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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/detentionaire_6762.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:350: ''"At 4:15, detention gets out. The only problem is, I'm nowhere near detention right now."'']]
3
4->''I don't wanna\
5Take the heat, no\
6Now I gotta\
7Go It Solo\
8I don't wanna\
9Do the time, so\
10I just gotta\
11Take what's mine, whoa\
12Walking a fine line, keepin' control\
13Deep in the cut, ready to roll\
14Are you friend or are you foe?\
15Now I gotta...go it solo...''
16-->-- '''The show's [[AwesomeMusic/WesternAnimation epic theme song.]] The guitar riffs and "bah bah bahbah babah's" are all optional. '''
17
18''Detentionaire'' is a Canadian MysteryFiction-ConspiracyThriller cartoon from Creator/{{Nelvana}} that was created by TV writers Daniel Bryan Franklin and Charles Johnston. It began airing weekly on Creator/{{Teletoon}} in January 2012, although it had a preview week in the September of 2011.
19
20Lee Ping, an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent beginning 10th grade at A. Nigma High School, gets [[DetentionEpisode a year's worth of detention]] for pulling the mother of all school pranks, and on the very first day, no less.
21
22The catch? He didn't actually do ''any'' of it.
23
24To make matters worse, his mother, a teacher at his school, has grounded him for the same length of time, leaving him unable to do anything outside of school. Since no one will believe his claims of innocence and he doesn't have any proof of it, Lee must [[ClearMyName clear his name]] by sneaking out of detention every day and finding clues that will lead him to the true culprit.
25
26With the help of a circle of close allies, including his best friend Camillio Martinez, goofy exchange student Holger Holgaart, school bully Biffy Goldstein, and the school news reporter Tina Kwee (his crush), Lee searches for the truth behind the prank and tries to catch the real prankster by rubbing shoulders with the various student cliques of A. Nigma High. And while he's at it, Lee finds himself having to avoid all manner of obstacles, such as the tyrannical cyborg principal and former military officer General Barrage, the school's strange hazmat-wearing janitors, and a lizard-like monster called the Tazelwurm that serves as school mascot.
27
28Widely considered to be one of ''the'' best shows ever produced by Creator/{{Nelvana}} and to have ever aired on Creator/{{Teletoon}}, thanks to its complex plot and engaging writing, surpassing ''WesternAnimation/{{Franklin}}'', ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'', and ''WesternAnimation/MythicWarriorsGuardiansOfTheLegend''. In recent years however, it has faced some competition with ''WesternAnimation/{{Mysticons}}'' for the title of being Nelvana's best series.
29
30The show lasted 53 episodes over 4 seasons, and was licensed by Creator/CartoonNetwork for an American release. The series was canceled on Thursday, January 29, 2015, allegedly due to poor performance in the United States. All 4 seasons are available to view online via Amazon, Tubi, and Website/{{YouTube}} via Nelvana's [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBZNlAa1UKF6Lx8we-Z2PthTmUZaTAnJr Retro Rerun channel]] in America, the latter two being available for free.
31
32Not be confused with ''WesternAnimation/{{Detention}}''.
33----
34
35!!''Detentionaire'' contains examples of:
36* ThirteenIsUnlucky: This number has popped up a few times. For example, Wing 13 of the Green Apple Splat factory is a creepy, dark, seemingly haunter corridor, and it's where the survivors of the old factory's meltdown were kept, since they all went insane because of the fumes. Of course, the protagonists have to go through it to [[spoiler:escape the second meltdown]]. Also, students are periodically called down to Room 113 B, [[spoiler:which actually leads to the underground {{Brainwashing}} rooms]].
37* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: Under the Green Apple Splat factory, as well as under the school, and under Brandy's condo. They turn into strangely high-tech hallways.
38* AcademyOfAdventure: A. Nigma High School.
39* AccidentalMisnaming: For the first five episodes, Brandy calls Lee "leaping" instead of "Lee Ping".
40* TheAce: Despite his supposed geeky rep before the series start, Lee gains instant popularity after getting detention. Also, he's a pretty good action hero for an OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent, as he seems to be able to do '''anything'''; from being a star football player, to a top violinist, to a brilliant actor. This also counts as a subversion, in that while Lee is fairly intelligent and resourceful, he struggles through the more physical aspects of being an ActionHero (for example, the first time he swipes a skateboard to escape, he does have some trouble with his coordination). Not to mention his reputation as a legendary troublemaker was completely false.
41* ActionMom: Lee’s mom is revealed to be this in "Clogspiracy" when she fights off superintendent-turned-temporary-principal Blompkins with a clog-gun.
42* AdultsAreUseless: On one hand, Barrage toes a fine line between overtly stern and tyrannical and Lee's mom (embarrassingly enough, a math teacher at his school) doesn't believe that her own clean-cut son didn't pull the prank. On the other hand, Vice Principal Victoria is sympathetic to the students and is swift to deal with bullies like Biffy, and Lee's dad tries to make his son's grounding period at least bearable. [[spoiler: It's too bad that Barrage sacrifices himself for Lee and Victoria turns out to be evil.]]
43* AirventPassageway: How Lee sneaks around the school. The Tazelwurms use it too.
44* AllAnimalsAreDogs: {{Subverted|Trope}}. When Biffy loses track of Lee and can't reach him by phone in “The Theme Team”, he gets so worried something bad happened that he tries to get Mr. Rumplekittykat to [[TheyHaveTheScent find him by scent like a tracking dog]]. Instead, the cat just curls up in the shirt and goes to sleep.
45** Occasionally played straight with the Taz. While he's usually pretty realistic for a snake/lizard/dragon/whatever he is, he does have a habit of licking people's faces in greeting like a dog would.
46* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Jenny towards the Serpent if "Splitting Hairs" is any indication.
47* AloofAlly: Kimmie to the heroes. She will help Biffy sometimes… if she feels like it.
