Can You Hear Me Now?: Difference between revisions

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A sub-trope of [[Plot Sensitive Items]]. Futuristic communications not working have a [[Phlebotinum Breakdown]].

=== Cell Phone Failure ===

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*** With Makoto we have Ronaldo trashing the Osaka branch and the phone lines with it.

*** As for Joe, his battery ''conveniently'' runs out just as he encounters a horde of demons.

* A [[Running Gag]] in [http://joker7777.info/ Cogito Ergo Sum]'s escape-the-room games is the cat Nyan being unintentionally locked out on the porch or balcony and needing to contact the dog Wan to help him. Nyan actually learns from his [http://joker7777.info/game12e.html first undignified imprisonment] and has a [http://joker7777.info/game25e.html cellphone] or [http://joker7777.info/game29e.html smartphone] with him ([[~~Bellisarios~~ Maxim|don't think too hard about how a cat can use a phone in the first place]]) the next couple of times he becomes locked out...but naturally, he's unable to get any reception and has to resort to more traditional escape-the-room puzzles to contact Wan.

* A [[Running Gag]] in [http://joker7777.info/ Cogito Ergo Sum]'s escape-the-room games is the cat Nyan being unintentionally locked out on the porch or balcony and needing to contact the dog Wan to help him. Nyan actually learns from his [http://joker7777.info/game12e.html first undignified imprisonment] and has a [http://joker7777.info/game25e.html cellphone] or [http://joker7777.info/game29e.html smartphone] with him ([[Bellisario's Maxim|don't think too hard about how a cat can use a phone in the first place]]) the next couple of times he becomes locked out...but naturally, he's unable to get any reception and has to resort to more traditional escape-the-room puzzles to contact Wan.

== Web Comics ==

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== Web Original ==

* Discussed by [[The Distressed Watcher]]

{{quote| Horror movies were better before they always had to figure out a reason to explain why the main character can’t just use their cell phone to call for outside help. Now every movie has to come up with some clever excuse: "Oh, the vampires stole all the phones in the night!" Or,” this is a dead zone”, or “the government blocked all the cell signals to cover this whole event up”. Or, [[Arson Murder and Jaywalking|“we’re all Amish!”]]}}

{{quote| Horror movies were better before they always had to figure out a reason to explain why the main character can’t just use their cell phone to call for outside help. Now every movie has to come up with some clever excuse: "Oh, the vampires stole all the phones in the night!" Or,” this is a dead zone”, or “the government blocked all the cell signals to cover this whole event up”. Or, [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking|“we’re all Amish!”]]}}

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* Parodied in ''[[Dan Vs]]'' "Technology." Chris attempts to call for help after crashing in the woods, only for his cell phone to explode in his hand as he dials.

* In ''[[What's New Scooby Doo]]'' episode "There's no Business Like Snow Business", a journalist was having trouble with her cell phone while ranting about audience, which made the gang regard her as a suspect while all Fred pointed out was that he thought cell phones worked well in that area. At first, it seemed he was [[Completely Missing the Point]], but it turned out to be a [[Chekhov's Gun]], as the [[Monster of the Week]] was a machine radio-controlled by the [[Villain of the Week]], whose radio signs were causing interference on the cell phones.

* In ''[[Batman ~~the~~ Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]'', when Batman wants to call the mayor and warn him of a plot, he is told there is no phone, and Bat's won't work either - the host is a scientist who chose a dead zone for his experiments so as not to be disturbed.

* In ''[[Batman: The Animated Series (Animation)|Batman the Animated Series]]'', when Batman wants to call the mayor and warn him of a plot, he is told there is no phone, and Bat's won't work either - the host is a scientist who chose a dead zone for his experiments so as not to be disturbed.

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** A lot of schools put up cell phone jammers in an attempt to stop kids texting during class.

** A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage Faraday cage] can severely hamper or eliminate radio (and thus cellular) communications. These doesn't have to be sophisticated or even deliberate - a metal building such as a warehouse can act like one.

*** A tinfoil hat actually ''can'' form a Faraday cage, which means crazy conspiracy theorists are slightly less delusional than they seem. About the tinfoil. The transmitters in their heads still aren't real. [[Or Was It a Dream|Or are they?]]

*** A tinfoil hat actually ''can'' form a Faraday cage, which means crazy conspiracy theorists are slightly less delusional than they seem. About the tinfoil. The transmitters in their heads still aren't real. [[Or Was It a Dream?|Or are they?]]

** [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapimí_Silent_Zone Zona del Silencio] in Durango. It's not the only one, and such areas are called "skip zones".

* In the UK, there are still rural areas that have patchy coverage at best. The construction of new masts tends to be [[Not in My Back Yard|opposed in anyone's back yard]], especially when near a site of natural beauty, or a school. Even in more populated areas, it's possible to have to walk to the other side of a building in order to get a reception.

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== Fan Works ==

* ''[[Turnabout Storm (Fanfic)|Turnabout Storm]]'': [[Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|Phoenix]] recieves a cellphone call from a "concerned friend" in the middle of his investigation. The kicker? He's in the middle of [[My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|Equestria]], a complete other world, which doesn't have cellphones of any kind, let alone cell towers. If this was accomplished with magic or something else entirely is unknown.

* ''[[Turnabout Storm (Fanfic)|Turnabout Storm]]'': [[Ace Attorney (Visual Novel)|Phoenix]] recieves a cellphone call from a "concerned friend" in the middle of his investigation. The kicker? He's in the middle of [[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Animation)|Equestria]], a complete other world, which doesn't have cellphones of any kind, let alone cell towers. If this was accomplished with magic or something else entirely is unknown.

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== Films -- Live Action ==

* In the 2006 remake of ''[[Casino Royale (Film)|Casino Royale]]'', Bond is issued a super-awesome [[Product Placement|Sony]] [[Stuck On Band Aid Brand|Ericsson]] phone that could make calls from the most isolated places in the world, browse the Internet like it was plugged in with a 1024 kbps data link, with a GPS map that could follow tracker bugs. It follows in the tradition of Bond's obscenely advanced gadgets.

* In the 2006 remake of ''[[Casino Royale (Film)|Casino Royale]]'', Bond is issued a super-awesome [[Product Placement|Sony]] [[Stuck On Band-Aid Brand|Ericsson]] phone that could make calls from the most isolated places in the world, browse the Internet like it was plugged in with a 1024 kbps data link, with a GPS map that could follow tracker bugs. It follows in the tradition of Bond's obscenely advanced gadgets.

** In the sequel ''[[Quantum of Solace (Film)|Quantum of Solace]]'', the phone is able to transmit tons of high-res, multi-angle headshots from the Austrian Opera theatre to London MI:5 almost instantaneously.

* ''[[Jurassic Park III]]'' has a satellite phone working perfectly quite some time after being eaten by a dino.