History Main / ItsBeenDone

* ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'', [[http://smbc-comics.com/comic/fixing-social-media "Fixing Social Media"]]: A couple of people discuss {{GIFT}} and how it's InherentInTheSystem because it's so easy to write all sorts of crap on the Internet. So they come up with the idea of creating a platform where people have to spend more effort on writing their messages and moderating the responses. "47 venture capital funding rounds later" they realise they've invented blogging.

'''Haku:''' [That's the plot to ''Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarves''.]\\

** At the end of the film, he goes on explaining his idea for a new film, a [[Literature/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs romance of some sort between a beautiful woman and not one or two, but SEVEN little men]].

* ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'', [[http://smbc-comics.com/comic/fixing-social-media "Fixing Social Media"]]: A couple of people discuss {{GIFT}} and how it's InherentInTheSystem because it's so easy to write all sorts of crap on the Internet. So they come up with the idea of creating a platform where people have to write spend more effort on writing their messages and moderating the responses. "47 venture capital funding rounds later" they realise they've invented blogging.

* The rights to ''Film/KingKong'' are rather open, as movie studios discovered when they tried to sue ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''. This is actually a case of HoistByHisOwnPetard. After Nintendo released the ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' arcade game, Universal sued on the grounds that the gorilla was too similar to King Kong, and pressured the small Japanese company for a settlement. Unfortunately for Universal, Nintendo's lawyer looked into things, and found out that Universal ''themselves'' had previously won a lawsuit declaring ''King Kong'' was in the public domain. To add insult to injury, Nintendo went on to (successfully) sue Universal for making a ''King Kong'' video game that was a thinly-veiled remake of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong''.

* The "Purple Drank" craze, a mix of alcohols and cough syrup (soda and candy can be added). Not surprisingly a similar drink had been created a few years ago known as a Flaming Homer (a mixture of all left over alcohol in your cabinet and cough syrup, which is then lit on fire.) Simpsons Did It! Purple drank is typically Sprite and prescription-level cough syrup. The prescription cough syrup is used because it contains high levels of codeine.

* Within mainstream music among more the more older fans, it's common for them to say It's Been Done or everything is a repeat of prior things. Especially among female stars the fight to be "completely new" is huge.
* One tenet of postmodernism is that ''nothing'' we can do is original, the trick is either to do old things in new ways, or to {{lampshade|Hanging}} the hell out of it.

* When Sony unveiled the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3's controller prototype back in 2005, people scoffed at the weird Boomerang shape, calling it uncomfortable. Sony apparently didn't get the memo that Apple actually used a similar controller design for the ''UsefulNotes/{{Pippin}}'', which received equally negative criticism for the controller a whole decade before, although that wasn't said console's only problem.

* The second page of ''How to Make a Sprite Comic in 8 Easy Bits'' has its protagonist think up a few different ideas for his magnum opus -- first a ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' [[Webcomic/EightBitTheater parody]], then a ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' [[Webcomic/BobAndGeorge comic...]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'': In "The Hormone-iums", Linda tries to market wine holders made from old women's footwear. Not only does she fail to convince the Fischoeder brothers to invest in her "Wine Shoes", she discovers that a company that makes novelty wine holders beat her to the punch with their "Booze Shoes".

*** The "Reaper Madness" segment of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIV Treehouse of Horror XIV]]" (2003), which caused a brief InternetBackdraft in ''Simpsons'' fandom over similarities to the ''Family Guy'' episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuysS2E6DeathisABitch Death is a Bitch]]" (2000). (Basically, Death is unable to do his duties due to injury/[[MindScrew death]], the series' bumbling dad has to take over).

* The ''WesternAnimation/BobsBurgers'' episode "Family Fracas" has a judge saying "I sentence you to kiss my ass!" ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' did the same joke 14 years before in "Marge Simpson in: 'Screaming Yellow Honkers'".

* Many teenyboppers in 1978 thought that Music/TheBeeGees and Peter Frampton created ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' from the self-titled movie that came out then, unaware that Music/TheBeatles created it eleven years earlier and was put on film in 1968 in ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine''. United Artists would put ''Submarine'' back into TV syndication nationwide while Capitol re-released the Beatles album with a decal reading "the original classic."

* Many teenyboppers in 1978 thought that Music/TheBeeGees and Peter Frampton created ''Music/SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'' from the self-titled movie that came out then, unaware that Music/TheBeatles created it eleven years earlier and was put on film in 1968 in ''WesternAnimation/YellowSubmarine''. United Artists would put ''Submarine'' back into TV syndication nationwide while Capitol re-released the Beatles album with a decal reading "the original classic."

* In Norm Foster's play ''Office Hours'', one character unintentionally pitches an idea identical to ''{{Tarzan}}''.

* There was an episode of ''Series/SavedByTheBell: The New Class'' where a character describes his new invention in detail only to be told he's just invented the pencil.

** Hell, there are several who claim that they're all derivatives of only ''one'' plot, that being "Who am I?

* ''WebComic/SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'': A couple of people discuss {{GIFT}} and how it's InherentInTheSystem because it's so easy to write all sorts of crap on the Internet. So they come up with the idea of creating a platform where people have to write spend more effort on writing their messages and moderating the responses. "47 venture capital funding rounds later" they realise they've invented blogging.

"[=HISHE=] did it!"\\

"Honest Trailers did it!"\\

'''Michael:''' Yeah. Not a great movie actually. And then there were a bunch of hackers that did this in the '70s as well. One of them got busted.

