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Cquote1

Steff: "Freakazoid, why did you say his name?"

Freakazoid: "Cause I-I wanted to do one of those funny things, like on — you ever watch F Troop, where Agarn says, 'There's no way I'm wearin' a dress! Absolutely not! No dress!' And Forrest Tucker's like, 'Yeah, you're wearing that dress! You're gonna wear that dress!' And they wipeblublublublubluband Agarn's wearin' a dress."
Cquote2


Gilligancutdonald 7697

Be careful of what you say.

The Gilligan Cut is a classic staple of comedy in which someone announces something forcefully and the scene immediately cuts to the same character doing something in direct contradiction to what he just said.

For example, a character protests vehemently, "What, you expect me to wear a grass skirt, stand up on top of the Empire State Building and belt out the chorus of 'New York, New York'? Well, I'm not gonna... I'm just not gonna..." Whip Pan over to the character wearing a grass skirt on the 102nd floor, singing "I want to be a part of it, New York, New York!"

The Gilligan Cut. Comedy ain't pretty.

Simply put, if the character says "I'm not doing this", chances are, the character will do this for the sake of comedic effect, while responding "I can't believe I'm doing this". May involve a bit of Leaning on the Fourth Wall when the victim will demand to know how they were talked into this situation. Overlaps with Tempting Fate.

As a note of historical significance, this trope has the honor of being the element that started it all for TV Tropes.

Examples of Gilligan Cut include:


Anime & Manga[]

  • Ranma One Half
    • The second movie has this, and plays with it at the same time. The women of the group are being abducted by unknown shadowy creatures one by one. Currently, Akane is the only one they can use as bait, except everyone's looking at male Ranma. Cut to female Ranma struggling against the pole she's been tied to. Of course, there's a kettle on the top of the pole, it's clearly a trap, and Ranma was only acting like s/he was tied up.
    • Happens when Akane becomes injured and unable to participate in the Martial Arts Gymnastics tournament. They try to convince Ranma to change into a girl to take her place but he loudly protests that there is no way he is putting on a leotard. Cut to Ranma wearing a leotard.
      • While there was a bit of time between the protest and the wearing of the leotard in the anime, the above scene was done with a single cut with Gilligan-esque sound effects in Ranma Abridged, complete with appropriate setup.
Cquote1

 Ranma: Oh no. There is no way I'm going to be wearing a leotard for the sake of others.

(Gilligan Cut)

Ranma: I can't believe I'm wearing a leotard for the sake of others.

Cquote2
  • In Fullmetal Alchemist, Ed and Ling are trapped in Gluttony's stomach. A tired Ling collapses and Ed tries to get him to get up again by starting to walk away while repeatedly saying he's leaving without him. We then cut to Ed carrying Ling over his shoulder.
  • In Naruto, right before Jiraiya leaves to investigate Akatsuki's ties to Amegakure, he goes to Tsunade's office, and, instead of just telling her that he thinks their leader is there, suggests they go out for a drink and talk at the bar. Tsunade rightfully points out that as a Hokage with many ninja in the field, she can't just go out and get plastered in the middle of the afternoon. Cut to the two of them at a bar, Tsunade clearly getting plastered, and Jiraiya telling her she should take her own advice.
  • Happens in an early episode of Sora no Woto. Kanata and Noel think that they saw a ghost in the barracks of their base. Kureha disagrees, suggesting that they're seeing things. Rio agrees with Kureha... cut to Kureha and Kanata standing at the entrance to the barracks, with Rio ordering them to investigate before turning around and running herself (and shouting those orders from a safe distance, no less).
  • Used when Shippo is introduced in Inu Yasha. After Kagome was captured, Shippo, with no other choice, turns to Inu-Yasha. However, he's still pissed about Shippo putting a Buddhist statue on his hand, making him immobile. Shippo promises to free Inu-Yasha if he promises not to hit him. After he agrees, it cuts to Inu-Yasha beating the shit out of Shippo.
  • In Minami-ke, after Chiaki laughs at Kana's anti-rain charm idea:
Cquote1

 Kana: I'm going to roll you up in a sheet and hang you!

