History CrazyPrepared / LiveActionTV

* From ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': [=S06E08=], part of "Crisis on Earth-X". Arrow and Supergirl are confronting their Nazi doppelgangers from a parallel universe. The real question is where the hell he got kryptonite, since it doesn't exist on his Earth and he's never been to any of the other universes.

'''Arrow''': [[AskAStupidQuestion In case an evil you ever showed up!]]

* Robert [=McCall=] in ''Series/TheEqualizer'' was just a guy helping out people in a normal New York apartment, until he and his 20 year old son were threatened. Robert decided that the safest thing to do was to get his son out of town, so he presses a button and the wall folds out exposing a room filled with weapons, cash, etc. He hands his son $20,000 and a passport, drivers license and credit cards, etc, completely filled out with a fake name and a recent picture of the son. The look on the son's face is priceless.

%%* ''Series/{{Jericho}}'': "You never know when a tank will come in handy."

** This trope once exposed one Nevel's evil plans; he set up a fake giveaway contest to trick Carly into accepting it and have the law get the webshow canceled when she can't come up with the prize, and produces a legal document stating the rules.. Carly and Sam figured the whole thing out when they realized that he wouldn't carry legal documents with him unless he needed them.

%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.

** A somewhat mild case, but one wonders why exactly Admiral Bill Adama stores the interrogation drug from hell on the ''Galactica'' and seems quite familiar with its use... you know, just in case you recapture and need to intimidate and torture Gaius Baltar in the most imaginative and surreal way possible. Similarly, the survival of the people who would eventually form Sam Anders' resistance on post-nuclear Caprica was hand-waved by stating that the resistance was largely Sam's team mates- athletes conducting high altitude training in the mountains- plus a bunch of survivalist types, whom you'd expect to be CrazyPrepared.

* ''Series/{{Glee}}'''s Kurt Hummel was this for his NYADA audition; he was going to sing "[[Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera Music of the Night]]", then changed it to "Not the Boy Next Door" (from ''The Boy From Oz'') after deciding "Music" was too mainstream. Rachel convinced him to change it back to "Music" (and offered to be his Christine), until the audition judge agreed that "Music" was, in fact, too mainstream. Kurt then launched into "Not the Boy Next Door", revealing that not only was his Phantom costume tear-away to reveal a Peter Allen outfit underneath, but that he'd hidden Tina, Brittany, and Mercedes in the wings on the other side of the stage to dance backup. To sum up - Kurt had ''two'' audition pieces - which were completely different from each other - ready to go when he walked onto that stage. Now that's showbiz.

** Final episode of the fourth season, [[spoiler:the AxCrazy mercenary leader Martin Keamy sets up a DeadMansSwitch, a bomb on his own ship, set up to go off when his heart stops. He uses this to hold everyone on the ship hostage when at a disadvantage pursuing his quarry. Problems? One, he's a mercenary on a dangerous mission; he could have been killed at any time, without anyone knowing about the doomsday device, and then he's killed everyone and stranded his own team. Two, he had no reason for thinking he'd need any such device. Three, he has no reason to believe his quarry would be deterred--his quarry has no use for the ship or anyone on it, and has already shown himself to be a total psychopath]].
** Considering he was going up against [[spoiler:season 4 Ben, this was actually a case of not being prepared enough. Nothing short of the supernatural can be prepared for Benjamin Linus. For pete's sake, the man keeps a shotgun in his ''piano bench'']].
** Actually, as the season 5 finale proved, [[spoiler:''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu not even the supernatural is prepared for Benjamin Linus]]'']].

--->'''Joey:''' We don't know how long we're gonna be in here. We may have to repopulate the earth.\\

* This is one of the things that makes [[Comicbook/TheJoker Jeremiah Valeska]] such a dangerous villain on ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', and to a lesser extent, his twin brother [[MonsterClown Jerome]]. In the second season, Jerome [[DidntSeeThatComing doesn't realize]] that [[spoiler: [[ManipulativeBastard Galavan]]]] is going to betray him, but that's understandable, as, psychopathic murderer or not, he's only eighteen at that point, [[spoiler: and seems to trust Galavan because he's a mentor that Jerome looks up to, to a certain extent.]] By the fourth season, though, he is able to predict which of his [[LegionOfDoom Legion of Horribles]] will betray him, tells the other allies about it, and has them take care of him. Jeremiah, on the other hand, plans for multiple contingencies from the first day he outs himself as a criminal.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': Ron Swanson, in keeping with his rugged individualist ideology, plans in advance for any eventuality. This includes keeping all his money in gold (in case the economy collapses), keeping hunting weapons everywhere (in case he has to kill his own food), and keeping a detonator in the office (in case he needs to blast his way out). One example, from when his ex-wife locates his gold stash.

* During the third season of ''Series/{{Alias}}'', Jack Bristow is a model of preparedness in the episode "[[http://www.twiztv.com/cgi-bin/transcript.cgi?episode=http://dmca.free.fr/scripts/alias/season3/alias-308.htm Breaking Point]]". As part of a rescue attempt, he accesses a secret personal storage facility containing firearms, medical supplies, money, flak jackets, and other things typical of a well-stocked arsenal. While not out of character, it is the first time this resource has been revealed, and it increases the viewer's understanding of just how exceptionally cautious Jack can be. Michael Vaughn comments, "The fact that you're letting me see this place means... it's not your only one, is it?" Jack responds dryly, "You're smarter than you look."

* From ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': [=S03E08=], part of "Crisis on Earth-X". Arrow and Supergirl are confronting their Nazi doppelgangers from a parallel universe. The real question is where the hell he got kryptonite, since it doesn't exist on his Earth and he's never been to any of the other universes.

* In an episode of ''Series/DharmaAndGreg'', Greg's grandmother dies before giving the family heirloom ring to Kitty. [[TheFunInFuneral Dharma and Jane had to get it off the body]], but it got stuck, and Jane pulled out the WD-40 in her purse, which she said she had for "a situation like this". Dharma's next line Lampshaded it with "Besides this, what's a situation ''like'' this?"

* During the third season of ''Series/{{Alias}}'', Jack Bristow is a model of preparedness in the episode, "[[http://www.twiztv.com/cgi-bin/transcript.cgi?episode=http://dmca.free.fr/scripts/alias/season3/alias-308.htm Breaking Point]]." As part of a rescue attempt, he accesses a secret personal storage facility containing firearms, medical supplies, money, flak jackets, and other things typical of a well-stocked arsenal. While not out of character, it is the first time this resource has been revealed, and it increases the viewer's understanding of just how exceptionally cautious Jack can be. Michael Vaughn comments, "The fact that you're letting me see this place means... it's not your only one, is it?" Jack responds dryly, "You're smarter than you look."

* Marcie in ''Series/DarkSeason'' rarely uses the plans, but in a twist we see her ''prepared'' for an awful lot. She always carries a paddle ("you never know when you might be up the creek") and measures pathways with a tape measure because it helps to know these things.

* ''Series/{{Jericho}}'': "You never know when a tank will come in handy."

* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': Reese is known for his "Plan B bag," which is pretty much just a duffel bag full of enough weapons and ammunition to fight a small country, in case the nice way doesn't work. In one episode, Reese and Finch are watching footage of a masked assailant taking out a mob truck and wondering where they got their equipment, when Shaw walks in and accidentally reveals that it's their friend Carter. She had asked Shaw earlier for Reese's Plan B bag.

** The award should probably go to Series/PowerRangersTimeForce, which, despite being called "time force", are not ''actually'' TimePolice, at least not in their organizational mission statement; they're just ordinary police. Ordinary police that happen to have a giant gate capable of warping people through time, with several ships designed for enabling human travel through said gate and giant robots and planes designed to operate and travel through the gate as-needed, and detailed planning and equipment to erase the memories of those who've gone native from too much time travel.

** It's lampshaded several times how Artie's Bag always has exactly the Artifact that he would need. This has lead to some speculation that the Bar itself may in fact be an Artifact that will one day find itself in a future Warehouse.

** Specifically the first six seasons, comprised of (In Order): MightyMorphinPowerRangers, Series/PowerRangersZeo, Series/PowerRangersTurbo, and Series/PowerRangersInSpace. Somewhat [[JustifiedTrope justified]], in that being trapped in a time warp for thousands of years has given Zordon a ''stupidly'' '''''spectacular''''' amount of free time in which to prepare [[spoiler: extra zords, potential backup power sources, huge Macross-esque transforming spacecraft,]] whose [[spoiler: [[TheChessmaster key component was a space shuttle that would be built by a modern space agency on Earth millennia later]] called [[CallARabbitASmeerp NASADA]].]] It still wasn't enough to save his life but he never really planned anything for ''that''.

* From ''Series/{{Arrow}}'': [=S03E08=], part of "Crisis on Earth-X". Arrow and Supergirl are confronting their Nazi doppelgangers from a parallel universe.

'''Arrow''': [[AskAStupidQuestion In case an evil you ever showed up.]]

Examples of Crazy-Preparedness from live-action TV series. CrazyPrepared/{{Batman}} has his own subpage, which includes the ''Batman'' series.
* Played for laughs in ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' with Hugh Laurie's greetings card shop selling cards with highly specific messages ("Sorry to hear your teeth fell out near the Arndale centre") including a card describing Stephen Fry's specific situation (His wife is going to have a jealous spasm on her step-daughters birthday).

-->'''Supergirl''': Is that a kryptonite arrow? Why do you have a kryptonite arrow?
-->'''Arrow''': [[AskAStupidQuestion In case an evil you ever showed up.]]

-->'''Samar Navadi''' (an FBI/Mossad agent): You keep a storage locker in West Virginia?\\
'''Reddington''': I keep a storage locker filled with useful items in most states. Two or three in the red states.\\
[''Details and discussion'']\\
'''Reddington''': ...Go figure. Why don’t you grab some kilos [of cocaine] off the top and let’s go stage a crime scene?
* In ''Series/BlackBooks'', Bernard Black is forced to take shelter in an adult video store after being locked out of his shop at night. In order to stay warm and dry as long as he can, he resorts to inventing a series of increasingly unlikely fetishes. "Nurses. But, ah, in administration, y'know ... actually I should have said, sorry, ''Senior'' Administrative Nurses -- that's the only thing I'm interested in." [[RuleThirtyFour The shop owner is able to fulfil this request instantly]]. In the final episode, Fran is trying to convince Bernard that his old girlfriend faked her death and is still living in London. She pulls out her phone and shows the entry, then a photo of her last birthday, her dental records, and her birth certificate along with a photo of her reading today's newspaper and wearing a t-shirt that says "I Love Life".

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E4GenesisOfTheDaleks "Genesis of the Daleks"]]: The Fourth Doctor is captured by Davros' men, and is told to empty his pockets. He begins pulling out a strange assortment of random objects, one at a time, and informs them "this may take some time." Fortunately there is a scene transition at that point and the viewer doesn't have to wait through it all.

*** Jack always has a gun tucked away somewhere, as revealed in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E12BadWolf "Bad Wolf"]] when he is stripped naked. Where does he store it? "YouDontWantToKnow".

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E1PartnersInCrime "Partners in Crime"]], Donna Noble has apparently been driving around London with a full set of luggage — including a hatbox — in the trunk so that she's ready if she should ever run into the Doctor again.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E6TheDoctorsDaughter "The Doctor's Daughter"]] the Doctor uses a clockwork mouse to distract a guard. Or the stethoscope, which he always carries with him. The stethoscope makes sense (he is a Doctor, after all). After some very sad FridgeLogic, so does the mouse. The Doctor is frequently shown to carry small toys and candy in his pockets. Keep in mind, he was a grandfather.

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E15PlanetOfTheDead "Planet of the Dead"]], [[ClassyCatBurglar Lady Christina]] is carrying, among other things, a folding shovel. Presumably in case she ever needs to [[PirateBooty bury her ill-gotten gains on a desert island.]] She also has a small hatchet. Doesn't have bus fare on her, though. Jewelry works just as well.
** The Eleventh Doctor is seen to pull out of his pockets a [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E8TheHungryEarth pair of specs that can detect body heat]] (or a lack thereof, in the cause of the Silurians) and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E6TheVampiresOfVenice a large UV lamp]], as if the chances he'd be dealing with Fish-People masquerading as vampires happens frequently. [[FridgeBrilliance Then again, there are a LOT of vampiric species out there]].

* The reality TV series ''DoomsdayPreppers'' has people who believe they are invoking this trope for ''TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt''. After showing off their preparations, experts review the steps taken and suggest improvements.

---> '''Scorpius''': Foresight... and preparation.

---> '''John''': Kryptonite, silver bullet, Buffy? What's it going to take to keep you in the grave.?

---> '''Joey''': What're we having?

---> '''Duncan''': Since when are you my attorney?\\

* ''Series/HorribleHistories'' parodies/inverts this in the 'Race to the South Pole' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3RacavLulI sketch]], in which the proudly under-equipped British explorers believe the Norwegian team to be sissies for bringing along such luxuries as sled dogs and warm clothing.

* Series/MacGyver1985 is somehow prepared for anything, be it a nuclear meltdown or a neighbor kid's bike malfunctioning. He always carries a pocketknife, matches, and duct tape (even keeping a pocket-sized roll) with him. He allegedly can fix a computer with a hairpin [[DuctTapeForEverything and a piece of duct tape]], though this particular [=MacGyverism=] is never demonstrated.
* ''Series/MacGyver'': In "The Assassin", Piedra goes through an ExtendedDisarming when he is captured. After that, it is revealed that his moustache is fake and contains wires that he uses first as lockpicks to remove his handcuffs, and then as a dart to kill his guard. And it is then revealed that he still has a poisoned needle hidden behind a fake scar.

--> '''Howard:''' Okay, we've got to pool our resources. ''[emptying his pockets]'' Tweezers, matches, twine, geological hammer. What've you got?\\

* Episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}:LA'': Merry Evasion Callen and Hanna were in a couple of gun battles and ran out of ammo. Since they had to blow up their car, they couldn’t get more supplies from that. They had to ditch their cell phones since the bad guys were using them to track them. They needed to resupply. Turns out the CIA (?) has caches of food, water, guns, ammo, sat phones, and other supplies placed in US cities. This one was disguised signal switch box.

