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Chekhov's Gag: Difference between revisions
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The first gag is always a set-up for whatever will happen later, though ideally it doesn't seem that way at first. If it isn't, then it's a regular [[Running Gag]]. If the setup isn't funny, then it's a [[Brick Joke]], but if not, the joke may turn out not to be so innocuous. A type of [[Call Back]]. Sometimes, the connection is given a form of [[Fridge Brilliance]].
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==
* In episode 24 of ''[[Inazuma Eleven]]'', as Endou is preparing for an overnight training camp, a brief comic relief scene occurs where his mom hands him a pair of boxers with his name written in marker ("En" on the left butt cheek and "dou" on the right in ''really'' big handwriting, no less) to make sure he doesn't get his laundry mixed up with any of his teammates. Seven episodes later, Touko barges in on the boys changing, and gets an eyeful of Endou in his underwear - and he's actually wearing that very same pair of boxers.
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'''Chopper''': Maybe he got stuck in the chimney of the Rocketman.
'''Zoro''': Chopper, shut up! }}
* In ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog The Movie]]'', near the beginning of Sonic's final battle with Metal Sonic, Robotnik fires a pair of missiles, one shaped like a hare that goes really fast, and another shaped like a turtle that goes really slow. After the battle, the turtle-missle interrupts Robotnik boasting about how he's still got the back-up data for Metal Sonic on a disc by grabbing the disc and detonating.
* ''[[Daily Lives of High School Boys]]'' : In an early skit ''High School Boys and Scary Stories (2)'', Hidenori mentioned Karasawa was "experienced in scary tales," and Tadakuni made up a story on how he saw what was under Karasawa's [[Never Barehead|cap]], remarking that it was hilarious. It's nowhere near funny at all, as his backstory unfolded: {{spoiler|he was covered with scars--including an ugly scar on his forehead that he wears a cap to cover. These scars were courtesy of Habara, the girl who lives next to him and, eight years ago, was an [[Enfant Terrible]]-level [[The Bully|bully]].}}
* At one point in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes:
▲== Fan Fic ==
▲* At one point in ''[[Calvin and Hobbes: The Series|Calvin and Hobbes The Series]]'', Calvin uses the MTM to contain some lightning in an attempt to stop a storm from doing any further damage. {{spoiler|He later uses it for revenge on Socrates.}}
** Also, the lady with the clipboard recording anything related to Dr. Brainstorm in "Robot's Day Out".
* Surprisingly [[Played for Drama]] in the ''[[My Little Pony:
== Film ==
* The ending of ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' is this.
** The investigation is shown between scenes several times during the movie. It's why Lancelot isn't in the end scene.
** Also, the bit with King Arthur getting to cross the Bridge of Death by responding to the question about the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow with a question of his own, directly from the first scene of the film.
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** Made into a form of art in ''[[Hot Fuzz]]'', another comedy by the same people. Everything that wasn't a joke comes back as a joke. Every joke comes back as a funnier joke.
* The one funny moment in the new ''[[Bewitched]]'' movie: An actor attributes his last film's failure to the costume department. This is presented as a spoiled actor making excuses and then forgotten about until an hour later, when he's watching TV and the film comes on, showing him in a snowstorm wearing an enormous fur hat and yelling, "TURN BAAACK!". It was worth seeing the rest of the movie for that.
* ''[[Toy Story (franchise)|Toy Story]]'' includes the claw-game worshiping Little Green Men, who hold "the claaaaaaaw" in high regard because it will choose and deliver them to a better place. Fast forward to Toy Story 3, near the end {{spoiler|when the entire group is holding hands as they await their inevitable death in an incinerator- only to look up as see a gigantic crane claw scoop them up}}.
* ''[[Up (animation)|Up]]'': "Squirrel!"
* For a series with a lot of [[Continuity Nod
{{quote|'''Marty:''' "Better get used to those bars, kid."}}
* ''[[Rock and Roll High School]]'' loves this trope. While the heroine skips school for three days to stand in line for [[The Ramones|Ramones]] tickets, her best friend delivers fake notes to the principal to excuse her absence. The first says the heroine's father died, the second says her mother died, and third says [[Murder Arson and Jaywalking|her goldfish died]]. Later, the principal calls the heroine in with proof that the notes were fake; the goldfish, alive and well! Later we see the principal's two idiot assistants eat the goldfish.
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== Literature ==
* Book #6 of the ''[[Captain Underpants]]'' series has George and Harold introducing a new joke called Squishies, which consists of putting ketchup packets under toilet seats so that they squirt onto the legs of whoever sits on the toilet. The next book has Captain Underpants use this with crates of oranges and a giant novelty toilet as a method of defeating the [[Villain of the Week|Villains of the Book]].
