Common in animated shows, the Ad Break Double Take is an establishing shot or establishing line that appears on ''both'' sides of a commercial break; the show being wound back a few seconds to allow the scene to be reintroduced to the viewer in a coherent fashion. These repeated scenes are also often used as {{Padding}} to fill out an episode's running time and, particularly in the case of hour-long reality shows, can be used to disguise the fact that not much actually happens in a given episode.

Sometimes the scenes on both sides of the break are identical, but some shows change the second part by giving the repeated line to another character, or having them rephrase it. To the outside observer, the Ad Break Double Take thus looks like the hero standing calmly waiting to be decapitated while saying, "This doesn't look too good." followed by a pause and then, "Man, this is baaad!". In extreme cases, an unexpected change in continuity that wasn't present before the break may suddenly work in the heroes' favor, in which case you have a CliffhangerCopout.

{{Medium Aware|ness}} characters might be able to sense the slight stitch in time and take advantage of it (much to the confusion of the unaware villains), but it's hardly necessary: the heroes will always recover from the threat in plenty of time. Some [[LampshadeHanging hang a lampshade]] on the repeated line with a yell of "I know we're in trouble, stop saying that!".

It's usually not edited out when released for home video or syndicates that use fewer commercial breaks than the original broadcaster. Unless commercial breaks are punctuated by an EyeCatch, this leads to odd situations where a dramatic line is uttered, FadeToBlack, [[FadeIn fade back in]], then the dramatic line is uttered again.

See also: ActBreak and CommercialBreakCliffhanger.

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!!Examples:

