Line #91 SeriousBusiness/LiveActionTV


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6	SeriousBusiness in LiveActionTV series.
7	----
8	!!In General:
9	* {{Game Show}}s generally use this trope by default, since they tend to take mundane things like auctions ''(Series/ThePriceIsRight)'', TabletopGame/TicTacToe ''(Series/TheHollywoodSquares)'', and crossword puzzles ''(Series/MervGriffinsCrosswords)'' and make them high energy and for high stakes. Contestants are even encouraged to act more excited than they are.
10	* Scores of TV medical dramas invoke this trope when they focus on life-or-death surgeries and rare, fatal diseases. There is much truth in this. The problem is that the shows neglect to depict the daily grunt work of the medical practice. ''Series/{{Scrubs}}'' subverts this tendency by emphasizing that the characters spend the bulk of their time working on completely mundane and disgusting tasks, and admit that most of their patients are going to die regardless.
11	* Many reality shows where there are groups of people competing against each other to win things like money, makeover of their house, etc. While everyone does want to win as badly as the next guy, the serious business comes into play when you got some of the competitors get drastic or act dramatic in order to have a shot at winning and act like losing doesn't exist in their dictionary. And then you have the people who say they gave up everything to be on the show (quitting their job, moving away from home, etc.), not even thinking about what to do in case they don't win.
12	** Averted by one contestant, who dared to have a sense of perspective when she was kicked off ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel'' by not breaking into tears like she was meant to; as punishment for this, Creator/TyraBanks subsequently [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6OhhUDQJU4&t=283s went medieval]] on her ass.
13	** In the other vein of this example, shows about things like fashion tend to be played up way more than necessary. Shows like ''Series/WhatNotToWear'', where a person's "bad" clothing (which are rarely worse than average) cause the hosts to treat the woman as if she were dying from some sort of clothes cancer. And to cure this, they ridicule said person's bought possessions while throwing them out. At one point, a person featured on the show hated the hosts' advice, prompting the male host to actually leave the room for several minutes to cool off. Over clothes.
14	** Most of the moms featured on ''Series/ToddlersAndTiaras'' take their girls' pageants ''way'' too seriously.
15	*** Parodied by Creator/TomHanks in a sketch of him preparing his daughter for such a contest. At one point, his daughter comments that she thinks he's putting her through all this because he wishes he could be in a beauty contest. At the end, they lose to Creator/RonHoward, who showboats as though he just won the Super Bowl.
16	* In many scripted shows, for dramatic purposes it's treated as unforgivable for a character to stand another up on even a single date, whereas most people in real life would understand that someone's schedule or workload might suddenly and unexpectedly change (and if someone in real life doesn't understand this, it's a relationship red flag).
17
18	!!Specific shows:
19	%%* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfLanoAndWoodley'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCnJWW-xPPM&feature=related 4:45]].
20	* ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'' loves this trope played for surrealism. Smoothies, High School Marching Bands, Prank Wars, people urinating in pools and the identity of the masked Ice Cream Man Mr. Tasty are all Serious Business. And Artie, the Strongest Man in the World fighting Killer Bees? [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Normal Background Stuff]]. In addition, every single adult, be they a shop teacher, an underwear inspector or a postal carrier, treats their profession with a reverence usually reserved for war heroes and cancer researchers.
21	* ''Series/AgathaRaisin'': In "Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener", the village's annual open garden, and the competition for best garden, day leads to vandalism and murder.
22	* Everything about the local agricultural fair in ''Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall'' is Serious Business, right down to the children's pet show. There's some rather nasty rumors of favoritism when James gives the blue ribbon to a goldfish.
23	* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' and Spike had a [[BlatantLies polite discussion]] as to who would win in a fight, [[CavemenVsAstronautsDebate astronauts or cave men.]]
24	-->'''Wesley:''' You've been yelling about this for forty minutes... do the astronauts have weapons?\
25	'''Spike & Angel:''' ''NO!''
26	* ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'': Everything from what sort of pen you keep in your pocket, to how you fold your handkerchief, to what sort of hat you wear on your way into the store are matters of dire consequence at Grace Brothers.
27	* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
28	** Lampshaded on a regular basis, where everything from comic conventions to couch seats are immensely important to Sheldon.
29	** Being WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}} in the Disney Princess makeover is important for Bernadette, as she makes it perfectly clear to Penny and Amy while they're on their way to Disneyland for said makeover:
30	--->'''Bernadette''': This was my idea; I'm driving; I'm Cinderella. You bitches got a problem with that, we can stop the car right now.
31	* ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'': Played straight by Fry and Laurie in their 'John and Peter' sketches where they treat running their health sauna in Uttoxeter as if they were running a multi-national corporation. They also inverted this trope with their 'Tony and Control' sketches in which [=MI5=] agents treat terrorist attacks and defections with as much emotion as they do ordering coffee.
32	* ''{{Series/Bones}}''
33	** Restaurant reviews, arcade games, kids’ beauty pageants, antiques and toy collecting have all gotten [[VictimOfTheWeek victims of the week]] killed. One guy even took Christmas and playing Santa so seriously that his house was all Christmas inside all year long.
34	** Patriotism and serving his country for Booth. Finding a huge [=FBI=] conspiracy shook Booth to the point of HeroicBSOD.
35	** Conspiracies for Hodgins. Although his obsession did save the team in the finale when Angela said she backed up her software because she’s married to a paranoid guy who talks about such things a lot.