* Meta-example with a theory of physics in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory''. In one chapter (which you might remember for the "bazinga" scene at the ball pool), Sheldon's been trying to figure out why the electrons in a carbon atom act that way, to no avail, until he comes to realize that the electrons are behaving like waves. Which was something [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wave-particle_duality first proposed in 1924.]] Of course, due to the practical impossibility of developing a brand new physics theory by the writers of a series that tries to stay close to science, you could say it's meta-justified.

* In ''[[ComicBook/XWingSeries Mercy Kill]]'' some of the newly assigned Wraith Squadron members come up with what they think are all-new stratagems. Founding Wraith member Voort "Piggy" [=saBinring=] points out that some of the tricks are older than ''they'' are.
** One particular example ends up being used as a sort of [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming Fridge Heartwarming]], as the only way he could know about the [[spoiler: King of the Droids]] ploy is if he knew [[spoiler: [[BecomingTheMask Lara]] [[DoubleReverseQuadrupleAgent Notsil]]]] was [[FakingTheDead still alive]]. Turns out, [[spoiler: he does]].

* Jacksfilms, another YouTube star, made his own joke in an episode of his ''Wimpy Boy Bands'' series.

* German version from ''Creator/JohannWolfgangVonGoethe'': "Alles Gescheidte ist schon gedacht worden, man muß nur versuchen es noch einmal zu denken." [[note]]"Everything that has been thought has already been thought; Just try to think again."[[/note]]

** The episode "Simpsons Already Did It", in which Butters -- or, rather, Professor Chaos -- attempts to come up with an idea to get revenge on the citizens of the town. However, he's informed that ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' had already used every one of his ideas in an episode, and his desperation to come up with an original scheme briefly drives him over the edge. When he finally ''does'' come up with an original idea that ''The Simpsons'' haven't done before, a conveniently-placed TV immediately starts playing a commercial for a ''new'' episode of ''The Simpsons'' where Butters' idea is used.

'''Chef:''' Yeah. In fact, that episode was [[WholePlotReference a rip-off]] of a ''[[Series/TheTwilightZone Twilight Zone]]'' episode.
** An interesting note that ''The Simpsons'' stablemate ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' already did it in an episode "Godfellas" aired just months prior to ''South Park''. [[note]]Bender is drifting in outer space which microscopic space aliens settled on him and becomes God (Bender's back side being ignored). Both sides end up nuking each other.[[/note]]
** Done again in the Halloween episode ''Hell on Earth 2006'' where {{Satan}}'s attempts at a shocking 16th birthday party entrance are rejected when his minions repeatedly tell him "Diddy did it."

** According to DVD commentary on the episode ''Pinewood Derby'', the episode was originally about Randy convincing everyone in the world to get rid of their weapons. This, however, leaves them completely unarmed against an alien who takes over the world with a revolver. However, Trey and Matt eventually learned that not only have the Simpson already did it, they did it ''twice''. This leads to them scrapping the initial idea and reworking the episode.

** Another episode involves Marge writing a romance novel. Her inspiration was the painting on the wall behind the couch, from which she proclaimed "A book about whaling! That's never been done before! Thank you..." She then looks at the painting's title... "Scene from ''Literature/MobyDick''". Especially odd, considering a separate episode indicated that ''she'' [[NegativeContinuity was the one who painted the picture]].
** Yet another episode has Homer pitching ideas to Mel Gibson for movies that are all this trope. The scene ends in a subversion when Homer asks if anyone owned the rights to ''Franchise/IndianaJones''.
** In yet another ''Simpsons'' episode, Homer saves a troubled horse, only for Comic Book Guy to tell them that the [[ContinuityNod Simpsons already owned a horse once]]. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d again in the same episode, when Marge starts to develop a gambling problem.

** At the end of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E1HomersBarbershopQuartet Homer's Barbershop Quartet]]", the title band are recreating the famous moment when the Beatles [[RooftopConcert played a spontaneous live concert on the rooftop of their offices]], on the top of Moe's Tavern. George Harrison drives past for the sole purpose of pointing out that it's already been done. Of course, the entire episode is a riff on the career of the Beatles, so pretty much everything that the B'Sharps did had been done before.
** During a feud with kids from the town of Shelbyville, Milhouse insisted that kids from Springfield invented wearing your backpack over one shoulder, and the Shelbyvillians are copycats. A kid from Shelbyville insists the opposite. Ironically, both children then bond over the fact that they share the same first name.

*** The "Reaper Madness" segment of "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS15E1TreehouseOfHorrorXIV Treehouse of Horror XIV]]" (2003), which caused a brief InternetBackdraft in ''Simpsons'' fandom over similarities to the ''Family Guy'' episode "Death Is a Bitch" (2000). (Basically, Death is unable to do his duties due to injury/[[MindScrew death]], the series' bumbling dad has to take over).
*** And ''then'' there's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS18E5GIAnnoyedGrunt G.I. (D'oh!)]]" and "Saving Private Brian", which aired within a week of each other in 2006, and had almost the exact same plot to the letter -- school assembly convinces Bart/Chris to join the Army, Homer/Brian goes down to the recruiter's office to try to get the contract torn up, and ends up enlisting themselves, and immediately being deployed into a combat theater.

* This is one reason for the ComedyGhetto. There's only so many times a particular joke, gag, or trope can be funny before JumpingTheShark, especially where many comedy movies and {{Sitcom}}s are StrictlyFormula. This is especially true of LongRunner {{Sitcom}}s that have done (and in many cases ''rehashed'' at least once) all or most of the typical sitcom stock plots and ComedyTropes. Furthermore, sometimes those used-and-abused-and-reused tropes and plots are ones that don't age well as SocietyMarchesOn; what might have been very funny in TheThirties, or hell, even TheNineties or the TurnOfTheMillennium, might not be funny at all in TheNewTens, as views on race, gender, sexuality, and such have changed.[[/folder]]