Running Gag/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

* ''[[Numb3rs]]'': In the later seasons whenever the FBI field agents go to a potential suspect, the suspects run, the agents tend to treat it more as an annoyance than an actual worry that the suspect might get away. Colby especially cottoned on to this to the point of becoming [[Genre Savvy]] and [[Lampshade Hanging]] whenever it happened or was about to happen, making this an example of a literal ''[[Incredibly Lame Pun|Running Gag]]''.

** Each episode is "filling in" for some popular show of the time due to some silly reason. A few times, the show is replacing ''itself''.

** The locker room jokes.

** Kenan screaming "WHY?" when something goes wrong.

** The long, drawn-out routine about Kel's [[Trademark Favorite Food|love of orange soda]].

** Season 8 gives us two from Dawn, her insistence that what she was turned into was not a centaur but a centaurette (girl centaur) and the VERY [[Genre Savvy]] (since she had a her-focused episode based on it) instance of "Monkey's Paw" after Buffy starts developing new powers (her point being that nothing good comes without tacked on bad).

** One ''Buffy'' episode has Buffy looking to get drunk. She goes out drinking with Spike, hitting the whiskey hard. No matter how many times she drinks it though, (including when she grabs a bottle from a bartender's hand and takes a big swig right from it) she has a funny grossed out reaction every time.

** The next(?) episode has Spike offer her a drink; her response is, "A world of no."

** On both ''Buffy'' and ''[[Angel]]'', Angel's tendency to [[Stealth Hi Bye|disappear]] during a multiperson conversation without anybody noticing is often [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]]. "Someone ought to put a little bell-and-collar on that guy!"

** [[Lampshaded]] powerfully in Season Seven, by which point ''everybody is aware of it'' and the Scoobies (sans Giles) attempt desperately to latch on to it to make the entire situation comedic as per their earlier adventures as opposed to increasingly desperate, as per this season's [[Story Arc]].

** Andrew in Season 6, and into Season 7, when he becomes a much more prominent character. "Who?" "Tucker's brother." "Oh."

** The shrimp world.

{{quote|'''Faith:''' That's mine!

'''Buffy:''' You're about to get it back. {{spoiler|(she then stabs her with it)}} }}

* From ''[[Friends]]'', Ross's repeated cry of "We were on a break!" whenever anyone mentions that he once cheated on Rachel.

** This running joke faded over time but resurfaced some years after it began when, in response to Chandler discovering his girlfriend had cheated on him, Ross hesitatingly commented "maybe it was okay, you know, if she thought you were on a break", provoking a rapturous response from the audience - a prime example of how a well implemented running gag can lead to eternal love for a show from its fans.

** After an episode in which Joey showcased his greatest chat-up line - "How you doin'?" on Phoebe, proved extremely popular, it became synonymous to viewers with his terrier-like libido, and he went on to use it repeatedly whenever he suddenly realised that he might have a chance with a woman.

** It was also a well known fact that Joey had an ongoing love affair with sandwiches of every kind.

{{quote|'''Foreman:''' You stash your drugs in a lupus textbook?!

'''House:''' It's ''never'' lupus. }}

** They went so far as to have a ''janitor'' (House had no assistants at the moment) suggest lupus. He only knows about the disease because his grandma had it.

*** Justified, in that Lupus has a large constellation of potential symptoms, making it a reasonable hypothesis for many of House's cases.

** Dramatic music playing whenever Oscar says something that reveals he might be Buster's father

** Variations of "Watch out for the hop-ons. You ''will'' get some hop-ons."

* ''[[Sherlock]]'' Holmes [[Heterosexual Life Partners|and]] [[Deadpan Snarker|John Watson]] constantly being [[Mistaken for Gay]].

{{quote|'''John:''' "I'm not his date!"}}

*** Subverted in "The Three Doctors" when the Third Doctor asked Sergeant Benton why he hadn't said it yet, and Benton replied that it was obvious. And then [[Lampshaded]] in "Smith and Jones" when the Tenth Doctor mouthed the words along with Martha, before saying, "Really? I hadn't noticed." Also subverted when Rory first enters the TARDIS he correctly guesses that it's another dimension, to which the Doctor says, "I like the bit when someone says, 'It's bigger on the inside.'"

*** Lampshaded in the [[Big Finish Doctor Who|audio drama]] ''Legend of the Cybermen'', when a character enters the TARDIS, she is just about to finish delivering the line when both Jamie and Zoe in unison say "Yeah, yeah, ''we know''..."

