
71	[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
72	* By the third movie ''Film/AustinPowers in Goldmember'', the running gag of several witnesses likening a flying object to a naughty body part was called out by Music/OzzyOsbourne, watching it on TV with [[Series/TheOsbournes his family]].
73	[[/folder]]
74
75	[[folder:Literature]]
76	* Creator/DaveBarry often has Overused Running Gags in books which aren't merely recycled columns:
77	** "No! Sorry! That's ''it'' for the [[InherentlyFunnyWords Hawley-Smoot tariff]], you have our word." (''Literature/DaveBarrySleptHere'', which nevertheless references it in three subsequent chapters).
78	** "Do you think we've had enough Winston Churchill jokes? Explain." (also ''Dave Barry Slept Here'')
79	** "Do you think the author will eventually grow tired of the Buffalo Bob joke? Why not?" (''Dave Barry Turns 50'')
80	** "If you think we're getting tired of the zucchini joke, you had best think again." (''Dave Barry Hits Below The Beltway'')
81	* Creator/RobertRankin often makes jokes about this, such as characters observing that something isn't going to become a running gag, or that it's not a particularly good one.
82	%% * ''Literature/TheTrolls'' has Aunt Sally reminding us about how Great-Uncle Louis, who came for two weeks and stayed for six years, came for two weeks and stayed for six years almost everytime she says his name.
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
86	* ''Series/{{Community}}'': The show had paintball episodes in the first & second seasons. The third season had the characters commenting on how played out paintball was at that point, and everyone agreed they shouldn't have another paintball game... Only for the fourth season to end on another paintball game. Abed even says that they "finally found a way to make paintball cool again."
87	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'' had Ross's running joke "We were on a break!" Despite being called out on it, this saw usage right up until the very last episode. Additionally, Joey's catchphrase "How ''you'' doin'?" saw a few lampshades.
88	* ''Series/HannahMontana'''s tendency towards {{zany scheme}}s is noted, repeatedly, by Lilly, who eventually gets fed up at never being asked to just sit down and have breakfast but constantly being roped into Miley's schemes. On ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'', Harper tends to think similarly about Alex Russo. Same for ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'' and Zack roping Cody into schemes.
89	* ''Series/ICarly'': T-Bo's food on stick gag (capsicums, chicken, doughnuts, etc) is put up with a couple of times, and now every time it's brought up he is forcefully rejected by the other characters.
90	** Everything [[WalkingTechbane Spencer]] touches catching on fire, no matter how hard he tries to avoid it. When it happens in the GrandFinale, Spencer just looks at the item with a bemused "Of course you burst into flames." expression on his face.
91	* In the 2000 ''Series/TheInvisibleMan'' TV series, Darien Fawkes would greet each worsening situation with "OhCrap" in a resigned manner. Eventually, the ''characters'' find it annoying. By the second season, there are lampshades; for instance, it's ''the only thing he remembers about himself'' when he gets LaserGuidedAmnesia, forcing him to use it to tell who his friends are.
92	* ''Series/TheITCrowd'' has Roy answer the phone almost every time with the line, "Hello IT, have you tried turning it off and on again?" However, early in the second season he interrupts his signature line with, "I'm sick of saying that. What do you want?" From that point on he never again utters that catchphrase [[spoiler: until he brings it back in the fourth]].
93	** One episode has Jen bet him he cannot go an entire day without saying it. He loses.
94	** And in another episode, his phone is hooked up to a tape machine that plays a recording of him saying the catchphrase when someone calls.
95	** Of course, this is a joke about how this is often some of the first advice you'll be given if you're having trouble with your computer.
96	* ''Series/TheManShow'' had a "Museum of Annoying Guys", and one of them was the RealLife version of this trope. "It's the beat a catchphrase to death guy."
97	* ''Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow'': It had a running gag that Mary threw the worst parties. Every time she had a party something always happened to ruin it. Near the end of the series, they put together a flashback episode, the first and only time they used that gimmick, about Mary’s parties. The guests reminisced about past parties while waiting for guest of honor Johnny Carson to arrive. Mary’s building had a blackout. Johnny showed up. We heard him but never saw him, to great comedic effect.
98	* Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus did this on a number of occasions
99	** One of their running gags was to cut from a sketch to stock footage of the Women's Institute applauding. In one sketch at the end of the second series, a judge in a sketch threatening to clear the court room if the stock footage was shown again.
