History Main / FrozenInTime

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' began in the '90s and is set during a school year. It was still set in the 1990s when it ended in 2001.

* ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'' and the other fourteen original ''Literature/LandOfOz'' books were set in present day, but it's since become known as an early 1900s period piece. Few adaptations date it any later than TheGreatDepression (due to the unintended Dust Bowl parallels). Not to mention, if it's after 1939, you wonder [[CelebrityParadox why the characters haven't heard of what might be]] [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the most famous movie of all time]].

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* The ''{{Franchise/Peanuts}}'' franchise has been going in this direction. The [[{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}} original comic strip]] used ComicBookTime, as did the animated specials and films produced during the lifetime of creator Creator/CharlesMSchulz. Since Schulz's death in the year 2000, animated ''Peanuts'' productions have gradually shifted to taking place in [[AmbiguousTimePeriod some kind of amorphously mid-to-late 20th century setting]]. 2015's ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'' was made with the rule that they could only portray technology if it appeared in the comic strip at some point, limiting them to 1990s-era tech at most. For ''The Snoopy Show'', which began in 2021, the rule is that they can't portray any technology invented after the 1970s.

* The ''{{Franchise/Peanuts}}'' franchise has been going in this direction. The [[{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}} original comic strip]] used ComicBookTime, as did the animated specials and films produced during Schulz's lifetime. Since Schulz's death in the year 2000, animated ''Peanuts'' productions have gradually shifted to taking place in some kind of amorphously mid-to-late 20th century setting. 2015's ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'' was made with the rule that they could only portray technology if it appeared in the comic strip at some point, limiting them to 1990s-era tech at most. For ''The Snoopy Show'', which began in 2021, the rule is that they can't portray any technology invented after the 1970s.

* The ''{{Franchise/Peanuts}}'' franchise has been going in this direction. The [[{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}} original comic strip]] used ComicBookTime, as did the animated specials and films produced during Schulz's lifetime. Since Schulz's death in the year 2000, animated ''Peanuts'' productions have gradually shifted to taking place in some kind of amorphously mid-to-late 20th century setting. 2015's ''WesternAnimation/ThePeanutsMovie'' was made with the rule that they could only portray technology if it appeared in the original comic strip at some point, limiting them to 1990s-era tech at most. For ''The Snoopy Show'', which began in 2021, the rule is that they can't portray any technology invented after the 1970s.

* The ''{{Franchise/Peanuts}}'' franchise has been going in this direction. The [[{{ComicStrip/Peanuts}} original comic strip]] used ComicBookTime, as did the animated specials and films produced during Schulz's lifetime. Since Schulz's death in the year 2000, animated ''Peanuts'' productions have played it as ambiguous whether it still takes place in the present or if it takes place in some kind of amorphously mid-to-late 20th century setting.

* In the original ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', the present year is 1985 because that's the year the film came out. Its two sequels were released in 1989 and 1990, but they still treat 1985 as the present. In nearly all subsequent ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' media, TheEighties is maintained as Marty and Doc's home era. Moreover, the original film was adapted as an illustrated storybook in 2018 and as [[Theatre/BackToTheFuture a musical in 2020]], and both of these keep Marty as an '80s teen who travels back to his parents' era in TheFifties.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' runs on ComicBookTime, however some things are set in place. For example, Abe is always a World War II vet and Skinner is always a Vietnam vet. Homer and Marge's teenage years ''almost'' always take place in TheSeventies, even though that'd make them much older than their mid-30s by now. There are a few exceptions, such as "That '90s Show" having Marge as a college student in TheNineties, but these are exceptions more than the rule. Most post-2000s flashbacks keep this element subtle by not clearly dating the scenes; for example, Homer and Marge's high school flashbacks ''look'' like they're set in the 1970s but no one ever makes any clear '70s references.

* The characters, setting, and overall mood of ''[[ComicBook/ArchieComics Archie]]'' is so tied to the idyllic image of TheFifties that, while new technology and new media pop up in the stories as they're written, the series cannot leave that [[RetroUniverse decade's culture and visual style]] without a complete reworking from the ground up (which isn't without precedent, like with ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' or ''ComicBook/ArchieComics2015'') or as non-canon parody (like with ''ComicBook/ArchieVsPredator'').

