A Wizard Did It: Difference between revisions

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Can be used to [[Hand Wave]] away minor nitpicks and [[Contrived Coincidence|Contrived Coincidences]] that should really be covered by [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]]. However, using it to excuse major [[Plot Hole|Plot Holes]] that the creators really should've caught beforehand ''will'' make people rightly angry.

Often used in the literal sense, as in the page picture, where something that would be impossible happens because someone explicitly used magic to make it happen.

This explanation can also often bring some extra [[Fridge Logic]] into a story, when [[A Wizard Did It]] is given as an explanation and the wizard later fails in a situation in some way that could have easily been solved by [[Forgotten Phlebotinum|the wizard just doing what he apparently did before.]] This can also lead to [[Reed Richards Is Useless]] when you realize the possible, fantastic uses of that random magic trick nobody seems to care about.

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* [[Travels Through Azeroth and Outland|Travels through Azeroth and Outland]] uses this trope, and then explains why the wizard went through all the trouble.

* In ''[[With Strings Attached]]'', when the four are in the Hunter's world, John tells the others that he thinks the Poison Swamp was created artificially, with magic. Why? “I quit wonderin' about motivations on other planets. I just assume everyone's daft, and that pretty much covers it.”

* Quite a bit of [[The Emiya Clan]] revolves around one of the rather annoying magicians that hang around the family doing something silly to mess things up (and occasionally fix them, but only occasionally). Lampshaded at one point.

{{quote|Shiki: "And how are we alive?"

Shirou: "[[A Wizard Did It]]."

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== Film ==

* In ''[[Star Wars]]'', especially the [[Expanded Universe]], [[Sentient Cosmic Force|The Force]], in addition to giving selected characters their "magical" abilities, seems to double as a convenient way to explain away plot holes or especially unbelievable plot devices.

** It's been observed that when you replace references to "the Force" in ''[[Star Wars]]'' with "the Plot", the dialogue actually makes ''more'' sense.

{{quote|"The Plot is strong in this one."

"May the Plot be with you." }}

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** Principal Snyder's standard excuse was "gang on PCP."

** "It could be witches! Some evil witches! Which is ridiculous 'cause witches, they were persecuted, wicca good, and love the earth, and women power, and I'll be over here..."

** The ''[[Angel]]'' equivalent seems to be The Powers That Be did it, or [[Big Bad|The Senior Partners]] did it.

* [[Stephen Colbert]] of ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' on the death of Don Herbert (''Watch Mr. Wizard''):

{{quote|''But what I liked most about Mr. Wizard was that he found a middle ground between faith and science: magic. To this day, when my children ask me how something scientific works, I reply "[[One of Us|A wizard does it]]."''}}

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== Tabletop Games ==

* In ''[[Warhammer 40000]]'' if something is off, it can easily be explained in-universe as being because the Warp did it. If not the Warp, then the C'Tan did it. If not the C'Tan, then the Eldar did it. (Being the wizards who did it is their [[Planet of Hats|hat]].) If not the Eldar, then the God-Emperor of Man did it. If none of the above did it, it was certainly [[Memetic Badass|Commissar Sebastian Yarrick]]'s fault. And even if any, all, or ''none'' of the above did it, [[The Chessmaster|Tzeentch]] either [[Xanatos Gambit|did it, arranged it, opposed it, or helped it]], and in most cases, he did ''[[Gambit Pileup|all of that at the same time.]]''

** Tzeentch did it in normal ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]]'', too. He's been working carefully for ~40,000 years and it still doesn't make any damn sense. [[Go Mad From the Revelation|Making no damn sense]] is Tzeentch's [[Planet of Hats|hat]]. Everything Tzeentch does is part of some master plan of his. However, it's impossible to tell what this plan is actually ''for'', because its elements seem nonsensical, self-contradictory and -- as befitting a Chaos God -- utterly chaotic. It's possible it ''doesn't'' actually have an end goal -- planning is part of his nature, but no-one said his plans have to make sense or actually accomplish anything.

** "The Tyranids ate it." Deep-fried Squat, anyone?

** When all else fails, [[Unreliable Narrator|the source of the story is lying or misremembering a detail]].

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* In the new edition of ''[[Gamma World]]'', one of the suggestions they give for how to reconcile the Plant and Android character origins boils down to A Wizard Did It when you strip out the setting jargon and [[Techno Babble]] -- it suggests that you hail from a remote worldline (Some exotic place the players will probably never see), where Psionic masters (Wizards) create golem-like servants out of plant matter. (Your character, which exists because A Wizard Did It)

* The French have a phrase to express it : "Ta gueule, c'est magique" (Shut up, that's magical). It often pops up when a [[Game Master]] is asked questions about something in his campaign. It's often shortened to TGCM or TGM. In English it's SUIM (shut up--it's magic).

* In ''[[Exalted]]'', the answer to such questions is almost inevitably "An Exalt did it." If not an Exalt, then a Primordial. If not a Primordial, then a god. If not a god, it was probably belched up by [[World of Chaos|the Wyld.]]

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** Oddly enough, this led to endings which contradicted one another occurring simultaneously. Mannimarco, the first Lich, both succeeded and didn't succeed in making himself a god, meaning he has a divine incarnation and a mortal (but undead) avatar at the same time. The Dragon Break (as it was also called) also makes the ending where {{spoiler|the player character is crushed to death in a meaningless happenstance}} true as well.