48* AlphaBitch:
49** Brandy, Lee's new (and self-proclaimed) girlfriend comes off as either this, ClingyJealousGirl, or LovableAlphaBitch at first. Episode 5 shows that she wants to be a part of the AlphaBitch clique, and at the end of that episode, warms up enough that she stops calling Lee "Leaping" and refers to him properly as Lee Ping. Episode 18 showed more of a loyal side to her, including accompanying Lee on a stakeout, asking and telling some personal things about him and herself to try and improve their relationship, and showing Lee that she can be very crafty too.
50** Chaz is a male example of this to Tina and all of the media group. Vain, self-absorbed and verbally abusive unless on camera, he definitely isn't the JerkJock.
51** Kimmie herself is this as well, even towards Brandy and Biffy. But when Kimmie and Biffy are alone, they start rekindling their old friendships.
52* AmusingInjuries: To Holger more than anyone else but Chaz has gotten in on the act too.
53* AnachronismStew: How ''did'' that guy on the news team have an operating 1920's (though really 1930's) video camera?
54* AnimalWrongsGroup: The trio from Episode 10, who caused an entire factory to melt down just to save some frogs, nearly killing everyone in the process.
55* AnimeHair: Lee sports a [[http://baseimages.carddit.com/a/tR76KkJvM.jpg?1318022742 mullet with emo bangs, that's red on top and black in the back]]. This even goes back to his childhood.
56** The strangeness of his hair is constantly lampshaded by his friends and those around him, such as [=RadCircles=] being quick to mock it and asking why he dyes it like that, and Chaz asking Tina if it's his natural hair color.
57--> '''Lee:''' What's wrong with my hair?
58* ArchEnemy: Lee and true perpetrator of the prank: [=RadCircles=], better known as [[spoiler: Lynch Webber]]
59* ArtShift: The style shifts from [=ToonBoom=] animation to still images to depict the chaos of the gym at the first day. The last two seconds of the intro also briefly shift into sketchy traditional animation. In crowd scenes, there are often nameless background characters that do not move or speak who seem to be drawn in a different style. When we see a close up on hands, they tend to be drawn in more detail as well.
60* ArtisticLicenseHistory: In ''Welcome To Factory Island'', the kids see a film about Green Apple Splat. In one scene of the film, the narrator says that Green Apple Splat was once used to clean the nostrils of Mesopotamian royalty. However, the scene shows a man dressed up in an outfit from Elizabethan England instead.
61* AscendedExtra: This tends to happen to a number of students. For example, Jenny Jergens of the Outcasts started out as a one-off character in Season 2 [[spoiler: and is brought back in the latter half of Season 3 to join Lee's little investigative team]].
62* AsianAndNerdy: Lee is a rather downplayed version in that he gets good grades, but uses his brain more for his investigations and is almost nothing like a stereotypical nerd.
63* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: The skater clique. Dear God, the skater clique.
64--> '''Lee''': I've met squirrels with longer attention spans!
65* AttentionWhore:
66** Chaz, the head reporter for the school news.
67** Brandy slowly makes the school play center around her, when it's supposed to be about the school's founder, Alexander Nigma. She goes as far as to change almost every aspect of the play, from the names of the characters to adding action scenes with explosions and ninjas.
68* BadlyBatteredBabysitter: To an extent, Cam babysitting his “evil little sister” Angelina. He has to yell at her to not microwave the goldfish and gets hit in the head with both a water balloon and soccer ball, and that's only what we get to see onscreen. In the end, though, it's [[DownplayedTrope not so bad]], as they're just acting like siblings and not doing anyone real harm. Except the goldfish, that is.
69* BaldOfEvil: [[spoiler:Lynch, since he's really a man in his late seventies and thus has to wear a wig.]]
70* BathroomBreakout: How Lee and his friends get out of class to go adventuring.
71* BatmanColdOpen: Nearly every episode.
72* BattleOfTheBands: In Episode 6, A. Nigma High has one, featuring several acts of [[StylisticSuck questionable quality]] alongside the school's own rock band, the Dudes of Darkness. When Lee accidentally and indirectly causes the [[InSeriesNickname DoD]]'s frontman [[TheRockStar Cyrus]] to break off, it's up to him to get the band back together in time to perform.
73* BavarianFireDrill: Holger tries to get into [[TheCasino the Hydra]] by posing as a famous European gambler who is outraged that he needs to prove his identity with an ID. It's not very convincing, [[spoiler:but thankfully, the guard is ordered to let them in anyway]].
74* BetaCouple: Cam and Brandy, Holger and Greta, Biffy and Kimmie
75* BettyAndVeronica: Tina (Betty) and Brandy (Veronica) for Lee. Jenny becomes the Veronica starting Season 3.
76* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler:Lynch]] "[=RadCircles=]" [[spoiler:Webber]] and [[spoiler:V.P. Victoria]], who are behind the prank that Lee is framed of.
77* BigDamnHeroes: Happens a lot. The Red Taz in particular tends to do this all the time.
78* BlackAndNerdy: Both Nadene and Tech Nerd from the Genius club count as this.
79** A certain council member could count as an adult version of this as well.
80* {{Blackmail}}: [[spoiler: Cam]] gets caught up in one in Season 3, as do many other students it seems.
81* BlandNameProduct: Cam repeatedly breaks phones at the frustration of not beating "[[VideoGame/AngryBirds Disgruntled Pigeons]]".
82* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Lee tends to be the default redhead in certain {{power trio}}s (Holger (blond) and Cam/Biffy (brunette)) and {{love triangle}}s (Brandy/Brad/Jenny (blonds) and Tina (brunette)).
83* BookDumb: Averted for a high school-age male protagonist. The only bad grade in Lee's report card was a C, and that was only for gym. Yet despite this, his mom won't let him catch a break.
84* {{Brainwashed}}: Almost everyone gets brainwashed at some point, though Cam gets it especially bad. Lee, Biffy and apparently [[spoiler: VP Victoria]] are all immune though.
85* BreakingTheBonds: The Taz always escapes, even when chained down.
86* BrickJoke: Cam's hypnotic state returns in the Season 1 finale, when the trigger words come up coincidentally.