100	** Another running gag was to end a sketch by having a policeman come in to arrest someone. In the third series a policeman came on and arrested the entire show for overusing this gag -- and then he was arrested by another policeman for the same reason.
101	* Movie buff Cisco from ''Series/TheFlash2014'' has time and again compared the odd things that he and the rest of Team Flash tackles to the movies he saw, making at least one ShoutOut per episode. Joe, usually the OnlySaneMan of the team and just as versed in movies as Cisco was, eventually tires of it at one point.
102	-->"You and your movies."
103	* The Rita Moreno episode (#5 of season 1) of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' features an old-style phone backstage. When it rings, Fozzie answers it, and something comes out of the receiver related to who's calling. At the fifth call, Kermit gets fed up and asks, "Is there no end to this RunningGag?"; then Animal comes in and puts an end to it (as well as to incoming calls, unless someone thinks to call the number for the phone on the desk).
104	* ''Series/MyWifeAndKids'' introduced Michael's catchphrase "Eh... No." in the second season, which he used to troll the kids by giving them hope he would say yes to them before ultimately rejecting them. It was used so often in the second season alone that he began finding increasingly idiotic ways to drag out the "Eh..." part of the catchphrase, such as running up & down the hallway several times whilst saying it before jumping back into the room & saying no, that it made no sense that his kids continued to get their hopes up that he'd say yes years later.
105	* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': In the film ''Film/{{Escape 2000}}'', there is a scene at the beginning where the phrase "leave the Bronx" is repeated constantly. Mike and the Bots naturally turn this into a RunningGag, with Servo even singing the phrase repeatedly along to the music at the end credits. But when the movie is over and Mike tries to make the joke again, Crow tells him that it's not funny any more.
106	* Parodied in ''Series/TheState''. Under pressure to create more catchphrase-driven characters like ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'', the writers created "Louie, the guy who says his catchphrase over and over again." The character would repeatedly ask for volunteers to present him with a substance and then loudly announce, "I wanna dip my balls in it!" while holding up two golf balls. The OnlySaneMan in the sketch can't understand why the gag never gets old to any of the other characters. Ironically, the character proved popular and was brought back a few times.
107	* ''Series/StargateSG1'' had a habit of making WhosOnFirst jokes using the Goa'uld System Lord Yu. When Elizabeth Weir tried to get in on it, she was stopped by Daniel.
108	--> '''Daniel:''' Don't. Every joke, every pun, done to death.
109	* On ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'', Dr. [=McCoy=] has expressed annoyance with Spock's catchphrase "Fascinating".
110	--> '''[=McCoy=]:''' Please, Spock, do me a favor and ''don't'' say it's "fascinating".\
111	'''Spock:''' No, but it is...interesting.\
112	''([=McCoy=] rolls his eyes)''
113	* Raven's schemes in ''Series/ThatsSoRaven'' almost always involve costumes. In one episode, she learns Chelsea is doing something at school and plans to dress up as a janitor "with a mustache" to snoop around and find out why. Eddie points out that she can just ''ask'' Chelsea, and Raven gets offended that he doesn't understand her at all. Raven eventually decides to snoop around without the janitor disguise, but she still winds up wearing a mustache.
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Stand-Up Comedy]]
117	* Paul F. Tompkins' album ''Impersonal'' contains a short routine ("Cherry Picking") that quickly turns from the concept of a "migrant farm worker fantasy camp" into a meta exercise in seeing how long the gag can play out.
118	-->'''Randy:''' Thanks a lot, Mr. Guerrero. Hey, uh, quick question -- what's up with your accent?\
119	'''Jesus Guerrero:''' Ho! [[JustAStupidAccent It is not very good, is it? Not at all believable.]]\
120	'''Randy:''' No, it's kind of... kinda just sounds like you're a vampire or something.\
121	'''Jesus Guerrero:''' Oh, I know it sounds that way, but I am not! Please, Randy, do not worry that I'm going to feast on your blood to sustain my undead existence. I assure you, that is not going to happen. I am just a poorly drawn stereotype.\
122	'''Randy:''' You really are, you should probably just stop.\
123	'''Jesus Guerrero:''' Oh, I ''know'' I should! And yet, I continue on, do I not? Ha! This should have ended a few minutes ago if you ask me, but I don't know -- I just keep going until all the goodwill is exhausted by the crowd.\
124	'''Randy:''' I think we're probably about there.\
125	'''Jesus Guerrero:''' Oh, I know, and yet ''here comes a few more minutes of this!'' Ho ho, ''boy!'' Believe me, Randy, no one is more aware than I that this has outworn its welcome.\
126	'''Randy:''' Why don't you just knock it off?\
127	'''Jesus Guerrero:''' Would that it were that easy, my friend. From your lips to God's ears, you know what I'm saying? Oh, Randy, the stories I could tell you of how long I have done this poor, borderline-offensive accent.