Chiaki: Okay, if you think you can do it, go ahead.

(cut to Chiaki wrapped in a sheet, hanging on a rope tied around her waist)

Chiaki: For real?

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Jugo: Perhaps if this girl were to challenge her true feelings, Ayano will be a little nicer to Kazuma, before it's too late.

(cut to Ayano punching a drawing of Kazuma taped to her pillow)

Ayano: Stupid Kazuma! I hate you! Do you hear me? You make me sick!

Cquote2
  • In a recent chapter of Gamble Fish, Tomu asks Mika if he could sit on her shoulders so he can get a better look at the cracks on the cave's ceiling. She refused, saying that it is usually the woman that sits on top, but he debates that with her being a tennis pro, her legs are stronger to support them. She ultimately suggests they Rock-Paper-Scissors for it. The next scene, she is seen caring him on her shoulders cursing that she should have never gambled with a cheating gambler.
  • Fujimura Kun Mates: Fujimura suspects that two of his unwanted girlfriend candidates are up to their usual no good hijinks. But he refuses to spy on them for ethical reasons. Next page, he eventually gives in.
  • The first episode of the Universe canon of Tenchi Muyo has Tenchi's dad, Nobuyuki, vowing to stay up all night to protect Ryoko. One Gilligan Cut later, he's asleep on the couch.


Comedy[]

  • Larry the Cable Guy had a running gag of this sort throughout one of his shows. For instance, his wife urged him to shave his balls. Like he was going to do that. "So there I am, shaving my nut sack...."
  • Robert Schimmel is a fan of this one too. "Yeah, like I'm going to stick my dick, which shoots a liquid, into something that plugs into the wall." "So I'm on the floor fucking this thing..."


Comic Books[]

  • Empowered
    • Sistah Spooky gets one of these during her Backstory. A rather plain black girl in a school full of Blonde Bimbos, she summons a demon to take revenge — only to be told that he can't act against other clients. He then offers her the chance to enroll in the same program to sell her soul for beauty, which she emphatically rejects. The next page has her admiring her new body, and receiving a phone call from Hell saying that there was a minor problem with the spell, making her a Vain Sorceress on top of things.
    • There's no way ThugBoy's going to wear his old Sparta-esque "Centurion 3000" minion costume with the breastplate nipples and short skirt. No way in hell. Nuh-uh.
Cquote1

 Empowered: Put it on, please.

(cut to him wearing the costume)

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Nemo: (to Murray) The sooner we have a good night's sleep and can be gone from here, the better. You, of course, will take the single room.

(cut to Nemo and Quartermain sitting on the single bed)

Quartermain: Women.

Cquote2
  • A running gag in Bone, where somebody will say, "Those rat creatures would have to be pretty stupid to [fill in the blank]!" In the next frame, we see the rat creatures have done just that, and the same person will say, "Stupid, stupid rat creatures!"
  • Also a running gag in Carl Barks' (and, later, other authors') Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics.
  • Used in the Swedish comic-strip Rocky when the title-character freaks out when he runs into Martin, the man who stole his ex-girlfriend, only to learn that she in turn had left Martin.
Cquote1

 Rocky: Ha, suits him right. If he thinks that I will forgive him, he must think again. Rocky never forgets a wrong-doing.

(cut to the two of them lying in the grass with a empty bottle of vodka in between them, stupidly drunk)

Rocky: All women are WHORES!

Martin: Just what I was going to say.

Cquote2
  • This page of a Looney Tunes comic featuring Lola Bunny working at a pizza joint. Her boss offers her to wear a pizza suit while participating in a Delivery Girl Pageant, but she refuses to do so:
Cquote1

 Lola: Whotta freak-show!

Boss: You are going, of course.

Lola: Are you nuts, boss? Parade around a stage like a trick Spaniel?

Boss: Sometimes dignity must be sacrificed in the name of free advertising.

Lola: Easy for you to say, Huactui! What's in it for me?

Boss: Oh... not much, I suppose. Just a spotlight in front of movie directors... agents... available millionaires...

