History Main / CouchGag

[[TropeNamer Named]] for one of its best-known incarnations, the family scrambling to gather on the couch during the opening sequence of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR8WWFzrZAg here from the Season 1 episode "The Call of the Simpsons"]].

->''"After seven seasons, we've pretty much said everything you can say in this spot."''

->''"You notice how every week I say something different here?"''
-->-- '''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''', ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', "Caped Avenger/Shy Fly Guy/Green Thumbs Down"

->''"After seven seasons, we've pretty much said everything you can say in this spot."''
-->-- '''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''', ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', "[[GrandFinale Arbuckle the Invincible/The Monster Who Couldn't Scare Anybody/The Ocean Blue]]"

* Each episode of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' has a different short, humorous quip stuck onto the end of the credits, occasionally tangentially related to the episode that had just played.

** ''CouchGag/TheEricAndreShow''

* The ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' podcast ''[[https://anchor.fm/theroosterteam/ RvB Rewind]]'' always starts with the series' famed [[ArcWords "Do you ever wonder why we're here?"]] followed by a snappy response related to the discussed episode.

* Wiki/TVTropes:

* The wiki signs: Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} has signs that tell users a page needs information, lacks it, is not objective, etc. Other wikis take advantage and use their themes in their pages. For example: in the Harry Potter wiki, they have "'Homenum Revelio!' [S]poilers will be present within the article. Please take care when reading this article if you do not wish to be spoiled." for spoiler alert.

** The link back to the unabridged version on the Laconic pages of Wiki/ThisVeryWiki.

* In the versions Microsoft Office from 97 to 2003, the Microsoft Assistant would give a "Tip of the Day" every time one of the programs opened. Of course, the tip is for the program in question.

* In versions Microsoft Office from 97 to 2003, the Microsoft Assistant would give a "Tip of the Day" every time one of the programs opened. Of course, the tip is for the program in question.

-->-- '''{{ComicStrip/Garfield}}''', ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', "[[GrandFinale Arbuckle the Invincible/The Monster Who Couldn't Scare Anybody/The Ocean Blue]]"

* ''WebVideo/YuGiOhTheAbridgedSeries''
** Yami Yugi saying something random that usually has nothing to do with the plot, a fly-by of fake cards, and a ColdOpening before the opening credits.
** TheStinger: after every episode it is usually a blank screen with a joke related to the episode or a SpoofAesop. Then there is a [[TheStinger stinger]] [[UpToEleven AFTER]] TheStinger.
* ''WebVideo/NarutoTheAbridgedComedyFandubSpoofSeriesShow'', also created by Creator/LittleKuriboh, has the starting disclaimer read out in a different way each episode. The highlight would be the one sung by Kakashi 'I'm Not Music/DavidBowie' Bowie
* ''WebVideo/DragonBallAbridged'': From Episode 17 onward, the "please support official release" message is always done by the character who dies in that episode. (Or, in Episode 25's case, the character who ceases to exist as an individual being in that episode.)
* This happens in ''WebVideo/ProjectVoicebend'': Below the title of every episode, there is a funny line related to older episodes or the like. For example, one of them made of Tarrlok's Cool Kids' Club.

* The late Music/WesleyWillis, an extremely prolific (and diagnosed schizophrenic) singer-songwriter, ended virtually every song he ever recorded by first saying "Rock over London, rock on Chicago..." after which he would then spout a random commercial jingle or product slogan, which generally had nothing to do with the subject matter of the song.

** Gonzo blowing a bugle at the end of the opening, with something funny happening, like smoke blowing from it or weird music resulting. The first season had Gonzo striking the "O" in the show's logo like a gong with humorous results.
*** The gong bit is an homage to the animated opening sequence for the ''Series/MickeyMouseClub'', which ended with Donald Duck striking a gong with humorous results.

* ''Radio/CarTalk'' has the credits that make fun of the various people that work on the show, occasionally changing when a new in-joke or gag presents itself, such as Doug the "Subway Fugitive" Berman. The one credit that changed every week was for John "Bugsy" Lawlor, their "Technical, Spiritual, and Menu Advisor", who they would always claim was just back from some made-up, [[RhymesOnADime rhyming]] event involving food (for instance, the "Seneca Lake Rump Steak Spongecake Milkshake Bran Flake Shake 'n' Bake".)

* Each episode of ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'' has a different short, humorous quip stuck onto the end of the credits, occasionally tangentially related to the episode that had just played.