87* ButtMonkey: It's not just the prankster that wants to get at Lee; 99% of those around him either never listen to him, frustrate him to no end, create unnecessary drama, or all of the above.
88* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:The Serpent and Lee were like this ([[LongLostRelative albeit unknowingly]]) at first, but when The Serpent (Also known as Li Ping) found out that Lee was his younger brother, [[HeelFaceTurn he turned against his bosses]] (mostly because they were the ones who took him from his family in the first place)]].
89* CampStraight: Holger.
90* CantGetAwayWithNuthin:
91** Biffy, sometimes intentionally.
92** Lee in general. Naturally, on the one day Lee ''wants'' detention to protect himself, he has a free pass. Even trying to set up the bullies fails to nab the right culprit.
93* CasanovaWannabe: Camillio Martinez, along with wannabe gangster.
94* TheCasino: The Hydra, owned by The Serpent. [[spoiler: It's also a front for a [[ElaborateUndergroundBase secret submarine base]]]].
95* CassandraTruth: Lee, since the beginning of the series.
96* CerebusSyndrome: Although there are hints at the more serious plot, the year-long detention becomes less and less important the more the plot is developed. It doesn't lose its sense of humour, though, unlike some series to undergo this.
97* CharacterDevelopment: Oh, there is a ton of it! What we start with is stereotypes only for the characters to end up far from those stereotypes.
98* CityOfAdventure: This portrayal of Toronto is as adventure filled as A. Nigma High is.
99* CityWithNoName: Though the seting is meant to be a fictionalized Toronto, it wasn't mentioned on-screen. When the show's run in Australia [[CanadaDoesNotExist implied it took place in the US]], co-creator Charles Johnston considered naming the city Ottington.
100* ClearMyName: The premise of the show, at least at first.
101* ClingyJealousGirl: At first, Brandy acted like this toward Tina, not even letting her and Lee talk. Thankfully, [[CharacterDevelopment she matures in the later seasons.]]
102* CloneAngst:
103** A couple of episodes imply that Lee is in fact a clone, specifically of [[spoiler:the Serpent]], which Lee struggles to deal with. [[spoiler:He's not a clone of the Serpent, [[LongLostRelative he's his brother]]]].
104** [[spoiler:The majority of the school's teachers learned that they were clones upon waking up in their stasis chambers, most of whom are the most recent of the long series based on historical figures; the sole exception being Mrs. Ping who is just the first. To make matters worse, they came to this conclusion when the feeding apparatus kept them sustained malfunctioned and they would not last long without it.]]
105* ColorMotif: RedIsHeroic, blue was heroic in the past but is currently [[BrainwashedAndCrazy controlled in some way to serve the villains' ends]], a leash that can be loosened under certain circumstances.
106* CoolKey: The octagon-shaped key that Lee uses to access the underground tunnels. [[spoiler: Season 3 reveals that it's one of two keys that are meant to unlock the pyramid beneath the school.]]
107* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Cassandra [=McAdams=], in addition to being a member of the council, is the CEO of [[MegaCorp Mann, Wurst, and Finnwich]].
108-->'''Cassandra''': I'm controlling him [Barrage] with my phone, the stock market with my investments, the politicians with threats, your food supply with what's going to be the hottest new ranch flavor.
109* CrackPairing: A rare in-universe example. See ShipperOnDeck for details. [[spoiler: Victoria practically weaponizes this.]] Several of these pairings seem to happen on their own.
110* CrowdChant: Parodied in the episode “Fence-O-Palooza”, where it's ridiculously easy to get the crowd to chant what you want. Well, up to a point.
111-->'''Chaz:''' You know what I say to that? Down with Prez!
112-->'''Crowd:''' Down with Prez! Down with Prez!
113-->'''Cam:''' People! I'll fix this, gimme a sec! No “down with Prez”... ''Up'' with Prez!
114-->'''Crowd:''' Up with Prez! Up with Prez!
115-->'''Lee:''' Wow, [[LampshadeHanging these guys'll chant anything]].
116-->'''Crowd:''' We'll chant anything! We'll chant anything!
117-->'''[[AttentionWhore Chaz]]:''' Yeah! Chaz is great! Chaz is g...
118-->'''Crowd:''' ...
119-->'''Chaz:''' Really? C'mon...
120* {{Cyborg}}: The new principal is this. The reason for it is completely unknown. The Amazing Finnwich is a SteamPunk version from the neck down.
121* DarkerAndEdgier: The third season seems to be a bit darker than the previous two. More so in the fourth season with the inclusion of character death.
122* DeanBitterman: Principal Barrage does everything he can to make Lee's life a living hell and even tries to get him expelled. [[spoiler:The funny thing is, they're on the same side. Barrage just doesn't like Lee Ping.]]
123* DemotedToExtra: This tends to happen to a number of students. For example, Irwin Dexter went from being Lee's initial rival in Season 1 to a sort of TokenEvilTeammate or SitcomArchNemesis in Season 2, and then to extra in Season 3.
124* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment: “Get ready for real pain! The ''painful kind.''”
125* DragonsUpTheYinYang: A yin-yang symbol made up of two Tazelwurms (who despite not technically being dragons do look pretty similar) can be found throughout the later seasons, such as on the back of the book and on the pendant the Serpent wears.
126* DressingAsTheEnemy: [[TheBigGuy Biffy]] manages to pull this off despite his arms being bigger then quite a few adults' entire bodies.
127* DrillSergeantNasty: Principal Barrage.
128* DrivingQuestion
129** Season 1-2: Who framed Lee?
130** Season 3-4: Who are the Council and what do they want?
131* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: You can see some of it in the first episode, such as the [=DoD=] having different character designs than the ones they later have, Greta lacking her unibrow, etc.
132%%%%% NOTHING "Goes without saying" on this site, ''ever''.
133%%%* EarnYourHappyEnding:
134* EatingContest: Holger and Steve have one in “Corndog Day Afternoon” to win Greta's hand. It only results in her being grossed out and leaving.
135* EducationMama: Lee's mom to a T. They even made her his math teacher!