*** In the Shivering Isles expansion for ''[[The Elder Scrolls]] IV: Oblivion'', one quest has the player dealing with a town full of duplicates. When asked how the duplicates came about, the quest-giving NPC only tells you [[A Wizard Did It]].

* [[Nanotechnology]]'s effect on the body (mostly the Central Nervous System [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kNrIn8H32c is kind of a big deal] in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] 4''. It explains everything from adrenaline rushes to temporary insanity to immortality.

* Any bizarre or unexplained happenstance in ''[[Melty Blood]]'' is either due to [[Demoted to Extra|Satsuki's Arc]] or "Tatari's Influence."

* In ''[[Assassin's Creed]]'', any instances of strange behaviour, anachronisms other than those required for the plot or [[Gameplay and Story Segregation]] are the result of what you see being artificially generated by the Animus.

** When historical accuracy fails at any point, it's because [[Ancient Conspiracy|the Templars]] did it.

* This is essentially the argument of the witches in ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' - they don't have to explain how the murders were committed because they can just say "the culprit used magic".

** If you press, they will demonstrate HOW they did it, too!

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== Web Comics ==

* In the webcomic ''[[8-Bit Theater ~~(Webcomic)~~|Eight Bit Theater]]'', [[Trickster Mentor]] Sarda the Sage ''refers to himself'' as "The Wizard Who Did It."

* In the webcomic ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'', [[Trickster Mentor]] Sarda the Sage ''refers to himself'' as "The Wizard Who Did It."

** A pretty apt description for somebody who completely ''fucks'' with the universe for his own convenience and/or amusement- an "omnipotent jackass" as Black Mage puts it. His otherwise-inexplicable cosmic jackassery includes, but is hardly limited to: shortening days from thirty-six hours to twenty-four hours just to make people hurry faster, bending time so his dinner will be done before he has to cook it (rewriting history in the process), dropping '''the entire continent of Australia''' on Black Mage, and crafting a spell designed to make Black Mage (and only Black Mage) vomit out his own organs. If anything in the world of Final Fantasy I just doesn't make sense, Sarda is somehow responsible.

*** Australia ''didn't actually exist in this version of the universe'', as Black Mage's first comment upon noticing the sign with "welcome to [[Meaningful Name|Hurt]], Australia" on it was "...and what's an Australia?"; and since our Earth was only in the prehistoric age at the time, as shown in an earlier strip. Sarda actually ''pulled the entire continent out of time and space just to fuck with Black Mage''.

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** [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/08/29/episode-1166-the-wizards-that-did-it/ This] episode is titled "The Wizard(s) That Did it". Aptly titled, as multiple wizards are doing quite impossible things in it.

** And once again [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2002/01/15/episode-108-garland-just-dont-get-it/ here]

** Essentially, once Black Mage stops being a [[Cosmic Plaything]] and Red Mage grows some sort of logical intelligence, these two will mostly likely become the new [[A Wizard Did It|Wizards That Did It]] for this universe. The Universe is probably very unhappy with this arrangement.

* ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]'' uses this trope for {{spoiler|how Paris clone is possible}} [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/1929.html here], and make a reference to this page too.

** And again [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2027.html here]

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== Western Animation ==

* [[Trope Namer|The trope name]] comes from Lucy Lawless (''[[Xena: Warrior Princess]]'')'s guest appearance on ''[[The Simpsons]]'' in 1999. Flanders also invokes this once, when one of his kids asks something

* Very literally played in [[Shrek]]. Fiona's situation is explained only as {{spoiler|"It's a spell. When I was a little girl, a witch cast a spell on me."}} That's all they bothered to explain her premise with, and it's the primary foundation of the plot.

* In [[Futurama]] the Professor was ready to give Fry a lengthy explanation of why Omicronians receive 1,000 year old TV broadcasts. Fry interrupts with:

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* In [http://www.ted.com/talks/david_deutsch_a_new_way_to_explain_explanation.html this lecture], the speaker makes note of this kind of phenomenon whenever scientific findings are not given a proper theoretical explanation. The phrase "a wizard did it" is actually uttered multiple times to portray this.

* Spoofed by ''[[The Onion]]'': [http://www.theonion.com/content/news/sci_fi_writer_attributes?utm_source=a-section Sci-Fi Writer Attributes Everything Mysterious To 'Quantum Flux'].

* All-purpose historical fiction variant: want to write a historical piece with a single piece of incongruous sci-fi tech?

** [[Nikola Tesla]] Invented It.

** Leonardo Da Vinci and Charles Babbage.

** Archmedes, Heron (of Alexandria), Copernicus, Roger Bacon etc., or you could even just say it was developed by an unnamed Babylonian/Hellenic/Arab/Chinese genius who's name is lost in the mists of time.

*** That last one is probably the most [[Justified Trope|justified and rational]] way to do it, as we'd naturally know more about the actual inventions and limitations of real and famous historical people, and there must have been any number of real instances (within reason) in history of this kind of thing occurring.

* On an old Adult Swim bump, a fanmail sent in asked [[Title Confusion|what had happened to]] [[Eureka Seven|Eurekas 1 through 6]]. AS replied that they were destroyed by a wizard.

* A common tactic of Conspiracy Theorists when trying to explain away certain flaws in their arguments (esp. in regards to how impossible/improbable it would be to do something in they way they are claiming it was done or the number of people that would have to be bribed/blackmailed into going along with a cover-up without a single whistleblower after so many years have passed) is to say "they are the government and they're that powerful." Making the government in essence, the Wizard that Did It.