Live-Action TV / Distinction Without A Difference

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/DistinctionWithoutADifference/LiveActionTV

Distinctions Without a Difference in Live-Action TV series.

Holden Radcliffe in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. insists that his robot is not artificial intelligence, but rather mimicry of human behavior.
The "I'm not racist, but..." formula was parodied in an episode of Alas Smith and Jones, with one man saying he's no racist, he just believes black and white have separate cultural identities, another saying he's no sexist, he just believes men and woman are good at different things, and a third saying he's no chiropodist, he just makes a living performing medical procedures on people's feet.
On the first episode of Ana (2020), Ana has a screen test. She keeps having to clarify to people that it's not a casting, it's a screen test.
On Angel, Cordelia tries to move in with Angel when she gets sick of her own roach-infested apartment, saying "It's not that you're my last resort; it's just that I had nowhere else to go."
Arrow:
Oliver Queen: Felicity, are you hacking into the Merlyn Global mainframe?
Felicity Smoak: "Hacking" is such an ugly word. No, I'm... [pauses, can't come up with a better word] yeah, totally hacking into the Merlyn Global mainframe.
- When Oliver Queen is lodging with the Yamashiro family, he thinks that Tatsu doesn't like him, but her husband assures Oliver that's not the case. She hates him.
Blake's 7:
- In "Shadow", our anti-heroes decide to form an alliance of convenience with Terra Nostra.
  Blake: We're going to use them, Gan, not do business with them.
  Avon: A subtle distinction that escapes me for the moment.
- From "Trial":
  Vila: I see. You've decided to be led [by Blake] like the rest of us.
  Avon: I shall continue to follow. It's not quite the same thing.
  Vila: I don't see the difference.
  Avon: I didn't really think that you would.
- In "Assassin", Avon gets a bit testy on hearing a legendary Professional Killer has been hired to kill them.
  Avon: All right, he's not infallible. It's just that up to now he has never failed!
Bones: When Bones and Hodgins have been abducted by the Gravedigger, Bones is certain Booth will come and save them, not because she has faith in him, but because she trusts him based on her personal experience. Hodgins laughs that she just gave the textbook definition of "faith."
Breaking Bad: When Skyler confronts Walter about him being a drug dealer, Walt defends himself by insisting that he's not a drug dealer ("per se"), he's a drug manufacturer, as though that somehow makes it more acceptable.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
- Cordelia does this as early as the second episode, "The Harvest".
  Cordelia: I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more.
- Buffy also prefers to think of it as "slaying" vampires rather than "killing" them.^note
- Spike is insulted when Buffy accuses him of lurking in her yard.
  Spike: I wasn't lurking. I was standing about. It's a whole different vibe.
From Burn Notice:
Sam Axe: Yeah, actually, I need you to keep your head down for a while 'cause this is going to get worse before it gets better.
Madeline: Sam... you're asking me to hide?
Sam: Oh, no, no, no, of course not. I just need you to be some place where no one can see you.
- Quoth Westen, upon being asked what he was thinking threatening an FBI agent for information: "I didn't threaten him. I asked him questions... with a gun in my hand." (If you saw the scene... he was totally threatening him.)
Quoth Esposito, in an episode of Castle, while chasing a suspect: "No, I didn't lose him, I just... don't have visual contact."
El Chavo del ocho: There's an episode where el Chavo leaves the neighborhood because he couldn't sell a lottery ticket. Quico and la Chilindrina ask him how he's gonna get by.
Quico: Don't tell me you plan to become a beggar.
Chavo: 'Course not! Before being a beggar I'd rather ask for money on the streets!
In the Chuck episode "Chuck Versus the Best Friend", Morgan wants to figure out if his ex has a new boyfriend.
Morgan: Dude, it's not stalking, okay? It's caring enough about someone to learn things about them they won't tell you themselves.
Chuck: Which is stalking.
Community: "She's not dead. Her brain, heart, lungs, and kidneys stopped working."
