An Aesop: Difference between revisions

* A great many ''[[Star Trek (Franchise)|Star Trek]]'' episodes end on an [[Aesop]], sometimes even degenerating into a minor [[Patrick Stewart Speech]]. In fact, ''every'' episode of the ''[[Star Trek the Original Series (TV)|Star Trek the Original Series]]'' ended on an Aesop, as Roddenberry was apparently obsessed with moralizing everything in the most convoluted way.

** Subverted in ''[[Star Trek Deep Space Nine (TV)|Star Trek Deep Space Nine]]'' when Garak claims that the moral of The Boy Who Cried Wolf was actually "Never tell the same lie twice."

** There are some Aesops about inner turmoil in "Vincent and the Doctor" from the Fifth Series. The episode explains that there are differences in how different people deal with depression or anxiety (the Eleventh Doctor is shown to be more resilient than Vincent Van Gogh). The Doctor also delivers a particularly touching Aesop at the end, when Amy discovers that their intervention failed to stop Van Gogh from killing himself: "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don’t always soften the bad things, but vice versa the bad things don’t always spoil the good things and make them unimportant. And we definitely added to his pile of good things."

* Oft-times used in the Disney show ''Smart Guy'', one particularly creepy example being "Strangers on the Net" in which ten year old T.J. meets up with a man from the internet who later tries to get him to pose for pictures in his underwear, thus teaching us about internet safety. In about the squickiest way possible. And this was on ''Disney''.

* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' has one in "Sonic and the Black Knight". It ended with Sonic teaching Merlina how life simply works:

{{quote| '''Sonic:''' Merlina, every world has its end. I know that's kind of sad, but... that's why we gotta live life to the fullest in the time we have. At least, that's what I figure.}}

** Similarly ''[[The Legend of Zelda the Wind Waker (Video Game)|Wind Waker]]'' focuses on letting go of the past and starting anew.

** And ''[[Majoras Mask]]'' tells us to "Have Faith", but you kinda forget it when doing all those sidequests as it's only outright stated at the first two temples.

'''Raven:''' So, I guess there really is no lesson.<br />

'''Cyborg:''' Yep, it was all completely meaningless.<br />

* Lampshaded in ''[[Danny Phantom]]'': when Jazz tries to organize a plan, Danny tells her, with a bored expression on his face, that the plan is to go try and beat up the bad guy, get beaten up yourself, run around for a while trying to fix things, finally beat the bad guy, and go home having learned a lesson about how the world works. Whoopie. This is also a slight breaking of the fourth wall, as it's the basic layout of each show.

* Remember, kids--now you know. [[And Knowing Is Half the Battle]]!

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[[Category:An Aesop]]