The Tape Knew You Would Say That: Difference between revisions

''(Tim rotates his hand)''

'''Graeme''': (still reading) Yes, like that. }}

{{quote|'''Record''': There's very little help I can give you, I'm afraid. The enemy have been one step ahead of us all along.

'''Number Six''': (sarcastic) Thank you very much.

** Then again, this seems like a reasonable precaution rather than a prediction of Hiro's actions. Kaito had to account for the possibility of Hiro ignoring his instructions.

** Plus Kaito ''is'' Hiro's dad. It's likely he knows his son well enough to guess that he'd be silly enough to open it.

** Sometimes happens accidentally during "Newsflash"; Colin will say something about the video behind him without seeing it, which then changes to something that's hilarious considering what was just said.

{{quote|[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v{{=}}-yQDCLGMv7c "It all started with a badly timed bald joke."]}}

** A funnier example is when he anticipates the tests each of his students will do and the results and puts them in an envelope at the start.

** But fails epically when he starts scolding Cuddy as she enters his office, while facing the wall. It turns out to be the janitor. Cuddy enters some later, and House starts the scolding again ''with the very same words''. Living tape on!

* Early on in ''[[Kamen Rider Kiva]]'', Wataru is a semi-[[Hikikomori]], covering his entire body and communicating using a notebook full of pre-written responses. He actually has to hunt through the book to find the appropriate responses, but at one point [[Cool Big Sis|Megumi]] says "[[Lampshade Hanging|You can't possibly have every response you need in there!]]"—at which point Wataru starts going through the book for the proper response. Later, when Megumi struggles to get his mask off there's a brief shot of the notebook lying on the table, the open page reading "Someone please stop her!"

* In ''[[Married... with Children|Married With Children]]'', a lawyer is reading Al's uncle's will (and not looking at the other characters). At one point, the lawyer yells, "Al, get your hand out of your pants!"

* ''[[Nowhere Man]]'' has an episode where Thomas Veil finds a pirate broadcast show that mirrors his own situation. When he goes to the show's producer, the man eventually leaves the room and Veil goes to the tape recorder on which he'd been dictating the plot of the next episode. After rewinding it, he starts the tape, which talks about how the hero grabs a tape recorder, rewinds it, and starts it.

* Played with a little bit in ''[[Spooks]]'', when in a later episode in Season 9 Harry uses a clever ploy to outwit the Russian and Chinese spies who have {{spoiler|managed to bug the Grid with microphones and are trying to kidnap or kill their CIA-backed contact, a computer hacker turned security consultant}}. He turns the spies' own equipment against them, after they use voice recordings of him to give false orders to Lucas (out in the field), and manages to devise an entire conversation with them using the voice recordings to distract them while he and CO19 quietly infiltrate the enemy HQ. Note he isn't speaking during the operation as he needs to stay quiet in the stealth attack, so using the voice recordings is the only option.

* On ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', when Barney skips work so he can enact a [[Zany Scheme]], anyone who calls his office phone gets a pre-recorded message that makes it sound like Barney's at work but is too busy to talk at the moment. Of course, no matter who calls, the recording refers to them by the same name, but Barney gets around this by convincing each and every person at his office that "Big Chief" is his "secret nickname" for them.

* In ''[[The Monkees]]'' second episode, while listening to a last will and testament on a phonograph record, one guest is shocked that he didn't inherit anything and the record promptly tells him to shut up.

* ''[[Breaking In]]'': Oz has a PowerPoint presentation set up with responses to everything Cameron says.

(Next slide: ''COULD A CARNIVAL PSYCHIC DO THIS?'' }}

** He then caps the whole thing with a slide informing Cameron that his fly is open.

* Seemingly played straight in ''[[Stargate SG-1|Stargate SG 1]]'' with a hologram of an Ancient, which gives some improbably helpful prerecorded responses to questions. Subverted when the hologram turns out to be {{spoiler|[[Brain Uploading|conscious]].}}

* Major part of bizarre [[Adult Swim]] comedy ''[[The Heart, She Holler|The Heart She Holler]]'', where the deceased Mayor has created countless videotapes for every possible conversation.

* Occurs in the ''[[Community]]'' episode "The Psychology of Letting Go", when Pierce is listening to a CD left to him by his deceased mother.

 

== Meta ==

 

 

** Another variation: "Coming up, an expose on [[Coincidental Broadcast|conveniently-placed news items on TV shows]]. But first, Peter, look out for that skateboard." (Peter then slips on a skateboard.)

* The ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "A Clone of My Own" has Prof. Farnsworth leave a recording for after he is taken to the Near Death Star. He anticipates Bender making a joke at his expense and reveals that he has recorded over Bender's soap operas.

* ''[[The Boondocks]]'' episode "Wingmen" has a video will which asks Robert Freeman to read a eulogy, followed by about a minute of sucking up and pleading in order to get Robert to actually do it. It also tells him to sit back down after he jumps out of his seat in anger.

** That's not all. It also stares at him in a slightly pleading manner, waiting and timed right until he opens a case revealing his inheritance. {{spoiler|It then mocks him after he finds a jar full of peanuts, or "DEEZ/MY NUTS"}}.

** Also in "Stinkmeaner" where Ruckus calls Robert, and Robert lets the answering machine pick it up. "Don't you walk away from this answering machine!"

* The ''[[Batman: The Animated Series|Batman the Animated Series]]'' episode featuring the [[Clock King]] used this trope. Fugate's tape perfectly predicted what Batman would do, down to the second. Of course, this is Fugate's gimmick:

{{quote|'''Clock King:''' (on tape) Sorry I couldn't be with you in person, Batman, but I've got a train to catch. This box contains a high-speed vacuum pump. I know you've got all kind of gas masks, so I'm putting you out of my misery by simply removing all the oxygen from the room. The process will take fifteen minutes...

[[Category:The Plan]]

[[Category:Older Than Television]]