Lola: Perhaps I was too hasty?

Boss: That's the spirit! Now put on the outfit!

(cut to Lola wearing the pizza suit in front of a cheering crowd)

Lola: I hate my boss...

Cquote2
  • Another dark variant appears in Identity Crisis when Sue's murderer is revealed and argues "You can't just throw me in some cell and toss the key!" Cut to Arkham Asylum.


Comic Strips[]

  • Calvin and Hobbes
    • Happens often, especially when Calvin refuses to take a bath. The next panel will have him in the bathtub complaining.
    • There was also this memorable exchange:
Cquote1

 Calvin: I don't think I'll go to school today.

Mom: I think you will.

Calvin: I think I won't.

(cut to Calvin grudgingly waiting at the bus stop)

Calvin: Rats.

Cquote2
  • Lampshaded in Daddy's Home. Elliot asks his dad if they can take a pelican home with them. Dad: "We are not bringing that pelican home with us, and that's final!" In the next panel, Elliot says, "Cut to plane ride home ...", and, sure enough, the third panel shows the pelican on a plane going home with the family.
  • In France during the Dreyfus affair, this cartoon by Carand'Ache:
Cquote1

 Top: Above all! let's not talk about the Dreyfus affair!

Bottom: ... They talked about it...

Cquote2


Fan Works[]

Cquote1

 Scout: Uuh, no. No way! Frickin' no!

(cut to Scout in Spyper's van)

Cquote2
  • In this Harry Potter fanfic, Harry and Draco are getting married and Harry has somehow been convinced to let Fred and George officiate the wedding (not the smartest of moves). Draco is not happy about it, but Harry has reassured him that it will be fine.
Cquote1

 Harry: (thinking) I'm sure they won't do anything stupid.

George: Queerly beloved...

Draco: (death glare at Harry)

Cquote2
  • In the Leviathan fanfic Double Dutch, the author goes from claiming the characters behave in a "chaste, Christian manner" to the first line being two males checking out each others chest hair and not being homoerotic. At all.
  • Code Ment:
    • It's a running gag for certain parties to comment on Lelouch's effectiveness as a threat, only to cut to him doing something incredibly stupid.
Cquote1

 Viceroy Cornelia: This "One" character seems to be our most dangerous threat--

(cut to One balancing dramatically on a tall antenna)

One: HOW DID I GET UP HERE?!

Viceroy Cornelia: --Euphie, you're the only one who's been close enough to him without getting killed. Did he say anything important that might help us understand his motives?

(cut to Euphie's earlier conversation with One)

One: Oh my God... I FORGOT TO PUT AIRHOLES IN THIS HELMET!

Cquote2
    • On another occasion:
Cquote1

 TV correspondent: This just in! In order to draw out the criminal mastermind known as One--

One: Oh my God-- (dramatic closeup) MY SHOES ARE ON FIRE!

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Matsumoto: Now, Captain Hitsugaya is, well... a Captain. So he's faster than we are, no doubt, but we can probably still catch up to him, just because he's going to be in the living world for a long time. I mean, he'd have to find a gate to Hueco Mundo, and I seriously doubt anyone will actually help him get there! Nobody could be THAT completely irresponsible!

(meanwhile, elsewhere...)

Urahara: Well, yes, I suppose I can get you to Hueco Mundo for your top-secret mission.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Nami: Can you do me a favor?

Luffy: Just so long as I'm not roped into anything stupid.

(Cut to Luffy being tied up)

Luffy: Wow! I actually felt myself die a little inside!

Cquote2
  • Dragon Ball Abridged: At the start of episode twenty-seven Goku reflects that everybody is doing just fine without him. Cut to:
Cquote1

 Vegeta: Healer's down!

Krillin: Need a rest!

Gohan: Out of mana!

(Vegeta starts screaming and they all follow suit)

Cquote2
  • OjamajoSakura15's Transformers: Animated Fanisode, Virus: After a fight with a supervillainess named Freeze-Up, Bumblebee's virus illness was cured after his stasis rest. Sari asks Bee where did that illness come from that made him sick, Bumblebee replies that at least no Autobot ever heard of this sickness he got or ever catch one like he does usually, cuts to Prowl who has caught the same virus as Bumblebee in his room.

