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In most sitcoms there is always the one character who is responsible and trustworthy. They are structured, neat and orderly and would never think of doing anything illegal. They might be a [[Control Freak]] but they don't have to be.
If this character exists in the series then 9 times out of 10 there's going to be an episode where one of the other characters tells them they need to "lighten up" or "cut loose". Our responsible character will start to worry that they are too boring and so will eventually get wild and spontaneous.
It's almost a given that they will go overboard and something akin to [[We Want Our Jerk Back]] happens where the rest of the characters realise they do need some order and discipline in their lives, which the responsible one provided. They'll be back to being responsible by the end of the episode and they'll either reveal how much they hated being spontaneous or resolve to be a bit more fun without going overboard.
If it's the latter then expect [[Aesop Amnesia|this to be forgotten by the next episode]]. This will almost always happen to a female character but male examples aren't unheard of as well.
{{examples}}
== [[Film]] ==
* Used as a bit of a joke in the film of ''[[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (
== [[Literature]] ==▼
* Terry Pratchett's [[Discworld]] novel ''[[
==
▲* Used as a bit of a joke in the film of ''[[Harry Potter (Film)|Harry Potter]] and the Order of the Phoenix'', where Hermione remarks that it's fun breaking the rules. It's worth noting that in the book, it is Hermione's idea to start up an illegal Defence Against The Dark Arts society which could technically count as an example of the trope.
▲== Literature ==
▲* Terry Pratchett's [[Discworld]] novel ''[[Discworld (Literature)/Making Money|Making Money]]'' has an example that gives a [[Shout Out]] to the ''[[Twelfth Night]]'' example below: the austere and humourless bank clerk ''Mavolio'' Bent, a man who ran away from the circus to join a bank, suddenly re-asserts his destiny and heritage as a circus clown.
* In a two-part episode of ''[[WKRP in Cincinnati]]'' Disc Jockey Dr. Johnny Fever falls into an alter-ego (Rip Tide) a shallow host of a Disco-themed t.v. show. This provides him with more fame and a larger fanbase but it also causes him to give into his urge to exploit his fame to satisfy his basest desires.
* In the Season two Episode ''A Many Splendored Thing'' of the show ''[[Homicide: Life
* Monica in ''[[Friends]]'' got two examples of this.
** One was a minor subplot where the other friends suggest she not get so uptight about things like coasters and leaving her shoes out of her room. The end of that episode has a [[Crowning Moment of Funny]] where she can't sleep because she's worrying about leaving the aforementioned shoes. She gets to considering putting them in her closet and getting up early to put them back out before she realises "you need help" and goes to sleep.
** Another episode had someone stealing her credit card. When Monica tracked the woman down, she found said woman a lot of fun and started doing everything with her to the point where she was drunk in the middle of the day and kept missing work.
* In ''[[What I Like About You]]'' Jeff says to Val he wishes she was more spontaneous. She goes a bit wild during the episode but reveals at the end the whole experience "nearly killed me".
* In ''[[Sabrina the Teenage Witch (TV series)|Sabrina the Teenage Witch]]'' Zelda temporarily moves in with Sabrina and her college roommates and decides to become a "hang-loose gal" which involves eating the entire contents of the fridge, spending all night at a rave, driving around in a van with a guy named Vick and trying to get a tattoo. In this case it's resolved by Zelda's subconscious stopping her from doing something untrue to herself.
* In ''[[Lizzie
* ''[[Party of Five]]'':
** In the third episode, straight-A student and bookworm Julia convinces her friend to start going to parties during the week. The friend eventually has enough and [[Brother Chuck|disappears from the show]] but Julia keeps on with this new lifestyle and her grades start slipping. Her brothers try to convince her to go back to her goodie-two-shoes persona but she eventually finds a balance.
** Pops up as a joke in the second season where Charlie tells Kirsten she's a lot like her mother, prompting her to fret that she doesn't always make plans.
{{quote|
* Parodied in an episode of ''[[Scrubs]]'' where Elliott decides to go out on the town for the night. She steps out of a taxi and her hat is immediately stolen. She jumps right back into the taxi and screams "get me out of here".
* ''[[Malcolm in
* In ''[[The Brothers Garcia]]'' Larry gets sick of being called a goodie two shoes and tries to throw a [[Wild Teen Party]] that predictably gets out of control.
* Several ''[[Star Trek]]'' episodes based on the holo-deck could qualify for this.
* ''[[Wings (TV series)|Wings]]'' provided the "Joe Blows" two-parter. Part 1 sees Joe so overwhelmed by being taken advantage of or constantly annoyed from all sides. So after thirty-five years of being the most responsible person on Nantucket, he finally loses it, gives an epic [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] and then steals Lowell's motorcycle to get away. By the time we catch up with him in Part 2, he's now partying and living it up in bars along the coast. He's basically become like Brian, who is now trying to keep the airline afloat and be the responsible brother.
* The ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' episode "The Pineapple Incident" has the gang convince Ted to drink instead of think. He wakes up next morning with a sprained ankle, burned coat, several drunken messages on Robin's phone and a girl he's never met before in bed next to him. Oh and a pineapple that [[The Un-Reveal|we never find out where it came from]].
* On ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', Willow gets a little fed up with her reputation as Old Reliable and flirts with danger a bit by doing a dark incantation with Anya. It doesn't end very well.
==
* As old as [[Shakespeare]]: in ''[[Twelfth Night]]'', the rigid Puritan Malvolio lets it all hang out by dressing in flamboyant fashions meant for somebody twenty years younger and protests his love for his shocked female employer.
== [[Western Animation]] ==
* There was an episode of ''[[X
* Susie in ''[[All Grown Up!]]'' gets told she's too perfect by the popular girls and decides to go bad for the episode. [[Bitch With a Heart of Gold|'''Angelica''']] of all people tells her to calm down.
* In ''[[As Told
* ''[[
* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'': Katara decides to pull a scam with Toph to prove she can be fun. It backfires, horribly.
* In ''[[The Simpsons (
** This happens to Marge on many occasions, ranging from running from the law with her friend after stealing her ex's car, taking part in a monster truck rally and gaining road rage from a Canyonero. [[Drives Like Crazy|Driving]] seems to be her recurring [[Berserk Button]].
** In another episode, Lisa becomes a delinquent after getting "Homemaker" in an [[Inept Aptitude Test]] and being told that she'll never become a professional Jazz musician due to her stubby fingers. This culminates with her committing an expulsion worthy offense (stealing all of the teachers' guides) to which Bart takes the fall, not wanting her to ruin her life.
== Other Media ==
* When a middle aged man does this it's sometimes said that they're going through a "[[wikipedia:Midlife crisis|Midlife crisis]]".
{{reflist}}
[[Category:
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[[Category:Morality Tropes]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walk On the Wild Side Episode}}
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