136* TheEeyore: Sal, who we first see working at the Green Apple Splat factory, and then again three seasons later working for the restaurant chain Big Chicken. He is not happy with either of these jobs and does them reluctantly and with a tired monotone.
137-->'''Sal:''' Now if you all come with me we can all watch a wonderful film about your favourite drink. [[DullSurprise Hooray]]. [Later] And that's the movie. Wow. Every time I see it I wonder why I get out of bed in the morning.
138* EggSitting: The episode “Misadventures in Babysitting", which had some rather unusual student pairs being assigned a robot baby to take care of, some of which included [[TeethClenchedTeamwork Chaz and Tina]], [[HoYay Cam and Holger]], and Brandy and Irwin, who actually ended up getting along [[OddCouple surprisingly well]]. Poor Biffy got saddled with twins. Of course, at the end of the episode, we find out that their real purpose is [[spoiler:planting bugs in the students' homes as a part of Cassandra's plot, so it seems Holger wasn't really wrong to call them “evil robot babies”.]]
139* ElaborateUndergroundBase
140* EliteMooks: The magnet powered robot things, which first appear near the end of Season 2.
141* EmbarrassingMiddleName: Camillio ''Esmereldo'' Martinez.
142* EnhanceButton: In “Jock n' Roll High School”, Lee manages to enhance a blurry photo of a hand so much he can see the details on a ring and a scab that let him find out who the hand belongs to.
143* EskimosArentReal: Cam doesn't believe that hypnotism exists despite having been hypnotized at Lee's tenth birthday.
144* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Lee's crush on Tina, and her attraction to him.
145* EveryoneChasingYou: In the episode "Chaz’s Corner", the whole school is after Chaz, as he has [[spoiler: the prank footage]], and they want either it or the bounty Barrage has put on him. The same thing happens to the Taz when Barrage puts a bounty on him in "All that Taz".
146* EverythingsCuterWithKittens: Biffy's adorable orange kitty, Mr. Rumplekittykat. [[spoiler:Actually, make that Mrs. Rumplekittykat.]]
147* EvilDetectingDog: Rumplekittykat towards [[spoiler:Lynch]] and the Red Taz towards [[spoiler:V.P. Victoria]].
148* EvilTeacher: [[spoiler: Vice Principal Victoria. The rest of the teachers, and Principal Wurst, become this in Season 4.]]
149* ExactWords: In "The Hydra", The Serpent never actually says that [[spoiler:the pyramid keys are in the briefcase]], he just implies it and lets Biffy, Cam, and Holger draw that conclusion.
150* {{Expy}}: Vice Principal Victoria is basically a slightly more kid-friendly version of [[Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit Jessica Rabbit.]]
151* FacelessGoons: The Cleaners. Dressed in white hazmat suits, they literally turn up everywhere. [[spoiler: They are later revealed to be a kind of Mecha-Mooks.]]
152* FakeDefector: Lee and Cam staging a fight so the latter can infiltrate the Down With Lee Club. [[spoiler:It doesn't work.]]
153* FelonyMisdemeanor: Threatening to cut Holger's fabulous hair? How dare you, Mathletes?! The Serpent also does this.
154%%* FunnyForeigner: Holger, a vaguely Laplander foreign student at the school.
155* GRatedMentalIllness: [[spoiler:Lynch's]] contorted smiles, giggles and obsession with knock-knock jokes.
156* GentleGiant: Biffy. He's Lee's inside-man whenever they're in detention. He's big and muscled, and always gets himself in trouble so he could go to detention, but it actually gives him the free time to do things like knitting sweaters, being Lee's eyes in the sky, and playing with his adorable pet kitten. Granted, his threats to cease being Lee's 'eyes' and show him 'how much of a bully [he] really can be' if he couldn't get [=DoD=] back together in Episode 6 are an early indicator that he really can be a strong threat. In later seasons, he acts as the muscle of the group when he tags along with Lee.
157* GeniusDitz: Lynch [[spoiler: at first, until the revelation, thanks to which all his ditz moments are suddenly not as funny anymore...]]
158%%* GenkiGirl: Greta of the Mathletes
159%%* GirlNextDoor: Tina.
160* GoodAllAlong: Despite initially seeming like the villain when introduced, [[spoiler:Barrage had actually been looking into who really set off the prank, and helped expose Vice Principle Victoria's scheme.]]
161* GoodColorsEvilColors: The good guys have a red motif (the Red Taz, Lee’s hair), and the bad guys have a blue one (the blue Tazelwurms, the Serpent’s hair). Additionally, Barrage’s robotic eye is usually red, but turns blue when he is being controlled by the bad guys.
162* GreaterScopeVillain: "His Eminence", a lizard-like humanoid being who is the leader of [[OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness The Council]], which in turn funded the science project that Victoria and Radcircles involved and by the extension, the one behind the prank.
163* HarmlessFreezing: Played with. Instead of water, the mooks are armed with ray guns that encase the target in green crystal. Sometimes, the head will be free, but even if the face is covered, freeing them from this prison leaves them with no lasting effects.
164* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler: The Serpent.]]
165* HeterosexualLifePartners: Lee and Biffy, with the occasional MistakenForGay moment.
166* HiddenDepths: Biffy seems to have a passion for sewing, even making the costumes for the school play. He also uses awesome hacking skills to help Lee sneak around.
167* HotTeacher: Well, Victoria, if vice principals can count.
168* HowWeGotHere: Every episode shows a brief scene from the climax of the episode, ending in a {{Cliffhanger}}. The rest of the episode entails the events leading up to those last few minutes.
169* HypocriticalHeartwarming: Mrs. Ping takes personal offence to Blompkins insulting her son.
170-->'''Blompkins:''' Now I see where Mr. Ping gets his bad manner.
171-->'''Mrs. Ping:''' No one says that about my son... except me!
172* ImpossibleShadowPuppets: The Emos do some of these when pitching their idea for a school dance theme.
173* InconvenientItch: Tina's nose gets itchy in “Pyramid Scheme” while she's trapped in crystal and can't scratch it.