128	[[/folder]]
129
130	[[folder:Video Games]]
131	* In ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'', King Trode's ability to [[StealthHiBye pop up from nowhere]] is usually followed by Yangus [[https://33.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7mtjuttDC1r00wup.jpg jumping to the side with a yelp of "COR BLIMEY!!"]] However, by the time the party visits Tyran Gully late in the game, Yangus has gotten sick of the routine.
132	--> "COR BLI-"
133	--> "Nah. I'm fed up wiv sayin' that old line now."
134	** [[spoiler: Though it gets a call-back in the (normal) ending.]]
135	* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' took Garrus's memetic stock line about being busy calibrating and turned it into a running joke. At the end of the last [=DLC=] mission, "Citadel", he offers to stop saying it - "but only if Liara stops saying "By the goddess!""
136	* The [[http://www.mojang.com/2016/05/minecraft-193/ changelog]] for ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' 1.9.3 (and 1.9.4) interrupts the traditional "Removed Herobrine" entry to acknowledge that "This is getting old."
137	[[/folder]]
138
139	[[folder:Webcomics]]
140	* At least one running gag in ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' (specifically, [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000419 Wily getting overheard]] [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000516 by someone standing just behind him]]) got this treatment. As early as the [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000617 third iteration]], it was acknowledged as an Overused Running Gag, and supposedly retired. And then it was [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/010617 brought out of retirement]]. And [[http://bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=010804 averted]], [[http://bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=020106 inverted]], [[http://bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=020612 inverted again]], [[http://bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=020914 parodied]] ([[http://bobandgeorge.com/archives/index.php?date=020916 to the breaking point]]), [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/031127c double subverted]], [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/040612 lampshaded]], and...[[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/060930 well]], [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/070712 you get the idea]].
141	* ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel'' had the RunningGag where Ethan gets hit by an arrow from off panel (as a homage to ''Film/TheKentuckyFriedMovie''). The author decided to end the gag after it became overused and played with its end by having the last arrow fired by Ethan and [[NoFourthWall into the author himself]] as punishment for all the times he was hit.
142	* ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' has used every possible permutation of the hammer and the demonic duck, and yet they just won't go away, even despite the author explicitly saying they will.
143	** They haven't been seen in a while, so maybe he kept his word. A whole arc was spent on some of the characters going to see why the hammers have ''stopped'' working, which resulted in a {{canon}} explanation for why they're gone (and were there in the first place), and one character gaining the ability to use them as her personal magic spell (which she has yet to use). This was also the last time the Demonic Duck was seen. This was in 2010.
144	* ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' has what appears to be a running gag in the first couple of volumes, with [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030421#.VvWhgOKLTIU multiple Jaegers ]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031027#.VvWhoeKLTIU all commenting]] [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030711#.VvWhzeKLTIU on how good she smells]] to the point at which Agatha [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20031003#.VvWiTuKLTIU gets extremely angry]] at the next person who mentions a 'smell'.
145	** Except for the fact that this is ''not'' just a running gag, but foreshadowing - all Jaegers have UndyingLoyalty to the Heterodyne family, which comes along with [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050624#.VvWjHOKLTIU a way of knowing who is and isn't a Heterodyne,]] including the voice, and the ''smell''. Although the lower-ranked Jaegers just noticed the nice smell and didn't realise what it signified, the Generals and the detached Jaegers realised that Agatha was a Heterodyne ''very'' quickly.
146	%% * ''Webcomic/NerfNOW!!'''s fans were starting to get fed up with photo notes claiming "Mine!" or "Spy here" by the time the comic moved to a new provider which didn't implement this feature.
147	* A strip of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' has one person telling his teammates to stop [[CallingYourAttacks screaming]] "[[WithCatlikeTread SNEAK ATTACK]]"; after that, for the first time, someone ''reacts'' to them yelling and kills them before they can land the blow.
