History Main / MultitaskedConversation

* In one episode of ''StargateSG1'', the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Phlebotinum of the Week]] made Daniel Jackson [[InvisibleMainCharacter "out of phase"]], and the only one who could see or hear him was his grandfather Dr. Nicholas Ballard, who was declared crazy when he tried to talk about his encounter with identical Phlebotinum on Earth. Communicating with his [[{{Nakama}} teammates]] through Ballard, Jackson managed to convince them to go back to the planet and let the AppliedPhlebotinum finish what it was doing before it was interrupted.

* In ''Blithe Spirit'' by Noel Coward, Charles talks several times to the ghost of his first wife, and his second wife thinks he's talking to ''her''.

* An episode of ''[[BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold Batman: The Brave and the Bold]]'' cleverly played with this one. During an excursion to a parallel universe, Batman's partner of the week, Red Hood, is captured by the bad guys. As their leader, Cyclone, attempts to interrogate him, Batman (who is eavesdropping via comlink) is simultaneously sneaking through the building to rescue him; Red Hood phrases his responses as coded directions to lead Batman to his location. Although successful at first, the trick soon breaks down; Cyclone quickly detects the pattern in Red Hood's answers and realizes what he's doing. Fortunately, Batman has already arrived by then.

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* Shows up in the webcomic ''CardboardAngel'' [[http://cangel.strawberrycomics.com/comic/ch03-p17.html here]] when Mayu tries to reprimand the ghostly, and only visible to her, Yuuji who was trying to invisibly mess with the guy she likes.
* In [[http://gigaville.com/comic.php?id=304 this]] installment of ''TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', Liquid pulls this off accidentally, giving responses to the ghost of Big Boss that coincidentally sound like responses to what Psycho Mantis is saying.
* In ''TouhouNekokayou'', Sanae has a [[http://dizzy.pestermom.com/?p=thcomic102 conversation]] which sounds like "I'm not treating you as a serious threat" to Meimu and a sort of in-character "StopHelpingMe" to Suwako.

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<<|ComedyTropes|>>

** Shinigamis can't be seen by anyone other than the humans who touch their Death Note. This includes surveillance equipment. [[spoiler:When Light is under surveillance by the police, he pretends to do his homework, and can only respond to Ryuk by saying things ostensibly to himself, like "I got this question right!" to indicate a "yes" answer.]]

* Occurred several times in ''BeingHuman''.

* Happens a lot in ''RandallAndHopkirkDeceased'', with Jeff talking to Marty.

* Charley and Sarah have one of these conversations in ''TheSarahConnorChronicles'' so as not to clue John into the fact that Charley's wife has been kidnapped.

* ''DoctorWho'':

* In the fifth season of [[RedVsBlue Red Vs Blue]], before Sarge and Donut find Grif and Simmons [[spoiler: after they fall into the cave beneath Blood Gulch]], Sarge communicates with Simmons via their helmet radios. Donut's radio is broken, so he is completely unaware Sarge isn't talking to him.

* This trope is basically the entirety of Rummy's interactions with Ed III in the [[TheBoondocks Boondocks]] episode "Thank You For Not Snitching", due to Ed III's affinity for his new Bluetooth earpiece.

* In an early episode of NyanKoi, Junpei attempts to tell Kaede, the girl he has a crush on, that she should stop [[AndCallHimGeorge being so rough with the local cats]] while said local cats are chattering at him. He can't hear what she's saying, and he finally bellows 'Would you just shut up!' at the cats; cue Kaede running away.

* The MostTriumphantExample has to be from ''{{Frasier}}'', albeit with a fairly complicated set-up. His newly-married brother, realizing he's in love with another woman, is being forced to maintain a sham relationship with his wife Mel in order for them to both maintain some dignity in the break-up - but she insists on dragging it out and humiliating him. At a party, Mel [[PushedInFrontOfTheAudience forces Frasier to give a speech]] honoring the marriage - and he manages to give a full-length speech worded vaguely enough that anyone knowing the full situation can tell it's a toast to Niles and Daphne instead. Mel isn't amused...

* In the Peter Jackson film ''The Frighteners'', Michael J. Fox's character can see and talk to ghosts. This leads to many {{Multitasked Conversation}}s throughout the movie.

* The climax of ''{{In the Line of Fire}}'', Leary has Frank at gunpoint in a glass elevator. Frank keeps telling him to go ahead and shoot -- but he's really speaking into a communicator concealed in his hand, to the secret service snipers, which Leary doesn't realize until Frank tells the snipers to "Aim high" (he's kneeling while Leary's standing).