36	* ''Series/BreakingBad'': In the appropriately titled episode "Fly", Walter White encounters a fly buzzing around the meth-cooking laboratory he's working at, and he spends most of the episode hunting it down, deeming it a "contamination" that could ruin his cook. Jesse Pinkman, his partner in crime, is understandably puzzled as to why Walt is making such a fuss over a common housefly, considering that they are manufacturing what is quite literally poisonous to the end users.
37	* Pretty much the entirety of ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'' is based upon Gordon Brittas taking his job far, far, far too seriously. Just the kind of bureaucratic nightmare manager who insists on banning pensioners from the pool for taking too long to change. Or ousting little children from a charity swimathon because they were wading instead of swimming. Or requiring triplicate claims forms, identification and CCTV footage over a 20 pence piece in a coffee machine. The list goes on...
38	-->'''Gordon:''' Colin! You have impersonated a ''leisure centre manager''!
39	* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine''
40	** The detectives view a cop sleeping with a defense attorney as beyond the pale. When it's discovered that Jake slept with the defense attorney handling one of his cases without knowing she was a defense attorney, it's almost treated as if Jake has accidentally performed an act of bestiality.
41	--->'''Sgt. Jeffords:''' Okay guys, let's take it easy on him. But seriously, I think you need to get checked for rabies.
42	** When someone steals Captain Holt's pie, he treats it as a serious crime, possibly one planned by multiple people over a long period of time.
43	--->'''Holt:''' How long you been planning this? A day? A week? A year? Or is this the only reason you became a cop to begin with?
44	** Hitchcock and Scully have a tendency to suddenly become hyperactive and attentive detectives the moment that food is involved, often treating food as more important than a police case happening right in front of them.
45	* Karate is this to ''Film/TheKarateKid'' franchise as a whole, but nowhere more so than in ''Series/CobraKai''. Daniel is still a local celebrity because of having won an under-eighteen tournament over thirty years earlier, and a simple dojo rivalry over OpposingCombatPhilosophies quickly escalates into a thinly-veiled gang war. The show's creators have stated that the conceit that karate in the San Fernando Valley is "like football in Texas" is a vital part of the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief necessary to make the series work. Lampshaded in Season 3, when a member of the city council admits to having never understood the Valley's "fascination with karate."
46	* Creator/StephenColbert is a major Creator/JRRTolkien fan and expert on [[Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium the Legendarium]], and on both ''Series/TheColbertReport'' and ''Series/TheLateShowWithStephenColbert'', he can easily get sent into segment-length rants about [[CowboyBeBopAtHisComputer media figures getting details of the mythos wrong]].
47	* In ''Series/{{Community}}'' a number of activities including [[Recap/CommunityS1E09Debate109 Debate Class]], [[Recap/CommunityS1E21ContemporaryAmericanPoultry eating Chicken Fingers]], [[Recap/CommunityS2E04BasicRocketScience flight simulators]], and [[Recap/CommunityS1E17PhysicalEducation the game of pool]] are all taken dead seriously.
48	** Losing a pen is serious business in Annie's book. And the entire study group's, at that.
49	** Paintball is such serious business to the students that both times the college tries to have a friendly game it ends up causing thousands of dollars in property damage. For the latter game the reward was at least a large sum of money, but the reward for the first one was ''priority registration.'' Lampshaded when Jeff thinks Greendale turning in to an apolcalyptic-esque wasteland over priority registration is absurd until he realizes what ''he'' could do with it, then he joins everybody else in the madness.
50	** One professor devoted his academic careers studying old sitcoms and wrote a detailed book analyzing ''Series/WhosTheBoss'', analyzing the show's title as a deep philosophical riddle. He is devastated when Abed disproves his main theory by pointing out that "the boss" obviously just refers to Angela.
51	** The Glee club is very, very important. [[MadnessMantra Regionals...]]
52	** The show uses this so often it's practically a RunningGag; there is next to ''nothing'' that either the study group or the school in general cannot blow completely out of proportion. Someone pushing a yam off a table becomes [[Recap/CommunityS3E17BasicLupineUrology a homicide investigation and trial]], the decision over whether to make a pillow fort or a blanket fort becomes [[Recap/CommunityS3E14PillowsAndBlankets a school-wide pillow-fought civil war]]. And so on. Jeff mentions at one point that the entire school is on 911's blocked caller list due to their constant antics.
53	* On ''Series/TheCosbyShow'', Cliff takes petanque with Dr. Harmon very seriously. Pinochle, too. The episode featuring a pinochle tournament shows him coming in second as a serious blow to his pride.
54	* On various episodes of the ''Series/{{CSI}}s'': Bowling, competitive eating, a Scrabble-style word game, historical re-enactments, and fashion have been shown to be deadly serious business to the people involved.
55	* ''Series/TheDailyShow'': [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEkH1dtzItc&t=242s Jon Stewart takes pizza very seriously.]]
56	* ''Series/DeadMansGun'':
57	** In "The Imposter", when Leo finds one of the casino games is rigged, he's also concerned about how much dust is under the table and advises the owner to clean it more often.
58	** In "Sisters of Mercy", Elizabeth and Katherine are outraged to see that the MorallyBankruptBanker keeps his businesses open on Sunday. This is partially because it ruins their robbery plan, but some of it is out of ennui shock at the disrespect.
