History Main / DaddyDNATest

* ''Manga/NarutoGaiden'' does a ''Mommy'' [[=DNA=]] Test, when Sasuke's daughter, Sarada, begins to suspect that her father's former teammate, Karin, may be her real mother. The [[=DNA=]] test comes out positive, seemingly confirming this. [[spoiler: But it later turns out that the test was positive because the umbilical cord used as a sample for it was actually Sarada's, not Karin's, so Sakura was Sarada's biological mother all along]].

[[folder:{{Anime}}]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "The Story of Lando Freeman", Robert Freeman goes on ''The Steve Wilkos Show'', where a DNA test reveals that [[spoiler:the titular Lando is his long-lost son… but this is subverted by the reveal that they lied about the test results on camera, only putting a disclaimer in the credits. Lando's real father is Billy Dee Williams.]]

* ''Film/BabyMama'' actually has the inverse with a court ordered maternity test. The premise of the movie was that a surrogate mother is artificially impregnated using the other woman's egg and her own husband's sperm. The test is because she has the child rather late after the egg was inserted and it's unclear who the biological mother is.

* The titular heroine of ''Series/VeronicaMars'' suspects at one point that her real father is her ex-boyfriend Duncan's dad, so she runs a paternity test, which [[UnReveal she shreds without reading]], deciding she doesn't need to know. Later in the season, Keith Mars has his own test done, [[spoiler:which confirms that he is, after all, her real father]].

It is discovered that a character, or a baby, has a parent whose identity is not known. Solution? Get a DNA test. Prove beyond [[MamasBabyPapasMaybe a reasonable doubt]] who the father really is, and proceed from there. All the other guys who aren't the dad can go home. Well, unless the real daddy is a GlorifiedSpermDonor and the fake one has actually been there for the kid their whole life. In which case, go take a hike sperm daddy.

May result in a SurpriseIncest, if the character was in a love relation with an offspring of the man who turned out to be the father.

* Very irritatingly avoided in ''Anime/PleaseTwins''. They explain that it "costs too much money"... the episode before they win a lot of money and blow it on a HotSpringsEpisode.

** Led to a CrowningMomentOfFunny when a young mother brought no fewer than a half dozen possible fathers onto the show for testing. After a long drawn-out process of discussing her lifestyle and her complicated parenting situation, the results come back and...'''none''' of them are the father! Like a pack of hounds, all the tested would-be fathers round shouting at the girl. ''"There's even more?!"''

-->'''Pete:''' Man, this "Mission Impossible" stuff is great. But other than my scintillating conversational skills, I still don't understand why you brought me along.
-->'''Clark''' I need your spit.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "The Story of Lando Freeman", Robert Freeman goes on ''The Steve Wilkos Show'', where a DNA test reveals that [[spoiler:the titular Lando is his long-lost son... but this is subverted by the reveal that they lied about the test results on camera, only putting a disclaimer in the credits. Lando's real father is Billy Dee Williams.]]

** Of course many many seasons later it was revealed that [[spoiler: The whole thing was a ruse, Cartman's mother is actually biologically female, and Cartman's father is Scott Tenorman's father, who Cartman had killed and tricked Scott into eating in a bowl of chili]].

* In one episode of ''TheBoondocks'', Granddad Freeman goes on a talk show where a DNA test reveals he has a long-lost son. [[spoiler:Except the host lies about the test results on camera, only putting a disclaimer in the credits. The man's real father is Billy Dee Williams.]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maurydaddy.jpg]]

* ''BatmanAndSons'' mentions that Bruce is taking care of baby Terry, but not baby Damien, because [[spoiler: Catwoman]] thought to do a DNA test before handing over her kid, whereas Talia keeps Damian to herself and just keeps sending him bills.
* In ''SomethingPositive'', [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Davan]] has SexForSolace with the ex-girlfriend of his friend who recently committed suicide. Years later, the two meet up again and Davan finds out she had a son named [[BrattyHalfPint Rory]], whose father is either Davan or the man she dated shortly after their tryst. The test shows that Davan isn't the father, but LawOfInversePaternity kicks in and he becomes Rory's ParentalSubstitute anyway.
* A [[http://www.harkavagrant.com/index.php?id=272 Victorian version]] on ''HarkAVagrant''. (Fourth down)

* Very irritatingly avoided in ''OnegaiTwins''. They explain that it "costs too much money"... the episode before they win a lot of money and blow it on a HotSpringsEpisode.

* Often featured on sleazy daytime shows like ''The JerrySpringer Show'', where it's used to determine whether a woman was cheating on her boyfriend/husband with another man or to prove that a man is the father of a child when he denies it.

