| 1 | ->''"Okay, they're dead, all right?! We're not gonna be seeing them again!"'' |
| 2 | -->-- '''Stewie Griffin''' (after shooting Vern and Johnny), ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' |
| 3 | |
| 4 | A RunningGag is a recurring event that becomes more humorous or meaningful each time it is used, depending on its subject. However, it can only happen so many times before fans will call out the writers for being unoriginal. What to do? This is the payoff of a RunningGag, where all the humor or drama caused by this builds up to an ending. Ending the gag is hard to pull off successfully whether the gag was popular among the fanbase or not. If it's popular, that means the gag won't be used anymore. If it isn't, it's wasting time when there are bigger fish to fry. |
| 5 | |
| 6 | How do you handle it? Send it off in grand style, of course. Give it a conclusion, or maybe [[BreakingTheFourthWall tell the audience and end it there]]. |
| 7 | |
| 8 | Compared to OverusedRunningGag, where the writers acknowledge the joke's tiredness but don't retire it. A specific form of this is ShooOutTheClowns, in which the joke is gagged to cement [[CerebusSyndrome a shift in tone]]. See also SubvertedCatchphrase. If the Running Gag makes a reappearance after a while, it would be a CallBack or a ContinuityNod, depending on the example. [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Has nothing to do]] with jogging with your mouth stuffed. |
| 9 | |
| 10 | If the gag just gradually fades out or abruptly disappears with no further reference being made to it, it's a form of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness. See also RunningGagStumbles, where a running gag is not played straight for one episode and it seems like it will end, but either continues exactly as usual or just develops a variation in later episodes. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Related to DiscreditedMeme. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | ---- |
| 15 | !!Examples: |
| 16 | |
| 17 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 18 | |
| 19 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 20 | * In Part 1 of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', viewers would sometimes see how Sakura feels through Inner Sakura whenever she felt differently than how she responded. In Part 2, Sakura has learned how to express her true feelings and Inner Sakura only appears once in what could be considered a CallBack (seen in Episode 8 of ''Shippuden'' and Chapter 250 of the manga). The last time the gag is used in Part 1 is when Inner Sakura is implied to be a full-on 2nd personality and foils Ino's attempt at GrandTheftMe. |
| 21 | * In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Sanji's [[FacialCompositeFailure laughably inaccurate bounty poster]] was a long-running joke... until the Straw Hats end up getting attacked by a guy called Duval whose life has been totally ruined by the fact that he happens to look just like that crappy poster, [[MistakenIdentity causing people to think he's Sanji]]. |
| 22 | * In the Creator/{{Funimation}} dub of ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'', Penny has a very abusive dad that stems most of her humor. Near the end of Season 2, her dad goes to therapy, but because Penny is used to the ideal that LoveHurts, she has trouble coping for an episode before finally accepting it. After the show was brought back after 2+ years on hiatus, the writers seemed to have kept this element. |
| 23 | * ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'' always had Josuke getting angry over anyone insulting his hair. Then it's revealed that [[spoiler: his hairstyle was inspired by a mysterious man who saved his life when he nearly died from a fever]]. It is at that moment that the gag ends. |
| 24 | * ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': |
| 25 | ** ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'': After quite a few of Kanto's Gym battles end in Ash being given a badge either out of pity and/or saving the Gym or its Leader personally, Blaine does not give Ash a Volcano Badge after he helps stop a volcanic eruption. He offers a rematch instead (as Ash had surrendered to him earlier), but Ash is still happy to take it (especially when Charizard decides to behave for a bit and inserts itself into the 1 on 1 battle with Magmar). |
| 26 | ** The anime began regions with Pikachu wrecking the bikes of that region's female lead ([[Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries Kanto]] with Misty, [[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesRubyAndSapphire Hoenn]] with May and [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries Sinnoh]] with Dawn). However, since Iris lacked a bike in [[Anime/PokemonTheSeriesBlackAndWhite Unova]], Pikachu shocked her instead, creating a different running gag where Pikachu shocks the female lead. |
| 27 | ** ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesXY'' featured Bonnie attempting to be TheMatchmaker for her big brother Clemont, always proposing any girl or woman she meets to be Clemont's "keeper", much to Clemont's embarrassment. But in the episode [[Recap/PokemonS19E21AKeeperForKeeps "A Keeper for Keeps?!"]], the girl of day, Lilia, ends up liking Clemont and the two get along well, causing Bonnie to have nightmares of Clemont leaving the Lumiose Gym and her for Lilia and regretting her matchmaking behavior. Ultimately, Lilia doesn't feel ready to be Clemont's "keeper", but this ends up being the last ''XY'' episode to feature "Keeper" gag.[[note]]The gag returns in ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'', 6 years later, but only in Clemont and Bonnie's guest-starred episode as ''XY'' nostalgia.[[/note]] |
| 28 | ** ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'' featured a recurring joke about Lillie being afraid of touching Pokémon in its early episodes. [[spoiler: After the reveal this stemmed from an incident with the Ultra Beast Nihilego, the gag stopped being used after that.]] |
| 29 | ** A subtle example: Team Rocket's Meowth notably was unable to learn Pay Day due to learning to speak like a person instead. The move becomes G-Max Gold Rush when using its Gigantimax form in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', which ends up happening in ''Anime/PokemonJourneysTheSeries'' [[spoiler: after Meowth is hit with a blast of Galar particles from Eternatus and gains the ability to Gigantimax]]. |
| 30 | * ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'': In the early part of the series, the main running gag with Yu Ishigami was his utter fear of Kaguya. Due to PoorCommunicationKills and OneDialogueTwoConversations, he had become convinced that she hated him and was plotting to kill him (and, given how powerful [[MegaCorp her family]] is, she could probably do it). This typically took the form of Kaguya saying or doing something Ishigami interpreted as a threat, which would result in him leaving school early while saying something like "I need to revise my will" or "I'm gonna go hang myself". Through the later chapters Kaguya begins helping Ishigami with his poor grades and his romantic pursuits, refusing to give up on him because [[spoiler:she knows the truth about the incident that made him an outcast]]; as a result Ishigami develops a more positive image of Kaguya, and the two even develop a sweet LikeBrotherAndSister relationship. |
| 31 | * ''Manga/ShamanKing'': since ''the very first chapter'' comedic relief character "Wooden Sword" Ryu was at the center of a running gag where his enormous, glorious and cherished pompadour would get [[TraumaticHaircut partly sliced off in increasingly bizarre ways]], forcing him to style his mangled hair into different shapes each time. This changes at the end of volume 11: during a fight against [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Boris Tepes Dracula]] that saw him finally step up from his comedic relief role to true warrior, he epically styles his hair back into a shorter pompadour after having it cut off for the last time. The gag from this moment on is nowhere to be seen, and Ryu even (inexplicably) grows his pompadour back into its original length, if not even ''longer''. |
| 32 | * Every so often in ''Manga/ZatchBell'', Kiyomaro's body inexplicably shifts to a demonic look whenever he gets angry at somebody and characters briefly remark on that. Towards the end of the Faudo arc, when Kiyomaro has been brought back from death and arrives with unrelated supernatural powers to save his friends from Rodeaux, the hero transforms into an abomination for several pages as he makes Gash unleash a storm of lightning attacks on the henchman, complete with [[{{Beat}} a pause]] to recharge his Heart Power. Kiyomaro turns back to normal to reassure his friends and then becomes a monster one last time just to seethe at ArcVillain Zeon, who is actually unnerved by his appearance. That's when the joke stops. |
| 33 | [[/folder]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 36 | * ''ComicBook/UltimateSpiderMan'': |
| 37 | ** Spider-Man following every single denial he was a mutant with "Not that there's anything wrong with that" before ultimately stopping whilst thrown into a HuntingTheMostDangerousGame situation alongside the ComicBook/XMen. |
| 38 | ** In a meta-sense, J. Jonah Jameson twisting every single heroic deed Spider-Man made and Spider-Man's general status as a HeroWithBadPublicity. After over 4 decades of it in the mainstream Marvel universe and 9 years in the Ultimate universe, Jameson stopped slandering Spider-Man after the events of ''ComicBook/{{Ultimatum}}'', when he witnessed Spider-Man doing everything he could possibly do to save people in the midst of UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity being flooded whilst the other superheroes were nowhere to be seen, and subsequently this led to Spider-Man having the best PR out of any of the heroes when Jameson proceeded to admit he was wrong and the Bugle became Spider-Man's biggest supporters. He ''did'' restart the slandering when Miles Morales started on his path as Spider-Man, but in an interesting twist, this was because Jameson (like many people) thought that Miles was desecrating Peter's memory... and in 2018, the good ol' 616 version of Jonah put his own version of the RunningGag away (if not for good because StatusQuoIsGod, then at least for a while) in ''ComicBook/SpiderGeddon'', with him helping Peter survive Morlun's latest rampage and publicly proclaiming Spider-Man as a hero (which actually leads to a hefty InUniverse backlash calling him a "sell-out"). |
| 39 | * ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'': The Rodpod (a dropship modeled after [[SmallNameBigEgo Rodimus']] head which [[EnmityWithAnObject everyone except Rodimus hates]]) gets retired with a vengeance at the end of season two when [[spoiler:the DJD blow it up in their first attack against the Lost Lighters.]] |
| 40 | * ''ComicBook/AtomicRobo'': Louis and Martin, Robo's most incompetent employees and ThoseTwoGuys, form a pretty silly RunningGag for awhile with their bungling, reckless attempts at science and tendency to get ReassignedToAntarctica for it. [[spoiler:[[{{Deconstruction}} Then their carelessness causes an incident that kills sixty innocent people]] and they ''instantly'' stop being funny and become just plain despicable. The last we see of them is the two being immediately fired from Tesladyne and facing life imprisonment for manslaughter, with the case stacked so heavily against them they'll be lucky if they ever see the outside of a prison again.]] |
| 41 | [[/folder]] |
| 42 | |
| 43 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 44 | * In Season 1 of ScriptFic ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'', the titular duo would often have meaningless arguments over stupid things. This was quietly dropped in the second season. |
