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Not to be confused with [[Just Eat Him]]. When a villain falls prey to this trope, it is often [[Never Recycle Your Schemes]]. See also [[The Millstone]], when one character is the cause of this situation, and [[Fawlty Towers Plot]], when the source is a lie. If they ''did'' eat Gilligan, that would be an example of there being [[No Party Like a Donner Party]]. Contrast with [[For Want of a Nail]], [[Who Will Bell the Cat?]].
If there are sound reasons given within the work for why the "single simple action" can't be taken, or won't work, ''it's not this trope. Don't add it as an example.'' If the characters do try the single simple solution and it doesn't work, it's ''also not this trope. Again, don't add it as an example.''
{{examples}}▼
▲{{examples}}
== Anime
* ''[[Ranma ½]]'' has the age old question of why the people cursed by the Jusenkyo springs didn't just cure themselves while they were still there.
** Well, in at least a few of the cases: Ranma and Genma are freaked out and fighting and run away from the place, and it's
* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!]]'' features several occasions where a bad guy could achieve his goal without an obligatory Duel, but nevertheless does one for some unknown reason. Repeatedly lampshaded in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series|Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series]]''.
{{quote|'''Yami Yugi:''' Did you even consider ''just asking me for it''? I mean, do you have any ''idea'' how much time and money you've wasted with this whole facade? People have ''died'' because you wanted a necklace! ''I killed a gay clown'', for Ra's sake!}}
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** This is reinforced in the second movie, where he cooly demonstrates that he's capable of aiming from the hip with their [[Humongous Mecha]] and nailing a moving target; the recruits he was drilling at the time couldn't fathom the purpose of the exercise but are impressed nonetheless.
* In ''[[Inuyasha]]'', the heroine has the ability to travel back and forth in time to Ancient Japan. Presumably, she and her friends who remain in the past after the defeat of Naraku could arrange to preserve the information on how it was done in such a way that Kagome could easily discover it in the present, take the information back to the ''past'' where the as-yet-undefeated Naraku is still wreaking havoc and use it to defeat him. Of course, trying to explain the logistics of [[Timey-Wimey Ball|such a paradox-based plan]] would most likely make all of the characters heads' explode, which would ''itself'' end the series ''right there.''
* ''[[Blue Seed]]'' has this as its central concept. If they had just killed Momiji (normally, that is), the monsters will all be gone and peace would be restored. However, the basis of the series is to find a way to get rid of the monsters without killing her.
* ''[[Dragon Ball]] Z'' plot lines tend to play out along the following lines: A powerful foe appears, none of the Z fighters are strong enough to defeat him (or they spend so long messing around that he is allowed to reach full power), he kills lots of innocent people whilst the Z fighters train to become stronger, the villain is confronted and the strongest fighter barely manages to scrape through with a win, and then the magical dragon balls are used to wish all of the dead civilians back to life. However, The dragon balls grant ''wishes'', so the protagonists could wish for pretty much anything they want (within certain ill-defined boundaries). Not once does anyone think to wish for the villain to be weaker, or to be frozen in ice, or to be put to sleep, or to be transported to the centre of the sun. Vegeta is at least smart enough to try to wish himself to be more powerful, but this is only before his [[Heel Face Turn]] and so naturally he fails. The idea apparently never reoccurs to him. The show highlights the ridiculous ease with which the good guys are able to gather the balls so it is unclear why they never think to use them for anything other than resurrection. Even if they 'wasted' their wish by using it to destroy the villain the innocents would only remain dead for a year until the next wish could be made.
** It is stated several times that the Dragonballs are unable to grant any wish that is beyond the power of the creator of the Dragonballs. This means that said creator would have to be able to defeat the villain my normal means in order to harm them in any way with the Dragonballs.
** This needs an edit. Krillin HAS tried to wish the villain of the month defeated, and was informed by the Dragon that it was not powerful enough to do so. How powerful are the dragons? Well, the first one we see in the series is One-Shotted by Evil Picollo back when Goku was still a kid. So, overall, very weak compared to ANY enemy by the time Goku's grown up, due to power inflation. Kuririn also failed to wish the Androids into humans for the same reason, the dragon was too weak.
*** Really, any questions about "Why don't they just wish for ______?" are answered by [[Complaining About Shows You Don't Watch|actually watching any of the episodes where they summon the dragon]]. The characters ''try'' most of the "hurr durr it's so simple" wishes, only for Shenlong to say that it's beyond his power. Basically he can only do so much and is not as omnipotent as people assume of your typical genie.
* ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'': {{spoiler|Why doesn't Madoka or any of the other girls just wish for something like a universe where everyone is happy and magical girls are unnecessary? It would totally negate all the bad stuff that
**
== Comic Books ==
* Rogue From ''[[Marvel Comics]]'' is a mutant who broods constantly because her mutant power has the potential to kill anyone she comes physical contact with. However, since mutant negation technology is widely available (and has been shown to work on her in the past), it should be no problem to simply make a necklace or something with the embedded technology and just put an on/off switch on the circuit. End of meaningless brooding.
** This depends on which [[Alternate Universe|incarnation]] you are discussing. It also depends on what the technology does specifically. In ''Evolution'', Nightcrawler's hologram machine is only able to change the appearance, but is still a blue furry humanoid with three fingers on each hand. The animated series had devices that nullified powers on the mutant-hating Genosha, but the controllers would be a hassle to carry everywhere and she would need to hide it so it does not get damaged or turned against her. And they also send shocks to the wearer if I am not mistaken.{{verify}} And this is one of the best examples of your proposed 'mutant negation technology' that exists in the many ''X-Men'' incarnations.
** One of the explanations is also that most of the technology was developed by people who hate mutants and want to kill them, and thus using their inventions for her own benefit offends her morals. It would be roughly equivalent to taking a vaccine developed by Nazis who had experimented on imprisoned Jews to perfect it... some people wouldn't have a moral problem with that, some would, Rogue can simply be assumed to be the latter.
*** However, at least one version of the 'power nullifier' technology was invented by [[Doctor Doom]] for keeping people locked up in his prison cells. And while Doom is still a supervillain, he is not only ''not'' one of the mutant genocide advocates but is also someone the X-Men (including Rogue) have demonstrably been willing to temporarily ally with in the past. And while it could be argued that Doom's prices might be prohibitive, by this point Reed Richards has fully analyzed this technology of Doom's in order to be able to defeat it -- which means he can also build it. And Reed wouldn't charge Rogue a thing.
**** The entire plot arc of X-MEN VS. FANTASTIC FOUR was based on the fact that the X-Men ''are'' willing to deal with Doctor Doom for help with mutant power crises, if no other solution is available.
*** Additionally, one of the X-Men's recurring allies -- Forge -- has invented a device that is capable of ''permanently'' neutralizing a mutant's powers. Which means he has already made the basic theoretical leap re: neutralizing mutant powers. At this point, building a version of the device that only acts temporarily, or is conveniently portable and easily reversible, is only a matter of application. So somebody get Forge and Hank McCoy into the lab already. Or ask Reed Richards or Tony Stark for a consult.
==
* Bob Denver, a.k.a. Gilligan, [[Lampshade Hanging|hung a lampshade]] on ''Gilligan's Island'' himself in the film ''Back to the Beach''.
{{quote|'''Bartender:''' Hey, I knew a guy who could build a nuclear reactor out of coconuts but couldn't fix a two-foot hole in a boat.}}
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** [[SF Debris]] also noted that judicious use of a [[Time Bomb]] in the pilot would have turned the series into little more than a TV movie. {{spoiler|The [[Sadistic Choice]] at the end of "Caretaker" was, should ''Voyager'' destroy the Caretaker Array and leave themselves with hoofing it home, or use the Array to get home and let the Kazon enslave the Ocampas? Janeway chose to blow the Array. Chuck Sonnenburg's solution was to set a time bomb aboard the Array, set to go off just after it chucked ''Voyager'' back to the Alpha Quadrant.}}
** For more information on Janeway's questionable actions and possible justifications, check out Trek Nation's [http://www.treknation.com/articles/court_martial_janeway_intro.shtml The Court Martial of Captain Janeway].
** Then there's [[The Scrappy
*** The sad thing being that, in the pilot episode, Neelix was comic relief, but he was ''competent'' comic relief. He owned his own starship, was a combat-hardened veteran, was a successful businessman, and had the stones to manipulate the Voyager crew into being weapons against his enemies. Next episode, he suddenly becomes
*** He's not just put in charge of morale, but also of ''cooking'', of all things. His [[Lethal Chef|food is so awful]] that in one episode he actually ''poisons'' the ship with his cooking fumes. Not the ship's crew, but the ''actual ship itself.''
*** In [https://web.archive.org/web/20120209041526/http://sfdebris.com/voyager/e835.asp "Investigations"] Neelix conducts a rogue investigation, makes an accusation using weak evidence, and violates the privacy of fellow crew members.
*** A [
*** In the episode [http://www.reviewboy.com/memorial.html "Memorial"] Neelix is more overbearing than usual. He insists that a [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Memorial_(episode) memorial] that transmits [https://web.archive.org/web/20120117003745/http://sfdebris.com/voyager/e936.asp painful] memories into others be left active. The only person who supports him is Janeway.
