Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / RecycledSet

Go To

1%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1561681191059588100
2%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
3%%
4[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/recycled_set_7.png]]
5[[caption-width-right:349:"This town [[NotBigEnoughForTheTwoOfUs ain't big enough]] for [[Film/{{Westworld}} both of]] [[Film/BlazingSaddles these movies]]."]]
6%%
7%% Caption selected per above IP thread. Please do not replace or remove without discussion in the Caption Repair thread:
8%% https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1404492079030138900
9%%
10
11->''"I love Drew Carey, but I have a hard time watching his show because they used our set and they have all our furniture. I'll be watching the show and suddenly I'm like, ''''That's my fucking lamp!''''"''
12-->-- '''Creator/MargaretCho''', on [[Series/AllAmericanGirl1994 her sitcom's]] replacement with ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow''
13
14Since all of television and film works around a budget, there often isn't enough money to pay for all those expensive sets to be designed, constructed, and decorated and then be used for only one scene. When this is the case, the producers and/or director may opt for a Recycled Set.
15
16A Recycled Set is [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin pretty much what you would expect:]] a set that is either entirely or in large part composed of the main sets of the project. Since walls, windows, and doors tend to be fairly simple and unremarkable, it's typically easy for set designers to rearrange specific pieces of furniture or strategically cover wall segments to create an entirely unique look.
17
18Except in very rare circumstances, i.e. unless PlayedForLaughs, this set similarity is never noticed or remarked upon by any of the show's characters on-camera. They simply go on their merry way, unconcerned that Bob's front door looks strikingly similar to Officer John's office door.
19
20In the UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame industry, this takes the form of "conversion kits", which are designed to take an existing dedicated cabinet and repurpose it for a new game, saving a lot of money that would otherwise be spent getting a brand new cabinet. Aside from the obvious change in software, the decorations and sometimes the controls on the cab are changed out to fit the new game, but the shape of the cabinet is still clearly the same one used for the previous game.
21
22Compare HeyItsThatPlace and ThreeWallSet. For the video game equivalent, see CutAndPasteEnvironments.
23----
24!!Example subpages:
25
26[[index]]
27* [[RecycledSet/LiveActionFilms Films — Live-Action]]
28* RecycledSet/LiveActionTV
29[[/index]]
30
31!!Other examples:
32
33[[foldercontrol]]
34
35[[folder:Advertising]]
36* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQUpg795iBo The Official PS4 Unboxing]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr12u1tk_rM Random Access Memories Unboxed]] use the exact same set. This makes sense, since Music/RandomAccessMemories was released by Creator/ColumbiaRecords, which is owned by Sony, which owns the Playstation brand.
37[[/folder]]
38
39[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
40* Yes, there are ''animated'' examples of this too. ''Anime/GaoGaiGar'' does this when the heroes reach the site of their ultimate battle, only to find an exact replica of their command satellite.
41* The battle background of episodes 7 and 8 from ''Anime/SuperDragonBallHeroes'' is claimed to be Planet Sadala from Universe 6, but is recycled from the future timeline version of Earth from ''Anime/DragonBallSuper''.
42* ''Anime/SSSSDynazenon'' reuses many of the backgrounds from its predecessor, ''Anime/SSSSGridman''. The set recycling is here used for deliberate effect, with many scenes that take place in the same location as one from ''GRIDMAN'' having thematic parallels to its counterpart, sometimes as a straight match and other times with an inversion.
43* ''Anime/DeliciousPartyPrettyCure'' is ''notorious'' for this. Almost every single episode featuring a battle with the Bundoru Gang (barring the final villain and two other instances) involves taking the participating combatants (Rosemary, the Cures, Black Pepper, whoever's involved with the Bunduru Gang at the time, and their Ubauzo) into a desert/canyon area. TheMovie of the season isn't safe from this either.