** The continued references to [[Incredibly Lame Pun|running]], though, might be [[Arc Words]] rather than this trope.

** Series 5 adds the Eleventh Doctor's insistence that "Bow Ties are cool".

** Let's not forget that every time the Doctor regenerates, he spends a couple of minutes criticizing his new looks ([[Christopher Eccleston]]'s ears, Matt Smith's chin, ''Jon Pertwee's'' nose...) And HE'S STILL NOT GINGER!

{{quote|'''Doctor:''' But now we're in the most amazing place of all - Paris, France!

'''Amy:''' [[Epic Fail|America, in fact.]] '[slips a Stetson onto the doctor's head]'<br />

'''Hodges''': Nothing. Running gag. }}

** That same episode also had Captain Brass turning his chair around whenever he interviewed someone.

* In ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'', almost every function seems to be occupied by the same female slacker character who speaks in a very dull and slow voice.

* ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'' has Dean with the magic fingers and his massive appetite.

*** Early in season one Dean uses "Agent Ford" and "Agent Hammill", referencing [[Star Wars]]

* ''[[Noah's Arc]]'': The main group finishing a statement in unison is probably the most common running gag, occuring three times in the first episode alone. Typically one of the four main cast starts the sentence and the other three finish it together.

* ''[[The Daily Show]]'', and the [[Fun with Acronyms|North American Man-Boy Love Association]]. Or, as it's known, the GOP.

** Generally Jon will mention an organization with a sizable name and then abbreviate it to [http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-july-27-2006/10-f--king-years---nambla "NAMBLA"], often quickly and seriously enough that those not listening carefully could fail to notice it. This also evolved into other NAMBLA-esque names, such as referring to the National Rifle Association as "BLAMBLA".

** The Imperial March gag was stopped for a while after Bush left office. Vader called and complained about the comparison.

** More recently, Baconnaise -- mayonnaise with bacon flavoring -- has become a running gag on the show.

** Roll 212, a gag which grew out of the show's most recent [http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-12-2009/jim-cramer-extended-interview-pt--1 Crowning Moment Of Awesome].

** "[[TV Tropes]]? Meet me at Camera Three."

** The Boat.

*** How ''does'' he get those boats out of his basement?

** The meeting elevator.

** Tony's fondness for superglue in his McGee pranks. Which is why Gibbs keeps a bottle of nail polish remover in his desk.

** Also, Tony referring to McGee as a random word that's relevant to what's happening, just with "Mc" in front of it. Examples: McSneaky, McSniper, McGoogle... the list goes on.

** In the episode ''Bloodbath'', someone is after Abby, and on several occasions, different people ask why anyone would want to kill her, it's not like she's Tony... Which is funny both because so many people say it, and because Tony actually has an impressive list of people who hate him.

{{quote|'''Gibbs:''' "How long will it take?"

'''Kate:''' "Two, maybe three days, tops.

** Ziva's crazy driving and inability to understand American sayings.

** No one knowing what NCIS is.

** In almost every episode, presenter Jeremy Clarkson introduces the Power Lap segment of the show by introducing the show's "tame racing driver", The Stig, with a stylized humorous introduction. For example: "Some say that he once [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7112929.stm lost a canoe on a beach in the north-east], and that he once did some time in a prison in Canterbury, because [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2007/dec/03/aidanjones his teddy is called The Baby Jesus]. All we know is, he's called The Stig."

*** Two other gags have developed from this; the first is whenever they are in another country (usually during, although not restricted to the specials)they begin the "tame racing driver" introduction as above, "But it's ''not'' the Stig...it's his * insert nationality here* cousin!". The second has appeared after episode 3 in series 15, in which {{spoiler|Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello reached the top of the Formula One stars in a reasonably priced car board-including the Stig}}. In subsequent episodes, half of the Stig's "Some say..." introduction refers in some way to his apparent hatred for {{spoiler|Barrichello}}...

** ...and so on.

** Presenter James May is affectionately ridiculed by his co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond for his generally unaggressive and leisurely driving style; often Clarkson and Hammond will refer to him as "Captain Slow" or similarly. The gag was inverted in the 9th season episode where May was given the chance to drive the Bugatti Veyron on Volkswagen's maximum security European test track. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vT0ou-ZEcx0 May took the Veyron to its top speed of 253.45 mph/407.90 km/h] (about Mach 0.333333)--quite possibly the fastest anyone has driven a production automobile.

** It's not just May. Much amusement is also had from Hammond's size, Clarkson's bad back, and love of [[Tim Taylor Technology|POWER and SPEED]] etc etc. They all affectionately ridicule each other.