| 45 | * ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'': |
| 46 | ** The "Kaio-what?" gag[[note]]In which Goku uses the Kaio-ken ([[CallingYourAttacks while saying its name]]), prompting his foe to ask "Kaio-what?" before getting punched in the face[[/note]] ended with Freeza {{No Sell}}ing it (though it did return in the Goku vs. Superman episode of ''WebAnimation/DeathBattle''). |
| 47 | --->'''Freeza:''' No, seriously, Kaio-''what?''\ |
| 48 | '''Goku:''' [[OhCrap Kaio-]]''[[OhCrap crap!]]'' |
| 49 | *** It comes back for one last hurrah in ''The World's Strongest Abridged''. |
| 50 | ** In an odd way, the running gag of a {{freeze frame|Bonus}} {{Squick}}y FanDisservice picture appearing whenever someone uses [[BlindedByTheLight Solar Flare]] ended[[note]]At least possibly - barring {{filler}}, the move never shows up again in [[Anime/DragonBallZ the original series]][[/note]] by undergoing a mini-CerebusSyndrome, as when Cell shows up they go from being humorously squicky (such as Freeza's head photoshopped onto a guy showering, or Creator/{{Lanipator}} dressed as [[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Dr. Frank-N-Furter]]) to two real cicadas mating, until finally a (mercifully cropped) picture of [[spoiler:Semi-Perfect Cell raping Android 18]] appears in the episode where he [[spoiler:absorbs her and becomes perfect. It does come back one last time during Cell's ReallyDeadMontage at the end of the saga, with Imperfect Cell wearing a bikini being the flashed image, but the gag itself dies with him]]. |
| 51 | ** Ever since the very first episode, the series has kept up a [[ButtMonkey "Krillin Owned Count"]], going up every time something bad happens to the resident ButtMonkey. This gag [[spoiler:is [[DoubleEntendre put to bed]] in TheStinger of Episode 60, when Krillin and Android 18 hook up. The counter starts to go down, and keep in mind it went down for every "round" and it was at ''39'' in the end, before being annihilated by a Scatter Bullet.]] |
| 52 | ** Freeza makes a game out of counting aloud [[NeverHeardThatOneBefore all of the heroic cliche lines he's heard in his years as a galactic conqueror]], to unnerve and demoralize would-be freedom fighters who repeat them. However, when Goku cheerfully boasts "I'mma deck you in the schnoz!" Freeza is initially left speechless, then admits he actually ''has'' never heard that one before. He then [[VillainousBreakdown slowly loses his mind]] in his fight with Goku, not just because of Goku matching him blow for blow, but because he can't make sense of [[IdiotHero how Goku thinks]]. |
| 53 | ** The "Goku is a bad father" joke seems to die in Episode 60, with Goku's HeelRealization and subsequent attempts to fix the situation, resulting in his HeroicSacrifice. |
| 54 | ** Throughout the second season a running gag is that Gohan says he needs an adult only for the guy he is talking to say they are an adult, often in a situation that says that he doesn't want that adult. When Goku tries it in the third season, Gohan emphatically shuts him down and that he isn't an adult. |
| 55 | * ''WebVideo/HellsingUltimateAbridged'': Ever since the first episode, Seras Victoria is always called something else rather than her name, even by those not in on the joke in the Hellsing organization. Most call her "Police Girl" while Pip calls her "Ma Chere". This stops in Episode 7 [[spoiler:when she becomes a full vampire and violently forces Zorrin to say her name. Afterwards everyone has a moment where they say her name to her.]] |
| 56 | * ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries'': |
| 57 | ** In Bandit Keith's final appearance in the main series, his EagleLand characterization was officially dropped when [[spoiler:it was revealed that he was [[FakeAmerican only pretending to be American]] and he was actually from Canada]]. In the episode that wrote out Bonz, he reveals that he actually can talk normally and his constantly saying "Braiiins..." was just an act. Both characters' subsequent appearances in all future side videos have dropped these gags. It's lampshaded in one anniversary special where Bakura and Marik try to do a drinking game off some of the gags from the series, they end disappointed when both Bandit Keith and Bonz explain that they don't do those anymore. |
| 58 | ** One of the earliest running gags in the series was Weevil and Rex being obvious [[{{Expy}} expies]] of WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead. This officially ended after Episode 73 when [[spoiler:the Seal of Orichalcos allowed them to {{Retcon}} this behavior away and act more like their canon counterparts.]] And then subverted when [[spoiler:Yami defeating the Orichalcos for good causes them to revert back to acting like the duo.]] |
| 59 | ** Episode 78 ends the running gag of Kaiba's two henchmen being ThoseWackyNazis. When asked about it, Kaiba says that the gag was stupid. |
| 60 | ** Episode 83 opens with the reveal that Duke’s theme music has been killed by Website/YouTube [[ScrewedByTheLawyers getting wise]], so he now has Tristan beat-boxing his theme music as a compromise. |
| 61 | * In ''WebVideo/KingdomHeartsInANutshell'', all of Yen Sid's appearances see him trying to tell everyone what his name spelled backwards is, but he keeps getting cut off. In ''Kingdom Hearts III in a Nutshell'', he finally gets to finish... and it becomes a BadassBoast during his BigDamnHeroes moment, somehow making the parody version even more epic than the real thing. |
| 62 | -->''"[[PunctuatedForEmphasis My name...]] [[SdrawkcabName spelled backwards...]] [[WhamLine is Disney!]]"'' |
| 63 | * On ''WebAnimation/FinalFantasyVIIMachinabridged's'' version of the original game's startup menu, appearing at the start of every season, under Continue, there's an option that says "[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake HD Remake]]" that's selected...to reveal an inhumanly long download time, a reference to the apparent DevelopmentHell it was in. After that, New Game starts Season 1 and Continue starts Season 2 and 3. When selected at the start of Season 4, however, [[spoiler: a window pops up declaring "The joke is dead", because in between seasons, [[SavedFromDevelopmentHell more trailers, footage, and ''a proper release date'' was revealed]]. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Also,]] Creator/SquareEnix themselves had [[AscendedMeme used the gag]] to introduce the remake at their panel during E3 2019.]] When the Movie rolled around, [[spoiler:the HD Remake option was dragged off by a Whisper]]. |
| 64 | * In ''WebVideo/UltraFastPony'', Pinkie Pie's a New Zealander and an obsessive fangirl for ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' (the movies specifically). So nearly every episode she appears in, she'll shoehorn at least one ''LOTR'' reference into her dialogue. The series creator, Wacarb, eventually got sick of doing those gags--so when he abridged the episode where Pinkie clones herself dozens of times, he took the opportunity to kill Pinkie off and replace her with one of those clones, which is thankfully one who doesn't know anything about ''LOTR''. |
| 65 | * ''Fanfic/KingdomHeartsPsiTheSeekerOfDarkness'' has a running gag involving Kairi being [[TransparentCloset in denial about her bisexuality]], something that EverybodyKnewAlready. It's eventually Gagged when Terra brings it up among a few other things they all knew but didn't talk about and Kairi finally admits it to herself. |
| 66 | [[/folder]] |
| 67 | |
| 68 | [[folder:Films — Animation]] |
| 69 | * Throughout the ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' series, Scrat will try and fail to store an acorn, often times ''causing the plot of the story through said antics''. In a clip that ended up being the final thing Creator/BlueSkyStudios made, Scrat finds an acorn and prepares to bury it... then looks around for a moment before digging in. [[ThrowTheDogABone This is the only time in the entire franchise Scrat ever gets to enjoy an acorn]]. |
| 70 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Onward}}'' marks the final appearance of Creator/JohnRatzenberger in a Creator/{{Pixar}} movie since his role in ''Franchise/ToyStory''. |
| 71 | [[/folder]] |
| 72 | |
| 73 | [[folder:Films — Live-Action]] |
| 74 | !!!'''Creators:''' |
| 75 | * Due to Creator/StanLee's death in 2018, the tradition of [[TheCameo/StanLee Stan's Marvel cameos]] has ended, with ''Film/AvengersEndgame'' featuring his final appearance. Even if he were still alive, however, he had already planned ''Endgame'' to be his final cameo due to his failing health, as well as ''Endgame'' seeming like a good place to end it due to it wrapping up a large part of the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse. |
| 76 | |
| 77 | !!!'''Movies:''' |
| 78 | * Throughout ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy2014'' and ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol2'', no one gets Rocket's species (a raccoon) correct except for Peter; almost everyone else who tries calls him a different, completely incorrect animal. In ''Film/GuardiansOfTheGalaxyVol3'', Rocket finds the original cage he was from and learns that he really ''is'' a raccoon. Facing the High Evolutionary once more, he emphatically denounces his laboratory designation and calls himself [[MeaningfulRename Rocket Raccoon]]. |
| 79 | * The running gag in ''Film/{{Moneyball}}'' of Billy breaking, smashing, and/or throwing random objects stops about halfway into the film when things finally begin to look up for him after years of seeing the Oakland A's play dismal season after dismal season. |
| 80 | * After two movies of being a {{Found Footage Film|s}} series, ''Film/{{REC}} 3'' goes through a GenreShift to more traditional horror... and the way it does this is by filming its first act in the regular Found Footage style and then one of the characters ending up pissed at the cameraman because he is eager to continue recording everything instead of helping (the cameraman even justifies himself by repeating a line that the characters on the other films use to ''encourage'' their cameramen into continuing his recording), so he wrestles the camera away from the cameraman and slams it into the ground. |
| 81 | * In ''Film/SpyKids3DGameOver'', everybody constantly refers to "The Guy", and it becomes ArcWords and a minor plot thread. Once the kids reach the entrance to Level 5, "The Guy" appears, opens the way, then gets killed immediately after. Nobody brings it up again. |
| 82 | * ''Film/TheWolfOfSnowHollow'': Jim getting repeatedly physically injured is played comically until [[spoiler:he gets stabbed by the killer in the climax.]] |
| 83 | * In one of the first scenes of ''Film/{{Clerks}}'', Dante discovers gum in the padlock holding the Quick Stop's steel shutters down, prompting him to draw a "I assure you, we're open" sign and hang it outside. The gag quietly resurfaces in ''Film/JayAndSilentBobStrikeBack'' where the shutters are down during the day and the sign is up once again. At the tail end of ''Film/JayAndSilentBobReboot'', Dante once again discovers gum in the locks and can't open the store, while Jay [[spoiler:reveals to his daughter (and the audience) that, unsurprisingly, it was him and Silent Bob who jam gum in the locks on a regular basis]]. Finally, in the ''Clerks'' trilogy GrandFinale, ''Film/ClerksIII'', Dante reacts to discovering gum in the locks once again by kicking the shutters like he did in the first movie... only to calmly peel off the gum with his key without any trouble moments later. |
| 84 | * ''Film/SilentNight2021'': Sandra keeps pleading with her daughter Kitty to hug her. Kitty keeps refusing, but at the end of the movie, she hugs Sandra...as Sandra is dying from the cyanide pill, and Kitty herself will soon die, and it's not even clear if Sandra knows Kitty is hugging her. |