In the Corner Gas episode "Whataphobia":
Emma: You've got to stop with this revenge.
Oscar: This is not about revenge. This is about getting even.
The Daily Show:
- From John Stewart: "[The Bush] Administration does not torture logic, no! This administration merely flew logic in an unmarked plane to Bulgaria. Whatever happened to logic there, we have no idea."
- John Oliver once insisted that a box marked "porn" in fact contained erotica, which was his legacy and had to go to a library.^note
The Dick Van Dyke Show: In "Punch Thy Neighbor", when Laura asks him what happened, Rob says that he didn't punch Jerry in the nose; he hit him. Laura asks what the difference is. However, it turns out that Rob hit Jerry by accident while gesturing for the check; "punch" does imply the hitter intended it.
Doctor Who:
- In "The Masque of Mandragora", Sarah Jane Smith wants to know if the Doctor's plan will be dangerous. He replies, "Only if I guess wrong, and then it's fatal." Sarah is not impressed by the flip answer.
- "Army of Ghosts":
  Yvonne: They're invading the whole planet.
  The Doctor: It's not an invasion, it's too late for that. It's a victory.
- "Doomsday": The Daleks and Cybermen prepare to fight, with the Daleks distinguishing the conflict between war and "pest control"; implying that the Cybermen weren't worthy of the fight.
  Dalek Sec: [to Cybermen] THIS IS NOT WAR!! THIS IS PEST CONTROL!
- The same logic shows up in their Catchphrase. It isn't "killing", it's "extermination".
- "Amy's Choice":
  Amy: They're just old people.
  The Doctor: No, they're very old people.
- "The Doctor's Wife": When the Doctor and the TARDIS get to speak, they argue over the distinction between "borrowing" and stealing.
  The TARDIS: Then you stole me. And I stole you.
  The Doctor: I borrowed you.
  The TARDIS: Borrowing implies the eventual intention to return the thing which was taken. What makes you think I would ever give you back?
- The Eleventh Doctor does one with himself in "Night Terrors": "Pantophobia. Not fear of pants, though, if that's what you're wondering. It's the fear of everything. Including pants, I suppose, in that case."
- "The Eaters of Light": After misplacing his companion in Roman Scotland, a terse Doctor explains that they haven't lost Bill, they simply don't know where she is.
Drake & Josh has this exchange where the titular stepbrothers are doing their homework in one episode.
Josh: Are you copying my answers?
Drake: No. I'm just comparing your answers with the answers I'm about to write.
Elementary has this exchange after Joan Watson is taken captive by Le Milieu. Bonus points for almost referring to the trope by name:
Marchef: [the Le Milieu lieutenant who’d chloroformed and kidnapped Watson] You are very beautiful. For a cop.
Watson: I'm not a cop.
Marchef: "Not a cop". Then why did I find an NYPD identification card in your purse? Why did I find this? [produces the card in question]
Watson: I'm a consultant. I work with the police.
Marchef: A distinction without distinction.
Rigel from Farscape does this a lot.
- He insists that he never retreats, but "strategically maneuvers".
- When once accused of "snurching" (Farscape-ese for stealing), he responds, "I don't snurch, I...procure."
Firefly:
- When Inara and Mal fight (well, at one point), Inara crosses the line and implies Mal is a petty criminal. She tries to backtrack and call it suo-shee instead.
  Inara: Well, since I can't seem to find work as a Companion, I might as well become a petty thief like you!
  [uncomfortable silence]
  Mal: Petty?
  Inara: I didn't mean petty.
  Mal: What did you mean?
  Inara: ...Suo-shee?
  Mal: That's Chinese for "petty".
- From "Objects in Space", River is having a moment and distinguishes between "understand" and "comprehend".
  River: She understands. She doesn't comprehend.
  Mal: Glad we have that cleared up.