* ''[[Discworld]]''. ''[[
* Happens fairly often in the ''[[Harry Potter (novel)|Harry Potter]]'' books, understandable considering the sheer size of its [[Chekhov's Armory]]. Four plot devices in particular are first introduced as gags; {{spoiler|the Vanishing Cabinet gets this treatment twice, first trashed by Nearly Headless Nick to get Harry out of trouble with Filch in ''[[
* The first book in ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' series opens with a monologue describing all the troubles and widespread unhappiness on Earth, and how one London woman suddenly had an epiphany about how all of that could be solved that was tragically cut short by the destruction of Earth. It then goes on to note "This is not her story" and rambles a bit about the titular Hitchhiker's Guide. ''So Long, and Thanks For All the Fish'' opens with a word-for-word repeat of that exact same monologue, but instead ends with the line "This is her story."
* In the first chapter of ''[[Good Omens]]'', it's mentioned that Crowley made changes to the plans for the M25 to make it a demonic sigil. This sets up his character (he likes to do large amounts of low-grade evil), and {{spoiler|once the apocalypse comes it turns into a rather nasty barrier}}.
▲== Live Action TV ==
* [[Friends]] had a number of these. Telling each others' secrets to hurt one another, coffees or drinks that contain cinnamon/other stuff that the character didn't want, so the person serving removes it with his hand or drinks it, and many more.
* ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' has two shining examples:
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* Frequently occurs on ''[[Jonathan Creek]]'', where a seemingly completed comic scenario returns following the solution of the [[Monster of the Week|episode's mystery]] to deal the final (hilarious) blow. For example in one episode, Carla is doing a book signing and there is a comic scenario involving a fan's (fully grown) nephew crushing her lap whilst posing for a photo. This is pretty funny in it's own right, but much later on Jonathan discovers that the fan and nephew had really tricked Carla into signing a consent form for her likeness to be used on a range of sex merchandise.
* ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'' does this from time to time such as in Life Among the Gorillas where Marshall's coworkers repeatedly come up with bizarre celebrity comparisons and ask "what do you do?" Its reframed in the last moment of the episode when {{spoiler|Robin calls Ted to invite him over}} and Narrator Ted asks "what do you do?"
* ''[[Home Improvement (TV series)|Home Improvement]]'' was rather fond of these:
** In the episode "Quest for Fire", the [[Cold Open]] shows Tim Taylor trying to use rocket fuel to light a barbecue grill. This results in Tim [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csFmM1xsaTQ launching the grill into low orbit], in a gag that's seemingly unrelated to the rest of the episode. Later, the Taylors are on vacation at a lake, and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZOxRRYQM7E at the end of the episode], right before the ending credits, Tim and Jill are walking away from the lake when the barbecue grill splashes down.
** "'Twas the Flight Before Christmas" has several jokes early on about Tim using [[Absurdly Bright Light
* In one episode of ''[[Boy Meets World]]'', [[It Makes Sense in Context|Shawn stops Cory from giving Topanga flowers]] by snatching them from him and handing them to a jock who happens to walk by in the school hallway. It's a brief gag that isn't given much attention. Then, several scenes later, Cory and Shawn are alone in a classroom doing [[Comic Role Play]] that involves Cory saying "I love you" to Shawn. They look up and see that same jock standing in the doorway holding the flowers and watching them, who then throws the flowers on the floor and walks away in anger.
* A third season episode of [[3rd Rock from the Sun]] had Dick and Mary engaging in an ever-escalating prank war, where Dick has Mary's desk removed, sends her a fake letter from then-president [[Bill Clinton]], and gets a garage to add massive speakers and flame decals to her Volvo. In response, Mary gets Dick's hands (and face) stuck to his desk with thermal bond epoxy. While Dick is slowly, and painfully, removed, they finally come to a truce. Mere seconds afterward, they hear a loud, booming noise from outside.
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* An episode of ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' where a space toilet malfunctions involves a meatloaf being shot into an [[Object Ceiling Cling]]. They guys continue fixing the toilet, action moves on, and then, as all the characters have a takeaway in the closing moments, the meatloaf falls off the ceiling, causing Penny to wonder what it was doing up there in the first place. Howard tells her that's "Classified".
== [[Recorded and Stand Up Comedy]] ==
== Video Games ==
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* Early on in ''[[Fallout]] 3'', local bully Butch is incensed when his [[Inept Aptitude Test|G.O.A.T. exam results]] tell him he's best suited to work as a hairdresser. Later in the game, you find out he's resigned himself to being Vault 101's hairdresser, though he [[The European Carry All|insists on being called a barber]].