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[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* ''Manga/DemonSlayerKimetsuNoYaiba'' would always have at least a few {{EyeCatch}}es per episode in the AnimatedAdaptation and repeat a couple seconds from before the eye catch. The eye catch would usually in the form of the illustrations used at the end of the manga chapters adapted into that episode.
* The Creator/DiC dub of ''Anime/SailorMoon'' had this added on occasion. ''WebVideo/SailorMoonAbridged'' parodies this with Venus's entrance.
-->Commercial break! Let's recap!\\
'''Luna:''' [[LampshadeHanging I already said this line!]]
* Saban's dub of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'' did this a lot. One of the more notorious examples is from early on, with Matt saying "We're caught between a rock and two sets of teeth!" both before and after the commercial break.
* Done a few times in ''Anime/SamuraiPizzaCats''. One of the ClipShow episodes parodied this, by having the repeating clips be the result of a projector fault.
* Creator/FourKidsEntertainment would often have these kinds of moments added in their anime dubs, most notably ''Anime/YuGiOh'' and ''Manga/OnePiece''.
* This shows up in several episodes of the first season of ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth''.
* ''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'': In "The Water Flowers of Cerulean City", Misty demands to fight Ash on either side of an ad break.
* In the ''Manga/KingdomHeartsII'' manga, or at least the Yen Press version, scenes shown at the very end of each chapter seem to be repeated at the beginning of the next.
* In episode 15 of ''Anime/JewelpetTwinkle'', Tour announcing the first round of the Jewelpet sweets-making competition and its house theme comes right before the commercial break. At the beginning of the second half of the episode, Tour's dialogue is repeated.
* One episode of ''Manga/TheGirlILikeForgotHerGlasses'' did this with ''the ColdOpen''. After the opening credits, the last ten seconds of the cold open were replayed, though with Komura's reaction to Mie's presence changed from crying out in shock to stammering, "M-M-Mie-san?!"
* ''Manga/{{Inuyasha}}'' does this but with eye-catches. A specific scene played before the EyeCatch will be played again immediately after it.
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[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Common in '80s ''Comicbook/StrontiumDog'', where the first panel of each installment would often be a repeat of the previous week's final panel.
* Lampshaded in ''ComicBook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'', when one comic begins with the same dialogue from just before the end of the previous issue, drawn from a different angle and labeled "At the risk of repeating ourselves..."
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[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Parodied in ''WebVideo/FriendshipIsWitchcraft'', when lightning strikes a tree next to Twilight's house (and Spike, who's on the roof holding the lightning rod in place).
-->'''Spike:''' ''[first time]'' Augh!\\
'''Spike:''' ''[second time]'' Augh! Not again!
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[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'' follows up its intermission with a replay of the scene preceding it. The intermission is included on VHS and DVD releases of the film.
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[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
%%* ''Series/{{Heroes}}''.
* ''Series/ProjectRunway'': during runway elimination.
* ''Series/TheBiggestLoser'': during weigh-ins, repeatedly.
* ''Series/HumanTarget'' (the latest one) likes this trope, and oftentimes the double-take is paraphrased a bit.
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' has very few commercial breaks without the double take.
* ''Series/IceRoadTruckers'' exemplifies this trope. In the tense seconds leading up to the commercial break, it will frequently look like some unexpected event that caught a driver off guard is about to lead them to their death at the bottom of a frozen lake or an icy cliff. Cut to commercial, come back, and we find out that there's a loose bolt on one of their back wheels or something.
* ''Series/StorageWars'' has two versions of this: a cliffhanger during bidding that leaves viewers wondering if, say, Jarrod will get the locker or Dave will throw in a last-second bid; and the setup for a reveal - for example, Barry looks in the box and exclaims "Whoa, check THIS out!"... cut to commercial... show comes back, we see what was in the box. In both instances the scene-ending dialogue is repeated upon rejoining.
* Any Creator/FoodNetwork reality series, including ''Series/RestaurantImpossible'' and ''Series/MysteryDiners,'' which usually seem to imply that some kind of takedown or confrontation is about to take place... only for a big letdown in the end when the confrontee agrees with the observation made.
** Similarly, this is a common tactic on shows featuring Creator/GordonRamsay, particularly the more dramatic ones like ''Series/HellsKitchen''. Lamented by many viewers, given the general over-use of certain reality-TV conventions on these series.
%%* Occurs several times in ''Series/TheAquabatsSuperShow''.
* Happens all the time in ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', especially if the Winchester boys fall through windows or the screen goes white.
* Occurs many, many times in ''Franchise/PowerRangers''. Often times, the dialogue will be different after the break when it's supposed to be a replay. It's helped by many of these bits using easily-dubbed Sentai footage.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' had a variation of this throughout the classic era. As each individual story was told across several episodes (with two exceptions), each episode within a story except the last one would end in a cliffhanger. The following episode would start by repeating the cliffhanger, revealing the resolution, then continuing on with the story. The cliffhanger was to make the audience want to come back, the repeat was to [[ViewersAreGoldfish remind the audience]] ''why'' they came back.
** It also didn't hurt that when the show started in the 1960s, most episodes only ran once with little to no way to view it again.
* On ''Series/MyCatFromHell'', it is very common for the very last thing that was shown going to break to be repeated coming back afterwards. This can be somewhat distracting when watching from a digital episode without commercials.
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[[folder:Video Games]]
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'', at the end of episode 1 and beginning of episode 2, [[spoiler:Morgan Le Flay]] apparently says "Guybrush Threepwood! I've been waiting a long time for this!" twice, as his response is different in each episode.
* Being a love letter to Anime, ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' uses this after returning from a loading screen (which look like an EyeCatch themselves).
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[[folder:Web Videos]]
* Discussed in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pMvzYZx2h0 this]] Website/{{Cracked}} video.
* Pan-Pizza from ''WebVideo/RebelTaxi'' has started doing this in his recent videos that aren't Top 10 lists.
* ''WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay'':
** In their ''VideoGame/PredatorConcreteJungle'' LP, Part 12 ends and Part 13 begins with TheReveal of [[spoiler:the [[Franchise/{{Alien}} Xenomorphs]]]] and their reaction to it.
** The stunt over [[spoiler:the helicopter near the hotel]] occurred at both the end of Part 8 and the start of Part 9 of the ''VideoGame/TonyHawksUnderGround'' playthrough.
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[[folder:Western Animation]]
%%* ''WesternAnimation/SonicTheHedgehogSatAM''
