What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

 

Say there is one critical thing that could happen that would cause a catastrophe that, left unchecked, would directly or indirectly result in disaster. But everyone in the story is assured that this critical thing will never, ever happen. Ever. [[Genre Savvy|The audience]] [[Million-to-One Chance|knows better]].

If anyone ever mentions a [[Deflector Shields|component]] in a reactor that is the only thing stopping a meltdown, or a [[Restraining Bolt|lockout chip]] that is the only thing stopping a [[A.I. Is a Crapshoot|megalomaniacal AI]] from taking sentient control, rest assured that it will either fail, be stolen, or be destroyed, and things will [[Go Horribly Wrong]].

 

 

[[The Law of Conservation of Detail]] helps this along; the scientist isn't going to bother to mention the failsafe unless it's going to, well, [[Failsafe Failure|you know]]. When is the last time you were watching a movie, and someone mentioned "if this object was damaged, there would be a catastrophe!" and the object was [[They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot|never mentioned again for the rest of the movie]]? Frequently combined with [[Einstein Sue]], where ''one'' person in the work's universe sees the incoming problem (and works to fix it).

** Ironically, almost everything involved in the plan goes ''right.''

* In ''[[Septimus Heap]]'', {{spoiler|Marcia's comments about Septimus's '''Darke Week''' opening up channels for the '''Darke''' to come out and Septimus's reassurance against it already foreshadow the outbreak of the '''Darke Domaine''' in ''Darke''.}}

 

 

* The premise of every episode of the 1984-86 US TV series ''[[Crazy Like a Fox]]''. The series starred Jack Warden as Harry Fox, a free-spirited private detective who lived by his wits and John Rubinstein as his high-strung attorney son Harrison who unwillingly and frequently found himself dragged into his father's cases. The show's opening would always feature Harry and Harrison talking on the phone in their offices like this:

{{quote|