* ''Series/NewsRadio''

---->'''Pam:''' There are two keys to the office. Dwight has both. When I asked him what would happen if he died, he said; "If I'm dead, you've all been dead for weeks."

* In ''Series/ParkerLewisCantLose'', Jerry's jacket exists as an example of this trope.

* ''Series/{{Powerless 2017}}'': Wayne Incorporated, as is appropriate for a company owned by Batman, has a ridiculous number of alarms for every possible situation. There's a giant binder that explains them all, but most of the employees have worked there long enough that they can make a pretty good guess just on the sound.

* In one episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', the team is captured, and Shepard notes that if the captors hadn't taken his knife, he might be able to hit the switch on the wall that controls the cell door. One of his teammates comes up with a knife, saying he always has two. "One for them to find, one for you to keep." Unfortunately, he misses. But then Ronan comes up with a knife of his own...and also misses. The scene changes to ten minutes later, and around a dozen knives are sticking out of the wall, all having barely missed the switch, while Ronan is pulling another one ''out of his hair.''

* ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'': Justin, usually played for laughs.

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', although the Doctor's iconic Sonic Screwdriver qualifies as a DoAnythingRobot, the Second Doctor's penchant for pulling all sorts of stuff out of his pockets fits the trope.
** In "Partners in Crime", Donna Noble has apparently been driving around London with a full set of luggage -- including a hatbox -- in the trunk so that she's ready if she should ever run into the Doctor again.
** In the episode "The Doctor's Daughter" the Doctor uses a clockwork mouse to distract a guard. Or the stethoscope, which he always carries with him. The stethoscope makes sense (he is a Doctor, after all). After some very sad FridgeLogic, so does the mouse. The Doctor is frequently shown to carry small toys and candy in his pockets. Keep in mind, he was a grandfather.
** Parodied in "The Creature from the Pit" where the Tom Baker Doctor is stuck in a mine shaft. Fortuitously he just happens to have mountaineering equipment and the book ''Everest in Easy Stages'' in his pockets. Unfortunately it's in Tibetan...so he produces ''Teach Yourself Tibetan'' from his pocket as well.
** The Fourth Doctor used this as a delaying mechanism in ''Genesis of the Daleks''. Also, when he unexpectedly found himself on trial by some alien energy beings. When it was time for him to answer to the charges, he pulled a barrister's wig from his pocket and donned it.
** In ''Genesis of the Daleks'' the Fourth Doctor is captured by Davros' men, and is told to empty his pockets. He begins pulling out a strange assortment of random objects, one at a time, and informs them "this may take some time." Fortunately there is a scene transition at that point and the viewer doesn't have to wait through it all.
** The Eleventh Doctor is seen to pull out of his pockets a pair of specs that can detect body heat (or a lack of, in the cause of the Silurians) and a large UV lamp, as if the chances he'd be dealing with Fish-People masquerading as vampires happens frequently. [[FridgeBrilliance Then again, there are a LOT of vampiric species out there]].
** Played with in "Vincent and the Doctor", with the Doctor's mirror that can identify various species, including those invisible to the naked eye. Turns out that it was given to him as a christening present by his godmother, but has been gathering dust in the TARDIS attic for the better part of a thousand years, since he never had any reason (until then) to need it.
** In "Planet of the Dead", [[ClassyCatBurglar Lady Christina]] is carrying, among other things, a folding shovel. Presumably in case she ever needs to [[PirateBooty bury her ill-gotten gains on a desert island.]] Doesn't have bus fare on her, though. Jewelry works just as well.

*** Jack always has a gun tucked away somewhere, as revealed in the episode "Bad Wolf" when he is stripped naked. Where does he store it? "YouDontWantToKnow".
*** When we initially met Jack, he kept the following gadgets on his person: futuristic zoom-spyglasses, psychic paper, a sonic blaster with various settings, computer in his wrist strap that serves as a communications device as well as a video recorder and medical analysis tool, plus presumably the above mentioned bum gun. The Doctor travels with similar tools (apart from the weapons), but unlike him, Jack also believes in dressing to blend into any given time period, learning the local language and slang, hiding his space ship properly, and he apparently took time to find and use a dead man's identity--a foreigner, too, so small mistakes in cultural knowledge wouldn't immediately cost him his cover. He also has a number of military strategies memorized and can pull a decent plan of attack out of his hat on practically no notice.

** UNIT has clearly become this by ''Battlefield'', when TheBrigadier demonstrates several different types of bullet designed for threats they've already encountered. The Doctor asks if they have any silver bullets "just in case". As a matter of fact...
** UNIT becomes this even ''more'' under the direction of Kate Stewart, the Brigadier's daughter. In "The Power of Three", she mentions that in addition to trying to scientifically figure out the function of the cubes, they've tried several means to destroy a few - such as exposing them to plus and minus 200 Celsius, simulated five miles of water depth, being dropped out of a helicopter at 10,000 feet, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking being rolled over by their best tank]] - all with no results. Only after all of that did they decide to contact the Doctor for help.
** "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship" shows that this is genetic for the Williams men. Brian considers it a failing to ''not'' carry a trowel with you at all times, while Rory has a small medkit with him just in case. "It's all about the pockets."
** River Song carries handcuffs at all times ("Silence in the Library").
-->'''The Doctor:''' Why do you even HAVE handcuffs?\\
'''River:''' ''(smirks)'' [[KinkyCuffs Spoilers]].

** Final episode of the fourth season, [[spoiler:the AxCrazy mercenary leader sets up a DeadManSwitch, a bomb on his own ship, set up to go off when his heart stops. He uses this to hold everyone on the ship hostage when at a disadvantage pursuing his quarry. Problems? One, he's a mercenary on a dangerous mission; he could have been killed at any time, without anyone knowing about the doomsday device, and then he's killed everyone and stranded his own team. Two, he had no reason for thinking he'd need any such device. Three, he has no reason to believe his quarry would be deterred--his quarry has no use for the ship or anyone on it, and has already shown himself to be a total psychopath]].

* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Jaqen H'ghar somehow managed to keep a dart poisoned with wolfsbane, which Tywin describes as rare, concealed throughout his captivity just in case he needed to kill someone on cue.
** Jaime lampshades when Brienne has a second sword to oppose him after he steals one. Of course, it's quite foreseeable that Jaime might try to steal one, making a backup surprisingly logical.
** Varys happens to have a map of all the secret tunnels of King's Landing in "Blackwater" so the audience doesn't have to look up the word postern, just in case he has to make a hasty escape (or covertly spy on someone). He also apparently kept a human-sized crate in his chambers for over a season just in case he needed to make a CallBack while smuggling someone out of the city in "The Children".
* ''Series/MissionImpossible'': The Impossible Mission Force team had a plan, a backup plan, a backup plan for the backup plan, and sometimes one more backup plan for good measure. Even when a mission went wrong, it went right.
* During a Halloween [[AllJustADream dream episode]] of ''Series/SilverSpoons'', [[TheHero Ricky]], [[TheLancer Alphonse]], and some [[TheSmartGuy nerdy kid they hung around with]] were in a haunted house. They get locked in a room and the only door has no doorknob. The nerd walks up to the door, reaches in his backpack and pulls out a spare one, remarking, "And you guys always make fun of me for carrying around a spare doorknob!"
* During the third season of ''Series/{{Alias}}'', Jack Bristow is a model of preparedness in the episode, "[[http://www.twiztv.com/cgi-bin/transcript.cgi?episode=http://dmca.free.fr/scripts/alias/season3/alias-308.htm Breaking Point]]." As part of a rescue attempt, he accesses a secret personal storage facility containing firearms, medical supplies, money, flak jackets, and other things typical of a well-stocked arsenal. While not out of character, it is the first time this resource has been revealed, and it increases the viewer's understanding of just how exceptionally cautious Jack can be. Michael Vaughn comments, "The fact that you're letting me see this place means... it's not your only one, is it?" Jack responds dryly, "You're smarter than you look."
* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'':
** A somewhat mild case, but one wonders why exactly Admiral Bill Adama stores the interrogation drug from hell on the ''Galactica'' and seems quite familiar with its use... you know, just in case you recapture and need to intimidate and torture Gaius Baltar in the most imaginative and surreal way possible. Similarly, the survival of the people who would eventually form Sam Anders' resistance on post-nuclear Caprica was hand-waved by stating that the resistance was largely Sam's team mates- athletes conducting high altitude training in the mountains- plus a bunch of survivalist types, whom you'd expect to be CrazyPrepared.
** Given the timing of the Baltar interrogation episode, the interrogation drug could have been obtained from the supplies onboard the ''Pegasus'' before the latter ship was lost. Admiral Cain is ''just'' the sort of psycho to keep some of that crap around.
** His last mission was intelligence / spying and all very hush, hush.
* Merton of ''Series/BigWolfOnCampus'' demonstrates this when, after his run-in with Medusa, it becomes clear he has produced an indexed videotape with instructions of how to ameliorate almost any supernatural disaster that could befall him. The (not unjustified) implication is that if he were around, he'd be able to fix it. Also, it helps to have a convenient rope in the "lair" to drop a squirt-gun filled with holy water, and to have a way of removing evil spirits from a dog.

* ''Series/LifeOfRiley'': In order to get Adam into the local school, the Weavers befriended everyone in the street, worked their way through the socio-economic structure of the area, took two very well paid and important jobs, established themselves as vital assets to the community and used their influence to extend the area boundaries just sufficiently to include their house...and then they conceived him.
* Series/MacGyver1985 is somehow prepared for anything, be it a nuclear meltdown or a neighbor kid's bike malfunctioning. He always carries a pocketknife, matches, and duct tape (even keeping a pocket-sized roll) with him. He allegedly can fix a computer with a hairpin [[DuctTapeForEverything and a piece of duct tape]], though this particular [=MacGyverism=] is never demonstrated.
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'''s Col. Flagg is prepared for anything. However his methods are somewhat... unorthodox. In case he is captured by the enemy:
-->'''Flagg:''' No one knows the truth. Even I don't know the truth.
* ''Series/{{Lost}}'':
** Final episode of the fourth season, [[spoiler:the AxCrazy mercenary leader sets up a DeadManSwitch, a bomb on his own ship, set up to go off when his heart stops. He uses this to hold everyone on the ship hostage when at a disadvantage pursuing his quarry. Problems? One, he's a mercenary on a dangerous mission; he could have been killed at any time, without anyone knowing about the doomsday device, and then he's killed everyone and stranded his own team. Two, he had no reason for thinking he'd need any such device. Three, he has no reason to believe his quarry would be deterred--his quarry has no use for the ship or anyone on it, and has already shown himself to be a total psychopath]].
** Considering he was going up against [[spoiler:season 4 Ben, this was actually a case of not being prepared enough. Nothing short of the supernatural can be prepared for Benjamin Linus. For pete's sake, the man keeps a shotgun in his ''piano bench'']].
** Actually, as the season 5 finale proved, [[spoiler:''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu not even the supernatural is prepared for Benjamin Linus]]'']].
** Averted in another instance, where Locke thinks Ben used the strange phrase "bring me the man from Tallahassee" to alert his underlings to Locke's presence.
--->'''Ben:''' No, John, we don't have a code for "there's a man in the closet with a knife to my daughter's throat." Although obviously we should.
* ''Series/NewsRadio''
** Mr. James accidentally loses Bill in a poker game. When Bill questions whether he has the legal right to gamble Bill's services, Mr. James tells him to check his contract. Bill immediately takes out his contract from his coat pocket. When Dave asks why he carries his contract with him, Bill answers, brashly: "At a time like this, it doesn't sound so crazy, now does it?"
** ''News Radio'' was crazy into this trope in general. Another notable example would be the episode "Security Door" where Dave answers questions by showing incredibly well drawn slides. Dave has a hilarious slide for every question, even as the questions themselves get progressively more insane.
** Again Bill [=McNeal=]'s funeral service had Matt not believing he was dead. Apparently Bill had a secret ''message'' to reveal to Matthew whether or not he had died in case he had to fake his own death!

* A subtle version of this appears in ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', where Sarah and John have just moved into a new house and are still painting the walls when Cromartie busts down the door. Sarah rips down the wallpaper to reveal a hidden shotgun, and when Cromartie shoots back, she takes cover behind a chair ''filled with Kevlar''. Slightly less subtle in that the Connors had a storage unit full of extra firearms and explosives. And if T3 is anything to go by, Sarah has no issue putting weapons caches in odd places, like coffins.

* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries''. Katherine after Damon wrecks the plan she's been working on for several episodes: "Do you honestly think I don't have a Plan B? And a Plan C if that fails, and then...well, you know how the alphabet goes."

* ''Series/TheOfficeUS'':
** Dwight keeps pepper spray in his desk ''ever since he started working there''. If that's not enough to cement his CrazyPrepared status, the scene where he whips off a letter-perfect statement of the event which called for him to use said spray ''from memory'' to a stunned police officer is. He also keeps in said desk, among other things, nunchuks.
** In a later episode, it's shown that he stashes weapons all over the office, including a sword in the drop ceiling above his desk, sais behind the water cooler, a knife in a file cabinet (marked Mr. A Knife), and ''a blow gun inside the toilet tank of the Men's room.'' Dwight also Lampshades this:
---->'''Pam:''' There are two keys to the office. Dwight has both. When I asked him what would happen if he died, he said; "If I'm dead, you've all been dead for weeks."
** When Dwight is convinced Jim has turned into a vampire -- in an episode coincidentally directed by Creator/JossWhedon -- Creed just happens to have the implements to fashion a wooden stake from a broom handle in his desk.
* The premise of ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide'' is the title character collecting lots of info on every possible facet of school life. According to some viewers, the tips given actually work in real life. There is also Cookie, who combines this with DoAnythingRobot. There seems to be no end to all the weird (and completely useless) things he's made a helmet or pair of glasses for.
* [[http://youtu.be/l22F3kulRRQ A Finnish Spede sketch]] features a sadistic ObstructiveBureaucrat and a long-suffering man who's out to get his revenge by bringing "''all'' the paperwork." There's a bizarre EscalatingWar where the man proves to have a certificate for having never visited Zanzibar (in duplicate), but lets slip that he's married. The man has a certificate that shows he hasn't been married to any other woman, but the bureaucrat rejects this as too vague and demands proof for each individual woman. The man concedes in fury, but before leaving he makes a start with the ten thousand such certificates he does have...