59	* [[{{Yandere}} Relationships]] in ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration''. To the point that because Emma likes Sean, Peter frames him for possession of marijuana. This leads to Sean challenging Peter to ''more'' Serious Business, street racing. [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin Sean goes to jail.]]
60	** Also {{Invoked\|Trope}} with JT, Toby, and Rick: After the shooting, JT wouldn't play ''[[BlandNameProduct Draco's Quest]]'' with Toby, implying he thought video games made Rick snap. Rick was also into Dungeons and Dragons.
61	* ''Series/TheDevilJudge'': Elijah and Yo-han turn a game of Jenga into a two-hour-long competition.
62	* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
63	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E4MarcoPolo "Marco Polo"]]: The Doctor wins a large chunk of the Mongol Empire from the Khan in games of backgammon.
64	** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E5RiseOfTheCybermen "Rise of the Cybermen"]]: When Mr. Crane looks like he's having fun ordering the mind-controlled homeless people to turn around, his boss [[BigBad Lumic]] snaps at him.
65	** A prominent theme in the 50th anniversary comedy special ''Recap/TheFiveishDoctorsReboot'': Nothing, ''nothing'', is more important than appearing in [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]], including [[Creator/SylvesterMcCoy having a role]] in a blockbuster $500 million dollar [[Film/TheHobbit movie]], or [[Creator/DavidTennant being present]] for the birth of your own child.
66	* The high school science fair in ''Series/{{Eureka}}''. Previous ones have taught Joe to come dressed in riot gear.
67	-->'''Allison''': You know how Texans feel about their high school football? Child's play.
68	* In ''Series/FamilyTies'', the Keaton family, especially Alex, gets this way about contests and competitions of any sort.
69	** One episode has Alex and Steven become so obsessed with beating each other at ''TabletopGame/{{Scrabble}}'' that, at the end, they sneak downstairs at night in their pajamas for "one more game. The winner gets the deed to the house."
70	** In "Walking on Air", Alex, Elyse, Jennifer and Andy team up for a "Find [[CaptainErsatz Colonel Crackle]]" cereal contest. Alex soon takes charge, posting a giant map of Cleveland with potential "Colonel" sightings pinned, having his friend Skippy check the Colonel's dental records and do a hair analysis, and commandeering a newscaster's desk at Steven's TV station to call the "Crackle hotline" seconds before airtime (resulting in his being dragged off).
71	* ''Series/FatherTed'':
72	** While preparing for the "all-priest, over-75, indoor football challenge match" against Rugged Island, Ted frantically tears the place apart looking for a bug placed by their opponents. Turns out he's ProperlyParanoid when the Rugged Island crew hurriedly drive away in their ice cream van.
73	** The Christmas special in which Ted leads a group of 7 other priests out of the lingerie section of a department store in the style of soldiers making their way back from behind enemy lines.
74	** The theft of a policeman's whistle results in helicopter patrols over Craggy Island, and townsfolk barricading themselves indoors.
75	** The King of the Sheep competition is taken very seriously, attracting the attention of shady types who aim to profit by rigging it.
76	* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', "Our Mrs. Reynolds": Shepherd Book suggests you do not talk at the theater unless you want to end in a very SPECIAL level of hell, one also reserved for child molesters.
77	* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'':
78	** {{Spelling Bee}}s are Serious Business, complete with a ShellShockedVeteran Spell Master and a Young Cub trying to reach the top... of Spelling! The episode was devoid of the usual hijinks and focused the humor on the absurdity of the subject.
79	-->"SPELL HIS ASS OFF!"
80	** Much of the comedy in ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' stems from the main character and those around him blowing relatively minor things into full-blown Serious Business, but another notable trope-relevant example comes when we learn that Frasier has been keeping a collection of taped recordings of his show. When he learns that one of them is missing and is unlikely to be able to be replaced, he enters a depression which sends him into his bed for like a week. He later gets over it when he meets his 'biggest fan', who happens to have a copy of the missing show, and finds him an obsessive nut who's isolated everything from his life apart from Frasier's show.
81	* ''Series/FridayNightLights'': High School Football is serious business for pretty much the whole town of Dillon(minus a few stragglers like Tyra Colette), but this trope is in full force for Buddy Garrity. The man's whole life practically ''revolves'' around the Dillon Panthers-any time even the slightest mishap happens regarding the team, he's there and trying to fix it, much to the annoyance of Coach Taylor and even ''to the detriment of his own marriage''. He's also one of the top boosters for the team and always volunteers his car dealership for hosting any Panther-related events.
82	* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': A game of catch that lasted over 24 hours. And when it's ended by Phoebe, they still manage to [[ButtMonkey blame it on Chandler]].
83	** "We are ''dessert stealers''! We are living outside of the law!"
84	** When a coworker throws away Ross's special sandwich.
85	--->'''Ross''': You threw my sandwich away?! MY SANDWICH?! ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tqmXTYa3Xw MY SANDWICH?!]]''
86	** And of course, to Monica, anything related to cleaning, cooking, and weddings is ''extremely'' serious business. Even when the wedding's not even her own.
87	%%** Mustn't forget the Geller Cup
88	* ''Series/{{Ghostwriter}}'': The first mystery has the gang unraveling a secret conspiracy of middle-schoolers who run an organized criminal enterprise... to fuel their arcade game addiction. They have built an actual cult around the game, in which they trade secret codewords to organize, hold ominous rallies in abandoned warehouses and take on the identities of their favorite characters from the game.