| 85 | * Throughout the first two acts of ''Film/{{Snatch}}'', one minor running gag is Irish Traveller Mickey O'Niel swindling people to keep forcing them to buy a caravan to give [[EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas to his mother]]. The film's biggest DramaBomb happens in the third act, when [[spoiler:[[BigBad Brick Top]] reacts to Mickey telling him (off-screen) that he will gladly take the fall in the fight if he buys a caravan for his mother by setting his mother's caravan on fire… while she was sleeping inside of it… and tell Mickey that it's the fall or all of the other Travelers in the park die.]] |
| 86 | * ''Film/TotalRecall1990'': Benny constantly complains that he's "got five kids to feed!", and that's why he follows around the generous Quaid despite the mounting dangers and multiple deaths. It pays off when he reveals [[spoiler:he's been EvilAllAlong and "I've got four kids to feed." When Quaid sardonically asks "what happened to the fifth?", Benny laughs and admits, "Shit, man, you caught me. I'm not even married."]] |
| 87 | * ''Film/{{Payback}}'': Everyone in the Outfit keeps assuming that Porter wants the full $130,000 that Resnick gave them from the heist that he and Porter pulled together, but Porter keeps correcting them that he [[ComicallySmallDemand only wants the $70,000]] that was supposed to be his share. When the Outfit's boss finally shows up with the money, it's $130,000, and Porter can only roll his eyes in annoyance. |
| 88 | [[/folder]] |
| 89 | |
| 90 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 91 | * ''Literature/HollowKingdom2019'': After a Humboldt penguin coughs up some fish as a sign of respect for S.T., the recurring insults about penguins stop. |
| 92 | [[/folder]] |
| 93 | |
| 94 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 95 | * ''Series/ThirtyRock'' has a running gag where Jenna compares a current situation to increasingly bizarre {{Noodle Incident}}s involving her and Creator/MickeyRourke, like the man trying to fire her from a catapult. The SeriesFinale puts a stop to it. |
| 96 | --> '''Jenna:''' He's in a really bad place, like when Mickey Rourke... ok, I can't do this anymore. ''[[[BreakingTheFourthWall looks straight into the camera]]]'' I've never met Mickey Rourke. |
| 97 | * ''Series/AdamRuinsEverything'' had a recurring gag of references to characters being afraid of "little bugs". This came to a head in the penultimate episode, "Adam Ruins Little Bugs", which was entirely devoted to explaining why many little bugs aren't as scary as people think they are. |
| 98 | * ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'': |
| 99 | ** Maeby often says "Marry me!" to her coworkers as a means of allaying suspicion whenever they point out how young she looks. But one time when she uses it, the proposal is taken a little too seriously and she quickly stops. |
| 100 | ** Another (temporary) example is Tobias' "never-nude" syndrome. For those who don't know, never-nude syndrome is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin and means, in situations where other people would be naked, never-nudes remain clothed (most commonly, for reasons not entirely clear, choosing to wear cutoff jeans). He recovers from it in a mid-season 1 episode, but at the beginning of season 2, he develops this again because of [[ItMakesSenseInContext an extreme close-up of his testicles airing on TV as "proof of weapons of mass destruction"]]. |
| 101 | * ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'': |
| 102 | ** One of Raj's defining features during the early seasons was his selective mutism, which rendered him unable to speak to or in front of women other than his mother and sister, forcing him to whisper in someone else's ear, usually Howard's, to relay what he had to say, unless he was inebriated (which rendered him obnoxious) or on experimental drugs (which caused various side-effects). However, at the tail end of Season 6, a bad breakup shakes him to the point of curing him. [[spoiler:The selective mutism and the alcohol-induced obnoxiousness make a brief comeback in a Season 12 episode.]] |
| 103 | ** A running gag in the early seasons is that the "check engine" light in Penny's car is constantly on. Sheldon and others bug her about attending to it, and she refuses. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Her car finally breaks down]] in the Season 7 episode "[[Recap/TheBigBangTheoryS7E17TheFriendshipTurbulence The Friendship Turbulence]]". |
| 104 | ** When [[LocalHangout Stuart's comic book store]] becomes popular after Creator/NeilGaiman made a visit to the place and then tweeted about it, late in the series' run, Stuart, who has hitherto been a StarvingArtist stuck in PerpetualPoverty, is finally financially secure -- so much so, that he hires an assistant named Denise to help him out with the business, who would stay on for the rest of the series and quickly becomes his LoveInterest. |
| 105 | ** The last example of this trope, chronologically speaking, comes right at the series' GrandFinale, [[spoiler:in which the elevator of the apartment, which has been broken since the beginning the series, is finally fixed]]. |
| 106 | * ''Series/{{Community}}'': A OnceASeason gag in the first two seasons was the series getting a PaintballEpisode where [[TrashTheSet all Hell breaks loose]] as people do their damnedest to win. While the gag stumbled a bit after said two seasons[[note]]because the Greendale College set getting demolished and painted from head to toe with paintball paint [[BudgetBustingElement was absolute hell on the budget for the whole season]][[/note]], Greendale College still encountered a lot of SeriousBusiness episodes that ended in a huge brawl (including a "the floor is lava" contest). The episode "Modern Espionage" ends the paintball contest gag (and similar messes) once and for all with Greendale's new principal putting her foot down and making clear that anybody who tries to start a brawl will be expelled (and she actually expels several people she caught in a paintball competition in campus grounds to make clear she was not bluffing. She takes back the expulsions when he Study Group gets evidence that it was a scheme by people against her, though). On a more meta note, the episode is one of the last four of the final season, and the series started to wind down on the wackiness for the GrandFinale. |
| 107 | * ''Series/DoctorWho'': |
| 108 | ** For a few seasons of the new series, there was a gag in which the companions would try an accent and/or repeat what The Doctor said, to which he inevitably replied [[NoJustNoReaction "No... no, don't do that."]] The episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E10Midnight "Midnight"]] murdered this gag, as Donna repeating what the Doctor said after he was nearly taken over and killed by an [[NothingIsScarier unseen]] monster was the ''last'' thing he needed to hear. The gag has not been used since. |
| 109 | ** The Tenth and Eleventh Doctors both expressed disappointment upon first regenerating that their hair still wasn’t ginger. This running gag was quite popular with fans of the revival series. However, it’s been abandoned since those two incarnations (though the Doctor has yet to be ginger). |
| 110 | ** The Thirteenth Doctor, the first female incarnation, would occasionally slip up and refer to herself as a man before [[VerbalBackspace hastily correcting herself]]; this was slowly phased out as she presumably got used to it. The gag resurfaced early into the Fourteenth Doctor’s first special, where the psychic paper referred to the again-male Doctor as a woman; he just glares and tells it to keep up. |
| 111 | * ''Series/{{Friends}}'' had a RunningGag going since the beginning involving "[[NakedPeopleAreFunny Ugly Naked Guy]]", a [[HeWhoMustNotBeSeen never-seen]], um, ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin character who lived in the next apartment building over, who would occasionally get mentioned with lines such as "Oooh, Ugly Naked Guy's doing X!" By Season 5, the writers decided it was time to retire the gag, and at that point Ross was also in need of a new place to live. So they killed two birds with one stone by having him move out, and Ross get his apartment. |
| 112 | ** An earlier example would be how throughout the first season, a neighbor, Mr. Heckles, would complain the gang was making too much noise despite them clearly have been going about their business at a normal volume level. Early into season 2, they get tired of it and intentionally make too much noise and Mr. Heckles dies moments later. While cleaning out the apartment, they realize that the acoustics of the apartment actually did make their normal activities sound louder than they really were. |
| 113 | * A rare example of a RunningGag [[PlayedForDrama ending dramatically instead of comically]] happened on ''Series/HillStreetBlues''. Every few episodes, Belker would arrest the same petty criminal. Whenever Belker asked him for his name, he would always give an obviously fake one. Belker would often be on the phone with [[MyBelovedSmother his mother]] while booking the criminal, who smirked at the incongruity of a tough detective being nagged by his mom. This went on for years, until the criminal was accidentally caught in the crossfire of a shootout. He had nothing to do with the gang shooting it out with the police; he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. When Belker ran up to him where he lay dying, he finally told Belker his real name and asked Belker to tell his (the criminal's) mother what had happened. |
| 114 | * ''Series/{{House}}'': Dr. Kutner can never use a defibrillator, once accidentally setting fire to the patient and again shocking himself unconscious. In "Locked In" he finally uses one without any mishaps. [[spoiler:In the very next episode, "Simple Explanation", he [[DrivenToSuicide kills himself via self-inflicted gunshot]]]]. |
| 115 | * ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' brings back Barney's fireball magic trick, but everyone snaps at him that it isn't funny anymore, the barmaid reminds him he's been banned from doing it by the fire marshal, and Lily tells him to go stand in the corner. A flashback in a later episode shows that the gang at some point held an intervention to try to persuade him to stop doing it. |
| 116 | * ''Series/{{iCarly}}'': Gibby loved to take his shirt off, even during inappropriate moments, and it was more or less his defining characteristic. Once he became a main character starting in the fourth season, he does it less and less until he eventually stops going shirtless altogether (save for one more instance in "iRescue Carly") and it is lampshaded that he doesn't do it anymore. |
| 117 | * In ''Series/KamenRiderDrive'', Lt. Otta had two major running gags: |
| 118 | ** First, he only got bits and pieces of information about the Kamen Riders and therefore had a wildly inaccurate image of them - for instance, he saw only parts of Drive's body at times when he was in [[MultiformBalance different forms]], so his mental image of Drive was a mashup of all of them; and then when he realized there was more than one Kamen Rider running around he thought that ''all'' of Drive's forms were actually different people. This ended when Drive's identity went public and Otta could get his facts straight from the source. It gets an amusing CallBack in the ''Kamen Rider Heart'' post-series movie where Heart's attempt to transform into Drive results in his turning into a real-life version of Otta's mashup picture, complete with a reaction shot from Otta when he sees it. |
| 119 | ** Otta also displayed a comical inability to say the word "[[MonsterOfTheWeek Roidmude]]" no matter how many times he's corrected; what he does say instead gets translated into things like "Hemmoroido" and "Pork Roasto". In one episode, he even acknowledges this while under the effects of a HatePlague, raging that his co-workers think he's an idiot because of it. The gag gets put to rest about 3/4 of the way through the show, [[spoiler:where it's revealed that the incredibly powerful Freeze Roidmude placed a mental block on the police to render them [[PoliceAreUseless ineffectual]], [[TriggerPhrase keyed to the word "Roidmude"]]; Otta's mispronunciation is one of the only reasons he was able to remain competent. A cure is developed, and once it's used on Otta he's able to say the word properly, much to his teammates' relief.]] |