148	** For added strangeness, the one being criticized for [[CallingYourAttacks calling his attacks]] is a fighter that shouts "Power Attack", while the dozens of rogues in the fight are shouting "Sneak Attack" with no commentary.
149	* ''Webcomic/{{PvP}}'' had a panda that would randomly attack Brent. The reasons behind these attacks were eventually explained in a rather long arc, and the gag died down considerably after that.
150	* ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'': InUniverse, this is what Tagon considers Shodan's continuing to bring up the accident during the Mall Cop Command arc where Tagon got [[EyeScream a fork stuck in his eye]].
151	* For a while, almost all the male characters in ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' joked among themselves that "monkeys" was Gwynn's pet name for her breasts. Since Gwynn owns several ''real'' monkeys, this gag came up a lot when she made innocent remarks like "[[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=070109 My monkeys! They're gone!]]" or "[[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060628 Be on the lookout for my monkeys and grab them if you see them. They could pop up anywhere.]]" Eventually, Riff got tired enough of the joke to [[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=070219 reprimand himself for using it again]]. And then [[spoiler: the monkeys got killed off]].
152	* In ''Webcomic/SquareRootOfMinusGarfield'', this happened with the "Garfield (pun for Minus) Garfield" meme, also known as the "pudding pops" strips. Strip 268, "[[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=268 Garfield Linus Garfield]]", began this gag. Each strip in this gag editted ''{{ComicStrip/Garfield}}'' strip [[http://images.ucomics.com/comics/ga/2001/ga011128.gif 2001-11-28]], by replacing the second panel's Garfield with Linus, Sinus, or anything that rhymes with "minus", or sounds a bit like "minus". Most of the strips kept a line about "pudding pops". [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=478 Strip 478]] lampshaded the gag but failed to stop the meme. [[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=513 Strip 518]] provoked a [[http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/draakslair/viewtopic.php?t=5319 forum thread]] that became strip 625, "[[http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=625 Garfield Skynet Garfield: Judgement Day]]". This strip killed the Overused Running Gag; but the gag later returned to life, and now the admins limit new "pudding pops" strips to about one per month.
153	* ''Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff'' does this on purpose to go with the StylisticSuck, outside the universe the fans reference SBAHJ endlessly and inside the ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' universe, where characters reference SBAHJ all too often.
154	[[/folder]]
155
156	[[folder:Web Original]]
157	* Creator/BillyCoore began most of his videos on Packard Bell computers by showing off the intro to Packard Bell Navigator, which mentioned a lesson on using the mouse. Billy would make some kind of joke about the 90's being an interesting time to live in. Eventually he ran out of jokes, and even said "Will this joke just DIE already?" once.
158	** Similarly, a running joke involves him putting a Kermit the Frog doll on one of his computers, noticing something wrong, and [[ComicallyMissingThePoint fixing some minor thing wrong with the computer]], knocking the doll down in the process. One video, uploaded right before AprilFoolsDay, began with him starting the joke, but then he says, "Okay, I've had enough of this. It's ''Kermit the Frog'', people!" and continues talking about how stupid the joke was. {{Subverted\|Trope}} in that afterwards the video cut to a RelaxOVision screen, and he actually did the whole joke in the next take.
159	* The ''Blog/CitationNeeded'' podcast begins with a rundown of improbably named podcasts that supposedly failed to last as long as ''Citation Needed''. By episode 8, these podcasts include "Running Gags To Start Your Podcast With That Are Becoming Increasingly Hard To Think Of".
160	* It's not uncommon in many of Creator/{{cs188}}'s YouTubePoop videos for his videos to have SelfDeprecation regarding his continued use of certain running gags, particularly "the [=JoJ=]"/"[=HoH SiS=]" (from "No one needs foundation repair"). This has sometimes happened for gags specific to a single video, such as an edit of Music/{{LMFAO}}'s "Party Rock Anthem" that repeatedly spliced in a vocal sample from "Shots".