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
47* ''WesternAnimation/TheMitchellsVsTheMachines'' reuses two assets from previous Creator/SonyPicturesAnimation projects: [[https://twitter.com/jess_giang/status/1389446651677331456 the Tokyo setting]] seen during the initial phase of the robot uprising was originally Manhattan as seen in ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManIntoTheSpiderVerse'', while Katie's [[https://twitter.com/nick_sketch/status/1389448839732424704 classroom]] from the beginning of the film was the same one from ''WesternAnimation/TheEmojiMovie''.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Pinballs]]
51* The unreleased ''Pinball/GoldenCue'' reused the layout from its [[SpiritualSuccessor spiritual predecessor]], ''Pinball/EightBall Deluxe,'' but with the addition of a ramp that diverts to two sets of rails.
52** When the game was eventually released as ''Pinball/SharkeysShootout'', it reused the layout from ''Pinball/GoldenCue'' with minor cosmetic changes.
53* Creator/WilliamsElectronics' ''Pinball/JackBot'' uses a redecorated version of the playfield from its predecessor, ''Pinball/PinBot''.
54* The ''Pinball/{{Gamatron}}'' conversion kit reuses the playfield from ''Pinball/{{Flight 2000}}'' with only minor modifications (and a new theme).
55* ''Pinball/TheSimpsonsPinballParty'' was re-themed as ''Pinball/TheBrain'', a promotional pinball for a science museum.
56* ''Pinball/FamilyGuy'' was re-themed as ''Pinball/{{Shrek}}'', as well as a one-off ''Good Morning America'' pinball. The only changes were to the graphics and sounds; the layout and rules remained the same.
57* Game Plan, a smaller pinball manufacturer from TheSeventies, did this frequently to save costs. ''Family Fun!'' and ''Star Ship'' shared the same layout, while ''Sharpshooter, Old Coney Island,'' and ''Sharpshooter II'' all used the same layout or a mirrored copy. The games were often released together, which highlighted how recycled they were.
58* Creator/SternPinball took the soccer-based ''Pinball/StrikerXtreme'' and re-released it a year later as the UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball-based ''NFL''.
59* ''Pinball/{{NASCAR}}'' was re-themed and re-released as both ''Grand Prix'' and ''Dale Jr.'' While the audio/visual aspects were changed, the table layout and rules were the same,
60* The playfield for Creator/SternPinball's ''Pinball/{{NBA}}'' is an updated version of the one used for Creator/SegaPinball's ''Space Jam.''
61* Both ''Pinball/{{Hyperball}}'' and its competitor ''Rapid Fire'' had their backboxes recycled for use on other games, mostly re-releases of other Williams and Bally games.
62* ''Pinball/TheBeatles'' (2018) is primarily a re-themed and updated version of ''Pinball/{{Seawitch}}'' (1980), with a few physical differences (most notably a spinning disc made to look like a vinyl record).
63[[/folder]]
64
65[[folder:Theatre]]
66* In ''Film/HolidayInn'', the Recycled Set was an actual set for a [[ShowWithinAShow movie within a movie]] based on Bing's hotel.
67* In ''Film/OnTheTown'', Diamond Eddie's Nightclub, the Congacabana and the Slam-Bang Club are obviously the same set with minimal changes to the scenery. All three are playing some variation on "I Wish I Was Dead."
68* University theatre departments do this all the time. New sets are constantly being built out of pieces of old sets.
69* In-universe, for the Broadway revival of ''Theatre/HedwigAndTheAngryInch'', Hedwig stages her show on the abandoned stage of the stage musical adaptation of ''Film/TheHurtLocker''.
70* In-universe for ''Theatre/{{Nunsense}}''. The nuns' benefit show is staged in a school auditorium that's set up for a student production of ''Film/{{Grease}}''.