** The presenters have a distinct hatred of caravans (trailers), and often use challenges as excuses to destroy them.

** Quite possibly a [[Catch Phrase]], whenever the ''[[Top Gear]]'' presenters are given a challenge for the program (e.g., purchase a used vehicle, modify it to be amphibious, and then sail it across the English Channel), Jeremy Clarkson often jumps into the task with the enthusiastic rhetorical question, "[[Nothing Can Stop Us Now|How hard can it be?]]" Usually, very hard (e.g., the two times the ''[[Top Gear]]'' presenters were told to convert vehicles into amphibious vehicles, Richard Hammond's conversion sank. Both times).

{{quote|'''Hammond:''' Oh, how I've missed the pang of dread I feel whenever you mention the words, "how hard can it be"!}}

** "I'm a doctor, not a troper."

*** And occasionally another character will reverse it with, "I'm a troper, not a doctor."

** Kirk threatening to fire Scotty in a tongue-in-cheek manner.

** Scotty's drinking.

** Chekov attributing all inventions and artwork to Russians.

* [[Star Trek: The Next Generation]] has Data over explaining things and just generally talking too much.

** LaForge's ineptitude with romance.

* ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''. The slap bet between Marshall and Barney.

** Also, Canada is weird.

** Barney's continuing refusal to say what his job actually is.

** Interventions were a major running gag during one episode, and have been seen in flashbacks as well.

** "Haaaaave you met Ted?"

** Barney [[My Friends and Zoidberg|And Zoidberging]] Ted.

** Ranjit, the taxi/limo driver

** Lily ALWAYS breaks up people's relationships when she thinks they're bad ideas.

* "Dirty!" is [[Gilmore Girls|Lorelai Gilmore's]] favorite running joke. She's passed it along to Rory and Luke.

** No love for Kirk, who occupies every job in town and still lives with his controlling mom?

** "Mister Beardsly!"

** (Character bursts through the door) "''[[Monty Python|No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!]]"''

** "Hi-keeba!"

** ([[Establishing Shot]] of a mansion) "[[Citizen Kane|Xanadu, stately home of Charles Foster Kane. Cost: no one can say.]]"

** ''The Indestructible Man'', featured several jokes about cops eating donuts. The episode ended with Joel, Mike, and Servo signing an affidavit promising that they would never make cop-donut jokes again.

** Pearl's [[Once an Episode]] mangling of Mike's surname: Nelkirk, Nelbell, Smellson, Nelson-of-a-. Once he got her back by calling her "Pearl-ez vous."

* On ''[[Farscape]]'', whenever the crew of Moya had to rely on John or one of John's plans for anything, Aeryn would remark in a completely flat voice, "We're dead."

* ''[[Deep Space Nine]]'': Morn... Just, Morn. Also self-sealing stem bolts. Nobody quite knows what they do, but they certainly pop up everywhere. Cardassian Yamok Sauce and how disgusting it is to non-Cardassians will come up when characters discuss food.

** Ryan's shoes.

** Ryan's height.

** [[Catch Phrase|"Everything's made up and the points don't matter.]] That's right, the points are like notability on [[TV Tropes]]."

** Colin's Baldness.

** Colin always being chosen to be the woman.

* ''Rebelde Way''. Second season. Francisco kissing Laura. Again and again, on improbable circumstances. Notable on that it has actual running and actual gag.

** She and Fritz can't agree on [[Your Tomcat Is Pregnant|which pronoun to use for Kitty]]. {{spoiler|Continued with their new cat, Joel, but with the genders reversed.}}

** In Season 6, Commander Taylor's office is non-existent/hard to find/too small/{{spoiler|being used by the MCD}}. Enforced by the other characters; Flynn notes that they "haven't heard much complaining from the super-cubicle lately" and decides that that's a good reason to dump a large amount of evidence (mainly safes) in Taylor's office.

* Armstrong and Miller: (click) "Kill them!"

** And a character pulling off some impressive feat, then revealing "I'm wearing my wife's underpants".

** "It's kicking off!"

* ''[[Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide]]'' had Ned and Moze accidentally kissing, and Ned going into the girls' bathroom. For starters...

* Half the things Hyacinth Bucket said on ''[[Keeping Up Appearances]]'' were either this or a [[Catch Phrase]].

{{quote|'''Ermey:''' Watermelon, you will die.

