Before a commercial, television shows have traditionally done a FadeToBlack. Recently, though, television dramas skip the fading and cut the picture to a completely black screen. We've SeenItAMillionTimes. Typically, a SmashToBlack will immediately follow a shocking moment such as a CliffHanger, a CommercialBreakCliffhanger, or a ColdOpening, but can also follow a OneLiner or a moment of [[DeadpanSnarker Deadpan Snark]]. Expect this to be called "Older Than The DVD" thirty years down the road.

Named for the SmashCut, of which this is a subtrope.
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!!Examples:

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[[folder: Anime ]]

* {{s-CRY-ed}} Has one that's [[TearJerker phenomenally brutal]] in its simplicity. [[spoiler: Kimishima]] has been severely injured amidst his CrowningMomentOfAwesome . So Kazuma carries him back home. Somewhere along the way, [[spoiler: Kimishima]] stops talking, but Kazuma [[DistractedFromDeath doesn't realize what this means]]. When they get home, Kaname realizes what's happened, and starts to cry. But [[IdiotHero Kazuma]]...
--> "Hey, now you hold on or you're gonna fall! [[spoiler: Kimishima]] are you listenin'? Hey! [[spoiler: Kimishima]]? Heh heh, say something. [[spoiler: Kimishima]] I am not in the mood to fool around. This isn't funny. Hey, Kaname, what's wrong?...Hey, wait. [[spoiler: Kimishima]]?"
--> '''[[SmashToBlack Screen cuts to black]]'''
-->"[[PleaseWakeUp Come on, wake up]]. [[spoiler: Kimishima]]..."

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Film ]]

* The ending to ''Film/{{Inception}}''.
* The movie ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' ends the same way.
* PaulThomasAnderson is fond of ending movies this way--''BoogieNights'', ''{{Magnolia}}'', ''Film/ThereWillBeBlood''.
* ''Film/TheRundown'' ends similarly.
* Many films will use this trope in conjunction with a FlyAtTheCameraEnding.

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[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'' does this with just about every major or minor plot twist. In other words, ''a lot''.
* Joss Whedon apparently loves this trope: ''[[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer Buffy]]'', ''Series/{{Angel}}'', ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', and ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' all use SmashToBlack instead of FadeToBlack. According to Whedon himself, this got him in trouble with Fox, which automatically goes to commercial if there's complete black on the screen for more than one second. Since his Smashes resulted in the system automatically going to commercial, a number of operators and affiliates had to immediately override an emergency commercial that showed up with the proper commercial. Whedon, apparently, remained unapologetic. This is why he is awesome.
** Joss mentions in the commentary for ''Firefly'' that in order to avoid the automatic cuing of the commercial, they changed the color of the blackout, so Smash to Black became Smash to Almost Black But Really Just Very Dark Brown.
* ''MalcolmInTheMiddle'' did this in nearly every episode, complete with a door-slamming sound effect.
* [[ItWasHisSled Infamously]], ''Series/TheSopranos'' [[NoEnding ended the]] ''[[NoEnding series]]'' this way, with Music/{{Journey}}'s "Don't Stop Believin'" cutting off mid-''word''.
* ''EverybodyHatesChris'' ended its series this way as well, mainly as a ShoutOut to ''Series/TheSopranos''.
* ''Series/{{Skins}}'' smashes to black so often that the one time they did the [[FadeToBlack fade out]] (Katie's S4 episode) it stood out (and some people suspected the fade out to be a lengthening device to cover up time lost from cut scenes).
* ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' had one episode ("Michael Ellis", 1974) in which the actors were discussing how to end the show.
--> "Well, how about a sudden ending?" CUT
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' does this frequently, as observed on TelevisionWithoutPity:
-->"METAL TEETH CHOMP!"
* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' ended the fourth season like this (and on a major {{cliffhanger}}).
* Season 5 of ''Series/MadMen'' ends this way, just after a woman propositions Don Draper. It's probably a tribute[=/=]ShoutOut to ''The Sopranos'' (on which ''Mad Men'' creator Matthew Weiner was a writer and producer).

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[[folder: Video Games ]]

* ''Music/TheBeatles: RockBand'' does this with "I Want You (She's So Heavy)," befitting [[NoEnding how the song itself ends]].
* Done in ''TheStanleyParable'' as well, sometimes out of nowhere, usually to indicate something bad has happened, and always to great effect.
* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' ends like this, with the SmashToBlack coinciding with the final note in the ending music.
* BioShockInfinite ends in a similar way to the Mass Effect example above. The actions in the final scene coincide with the soundtrack, cutting to black with the final piano note. And by actions, I mean [[spoiler:every version of Elizabeth (one of the two main characters) in the multiverse [[RetGone disappearing from existence]] before the camera, smashing into black with the last one--the one you've grown to know throughout the game. [[TearJerker Did I mention Elizabeth just drowned her father]] [[HeroicSacrifice at his own request?]]]] Bio Shock is just that kind of franchise.
* The StarWars video game ''Republic Commando'' ends with this, with the door of the gunship that the protagonist squad is in slamming shut after Boss says "Delta Squad! Lock and load!"

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[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''TheSimpsons'' was perhaps the first show to do this consistently. Most act breaks avoided fadeouts, in part because they usually end acts on a gag and it is thought a fadeout would detract from its impact.
** To combat the automatic commercial problem noted above, most Simpsons episodes have a fadeout artificially added when they air in syndication. This can be problematic since often there is plot or a joke happening up to the very last second of an act, so the fadeout often begins while the action is still occurring.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' shorts end in this manner on a regular basis.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' does this at the end of each episode.

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[[folder: Real Life ]]

* This is how {{NASA}}'s Ranger probes ended their transmissions, [[CrashIntoHello culminating]] their [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-s5lSHWaug observations]].
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