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Video Games]]
74* ''VideoGame/BishiBashi Channel'' reuses the ''VideoGame/{{MUSECA}}'' cabinet, due to the latter's online service (and use of online-requiring DRM) being terminated, although operators could order an offline kit to keep ''MÚSECA''. ''Bishi Bashi'' makes several modifications to the base cabinet: the screen is oriented horizontally instead of vertically, the control panel now has four sets of buttons, one for each player, the spinners from ''MÚSECA'' are reused as the players' buttons, and the pedal is removed. Looking under the control panel, you can still see the funnel symbol that's used in ''MÚSECA''.
75* One of the biggest criticisms against ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' was the massive reuse of floor plans for interiors, caves and dungeons.
76* ''VideoGame/Fallout3'' and ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' recycle scenery props from previous Bethesda games, mostly ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion''. This is most notable in the caves, which reuse the textures, rocks, and various other bits of set dressing practically unchanged from ''Oblivion''. Consider how the interior of the caves are often shades of green, but that ''New Vegas''[='s=] predominant color is brown....
77** ''FNV'' not only reuses building interior layouts from ''[=FO3=]'', but some of its own as well.
78* ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'':
79** Due to the level's well-documented TroubledProduction, much of the ''VideoGame/Halo3'' level "Cortana" is made up of geometry either recycled from another cut level or slightly-altered from elsewhere in the final game. The very start of the level is almost identical to the entrance to the ship in "Floodgate", while one room you fight through is a flood-ified version of the ''Shadow of Intent'''s bridge as seen in cutscenes.
80** In ''VideoGame/HaloReach'', the Club Errera interior layout is a near-identical copy and paste of Tayari Plaza from ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', just given a thorough reskin to turn it from an outdoor recreational area to a nightclub.
81** ''VideoGame/HaloInfinite'' is fairly frugal with its environmental design; the one place where it goes fully into environment recycling is with the interior of the House of Reckoning: the large warehouse rooms that house the battlefield replicas are obviously just walled-up hangar bays from the ''Ghost of Gbraakon'' at the start of the game.
82* The barbershops in ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry 2'' look the same everywhere that Larry goes.
83* One of the places you can stop a speeding car in ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest'' is the disco from the first ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'', and the cafe is a redeco of Lefty's Bar from said game.
84* ''VideoGame/NostalgiaBEMANI'' reuses the ''VideoGame/BeatStream'' cabinet, due to the latter's online service (and the game having online-requiring DRM) being terminated around the time the former was introduced. The key difference is the addition of a piano controller just below the touchscreen. However, an original cabinet designed specifically for ''Nostalgia'' is also available.
85* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' reuses the same layout for most of their caves. Several cave designs have been introduced, but essentially all caves with ogres in them use a single layout, and a second layout with multiple levels accounts for most of the rest of the caves.
86* All the hosptials you can enter in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' use the same interior.
87* ''VideoGame/RainbowSixVegas 2'' recycles four maps from ''Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield'', namely the Refinery, Airport (now a junkyard), Island Estate, and Import/Export Warehouse, as well as a few areas from ''R6 Vegas 1''.
88* ''VideoGame/RiverCityGirls2'' uses most of the same maps from ''VideoGame/RiverCityGirls'', which makes sense because it's set in the same city after a few months. Urban restructuring takes a long time.
89* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIVApocalypse'' reuses several maps from ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiIV''. Justified since it's a direct sequel that takes place in the same region.
90* ''VideoGame/WonderBoyIIITheDragonsTrap'': A lot of rooms, especially in dungeons, have the exact same layout with different props and enemies.
91* ''VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple'' reuses models from Croteam's previous game, ''[[VideoGame/SeriousSam Serious Sam 3: BFE]]''. For example, the Egyptian set is mostly the same.
92* ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdgeCatalyst'' reuses many scenery assets from the original ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge''.
93* ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'' used many of its level designs twice, [[HardModeFiller with tougher enemies and obstacles the second time around]], due to the limited cartridge space of the time. The arcade version replaced the duplicates with all-new levels, whose designs were in turn reused for ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosTheLostLevels''.