* When told we should return to this attitude on the day after 9/11, [[Series/TheColbertReport Stephen Colbert]] pulled out a big-ass shotgun while wearing a gas mask ''and an adult diaper'' (so you don't have to leave your bunker):
-->'''Colbert:''' That's always [[{{Hammerspace}} down there]].
* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'':
** Aeryn Sun's badass but evil mother used [[FemmeFatalons her own fingernail]] to cut open her arm to reveal a knife that she apparently had stashed there, just in case.
** Not only does Scorpius wear an impervious gimp suit, but he also has a single-shot pulse weapon hidden alongside the coolant rods in his brain.
** Also, before entering into a potentially difficult alliance with Moya's crew, Scorpius pretends to remove his [[NotSoImaginaryFriend neural clone]] from Crichton's brain as a gesture of goodwill. In reality, he simply programs it to remain dormant so long as the alliance remains intact; naturally, this pays off when Crichton [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere abandons him on Katratzi]].
** Scorpius is the ''definition'' of CrazyPrepared. How did he escape Scarran imprisonment as a kid? How did he make himself indispensable to the Peace keepers? How did he manipulate John? How did he not only survive, but thrive as a Scarran-halfbreed in a race that hates halfbreeds? How did he survive ''mutiny'' and ''being buried alive''?
---> '''Scorpius''': Foresight... and preparation.
** John even calls him on his insane ability to survive.
---> '''John''': Kryptonite, silver bullet, Buffy? What's it going to take to keep you in the grave.?
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** During one episode, half the characters are trapped in Rachel's room for most of the night without any food. A later episode shows that Joey had planted a box of food and games in that room in case it ever happened again. That box also included ''condoms'' because, as he put it:
--->'''Joey:''' We don't know how long we're gonna be in here. We may have to repopulate the earth.\\
'''Chandler:''' And condoms are the way to do that...
** In another episode where Chandler and Rachel fight over a slice of cheesecake that fell on the floor, Joey suddenly walks in. Seeing both of his friends kneeling over the cheesecake on the floor, he ''pulls out a fork from his shirt pocket'' and joins them.
---> '''Joey''': What're we having?
** Joey and Chandler keep the chopsticks "for no real reason" after they order Chinese takeaway. They later use them to fashion a poking device to stir the Ugly Naked Guy when they think he could be dead.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'':
** Nate reveals he had thought of 13 ways for the team to pull their first job, one of which involves Hardison dying. Parker says she spends her free time thinking how to rob stuff, and proves it when she steals a highly guarded statue with common stuff, like a cone made of aluminum foil filled with ice. Hardison has a black light in his bag for times when a black light is needed. And Sophie can speak fluently in a ton of languages, and fake several others. Elliot, on the other hand is more of a well-prepared GeniusBruiser, than CrazyPrepared, as seen by his knowledge of neurosurgery, flight attendant protocol (Flight attendants always have a spare uniform) and the fact that he has a Flight Marshall badge with him at all times. Nate and Sophie have a bunch of fake passports with them at all times. The whole team makes a living through Nate's XanatosSpeedChess, so they'll have to be CrazyPrepared to pull it off.
** One episode reveals that Nate STILL keeps making plan after plan, as the latest required using 'Plan M', having Hardison pointing out he dies in Plan M. "Usually."
** Elliot has also studied up on his SETI research. After all, one never knows when one might have to fight an alien.
* In ''Series/ParkerLewisCantLose'', Jerry's jacket exists as an example of this trope.
* ''Series/TheDailyShow'':
** In the infamous Jon Stewart[=/=]Jim Cramer [[http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-12-2009/jim-cramer-extended-interview-pt--1 interview]], Jon Stewart shows this to an impressive level. Not only by having a counter to each of Cramer's arguments, but by having prepared in advance ''video clips of Jim Cramer fatally undercutting his own arguments''.
** Jon Stewart's production crew is prepared for pretty much all statements made by public figures. Ten years ago, politicians could generally contradict themselves in public statements, so long as enough time had elapsed between statements that no one would really have remembered their having said the opposite. Now one need only watch what they say and Jon Stewart & co. may (and often do) have a tape of them saying ''the exact opposite''.
--->'''Jon:''' We've had to hide the tapes around the office to make it more sporting.
* Robert [=McCall=] in ''Series/TheEqualizer'' was just a guy helping out people in a normal New York apartment, until he and his 20 year old son were threatened. Robert decided that the safest thing to do was to get his son out of town, so he presses a button and the wall folds out exposing a room filled with weapons, cash, etc. He hands his son $20,000 and a passport, drivers license and credit cards, etc, completely filled out with a fake name and a recent picture of the son. The look on the son's face is priceless.
* In an episode of ''Series/TheMentalist'', Jane figures out that a man is faking needing a wheelchair because the soles of his shoes are scuffed. Jane remarks that he's been automatically checking the shoes of wheelchair-bound people for years, just in case, and this is the first time it's paid off. [[ConvictionByCounterfactualClue Only problem is]] that paraplegia is not the only reason one might need a wheelchair. For example, people who are prone to fainting will often make use of a wheelchair despite being able to walk.
* In one episode of the brilliant British comedy, ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'', Howard and Vince become stranded on a desert island. Howard then pulls out an array of items from his pockets that are incredibly helpful, albeit incredibly bizarre to have on one's person in any other circumstance. Vince is less than prepared.
--> '''Howard:''' Okay, we've got to pool our resources. ''[emptying his pockets]'' Tweezers, matches, twine, geological hammer. What've you got?\\
'''Vince:''' Kings of Leon CD?
* In an extremely strange case of out-of-universe CrazyPrepared, Creator/JMichaelStraczynski had contingency plans for ''every single character'' of ''all five seasons'' of ''Series/BabylonFive'' in case the actor in question dropped out or otherwise became unavailable. These "backdoors" were used at least four times:
** Once after Tamilyn Tomita (who played Laurel Takashima in the PilotMovie) left before the first season (transferring her role to Ivanova).
** Patricia Tallman (Lyta Alexander) and Johnny Sekka (Dr. Benjamin Kyle) likewise were unable to return to the show after the pilot movie. They were written out by being reassigned to duty back on Earth. As they were the first humans to see what a Vorlon looks like inside his encounter suit, the reassignments were a flimsy excuse to interrogate them.
** Once to allow the transition from Commander Sinclair to Captain (after JMS realized that Sinclair's character arc had been played out too fast; at least, that was the official reason until after Michael O'Hare's death, at which point JMS revealed that the real reason was the actor's illness).
** Once to drop Talia Winters after Andrea Thompson quit (using the backdoor originally intended for Takashima) because (1) ''Series/{{JAG}}'' had offered her a role and (2) she had recently divorced Jerry Doyle, who played Michael Garibaldi. Oops. Winters was replaced by Lyta Alexander (who had been in the pilot movie herself) as Patrica Tallman had become available again.
** Once to put Vir's character on the back burner for a while, as Stephen Furst had become involved in other projects. Londo got him assigned as the Centauri Ambassador to Minbar, thus giving him an excuse to [[CommutingOnABus appear on the show far less than he had before]]. After the other show he was working on fell through, he came back to B5 full-time.
* Sheldon's 'roommate agreement' in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' has subclauses that cover a huge variety of contingencies, including obligations in case one of the roommates ''turns into a robot''. Also for if Leonard becomes a superhero (Sheldon gets to be his sidekick) or how to deal with a zombie attack ("he's not allowed to kill me, even if I turn"). On a more practical front, when Leonard is invited to tour the Large Hadron Collider, the agreement has a clause for ''that specific event''.
* In ''Series/DueSouth'' it is revealed that Fraser keeps the buckle of his mountie-hat strap sharpened in case he has to use it to break out of a sealed padded room. He also has had other essential items conveniently on hand such as a tuning fork, a Bouga toad and a 7-centimeter length of wire.
* ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'':
** In "Last Words", Robin brings a [[BagOfHolding Purse of Holding]] to Marshall's father's funeral, in which she crammed everything anybody could possibly need at the funeral. It starts out with fairly tame items, such as a flask of booze in response to INeedAFreakingDrink. Then towards the end, Marshall remarks, "I should've rented ''[[Film/CrocodileDundeeInLosAngeles Crocodile Dundee 3]]''" and Robin responds by pulling out a ''Crocodile Dundee 3'' DVD from her purse.
** Barney takes CrazyPrepared to whole new levels, though. First, he spent six months secretly attending a special culinary school to learn the art of Shinjitsu hibachi cooking. Then, for over ''five years'', he made himself sneeze every time Marshall mentioned eating at the Shinjitsu restaurant, until eventually Marshall's subconscious was conditioned to crave Shinjitsu whenever he heard Barney's sneezes. All so that, if Barney ever wanted something from Marshall, he could use a sneeze to make him go the Shinjitsu restaurant, then [[BatmanGambit goad him into betting that Barney couldn't pull of Shinjitsu cooking tricks]].
** When Barney and Quinn are getting married they decide to get a pre-nup agreement. They keep adding clauses to it for any possible situation they can think of until the document is [[DoorStopper thousands of pages long]].
** He also keeps magic tricks in the pockets and sleeves of his suit jackets, and he apparently carries the ducky tie around with him in case he needs to make a deal with Lily and Marshall.
** Barney's entire Playbook, particularly "The Robin".
* ''Series/{{Jericho}}'': "You never know when a tank will come in handy."