* {{CouchGag/Webcomics}}
* CouchGag/WebOriginal

** ''CouchGag/BobsBurgers''

[[folder:New Media]]
* In versions Microsoft Office from 97 to 2003, the Microsoft Assistant would give a "Tip of the Day" everytime one of the programs opened. Of course, the tip is for the program in question.
* There is a program by Microsoft called [[http://www.bing.com/explore/desktop Bing Desktop]]. Similar to Bing itself, one of the features changes the user's desktop wallpaper everyday (granted that the user has internet access).
[[/folder]]

* ''Podcast/IWasThereToo'' employs this trope by replacing the final bars of the theme song with music from the scores of famous movies.
* ''Podcast/DoctorWhoTargetBookClubPodcast'' uses a different adjective in each opening narration to describe just how BIG their project of reading the Target novelizations in story order actually is: "massive" and "YUGE!" have already made appearances. As of March 2017, the Website/YouTube videos of the podcast also feature a Morphoton brain from Keys of Marinus with a different caption directed to the readers.

* The Creator/HeyJakeAndJosh podcast ''Kingdom Smarts'' has this as the ending, with Shannon saying "we still haven't ____ yet", with the blank spot foreshadowing what they'll get to next week.

[[folder:Print Media]]

* ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' always includes a joke or odd statement buried in the print indicia. This is a tradition that has come and gone over the years depending on editorial whim. (On one occasion, after it had lain fallow for some time, it suddenly said "I don't know why you're looking down here, we haven't had a joke here for ages".)
* Starting around 2001, the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' novels began to include a planet (often one involved in the story) in the list of Simon & Schuster offices on the title page.
* The print edition of Creator/DavidLangford's fanzine ''Ansible'' is "Available for SAE, whim, or [obscure sf concept]."

* Website/{{Google}} Doodles: sometimes the Google logo changes to commemorate a certain day, like a holiday (e.g. Christmas or a country's independence day), the birthday of an influential figure (e.g. Creator/NormanRockwell or Music/FreddieMercury), or an anniversary (e.g. the premiere of ''Series/SesameStreet'' or the debut of ''VideoGame/PacMan'').
* The link back to the unabridged version on the Laconic pages of Wiki/ThisVeryWiki.
* Many work pages on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki have a pun in the heading for the trope list.

* ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' always inculdes a joke or odd statement buried in the print indicia. This is a tradition that has come and gone over the years depending on editorial whim. (On one occasion, after it had lain fallow for some time, it suddenly said "I don't know why you're looking down here, we haven't had a joke here for ages".)

[[folder: Literature]]

* The wiki signs: Wiki/{{Wikipedia}} has signs that tell users a page needs information, lacks it, is not objective, etc. Other wikis take advantage and use their themes in their pages. For example: in the Harry Potter wiki, they have "'Homenum Revelio!' [S]poilers will be present within the article. Please take care when reading this article if you do not wish to be spoiled." for spoiler alert.

* Website/{{Google}} Doodles: sometimes the Google logo changes to commemorate a certain day, like a holiday (e.g. Christmas or a country's independence day), the birthday of an influential figure (e.g. Creator/NormanRockwell or Music/FreddieMercury), or an anniversary (e.g. the premiere of ''Series/SesameStreet'' or the debut of ''VideoGame/PacMan'').
* The link back to the unabridged version on the Laconic pages of Wiki/ThisVeryWiki.
* Many work pages on Wiki/ThisVeryWiki have a pun in the heading for the trope list.

[[folder:Let's Play]]
* ''LetsPlay/{{gokuu9000}}'' begins most of his newer videos with an intro that shows a logo for his username in front of the classic "Starfield Simulation" screensaver from Windows 95. A lot of his videos have a brief 3-second song that plays during this part, but some of them use a random sound bite that's different every time.
[[/folder]]

*** The gong bit is an homage to the animated opening sequence for the Mickey Mouse Club, which ended with Donald Duck striking a gong with humorous results.

Note that it need not be a "gag"; TV dramas such as ''Film/MissionImpossible'' and ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' will sometimes have clips from later in the episode.

[[TropeNamer Named]] for one of its best-known incarnations, the family scrambling to gather on the couch during the opening sequence of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR8WWFzrZAg here for the debut episode in 1989]].

* CouchGag/WebComics

* ''Radio/CarTalk'' has the credits that make fun of the various people that work on the show, occasionally changing when a new in-joke or gag presents itself, such as Doug the "Subway Fugitive". He jumped a turnstile.

RandomizedTitleScreen is a {{Video Game|s}} only SubTrope, applying only to the StartScreen and chosen by the RandomNumberGod