89	* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'' show choir is presented as possibly the main characters' only chance to ever feel good about themselves or do anything other than toiling away in unappreciated obscurity for the rest of their lives. The schools they compete against, though, take it ''really'' seriously.
90	-->"There is nothing ironic about show choir!"\
91	"You can't quit Cheerios. It's blood in, blood out!"
92	* In ''Series/{{Hardball}}'', a regional school students handball tournament is treated with a seriousness usually reserved for international sporting competitions.
93	* The ''Series/HogansHeroes'' episode, "Go Light on the Heavy Water" had the heroes wondering why German troops are seemingly playing this trope with a barrel of water in a truck they are determined to keep secure. They find out that there is an ''extremely'' good reason why they're doing that: the water in question is heavy water, used for experiments for [[AtomicHate nuclear weapons]] and they are ordered to stop that delivery at all costs.
94	* ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'': One episode centers on a police dog's death being given a full-on murder investigation, much to Bayliss's bewilderment.
95	* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother''
96	** In "The Best Burger in New York", it's revealed that Marshall has spent the last eight years of his life trying to find the restaurant where he once ate the best burger of his life. Though he actually takes it mildly compared to SpecialGuest Regis Philbin.
97	--->'''Marshall:''' It's so much more than "just a burger." I mean ... that first bite ... oh, what heaven that first bite is. The bun like a sesame freckled breast of an angel, resting gently on the ketchup and mustard below, flavors mingling in a seductive pas de deux. And then...a pickle! The most playful little pickle! Then a slice of tomato, a leaf of lettuce and a ... a patty of ground beef so exquisite, swirling in your mouth, breaking apart, and combining again in a fugue of sweets and savor so delightful. This is no mere sandwich of grilled meat and toasted bread, Robin. This is God, speaking to us in food.\
98	'''Lily:''' And you got our wedding vows off the Internet.
99	** Also, in the episode "Rabbit or Duck", the gang have a CavemenVsAstronautsDebate over whether [[ItMakesSenseInContext rabbits or ducks are better]], and Future Ted calls it "one of the most intense arguments" they had ever had. It quickly turns into a screaming match.
100	--->'''Ted''': Duck is delicious! Rabbit is all gamey!\
101	'''Marshall''': We're not talking about flavor!\
102	'''Ted''': Flavor counts!\
103	(Later)\
104	'''Marshall''': Who carries around a duck's foot for good luck?! Anyone?!\
105	(Later)\
106	'''Robin''': You wrap yourself in a comforter stuffed with rabbit hair, I'll wrap myself in one stuffed with duck feathers, who's cozier?! (Marshall tries to deflect) No, no, no, no! But who's cozier?!\
107	(Later)\
108	'''Ted''': Then why don't get a duck and a rabbit, stick 'em in a cardboard box, and [[BeastlyBloodsports let them fight it out]]?!\
109	'''Marshall''': Because it's illegal, Ted!\
110	'''Ted''': Only if we bet on it, Marshall!
111	* ''Series/{{Hung}}'': In the appropriately-named episode "The Middle East is Complicated", Ray is sleeping with his Israeli neighbour and an Arab client at the same time (though not together). They try to force him to "pick a side" whether [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummus hummus]] has been invented by Arabs or Jews, and which of the two women makes better hummus. Of course, Ray is completely clueless and doesn't see why this is even an issue.
112	* ''Series/ICarly'':
113	** The webcast seems to have only slightly less cultural impact than [[WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}} Dethklok]]. Sneaker manufacturers beg Carly to endorse their product. Television producers ransack the show for ideas in two separate episodes. It's watercooler discussion material, even amongst adults.
114	*** In ''iFight Shelby Marx'', Carly makes some joking comments about being able to "take down" an MMA fighter. Said fighter appears ''at her doorstep'' the next day, proposes an exhibition match for charity that is apparently so popular, it fills a stadium and is sold on pay-per-view. {{Lampshade\|Hanging}}d when the MMA announcer introduces her as "Carly Shay, who... has a web show."
115	** The ''entire'' school ridicules Freddie after Sam reveals he hasn't yet had his FirstKiss, and he ends up missing school and avoiding his mom as a result of the embarrassment. [[note]]Okay, so he probably [[MyBelovedSmother does that last one a lot anyway.]][[/note]]
116	** And then there was the time when Freddie was downright ostracized because he made an offhand comment about not liking the work of Website/YouTube sensation WebVideo/{{Fred}}, to the point where [[TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong Freddie was physically assaulted in an effort to...get him to change his mind.]]
117	%%* The competitive cooking series ''Series/IronChef'' plays this up as hard as it possibly can. Particularly in the American version.
118	* In one episode of ''Series/KenanAndKel'', Ron Harper shows up at Rigby's and everyone is excited to see him, especially the titular characters. However, he ended up slipping on a puddle of orange soda, injuring his knee. Thanks to that, ''all'' of Chicago are after Kenan and Kel.
119	%%* The ''Series/LegionOfExtraordinaryDancers'' premise and title characters.
120	* ''Series/LukeCage2016'': In season 2 episode 2, a reporter covering Luke Cage at a crossfit event claims he's "faster than Usain Bolt". This results in a RunningGag where every Jamaican, even villain Bushmaster, gives Luke a hard time about it as if he himself were the one who said it.