* ''Series/ICarly'':
** Mrs. Benson probably possesses a care-for-your-child product for ''any'' occasion and keeps a first-aid kit the size of a luggage bag.
** After confiscating Sam's blowtube, Carly and Spencer are quite taken aback that Sam kept a spare one. Carly then pats down Sam and finds two more mini blowtube guns hidden inside her socks.
--->'''Sam:''' A good assassin always has backup!
** This trope once exposed one Nevel's evil plans; he set up a fake giveaway contest to trick Carly into accepting it and have the law get the webshow canceled when she can't come up with the prize, and produces a legal document stating the rules.. Carly and Sam figured the whole thing out when they realized that he wouldn't carry legal documents with him unless he needed them.
* Played for laughs in ''Series/ABitOfFryAndLaurie'' with Hugh Laurie's greetings card shop selling cards with highly specific messages ("Sorry to hear your teeth fell out near the Arndale centre") including a card describing Stephen Fry's specific situation (His wife is going to have a jealous spasm on her step-daughters birthday).
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
** "Civil Defense". The trope seems to have been enforced, showing how Gul Dukat prepared the station's computer for a revolt of the Bajoran workers, even after they have been long gone. If they didn't surrender, the computer would lock the workers in the mines and flood them with deadly gas; in case they found a way to escape the mines, the computer would lock Ops and flood the station with deadly gas; in case the life support system that administers the gas was sabotaged, the computer would start a self-destruct system; in case it was attempted to fool the computer into thinking someone else was Gul Dukat, it would replicate phaser turrets that fire on all non-Cardassians. Ultimately subverted, as Gul Dukat didn't prepare for the event that Legate Kell would be even more Crazy Prepared - in the event that Gul Dukat himself would leave the station, the computer would revoke his access and transmit Kell's message about how cowardly Gul Dukat is, leaving the station after self-destruct is initialized. And for all these outcomes, TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat.
** "Improbable Cause". Someone hires a Flaxian assassin to kill Garak. However, when he comes aboard the station, Garak spots him and rigs a bomb to go off in his shop which drags Odo into the plot without Garak having to ask him for help. The CrazyPrepared bit? The bomb he used was a Flaxian pheromonic sensor bomb which was Odo's "clue" to investigate the Flaxian. Apparently, Garak had one of these ''rare'' bombs lying around, just in case...
** "In The Pale Moonlight". When Sisko asks Garak to come up with a plan to bring the Romulans into the war on the Federation's side, he gets more than be bargained for as Garak ends up coming up with plans within plans within plans. He comes up with a morally dubious plan that Sisko can go along with. He has a back-up plan on the off-chance his informants on Cardassia are murdered just for speaking with him. He has a back-up plan for just in case the forger he hires isn't up to the job (and he had plans for getting the forger out of prison in the first place). And he has a back-up plan for if the Romulans caught on to what they're doing. [[spoiler: Then it's revealed at the end of the episode that his main assumption had always been that the Romulans would catch on to what they were doing, that Sisko would fold his cards at that point and that it would be left to him to carry out Sisko's desire without Sisko's knowledge because Sisko would never have accepted it as a plan in the first place, and that all his plans and sub-plans were distraction techniques to allow him to carry out a back-up plan that was really the main plan all along... talk about CrazyPrepared.]]
* [[spoiler:Suzie]] in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' planned for the contingency of her death. She hypnotized a man to go ballistic in the event he doesn't hear a certain code word for a given time period, which would cause the Torchwood team to try to resurrect her.
* Apparently in ''Series/{{Chuck}}'', the [=BuyMore=] has a policy against 'lewd use of a musical montage.' Just in case one would need such a policy in your official rules. Any business that employs Jeff and Lester would indeed need such a policy.
* An episode of Polish sitcom ''Swiat wedlug Kiepskich'' revolves around the main character having temporary job as a bureaucrat [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything whose sole task is finding excuses to reject every single client]]. While usually all it takes is absence of some irrelevant document, it finally backfires when one particularly obnoxious client brings along whole luggage full of all kinds of documents ([[UpToEleven like permission from his grandparents which he got them to sign thirty years earlier while they were still alive]]), in all possible languages, each in multiple copies (and then gets rejected in the end anyway [[ShaggyDogStory for not bringing black pen]]). Hilariously enough, by the end of the episode when the aforementioned main hero is about to get his long awaited salary for his [[BlatantLies hard work]], a neighbour, who happens to work as a bureaucrat too, brings him money, but pulls the very same tactic the hero was using for the whole episode to make sure he won't get any money at all.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'''s Kurt Hummel was this for his NYADA audition; he was going to sing "[[Theatre/ThePhantomOfTheOpera Music of the Night]]", then changed it to "Not the Boy Next Door" (from ''The Boy From Oz'') after deciding "Music" was too mainstream. Rachel convinced him to change it back to "Music" (and offered to be his Christine), until the audition judge agreed that "Music" was, in fact, too mainstream. Kurt then launched into "Not the Boy Next Door", revealing that not only was his Phantom costume tear-away to reveal a Peter Allen outfit underneath, but that he'd hidden Tina, Brittany, and Mercedes in the wings on the other side of the stage to dance backup. To sum up - Kurt had ''two'' audition pieces - which were completely different from each other - ready to go when he walked onto that stage. Now that's showbiz.
* ''Series/BurnNotice'':
** Michael points out that this is what makes a spy seemingly superhuman. If you catch them in a situation they're not prepared for, they die as easily as anyone else. There is also a subversion when Michael finds his boss (who he hates) in his apartment, eating his yogurt.
--->'''Michael:''' Maybe I poisoned all my yogurt, just in case you showed up.\\
'''Carla:''' You're not ''that'' good.\\
'''Michael:''' But a little part of you is wondering if I am...\\
''[Carla puts the yogurt down]''
** Lampshaded later on with Sam, after he just happened to have a tracker handy when they had an unexpected opportunity to mess with Carla's motorcycle.
--->'''Michael:''' You had a tracker with you?\\
'''Sam:''' "Always be prepared." Navy SEAL motto.\\
'''Michael:''' That's Boy Scouts.
* In an opening sketch of ''Series/KenanAndKel'', Kel's sick and asks Kenan if he has any mouthwash.
-->'''Kel:''' Do you have any mouthwash on you?\\
'''Kenan:''' ''Mouthwash!?'' ''[searches pockets and pulls out a bottle]'' Oh, yeah. There ya go.\\
'''Kel:''' Ya got any in cool mint?\\
'''Kenan:''' ''Cool mint?'' ''(searches pockets again and pulls out another bottle)'' Yeah. Is that better?
* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': When applying to be the guardian of Mattie in 9th season episode "A Merry Little Christmas" a social services worker comes and inspects Harm’s apartment.
-->'''Watley''': [reads book title] 'The Adolescent Girl: A Study in Pathology', [reads another book title] 'Between 16 and Sex: Raising a Teenage Girl'. You seem to be prepared for the worst.\\
'''Rabb''': I'm a fighter pilot, Mr. Watley, we prepare for the worst, that way we cut down our surprises.
* Gibbs in ''Series/{{NCIS}}''. He seems to have a Rule for any contingency and has an emergency kit under his desk in case the team has to pursue a case during a blackout. During the actual blackout episode he walked around carrying several polaroid cameras and canned food, which baffled his team to no end.
* Bill's [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4ateyIFito "The Real Deal with Bill McNeil"]] in ''Series/{{Newsradio}}''. In it, he has pre-recorded statements on tape, ranging from announcing the title to "Hey, don't mention it", to "Well screw you too!", and more in his pocket for when the producer takes away the ones that are already loaded. A later episode reveals he has another tape which says "Sorry!"
* A sketch in ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' involved the hostess of a cooking show (played by Eric Idle in drag), explaining what to do if there's a communist uprising in your neighbourhood while you're having a party.
* In one episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis'', the team is captured, and Shepard notes that if the captors hadn't taken his knife, he might be able to hit the switch on the wall that controls the cell door. One of his teammates comes up with a knife, saying he always has two. "One for them to find, one for you to keep." Unfortunately, he misses. But then Ronan comes up with a knife of his own...and also misses. The scene changes to ten minutes later, and around a dozen knives are sticking out of the wall, all having barely missed the switch, while Ronan is pulling another one ''out of his hair.''
-->'''Shepard:''' How many of those things do you have?\\
'''Ronin:''' How many do you need?\\
'''Shepard:''' You must have a lot of trouble getting through airports.
* ''Series/HorribleHistories'' parodies/inverts this in the 'Race to the South Pole' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3RacavLulI sketch]], in which the proudly under-equipped British explorers believe the Norwegian team to be sissies for bringing along such luxuries as sled dogs and warm clothing.
* ''Series/{{Warehouse 13}}'': Artie. (Of ''course'' he carries a tuning fork on his person.)
** It's lampshaded several times how Artie's Bag always has exactly the Artifact that he would need. This has lead to some speculation that the Bar itself may in fact be an Artifact that will one day find itself in a future Warehouse.