* The climax of ''{{In the Line of Fire}}'', Leary has Frank at gunpoint in a glass elevator. Frank keeps telling him to go ahead and shoot -- but he's really speaking into a communicator concealed in his hand, to the secret service snipers.

* Interesting application in TheDresdenFiles. During the period when Harry has the shadow of Lasciel in his head, he frequently consults with her, but he can't always do this in the privacy of his own apartment. So, to avoid looking like a crazy man when he does it out in public, he puts in a cell phone headset, simulating this trope. [[hottip:*:Which would be a lot more plausible to this troper if he hadn't once managed to hold an entire conversation with some stranger before noticing they were on the phone because of those things.]]

* Interesting application in TheDresdenFiles. During the period when Harry has the shadow of Lasciel in his head, he frequently consults with her, but he can't always do this in the privacy of his own apartment. So, to avoid looking like a crazy man when he does it out in public, he puts in a cell phone headset. [[hottip:*:Which would be a lot more plausible to this troper if he hadn't once managed to hold an entire conversation with some stranger before noticing they were on the phone because of those things.]]

Sometimes Bob has to choose his words carefully, so as to get across his meaning to Alice without blowing her cover or appearing insane. Sometimes, Bob just talks naturally to Alice, and Charlie misinterprets what Bob is saying as applying to him. Doubly difficult if Bob [[CannotTellALie can't]] or [[WillNotTellALie won't lie]] in front of Alice.

* Jack pulls this off handily in an episode of ''[[ThirtyRock 30 Rock]]'', talking to a client on the phone while answering Liz's questions in person.
* In the ''{{Leverage}}'' episode "The Bank Shot Job", Nate finds himself trapped in a bank that's being robbed while using an earpiece to communicate with the rest of his team. He manages to cloak everything he says to them under the guise of a conversation he's having with the corrupt judge who's right next to him. Eliot, by contrast, simply walks to the other side of the police line after they've set it up and stares intently at the bank, having a conversation with Nate without even bothering to have an alibi. When a policeman tries to tell him that he needs to be on the other side of the tape, Eliot turns and growls, [[MemeticBadass "I wasn't talking to you."]]

* ''{{Coupling}}'': Poor Jeffrey ends up stuck talking to his girlfriend on a mobile and another girl who fancies him simultaneously. Julia asks him if he loves her at the same moment as Wilma asks him if she fancies her. Jeff is forced to answer, "Yes," and spends the rest of the following episode trying to get rid of Wilma.

* The MostTriumphantExample has to be from ''{{Frasier}}'', albeit with a fairly complicated set-up. His newly-married brother, realising he's in love with another woman, is being forced to maintain a sham relationship with his wife Mel in order for them to both maintain some dignity in the break-up - but she insists on dragging it out and humiliating him. At a party, Mel [[PushedInFrontOfTheAudience forces Frasier to give a speech]] honouring the marriage - and he manages to give a full-length speech worded vaguely enough that anyone knowing the full situation can tell it's a toast to Niles and Daphne instead. Mel isn't amused...

* ''DoctorWho'':

* In ''AirForceOne'', President Marshall finally gets through to the White House phone line, but is cornered by one of the terrorists. He hides the phone in his pocket, and in what appears to be idle conversation with the terrorist, instructs the Vice-President to [[spoiler: order that Air Force One be fired upon, allowing him to take his captor by surprise]].

* A run of the mill one happens in ''{{Bones}}'', where Brennan is talking to Sweets' girlfriend over problems in their relationship. Cam comes in with DNA evidence from a murder weapon where the gender was in question. Brennan says one word in response: "Sex?" ...needless to say, as Sweets' girlfriend didn't hear Cam come in, HilarityEnsues.

* In [[http://gigaville.com/comic.php?id=304 this]] installment of ''TheLastDaysOfFoxhound'', Liquid pulls this off accidentally, giving responses to the ghost of Big Boss that coincidentally sound like responses to Psycho Mantis.
* In ''TroperWorks/TouhouNekokayou'', Sanae has a [[http://dizzy.pestermom.com/?p=thcomic102 conversation]] which sounds like "I'm not treating you as a serious threat" to Meimu and a sort of in-character "StopHelpingMe" to Suwako.

* ''How I Survived My Summer Vacation'' by Bruce Coville has a rather puckish ghost that only the protagonist can see, who at one point congratulates the protagonist on being able to do this.

--> '''Frasier:''' To my brother... and the woman he loves.

* ''{{Coupling}}'': Poor Jeffrey ends up stuck talking to his girlfriend and another girl who fancies him simultaneously. Of course, Jeff ends up [[DiggingYourselfDeeper digging himself into a hole]], telling the girl who fancies him that his girlfriend has just died. Then they go up to his flat to find her asleep in his bed.