174* IncrediblyObviousBug: The bugs the Council plants in Season 3 are large enough to fill your palm, flash red, and beep, and several that we see are in completely open and obvious places, and yet nobody seems to notice them.
175* InsaneTrollLogic: When Tina asks why a new fence is being built around the school, Barrage claims that it's to “Keep the wolverines out!” When Tina points out that there are no wolverines anywhere near the school, he replies, “See? It’s working already!”
176* InMediasRes: Every episode begins during the climax, usually with protagonist Lee Ping running to get back to detention before the principal realizes he's missing. The episode then cuts back to some time earlier, and we see the events that led to said climax.
177* TheInspectorIsComing: Principal Barrage is inspected twice by the school board. The second time, he threatens to cancel the school dance if he fails the inspection.
178* IntrepidReporter: Chaz and Tina, who are head anchors for the school news show. Chaz is more a subversion on the IntrepidReporter: he'll try to get the scoop with the minimal amount of work possible. He only really cares about being on camera.
179* {{Irony}}: As the series goes on, it's readily more apparent that Lee's also breaking rules himself in order to prove his innocence. Even he can't help but lampshade it about five episodes in.
180* ItWasAllJustADream: Lee's explanation for the events in Episode 7. [[spoiler:It turns out that not all of it was, and the school really ''does'' have an elaborate system of high-tech tunnels beneath it.]]
181* ItWasHereISwear: Poor Lee has a lot of trouble with this trope, with rooms constantly being cleared out just before he gets to show someone or before he has a chance to really poke around.
182* {{Jerkass}}: Principal Barrage. [=RadCircles=] also comes off as one.
183* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Biffy. Camillio also has shades of this, in that while he does exploit Lee's newfound popularity to boost his own, he is able to set some of his priorities straight and help Lee gather valuable information for his investigation when needed.
184* JiveTurkey: Lynch. [[spoiler:This foreshadowing of him being OlderThanHeLooks, though no one questions him being a high school student.]]
185* {{Keet}}: Both Camillio and Holger, the latter probably more so.
186* LeftHanging: While the first two seasons nicely wrap up the story, the storylines for the next two seasons are not quite as self-contained.
187* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Tina and Jenny respectively.
188* LimitedWardrobe
189* LivingBattery: It's unclear what exactly he did, but in Season 3, Biffy somehow manages to bypass the new detention room's block on cell phones by putting a hat made of some sort of metal and wires onto the sleeping teacher and power his phone from that.
190* LoveDodecahedron: As expected in a high-school {{Dramedy}}, partly influenced by Lee's actions in the Prank investigation [[spoiler:and the mind control experiments orchestrated by Vice Principal Victoria and Lynch.]]
191* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler:The Serpent reveals himself to be Lee's brother.]]
192* MagicMusic: The Prank Song, which played during the prank on the first day, [[spoiler:is a mind-control device that mysteriously leaves Lee and some others immune. It seems to be a genetic thing.]]
193* TheManBehindTheMan: Turns out that the Council is behind [[spoiler:VP Victoria and Lynch’s experiments]] in seasons one and two.
194* MeaningfulEcho: In "[=RadCircles=]"'s first appearance, he says, "I know everything. I know, it's scary." Biffy said the same thing in Episode 3. [[spoiler:Turns out it's a RedHerring, and [=RadCircles=] is actually Lynch]].
195* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: An audible example: in the school-centered episodes, there are a few P.A. announcements calling several students to go to Room 113 B. [[spoiler:The Season 2 finale reveals that the students are sent to the janitor's closet where they're subjected to mind-control reinforcement via the Prank Song.]]
196* MeaningfulName: Lee's surname means "peaceful" or "level" in [[BilingualBonus Chinese]], which makes good sense for his [[OnlySaneMan character]].
197* MechaMooks: [[spoiler: The Cleaners turn out to be these. Finnwich and the Council also have their own versions. Confusingly, some people are shown wearing suits that make them look exactly the same, however, they are ColorCodedForYourConvenience.]]
198* MegaCorp: Mann, Wurst and Finnwich, whose symbol appears on nearly everything.
199* MidSeasonTwist: For the first five-or-so episodes, the story just looks like an abnormal TeenDrama series. The seventh episode demolishes that view on the series as Lee makes some important discoveries ([[spoiler:the underground tunnels hiding the brainwashing laboratory]]). And even the episode's B plot is beyond weird, though it reveals more about [[spoiler: Barrage]]'s past.
200* MindControlConspiracy: [[spoiler:Most of early seasons have the whole school being a test for this.]]
201* MindControlMusic: The Prank Song. [[spoiler:It's part of a top secret project to brainwash people into acting against their character. Some people, like Lee, just happen to be immune to its effects.]]
202** MagicMusic: [[spoiler: The latter episodes of Season 4 takes it up to eleven by making the song the first song in existence and was used by Finnwich to bring back a OnlyMostlyDead Lynch.]]
203* NinjaPirateZombieRobot: The school is run by a {{Cyborg}} Drill Sergeant {{Eyepatch|OfPower}}ed badass Principal.
204* NoIndoorVoice: PRINCIPAL BARRAGE! ALWAYS TALKS! LIKE A DRILL SERGEANT!
205** Holger also has problems with this, though it's only really seen in the earlier episodes when he'd accidentally yell something while on a spy mission. This usually ends with him running away from whoever he was meant to be spying on while berating himself for forgetting to whisper.
206* MoralityPet: Sometimes Holger has acted as one to Carmillo, like when he was about to cheat on a test, or borrow the money from Barrage's wallet that they found.
207* NoOSHACompliance: The green apple splat factory has a few unguarded, unprotected controls that when pushed can cause explosion that that not only kills any still inside the factory, but also contaminates the land around it for years. Is a soft drink really that hard to make? [[spoiler: Okay, so it's partially for a evil mind control scheme, but that doesn't mean there can't be basic safety protocols.]] Then there's A. Nigma High keeping a dangerous animal as a school mascot...