* Though already mentioned in "Film", Burt Gummer of the ''Tremors'' franchise is such a CrazyPrepared CrazySurvivalist that he deserves another mention. By the time of the TV series, Burt has become THE go-to guy for dealing with monsters. He even starts teaching a class on being Crazy Prepared to supplement his income after the events of the third film left him missing the above ground portions of his home.
* Episode of ''Series/{{NCIS}}:LA'': Merry Evasion Callen and Hanna were in a couple of gun battles and ran out of ammo. Since they had to blow up their car, they couldn’t get more supplies from that. They had to ditch their cell phones since the bad guys were using them to track them. They needed to resupply. Turns out the CIA (?) has caches of food, water, guns, ammo, sat phones, and other supplies placed in US cities. This one was disguised signal switch box.
* An episode of ''Series/{{Dinosaurs}}'' has Earl get SuperpowersForADay, only for his CorruptCorporateExecutive boss to find out and point to a clause in Earl's contract that allows the company to make use of any superpowers that employees may get. How does Earl end up using it? Sell cheap products on infomercials, of course.
* In ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOnDeck'', Zack confronts his brother about a supposed fear of bananas he has after finding a paragraph about it in a report he stole from him to pass of as his own. Cody reveals that he always adds a weird paragraph to his homework before he archives it just in case anyone (Zack) tries to plagiarize him.
* ''Series/TheBill''. The Sun Hill police station has to be rebuilt after a bomb explosion. Chief Superintendent Brownlow goes to a meeting about this, and listens in disbelief as he's told the new station will have an armored roller shutter that can withstand an RPG-7 rocket and more cells for when martial law is declared in the face of a mass uprising.
* ''Series/{{UFO}}''. In the episode ''Court Martial'' it turns out that the pretty light show which we've seen behind Straker's desk for the previous 11 episodes isn't a decoration. It's [[spoiler:an escape route]]. Better still, someone else figures Straker would arrange this, and helps himself.
* In ''Series/WhatCouldPossiblyGoWrong'', Kevin and Grant want a bulletproof mug. They aren't CrazyPrepared. They are crazy ''preparing''.
-->'''Kevin''': ''"You know, if you are in a bar fight and they shoot at you, you want to be able to put up your mug and block it. Do you know how many people need a bulletproof mug?"''
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest'': Reese is known for his "Plan B bag," which is pretty much just a duffel bag full of enough weapons and ammunition to fight a small country, in case the nice way doesn't work. In one episode, Reese and Finch are watching footage of a masked assailant taking out a mob truck and wondering where they got their equipment, when Shaw walks in and accidentally reveals that it's their friend Carter. She had asked Shaw earlier for Reese's Plan B bag.
-->'''Reese:''' Wait, that's ''my'' grenade launcher?
* ''Series/MacGyver'': In "The Assassin", Piedra goes through an ExtendedDisarming when he is captured. After that, it is revealed that his moustache is fake and contains wires that he uses first as lockpicks to remove his handcuffs, and then as a dart to kill his guard. And it is then revealed that he still has a poisoned needle hidden behind a fake scar.
* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'': Ron Swanson, in keeping with his rugged individualist ideology, plans in advance for any eventuality. This includes keeping all his money in gold (in case the economy collapses), keeping hunting weapons everywhere (in case he has to kill his own food), and keeping a detonator in the office (in case he needs to blast his way out). One example, from when his ex-wife locates his gold stash.
-->'''Ron:''' That was decoy gold. You really think I'd leave my gold sitting in a locked safe, buried underground, where anyone could find it? You don't know me at all.
* ''Series/{{Powerless 2017}}'': Wayne Incorporated, as is appropriate for a company owned by Batman, has a ridiculous number of alarms for every possible situation. There's a giant binder that explains them all, but most of the employees have worked there long enough that they can make a pretty good guess just on the sound.
-->'''Ron:''' Which alarm is that? Zombie virus?\\
'''Wendy:''' Alien invasion?\\
'''Jackie:''' Giant spider robots from another dimension where the Nazis won?\\
'''Teddy:''' No, that one goes eeyoo-eeyoo-awdub-awdub...\\
'''Wendy:''' Ah, yeah.
* ''Series/TheBlacklist'': Raymond Reddington can usually acquire the information, equipment, and/or personnel he needs on very short notice. Mostly that comes with running a very large global criminal enterprise, but sometimes....
-->'''Samar Navadi''' (an FBI/Mossad agent): You keep a storage locker in West Virginia?\\
'''Reddington''': I keep a storage locker filled with useful items in most states. Two or three in the red states.\\
[''Details and discussion'']\\
'''Reddington''': ...Go figure. Why don’t you grab some kilos [of cocaine] off the top and let’s go stage a crime scene?