Films — Animation[]

  • The Lion King uses a Gilligan Cut just before Simba & Co.'s battle with Scar and his hyena minions.
Cquote1

 Timon: A diversion? What do you want us to do, dress in drag and do the hula?

(cut to Timon dressed in drag and doing the hula)

Cquote2
    • Bonus points for Timon's voice actor ad libbing the "dress in drag and do the hula?" bit.
    • In the Broadway Musical version, it becomes "What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the Charleston?" Cut to Timon wearing a flapper hat and doing the Charleston in front of the hyenas; the change makes sense mostly because it's easier for the actor on stage to only have to hide one hat instead of a grass skirt and a lei.
    • Made even funnier in the 1 1/2 sequel, where Timon and Pumbaa are heading to the Pride Lands to help Simba, with Timon saying this is their glorious moment, then it cuts to that scene.
  • In The Land Before Time, the main characters have to get rid of the Tyrannosaurus (which they call a "sharptooth") that's been hounding them throughout the movie. They plan to lure it to a very deep pool of water, then push a heavy boulder onto it. But first, they need bait, so Ducky is chosen as the bait.
Cquote1

 Ducky: Me? No, no, no, no, no...

(cut to Ducky sneaking up on the sharptooth, trying to get its attention)

Cquote2
  • In The Rescuers Down Under, Bernard attempts to recruit Wilbur to sit on Marahute's eggs to keep them warm.
Cquote1

 Wilbur: Oh no. Ohhhh no. I know what you're thinking, and you're wrong! I... don't look at me like that! You're getting "no" from me! I am never going to have to sit on those eggs!

(cut to Wilbur now sitting on the eggs)

Wilbur: Aww, nuts!

Cquote2
  • In Monsters, Inc., Sulley and Mike are discussing how to get Boo back to her home:
Cquote1

 Mike: What do you expect us to do? March out into public with that thing?! And then I suppose we should just waltz right into the factory, right?!

(cut to outside the factory)

Mike: (Sulley is carrying a disguised Boo behind his back) I can't believe we are just waltzing right into the factory!

Cquote2
  • In Shrek 2, after Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey are invited to Far Far Away:
Cquote1

 Shrek: We're not going, and that's final!

(cut to the last of the luggage being loaded)

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Basil: Young lady, you are not accompanying us, and that. Is. Final!

(cut to Olivia sneaking out of the disguised mouse hole with Basil and Dawson)

Basil: And not a word out of you.

Cquote2
  • Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon, a short film included in certain versions of the How to Train Your Dragon DVD, has Snotlout doing one of these:
Cquote1

 Snotlout: There's no way I'm getting on a boat to go after a fake dragon.

(cut to Snotlout grimacing as he rows the longboat)

Cquote2
  • Tangled
    • The film features a rapid-fire string of Gilligan Cuts when Rapunzel first escapes her tower, alternating between her feelings of guilt for disobeying her "mother" Gothel, and her feelings of joy over leaving the tower for the first time in her life.
Cquote1

 Rapunzel: I'm a horrible daughter, I'm going back.

I'm never going back!

I'm a despicable human being.

Woohoo! Best! Day! Ever!

Cquote2
    • During the musical number in the Snuggly Duckling:
Cquote1

 Big Nose Thug: What's your dream?

Flynn: No no no no, sorry boys. I don't sing.

(sharp weapons are pointed at him from every angle)

Flynn: (cut to him singing) I have dreams like you, no really!

Cquote2
  • Used in Cats Don't Dance, when the other animals try to convince Sawyer to take part in the performance for L.B. Mammoth, complete with corresponding dialogue:
Cquote1

 Tillie: Well?

Sawyer: I can't do this.

Tillie: And?

Sawyer: I can't do this!

Tillie: So?

(cut to Sawyer in the sailor costume)

Sawyer: I can't believe I'm doing this.