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfSonicTheHedgehog'' {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this in the episode "Over the Hill Hero" when Robotnik gloats that Sonic is trapped and "[[TakeOverTheWorld Mobius is mine! All mine!]]" Fade to commercial break. In the next scene, Robotnik says that Sonic is trapped and "Mobius is mine! ''(pause)'' [[LampshadeHanging Did I say that already?]]"
%%* ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries''.
%%* ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries''
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'':
** Stan aiming a gun at a disguised Cartman in "[[Recap/SouthParkS1E3Volcano Volcano]]".
** The bus splitting in two and falling off a cliff in "[[Recap/SouthParkS2E7CityOnTheEdgeOfForever City on the Edge of Forever]]".
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'': In "St. Olga's Reform School for Wayward Princesses", the scene of Pony Head revealing her brainwashed state to Star and Marco is repeated after it comes back from commercial break.
* Done many times in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
** The season 3 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS3E18SeparateVocations Separate Vocations]]" spoofs this when Bart is about to be run down by a car. After the break, the action returns with the announcement of "Act II: Death drives a stick" and Snake repeats his cry of "See you in hell, punk!"
** Subverted in the season 6 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS6E2LisasRival Lisa's Rival]]". Lisa tires herself up while having a saxophone duel against Allyson, triggering a fade-to-black when fainting. When she wakes up, she's told Allyson won the part, prompting her to scream as another [[FadeOut fade-out occurs]]. Except the ad break doesn't come, but rather a phony double take follows showing the exact same scene. When she wakes up, she's told Allyson won the part, except "[[ThatWasNotADream this time it's NOT a dream!]]", prompting her to scream as a ''third'' fade out occurs and the actual break finally begins. The scene that comes after the actual break is not a double take at all.
** Spoofed in the season 7 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E16LisaTheIconoclast Lisa The Iconoclast]]" when the group unearthing Jebediah Springfield's grave, upon opening the coffin, give a collective melodramatic "OOOOOH!" gasp. The shot then fades out, then fades back in to repeat the same gasp without any ad break.
** The season 15 episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E19SimpleSimpson Simple Simpson]]" repeats Homer's unmasking. In fact, this trope often goes hand-in-hand with [[DramaticUnmask unmasking]], especially in WesternAnimation.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': Particularly obvious with Momo's introduction.
* Happens in several ''WesternAnimation/TheLandBeforeTime'' movies, which is OK when you watch them on TV, but especially awkward when you watch them on video.
%%* The Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse.
%%* ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' did this quite a lot.
* Happens in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'', "Secret Agent Dog".
-->'''TD's Dad:''' ''[at the end of part one]'' Someone stole the secret formula for the soup -- and they say a dog helped them!\\
'''TD's Dad:''' ''[at the start of part two]'' Someone stole the secret formula for the soup! And they say a dog helped them.
* ''Franchise/MyLittlePony'':
** Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', "Sweet and Elite": Rarity is surprised by her friends greeting her unexpectedly and faints, as they may catch her in a lie, and we go to commercial. When the show returns, Rarity wakes up, and Pinkie Pie says "Hi again!"
*** Played straight in "Bridle Gossip" with "What if she's making Apple Bloom soup?".
*** Also played straight in "A Heart's Warming Tail". Twilight interrupts the story she's telling so that Spike can refill his cup of cocoa, which happens during the commercial break.
** When Creator/TheHub aired ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'', the scene of Twilight screaming was repeated when the show came back from its first commercial break.
** Lampshaded in "Honest Apple":
--->'''Applejack:''' [[BigWhat What?]]\\
'''Rarity:''' You already said that, darling.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Centurions}}'', such as when a lava flow is encroaching on a prone character, then has receded again after the commercial break, as if to give the character a second chance to roll away.
* ''Series/TheSuperMarioBrosSuperShow'', like in "Robo Koopa" when the title villain pushes over an electronic tower to crush the heroes. When viewed without commercial breaks, the tower looms at the audience twice in a row!
* Played straight in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerbTheMovieAcrossThe2ndDimension'', where Phineas says, "So far it's not going as well as we'd hoped" twice.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Clarence}}'' parodies this trope in "Rise and Shine" when Clarence sees a mountain lion in his backyard:
-->'''Clarence:''' Oh no, a bear!\\
''[fade out]''\\
''[fade in]''\\
'''Clarence:''' Oh no, a bear!
* Done in ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'', especially in "Tourist Trapped."
* Sometimes used on ''WesternAnimation/CareBearsWelcomeToCareALot'', such as in "Sleuth of Bears" when the group encounters the supposed ghost of Benefair.
* This happened twice in the ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' episode, "Washing the Dog". First when the titular duo arrive at the laundromat and the other when they were chanting "Washing the dog, washing the dog". Averted when the episode was released on [[BetterOnDVD home video]], where the double takes were edited out.
* ''WesternAnimation/BlazeAndTheMonsterMachines'' started using these since the show's introduction of {{Commercial Break Cliffhanger}}s in Season 3. Some even begin minutes before it left off. These are absent on all digital releases.
* One of the strangest examples is ''WesternAnimation/{{Cyberchase}}''. It doesn't even make sense for the show, since it aired on Creator/PBSKids, which doesn't even have commercials, yet for some reason, it featured fade outs and fade ins as if there were, and a few times (for example, showing the kids screaming at impending danger) repeated things after the fade in.
** This also happened with ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'', which also premiered on PBS.
* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManAndHisAmazingFriends'' features Spidey getting caught in the grip of a giant mechanical fist and crying out "Can't breathe... IT'S CRUSHING MEEEEE!" Back from commercial, Spidey repeats the line, but mumbles it quietly rather than screaming.
* A variant occurs in TV broadcasts of the ''WesternAnimation/ReadyJetGo'' two-parter, "Mindy Turns Five".[[note]]PBS doesn't have commercials, so live-action segments with Astronomer Amy Mainzer are used to fill the timeslot on this show[[/note]] At the end of Part One, Mindy says, "This is one small step for Mindy, and one giant leap for Stuffy Bear!" and she steps on the camera. At the beginning of Part Two, Mindy says it again and her stepping on the camera is accompanied with puff effects and the other kids cheering.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse''
** "Adventures in the Elements" has Eda say to Luz, "You angered the Slitherbeast" at the end of act 2 and again at the beginning of act 3 after the commercial break.
** "Wing It Like Witches" has [[JerkJock Boscha]] telling Luz to "Think fast!" twice.
** "Elsewhere and Elsewhen" repeats a shot of Lilith getting grabbed and pulled into the darkness by a Stonesleeper.
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries'' has Bishop firing a gun at the camera and declaring, "Traitors!" just before the commercial. When the show returns, he fires the gun again but this time says, "For the future!".
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