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Total Eclipse of the Plot: Difference between revisions
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* The "Rite of Spring" segment of ''[[Fantasia]]'' ends with a devastating earthquake occurring during a solar eclipse.
* ''[[Tomb Raider]]''. The [[Big Bad]]'s plan involves an astronomical conjunction of every planet in the solar system, which also includes a solar eclipse.
* ''[[
* A solar eclipse that was briefly mentioned in the beginning of the film makes a bad situation even worse in ''[[From Dusk till Dawn]]'': ''Texas Blood Money''.
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* An eclipse happens in the second ''[[Nightrunner]]'' book. It was a prophetic event and did indeed last a curiously long time.
* The title character in ''A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court'' uses foreknowledge of an eclipse to convince the medieval denizens that he has supernatural abilities.
* The ''[[Heralds of Valdemar]]'' novel ''The White Gryphon'' introduces the Heighlei, an incredibly rule-bound society that only allows large-scale societal changes once every 20 years, during a solar eclipse. It provides the [[Race Against Time]] when the protagonists are framed for murder: they must clear their names before the eclipse to ally with the Heighlei.
* A total eclipse of the moon happens at the climax of [[H.P. Lovecraft|H.P. Lovecraft's]] short story, ''The Other Gods'' along with a rumble of thunder from a clear sky, when Barzai the Wise attempts to see the gods of the Earth with his own eyes. He failed to take the [[Cosmic Horror|Other Gods]] into the consideradtion, and was never seen again. The implication was that it wasn't Earth's shadow hiding the moon as usual, but something humongous and otherworldly coming to punish Barzai for his transgression...
* [[Stephen King]]'s novels ''Gerald's Game'' and ''Dolores Claiborne'' are linked via an eclipse (the solar eclipse of July 20, 1963, which happened in real life). They were originally conceived as a single volume.
* The medieval legends of Saint Olaf, as found in, among other versions, [[Snorri Sturluson]]'s ''[[Heimskringla]]'', state that a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome|solar eclipse occurred immediately after Olaf's death in the Battle of Stiklestad]], Norway 1030 AD (certainly a divine lampshading of Olaf's holiness). Since astronomy tells that a near-total solar eclipse happened only a month ''after'' the traditional date of the battle, this is in all likelihood only a pious swindle.
* In ''[[Star Trek: Articles of the Federation]]'', it's revealed that to the dominant native religion of Lembatta Prime, a solar eclipse is a sacred event. The planet shuts down entirely during an eclipse, forcing Federation President Bacco to postpone her state visit.
* In ''Sunwing'', the second book in the ''[[Silverwing (novel)|Silverwing]]'' series, the entire plot revolves around [[Big Bad]] Goth attempting to bring his god/BiggerBad Cama Zotz into the world by sacrificing 100 creatures during a solar eclipse. The final battle becomes more about the heroes trying to free as many of captives as possible to avoid this.
== [[Live Action TV]] ==
* In ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'', the characters' powers were retconned came about after an [[Retcon|eclipse]], and were taken away {{spoiler|temporarily}} during another eclipse, one that lasted hours. The eclipse also covered the entire planet the first time, and did the second time as well. It's strange when Peter in New York saw the eclipse at the same time as Claire in Texas, but it's downright stupid that Hiro, who's in ''Japan'' sees it at the same time as well.
* In ''[[Eastenders]]'', a couple have their wedding at the moment of the eclipse. Particularly jarring as it was set around the event of a real eclipse (but filmed beforehand) and the one on TV was much better than the real one due to bad weather.
* In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', the mayor ascends at the moment of eclipse. This allows his vampires to come attack the students as well. Although the eclipse was a magical effect brought on by the mayor's transformation rather than a natural event, which could [[A Wizard Did It|explain some of the oddities.]]
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== [[Video Games]] ==
* In ''[[Diablo II]]'', a sudden unexplained eclipse turns out to have been caused by evil magic, and the heroes undertake a quest to destroy the spell at its source. Once this is done, daylight returns instantly.
* The last act of ''[[Okami]]'' takes place during the Day of Darkness—a solar eclipse that will [[The Night That Never Ends|last forever]] if the Sun Goddess Amaterasu falls to the Lord of Eternal Darkness.
* The backstory and {{spoiler|[[Final Boss]]}} of [[Romancing SaGa 3]] relies on the Death Eclipse, an event that occurs once every 300 years. {{spoiler|it turns out those that survive, travel to the Abyss and be in the same area at the same time. [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|will summon the entity of the Eclipse.]]}}
* In 1999 [[Castlevania|Dracula]] apparently [[Killed Off for Real|dies for the final time]] due to / during an eclipse. Another eclipse, set in Japan in 2035, sets the plot of Aria of Sorrow in motion.
* At the climax of ''[[The Darkness]]'', a solar eclipse covers the city in darkness, not only allowing you to access your darkness-based powers in the middle of the day, but also apparently supercharging them. The eclipse is unrealistically long, of course, but at least had the good grace to start slow - it actually takes several minutes from the point where it starts to show, and until the eclipse becomes complete.
* The classic platformer ''[[Heart of Darkness (video game)|Heart of Darkness]]'' kicks off the plot with a solar eclipse, which opens a portal into a dark dimension, allowing evil entities to reach through and kidnap... the boy hero's dog. Good thing he had an interdimensional spaceship and a home-made plasma-cannon stashed in his treehouse...
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== [[Web Original]] ==
* [[Grand Finale|"The Ascension"]] in ''[[Lonelygirl15]]'' took place on the day of an eclipse, for implied religious reasons.
* Justified in [[Mall Fight]], as the eclipse that occured at Xandus' reappearance wasn't natural.
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* ''[[Men in Black (animation)|Men in Black]]: [[The Series]]'' had shadow aliens attempt to lock the moon in position for an eternal eclipse. [[Artistic License Astronomy|Astronomy failing aside]], they at least made a normal eclipse only last a few minutes.
* ''[[The Amazing World of Gumball]]'' episode "The End": Through a complicated series of events, Gumball and Darwin are convinced that an upcoming solar ecilpse means the end of the world. The actual event proves to be a little underwhelming.
{{quote|'''Moon:''' Ooh, you've just been [[Incredibly Lame Pun|mooned!]]
'''Sun:''' What is wrong with that guy? }}
* And episode of ''[[Western Animation/Kassai And Leuk|Kassai And Leuk]]'' had an eclipse happen at a moment when the party was relying on Marana's sun-triggered gazelle form.
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[[Category:Artistic License Astronomy]]
[[Category:Esoteric Trope Names]]
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