Flight of the Conchords: When a fruit vendor mistakes the titular New Zealand duo for Austrailians because of their accents, Jemaine tries to convince him that New Zealand and Austrailian accents are completely different. ("They're like 'Where's the car?' and we're like 'Where's the car?'")
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: In "Not With My Pig, You Don't", Uncle Phil gets angry with Will for apparently ruining his image by telling the press stories about his boyhood on a farm, and his visiting mother is furious that he's ashamed of his upbringing.
Hattie: What have you got to be ashamed of? We always put food on the table and clothes on your back!
Phil: Mama, I'm not ashamed! There are just certain aspects of my life I don't wish to emphasize.
Hattie: Where I come from, we call that being ashamed, Mr. Bigshot!
Early in the second season of Game of Thrones:
Janos Slynt: I won't have my honor questioned by an imp!
Tyrion Lannister: I'm not questioning your honor, Lord Janos. I'm denying its existence.
On Gilmore Girls, Luke and Jess have a discussion about Jess's Love Confession to Rory the last time he was in town. Luke asks what her response is, and is flabergasted when Jess says he doesn't know, because he left before she could answer.
Luke: What, you just said it and walked away?
Jess: No. I got in my car and left.
Luke: You just dropped the bomb and ran?
Jess: I drove!
In The Golden Girls, Dorothy does this after Blanche calls Roses a slut after finding out she had 56 boyfriends in the span of a year before marrying Charlie.
Dorothy: Oh, come on, Blanche, how can you say that? So the woman had fifty-six boyfriends in one year. She's not a slut.
Rose: Thank you, Dorothy.
Dorothy: She is The Slut! She is the Grand Poobah of Slutdom! She is the easiest woman in this room!
The Good Place:
- Jason describes his career: "I wasn't a failed DJ. I was pre-successful."
- From "Janet and Michael" when Tahani admits she and Jason are an item.
  Michael: Woah, woah, woah, woah... you two are sleeping together?.
  Jason: Only when we're done having sex....
Gossip Girl: "Actually, it's hash. I find it gives a softer high."
Gotham: "Smile Like You Mean It": When Selina accuses Bruce of lying to her, he says, "I didn't tell you the truth." Selina tells him they're the same thing.
On the 2010 reimagined Hawaii Five-0, Danny is a regular offender of this, usually when it comes to Steve and his tendency to do things his way which, according to Danny, is the insane way that requires professional help.
Steve: You were worried about me!
Danno: No, I wasn't worried, I was rationally concerned.
This bit from Hello Cheeky, just after Tim has told a dirty joke to the camera.
Barry: Please! There's no room for vulgarity on this program!
John: Why?
Barry: There's too much filth and nonsense!
Hey Dude!:
Buddy: Mom, Dad, I'm gonna lasso you two if you don't stop yelling!
Mr. Ernst: We're not yelling, Buddy, we're talking loudly.
Buddy: That's what you always say.
House: Cuddy confronts House about something or other, and he says, "Who squealed? Taub?" Cuddy responds, "I'll never tell. But yes."
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: The Gang is Playing Pictionary, where the challenge involves one member of each team having to sculpt something representing the word "love" out of clay while the other member guesses the word they were given. Dennis' take on the task is to make what appears to be a woman's decapitated head in a box. The others call him out on this, which makes him quite indignant:
Dennis: This is not a woman's head in a box, you sick freak! This is a woman's head in a freezer! And it's supposed to represent the preservation of love forever and ever.
JAG: "Heroes" in the second season has Harm firing a loaded submachine gun into the courtroom ceiling. Mac, for her part, goes diving under the table when this happens. When she later claims that Marines never hide, Harm asks her what she was doing down there.
Mac: Taking cover.
Last of the Summer Wine: Whenever Clegg ends up leaving Auntie Wainright's Shop with a purchased item, someone will accusingly state that 'You bought an [x]' and Clegg will respond by saying 'I was sold an [X].' The implication is that Clegg believes that Auntie Wainright is so good at selling and he is so weak-willed that he shouldn't be held accountable for it.