Cquote2
  • In the first Cars movie, while they're heading for California, Lightning McQueen promises to Mack the truck that he'll keep him awake all night long by talking to him so he can keep driving. Cut to McQueen sleeping soundly in the trailer.
  • In the 2005 movie of The Magic Roundabout
Cquote1

 Dougal: That's the spirit, Brian! Nothing short of a sea of boiling lava will keep me from that diamond now.

(cut to a sea of boiling lava)

Dougal: Oh, sugar.

Cquote2
  • In The Emperor's New Groove, Kuzco asks about the chances of Pacha carrying him, which the latter replied, "Not good." Then, a sceen with Yzma and Kronk later, Pacha is seen carrying him.
    • This could be justified, however, as Kuzco suffers from low blood sugar.

Films — Live-Action[]

  • In Mystery Men, the Shoveler is completely against holding the Super Hero try outs at his house. Next scene, they are all having a pool party at his house.
  • The Living Daylights, when Bond and Kara Milovy, a cellist, need to get out of Bratislava really fast:
Cquote1

 Kara Milovy: I must get my cello.

James Bond: No way.

(cut to them picking up the cello)

James Bond: Why couldn't you have learned the violin?!

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Rhodes: Now, what am I supposed to tell the press?

Stark: "Training accident", isn't that the usual B.S.?

Rhodes: It's not that simple.

(cut to press conference)

Rhodes: An unfortunate training exercise involving an F-22 Raptor occurred yesterday...

Cquote2
    • Earlier in the film, an angry Rhodes lectures Tony on responsibility while rejecting his offer of alcohol during their flight to Afghanistan. One Gilligan Cut later, they're both drunk, and the flight attendants are dancing around a retractable stripper pole.
    • And even earlier in the film:
Cquote1

 Stane: The best thing about Tony is also the worst thing about Tony: he's always working.

(cut to Tony surrounded by women at a Craps table)

Tony: Work it!

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Michael: Where will I say I got the money? What am I going to do? Tell [Sandy] somebody died and left it to me?

(cut to Sandy's apartment)

Sandy: My God! When did she die?

Cquote2
  • From the movie The Girl Next Door: Matthew sees the title girl next door from the window, undressing. He winds up alone in a car with her a short time later. In order to make up for it, she wants him to expose himself to her.
Cquote1

 [Paraphrased]

Matthew: I'm not stripping for you.

(cut to him standing in front of the car, wearing only his underwear)

Cquote2
  • Happens in This Is Spinal Tap: "We're not going to do a free-form jazz exploration for a festival crowd." Guess what happened next.
  • Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis did something like this without a cut at all. Martin's character was trying to convince Lewis' to be a ventriloquist's dummy, Lewis kept refusing until the guy they were trying to convince walked in the door — and Lewis instantly flopped over like an oversized dummy. Hilarity Ensues.
  • Clear and Present Danger. Jack Ryan and CIA man Chavez are in Columbia; Ryan wants to meet Escobedo, the drug cartel Big Bad.
Cquote1

 Chavez: What are you going to do, just knock on his door?

(cut to Ryan knocking on a door in the outer wall of Escobedo's compound and handing the guards a business card)

Cquote2
  • In Heathers, Veronica is coerced into going on a date with someone other than JD and agrees: "Okay, just as long as it's not one of those nights when they get shit-faced and take us to a pasture to tip cows." You can guess what happens next.
  • Also happens to the chaplain in Von Ryan's Express, the variant where he is clueless as to what the others are planning for him to do.
  • Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
    • When Kumar decides to take a detour at Princeton.
Cquote1

 Harold: Forget it. End of discussion. I am not seeing Cindy Kim.

(Whip Pan to Cindy Kim at the East Asian Students Club meeting)

Cindy: Harold! I'm so glad you showed up!

Cquote2
    • A later scene has Kumar telling Harold: "You don't have rabies. We're not going to a hospital. You're fine." Guess the setting of the next scene.
  • Hot Fuzz uses this frequently.

