Locked in a Freezer: Difference between revisions

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* In a scene in the [[Star Trek]] novel ''The Final Reflection'' by [[John M. Ford]], the protagonist (a Klingon captain) and two loyal subordinates are locked in his ship's walk-in freezer by a traitor. The situation is even more serious for the hero than usual because [[Bizarre Alien Biology|Klingon biology is keyed to very warm temperatures]]; while trying to escape, he remembers stories about exposure to subzero temperatures [[Body Horror|causing the blood to freeze in other Klingons' surface capillaries and the skin to turn black and slough off "like bark from a tree"]].

* In [[O. Henry]]'s ''A Retrieved Reformation'', Jimmy Valentine, a retired safe cracker, has to come out of retirement to save his fiance's niece from a bank vault. Unfortunately, he's still at large, and [[Inspecter Javert|the detective looking for him]] happens to be in the bank watching him. {{spoiler|He lets him go at the end.}}

* The [[Warhammer 40000]] novel, '' Atlas Infernal '' by Rob Sanders has the protagonists attempting to escape an enemy fleet intent on capturing them by purposely flying into a "cold star" (called a Kryonova, it saps all heat from the area around it, should not be possible, but being deep in the [[Negative Space Wedgie]] that is the Eye of Terror, you are ''lucky'' if it is ''only'' the laws of physics working backwards) to inflict [[Locked in a Freezer]] on their pursuers as well as themselves. {{spoiler|To keep from freezing all the way to death and their ship becoming brittle and shattering under its own physics like their pursuers, they set their ship's fusion core to critical meltdown in an attempt to counteract the heat-sapping effects of getting near the Kryonova. Naturally this ruins their ship, but a last minute intervention by the [[Magnificent Bastard]] [[Monster Clown]] Harliquins sees them safely out of the Eye and into the much safer Webway. Of course, the purpose of their intervention isn't quite as nice as it seems...}}

* The [[Warhammer 40000]] novel, '' Atlas Infernal '' by Rob Sanders has the protagonists attempting to escape an enemy fleet intent on capturing them by purposely flying into a "cold star" (called a Kryonova, it saps all heat from the area around it, should not be possible, but being deep in the [[Negative Space Wedgie]] that is the Eye of Terror, you are ''lucky'' if it is ''only'' the laws of physics working backwards) to inflict Locked in a Freezer on their pursuers as well as themselves. {{spoiler|To keep from freezing all the way to death and their ship becoming brittle and shattering under its own physics like their pursuers, they set their ship's fusion core to critical meltdown in an attempt to counteract the heat-sapping effects of getting near the Kryonova. Naturally this ruins their ship, but a last minute intervention by the [[Magnificent Bastard]] [[Monster Clown]] Harliquins sees them safely out of the Eye and into the much safer Webway. Of course, the purpose of their intervention isn't quite as nice as it seems...}}

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* Tom and B'elanna's [[Relationship Upgrade]] comes as a result of an imminent-death-admission-of-attraction while they are stuck in spacesuits running out of oxygen with Voyager out of range of their comms and their shuttle destroyed.

** Also an interesting variant in the appropriately-titled episode "One", in which [[Ms. Fanservice|Seven of Nine]] is forced to run the ship by herself for six days after the Doctor's mobile holo-emitter malfunctions with the rest of the crew in cryo-stasis due to the hostile environment and, due to her history as a Borg drone (and thus member of a collective consciousness), she suffers much more severe psychological effects of the isolation than a human would.

* The ''[[Babylon 5]]'' episode "Convictions" sees this happen to G'kar and Londo Mollari in a sealed elevator. Subverted, as G'kar spends the entire affair happily hoping they'd die before being found, since it would mean Londo's death without G'kar being ~~culpable -- the~~ first thing the two do when the elevator is unsealed (following G'kar's [[Big No]] since this means they'll both survive) is to exchange [[Volleying Insults]] indicating they hate each other even more than before.

* The ''[[Babylon 5]]'' episode "Convictions" sees this happen to G'kar and Londo Mollari in a sealed elevator. Subverted, as G'kar spends the entire affair happily hoping they'd die before being found, since it would mean Londo's death without G'kar being culpable—the first thing the two do when the elevator is unsealed (following G'kar's [[Big No]] since this means they'll both survive) is to exchange [[Volleying Insults]] indicating they hate each other even more than before.