121	* One episode of ''Series/{{MacGyver\|1985}}'', a DramaticHourLong show, had an episode open with a girl talking extensively about the horrors inflicted upon her hobby by store owners. The topic: counterfeit baseball cards. It's a good thing [=MacGyver=] is unfailingly polite, lest he tell her to just shut up.
122	** The scary thing is, some baseball cards can be worth thousands of dollars. A single counterfeit baseball card can constitute fraud on par with grand theft auto.
123	* According to the ABC Family series ''Series/MakeItOrBreakIt'', gymnastics is incredibly serious business. Yes, they're training for the Olympics, but every single detail of the gymnasts' lives is overblown for the sake of drama.
124	* ''Series/TheMarvelousMrsMaisel'':
125	** Everyone in Midge's family seems to run on this trope. It's extremely important for everything to run smoothly, as expected, and conforming to cultural norms. Even slight variations result in complete breakdowns.
126	** Everyone vacationing in the Catskills takes their recreation very seriously. Everyone has a lot invested in the resort games and customs, including the prestige of the beauty pageant.
127	*** Even a game of Simon Says provokes surprising amounts of competition from grown adults.
128	*** The trope is particularly noticeable with Abe, who sets an extremely rigid routine for himself that involves drinking copious amounts of tomato juice, doing calisthenics in a romper, and playing shuffleboard at an outrageously competitive level.
129	*** Shirley is not much better, being so invested in Mahjong that Rose says she's the only person whose disposition worsens in the Catskills.
130	** The stand-up comedy circuit has hired muscle, such as a pair of thugs who Harry Drake sends in the first episode of season 2 to intimidate Susie for Midge's takedown of Sophie Lennon. Susie ends up befriending the thugs after learning they're from the Rockaways just like her family is.
131	* In Episode 6 of Season 2 of ''Series/MissFishersMurderMysteries'' most of the action revolves around the murder of an Australian rules football player and the immediate suspicion that the rival team killed of the player. Throughout the episode everyone carries on as if this was all about winning the rugby match, including the deputy commissioner intervening with the investigation because he was a fan of one of the two teams.
132	* Often played straight in ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' (The All-England Summarize Proust Competition), but subverted with 'The Society For Putting Things on Top of Other Things' where one member claims that they haven't put anything on top of another thing because they've decided that the whole thing's a bit silly. The chairman looks as if he's about to go berserk, and then suddenly agrees with him and decides to wind up the society.
133	* In ''Series/MrBean'', in "Mr Bean in Room 426", Mr Bean turns everything he does into a competition with the man in the room next to him. He races to receive his room key before this man, races up the stairs while the neighbour uses the elevator. When choosing food for dinner, Mr Bean takes double of everything his neighbour takes, and imitates his every gesture, including pouring water from a jug, in perfect synchronicity.
134	* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000:'' [[SuckinessIsPainful Bad movies cause psychological trauma]], and the Mads believe that the worst movie ever made would have the power to subjugate humanity.
135	** The episode with ''[[Recap/MysteryScienceTheater3000S05E15TheWildWorldOfBatwoman The Wild World of Batwoman]]'' also features the educational short film "Film/{{Cheating}}", which leads to a series of host segments where Crow is caught [[HypocriticalHumor plagiarizing Gypsy's essay about cheating]]. The rest of the crew react with overblown rage at Crow's academic dishonesty; Tom Servo in particular [[DisproportionateRetribution wants him dead.]]
136	** The episode featuring ''The Magic Sword'' has one host segment where Joel, Crow and Gypsy dress up as medieval characters when Tom comes in as a serf. Tom proceeds to rain on their parades with how terrible the Middle Ages were before Crow gets fed up and smacks Tom with his lance.
137	* In one episode of ''Series/NickyRickyDickyAndDawn'', the quadruplets' parents refused to take them to an amusement park because one of them ''forgot to flush the toilet''.
138	* According to Antony Bourdain in one of the Japan-centric episodes of ''Series/NoReservations'', Japan's entire ''culture'' is devoted to the Art of Serious Business. ''Anything'' can be Serious Business in Japan, from Tea Ceremonies to Cherry Blossom Viewings, to Baseball (see below).
139	** Also, when he visited France, he played petanque (much like bocce) with the locals, expecting them to be leisurely about the game. Instead, he discovered that they actually are fiercely competitive about it, especially since they put money on the line. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hxm_7mCpm7c
140	* ''Series/OddSquad'':
141	** Polly Graph, the town's resident YoungEntrepreneur, takes selling lemonade (and by extension, selling hot chocolate, since she sells that during the colder months) very seriously, to the extent that she views it as a legitimate business and calls herself an "honorable lemonade salesperson".
142	*** She also takes elections seriously, if "Captain Fun" is any indication -- although it's justified since she states that her future plans involve becoming the President one day (despite the show taking place in Canada, which has a prime minister, not a president).
143	--> '''Polly Graph''': I don't kid around when it comes to democracy.
144	** Similarly, Oscar treats photography as serious business. Once he's done taking ID photos of all the agents in Precinct 13579, he spends the next nine hours holed up in an interrogation room taking selfies and completely forgets about going out to eat with Olive and Otto.
145	** A one-time occurrence in "Not So Splash" involved Oprah treating swimming as this. If she can't swim for whatever reason, then either she gets grumpy at best, or other characters pay the price in [[ImpliedDeathThreat Implied Death Threats]] at worst. By the end of the episode, she gets so fed up with Olive and Otto attempting to figure out why her friend's pool froze over that she ''floods the entirety of the bullpen'' just to have some semblance of a pool.