| 120 | * German comedy ''Klimbim'' had the unknown drinker at the bar, who never said a word and fell from his stool. When they got bored with it, in a series finale he shoots everyone and says "Finally I can talk!" |
| 121 | * ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver'': |
| 122 | ** During the 7th season, John would regularly [[EvenTheGuysWantHim gush over]] Creator/AdamDriver's [[EvenTheGuysWantHim attractiveness]]. In the last episode of the season, Driver himself appeared at the show, [[WhatTheHellHero lambasting Oliver's unwanted advances]], [[ATasteOfTheirOwnMedicine and even turned some of them around against him]]. |
| 123 | ** Durig the 8th season, there was a gag where [[FrivolousSummoning John could summon]] Creator/GeorgeClooney [[FrivolousSummoning by snapping his fingers]], [[DamnYouMuscleMemory sometimes entirely accidentally]]. During the season finale, George gives him the power to summon any other celebrities of his choosing, which includes Creator/JenniferCoolidge, Creator/WillFerrell, Creator/RuPaul, and Music/CardiB. |
| 124 | * ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'': Number 86 on Earl's list "Stole a car from a one-legged girl". Before he discovered karma and turned his life around, Earl had a one night stand with a woman named Didi, who, unbeknownst to Earl until the next morning, had a prosthetic leg. Earl freaked out, stole her money and leg while making off in her car, leaving her to hop around on her remaining leg. Earl had several encounters with Didi, but she would instantly go bonkers and try to hurt/kill him on sight before he could explain that he was trying to make amends, with her triple amputee boyfriend even helping a time or two. Come season three, Earl is finally able to calm her down long enough to get through to her (largely due to the fact that Earl approached Didi at her place of work, where she couldn't make too much of a fuss) and after making him hop a mile in her shoe, Didi finally forgives Earl and he crosses her off his list. |
| 125 | * ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'': |
| 126 | ** Up until "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E04TeenagersFromOuterSpace Teenagers from Outer Space]]", Joel and the Bots, upon seeing a flashlight being shown, declare "It's ''Series/TheNBCMysteryMovie''!". In the first segment of that episode, as a result of overusage in the previous episode "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E03CityLimits City Limits]]", Joel uses shock therapy to get them to cut it out. |
| 127 | ** In "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S04E09IndestructibleMan Indestructible Man]]", a running gag of DonutMessWithACop get used so much that two cops invade Deep 13 at the end to force Joel and the bots to sign an affidavit to prevent them from doing so again. A bit of LoopholeAbuse happens when the joke is revived by Mike, who wasn't around thus didn't sign the affidavit, in "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S06E18HighSchoolBigShot High School Big Shot]]". |
| 128 | ** In "[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S05E18TheAtomicBrain The Atomic Brain]]", whenever Ms. Marsh's house appears, the SOL crew declare "Selznick International Pictures''. After a while, Mike decides that they should stop, but Tom tries to sneak in two more. |
| 129 | * ''Series/OddSquad'': The running gag of Season 1, where a character remarks "If Sheila could see me now" after performing some sort of action, comes to a head in the finale "O is Not For Over", where "Sheila" is revealed to be the name of an actress in the ShowWithinAShow ''Bizarre Brigade'' who has, quite literally, [[LosingYourHead lost her head.]] Once Otto restores it with the aid of a gadget, the director of the SWAS states that "I'm so glad Sheila can see me now!" This is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in the Season 2 episode "The Ninja Situation" when, after giving a disguised Otis the pizza needed to win over the Yum-Yum Twins, Olympia remarks "If Sheila could see me now" only for Oona to tell her that [[MediumAwareness "I don't think we're doing that anymore."]] |
| 130 | * ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': In the first five seasons, one of the running jokes with George is that he can never hold a job for more than episode or two, screwing up in some way every time he comes close. This is stopped at the end of season 5, when he becomes employed by the New York Yankees and stayed there for multiple seasons. |
| 131 | * ''Series/StargateSG1'': FunWithHomophones jokes regarding the Goa'uld Lord Yu were abandoned in the eighth season, as even the characters in-universe were getting tired of them. Weir, a newcomer to the series, hears his name and is immediately told that every single joke and pun has been done to death, so please don't. [[spoiler:Yu himself dies near the end of the season as well, putting the final nail in the proverbial coffin.]] |
| 132 | * ''Series/VeronicaMars'': Cassidy Casablancas is [[PhraseCatcher constantly being tormented by his nickname, Beaver]], and Veronica consistently starts calling him Beaver before switching it out with Cassidy; Logan also makes a series of [[DoubleEntendre "Dick and Beaver" jokes]] about sleeping with Kendall (their stepmother). Then, come the end of Season 2, [[spoiler:Logan accidentally calls him "Beaver" when trying to persuade Cassidy not to kill himself after it comes out that he crashed the bus and killed multiple people due to being molested. This ends up being the final straw for him, and he emotionally tells Logan that his name is Cassidy, [[DrivenToSuicide then jumps off the roof to his death]]. Out of respect, Logan decides to stop making the jokes and always refer to him posthumously as "Cassidy", never calling him "Beaver" again.]] |
| 133 | * ''Series/WheelOfFortune'': On October 12, 2020, a contestant won $100,000 in the BonusRound, but the confetti did not shoot from its cannons. Pat Sajak explained that the cannons malfunctioned, and he jokingly blamed it on then-new executive producer Mike Richards. For that day and on other Season 38 episodes featuring wins in excess of $100,000, Richards [[CreditsGag was credited]] as "Mike 'Confetti' Richards". This gag was retired once Richards left Creator/{{Sony}} on bad terms shortly into Season 39. A weekend repeat from Season 38 was modified to credit Richards normally. |
| 134 | * ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'': To end the game "Scenes from a Hat", Creator/DrewCarey would fling the hat offstage, visibly cheering if it managed to hit a camera. He stopped doing it when he accidentally hit a camera hard enough to knock it off its crane. |
| 135 | [[/folder]] |
| 136 | |
| 137 | [[folder:Podcasts]] |
| 138 | * ''Podcast/WelcomeToNightVale'': In the first few seasons, every time Cecil reads out the week's horoscopes, the one for Scorpio sounds angry and demeaning. It's eventually revealed that this is because Cecil's SitcomArchNemesis, Steve Carlsberg, is a Scorpio. [[spoiler:Cecil and Steve resolve their differences]] in "Matryoshka", and in "The Promise of Time", [[spoiler:Cecil promises Steve that he'll never insult Scorpios again, putting an end to the gag.]] |
| 139 | [[/folder]] |
| 140 | |
| 141 | [[folder:Puppet Shows]] |
| 142 | * ''Series/TheMuppetShow'''s Rita Moreno episode has the telephone gag, wherein Fozzie answers the telephone, and something comes out of the microphone. Eventually, Kermit gets annoyed at the gag and orders Fozzie to not answer the phone. When he disparagingly cries "[[TemptingFate is there no end to this running gag?!]]" Cue [[ExtremeOmnivore Animal]] ripping the phone from the wall[[labelnote:*]]It's an old-fashioned wall telephone. [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magneto_wall_telephone_1917_open.jpg Like this one.]][[/labelnote]] and running off with it. |
| 143 | -->'''Fozzie''': Well. [[LampshadeHanging I guess that means the end of this running gag.]]\ |
| 144 | '''Kermit''': Yeah, and also to [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome all the incoming calls!]] |
| 145 | * Throughout ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'', Baby would regularly hit Earl over the head and shout "Not the mama!" In the episode, "Refrigerator Day", the Sinclair family ends up in financial jeopardy when [[BadBoss B.P. Richfield]] fails to deliver the holiday bonuses, which results in their fridge getting repossessed. Feeling like he's at an all time low, Earl asks Baby to hit him over the head. Baby thinks about it for a second and says, "It's getting old." |
| 146 | * Early in ''Series/SesameStreet''[='=]s life, no one else could ever see or hear Snuffleupagus due to him conveniently being missing when a character other than Big Bird would attempt to see him, causing the rest of the cast to believe that Snuffy was Big Bird's ImaginaryFriend, [[NotSoImaginaryFriend much to Big Bird's growing frustration]]. In 1985, this was put to rest, due in part to the [[OverusedRunningGag writing staff running out of ways to implement this]], as well as [[AdultsAreUseless fear that children might not tell authority figures about something important]], especially following some [[RealLifeWritesThePlot high-profile child abuse cases at the time]]. This was done by having Big Bird and Snuffy formulate a plan so the others could see him. Afterwards, the other characters apologize to Big Bird for doubting him for so long. |
| 147 | [[/folder]] |
| 148 | |
| 149 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 150 | * In ''The Theatre/FarndaleAvenue Housing Estate Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society's Production of Macbeth'', the Third Witch keeps coming on stage at the beginning of scenes and proclaiming, "Thrice the brindled cat hath mewed", before being rushed off because it's not time for that scene yet. When the play does finally get to the right scene, she misses her cue, leaving the other two witches stranded on stage waiting for her to arrive and start the scene. |
| 151 | * Noah Smith's stage version of ''Theatre/TheStrangeCaseOfDrJekyllAndMrHyde'' depends on quick scene changes and uses minimal set dressing. At the beginning of each new scene, the GreekChorus describes the setting to the audience, pointing out the locations of imaginary windows, furniture, etc., and frequently ending with "And a door." When Utterson breaks down the locked door of Jekyll's laboratory at the end of the penultimate scene, the subsequent scene shift to the interior of the laboratory ends with "And an open space where there used to be a door." |
| 152 | [[/folder]] |
| 153 | |
| 154 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 155 | * The ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing'' series had Mr. Resetti and his infamous rants about restarting the game without saving prior to that. Then comes ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewLeaf'', in which encountering him is now optional. Upon the first reset, after selecting a reason for the action, this dialogue occurs: |
| 156 | --> '''Resetti''': Wassat? You were expecting something a little different? Heh... Yeah, here's the thing. The Reset Surveillance Center? It don't exist no more. |
| 157 | ** Though it does end up being a temporary retirement of the gag when you decide to build a new Reset Surveillance Center. |
| 158 | *** In ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingNewHorizons'', however? Due to the autosave function, the gag is now officially over due to Resetti being laid off from the job, ''for real this time''. Fortunately, he's still around for players to hang out with. |
