Basic Trope: A simple gag is stretched out to the point of losing humor, then continues going on, circling back to being funny again.
- Straight: Bob smashes a glass bottle against a counter to use as a makeshift weapon, before noticing the handle's too short. So he gets another glass bottle, drinks its contents, and smashes that one before seeing the blades aren't sharp enough. Repeat ad nauseam until commercial break.
- Exaggerated:
- The entire series is dedicated to nothing but Bob smashing bottles!
- This is a sub-plot for an entire episode.
- Downplayed: The Rule of Three when applied to gags.
- Justified: Bob has OCD, and feels the need to perform actions several times.
- Inverted:
- Bob instantly has a perfectly smashed bottle in his hand; this is funny in some way.
- Something so short, it’s hilarious.
- Subverted:
- Bob smashes a few glass bottles, and decides on the 3rd bottle to use.
- Bob smashes two bottles in a row and is just about to reach for a third, however changes his mind and grabs the second bottle again with an "Actually, this one'll do."
- The joke stretches on for too long, and it loses its hilarity again.
- Double Subverted:
- ... But after he loses the need for it, decides to hand it to someone else. Proceed with 4 minutes worth of people questioning Bob and denying the glass bottle.
- ... Until even more time passes, and it becomes funny again.
- Parodied: Everything Bob does is an Overly Long Gag.
- Zig Zagged:
- The length of the jokes Bob makes vary.
- Alternatively, the sheer number of subversions of the overly long gag itself becomes the gag.
- Averted: The first smashed bottle makes for a decent weapon.
- Enforced: "All the plot threads have been sewn up, but there's still a few spare minutes left." "How about we just take a joke and stretch it out for those last few minutes?" "Perfect!"
- Lampshaded: "He's been going at this for quite a while, hasn't he?"
- Invoked:
- Bob intentionally repeats the bottle-smashing to buy time.
- Or the creators like wasting the audience's time.
- (for exaggerated) the creators just want to show that Bottle Breaking gags aren't funny.
- Exploited:
- During a bar fight, Bob intentionally repeats his bottle-smashing long enough so his opponent falls asleep, leaving him entirely vulnerable to Bob's attacks.
- During a bar fight, Bob's opponent attacks him while he's distracted smashing glass bottles.
- Defied: After smashed bottle #5, the people in the bar, anxious to see a fight, tell Bob to get on with it.
- Discussed: "How much do you bet he's gonna continue this?"
- Conversed: "Y'know, to me, it seems lazy of producers to just fill in that spare time with the same joke used over and over. They could use it to flesh out the characters a bit."
- Deconstructed: Bob's constant need for repetition results in people not familiar with his OCD losing patience with him.
- Reconstructed: However, they learn to lighten up on him and even find his repetition amusing at times.
You said you wanted to go back to the main page, right? Well, I don't remember which one you asked for, though I will check to see any that seem familiar. Let's see, there's Brick Joke, Girly Bruiser, Department of Redundancy Department, Department of Redundancy Department, Department of Redundancy Department, Fridge Brilliance, Interesting Situation Duel, Serial Escalation, Ominous Latin Chanting, Stuff Blowing Up, Screw the Rules, I Have Money!, Screw the Money, I Have Rules!, Moment of Awesome, Memetic Mutation, Batman Can Breathe in Space, Narm, Brick Joke, "Eureka!" Moment, Precision F-Strike, The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard, Author Appeal, Show Some Leg, Left the Background Music On, Recycled In Space, Made of Explodium, Stuffed into the Fridge, Gatling Good, Crazy-Prepared, Buffy Speak, Tear Jerker, Never Say "Die", Atomic F-Bomb, Large Ham, The Stinger, The Butler Did It, Bitter Almonds, Fun with Acronyms, Freud Was Right, Sneeze of Doom, Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking, Bifauxnen, Lampshade Hanging... I'm sorry this is taking so long, but I can't seem to remember which one it is. For now, please go back to Overly Long Gag while I check the trope pages. Anyways, Rule of Three, Epileptic Trees, Refuge in Audacity, Four Is Death, Brick Joke...