146	*** Another moment in "Assistant's Creed" involved her telling off Olive and Otto when they interrupt her game of hide-and-seek (where she's trying to find her two assistants, unaware they're out on the town), where they understand the seriousness of the situation, apologize, and hang up.
147	** "O is Not For Over" reveals that picking a [[TrademarkFavoriteFood signature drink]] is an important part of being an Odd Squad Director and serves as a mandatory part of Director training.
148	** Following his HeelFaceReturn, Odd Todd treats gardening as Serious Business, freaking out when Otis reaches down to touch a pepper and refusing to let another gardener buy vegetables at the grocery store when the garden gets covered in jam, because to him, gardeners are supposed to grow and eat their own food.
149	** In "The Deposit Slip-Up", after Ozlyn tells Olympia that it takes resident locksmith Oxley forever to make one key, he tells Ozlyn that "key-making is an art, and not to be rushed."
150	** The Shadow League in "Odd Squad in the Shadows" treat shadows in general as a serious subject, to the extent that Odin (the former leader) and Omar (the current leader, appointed as such by others in the League) have a battle for leadership over them.
151	** Octavius, introduced in "Overdue!", takes his job as head librarian of the main Odd Squad Library very seriously. He even took an ''oath'' when he got the job!
152	--> '''Octavius:''' "To Protect and Shelve."
153	** The entire B-plot of "O for a Day" hinges on the agents of the Seattle precinct quitting their jobs and getting into fights because they don't like a certain kind of paper or a certain kind of writing utensil. Even Orla and Omar, serving as temporary co-Directors of the precinct, argue with each other at one point over whether the precinct should get blank paper or lined paper. Funny enough, the only agent who ''doesn't'' treat these two things as Serious Business is Agent Office Supplies.
154	** In "Ahead of the Times", the Potato Museum curator forces Oswald to sign a waiver just to see the Golden Potato. Although her warning is initially played for laughs, it actually holds merit when Oswald sees, and converses with, the potato.
155	--> '''Curator''': Looking at the Golden Potato comes with risks.
156	--> '''Oswald''': What kind of risks?
157	--> '''Curator''': The Golden Potato will look deep into your soul and speak truths no one has ever spoken to you before. If you are not ready to hear those truths, I advise you to turn back.
158	* ''[[Series/TheOfficeUS The Office]]'':
159	** Pretzel Day. What's Pretzel Day, you ask?
160	--->'''Pam''': Once a year they bring in a little cart and they give away free pretzels. It's really not a big deal. [[LampshadeHanging ...To some people it is.]]\
161	'''Stanley''': I wake up every morning in a bed that's too small, drive my daughter to a school that's too expensive, [[OverlyLongGag and then]] [[TheChewToy I go to work to a job for which I get paid too little]] - but on Pretzel Day? [[ThrowTheDogABone ...Well, I like Pretzel Day.]]
162	** One day, when Michael is out of the office, the entire staff spends hours debating over whether or not Creator/HilarySwank is hot. Simple attractiveness and willingness to have sex with her are apparently not necessarily part of the equation, and an organized debate ensues. The real icing on the cake comes when Oscar creates and presents a detailed diagram analyzing Swank's facial symmetry.
163	* Jared on ''Series/OpenHeart'' is very serious about the volunteer program. And ''especially'' serious about restocking his supply closet.
164	* The British series ''Playing for Real'' featuring the lives of the Real Falkirk Table Football Club, who lived and breathed Subbuteo.
165	* Largely due to its HighSchool setting, ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'' elevates what would be several minor concerns into SeriousBusiness. Usually, HilarityEnsues.
166	** "Blue Goldfish" revolves around Mr. Conklin not heating the school to a sufficient temperature, and making everyone cold.
167	** "Madison Country Club" sees Mr. Conklin try to raise money to renovate his office.
168	** "Carelessness Code" is another episode where Mr. Conklin runs his staff and students ragged. This time he nickle-and-dimes teachers and students for violations of the carelessness code, violations that he makes up on the fly. This is all to pay for a bust of his head to grace the school library in place of that of Julius Caesar.
169	** "Letter From the Education Board" ([[SoundToScreenAdaptation and its television remake, "Spare That Rod!"]]) sees Walter Denton alter an old letter to make Mr. Conklin think he's in danger of losing his job for being "dictatorial in his method".
170	** "Board of Education Day" (and its remake "Marinated Hearing"), "Free TV From Sherry's (and its remake, "Wild Goose"), "Cure That Habit", "Turnabout Day", "Sneaky Peekers" and "Friday The Thirteenth" all deal with the aftermath of Walter Denton's pranks.
171	** "Mr. Whipple" sees Madison High School trying to get a new, larger gymnasium. Similarly, "Mr. Travis' Three Acre Lot" sees Madison High School try to acquire property next door to get a proper regulation size football field.
172	** The crisis in "Baseball Uniforms" ([[SoundToScreenAdaptation and its television remake, "Fischer's Pawnshop"]]) is that the opening baseball game of the season may be cancelled because of lack of funds to buy uniforms.
