We Need to Get Proof: Difference between revisions

 

This can also affect the genre, and is the catalyst of many a [[Amateur Sleuth]] and [[Snooping Little Kid]] story.

 

* The main obstacle for L of ''[[Death Note]]'' is not in deducing [[Serial Killer|Kira]]'s identity, but in finding proof beyond a shadow of a doubt to ''support'' his deduction.

** Not unreasonable, given that Kira is using a magic killer notebook to commit his crimes. Without proof, who would believe that?

 

== [[Literature]] ==

* ''[[My Teacher Is an Alien]]'' starts off with Susan Simmons finding out that, well, [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|look at the title]]. She knows full well no-one will believe her, and her efforts to try to get evidence are what set the story in motion.

* ''[[A Spy in the Neighborhood]]'' is about three boys who think a certain neighbor may be a spy. They want to get the cops on her case, but in order to do that, they need to find proof of some sort, so they basically spy on her.

* ''[[Animorphs]]'' starts off with the kids trying to expose the Yeerks' silent invasion to the world, in hopes that once the world knows what's going on, they'll be able to fight back. This plan becomes less significant as the series progresses, in favor of simple guerrilla war, but ultimately succeeds near the end.

* This happens in a few of the [[Alvin Fernald]] books by Clifford B. Hicks

 

* In ''[[Babylon 5]]'', several episodes involved a search for evidence to prove that {{spoiler|President Santiago's death was an assassination engineered by his successor, not an accident}}.

* ''[[The Fugitive (TV series)|The Fugitive]]'' combines this with [[Stern Chase]], as a wrongfully-accused man flees from the law as he tries to find the evidence to prove who the real killer was.

* On ''[[Saving Grace]]'', Rhetta is a forensic investigator and does all kinds of tests on any items that Earl gives Grace to prove his angelic existence. Boy, does she find proof.

* Subverted in ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]''. When Sisko sets out to find proof that the Dominion is going to attack the Romulans, resident spy-in-exile Garak tells him the best way to find it will be to manufacture it themselves.

== [[Western Animation]] ==

* Zim of ''[[Invader Zim]]'' is a [[Devil in Plain Sight]] whose [[Paper-Thin Disguise]] shouldn't ''need'' any proof to expose, but the earth is [[Dying Like Animals|largely populated by idiots]] so [[Hero Antagonist|Dib]] is continually after "proof" (generally, a shot of Zim not in disguise) -- he's managed to get it on more than one occasion, but since [[Failure Is the Only Option]] he always loses it even if he otherwise thwarts Zim's latest [[Zany Scheme]]-but-[[Evil Scheme]].

 

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