94* The original ''VideoGame/{{Darius}}'' comes in a dedicated cabinet with three screens side by side, and ''Darius II'' was initially released in another dedicated cabinet, but with two screens. Taito later released conversion kits to allow operators to reuse ''Darius'' cabinets for ''Darius II'', with the latter game modified for three screens.
95* ''Attack of the Zolgear'' was released as a conversion kit for existing ''VideoGame/{{Galaxian}}^3'' cabinets.
96* ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' recycles the West Southvale neighborhood and Brookhaven Hospital from ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', which used the same engine, along with the models of Angela and James, for the corpse being eaten by a Closer (itself reusing the model of the Mandarin enemies) in the mall boutique and the deceased Harry, respectively.
97* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog''
98** Both of the flashbacks in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' use recycled sets:
99*** Tails has a dream reminiscing his first meeting with Sonic, in which Tails is shown wandering a jungle. Even though the flashback is supposed to take place in [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Westside Island]] going by Sonic lore, it uses the jungle area from the game's HubWorld Mystic Ruins, and it's really noticeable.
100*** Amy's flashback of Sonic's previous adventure on [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehogCD Little Planet]] uses a still of the beta Windy Valley as a background. Even though this one looks noticeably different from the final Windy Valley to pass off as a wholly different area, eagle-eyed players should notice that other parts of the game use stills of it, such as Big's background in the opening FMV.
101** The first cutscene with Knuckles and Rouge ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' is likely meant to be set in Angel Island, but it clearly uses the geometry of Hidden Base, one of the game's stages. At least this time they gave it a different skybox.
102* ''VideoGame/FamilyGuyBackToTheMultiverse'' reuses the airport map from ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'' during the boss fight with Ernie the Giant Chicken.
103* The downtown area from [=MDickie=]'s ''Old School'' is nearly identical to the open world map from ''[[VideoGame/WrestlingMpire Wrestling Empire]]'', featuring many of the same locales and interiors.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Web Animation]]
107* Inevitable in the ''WebAnimation/PimpLando'' series due to ''[[VideoGame/ThreeDMovieMaker 3D Movie Maker]]'' (which was used to create the series) having only about nine sets to choose from without mods. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Lando when he remarks that Boston (and later Orbisonia) look just like Wall Street, due to them all being the same "city" set. A title comes up once declaring a scene to be on "A Different Street" despite said street looking identical to the one in the previous scene.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Web Videos]]
111* James Rolfe used the same set for ''Monster Madness 2019'' and the ''Angry Video Game Nerd'' episode for Halloween of that year.
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:Western Animation]]
115* A take on this trope appears in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Trilogy of Error". Lisa is mistakenly dropped at West Springfield Elementary, which looks exactly identical to Springfield Elementary. One of the students notes that all schools in the area were drawn from the same floorplan. This is TruthInTelevision in some areas, especially areas with a lot of schools built at the same time. In some areas of California, you're likely to find that all the elementary schools look exactly the same, minus the color they use on the outside trim of the buildings.
116* In-universe, in ''WesternAnimation/CodeLyoko'', the Season 3 episode "Temporary Insanity" has Kadic's production of ''Theatre/CyranoDeBergerac'' reuses [[CallBack the sets from the previous year's play]] ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' [[NoBudget because of a lack of money.]]
117* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice'' reuses a few different set layouts from ''WesternAnimation/BatmanUnderTheRedHood''. Specifically, the establishing shot of Gotham City and the warehouse in ''Downtime'' and Roy's apartment in ''Auld Acquaintance'' and ''Salvage''. Freely admitted by the showrunners if asked -- one of them, Brandon Vietti, was the director of ''Under the Red Hood''.
118* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' and ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'', the exterior for Amblin Entertainment is a redecorated version of Acme Looniversity from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.
119[[/folder]]

Top