208* NotBrainwashed: [[spoiler:Vice-principal Victoria, the resident reasonable authority figure, has just been informed about the evil plot and is working to stop it, when she is brainwashed into forgetting everything she had learned. It turns out that she was acting, and was never brainwashed due to being the BigBad all along.]]
209* NotMyDriver: In the first episode of Season 3, Lee gets in a taxi that's supposed to take him to the airport. Luckily, he notices when they take a wrong turn, and when the driver's revealed to be a [[MechaMooks Hazmat]], he manages to escape.
210* OddFriendship: Lee and Biffy formed one. Later on, Biffy and Holger did the same.
211* OfficialCouple: [[spoiler: Lee and Tina.]]
212* OlderThanHeLooks: [[spoiler:Lynch]] is hinted to be this early on. When Lee looks in his dropped wallet, his birth certificate says he was born in 1934 and was the president of the Green Apple Splat company. Lee just assumes it belongs to his father. [[spoiler:However, it was confirmed in "Fence-o-palooza" to be Lynch himself, with his youthful looks being a result of magic and plastic surgery.]]
213* TheOmniscient: Biffy reveals that he's this to Lee. "I know everything! I know, it's actually pretty scary sometimes." [=RadCircles=] also has elements of this, even saying the exact same phrase as Biffy.
214* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: Introduced in the Season 2 finale. Lee spends Season 3 identifying them all.
215* OnlySaneMan: Lee's probably the most collected teenager in the show. Tina has played this role several times as well.
216* OpeningACanOfClones: [[spoiler:Most of the teachers at A. Nigma High are clones, as hinted by some of them [[CelebrityResemblance resembling famous historical figures]].]]
217* OrphanedPunchline: A few, such as Cam's “And I was all: 'No way, hombre! That piñata is a ''toilet!'''” and Brad's “...And that's why I always stretch before I eat yogurt.”
218* OurCryptidsAreMoreMysterious: The Tatzelwurm.
219* PairTheSpares: Subverted. In the last minute or two of the series finale, Holger gets sad when he realizes everyone has someone but him. Cue Jenny, the only other single person in the room, giving him permission to hug her. Turns out Holg actually wanted to give Mrs. Ping a hug.
220* PaperThinDisguise: Most of Holger's attempts to disguise himself fall under this. Then there's Lee's "El Beardo" disguise. Then there's that one time the kids try to disguise the Red Taz as a little girl...
221** Notably, every time a character tries this, the realistic outcome happens and the plan backfires spectacularly.
222* {{Perfumigation}}: Holger literally bathed in cologne as preparation for a party. The fumes melted a rubber duck on a shelf and everyone complained about him the rest of the night.
223* PetTheDog: Principal Barrage going back for the students left behind in Episode 10, and again in Episode 27 where he sacrifices himself to save Lee and Tina.
224* PlanetOfHats: The entire school has the typical cliques, but segregated and even more one-dimensional than usual.
225* PlotMandatedFriendshipFailure: Episode 6 has the Dudes of Darkness break up, partially instigated by Lee. By the end of the day, of course, the band is back together.
226* PopUpTrivia
227* PostKissCatatonia: Happens to Cam after [[spoiler:Brandy]] gives him his first kiss.
228* PunchClockVillain: The Green Hazmats are this since they are people in suits and not robots.
229* PunnyName: The high school is called "A. Nigma High". Sounds like "enigma", as in puzzle. Get it? Also, Camillio refers to Lee, who is quite intelligent, as "Homes," which in context is the same as "home boy," but is pronounced almost the same as [[Literature/SherlockHolmes "Holmes."]] And of course, "Lee Ping" is a punny name as well.
230* PyramidPower: [[spoiler:There's a pyramid beneath the school that's covered in glowing symbols and is highly magnetic. It's connected to Lee's PowerTattoo and TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness wants to open it.]]
231* RaceAgainstTheClock: In the episode “Welcome to Factory Island”, where the amount of time the characters have before [[spoiler:the factory explodes]] is cheerfully announced by a chipper computer system. “Quick update: no rush, but it ''is'' ten minutes 'till [[spoiler:meltdown]]. Just saying!”
232* RealMenWearPink: Biffy loves to knit and play with his [[CuteKitten kitten.]]
233* ReassignedToAntarctica: At the end of Season 2, [[spoiler:Lee Ping]] gets expelled from school, and his furious mother states that he's going to be transferred to a school in either Alaska or Siberia - whichever one's colder and has more polar bears.
234* RedOniBlueOni:
235** Biffy and Lee respectively, though Lee is the main character.
236** Furthermore, the red and blue color scheme is one of the central symbols in the show, with:
237*** Lee Ping and [[spoiler: his brother]] The Serpent having red and blue hair respectively (though for the latter it's just the tip).
238*** There's the red good Tazelwurm and the blue evil Tazelwurms.
239*** The Pyramid constantly changing color from red to blue.
240* RecycledInSpace: The creators have referred to the series in press releases as "Series/TwentyFour in [[HighschoolAU high school]]".
241* RedheadInGreen: Lee, Jenny, and VP Victoria all dress like this.
242* RightBehindMe: Lee utters this when he sees that the skaters he was talking to are stunned by the arrival of Barrage.
243* RoomFullOfCrazy: Episode 25 reveals that [[spoiler:Lynch's bedroom wall is covered with many sticky notes saying ''"KNOCK KNOCK"'', finally confirming to Lee that Lynch is [=RadCircles=]]].
244* RuleOfCool: Pretty much sums up why the school would have a cyborg drill sergeant for a principal.
245** ''Robot butlers'' for a penthouse party.
246** There's a red lizard/dragon/whatever the heck it is roaming around the school. It's called a Tazelwurm.
247* SacredFirstKiss: To Brandy. A source for much tension later on. In Episode 50, [[spoiler: Cam has one. Ironically, it was from Brandy, and in much the same fashion as her first kiss.]]
248* SadistTeacher: Principal Barrage. He held Football tryouts that involved bombs and cannons, takes pleasure in physically dragging Lee to Detention, and has mocked him many times for missing out on school events because of detention.