Leverage:
- The crew is not going to steal a wake. Have some respect; they're just borrowing the wake.
- "The Second David Job": It's not extortion, it's "oversight".
- "The Ice Man Job": Not a bribe, a "processing fee".
- "The San Lorenzo Job": His engagement isn't a lie, it's a campaign promise; he makes it, and then doesn't do it.
  Vitori: How is a campaign promise different from a lie?
  Nate: Eh, it's complicated.
M*A*S*H:
- A typical conversation...
  Hawkeye: Oh, no. No credit extended to visiting supply sergeants.
  BJ: It's nothing personal, he just doesn't trust you.
- Also, when Margaret states that they are blackmailing Frank, Hawkeye and BJ respond, "Blackmail is such an ugly word. We prefer extortion."
In a That Mitchell and Webb Look sketch, Robert Webb's character is selling the Holy Grail at a car boot sale, and to prove to a sceptical David Mitchell it's the genuine article he runs him through with a sword after he's taken a drink from it.
Mitchell: Hang on though, I'm immortal anyway now. I don't need it!
Webb: Nah, mate. That'll wear off.
Mitchell: Immortality that wears off? We've all got "immortality that wears off"! That's just mortality!
NewsRadio:
- For example:
  Dave: Wait a minute, you wrote that review?
  Jimmy: Why not? I own the damn magazine.
  Dave: Isn't that a conflict of interest?
  Jimmy: No, no, no, no... well, yeah.
- In another episode, Dave lectures the staff about how important the office security system is and how he doesn't want them trying to circumvent it. Beth protests that they're not circumventing it, they're "just trying to get around it."
NUMB3RS: After Nikki screws up on an assignment, Don assigns her to the telephones as punishment and she asks David how long she'll be in hot water for. David says that pre-therapy Don would've kept there for three months, post-therapy Don should keep her there for 10-11 weeks.
Odd Squad:
- In "Whatever Happened to Agent Oz".
  Olive: Otto, it's not polite to stare.
  Otto: I'm not staring. I'm just looking at someone for a really long time.
  Olive: Fine. It's not polite to look at someone for a really long time.
- In "The Potato Ultimato", Oscar pulls out a miniature figure he made of Precinct 13579's bullpen, causing Otto to ask:
  Otto: You made an Odd Squad dollhouse?
  Oscar: No, I made a house for my dolls to live in.
- Invoked by a disguised Oswald in "Follow the Leader" when attempting to throw Greta off of her suspicions that he, Omar and Orla are stalling.
  Oswald: [disguised as William Ocean] Before we choose our instruments—
  Greta: I'm starting to get this feeling that you've all been stalling.
  Oswald: Stalling? Um...you mean, uh, a delaying tactic used to mislead or distract, uh, unsuspecting person or persons from their goal?
- The episode "The Void" has this exchange between Omar and a missing agent from the Maine Odd Squad precinct.
  Omar: Hang on, I recognize you! You're one of the missing agents the Big O sent us to find!
  Oneta: And now you're stuck here too.
  Omar: We're not stuck, we just haven't figured a way out yet.
From Red Dwarf:
- In the episode "Emohawk: Polymorph II":
  Kryten: It's charging us with looting Space Corps derelicts.
  Lister: But we don't loot Space Corps derelicts. We just hack our way in and swipe what we need!
  Rimmer: ...Lister, if this goes to trial, I demand separate lawyers.
- Also from the episode "Holoship":
  Rimmer: Oh, and sir—you're wrong. We won't be apart, we just... won't be together. [Beat] I cannot believe I just said that.
- This is itself a callback to some crappy Casablanca knockoff they were watching at the start of the episode. (Rimmer considered it Glurge.)
  Marnie: We'll always be together! It's just... that we'll be apart.
The Revolution Will Be Televised has the sketch character of Eugene X, a South African white supremacist. He denies being racist, saying that he instead knows some races are superior to others.