* ''[[Series/TwentyFour 24]]'' is an interesting variation on this, in that every episode is a specific hour in a specific day. Generally, the show's makers put great effort into making sure that costuming and makeup reflect this - an injury suffered in one episode leaves a bruise for the rest of the season, for example - but there is the occasional blunder. For example, in Phillip Bauer's second appearance on the show, near the end of season 6, his hair was considerably longer, and worn in a markedly different style, than he had had it in his first appearance (set 16 hours earlier, but filmed nearly 4 months prior).

* ''Series/{{Hogans Heroes}}'' - 6 seasons, all supposedly taking place between 1942 and 1945. Of course, most of these were not in chronological order anyway - historical background details in three episodes in the 5th season place the show at 1943, 1945, and 1944 in that order.

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/RupertBear'' began in 1920 and is still published today. Its setting still appears to be sometime in the 1920s or '30s.
[[/folder]]

*** WordOfGod has it that ''Sherlock'' was an example of the trope being consciously defied; Creator/StevenMoffat originally came up with the idea because he thought the Holmes franchise's status as a late-Victorian-to-Edwardian PeriodPiece was starting to overshadow the fact that it was originally written as crime drama.

* ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'' and the other fourteen original ''Literature/LandOfOz'' books were set in present day, but it's since become known as an early 1900s period piece. Few adaptations date it any later than TheGreatDepression (due to the unintended Dust Bowl parallels). Not to mention, if it's after 1939, you wonder [[CelebrityParadox why the character haven't heard of what might be]] [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the most famous movie of all time]].

* In the original ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', the present year is 1985 because that's the year the film came out. Its two sequels were released in 1989 and 1990, but they still treat 1985 as the present. In nearly all subsequent ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' media, TheEighties is maintained as Marty and Doc's home era. Moreover, the original film was adapted as an illustrated storybook in 2018 and as a musical in 2020, and both of these keep Marty as an '80s teen who travels back to his parents' era in TheFifties.

* ''Literature/TheMarvelousLandOfOz'' and the other fourteen original ''Literature/LandOfOz'' books were set in present day, but it's since become known as an early 1900s period piece. Few adaptations date it any later than TheGreatDepression (due to the unintended Dust Bowl parallels).

* ''Literature/TheSopranosWarner'' was set in the mid-nineties which was the present day when it was first published, and the adaptations (''Theatre/OurLadiesOfPerpetualSuccour'' and ''Film/OurLadies'')have preserved this setting rather than trying to update it.

* The first episode of ''Series/That70sShow'' took place in May of 1976 and eight years later, the series finale took place on New Year's Eve 1979. Admittedly, four years in, ''Series/That80sShow'' was launched, but it was a bomb.

* In the original ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', the present year is 1985 because that's the year the film came out. Its two sequels were released in 1989 and 1990, but they still treat 1985 as the present. In nearly all subsequent ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' media, TheEighties is maintained as Marty and Doc's home era.

* The anime ''Manga/ZeroZeroNineOne'' takes place in an alternative universe where the Cold War never ended -- because the source manga [[TheGreatPoliticsMessUp was so tied to the Cold War]] that the background had to be kept.

* ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}}'', comprising 34 books published between 1959 and 2010, canonically starts years after Vercingetorix's rendition at the Battle of Alesia (52 BC) - which, as per ''Asterix and the Chieftain's Shield'', happened early enough for Chief Vitalstatistix/Abraracourcix to have fought in it as a young man, and have become fat and weary since then - but is set before the death of Caesar in 44 BC. ''Asterix in Spain'' (1969), set right after the Battle of Munda in 45 BC, is the only book with a canonical date on it, while ''Asterix and Son'' (1983) introduces Caesarion (born 47 BC) as a baby and mentions that Caesar has been away on campaign (Munda actually being the last battle he fought in real life).

* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' ran for 11 years when the actual Korean War lasted less than three -- and, on average, most surgeons only served about six months at a MASH. There were at least four Christmases and six winters shown, and Hawkeye went from young and raven haired to middle aged and greying. The chronology would make more sense if every use of "Korea," "Koreans," etc. were replaced with "Vietnam" and "Vietnamese".

*** WordOfGod has it that ''Sherlock'' was an example of the trope being consciously defied; Stephen Moffat originally came up with the idea because he thought the Holmes franchise's status as a late-Victorian-to-Edwardian PeriodPiece was starting to overshadow the fact that it was originally written as crime drama.

* The Australian soap opera ''The Sullivans'' which was set during the Second World War, ran for 17 years, some 11 years longer than the real [=WW2=].

* ''Literature/TheBabySittersClub'': The girls spent literally dozens of birthdays, holidays and summers in eighth grade. At one point Claudia was demoted to seventh grade, but the others stayed in place. They finally finished middle school in the last book of the ''Friends Forever'' spinoff. The series is invariably tied with the 80s and 90s, to the point where the 2000s graphic novels take place in the late 1990s. The series is intrinsically 1980s and 1990s, from its fashion to its very premise, so it's been associated as a period piece. The 2000s ComicBookAdaptation sets it in the late 1990s.

* ''Theatre/LaTraviata'' is an interesting example. The original 1948 novel ''La dame aux camelias'' was a contemporary drama. Verdi and Piave wanted their opera to follow suit and be performed in modern 1840s/50s dress, but because the story line, revolving as it does around a HighClassCallGirl HookerWithAHeartOfGold, was already considered shocking for the opera stage, the theatre insisted on softening the impact by staging it as a period piece, set circa 1700. Not until the 1880s were productions set in the mid 19th century, which by that point had become a "period" setting itself. To this day, "traditional" productions of the opera always use the mid 19th century setting.

* A number of superhero characters have origins and backstories tied to UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in some fashion, though their "current" adventures are usually subject to ComicBookTime:
** In Comicbook/XMen, ComicBook/{{Magneto}}'s backstory is irrevocably wedded to the Holocaust. Hence, he keeps getting older (albeit with periodic de-aging due to AppliedPhlebotinum or similar plot devices) as his flashbacks feature him younger.
** The original ComicBook/JusticeSocietyOfAmerica (and [[ComicBook/AllStarSquadron related Golden Age DC characters]]).
** ComicBook/CaptainAmerica's case is a bit more complicated than most. Intimately tied in with WWII, the character actually lasted a little into the '50s, fighting commies. When he was brought back in the '60s, it was decided Cap had been [[HumanPopsicle frozen]] towards the end of the war, and all appearances since then had been a fake. The freezing has been convenient for writers since then, since they can just expand the number of years he was frozen as needed to have him unfrozen in the modern era: around 20 years originally, more than half a century for the UltimateUniverse, and almost 70 for the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse.
** ComicBook/NickFury and the ComicBook/HowlingCommandos all fought in World War II. The "Infinity Formula" has been used to explain Nick Fury's continued youth and vitality, but there's no such explanation for the other Howlers, most of whom have also been shown in the "modern" era.
** Marvel's original ''ComicBook/TheInvaders''. There are explanations for why the characters have survived to the modern time, but the series itself remains tied to World War II.
* ComicBook/ThePunisher's origin is closely tied to his status as Vietnam veteran and the issues they faced when they came back from the war, and attempts to update his backstory to modern times (such as making him a veteran of Desert Storm instead) have not been well received. The MAX series makes him about sixty-seventy, [[OlderThanTheyLook although the art doesn't always reflect this]].
** The [[Series/ThePunisher2017 2017 series]] changes it to the war in Afghanistan.
* Creator/{{Disney}}. Scrooge [=McDuck=] will forever remain a Gilded Age character with roots in the Klondike Gold Rush -- which would make him, oh, about 135 years old now. The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales2017'' to mention the gold rush lampshades this when Huey is curious how old that would make Scrooge, and {{handwave}}s it as the result of magic (Scrooge [[YearOutsideHourInside spent years in a dimension where he didn't age]], while Goldie drank from the FountainOfYouth).