Basic Trope: An otherwise innocuous work is given a sudden moment of Black Comedy.
- Straight: "The Alice and Bob Show" is a mostly innocuous sitcom, but one episode of it has a brief scene where suicide gets Played for Laughs.
- Exaggerated:
- "The Alice and Bob Show" is rated TV-Y and otherwise is a perfect contender for Sweet Dreams Fuel... but one episode has a very dark joke about genocide.
- A running gag in every episode of "The Alice and Bob Show" is a dark joke happening, only for everything to quickly go back to normal right after.
- Downplayed:
- "The Alice and Bob Show" is a Black Comedy to begin with, but one joke in particular is much darker than its usual fare and/or is in a much more lighthearted episode/scene.
- The black comedy joke isn't necessarily as dark if one thinks about it - for instance, Alice threatens to kill Bob, despite Bob already having died and been resurrected multiple times before.
- Justified:
- The characters wanted to make a dark joke.
- Take 12 of scene 7 had an accidental case of Black Comedy that the creator decided to keep.
- Inverted:
- "The Alice and Bob Show" basically crosses the line at least 20 times in every episode, but it's given a Breather Episode in which no Black Comedy happens.
- Alternatively, a Black Comedy show that'd ordinarily play the topic for laughs actually does a Very Special Episode on suicide.
- Subverted: It seems like it's going to be Suicide as Comedy... but it actually gets treated seriously.
- Double Subverted:
- Then there's a scene where Alice has a miscarriage, and it's played for comedy.
- The suicide scene becomes a funny anecdote, though.
- Parodied: In an episode of "The Alice and Bob Show," a dark situation unfolds, but the show parodies the black comedy moment. The characters respond with witty one-liners and absurdly inappropriate jokes, exaggerating the dark elements for comedic effect.
- Zig-Zagged: (Continuing from Double Subverted #1) The scene where Alice has a miscarriage later becomes less funny due to a Cerebus Retcon of some kind, such as her actually succeeding in having a child only to suffer Death by Childbirth.
- Averted:
- No sudden moments of Black Comedy are added.
- The work is already a dark comedy to begin with.
- Enforced:
- To add Mood Whiplash.
- To throw in some Black Comedy.
- Lampshaded: "Well, that was a little too much."
- Invoked: "I'm tired of making nice, innocent jokes! Let's make a dark joke."
- Exploited: The characters take note of the fact that they're allowed to make darker jokes now, beginning the series' road to a Darker and Edgier route.
- Defied: "This isn't a Black Comedy, why would we make a dark joke now?"
- Discussed: "What a nice, normal day. I'm gonna go jump off a bridge!"
- Conversed:
- "I thought "The Alice and Bob Show" was a lighthearted comedy! If I wanted jokes about suicide, I'd see what's on [adult swim]."
- "I wonder why some works add a random Black Comedy joke."
- Played for Laughs: The dark humor in "The Alice and Bob Show" is intentionally exaggerated and intended to be humorous.
- Played for Drama: The moment of black comedy in "The Alice and Bob Show" is played seriously, highlighting the darker elements of the situation.
- Played for Horror: The black comedy moment is used to create a sense of fear or unease in the audience.
- Implied: The audience is led to believe that a black comedy moment occurred off-screen through subtle hints or references.
- Deconstructed: The black comedy moment is analyzed and explored in a way that exposes its underlying implications or flaws, challenging its comedic value.
- Reconstructed: The black comedy moment is reimagined or recontextualized in a way that makes it more effective or meaningful, bringing back its comedic or dramatic impact.
Back to Black Comedy Burst - then you can get executed!