249* ScaryStingingSwarm: Holger and Steve get chased by a swarm of bees in “Fight or Flight”.
250* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler: The Council Leader and the remnants of his species appear to have been this.]]
251* SecondYearProtagonist: The show takes place during Lee Ping's sophomore year, and his class gets the spotlight the most out of all the students. The series would have continued into his college years had it not been cancelled.
252* SeniorSleepCycle: The old teacher "supervising" detention will not wake up for anything. The world could end around him and he'd still be snoozing. [[spoiler: We find out in Season 3 that it was actually cause by him trying to open the pyramid under the school. It can only be opened under specific conditions that he didn't know, and when someone tries to open it at the wrong time, it causes them to go into a sleep-like coma.]]
253* ShameIfSomethingHappened: Cassandra wants Lee to draw her a map of the underground tunnels. When he refuses, she [[spoiler: e-mails him a picture of his mother, in a chair, with the Serpent (the council’s enforcer) holding a sharp blade near her neck. It turns out that Lee’s mother never knew she was in danger, as the picture was taken at a salon, and the Serpent was masquerading as a hair stylist.]] The same thing happens again later, with the Council threatening to [[spoiler: kill Lee’s father at the airport, with the Serpent acting as a sniper on a nearby roof. Nothing happens to either parent, but it is made clear that something could have, just to intimidate Lee.]]
254* SheIsNotMyGirlfriend:
255** Lee to Brandy. To be fair, the way they "get together" is pretty bizarre, not to mention completely involuntary on Lee's part. By Episode 9, he actively tells people that he has a girlfriend. By Episode 18, the fact that Brandy knows some personal things about him (his eye color, and the fact that in certain lighting it glows hazel, which is a surprise even to Lee, for example) AND has demonstrated some craftiness and genuine want of building their relationship, makes Lee more confused about all this. In the end, though, [[spoiler:they revert to being just friends and get romantically involved with other people]].
256** Biffy and Kimmie have this reaction, once they resume their childhood friendship in mostly secret.
257* ShipperOnDeck: A not-so-benevolent example. [[spoiler: The machine that brainwashes the students through their cellphones links two of those students together, creating lots of bizarre couples.]] As an example, Brad/Tina and Holger/Kimmie (the latter was foiled, [[spoiler: because Cam had Holger's cellphone, and thus was getting the order instead, thus getting paired with Kimmie.]]) When the machine responsible for these often {{crack pairing}}s is destroyed, most of those couples instantly break up. However, Brad/Tina was hinted at before the device was in place, so perhaps some of the pairings were not so unbelievable after all, along with a couple of other relationships...
258** Many characters ship Lee and Tina.
259* ShoutOut: Lee disguises himself as a football player wearing a visor-equipped helmet in order to scout info at the football tryouts. The scouting info part aside, that does evoke elements from [[Manga/Eyeshield21 one football story...]]
260** [[Film/AdventuresInBabysitting Misadventures in Babysitting]]
261** Cyrus' hat is based on [[Music/GunsNRoses Slash's]] iconic hat.
262** Barrage's floating drones around the school look [[Videogame/Fallout3 pretty damn familiar]]. They're even called "Eyebots".
263** The name of the art teacher is Mrs. Warhola, as a shout out to Creator/AndyWarhol.
264** In "Fight or Flight", Jenny calls Mrs. Alice "Riddler on the Roof", making this a double shout out.
265** Cam sure does seem to be crazy about an app called [[VideoGame/AngryBirds Disgruntled Pigeons]].
266** 28 Sneezes Later is a pretty huge one to the horror film 28 Days Later.
267** Tales from Decrypt references quite a few movies from the 70's with similar names.
268* ShutUpKiss: Lee gives one to Brandy in Episode 3 to avoid getting caught by Barrage. She's then left with PostKissCatatonia because it turned out to be [[SacredFirstKiss her first kiss]]. It comes back to bite him in a later episode, when a picture of said kiss is displayed at Brandy's party. Lee then does it to her ''again'' in Episode 8 in order to keep her from revealing his identity to Barrage.
269* SmartPeoplePlayChess: In “Mastermind”, Biffy gets beaten by Ruby, a ChildProdigy, and AsianAndNerdy Lee twice each.
270* SpeakInUnison: If the Prank Song plays over a cell phone, those under its influence will try to {{Brainwash|ed}} those who aren't. They will hold up their phones and say "It's for you... It's for you..." over and over, all at the same time.
271* SssssnakeTalk: When Lee hallucinates the Red Tazelwurm speaking to him in “28 Sneezes Later”, this is how it talks.
272* StatusQuoIsGod: [[spoiler: In the finale of Season 2, after proving himself innocent of the the prank, gaining an ally with Barrage and defeating [=RadCircles=], Lee's back in detention, Barrage is brainwashed to forget the whole thing, and [=RadCircles=] is replaced with the Council. About the only thing he's gained is that Tina believes him now.]]
273* SteamPunk: Finnwich's technology including his MechaMooks and [[{{Cyborg}} himself]].
274* StickyFingers: [[spoiler:Ed the Water Boy]], a.k.a. The Thief from Episode 2.
275* StoryArc: Each episode is motivated by some clue found in a previous episode. The goal is to find the school prankster, though it grows to include so much more.
276* SurpriseParty: Lee's friends organize one for him in “The Tag Along”. Aside from being forced out into the rain by a fire alarm, it goes pretty well, though Lee is a little too distracted the whole time to really enjoy it.
277* SurveillanceDrone: The Eyebots.
278* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: [[spoiler: {{Subverted|Trope}}. [=RadCircles=] tries this to fake a message to Lee to hide that he is actually the person with him, but since Lee actually particpates in the knock-knock joke for once instead of saying something else like he usually does, it fails.]]
279* TeamPet: The Tazelwurm, at least for the school. In fact, the Red Tazelwurm seems to be acting as an unofficial BigGood within the series, as it has helped Lee on numerous occassions.