* In the first level of ''[[Earthworm Jim]]'', Jim must launch a cow into the air in order to make progress. After beating the final boss, {{spoiler|Jim meets Princess What's-Her-Name and witnesses the cow come crashing down upon her.}}
== Web Animation ==
* ''[[Red vs. Blue]]'' is littered with Chekhov's Gags, though discerning which gags were intentional setups and which were just [[Call Back|called back]] to is difficult. Of particular note here is the scene where [[Only Sane Man|Wash]] and the Red and Blue teams (whom Wash regards as complete idiots by this point in the story) are arguing about the pronunciation of "EMP," with the others saying it as "ehmp." During the climax in the next episode when Wash activates the EMP, the ''computer itself'' uses "ehmp."
== Web Comics ==
* [http://www.explosm.net/comics/2661/ The 2012 New Year] comic on ''[[Cyanide
* ''[[Sluggy Freelance]]'': [https://web.archive.org/web/20131030132740/http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=020408 Emergency Pants] and [https://web.archive.org/web/20120106172900/http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=020417 Emergency Pants strike back].
* ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]'' had {{spoiler|an issue of Nintendo Power}}, first appearing in the {{spoiler|[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2001/03/20/episode-007-kamehameha-or-something/ seventh]}} comic. {{spoiler|("Four white mages? It'll never work.")}} Reappearing in {{spoiler|[http://www.nuklearpower.com/2010/02/20/episode-1221-longest-set-up-in-webcomic-history/ 1221]}}, when {{spoiler|four white mages defeat Chaos}}, over ''1000'' comics and almost a ''decade'' later, which is probably ''the'' longest set-up in webcomic history (or perhaps ''any'' history).
** There's also [http://www.nuklearpower.com/2004/08/26/episode-455-self-fulfilling-stupidity/ this] strip, where Blackbelt unwittingly predicts {{spoiler|who history remembers in terms of the heroes. The fact that he was referring to the Light Warriors makes it all the more ironic.}}
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* From ''[[The Adventures of Dr. McNinja|Dr. McNinja]]'': "[http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/14p50/ I think I'll have that thing] [http://drmcninja.com/archives/comic/21p75/ stalk Doc forever now."]
* [http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0137.html The derailing of a speech] in ''[[Darths and Droids]]'' is brought back [http://darthsanddroids.net/episodes/0624.html almost 500 episodes later] to denote [[Star Wars|Anakin's fall to the Dark Side]].
== Web Original ==
* As noted on [[Brick Joke]], [[Abridged Series]] in general and ''[[Dragonball Z Abridged]]'' in particular love this.
* [[Sockbaby|Chekhov's Dog Dookie.]]
* [http://pics.kuvaton.com/bshit/school_play.jpg This.]{{Dead link}} Specifically, the {{spoiler|cactus wearing a hat}} is mentioned in the beginning, then shown at the end.
* When [[Raocow]] played [[An Untitled Story]] and happened upon a heart container, he let his inner [[Large Ham]] com out and yell "I FOUND A '''HEART!!!"''' Several games later, in [[Bunny Must Die]], he came across another heart container and,... [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcuNonY8FWs#t=10m14s well,....]
** His reactions to previous hearts in BMD were very subdued and didn't use the metal-voice at all. The way-over-the-top version in the link was probably in response to people in the comments complaining about this.
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** There's also Masha's seemingly useless bit of paper. It's only mentioned briefly after her "birth"... and doesn't show up again until the ending. {{spoiler|She throws it at Cirno to calm her down.}}
* Often done by Aaron Karo of ''Ruminations'' fame. He'll often bring up random subjects he thinks about in each issue, then come the last rumination, he ends it off with a clever callback to the previous ones before signing off with [[Catch Phrase|"Fuck me"]].
== Western Animation ==
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{{quote|'''Oracle:''' Now ''thaaaat's'' FUNNY!}}
* In the ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' episode "Doof Side of the Moon", Doofenshmirtz accidentally reveals a jelly-bean taped to a cork instead of his big new invention, and claims in embarrassment "Don't judge it, it's a layered idea!" Later in the cartoon, Perry is unable to stop the Lunar Rotate-inator from being activated when he trips over the jelly-bean and cork. Doofenshmirtz proceeds to brag "I ''told'' you it was a layered idea!"
* In an episode of ''[[The Fairly
▲* Very very common in long stand-up comedy routines.
▲** Michael MacIntyre is particularly notorious for referencing topics he covered earlier in new situations.
▲** [[Eddie Izzard]] does this frequently.
▲** Baddiel & Skinner Unplanned often incorporated this trope, when earlier topics of discussion would be incorporated impromptu into the current topic, almost certainly as a big punchline.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Comedy Tropes]]
[[Category:This Index Will Be Important Later]]
[[Category:Laws and Formulas]]
[[Category:Chekhov's Gun]]
▲[[Category:Chekhov's Gag]]
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