| 159 | * ''VideoGame/DragonQuestVIII'' had Yangus's catch phrase "Cor Blimey!" which happens as a funny background event any time Trode appears from nowhere. By Tyran Gully, it had happened three times, and instead we got: |
| 160 | -->'''Yangus:''' Cor Bli--Nah, fed up of that line. |
| 161 | ::: Given a callback as the very last line of the ending before the credits roll, though not by Yangus this time. |
| 162 | * The ''VideoGame/GearsOfWar'' series features a OnceAnEpisode gag involving a member of the Carmine family being casually killed off early in the game. While none of the deaths are PlayedForLaughs, the formulaic nature of their appearances are certainly done in a tongue-in-cheek nature. This suddenly changes in ''Gears 5'', where [[spoiler:Lizzy Carmine's CruelAndUnusualDeath (a la an out-of-control Hammer of Dawn) is treated completely seriously, and [[ShooOutTheClowns serves as the moment when the story takes a dark turn]]]]. |
| 163 | * In the final ''VideoGame/HenryStickminSeries'' game, a lot of the successful choices are ones that previously resulted in [=FAIL=]s [[RunningGag whenever they came up]]. |
| 164 | ** Using a Gadget Gabe item- there are actually ''two'' (in different routes) that work correctly. |
| 165 | ** Henry using one of Captain Falcon's moves. [[spoiler: He executes a Wombo Combo with Ellie perfectly in the ''Capital Gains'' route.]] |
| 166 | ** The 'Charles' option that has him crash his helicopter into Henry. [[spoiler: It's the correct choice to proceed in the ''Valiant Hero'' route.]] |
| 167 | * In the first ''VideoGame/{{Portal|1}}'' game, numerous references were made to cake, such as Chell's reward being cake, and the famous TheCakeIsALie meme was found here. In ''VideoGame/Portal2'', [[DiscreditedMeme the writers were sick of the memes]] and stripped out all references to cake... except ''one'': an [[SchmuckBait Obvious Trap]] labeled "[=GLaDOS=] Emergency Shutdown and Cake Dispensary". |
| 168 | * ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun'': In most of Ralph's street races, he would get the countdown to the start of the race wrong ("1, 1, 1, Go," "5, 5, 5, 4," or "6, 12, 1, Go"). This gag reaches its end in Level 6, where he finally gets the countdown right, and cheerfully points this out. [[spoiler:As for Level 7, Ralph does not host a street race -- he, Nelson, and Milhouse are replaced with zombies, so Level 6 is the last level where this gag happens.]] |
| 169 | * ''VideoGame/ToTheMoon'' has the [[MementoMacguffin stuffed platypus]], whose appearance (and long life) is constantly joked about in-game until [[spoiler: TheReveal of [[ForgottenFirstMeeting its origin]] at the end.]] |
| 170 | [[/folder]] |
| 171 | |
| 172 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 173 | * ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'': |
| 174 | ** Parodied in the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail "the facts"; Homestar tells Strong Bad he's incorporating a new catchphrase, "That's bupkis", which he never says in any other cartoon. |
| 175 | ** A long string of [=SBEmails=] featured a RunningGag where characters would randomly make a reference to "DNA evidence". The last email to feature this running gag, "rough copy", had an Easter egg at the end where Homestar is sitting by himself in Marzipan's living room and wearily says the phrase "DNA evidence", to show the joke had officially worn out its welcome.... that is, until it became the subject of its own toon. |
| 176 | * ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'' starts Season 11 with the main characters stranded in an unknown planet after their ship crashed. All through that season and the next, there would be a flashback showing one of the cast (except the one viewers would expect, the LethallyStupid Caboose) might have caused the accident - Washington tripping on a power cable, Grif spilling soda over the controls, Tucker hitting on the pilot, etc. Come episode 15 of Season 12, the ship actually crashed because of a tractor beam on the planet - only the cumulative hijinks from those flashbacks actually ''saved their lives'' ("Ships come by, we pull them down and then kill everyone aboard. Would have worked on you too but something went wrong. It was like the ship tried to jump to slip-space, change course and power down all at the same time. It didn't make any sense. Instead of pulling you down, the ship got ripped apart"). |
| 177 | * ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'': |
| 178 | ** Mockery of Music/JustinBieber and ''[[Literature/TheTwilightSaga Twilight]]'' was very common in ''[=SMG4=]'' early years, referencing their status of [[MemeticLoser Memetic Losers]] at the time, especially the former, with characters disgusted by "Baby" to the point of ''[[SuicideAsComedy committing suicide]]'', to literally featuring Justin Bieber himself as a joke character in some episodes. By the mid-2010s, this became quickly outdated as internet moved away from both targets. Nedless to say, these jokes were quietly dropped out of the series by 2017. |
| 179 | ** Mario's [[NakedPeopleAreFunny nudist tendencies]] were another common running gag that dissapeared from the series, albeit due to limitations with ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'', since it is used more to animate the series than ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' nowadays. In other words, Naked Mario wouldn't translate very well on ''[=GMod=]''. |
| 180 | ** DeathAsComedy used to be frequent on the series, with either Mario killing Toad or Peach by accident (or sometimes on purpose), to Mario dying by his own stupidity, with no real repercussions [[TheyKilledKennyAgain as they always come back alright in the next episode or sometimes in the next scene]]. By the time the show entered CerebusSyndrome, and especially after [[spoiler: Desti's death in the Anime Arc]], death is now treated as something serious and the show is now more careful about which character dies now that death in [=SMG4=] [[KilledOffForReal is irreversible]]. |
| 181 | ** Not entirely abandoned but Mario's [[TrademarkFavoriteFood obsession with spaghetti]] has become less frequent over the years. |
| 182 | ** A frequent running gag saw Princess Peach's Castle destroyed by some wacky occurrence, usually because of [[LethallyStupid Mario]]. The movie ''[[WebAnimation/SMG4MovieItsGottaBePerfect IT'S GOTTA BE PERFECT]]'' ends with the castle [[spoiler:being swallowed whole by an EldritchAbomination that had also corrupted [=SMG4=]]], and it's outright stated that the castle's likely gone for good this time. |
| 183 | -->'''Mario''': Wait...but guys...Mario blows up the castle all the time...can't we just rebuild it again?\ |
| 184 | '''Meggy''': Something tells me...the castle won't be returning any time soon... |
| 185 | [[/folder]] |
| 186 | |
| 187 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 188 | * ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'': |
| 189 | ** There was a Running Gag involving women hitting men with a HyperspaceMallet whenever they said something sexist. The Hammers were eventually deconstructed as their true purpose was revealed: They were not designed to prevent sexist comments, but rather encourage them, as the hammers gave women an opportunity to get back at the men in a harmless manner, meaning the men didn't have to feel bad about upsetting them. The hammers became permanently unusable when [[spoiler:the immortal who controlled them was preparing for his death and rebirth.]] |
| 190 | ** References to Tedd being androgynous also stopped for a while, probably because in the [[ArtEvolution newer art style]] he didn't really look all that androgynous. They later made a return, along with Tedd getting a new (and much more androgynous) look in-universe. |
| 191 | ** Later, an arc titled Bringing Silly Back seemed to be mainly using this as a chance to call a capper on the overly silly running gags, and reconstruct them to fit the new tone of the comic. |
| 192 | * A short-lived example in ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'': The [[RuleOfThree third]] time the RightBehindMe gag was [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/000617 used with Dr. Wily]], Dave Anez retired the joke. (The name of that particular strip even {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this: "This Is The Last Time, I Swear".) The "retirement" only lasted one year before [[http://www.bobandgeorge.com/archives/010617 it was brought back]], at which point Wily rages about the author's broken promise. The gag would continue to be used on occasion right up to the final story arc. |
| 193 | * Jeph Jacques of ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' frequently used Yelling Bird, a foul-mouthed avian, as filler material when he needed a break. In August of 2015, he officially retired Yelling Bird, after letting the bird verbally abuse the [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3016 readers one last time.]] |
| 194 | -->'''Jeph:''' I am tired of Yelling Bird comics so there will be NO MORE OF THEM, goodbye you shitty bird. |
| 195 | * ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel'' had a running gag of a normal strip being interrupted with one of the character randomly getting shot by an arrow. It was officially retired by having Ethan dodge and [[ArrowCatch catch]] it and snapping it in half. [[PianoDrop Cue him being crushed by an elephant]]. |
| 196 | * ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' had a gag where the raven Blackwing would only appear when his master Vaarsuvius remembered his existence. This joke was played purely for laughs with little impact on the plot until Vaarsuvius suffers a crushing loss to [[BigBad Xykon]] and needs someone who can fly to save the day. Following that incident, Blackwing has had a more permanent presence in the party. In addition to showcasing Vaarsuvius's character development (atoning for their former negligence of Blackwing), the author has also commented that retiring the gag was deliberate as he thought that there was no variation of it he could pull off that would be more impactful than its last iteration. |
| 197 | [[/folder]] |
| 198 | |
| 199 | [[folder:Web Videos]] |
| 200 | * ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'': |
| 201 | ** Early on in the series, Linkara had a "continuity alarm" that would stop him anytime he would try to discuss the complicated backstory behind certain background elements in the comics he reviewed. However, many fans who weren't regular comic readers actually wanted Linkara to discuss the continuity in-depth, so Lewis gradually phased the joke out. The continuity alarm ended up being sabotaged by Dr. Linksano in his review of ''Zero Patrol #1'', and Linkara revealed many years later that he reprogrammed it to tell him when his microwave popcorn was ready. |
| 202 | ** A minor running gag in the [[MilestoneCelebration milestone episodes]] featured Creator/BradJones appearing in a cameo thinking that Linkara was reviewing the ''ComicBook/{{Caligula}}'' comic. By the time Lewis did his 600th episode, his real-life relationship with Brad [[WeUsedToBeFriends detoriated]] following the fallout of the [=#ChangeTheChannel=] movement. As a result, the review itself opened up with Linkara about to review the ''Caligula'' comic at long last, only to stop once he receives a phone call informing him of how Brad was treating his friends, prompting him to review a random comic he pulled from his shelf instead… [[FromBadToWorse which unfortunately turned out to be the infamous Spider-Man storyline "Sins Past"]]. |
| 203 | * LetsPlay/{{Chuggaaconroy}} |