A skit on Royal Canadian Air Farce during the Bre-X scandal: "Now, Pamela [Wallin, a somewhat famous Canadian news anchor], we don't lie—we misappropriate the truth."
Monty Python's Eric Idle did a sketch on Saturday Night Live in which he begins a talk show on which he'll be interviewing Richard Nixon by assuring the audience that his show is, of course, "completely uncensored, except for the little bits we'll cut out."
In an episode of Selfie, Eliza is hit by a car and then falls down a manhole. When Henry comes to visit her, she says she's okay — and then lists her terrible injuries.
Eliza: Oh, it's not a big deal. I just got hit by a smart car, dislocated my tailbone, fell down a manhole, fractured my pelvis, banged my head, got a concussion, saw the white light, ran into Tupac and Biggie, who squashed it.
On Slings & Arrows, playwright Lionel Train suffers an attack of insecurity over his new play and tries to get the actors to improvise a script for him.
Lionel: You're paraphrasing. That's not what I want you to do. I want to tell the story as written, but in your own words.
Ellen: That's what paraphrasing is.
Smallville: Insistent Terminology possibly due to the fact that she is still trying to snag Clark Kent (she is talking about another guy):
Chloe Sullivan: This is not a date. This is a fact-finding mission to see if he deserves a date.
Stargate SG-1, when Mitchell finds Carter has been working in her lab all night.
Mitchell: Did you sleep here last night?
Carter: No... I slept down the hall in my quarters.
Star Trek:
- Star Trek: The Original Series:
  - The episode "Court Martial" has this exchange when Spock tries to defend Kirk on the witness stand.
    Shaw: Are you disputing with the computer?
    Spock: I am not disputing with the computer; I am merely stating that it is wrong.
  - Several times through the series and movies, Spock is accused of lying, only to reply that he "exaggerated", or "implied" or in some other way deliberately led others to false conclusions without technically lying.
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine:
  - At one point, Sisko says, "I wasn't yelling. I was expressing my opinion loudly." It seems to run in the family, as his father once claimed "I wasn't sleeping, I was checking my eyelids for holes."
  - The Female Changeling, when declaring the need to pull back their forces, is accused of retreating by her Breen allies. She and Weyoun immediately try to spin it as a momentary withdrawal so they can build up their forces and attack again.^note
- Star Trek: Discovery: When Captain Pike calls Admiral Cornwell out for allowing Section 31 to mine the space around their headquarters in violation of Federation law, she tries to claim it wasn't the Federation but Section 31 that did it, prompting Pike to drop the trope name.
The Twilight Zone (1959): In the episode "Number 12 Looks Just Like You", everyone that reaches the age of nineteen undergoes "Transformation." It is a change in physical appearance that makes you "beautiful and young" with the only drawback being there are a limited set of choices for each gender, so every adult looks identical to a large chunk of the population. The doctors assure the main character that nobody has ever been forced to undergo the transformation if they didn't want to, before calmly adding "We just find out why you don't want to and make the necessary correction."
Veep: In "C*ntgate", Mike states to the press that the President is not planning on bailing out banks, she's just going to give them large infusions of cash.
Leon West: That's literally the definition of "bailout", Mike.
Inverted on The Vicar of Dibley in "Love and Marriage", when Alice shows her mum's ideas for her wedding dress (which includes Teletubbies, a bobbie's helmet, and a train made of Thomas the Tank Engine characters, all made of wool and linoleum). Geraldine asks if she can give her honest opinion and Alice says yes... so long as it's not nasty or critical in any way.
The X-Files: In the episode "Shadows", Mulder claims that "I would never lie. I willfully participated in a campaign of misinformation."
"It's one of those irregular verbs, isn't it? I have an independent mind, you are an eccentric, he's round the twist." Bernard Woolley, Yes, Minister. Also, "I hold confidential briefings, you leak, he's been charged under section 2A of the Official Secrets Act."

Distinction Without A Difference / Live-Action TV

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