* Series/{{House}} gets a DNA test after his father's funeral, proving that they're not related. Given that they had an extremely tempestuous relationship House is relieved to find out they weren't blood related.

* Series/{{House}} gets a DNA test after his father's funeral, proving that they're not related.

* Warrick got one on ''{{CSI}}'' just before his death, as part of his attempt to gain custody of his infant son. His colleagues only discover this when they find the test results while retrieving clothes to bury him in.

* Parodied on ''{{Dinosaurs}}'': due to a mix-up, it's suggested that the Sinclairs accidentally got another family's egg (the one that hatched into Baby) while the other family got theirs. Earl and the other father are subjected to battery after battery of bizarre tests (including a centrifuge)... and then the doctor just takes the blood test anyway. The test said the eggs were switched but it was later revealed it was a mistake.

* ''BostonLegal'': A man who was born out of artificial insemination was dating a woman who was born the same way and they were afraid of being [[BrotherSisterIncest half-siblings]]. To learn if they had the same father or not, they sued the lab to force them to tell because a DNA test using only the couple's blood would be inconclusive if they were half-siblings or complete strangers.
* On ''{{NCIS}}'', Abby tests her DNA against the DNA of the woman that she thought was her mother and finds out that she's adopted.

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* Drives the plot of the ''[[Series/{{Firefly}}]]'' episode "Heart of Gold." At the titular bordello, a local petty tyrant forcibly takes a DNA sample from the unborn child of one of the prostitutes, promising to return for the child if it's his (and it is, of course). The madame hires the crew of ''Serenity'' to help drive him off.

* In ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Earl has Dodge and Earl Jr.'s DNA tested to find out who Dodge's real father is. [[spoiler: It turns out it was him all the time. Earl and Joy conceived Dodge at a Halloween party. It's also revealed that Earl Jr.'s real father is ''not'' Darnell as was previously thought. It's never revealed who his father actually is.]]

This trope can also occur with mothers, but that's a much rarer occurrence (barring a babynapping, a switcheroo with a different newborn, or a delivery while the woman is unconscious, the mother knows the baby she just birthed is her own). This test can also be used indirectly to link siblings together. In any case, how long it takes for the DNA test to get finished typically depends on the speed of the [[TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot plot]]. The DNA test could present complications: if the bad guys know about the test, they may attempt to keep the [[StatusQuoIsGod Status Quo]] by altering the test results (of course, they must [[KeepingSecretsSucks force other characters into secrecy]] about that, and in any case [[TheReveal it won't last for long]]). It is also subject to TheCSIEffect, as the test may be inconclusive if the the potential fathers are closely related (especially brothers), since they already share many of the same genes.

This trope can also occur with mothers, but that's a much rarer occurrence (barring a babynapping, a switcheroo with a different newborn, or a delivery while the woman is unconscious, the mother knows the baby she just birthed is her own). This test can also be used indirectly to link siblings together. In any case, how long it takes for the DNA test to get finished typically depends on the speed of the [[TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot plot]]. The DNA test is not infallible: if the bad guys know about the test, they may attempt to keep the [[StatusQuoIsGod Status Quo]] by altering the test results (of course, they must [[KeepingSecretsSucks force other characters into secrecy]] about that, and in any case [[TheReveal it won't last for long]]). It is also subject to TheCSIEffect, as the test may be inconclusive if the the potential fathers are closely related (especially brothers), since they already share many of the same genes.

** Another episode has House trying to prove that at least one of Taub's kids isn't his.

* Played with on ''SomethingPositive'', in which a DNA test reveals that Davan is not the father of an ex-girlfiend's son, but Davan and the son bond anyway.

* ''BatmanAndSons'' mentions that Bruce is taking care of baby Terry, but not baby Damien, because [[spoiler: Catwoman]] thought to do a DNA test before handing over her kid, whereas Talia did not.

This trope can also occur with mothers, but that's a much rarer occurrence (barring a babynapping, a switcheroo with a different newborn, or a delivery while the woman is unconscious, the mother knows the baby she just birthed is her own). This test can also be used indirectly to link siblings together. In any case, how long it takes for the DNA test to get finished typically depends on the speed of the [[TravellingAtTheSpeedOfPlot plot]]. The DNA test is not infallible: if the bad guys know about the test, they may attempt to keep the [[StatusQuoIsGod Status Quo]] by altering the test results (of course, they must [[KeepingSecretsSucks force other characters into secrecy]] about that, and in any case [[TheReveal it won't last for long]]).