| 204 | ** [[ZigZaggedTrope Zig-Zagged]] with Steve the Trooper from his Let's Play of ''VideoGame/Pikmin1''. Chugga mentioned during the [=LP=] that he calls any red-leaf Pikmin that falls behind "Steve". When one "Steve" spent all day trying to bring any enemy corpse back to base on his own Chugga turned Steve into a MemeticBadass. Eventually, however, Chugga grew annoyed with fan's obsession with Steve, and would avoid mentioning him throughout the entirety of the ''VideoGame/Pikmin2'' Let's Play. He would later exclaim in frustration during the [=LP=] of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' "The gag stopped being funny after Pikmin 1!", and claimed to kill the gag after defeating [[NamesTheSame Poké Maniac Steve]] in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRubyAndSapphire Pokémon Emerald]]''. Despite this, Steve would continue to have brief references in later [=LPs=], and [[TheBusCameBack eventually returned to the spotlight]] during Chugga's Let's Play of ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'', and once again a few years later during Jon's blind Let's Play of ''Pikmin 1'' on LetsPlay/TheRunawayGuys, albeit now going by the aliases of "Estaban" ([[BilingualBonus Spainish for "Steve"]]). |
| 205 | ** In earlier videos, Chugga would commonly say "D'oh I missed!" after missing an attack, as a reference to Wario's losing quote in the first two ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' games, with the soundbite even being his ringtone during the ''Majora's Mask'' Let's Play. Around 2013 however, Chugga would use the gag less and less explaining during the Let's Play of ''[[Videogame/SuperMario64 Super Mario 64 DS]]'' that he felt he had been overusing the joke and recently learned that [[{{Mondegreen}} the actual line]] is "So Ein Mist!" (German for "That Bites!"). As a result, the line very rarely shows up in newer videos, and when the line is said, it's sometimes done with reluctance. |
| 206 | ** Chugga’s two pet cats Teddy and Kirby would often barge in when Chugga was recording a video demanding attention, which could sometimes mess with how he was playing. This pattern would become less common when Teddy passed away in February 2016, and cease complete when Kirby passed away in July 2023. |
| 207 | * In ''[[http://dbzu.3gkai.com/ Dragon Ball Z Uncensored]]'' (a comparison of the original ''[[Manga/DragonBall Dragon Ball Z]]'' TV show and its English dub), some time after the episode which introduced Hell, Chris Psaros started using the exclamation "What the HFIL?" (in reference to Hell's DubNameChange), which he kept using until near the end of the Frieza Saga, at which point [[http://dbzu.3gkai.com/series/ep095.html he retires the phrase]], but not before admiring the meme that resulted from it. |
| 208 | * ''WebVideo/HistoryOfTheEntireWorldIGuess'' has "you could make a religion out of this" repeated after the founding of various world religions. The line starts to repeat after UsefulNotes/TheFrenchRevolution and the death of UsefulNotes/MaximilienRobespierre, but is interrupted by "no, don't"[[note]]Quite likely a nod to the Cult of Reason and the Cult of the Supreme Being, two failed attempts at establishing a new national religion for France.[[/note]]. |
| 209 | * [=YouTuber=] [[https://www.youtube.com/user/Playstationfan2004 J's Reviews]] took many [[TakeThat swipes at]] ''VideoGame/SlyCooperThievesInTime'' in his earlier videos, with the game being his go-to comparison for poor writing. J would also attack the game's developer Creator/SanzaruGames whenever they came up, often referring to the company as "Shitzaru Hack-Fraud Games". At the start of 2021, J quietly dropped the RunningGag due to viewers expressing their fatigue with the constant jabs and J realizing how unprofessional it was. The gag's death was cemented in his 2023 re-review of ''Thieves In Time'', where J [[CreatorBacklash expressed regret]] towards his common attacks and gave a formal apology to Sanzaru for unwittingly making the studio target for harassment, even [[BuryYourArt deleting his harshest videos towards the game]] around this time. |
| 210 | * ''WebVideo/NitroRad'': Ever since his review of the ''Gex'' series, James would often use his dislike of how Gex talked as an example of annoying dialogue from video game characters. After his review of ''VideoGame/Bubsy3D'', in which the title character has an even more obnoxious voice with more pointless dialogue, he promises to stop harping on Gex, admitting his stupidity was more charming. |
| 211 | * ''Series/{{Noob}}'' has a case of this trope meeting RealLifeWritesThePlot. One of the running gags was a situation in which a {{Player Kill|ing}}er named Dark Avenger was in a MistakenForBadass situation with Sparadrap, TheFool of the cast. The actor playing one of the two could no longer participate so [[spoiler:Dark Avenger's higher-ups suddenly got frustrated with the situation that has been lasting for years and expelled him from his guild. That is followed by Sparadrap managing to beat him up in the middle of trying to give him a little consolation. That results in him quitting the game out of spite]]. |
| 212 | * WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic has had various jokes that he used at the beginning of his run, only to cycle them out and exchange them for new ones. |
| 213 | ** With one -- his showing of a clip with [[Franchise/StreetFighter M. Bison]] saying "Of course!" when a character expresses a desire to rule the world -- he refuses to show it because it's been overdone, only for the clip to force its way onto the screen despite his protests. In the commentary for the review, Doug Walker mentions that he tries to be mindful of if he's overusing a joke to the point where it isn't funny, at which point he tries to mix things up a little and keep it fresh. |
| 214 | ** On that point, one of his reviews ''did'' end with its respective RunningGag (a {{Flanderiz|ation}}ed-to-the-point-of-uselessness Film/PatchAdams called "Bitch Spasms") being blown away (and the cadaver being left on the ground as a BrickJoke for a future episode), the review for ''Film/JurassicParkIII'' finishing (at least apparently for now) the "Motherfucking T-Rex" gag (on the moment that the T-Rex gets its neck snapped by another dinosaur. It does, however, get a glorious resurrection as SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic for the Rexy-vs.-Indominus fight on the ''Film/JurassicWorld'' review), the review for ''Film/TheLostWorldJurassicPark'' kills the newsreel-style LongList [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters of how humans screw up nature]] that had pervaded several nature-related film reviews with the Critic belting out a BigShutUp to launch into a rant about how annoyingly {{Anvilicious}} films get when they try to (continuously) hammer this point. |
| 215 | ** "[[BerserkButton Bat credit card]]" was killed by [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] when the critic made a cameo in his review of ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''’s comic adaptation, wanting to just get the bit over with. Linkara instead [[{{Reconstruction}} reconstructs]] the meme by explaining Batman is filthy rich, uses secret methods to spend that money on crimefighting in ways that cannot be traced back to Bruce Wayne, is known to purchase items while fighting crime if he needs them, and is obsessed with putting his bat brand on everything he uses. With all those traits to him, a Bat credit card is actually rather logical and practical for him to have, so what's so anger-inducing about it? The Critic is speechless. |
| 216 | ** His "Boomer Will Live" gag started with his ''Film/IndependenceDay'' review. When he did the review for ''Film/{{Battleship}}'', he showed a clip of a pilot with the call sign "Boomer" on his helmet after the aliens are defeated. He starts to do the usual gag until... |
| 217 | ---> ''Boomer... is retiring this joke.''. |
| 218 | * LetsPlay/{{Raocow}} has done this in a few LP's, such as in ''Mushroom Kingdom Meltdown'', where he would often abruptly cut away to a fast-forwarded clip of him farming infinite lives whenever he ran out, usually while singing badly. After a few occasions, he said "Okay, this has stopped being funny now", and retired the gag (though he did still farm infinite lives offscreen). He's also said he reads his own trope page and checks under "Catchphrase" and "Running Gag" to see what he's overdoing and making an effort to stop doing that. |
| 219 | * Webvideo/SomecallmeJohnny had a Running Gag in his Metroid videos where, anytime he mentioned the Screw Attack powerup, a disembodied voice would suddenly shout "SCREW ATTACK!" much to Johnny's confusion, and later, annoyance. By ''Metroid Prime 3'', Johnny finally calls it off and guns down the "SCREW ATTACK" guy, ending the gag. It got one last oblique mention in his video of ''Federation Force'' where he mentions the Screw Attack, and then immediately says "I shot that asshole dead." |
| 220 | ** In his earliest reviews of ''Franchise/{{Sonic|the Hedgehog}}'' games, when he brought up [[BaseBreakingCharacter Big the Cat]], he mocked him in a certain way or said "I don't like Big the Cat". Then comes his review of ''Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing'', and when he mentions Big the Cat as a playable character, he inhales to say "I'm kinda sick of saying that." |
| 221 | * A common RunningGag in ''WebVideo/ScottTheWoz'' was him voicing his disapproval for ''[[VideoGame/ChibiRobo Chibi-Robo Zip Lash!]]'' by throwing his copy of the game into the toilet and exclaiming "This game blows!". This eventually came to head during his "Dark Age of Nintendo" mini-series, covering what many consider some of Creator/{{Nintendo}}'s weakest offerings in recent times, as the final episode was centered around the titular game, and explaining in depth why he hates it so much, ending with him and his friends trekking out to the sewers to destroy every copy he threw down the toilet. |
| 222 | ** The mini-series itself ''also'' has its own RunningGagged. Scott's friend Jeb is obsessed with [[VideoGame/{{Gex}} Gex the Gecko]], and Scott continuously tricks him into playing games with him by disguising the game he's ''actually'' playing as a Gex game. When they destroy the copies of Zip Lash! however, Scott decides to play Gex for real...only for Jeb to be confused. |
| 223 | --->'''Jeb''': ...What the [[SoundEffectsBleep f*ck]] is this? |
| 224 | * Jules Gill of [=WhatCulture.com=] is known for making crass YourMom jokes in his videos on the [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCM7Srv4mxJejt2NLmumkRRQ WhatCulture YouTube channel]] (invariably followed by "That's my one per list."). Around Spring of 2020 he phased those jokes out, saying that he thought they had run their course. It was used once in a later video, however. |
| 225 | [[/folder]] |
| 226 | |
| 227 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 228 | * ''Franchise/LooneyTunes'': The ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoons and comics can't use [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed caricatures of]] Creator/PeterLorre anymore (at least not in the context of him being a MadScientist like he was in a few of the older Looney Tunes) due to legal issues with his estate, who will no longer authorize using caricatures of him in that context (not to mention that younger viewers are less likely to recognise him nowadays). It got a planned appearance of him axed from one of the Looney Tunes comics and replaced with the scientist from ''Water, Water Every Hare''. |
| 229 | * Early on in ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks,'' Tom was deathly afraid of [[BlackComedyRape being raped by Bubba]], [[HypocriticalHumor despite happily sending members of his own race to the exact same fate]]. In "A Date With The Booty Warrior," he faces his greatest fear: [[MemeticMolester The Booty Warrior]]. [[TookALevelInBadass He easily defeats the Booty Warrior]], and he doesn't get a single rape joke in Season 4. |