''(of course, [[Completely Missing the Point|watermelons are]] ''[[Completely Missing the Point|already]]'' dead...)'' }}

** Not just any girl. He's assumed to be Howard's ''wife'', more often than not.

** Whenever a Richard Fulcher character is being attacked, "a little to the left."

** [[Character Tics|* nose tap* ]] Look here, [[This Trope Name References Itself|Nancy]], why don't ya just [[Verbal Tic|go ahead and]] drop the [[Running Gag|Running Gags]] before [[This Trope Name References Itself|Gandhi]] [[Heterosexual Life Partners|leaves you]] [[Rule of Three|for another woman]]? Now, heh, I know it was probably really cute in your old sorority, but this is the real world, [[Overly Long Gag|newbie]], and the real world doesn't [[Incredibly Lame Pun|run on]] [[Subverted Trope|jokes]].

*** That was awesome! [noun, verb, adjective or long phrase] five!

** Hey! [Girl's name!]

** Frick! Frick frick frick, frick on a stick!

** The Working Class v Middle Class dynamic between the captains, typified by Paul Merton's Ungraded CSE in metalwork.

* ''Pop-Up Video'': Popping up "But" as a single word on somebody's butt.

** Blue jello.

** Pie.

** Nobody being able to pronounce Mr. Arzt's name was a running gag for an episode or two, but then he blew up.

* The old Western spoof ''[[F Troop]]'' has quite a lot.

** The fort cannon, when lit, always fails to fire. Agarn kicks the wheel in frustration, it falls off, the cannon fires as it hits the ground, and shoots down the guard tower.

** The war of insults between Agarn and Trooper Dobbs, which always ends with the insultee saying "I'm warning you, Dobbs/Agarn..."

** Which is made even funnier (and stranger) by the fact that those are the only times Todd ever appears. They obviously know his name, but don't seem to ever hang out with him.

* Brazilian group Casseta & Planeta has many. A notable one, which was constantly lampshaded and self-lampooned, involved the [[wikipedia:Rubber tapping|rubber tapper]], who spends [[Double Entendre|the whole day taking milk out of a stick]].

** Rene's wife Edith finding him in a compromising situation with Yevette Carte Blanche and his zany excuses, which Edith always believes

** Lt Gruber always finding Rene bending over

** The Fallen Madona with the Big Boobies by von Klempf

** Michelle and her catch phrase "Listen very carefully, I shall say this only vunce"

** "It is I, [[Le Clerc]]"

** The really odd sexual perversion involving an egg whisk and some wet celery. And an aviator's helmet.

** The names of the German higher level officers, which got weirder as the series went on.

{{quote|'''Cal''': Nice girl, nice performer... don't want her to extemporize on our air. She had time to thank her pets, and then she asked us all to pray for peace in the Mid''west''.<ref>(She should have said "Middle East".)</ref>

[+ The regulars continue wisecracking about this as the (real) show continues.+ ]

** People mistaking Benson for a lesbian. Lampshaded in later season episode.

* On ''[[Chuck]]'', Chuck said Sarah had a "spastic colon" to justify her absence. Afterwards, this was always used as an excuse when she couldn't make it to something. Chuck also used it in Season 3 to explain why the band member he was replacing wasn't available.

* The demons in ''[[Charmed]]'' make a point to keep destroying the grandfather clock whenever they attack the manor. Piper lampshades this a couple of times saying "we can't afford to keep fixing that thing". When they go to the 20s, past-life Piper smashes the grandfather clock to the floor.

** Leo orbing out while he's kissing Piper. Some episodes reveal that he sometimes orbs out during more intimate moments. A funny variation on this happened when he orbed out while hugging Phoebe. Also lampshaded: "I hate when he does that!"

** It's mentioned a few times that Piper freezes Leo "in bed for her own personal pleasure."

** Characters referring to Piper as "Pipper" or "Peeper."

* ''[[That '70s Show]]'' had Kelso falling off of the water tower nearly every time the gang climbs it. One episode featured {{spoiler|a minor character dying this way}}, much to gang's amazement.

** Every time Kelso and Hyde fight Kelso injures his eye.

** Laurie's promiscuity is a running gag.

** Red's recurring threat of putting his foot in someone's ass, and calling people Dumbasses.

** The most prominent one was that whenever Tim would pass along Wilson's advice he would mangle it into incomprehensible gibberish.

** "I don't think so, Tim."

{{quote|'''Kim:''' That's it, Brett. I want a divorce. D-I-V-O-R-S-E!}}

* ''[[Community]]'' has a few:

** Pop! Pop!

* ''[[Boy Meets World]]'' had Eric's "Feeney call".

** Soft Kitty - you know what, the main page for the show has all of them.

* Done a lot in [[Only Fools and Horses]]. Apart from the series gags like Trigger calling Rodney Dave, various others come up in individual episodes.