*** What makes the above example even more ridiculous is that his reaction to experiencing those traumatising memories was to hallucinate, pick up a phaser and hold Naomi hostage in the Mess Hall, believing he was protecting children in a combat-zone. It took a while for Tuvok to talk him down. And that is one of the memories you want someone ''else'' to remember? The poor sod who next undergoes that could easily kill half of his crew, blow a hole in the side of the ship or get himself shot!
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'''Sampson''': But then there'd be no play.
'''Prince''': Oh. Carry on, then. }}
== Tabletop Games ==
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* The argument has been made many times for detractors of the game that the only way to have a successful character in the ''[[Call of Cthulhu (tabletop game)]]'' RPG is to ''never follow any clues''. Being based on the themes and moods of [[H.P. Lovecraft|Lovecraftian]] [[Cosmic Horror|stories]], curiosity has less of a tendency to kill the cat as it does to [[Up to Eleven|trepan it, rearrange its anatomy as much as possible without killing it]], [[Serial Escalation|magically reversing the labotomy and then suspending it in complete darkness while an unseen dog barks at it for all eternity]].
** Then again, in ''CoC'' getting killed in new and exciting ways (or going permanently insane) is ''kinda the point''.
== Video Games ==
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* If any of the three heroes in ''[[Fable]] 2'' died, the villain would be completely unable to complete his plan. Conveniently, one of them is a [[Complete Monster]]. Not that {{spoiler|Theresa}} would have let that happen.
* This is a recurrent theme in many genres of games, usually on the part of the villains. Why didn't ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''' Bowser build a tall, sheer wall... anywhere? Why didn't Dr. Robotnik just line up enough spikes that [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] could never clear them? Why didn't [[Diablo]] send a lone overlord to the first level of the Tristram cathedral? Because then [[Rule of Fun|we wouldn't have any of these games]]. Or if we did, they would suck.
** It's repeatedly noted that the villains enjoy fighting against their foes. For example, in the Japanese version of the [[Sonic X]] episode "Memories of the Wind" Eggman sounds happy when Sonic shows up to do battle with him, and he even outright says in [[Sonic Unleashed]] "It's no fun having your plans succeed without a challenge!". In [[Super Mario Galaxy]] it's implied in the regular battles that Bowser's like Eggman in that he enjoys fighting his respective nemesis. And Diablo did send an Overlord to guard the entrance. He sent [[The Butcher]], also known as [[That One Boss]], who
* The plots of ''[[Grand Theft Auto IV]]'' and its expansion ''The Ballad of Gay Tony'' would be '''enormously''' shorter if the main characters were allowed to use the massive amounts of money they earn to just pay off the debts of the characters they are protecting. By about the middle of ''IV'' specifically, Niko can easily be sitting on over a quarter million dollars but you'll still be doing missions for loan sharks that Roman owes money to without the option of just paying them off. This wouldn't solve ''all'' the problems but it would make them much more manageable.
* The plot of ''[[Higurashi no Naku Koro ni]]'', although the cast can be forgiven for not realizing it under the circumstances. {{spoiler|It takes them 6 full stories of them slaughtering eachother to finally halfway the 7th episode realize that none of that would happen if they'd just trust eachother for once. When they start the 8th story with this information and work together from the start, it becomes no more than a ''[[Curb Stomp Battle]]'' against the true enemies.}}
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* Most Pokémon villainous groups are [[Card-Carrying Villain|professional bastards]] or [[Unwitting Pawn|tools]] for the head honcho to use in his own malicious plot, and stay to the shadows for their work. And then there's [[Pokémon Black and White|Ghetsis]], whose very first act is to go on a cross-region tour and profess Pokémon liberation to the people of Unova. Unfortunately, nobody even ''thinks'' to bring up a valid counterpoint to Pokémon liberation - a good example is that it makes it easier for villainous groups (like, surprise surprise, Team Plasma) to steal and abuse Pokémon for their own benefit. Had someone brought up a convincing counterpoint, Ghetsis could have been forced to take his plot back to the shop, if not outright derail it altogether.
* ''[[Terraria]]'' has the "Guide" who does things like letting monsters into your safe house, prompting many a player to think this trope.
== Web Comics ==
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'''Vexxarr''': Wait, I thought that show was ''all about'' solving weird and needlessly complex problems.
'''Carl''': Complex? ''BAH!'' }}
== Western Animation ==
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{{reflist}}
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[[Category:Bad Writing Index]]
[[Category:Contrived Stupidity Tropes]]
[[Category:Stupidity Tropes]]
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