| 230 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': |
| 231 | ** The evil monkey living in Chris' closet. In season 8, he finally [[AccidentalInnuendo came out of the closet]], turned out to not be that bad of a monkey, helped Peter and Chris amend their relationship, and moves out to live in Jake Tucker's closet. He has been OutOfFocus in ''Family Guy'', but he makes a complete HeelFaceTurn in ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'', where he is [[MeaningfulRename renamed Monkey]], and he saves Cleveland from the guys from ''Literature/{{Deliverance}}''. |
| 232 | ** Another example is Vern and Johnny, the Vaudeville players, who would be killed off. They started making appearances after the show's revival ([[EarlyBirdCameo although Vern appeared by himself way back in the second season of the show]]), and were killed by Stewie in the next season. They end up making one more appearance after this, with Vern as a ghost and Johnny in Hell (Vern's ghost explains that [[PaedoHunt Johnny liked little boys]]). They also have a background cameo in one of Stewie's nightmares in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS14E15ALotGoingOnUpstairs A Lot Going On Upstairs]]" that involves other recurring extras that were no longer used. They are also seen in Peter's hallucination of deceased characters in "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS18E17ComaGuy Coma Guy]]". |
| 233 | ** Also killed off was Paddy Tanniger, a character introduced in the second season whose defining trait was his catchphrase of "Big whoop, wanna fight about it?". During the climax of "Hell Comes to Quahog", he says the phrase while mocking Brian and Stewie's tank, and the two promptly run him over [[KilledMidSentence before he can even finish]]. [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill And then back the tank over him. And then drive over him again.]] |
| 234 | ** Subverted with the running gag of Peter's shenanigans destroying the front of Cleveland's house while he's taking a bath, causing his tub to fall to the ground. At first, it seemed like the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheClevelandShow'' was this, as it was the last straw that convinced Cleveland to move out of Quahog. Even after that, however, the gag still makes a few sparse appearances, once with an empty tub falling down because Cleveland moved, once when [[ItMakesSenseInContext a missile manages to hit Cleveland's new house]], once when time is going backwards for Stewie and Brian, and once where it happens to Cleveland's ex-wife Loretta, which ends up killing her. |
| 235 | ** The Music/ConwayTwitty gags. They started in the season 5 episode "Bill and Peter's Bogus Journey", where a character makes an AsideGlance, introducing the viewers to Conway Twitty as a distraction, playing a performance of one of his songs. This occured a few more times in later seasons. There are a few times where the characters are annoyed by this, as in "3 Acts of God", God gives Peter, Cleveland, Quagmire and Joe a message where Conway wishes that they would stop doing these gags, and in "Peter, Chris, & Brian", [[ItMakesSenseInContext teenage Peter starts to play Conway Twitty's music for his adult self in a video]], but present Peter finds it annoying, not wanting to sit through the song. |
| 236 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/user/WhersMyEmmy The "Brian's Emmy Vote" online shorts]] are basically remakes of the scene in "Patriot Games" where Stewie beats up Brian for not being able to pay back the money he owes him, only this time Stewie is beating up Brian for not giving ''Family Guy'' a vote in the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series (its fellow nominees were ''Series/ThirtyRock'' (which won), ''Series/{{Entourage}}'', ''Series/FlightOfTheConchords'', ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', ''Series/TheOfficeUS'', and ''Series/{{Weeds}}''). [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4_K9F8GkW4 The last video]] abruptly ends early as Stewie decides ''Weeds'' [[TakeThat is not worth beating Brian up over]]. |
| 237 | ** One of Stewie's main character traits in the early seasons was his goal of killing Lois, and his repeated attempts failing miserably. The episodes "Stewie Kills Lois" and "Lois Kills Stewie" has Stewie run a simulation to see what would happen if he actually did go through with killing Lois (she survived, and she and Peter kill Stewie). Stewie concludes that killing Lois is too risky and from that point on, his matricidal desires more or less went away. |
| 238 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'', Fred would ask Barney to lend him a few bucks until payday saying he's short on cash, with Barney replying that he's a little short (in stature). In [[Film/TheFlintstones the 1994 live-action adaptation]], it starts out with Barney mentioning that nothing's changed when Fred asks him for a couple of bucks. Later, after Fred goes back to his old job with benefits for the rehired workers, Fred asks Barney again, and Barney replies "Not this time!" |
| 239 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': |
| 240 | ** Combined with AbortedArc. Pre-season 8, Skinner was a NonGivingUpSchoolGuy and Krabappel was an OldMaid. In season 8, Skinner and Krabappel hooked up, ending the jokes about the two individually (particularly Krabappel), and became more notable as a couple with ADayInTheLimelight together occasionally. In season 14, the two got engaged, and since this show loves StatusQuoIsGod, this would put a stalemate to any future development. Surprisingly, season 15 showed their marriage, where Krabappel left Skinner at the altar. Since then, they reverted back to their original characters, and Krabappel received regular {{Flanderization}} (Skinner, interestingly, became ''less'' flanderized, especially notable considering ''The Simpsons'' is the {{Trope Namer|s}}), though her case seemed like it might change since in the season 22 finale, she and Flanders hooked up in a {{Cliffhanger}}. [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim However, the death of her voice-actress and with it, the character]], as shown with Ned wearing a black armband in season 25's "Recap/TheSimpsonsS25E13TheManWhoGrewTooMuch", leaves whatever plans for the character there were derailed. |
| 241 | ** The first four "WesternAnimation/TreehouseOfHorror" episodes would open [[GraveHumor with a graveyard where the tombstones contained amusing messages - such as the names of dead celebrities or cancelled TV shows]]. In "Treehouse of Horror V", the opening sequence starts with a tombstone for "Amusing Tombstones". This was the writers' way of showing that they were tired of coming up with ideas for humorous tombstone messages. This was the last time they used this gag before it was briefly revived as a one-off joke in "Treehouse of Horror XXIX". |
| 242 | ** Bart making [[PrankCall prank calls]] to Moe's Tavern is a running gag so synonymous with ''The Simpsons'' that even serious fans of the LongRunner might be surprised to note that it was effectively wrapped up in ''Season 4.'' The episode "New Kid on the Block" pays off the joke with a story about Bart "identifying" himself to Moe as bully Jimbo Jones in what proves a highly effective bid to get Moe to go after him. All subsequent appearances of the gag would take the form of a variation or ContinuityNod rather than being PlayedStraight. |
| 243 | ** The "Who Shot Mr. Burns" 2-partner used Mr. Burns' [[ButForMeItWasTuesday inability to remember Homer's name and existence regardless of how many times they've interacted]] as [[CerebusRetcon Homer's motive when he's a suspect in Burns's shooting]], as being forgotten numerous times finally causes him to hit his RageBreakingPoint and insist on being remembered. Although Burns [[HereWeGoAgain seems to have managed to forget him yet again by the end of part 2]], the story still pretty much laid the joke to rest as in subsequent episodes he no longer has to be reminded who Homer is. |
| 244 | ** While it's still referenced, the classic gag of [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood Homer strangling Bart in anger]] has not been PlayedStraight since Season 30, which may have something to do with [[LighterAndSofter Disney's buyout of Fox]]. As of Season 35, this has been acknowledged in the show by Homer himself ("See, Marge? Strangling the boy has paid off. Just kidding, [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall I don't do that anymore.]] [[ValuesDissonance Times have changed]]"), [[SubvertedTrope though it may prove temporary]] as ''Simpsons'' co-creator James L. Brooks subsequently told ''People'' magazine that the show has no intention of ending the gag. To whit, the "Treehouse Of Horror XXXIV" segment "Lout Break", which shows Springfielders infected with a virus that turns them into clones of Homer, shows a Homerized Kirk Van Houten strangling his son [[ButtMonkey Milhouse]]. |
| 245 | * ''WesternAnimation/SofiaTheFirst'': In the first season, Sofia mispronounces Cedric's name as "Ceedric", prompting him to correct her in annoyance. Starting in Season 2, she pronounces his name correctly. The first time she does, Cedric expresses shock.[[note]]The episodes aired out of production order, so a minor continuity error is created with Sofia pronouncing his name correctly, with no reaction, and in the next (aired) episode he seems shocked.[[/note]] |
| 246 | * ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': |
| 247 | ** "Oh, my God! {{They Killed Kenny|Again}}!" In its early seasons, Kenny [=McCormick's=] death OncePerEpisode was one of the defining traits of the show. Many a fan eagerly awaited to see how Kenny would bite it this week. Soon, however, the writers felt that it was becoming an OverusedRunningGag, and decided to end it before it got too much. And so, Kenny was KilledOffForReal in the aptly titled episode "Kenny Dies", and stayed dead for the better part of the following season. Eventually, Kenny was brought back from the dead, only now he wasn't killed off... at least not as often (plus the "Oh my god! They killed Kenny!" phrase wasn't always said). The whole thing got a CerebusRetcon in the "The Coon And Friends Trilogy", where we learn that [[spoiler:Kenny's parents were part of a Lovecraftian cult and his immortality was a curse from the Dark Ones]]. |
| 248 | ** The boys trying to find a replacement fourth friend in the sixth season. For the majority of the first half they took in Butters, who GotVolunteered into all sorts of {{Zany Scheme}}s OncePerEpisode, before finally getting thrown out with Tweek being placed in the role instead. However, Tweek was eventually phased out before Kenny himself finally reappeared at the end of the season. |
| 249 | ** Many episodes ended with characters (usually Kyle) giving [[AnAesop morals]], most of the time accompanied by the phrase, "You know, I learned something today." This practice was mocked in some episodes such as "Butt Out" and "Cartoon Wars, Part 2", but it was put to sleep for good in Season 19's "Where My Country Gone?", where Kyle's friends blame a recent wave of illegal Canadian immigrants on his speech about tolerance and acceptance in the previous episode, and ignore him whenever he argues against them. At the end of the episode, Kyle disrupts Mr. Garrison's rally to issue a moral against sensationalistic politics, only to be met with angry glares from the audience. From that point forward, this would happen much less frequently. |
| 250 | ** A lot of other catchphrases from the show’s early days, notably “Screw you guys, I’m going home!” and “Dude, this is pretty fucked up right here!” also [[AbandonedCatchphrase ended up being phased out]]. |
| 251 | ** Cartman's love of Cheesy Poofs is well established within the first two seasons but almost never is referenced outside of that timeframe. Nowadays, Kentucky Fried Chicken is usually shown as his TrademarkFavoriteFood if the plot calls for one. |