173	** Several episodes deal with the necessity of keeping [[DumbJock Stretch or Bones Snodgrass]] eligible to play for the Madison High School football, baseball, or basketball teams. "Stretch Has A Problem", "Stretch to Transfer ([[SoundToScreenAdaptation and its remake, "Two Way Stretch Snodgrass"]], "Stretch is in Love" (and its remake "Suzy Prentiss"), "Stretch is in Love Again", and "Stretch is Accused of Professionalism" all fall under this heading.
174	* Anything that is the subject of an episode of ''Series/PushingDaisies'' is extremely serious business (enough to make people commit murder over it), including but not limited to dog breeding, circus performance, and fried chicken.
175	* When Dick Clark hosted ''Series/{{Pyramid}}'', he made sure it was Serious Business. "I remind the audience once again, we need absolute silence, please. GO!" In one episode the contestant was awarded partial credit in the BonusRound because there ''wasn't'' absolute silence; an audience member started a loud Countdown when the clock hit 10 seconds.
176	* On ''Series/SchittsCreek'' this happens a lot:
177	** Given that it takes place in a small town, events like Asbestos Fest (the yearly festival to raise funds to rid the town of asbestos), The Small Towns Big Voices Competition and The Annual Mayor's Roast are all taken very seriously in-universe. Sometimes, some characters take an event like an amateur baseball game very serious while others, like David, do not.
178	** Often there's a single character that takes something deadly serious, such as Moira and her B-movie movie comeback or Johnny and his motel being nominated for a regional hospitality award. Generally, the other characters tolerate this.
179	* In ''Series/TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager'', EVERYTHING is serious business. If one character has a problem and/or something going on in their life, every other character will be talking about it to the character and with each other. It's high school gossip [[SerialEscalation to ever more ridiculous levels]].
180	* In ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' most things were Serious Business with many episodes focusing on one or two bits of this.
181	** The Soup Nazi. His soup is so good that people are willing to put up with the authoritarian regime that is his restaurant and rejected patrons become motivated to exact revenge rather than just finding someplace else to eat.
182	** Elaine had a boyfriend who shared a name with a well-known murderer. He decided to change it, but Elaine hated every one of his suggestions because of her associations with those names.
183	** Jerry's GirlOfTheWeek's stepmother not wanting to lose her spot on her stepdaughter's speed dial. Then the girl and her stepmother spend the rest of the episode changing their respective speed dials.
184	** Jerry discovers that his girlfriend was working for one of Jerry's former classmates who has been holding a grudge on him since a sprint in high school. They hold a rematch presided over by their high school gym teacher, and many of their old high school mates are there to watch.
185	** After being banned from the manicure shop, Elaine manically sobs all over Manhattan, to the point where she doesn't know where she's going.
186	** Never make a weird face at a doctor or "be difficult", lest you be instantly blacklisted by your medical professional and be denied medical services for the rest of your life. ''Even from veterinarians.''
187	** Jerry discovers he failed to return a library book in the 1970s, and the library finally retorts by sending a library security cop over to his house. The cop is a direct parody of the detectives on Dragnet and takes this job as seriously as if he were tracking down serial killers in a gritty police drama. When he enters into a monologue about people disrespecting the New York Public Library, it's so over-the-top yet so dead-straight-serious that Jerry (the actor) is clearly struggling not to burst out laughing.
188	** Helping someone move and/or driving them to the airport. When Jerry agrees to do the former for a friend who he hasn't known very long, everyone's horrified.
189	--->'''Kramer''': Don't you have any pride or self respect?! I mean, how can you ''prostitute'' yourself like this?! I mean, what are you going to do?! You're going to start driving him to the airport?!
190	** Exclamation points. Elaine breaks up with a boyfriend over what she deems his lack of appropriate exclamation point use.
191	* ''Series/SisterBonifaceMysteries'': In "Dem Bones", the locals are more concerned that the discovery of a body buried in the allotments interrupts the judging of the annual 'Largest Marrow' contest than the fact there has been a murder: especially as the marrows and the scales have been sealed off as part of the crime scene, so the contest can't be resolved until the police release it.
192	* In an episode of ''{{Series/Smallville}}'', the editor of the school paper grills the student council candidates on their positions on administration policies ranging from the dress code to anti-drug locker sweeps before settling on an endorsement, while one of the candidates plots to assassinate her rivals to clear the field -- though in that candidate's defense, [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity she isn't that mentally stable]].
193	* ''Series/SquidGame'':
194	** The children's games seen in the show are a matter of life and death. It's darkly humorous to watch grown adults trying to carve out honeycomb shapes with their lives hanging in the balance.
195	** Mi-nyeo is revealed to have smuggled contraband into the games via her prison pocket. It turns out to be... a couple cigarettes. The lighter, however, does turn out to be a ChekhovsGun.
196	* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''.
197	** Subverted in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E10MoveAlongHome Move Along Home]]", which has Quark playing a board game brought by some race from the Gamma Quadrant. Eventually he realizes the Seriousness of the Business as his pieces represent members of the crew who have been somehow teleported into the game and are thus in mortal danger through his actions. Although he plays conservatively from then on, he eventually loses a piece; assuming the corresponding crewman to be dead, he is stunned when ''all'' the missing crew reappear completely safe at the end -- and he learns that he ''lost''. As the alien gamemaster explains, [[ShaggyDogStory it's only a game]].