** Varys happens to have a map of all the secret tunnels of King's Landing in "Blackwater" so the audience doesn't have to look up the word postern. He also apparently kept a human-sized crate in his chambers for over a season just in case he needed to make a CallBack while smuggling someone out of the city in "The Children".

** In "Last Words", Robin brings a [[BagOfHolding Purse of Holding]] to Marshall's father's funeral, in which she crammed everything anybody could possibly need at the funeral. It starts out with fairly tame items, such as a flask of booze in response to INeedAFreakingDrink. Then towards the end, Marshall remarks, "I should've rented ''CrocodileDundee 3''" and Robin responds by pulling out a ''Crocodile Dundee 3'' DVD from her purse.

* In ''Series/BlackBooks'', Bernard Black is forced to take shelter in an adult video store after being locked out of his shop at night. In order to stay warm and dry as long as he can, he resorts to inventing a series of increasingly unlikely fetishes. "Nurses. But, ah, in administration, y'know ... actually I should have said, sorry, ''Senior'' Administrative Nurses -- that's the only thing I'm interested in." [[RuleThirtyFour The shop owner is able to fulfil this request instantly]]. In the final episode, Fran is trying to convince Bernard that his old girlfriend faked her death and is still living in London. She pulls out her phone and shows the entry, then a photo of her last birthday, her dental records, and her birth certificate along with a photo of her reading today's newspaper and wearing a t-shirt that says "I love life"

* [[http://youtu.be/l22F3kulRRQ A Finnish Spede sketch]] features a sadistic ObstructiveBureaucrat and a long-suffering man who's out to get his revenge by bringing "''all'' the paperwork." There's a bizarre EscalatingWar where the man proves to have a certificate of having never visited Zanzibar (in duplicate), but lets slip that he's married. The man has a certificate that shows he hasn't been married to any other woman, but the bureaucrat rejects this as too vague and demands proof for each individual woman. The man concedes in fury, but before leaving he makes a start with the ten thousand such certificates he does have...

** Once to allow the trasition from Commander Sinclair to Captain (after JMS realized that Sinclair's character arc had been played out too fast; at least, that was the official reason until after Michael O'Hare's death, at which point JMS revealed that the real reason was the actor's sickness).

** Barney takes CrazyPrepared to whole new levels, though. First, he spent six months secretly attending a special culinary school to learn the art of Shinjitsu hibachi cooking. Then, for over ''five years'', he made himself sneeze everytime Marshall mentioned eating at the Shinjitsu restaurant, until eventually Marshall's subconscious was conditioned to crave Shinjitsu whenever he heard Barney's sneezes. All so that, if Barney ever wanted something from Marshall, he could use a sneeze to make him go the Shinjitsu restaurant, then [[BatmanGambit goad him into betting that Barney couldn't pull of Shinjitsu cooking tricks]].

** Mrs. Benson probably has bought and possessed a care-for-your-child product for ''any'' occassion and keeps a first-aid kit the size of a luggage bag.

** "Civil Defense". The trope seems to have been enforced, showing how Gul Dukat prepared the station's computer for a revolt of the Bajoran workers, even after they have been long gone. If they didn't surrender, the computer would lock the workers in the mines and flood them with deadly gas; in case they found a way to escape the mines, the computer would lock Ops and flood the station with deadly gas; in case the life support system that administers the gas was sabotaged, the computer would start a self-destruct system; in case it was attempted to fool the computer into thinking someone else was Gul Dukat, it would replicate phaser turrets that fire on all non-Cardassians. Ultimately subverted, as Gul Dukat didn't prepare for the event that Legate Kell would be even more Crazy Prepared - in the event that Gul Dukat himself would leave the station, the computer would revoke his access and transmit Kell's message about how cowardly Gul Dukat is, leaving the station after self-destruct is initialised. And for all these outcomes, TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat.
** "Improbable Cause". Someone hires a Flaxian assassin to kill Garak. However, when he comes aboard the station, Garak spots him and rigs a bomb to go off in his shop which drags Odo into the plot without Garak having to ask him for help. The CrazyPrepared bit? The bomb he used was a Flaxian pheremonic sensor bomb which was Odo's "clue" to investigate the Flaxian. Apparently, Garak had one of these ''rare'' bombs lying around, just in case...

* Though already mentioned in "Film", Burt Gummer of the ''Tremors'' franchise is such a CrazyPrepared CrazySurvivalist that he deserves another mention. By the time of the t.v. series, Burt has become THE go-to guy for dealing with monsters. He even starts teaching a class on being Crazy Prepared to supplement his income after the events of the third film left him missing the above ground portions of his home.

* ''Series/{{UFO}}''. In the episode ''Court Martial'' it turns out that the pretty light show which we've seen behind Straker's desk for the previous 11 episodes isn't a decoration. It's [[spoiler: an escape route]]. Better still, someone else figures Straker would arrange this, and helps himself.

[''Details and discursion'']\\
'''Reddington''': ... Go figure. Why don’t you grab some kilos [of cocaine] off the top and let’s go stage a crime scene?

* Series/MacGyver is somehow prepared for anything, be it a nuclear meltdown or a neighbor kid's bike malfunctioning. He always carries a pocketknife, matches, and duct tape (even keeping a pocket-sized roll) with him. He allegedly can fix a computer with a hairpin [[DuctTapeForEverything and a piece of duct tape]], though this particular [=MacGyverism=] is never demonstrated.