| 252 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Archer}}'': |
| 253 | ** A recurring gag of ButtMonkey Brett accidentally getting shot ends in the Season 5 premiere when FBI agents storm ISIS headquarters and accidentally shoot him in the head. |
| 254 | ---> ''"He died doing what he loved... getting shot."'' |
| 255 | ** The gag of characters suggesting that Krieger might be a clone of UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler ends in the Season 6 finale, when Krieger gets fed up and [[LampshadeHanging points out the obvious flaw in this theory]]: |
| 256 | --->''If I were a'' clone ''of Adolf goddamn Hitler, wouldn't I'' look ''like Adolf goddamn Hitler?'' |
| 257 | * ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'': |
| 258 | ** In the first season, Stan would often want to make Steve, his geeky son, popular at school because he was very unpopular when he was his age and doesn't want him to live through what he had to. In the last episode that aired before most Stan/Steve episodes were stripped of this plot thread, Stan gives Steve ''steroids'' to make him strong, but instead because of his genes he ''grows boobs'', becomes popular at school because the boys are using him for a cheap grope, and resists Stan when he tells him the boys are only using him. Stan had to resort to giving himself a larger dosage of steroids so he would grow bigger boobs to prove his point to Steve. At the end, Steve gets a chance to tell him he's happy with his real friends, and Stan seemingly accepts it. |
| 259 | ** In the early seasons of ''American Dad'', Klaus' entire character (aside from being a man's brain in a goldfish) was his crush on Francine, doing things like trying to look up her dress or rolling around in her underwear, culminating in an episode where he gets a human body and tries to steal her away from Stan. As the show started GrowingTheBeard, this aspect of his character quietly disappeared without explanation.[[note]]Well, ''maybe'' one explanation. In one episode the house catches fire, and Francine [[ForgottenFallenFriend didn't express concern for Klaus until she realized he was]] [[RightBehindMe right behind her]]. Klaus responds "Too late, Francine. Too [[PrecisionFStrike fucking]] late." This might mean that he gave up on his lust for her.[[/note]] |
| 260 | ** One ongoing plot point in the first season was Hayley being an enemy and foil for Stan's uber-conservative personality who was often at odds with him. When the show started to become less centered around politics, Hayley's SoapboxSadie tendencies were downplayed and she has since gotten married and [[DemotedToExtra doesn't appear that much]]. At least one of her SoapboxSadie traits was explicitly removed: her vegetarianism. While she would eat meat in some episodes, she would soon go back to being vegetarian by the end of the episode. After getting a job at Sub Hub, Hayley admits that she sometimes eats some of the sandwich meat and subsequent episodes show her eating meat with no issue and her vegetarianism is never mentioned again. |
| 261 | * For four and a half seasons of ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', Quinn refuses to admit that Daria is her sister, insisting that she is her "cousin" instead. She is especially nervous that her friends in the [[GirlPosse Fashion Club]] not find out her real relationship with Daria. But thanks to CharacterDevelopment, by the fifth season Quinn's relationship with Daria has improved and she starts sticking up for herself more in the Fashion Club. This led to the following exchange in the episode "Lucky Strike": |
| 262 | -->'''Quinn:''' Besides, why ''shouldn't'' I act sisterly towards her? After all... she's my sister.\ |
| 263 | '''Sandi:''' ''[fake gasps]'' Did you hear that? Oh, my gosh! Quinn just admitted that weird girl is her sister!\ |
| 264 | '''Stacey:''' Well, um, of ''course'' she is, Sandi! We knew that.\ |
| 265 | '''Tiffany:''' We were just being polite about it. |
| 266 | * ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': |
| 267 | ** The series had a popular gag where {{Sidekick}} Ron would [[ComedicUnderwearExposure lose his pants]]. Eventually, the gag ended in "Clean Slate" where Kim gave him a titanium belt. However, it got a good sendoff with a montage of Ron's best pants losing moments, which [[AmnesiacLover helped an amnesia-recovering Kim remember that they were dating]]. |
| 268 | ** A gag that surfaced in the PostScriptSeason was Kim and Ron {{Almost Kiss}}ing, only to be interrupted by various people (usually Wade), which could've been seen as frustrating to K/R fans. Fortunately, the gag ended in the GrandFinale where we see Kim and Ron kiss onscreen twice. |
| 269 | * ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' had some jokes in early seasons which implied that Gunter, despite being to all indications an ordinary penguin, was in fact the ultimate evil in the Land of Ooo, surpassing even [[{{Satan}} Hunson Abadeer]] and [[OmnicidalManiac The Lich]] in threat level. This seemed to just be RuleOfFunny until "Orgalorg", which revealed that [[spoiler:Gunter is actually a MadGod named Orgalorg who is older than the Universe and can destroy planets on a whim when at full power. The only reason he's seemingly not a threat is because the King of Mars wiped his memory when he was banished to Earth, reducing him to primal animal instincts. Only when his brain is exposed can he remember his past.]] |
| 270 | * Helga’s [[HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood horrible home life]] was a long-standing bit of BlackComedy in ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold''... until "Helga on the Couch" had her go to therapy and promptly [[InternalDeconstruction break down over her family situation, revealing that it’s actually left her with serious emotional and mental issues]]. After that point, Helga’s problems with her family are ''never'' PlayedForLaughs. |
| 271 | * ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'': |
| 272 | ** The season 4 episode "Nancy Boys" puts an end to the 14-year affair between Nancy Gribble and John Redcorn, after they both realize how good of a person Dale really is. Though Dale never finds out about the affair. |
| 273 | ** Dale's paranoia resulted in him using the alias "Rusty Shackleford" when he doesn't want to use his real name. At least until season 11's "Peggy's Gone to Pots" where it's revealed that [[TheRealRemingtonSteele Rusty is an actual person who Dale knew from school and believed to be dead (he actually just moved away)]]. Rusty returns to Arlen to confront Dale over tons of credit and identity issues as resulting from Dale using his name. Dale panics and arranges a failed murder-suicide pact with Peggy, after which Rusty merely has Dale sign a form clearing him of all his identity troubles. |
| 274 | * ''WesternAnimation/Hero108'': In the first season, [=ApeTrully=] tries to give gold to all the animal kingdoms to get them to join Big Green and gets captured every time, which results in First Squad having to come and save him, but starting in season two, he stops doing this. |
| 275 | * ''WesternAnimation/VeggieTales'': "The Eight Polish Foods of Christmas", a parody of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and a song included on a ''A Very Veggie Christmas'' and ''The Little Drummer Boy''. Starting with the second food, Oscar describes each food with the similarity that they have meat (2 steamed perogies [[note]] it's a dough, wrapped around meat[[/note]], 3 simmered gołąbkis [[note]] it's cabbage, wrapped around meat [[/note]], 4 baked paprikas [[note]] a bell pepper, stuffed with meat[[/note]] and 5 smoked kielbasas [[note]]it's pretty much just meat[[/note]]). When we get to number six, 6 fried chruścikis, Bob [[LampshadeHanging asks if it's something in the meat category.]] He explains it's a delightful pastry and the gag about everything having meat pretty much stops. |
| 276 | * In ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'', one of [[BloodKnight Shaxs']] first options to dealing with ''any'' problem is to eject the warp core, something he proclaimed all the way back in the first episode, "Second Contact". Any time some sort of danger comes up, expect the ejection idea to come up. However, in the season 3 finale "The Stars at Night", Boimler lets out a BigShutUp, pointing out that this time, it is their best plan, where they use it as a gigantic high warp mine to try and destroy their pursuers. |
| 277 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': In the first two seasons, a running gag was that nobody knew if Stumpy's long-distance girlfriend Ursula was real or not, and jokes would often rely on Ursula's existence being ambiguous. In Episode 116 from season 3, Stumpy's friends' questioning of Ursula's existence prompts Stumpy to have a mental breakdown, and in the hospital his friends encounter Ursula, who was real all along and has come to visit Stumpy. From this point onwards, nobody questions the existence of Ursula ever again. |
| 278 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': |
| 279 | ** In the first few seasons, Bobby was seen working a [[NewJobAsThePlotDemands variety of jobs]], rarely the same one in each episode. However, after the status quo was shaken up when he moved to a new city, he has consistently been shown working at his family's bodega. |
| 280 | ** Likewise, Lily was originally seen [[NakedPeopleAreFunny running around naked]], and [[PottyFailure pooping in her diaper]] during the first four seasons. These would both be dropped in the fifth season since the episode, "Schooled!", had her become potty-trained. |
| 281 | * ''WesternAnimation/ThePatrickStarShow'': Whenever Shmandor appears, [[TheyKilledKennyAgain someone smashes it]], be it Cave Patrick crushing it with a rock, Squidina unknowingly stepping on it, or Patrick destroying it with cereal box prizes. This leads to "The Wrath of Shmandor", where the army mobilizes an attack against Patrick to ensure their city's safety. While Squidina does give the Shmandorian leaders a solution, the army general [[DownerEnding actually wins and takes over Patrick's brain]], with the episode ending right there. |
| 282 | * ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In season 1, D.W. puts a snowball in the freezer, but it disappears overnight. She tries to figure out who stole it, and in the end, no conclusion is reached. However, the snowball gets constantly brought up as a RunningGag: whenever D.W. accuses Arthur of lying or being mean, she'll probably mention the time he took her snowball, which he always denies. The ending of "The Blizzard" turns out to be from the day D.W. got her snowball, and "Return of the Snowball" focuses on its apparent reappearance (it turns out Arthur bought an unflavored snow cone in the hopes of ending D.W.'s nagging). 26 years after the first snowball episode, it's finally revealed what happened: [[spoiler:D.W.'s ImaginaryFriend, Nadine, stole the snowball to keep it safe from an alien troll, and did not return it because she was afraid Arthur would take it. Bud and Rapty manage to convince her to return it to its original place]]. |
| 283 | * ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha'' had a common running gag where The Flea would [[OwMyBodyPart complain about]] [[UselessSpleen his spleen hurting]]. This ultimately results in The Flea being hospitalized, where he finds out that an evil doctor plots to remove his spleen and use it to create a monster grafted out of stolen body parts. [[spoiler: It then turns out that the Flea's spleen in indeed sentient and even helps him defeat the evil doctor and his monster before returning to his body. After that, the Flea never complains about his spleen hurting ever again.]] |
| 284 | [[/folder]] |
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- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