161	* ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'' had the Krillin Owned Counter, which "dinged" every time resident ButtMonkey Krillin got owned, whether it be physically, verbally, or whatever. After a while fans felt that the joke had run its course, and a few complained that it felt mean-spirited at times (for example counting Krillin's desperate but futile attempt to protect Android 18 from Cell, which wasn't a funny moment at all). The gag was put to rest for good at the end of Season 3, [[spoiler:where Krillin's marathon love-making session with 18 "un-dings" the Counter with each orgasm and finally destroys it outright when it hits zero.]][[note]]Of course, retiring the joke could also be seen as a pragmatic decision, since Krillin plays extremely little role in the Buu Saga so they were pretty much done with the gag anyhow.[[/note]]
162	** To a lesser extent there's Krillin insisting upon calling himself, Gohan, and Vegeta "Team Three Star" (a play on the show's creators, Creator/TeamFourStar) in spite of the fact that everyone else considers it an AtrociousAlias. The gag is eventually killed when Gohan tells Krillin that it's just not a very good name and he admits that he hated it from the start too. Additionally, the one and only time Krillin uses the joke in ''DBZ Abridged Kai'' 2 (a super-condensed version of the season), Vegeta immediately snaps at him "That's not funny! It's ''never'' been funny! It's never gonna '''be''' funny!"
163	* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
164	** Strong Bad apparently got tired of people sending him WebAnimation/{{Strong Bad Email}}s signed "Crapfully yours", "With Crap" and the like as early as the e-mail "spring cleaning". Starting with "vacation", he would usually react with a weary sigh whenever he answered an e-mail signed in this fashion, and in "do over" he reads the signature "Crapfully yours" as "[[SarcasmMode Totally not gettin' old.]]" He hinted at his disdain for email closings that contained the word "crap" a few emails earlier, in "3 Wishes", which was signed "Much crap":
165	--->'''Strong Bad:''' It's not required that you send that you sign your email, "Crapfully yours," or, "With a bunch of crap," or, "Crap in the times," or, "Crap is so great," "Everything is crap," "My middle name is Crapperson." You know, you could just put, "Sincerely"... or, "Yours truly," is another good one. Come on, guys. I'll still read 'em.
166	** There was a brief string of [=SBEmails=] during the Lappy era that featured a random reference to "DNA evidence", starting with Marzipan saying "the DNA evidence had been tampered with" in "strong badathalon", then continuing with Strong Bad claiming to have tampered with the DNA evidence in "unnatural", and so on. The last of these emails, "rough copy", had an Easter egg with Homestar sitting by himself in Marzipan's living room and wearily saying the phrase "DNA evidence", to show the gag had [[RunningGagged worn out its welcome]]. Thought the Brothers Chaps eventually released a cartoon about Strong Sad trying to track down the supposed "DNA evidence" and find out what happened to it.
167	* Richard of ''Webcomic/LookingForGroup'' doesn't seem willing to acknowledge the "Fork of Truth" has had its day and needs to be retired. In the Fork's most recent appearance, the other cast members completely ignored his rant about it, except for Sooba.
168	* The ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' series ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' featured Demonhead Mobster Kingpin, a MarathonBoss who kept revealing new OneWingedAngel modes and regenerating lost health. The contributors [[ArcFatigue were getting sick of the guy]], [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=4&p=001743 and Andrew Hussie knew it]].
169	** The series is riddled with running gags, some of which are overused for comedic effect. Most notoriously, the "Retrieve arms from x" command has been done about ''12 times'' in ''Webcomic/ProblemSleuth'' and ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}''.
170	** Subverted in Act 5. When the first new character of this act is introduced, it seems that, as usual, all the typical running gags will play out before he's introduced for real... [[http://www.mspaintadventures.com/?s=6&p=003893 but the narrator and the character are having none of it]].
171	* ''WebVideo/JobbyTheHong'' tends to say "swivel here" with [[LargeHam great emphasis]] during segments showing the articulation of figures, and it has become one of the channel's memes and his catchphrase. Overtime, he has started to mock how overused the phrase is on both his channel and other parts of the internet while usually also saying that [[HypocriticalHumor he will continue to use it anyway]].
172	* Newsgroup rec.humor was flooded with the two-strings-in-a-bar/frayed-knot jokes. This is to the point where some jokes began pointing out that [[http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/87/7617.html the joke was killed]].
173	* WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic has [[Film/StreetFighter M. Bison]]'s "Of course!" that pops up every time someone wants to TakeOverTheWorld. When the Nostalgia Critic got sick of it, it showed up on its own and crushed him.
174	** Saying the word "Elephant" summons the Burger King who silences the characters in the movie who won't shut up. It didn't work on Film/{{Twister}}. After the Top 11 Nostalgic Mindfucks, he recalls that it didn't come when he talked about the Pink Elephants from ''WesternAnimation/{{Dumbo}}''; after some experimentation, the Burger King logo brained him out of irritation.