** Equally subverted in "The Fall Of Centauri Prime": Delenn and Lennier are stranded in hyperspace in a damaged ship. When Lennier thinks they are about to die, he professes his love for Delenn. Later, she shrugs it as a spur of the moment thing.

*** This is primarily to save his honor and prevent embarrassment, not so much her shrugging it off.

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* The ''[[MacGyver]]'' episode "Last Stand" has MacGyver and a fellow hostage locked in a freezer by a sadistic armed robber. It's only part of the episode, and Mac, of course, gets the two of them out instead of just sitting around awaiting rescue, but the statutory amount of heart-to-heart talking still manages to take place.

** A clearer example of the trope, notwithstanding that no freezers are involved, is the episode "Phoenix Under Siege", with MacGyver and his estranged grandfather trapped in a room with a time bomb.

** Yet ''another'' example in "Soft Touch", when Penny and a Russian defector are [[Locked in a Freezer]] by assassins, leaving Mac to get them out. No heart to heart talk in this one though (since the two first met that very day).

** Yet ''another'' example in "Soft Touch", when Penny and a Russian defector are Locked in a Freezer by assassins, leaving Mac to get them out. No heart to heart talk in this one though (since the two first met that very day).

* An episode of British children's show ''[[Press Gang]]'' had Spike trapped under the rubble of a collapsed record shop, only able to speak to another trapped girl through a piece of piping. She later died of her injuries. A later episode had Lynda trapped in a bank vault and running out of air.

* During season 1 of ''[[Stargate SG-1]]'', Carter and O'Neill are trapped in Antarctica (which [[Subverted Trope|they think is]] [[Single Biome Planet|an ice planet]]) when the gate malfunctions (due to it being fired at by enemy Jaffa). Carter digs out the DHD from a block of ice and tries to dial Earth, but fails since they're already on Earth. So they spend a while talking before Daniel Jackson's idea gets them rescued, right when O'Neill is about to die from the cold and a broken leg.

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* ''[[Desperate Housewives]]'' used this plot once in the third season.

* An episode of the ''[[Honey I Shrunk the Kids (TV series)|Honey I Shrunk the Kids]]'' TV series featured Wayne and his estranged brother Randy accidentally shrunk and then placed inside of a Play Doh container by a little kid, who forgot to put air holes, leaving them to slowly suffocate. Subverted by the fact that the talk causes them to start fighting and bumping against the walls, giving them the idea to tip over the container and escape.

* Season 1, episode 4 of ''[[Ashes to Ashes]]'' ~~-- Gene~~ and Alex are locked in an airtight (and overheated) vault while searching a government facility. As is typical for any encounter involving, well, Gene Hunt, no one's feelings are directly discussed, but shirts are removed and Alex gets to come face-to-face with her fear of death.

* Season 1, episode 4 of ''[[Ashes to Ashes]]''—Gene and Alex are locked in an airtight (and overheated) vault while searching a government facility. As is typical for any encounter involving, well, Gene Hunt, no one's feelings are directly discussed, but shirts are removed and Alex gets to come face-to-face with her fear of death.

** In a later episode, Alex, on her own, gets ''literally'' locked in a walk-in freezer.

* ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' has one very moving scene where Del and Rodney are trapped in an ~~elevator -- Rodney~~'s wife has recently miscarried, and Del finally manages to get him to talk about it. {{spoiler|It is eventually revealed that Del hit the emergency stop himself, just to trap Rodney into talking.}}

* ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' has one very moving scene where Del and Rodney are trapped in an elevator—Rodney's wife has recently miscarried, and Del finally manages to get him to talk about it. {{spoiler|It is eventually revealed that Del hit the emergency stop himself, just to trap Rodney into talking.}}

* ''[[Due South]]'' did this a couple of times. Once in an actual meat locker (they wrapped themselves in meat in an attempt to keep warm while they reconciled. Then in another episode they locked themselves in a bank vault (Intentionally, Fraser's idea) to prevent a bank robbery and then...rigged the sprinkler system to slowly fill it with water (also intentionally, also Fraser's idea), not only adding danger and speeding up their buddy talk but {{spoiler|saving the day when the bank vault is finally blown open and thousands of gallons of water deluge the crooks, allowing the duo to take them out.}}

** There was also the time that Fraser and his superior officer, [[Punny Name|Meg Thatcher]], were locked into a giant egg incubator. This lead to a certain amount of stripping, sexual tension, and a near-death near-confession.

