Soap Within a Show: Difference between revisions

 

At least one character in the main cast will be a [[Daytime Drama Queen|regular viewer of the show]], and likely be [[Explaining the Soap|forced to explain it]].

{{examples}}

== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==

* ''[[Minami-ke]]'' has ''Sensei and Ninomiya-kun'', a [[Show Within a Show]] in which every episode seems to feature ''somebody'' getting amnesia, wandering out into the street, and getting hit by a car.

** Also extended to video games, when the game based on the show is an over-the-top parody of every [[Video Game]] cliche?

* In ''[[Tenchi Muyo!|Tenchi in Tokyo]]'' Princess Ayeka in one episode gets down to watch what she claims is her favorite soap opera: "''Everyone'' has amnesia!"

 

== [[Eastern European Animation]] ==

* In ''[[Technotise Edit I Ja]]'', terrible soap operas exist in the future too, with a twist. The woman's "a robot... my heart is made of metal!" and the man reveals... "I am in fact... an alien! I don't even have a heart!" as a [[Shocking Swerve|shocking twist.]]

 

* In the ''[[Death Note]]'' fic ''[[All You Need Is Love]]'' in order to [[Broke Episode|raise funding]] for the Kira investigation Matsuda begins work on a low-budget soap opera which is (''very loosely'') based [[I Wrote Our Story|on the lives of the Kira Taskforce]]:

{{quote|'''Matsuda:''' Well, [[Significant Anagram|Inamo]] it turns out had an affair with Y's [[Evil Twin]] A and that A is now back in town but Y doesn't want [[This Is My Name on Foreign|Hikaru]] to know because he's afraid that A will seduce Y because they're identical and it's really hard to tell them apart.

'''Matsuda:''' Um, well, I don't know if I'd use that term but what if he really can't tell the difference and then… Wow Light, you have really good ideas! You should help me write sometime!

'''Light:''' [[Tranquil Fury|You know, this is excellent proof that I'm not Kira. Ryuzaki may be miserable and death-seeking but if I had been Kira then surely Matsuda would be dead by now.]] }}

 

== [[Film]] ==

* Amid the various British TV parodies in the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' [[Virgin Missing Adventures|Missing Adventures]] novel ''Time of Your Life'' is ''Jubilee Towers'', a soap that saves its budget by being mostly set in and around a TV studio...

 

* ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'' has the episode "Living the Dream", where House, a regular viewer of the hospital soap ''[[Show Within a Show|Prescription: Passion]]'', notices a symptom in one of the actors. He then kidnaps him in order to cure him.

* One episode of ''[[Psych]]'' has the the titular agency investigate a stabbing that was the result of a prop knife being swapped for a real one. Over the course of the episode nearly all cast members except Shawn and Lasiter are revealed as viewers. Even better, it was a Spanish-language ''[[Telenovela]]'', themselves known for being over-the-top.

* Spoof news programme ''[[The Day Today]]'' does occasional features on ''The Bureau'', a spoof soap opera set in a bureau-de-change of all places, where the staff all sleep with each other, get savagely beaten up, take drug overdoses and get fired as a matter of routine. All in less than 6 minutes of clips.

 

* Technically, it's a Soap Within a Music Video, but the music video for [[Foo Fighters]]' "Long Road to Ruin" contains one of these, where the members of the band and [[Rashida Jones]] portray both the characters and the actors who play the characters. So really, it's a Soap Within a Show Within a Music Video...?

 

 

== [[Western Animation]] ==

** Starring [[Large Ham|Calculon]], whose characters mentions having six [[Evil Twin|evil identical septuplets]], and no less than ''four'' [[Split Personality|split personalities]].

*** Best shown by the episode's recap:

* ''[[King of the Hill]]'' had one with a gun toting Mexican priest/assassin (''Los Dias y Las Noches de Monsignor Martinez''). It looked awesome.

** '''[[Catch Phrase|Vaya... con DIOS!]]'''

* In ''[[American Dad]]'', Roger watches what's supposed to be ''[[Dynasty]]'', but the only scene we ever see is the two main women slapping each other and calling each other "bitch" in turn. The scenery changes sometimes, but they are always doing the same thing.

* Everyone in the ''[[Kim Possible]]'' episode "Sick Day" passes around [[Mundangerous|a cold]], and while recovering, they all watch the same soap opera:

{{quote|'''Meldar:''' How many [[Evil Twin|evil twins]] were hatched from Dakota's birth sac on the popular daytime drama ''Andromeda 90210''?

'''Hugh:''' It's impossible to answer, because Dakota's evil twin wasn't hatched, she was [[Evil Knockoff|cloned]] by Dr. Meldak's [[Clingy Jealous Girl|jealous wife]]'s ex-husband's [[Tangled Family Tree|former lovechild]]! ''[[Captain Obvious|Duh!]]'' }}

* In the [[Darkwing Duck (animation)|Darkwing Duck]] episode, "Star Crossed Circuits", Darkwing's new super computer is convinced that "she's" a character from a Soap Opera called, "The Young and the Brainless" and that she's in love with Darkwing.

 

* Italian comedy program ''"Mai Dire Reality"'' ("Never Say Reality [Show]") spoofed this with the reality show-spoof "Il divano scomodo" ("The Uncomfortable Sofa"), that has its participants [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|forced to stay on an uncomfortable sofa during the whole show]] when one of its participants, Bamma, a <s> whore</s> girl with the hobby of prostitution suddenly jumps off the couch for no other reason than switching the TV on, in order to watch an episode of [[The Bold And The Beautiful]] (since it's still inexplicably popular in Italy). Cue the [[Gag Dub]]:

{{quote|'''Ridge Forrester:''' [[Crowning Moment of Funny|"Brooke... I'm your]] ''[[Mind Screw|grandpa."]]''}}

* The whole plot of the [[Donald Duck]] comic series by Silvia Ziche, "Il Papero Del Mistero" (Duck Mystery). Scrooge McDuck wants to renew his TV channel's program so he employs the whole Duck and friends family to star in a soap opera with an over-the-top plot based on improvisation.

* Harold, [[Batman]]'s mechanic, was once shown to be a fan of a soap, something that the prim and proper [[Battle Butler|Alfred]] chastised him for. Later shown to be [[Hypocritical Humor]] as Alfred begins riffing on the show, with obvious knowledge of previous plot points.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Parody Tropes]]