280* TemptingFate: Cam does this in “Clogspiracy”. He and Lee enter [[spoiler:Barrage's old home]] only to find that the Cleaners have completely cleared it out, prompting him to comment “What's next? The house vanishes?” Cue the entire structure being lifted up and hauled off.
281* ThisIsNotADrill: When the tenth graders are touring the Green Apple Splat factory, the tour guide starts explaining how [[spoiler:the first meltdown happened, only for the second one to start.]] It takes some time for everyone to realize it's the real deal.
282-->'''Sal:''' First there was a loud siren. [Siren goes off.] Like that. Then red lights came on. [Red lights come on.] Like that. Then we ran. Like this. [Runs off, then doubles back.] No, seriously, you better run.
283* ThisMeansWarpaint: Greta uses lipstick as face paint just before [[BigDamnHeroes rescuing Holger]] in “Double Date”.
284* TitleDrop: In Episode 8, "Disco History Times", Principal Barrage refers to Lee as "[his] little seat-warmin' detentionaire".
285* ThoseTwoGuys: Two pairs that just happens to have each party dating the other: Druscilla & [=McKenzie=] of the Glamazons and Evan & Trevor of the football team.
286* ToiletPaperTrail: Happens to Greta in “Double Date”, though Holger fixes it.
287* TokenTrio: Lee, Cam, and Holder form one. Unusual in that Lee, an east Asian, is the center of the trio.
288* TookALevelInBadass: Tina Kwee, in "Chaz's Corner" (the Season 1 finale), where she defends the right to information against Principal Barrage. Later on, she is interrogated by Barrage and stands up to him. Even later, she's almost brawling with Barrage for control of the security cameras so both can find Chaz Monorainian. The fact that Barrage is a DrillSergeantNasty [[EyepatchOfPower eyepatched badass]] makes this even more impressive.
289* TotalEclipseOfThePlot: During the eclipse is the only time you can open the {{Pyramid|Power}}, [[spoiler:unless you have a way of replicating it]].
290* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Lynch has two: Green Apple Splat and peanuts. Lee is a fan of Sloppy Joes, and his favorite deseert is triple chocolate chunk brownies.
291* TroubledButCute: Lee accrues this image of himself after being found guilty for the first-day prank. Brandy exploits this and claims him for herself to further her popularity.
292* {{Tsundere}}: Brandy is a Type A while Tina is a Type B.
293* TwoLinesNoWaiting: Every episode has a B plot that's self-contained to the episode. The A plot might have both an investigation portion and its own self-contained plot.
294* UnPerson: The Council tends to deal with messes by locking away whoever caused it and then making it so there's no record that they ever existed, like when they cleaned out [[spoiler:Barrage]]'s house in Season 3.
295* VitriolicBestBuds: Biffy may not be as mean as his reputation as school bully says, but that doesn't mean he doesn't take amusement to Lee's predicaments.
296* WeWillNotUsePhotoshopInTheFuture: The plot of Episode 4 is kicked off when someone [[spoiler:(the captain of the Mathletes)]] e-mails an obviously fake photo of Lee picking his nose to the student body. Despite Lee and Biffy clearly seeing through the ruse, nobody else does, despite Lee being asian and the hand being white.
297* WeUsedToBeFriends: Biffy with Kimmie of the Glamazons. Sometime during Junior High they fell out of their friendship... until the end of Episode 13, where they reconcile. The later episodes show that they're now on friendlier terms with each other, bordering on being playful {{Friendly rival}}s in public, and when they're alone, they act even sweeter.
298* WhamLine: Two of them near the end of episode 25. When Lee is hiding from Barrage in Lynch's bedroom, Lee wonders about the high-tech chat equipment near a computer. It has a video clip ready to play, so Lee presses it and...
299-->'''Lynch:''' [[spoiler:[[EvilAllAlong Knock-knock! You didn't say who's there!]]]]\
300'''Lee:''' What? ''(Picks up something from Lynch's desk)'' [[spoiler:A voice modifier]]?
301* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Brad just cannot imagine any reason why Tina would ever choose Lee over him.
302* WhiteVoidRoom: There are a few in [[spoiler: the underground system of labs and tunnels beneath the school]]. In the episode "28 Sneezes Later", we briefly see the Tazelwurm being held in one.
303* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: In "Pyramid Scheme", [[spoiler:Lynch]] asks why [[spoiler: Finnwich]] didn’t just zap Lee, as “He has an annoying habit of getting in the way”. It's probably because [[spoiler:Finnwich isn't really evil]].
304* WigDressAccent: Lee uses one in Episodes 6 and 8. {{Subverted|Trope}} in the latter when everyone but Barrage is able to see through the disguise.
305%% * WillTheyOrWontThey: Lee and Tina.
306* WorldOfSnark: Almost everyone says something snarky at some point. It's very common, also, the SnarkToSnarkCombat between characters.
307* WrongGenreSavvy: Brad, whose father is a blockbuster movie star, seems to think his life is an action movie (of which he is the star, of course) and act accordingly. There are moments when he's right, but most of the time he just doesn't get that Lee is the protagonist and the series generally has less explosions than action flicks.
308* XanatosGambit: Utilized by Brandy, to get Tina out of Lee's life. It involved setting her environmentalist friend up to be noticed by Tina, and so the both of them set out on a date. Her obvious plan was to set her up so that she would spill acid onto Tina's head to dissolve her hair. When Lee stepped in and pushed Tina out of the way, however, it was the date who got his hair dissolved, saying that he didn't want to believe Brandy that Tina was such a shallow person who played him for a fool. Needless to say, it was lose-lose for Lee and Tina's relationship.
309* YesMan: Brandy is revealed to be this to Kimmie, the improbably self-absorbed leader of the school [[GirlPosse Glamazons]].
310* YouthfulFreckles: Tina Kwee, her younger sister Ruby, Brandy Silver (partially obscured by her CoolShades), Greta Von Hoffman, and Jenny Jergens all have them. Lee and Cam also had them during their 3rd Grade years when they first became friends. [[spoiler:Even Lo Ping, [[IdenticalGrandson Lee's grandfather]], had them as far into his teenage years.]]

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