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* ''[[The Simpsons]]'', "Mountain of Madness": Where Homer and Mr. Burns are trapped in a log cabin buried underneath an avalanche of snow.

** Also occurs in ''[[Treehouse of Horror]] V'', during ''[[The Shining|The Shinning]]''.

* This happened to Sam in an episode of ''[[Rocket Power]]'', although it wasn't the focus of the ~~episode -- it~~ was to show that everyone was ignoring him the entire episode because of Otto's mischief.

* This happened to Sam in an episode of ''[[Rocket Power]]'', although it wasn't the focus of the episode—it was to show that everyone was ignoring him the entire episode because of Otto's mischief.

* Used as a [[Framing Device]] for a [[Clip Show]] in the ''[[Totally Spies]]!'' [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog]] episode "The Elevator". The spies are locked in a disabled elevator in a high-rise building after the crook has escaped. All their gadgets have been left behind or destroyed as well. As they try to MacGyver their way out, they reminisce about events in past episodes, clips of which are shown. Eventually the elevator gives way and falls to the bottom of the shaft ([[No One Could Survive That]]), where they are pulled out by Jerry and company.

* ''[[Lucy, the Daughter of the Devil]]'' had something of a subversion; the title character was locked in a freezer at work... but the actual danger was that she was locked in with a convicted sex offender obsessed with her.

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* Though not a literal freezer, [[Iron Man]] in the 90's animated series falls down an ice chasm, and has to review past memories to keep his brain active in order not to die, before he can be rescued.

* ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'' episode "Snow Bound" featured Timmy and Vicky getting trapped in a cave during an avalanche.

* As mentioned in the page intro, Dante and Randal find themselves [[Locked in a Freezer]] in only the second episode of ''[[Clerks the Animated Series]]''. [[Running Gag|And then in Randal's video store, with the thermostat turned way down.]] [[Exaggerated Trope|And then in an ice skating rink...]]

* As mentioned in the page intro, Dante and Randal find themselves Locked in a Freezer in only the second episode of ''[[Clerks the Animated Series]]''. [[Running Gag|And then in Randal's video store, with the thermostat turned way down.]] [[Exaggerated Trope|And then in an ice skating rink...]]

** They use the occasion to flashback on all the wacky adventures they've had (mainly just the first episode and the first five minutes of that one)

** Two of the flashbacks show that Dante and Randal have been locked in a freezer ''twice before''. They somehow forgot how they got out the first two times. And the "Next time on ''Clerks''" segment shows them locked in a freezer again.

* In one episode of ''[[Family Guy]]'', the Griffins wind up trapped in a secret safe room with the sprinkler system going off, resulting in the room [[Drowning Pit|slowly filling with water.]]

* In ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]'', Zuko and Katara get imprisoned in the crystal catacombs hundreds of feet below Ba Sing Se. At first, it seems like they may get over their differences and have [[Anti-Hero|Zuko]] actually join the Gaang, but later in the same episode he betrays Katara after [[The Dragon|his sister]] gets to him. Also fulfills your yearly quota of [[Ship Tease]].

** In a later episode, Zuko and Sokka pose as guards at a Fire Nation prison, where the punishment for using firebending is being locked in a freezer. There's also a subversion of this trope in a scene where Zuko and Sokka are hiding in one while eavesdropping on some of the real guards, and it looks like a perfect set-up for a classic [[Locked in a Freezer]] scenario, but it never actually occurs.

** In a later episode, Zuko and Sokka pose as guards at a Fire Nation prison, where the punishment for using firebending is being locked in a freezer. There's also a subversion of this trope in a scene where Zuko and Sokka are hiding in one while eavesdropping on some of the real guards, and it looks like a perfect set-up for a classic Locked in a Freezer scenario, but it never actually occurs.

** In the first season episode 'The Cave of Two Lovers', the original Gaang (+ some traveling hippies,) get stuck in the eponymous cave. Aang, Katara and I think Appa get separated from [[Badass Normal|Sokka]] and the hippies. They're (Aang and Katara) running out of light, and they almost kiss due to 'the only way out is through the power of love' or something, but their light goes out, which lights up the passage to get out. Big [[Ship Tease]]. Sokka and the hippies get out with music and Badgermoles. Yeah, [[It Makes Sense in Context]].

* An episode of ''[[Chowder]]'' featured this where Chowder, Mung, and Snitzel were accidentally trapped in Chowder's bathroom. The worst part about it was that Chowder had to go but needed privacy. Naturally [[Hilarity Ensued]] from this.