175	--> '''Nostalgia Critic''': I had my fun.
176	** On his commentary for the ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' review Doug spent some time discussing the need to alter running gags frequently and drop them before the audience gets sick of them. He also mentioned that people have asked to drop every running gag except "OF COURSE!".
177	** At conventions, at least one person will inevitably bring up the "[[Film/BatmanAndRobin Bat Credit Card]]". Eventually he went on record saying he's ''really'' tired of that (mostly because the raging does a number on his voice) but he still does it because it makes the people laugh.
178	** In his review of ''Christmas With The Kranks'', he declares most of his old memes as overused, saving the most venom for "bat credit card".
179	** Like Critic's Sonic episode, WebVideo/{{Phelous}}'s "Dawn of the Living Dead" episode has him declaring he'll never end his "I'VE GOT A SHOTGUN!" gag and that he's sick of it after using it again seconds later.
180	** In her "Top Eleven Animated Villainesses", WebVideo/TheNostalgiaChick had to be stared at by sad puppies for a while until she was forced to break out of deadpan mode and do her running gag:
181	-->'''Chick''': Oh, fine... PUPPIES!"
182	-->'''Children''': Yaaay!
183	* Website/{{Reddit}} tends to get tired of jokes within the course of a few days, causing responses of "every time" and the likes whenever a joke the HiveMind has gotten bored of is used. In a grander scale, the subreddits /r/f7u12 and /r/adviceanimals, for rage comics and image macros, respectively, were removed from the default subreddits around 2013 because they were getting old, and most of Reddit was sick of them.
184	* In season 14 of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', Vic admits that [[ArcWords "You ever wonder why we're here?"]] has been pretty much run into the ground.
185	* "And that was the X time I died" used by ''WebVideo/{{Unskippable}}'' when some catastrophe seemingly killed the main character was eventually acknowledged with the words: "No, wait, I take it back. Semenoske got nuked, this guy's going to be fine."
186	* Website/WrestleCrap's induction of a wrestler named Man Mountain Rock featured a picture of said wrestler shrugging with the caption "Yeah, I don't know either dude." After using this picture in 6 straight updates, writer RD Reynolds threatened to end its use. Fan demand brought him into an additional 6 updates and possibly counting.
187	* After passing 400 pages and four splits, the {{Platform/Steam}} for/against thread on the ''VideoGame/XRebirth'' forum is [[http://forum.egosoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=3980075#3980075 mutating into one of these]], with posters starting to make jokes about how the thread became a BrokenRecord months ago. [[http://i1082.photobucket.com/albums/j371/klohunt3r/ilwttig4.png One poster's contribution.]]
188	* ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'' has taken to mocking its own reliance on running gags.
189	[[/folder]]
190
191	[[folder:Western Animation]]
192	* Throughout the ''Franchise/Ben10'' franchise, Ben Tennyson often suffers from PowerIncontinence, where the Omnitrix would transform him into a different alien than the one he wanted. Sometimes there would be entire episodes where Ben would be given the wrong alien, and it happened enough for Ben to comment his annoyance at the watch seemingly never getting it right, at one point even saying "[[LeaningOnTheFourthWall it's not even funny anymore]]". Though this was justified early on due to the Omnitrix malfunctioning or somehow being broken, by the time of ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' the Omnitrix has been perfected and Ben only has himself to blame for getting the wrong alien.
193	* ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' is yet another example of the "regurgitate the same jokes over and over, then acknowledge how they've stopped being funny and continue using the jokes over and over again" tactic.
194	* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'': Episodes focusing on Catman after season 5 have Timmy actively ''dreading'' seeing him again. "9 Lives!" has him try to put a stop to Catman's superhero antics by convincing him he only has one of his nine lives left, and episodes like "Cat N Mouse" have Timmy reacting with fear or exasperation whenever Catman shows up, just wanting him to go away.
195	* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''
196	** The two vaudeville players Vern and Johnny, who appeared so often to fill the time before commercial breaks that Stewie ''killed them'' to assure the audience that they would never appear again. (They ''[[RefugeInAudacity still]]'' came back... as ghosts).