198	** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E04TakeMeOutToTheHolosuite Take Me Out to the Holosuite]]", Sisko's private little war against Solok turns baseball into Serious Business until Sisko finally sees [[AnAesop the light]] and decides to just have fun, since [[StrawVulcan Solok]] can't fathom the concept of enjoying a game you know you're going to ''[[GracefulLoser lose]]''.
199	* In ''Series/StarTrekStrangeNewWorlds'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsS2E05Charades Charades]]", we see that Spock is something of a NeatFreak, but doesn't really react all that much because of his Vulcan genes, preferring to clean up Sam Kirk's mess himself. However, when he has his Vulcan half removed by another species, those traits explode, leading to Spock being held back by other members of the science team while Spock threatens to ''break him''.
200	* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS5E6TheGame The Game]]", nearly everyone on the ship gets obsessed with a video game-ish contraption... that rewards wins directly at the pleasure center of the brain, creating an addiction. Also touched on in the same episode when [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nu3qDNnPKSs Troi explains]] her rather drawn-out method of eating [[TrademarkFavoriteFood chocolate sundaes]] to Riker:
201	-->'''Riker:''' I had no idea you had such a ritual.\
202	'''Troi:''' Chocolate is a serious thing.
203	* ''Series/Studio60OnTheSunsetStrip'': Matt and Danny work on a sketch show which is a SNL ripoff, yet they try to play it as being of the utmost importance and a platform for social change. This is a big problem for the series as a whole, since Aaron Sorkin's trademark style of political filibustering is embarrassingly misplaced in a comedy series. Though many fans think the show would be shallow and soulless without that extra dimension.
204	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
205	-->'''Castiel:''' ''[on cell phone]'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zX8ytD8SOb4 This isn't funny, Dean! The voice says I'm almost out of minutes!]]
206	** Played with in another episode, where Dean yells at two fans of the Supernatural book series for not taking the job/lives of Sam and Dean seriously. Considering it's his life they're making light of, he is completely correct. They however assume he's merely doing this trope.
207	* ''Series/{{Temps de chien\|2023}}'': After Antoine steals a lobster from two fishermen who refused to sell him any of the ones they caught, said fishermen confront him at the house where he's residing and angrily threaten him. However, they get even angrier when they realize that Antoine was about to dip the lobster into garlic butter.
208	* Zig-zagged, inverted and played for laughs in ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook''. In one sketch, a wife discovers a large bra that is not hers in amongst her husband's possessions and confronts him about whether he's having an affair in a tone of very slight annoyance. After the husband nonchalantly replies in the affirmative, they proceed to get into mildly irritable quarrel about this, the wife's [[TheGamblingAddict gambling problem]] and their mutually incompatible desires for a child. Until the husband figures out what's really bothering his wife... the time he accidentally left the fridge door open, resulting in a quiche and some milk going bad and having to be disposed of. ''This'' is treated as if it almost destroyed the marriage.
209	* In a weird meta-example, the British student quiz show ''Series/UniversityChallenge'' made [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7906727.stm national]] [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/feb/22/university-challenge-trimble news]] [[http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article5793104.ece headlines]] when the internet decided nobody should be allowed to be that clever. The young lady in question ended up being interviewed about her public image on ''national breakfast news'', simply because some people objected to the way she smiled (was it embarrassment? Or smugness?) when she was told she'd got a question right. ''University Challenge'': Serious Business to everyone except those who actually play it. To make it even worse, the team that young lady was on ended up being disqualified after the winning the final because it was discovered that one of the other team members had graduated partway through the competition, and the rules could therefore be interpreted to state that he was ineligible. Serious Business indeed.
210	* In one episode of ''Series/TheWestWing'', a quote in the news that the President doesn't like green beans is treated as this by C.J and Toby, because a huge percent of America's green bean output is grown in Oregon, the President barely won Oregon in the previous election, and this risks potentially offending a huge part of the electorate there. Subverted when Charlie -- who inadvertently gave the quote -- points out that C.J and Toby are being ridiculous, the green bean quote actually ''is'' a minor issue, the Oregonians Charlie has met aren't idiots, and C.J and Toby assuming they'll all vote against Bartlet in outraged offence that he doesn't happen to enjoy eating a particular crop they happen to grow is in fact a very condescending and insulting attitude for them to take.
211	-->'''Charlie:''' Well, I'm sorry that I mouthed off to a reporter, but you're out of your mind.\
212	'''C.J:''' No I'm--\
213	'''Charlie:''' ''Education's'' a serious thing. Crime, jobs, national security. In eighteen months, I've been to Oregon four times, and not a single person I've met there's been stupid.\
214	'''C.J:''' Everyone's stupid in an election year, Charlie.\
215	'''Charlie:''' No, everyone gets ''treated'' stupid in an election year, C.J.
216	* ''Series/TheWire'':
217	** The annual basketball game between the East Side and West Side drug crews is such serious business that the entire neighborhood in which it is held shuts down for the day, and the leader of one of the crews thinks nothing of paying $20,000 to hire a ringer for his team.
218	** Business doesn't get more serious than the right to donate a stained glass window to Father Lewandowski's church. Because of a beef over that window, lives are destroyed, careers are made, a union is brought low, and the MCU[[note]] Major Crimes Unit, Not Marvel Cinematic Universe[[/note]] is formed.
219	* Anything and everything that interests Justin of ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace''.
220	** Alex's own ''Quinceañera'', taken as seriously as suggested in the Real Life sub-page.

Context SeriousBusiness / LiveActionTV