It's Quiet... Too Quiet: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

{{quote|''How could it be too quiet? It's your house, man. It doesn't get quieter before a missile shoots your house. I haven't had a missile shoot my house but I can't think of any reason why if a missile did shoot my house, why it would get quiet first. Do missiles kill all the birds or something? I don't get it.''|[http://outlawvern.com Vern], reviewing ''[[The Transporter]]''}}

 

{{examples}}

* ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' parodies this in their Blooper Reel.

{{quote|'''Kenshin''': Where are the animals? The birds?

'''Kenshin''': [[Crowning Moment of Funny|I can't hear any FISH!]] }}

* Kurama remarks on the quiet in episode 74 of ''[[Yu Yu Hakusho]]''.

 

== Comic Books ==

'''Kennedy:''' No, I'm gonna say I think we're okay. }}

* The line gets thrown about in [[Alan Moore]]'s ''[[Miracleman]]''.

 

== Films -- Animated ==

* ''[[Shrek]]'' utters this line when he and Donkey enter a deserted Kingdom of Duloc. (Everyone there has gone off to watch the tournament.)

* In ''[[The Fox and the Hound (film)]]'', Vixey is afraid to enter a copse when she realises it's too quiet, while Todd has no such qualms {{spoiler|and narrowly avoids falling foul of Copper, Amus' shotgun and a ''shitload'' of bear traps}}.

 

== Films -- Live-Action ==

* Robert Stack says the line to Lloyd Bridges as their characters await the arrival of the [[Airplane!]].

* In ''[[Asterix]] Mission Cleopatre'', the Egyptian architect, trapped in Cleopatra's Palace under Roman siege, utters this line as everything is silent and a [[Dramatic Wind|tumblewheed rolls by]]. Right after, the Romans show up with siege engines.

* Done in the first scene of ''[[Galaxy Quest]]'', right before an ambush attack on Tim Allen and company.

* Used seriously at the time in ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)|Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]] II'', but sets up a joke shortly afterwards:

{{quote|'''Ranger Brad''': These things just don't happen! Noises? In the woods?}}

* In the remake of ''[[Assault on Precinct 13]]'', one character remarks that it's "awful quiet out there", and Lawrence Fishburne replies that that's what worries him.

 

== Literature ==

* In [[The Zombie Survival Guide]] by Max Brooks, this trope is invoked in numerous ways; wildlife of all kinds instinctively flee when they detect Solanum, the virus responsible for reanimating zombies. In areas abundant with noisy wildlife such as jungle and swamps, silence means that the undead must be close as these areas would never, ever be silent normally. In addition, heavily infested areas are found devoid of any wildlife by survivors as everything has been consumed by ghouls, so cities especially but also other areas known for constant noise, whether human or wildlife created, become jarringly and eerily silent.

* Happens more often than not in [[The Hounds of the Morrigan]]. The main characters are looking for a [[McGuffin]] that, in theirs hands, will bring down the Celtic goddess of war; in hers, [[It Got Worse|well...]] However, everytime the goddess's attention is focused somewhere, her ears absorb all the noises of the whereabouts. Therefore, she cannot spy on or attack the main characters without unwittingly creating complete silence, which promptly tips them off. Several times.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

'''Rimmer:''' Kryten, isn't it 'round about this time of year that your head goes back to the lab for retuning?

'''Lister:''' No, no, he's right. There's no sounds because the engines are dead. We've lost all power! }}

* A good twist put on it in "[[Doctor Who]]" on a couple of occasions, in that it's not that it's quiet, but the fact that it's NOT quiet that's the problem. Two excellent examples of [[Oh Crap]] moments (both courtesy of [[Steven Moffat]]) follow.

** ''The Doctor Dances'', where the Doctor is listening to a tape recording of the Empty Child, but there's a whirring flapping noise in the background.

* Used in ''[[Primeval]]''. While investigating a possible creature sighting on a golf course, Abby notes that it's too quiet. In this case, she's specifically referring to the absence of birdsong.

 

 

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Changeling: The Lost]]'' mentions that some Beasts come from a jungle where the only silence is when the jungle's Fae lord is on the hunt. As a result, those Beasts who escape from him prefer to live in the city. In the city, it's ''never'' quiet...

 

* Straight video game example: ''[[Star Fox (series)|Star FOX]] 64''.

** And kinda ruined by the fact that the game's lockon system will mark the first enemy (hidden behind an asteroid) way before the "trap" goes off.

'''Second Soldier:''' Exactly. It's ''too'' quiet.

Needless to say, they shortly fall prey to a Nod ambush. }}

{{quote|'''Elika''': [[Genre Blind|It seems quiet]].

'''Prince''': [[Genre Savvy|Don't say it's quiet. Don't EVER say it's quiet.]] }}

* Used as a device in [[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]] and, to the lesser extent, in [[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]. When you travel cross-country, there is usually soft music in the background. When you enter dangerous area with enemies lurking about, thw music fades and there is a brief moment of silence before enemies engage you and the combat music starts playing. When player reacts quickly and plays a stealthy character this can nicely increase the suspense value of stalking the enemies.

 

* [http://www.bmoviecomic.com/?cid=320 This] ''[[The B-Movie Comic|The B Movie Comic]]'' strip and the associated [[The Rant|rant]].

* Used in ''[[The 10 Doctors]]''.

* ''[[Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic]]'' page "[http://yafgc.net/?id=2165 Watching the Fireworks]" starts with Adwen's observation that "it's so quiet" and, as the title suggests, gets better.

 

== Western Animation ==

* Used in an episode of the original ''[[Transformers]]'' cartoon. Prowl even [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] it by saying "Yeah, like they say in the movies, too quiet."

 

* One of the page quotes is from ''[[Red vs. Blue]]''; the situation is parodied.

 

== Real Life ==

* In 2008, the USAF held a major air exercise over Alaska, primarily to test the [[Cool Plane/Real Life|F-22]]. Observers of the exercise ([[Curb Stomp Battle|220-to-0 kill ratio]] in the F-22s' favor, in case you were wondering) noted that the conventional "Red Force" had its usual share of radio chatter, but the F-22s had...silence. All the information was datalinked, and the only radio messages were for kills. More than one Air Force officer said that it was rather eerie.

** Walk out on a USAF flightline on a rare day when no one is working and you'll have to clear your throat to make sure you still have your hearing.