197	** Cleveland picked up a gag where Peter would destroy half his house while Cleveland was taking a bath, causing his tub to slide out of his (second-floor) bathroom and dump him in the yard. When Cleveland's first wife gets killed this way in ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', Cleveland feels SurvivorsGuilt because, in his own words, he'd fallen out of that same house "way more times than could possibly still be funny."
198	** "Believe it or Not, Joe's Walking on Air" pokes fun at itself for its constant use of a CutawayGag by having Cleveland complain about how he hates it when a show cuts away to some other bullcrap. Cue a CutawayGag showing Hitler riding a unicycle as he juggles fish. Later on, as the guys discover that Joe's new legs have [[TookALevelInJerkass turned him into a jerk]] and discuss "re-crippling" him, Peter says that "it's the right thing to do, like punching out Hitler." The show [[BrickJoke cuts back to the same gag as before]], but Peter rushes in and punches out Hitler, saying "See? We had a plan for that all along."
199	** In a cutaway gag where Quagmire thinks he's the one getting the [[WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow spinoff]], he mentions the two of the show's more infamous running gags.
200	--->'''Quagmire''': See ya later, bitches! Have fun with your stupid goddamn giant chicken jokes and your Music/ConwayTwitty — Hey, why's there a moving truck outside Cleveland's house?
201	** In a later episode Peter meets God who gives him a message from Music/ConwayTwitty himself telling them to stop.
202	* ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'': The OnceAnEpisode gag of Jackie telling Jade to not get involved with his missions, only for Jade to get involved anyway and Jackie to say something along the lines of "I told you to stay put!" Jade asked him on one occasion if he gets tired of saying that and Jackie himself sometimes questions why he even bothers.
203	* Find a RunningGag ''not'' {{lampshade\|Hanging}}d, {{inverted\|Trope}}, or {{subverted\|Trope}} on ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''.
204	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
205	** The clip where Homer falls down the Springfield Gorge (from the episode "Bart the Daredevil") was referenced several times. In the episode "The Blunder Years", when Homer flashes back to it, Lisa interrupts him, saying "Everyone's sick of that memory." It also gets referenced in the episode "Behind the Laughter" when it's called a comedy classic, and then deconstructed when we see [[AnimatedActors Homer]] in rehab with several broken bones. Apparently, [[IronButtMonkey having to undergo each and every painful slapstick gag]] [[CerebusRetcon forced Homer to take painkillers, which he became addicted to]].
206	** "The Great Louse Detective" has this to say about Sideshow Bob's umpteenth return:
207	--->'''Bart:''' This man has tried to kill me so much it's not funny anymore!
208	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'':
209	** For most fans, the running gag where Brainy Smurf gets tossed out of the village for ruining a Smurf's day or simply speaking his mind is considered this. Season 9 made it clear the running gag was getting old and didn't make as much sense, with the Smurfs jumping to various time periods.
210	* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'''s "Oh My God, {{They Killed Kenny\|Again}}!" It gets old, gets lampshaded, subverted and eventually cut down severely in the later seasons.
211	* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'':
212	** InUniverse, in "Ripped Pants," when everyone finds it hilarious that [=SpongeBob=] ripped his pants, he starts finding creative ways to rip his pants and make people laugh. After the first three times, however, people start to get tired of it, the final straw being when [=SpongeBob=] [[DudeNotFunny pretends to drown]] as a lead-in to yet another variation of it.
213	** The show now has its own version with Fred, the fish who says "My leg!" after an injury. He got ADayInTheLimelight where whenever the words "My leg!", "Fred's leg!", or "Your leg" appear in conversation, they're screamed in the some way as the original gag; this happens no less than 40 times. A few episodes later, in "[=ChefBob=]", Fred shouts "My leg!" and Krabs just tells him to shut up. In "[=SpongeBob's=] Big Birthday Blowout", Plankton forces Fred to say the line, which he does in a deadpan tone. Despite these lampshades, the joke is still used unironically in later episodes, even making it onto ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow''.
214	* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'': Omi and his butchering of idioms. At one point Raimundo (usually the one who "translates") eventually asked Omi if he's been doing them on purpose. It got to the point that the myriad reactions of other characters (especially the villains) towards them has become a RunningGag itself.
215	-->'''Wuya''' (ArcVillain of Season 1): Can somebody PLEASE translate?!
216	[[/folder]]
217	----
218	The end— [[BrickJoke end— end— end— end—]] '''[[StuffBlowingUp BOOM]]'''

Context Main / OverusedRunningGag