Mr. Staker: *Over the phone* Mr. Staker. Mr. Peter Ian Staker. Nick: P.I. Staker? Right, Piss taker! COME ON! *Cuts to him talking to Mr. Staker in person* Right, Mr. Staker...

  • Independence Day: "If you feel compelled to leave these cities, please do so in an orderly fashion..."
  • The original Italian version of the film Swept Away: The two castaways are approaching their island destination on a rubber raft, and Raffaella brushes aside Gennarino's worries about the raft getting punctured on hidden rocks. Cut to them dragging the shredded remains of the raft up onto the shore.
  • In the Loop: Sir Jonathan Tutt, the British Ambassador to the United Nations, informs Malcolm Tucker at length why he cannot and will not reschedule a key U.N vote. So, of course, we immediately cut to Sir Jonathan attempting to smarm the other members into rescheduling. And then, when Malcolm needs the vote re-rescheduled, it happens again.
  • A non-edit variation occurs in Four Weddings and a Funeral. After he's seated at a table with six of his ex-girlfriends, Charles complains "I seem to be trapped in the wedding from hell, the ghosts of girlfriends past at every turn. Next thing you know, I'll meet Henrietta and the horror will be complete." He turns to the woman that's just walked up: "Hello Hen, how are you?"
  • From Thirteen Days, about the Cuban Missile Crisis. JFK has been trying to keep up his schedule to avoid questions from the press, but now he needs to cancel a trip to Chicago.
Cquote1

 JFK: You scared to cancel on Daley?

O'Donnell: You're damn right I'm scared!

JFK: Well, I'm not.

(O'Donnell and Bobby exchange smirks)

JFK: I'm not!

(cut to JFK and Daley in Chicago)

Daley: Welcome to Chicago, Mr. President!

Cquote2
  • Back to the Future Part II: Marty and Doc are back in 1955, and Marty needs to trail Biff. But first, he needs some Fifties clothes.
Cquote1

 Doc: Something inconspicuous!

(cut to Marty wearing a not-so-inconspicuous leather jacket and hat)

Cquote2
  • Dreamscape. Alex Gardner is refusing to take part in a dream experiment.
Cquote1

 Alex: I'm never going to do this for you, ever!

(Scene cuts to Alex with electrodes taped to his head, about to start the experiment)

Cquote2
  • In But I'm a Cheerleader, after Megan's friends and family stage an intervention and tell her that she is going to anti-gay camp, she protests, "There is no WAY I'm going!" Cut to her looking miserable in the back of the car.
  • In That Man from Rio, the hero is dragged into an adventure involving a lost civilization, stolen statues, and a kidnapped archaeologist. His girlfriend says "We'll need a car!" The resourceful street kid asks, "What color?" He snarks, "Rose colored with green stars!" Next moment, they're in a roadster — rose colored with green stars.
  • In Cop Out, Jimmy wants Paul to give him a boost into a house. Paul's response is "Fuck no!" Guess what Paul is doing next.
  • Thank Your Lucky Stars:
Cquote1

 Farnsworth: We have decided to make you chairman of the benefit committee. But it is to be clearly understood that the position is entirely honorary, and you are not to interfere with the show.

Eddie Cantor: Me, interfere with the show? Me? Gentlemen, if I ever interfere, I hope I never take a bow again as long as I live! And I won't even come to the rehearsal!

(cut to rehearsal, with Cantor on stage directing Chorus Girls)

Cquote2
  • A very direct version occurs in With Six You Get Eggroll. As Abby tells her sister she's not going to wear the red dress to the party, the camera shows her back, then immediately cuts to her back in the red dress at the party.
  • Lake Placid: "I'm not going to Maine. I'm NOT going to Maine!" Cut to plane flying over Maine.
  • Happens in Lethal Weapon 2, the 'bomb-in-the-toilet' scene. Riggs says he has to call in the bomb squad, and Roger reluctantly agrees, but urges Riggs to keep it quiet. Cuts to Roger's house filled with all sorts of people, a huge crowd outside, and several firetrucks and police cars with their sirens blaring.
  • Mel Brooks's To Be or Not to Be:
Cquote1

 Mrs. Bronski: Siletski and Earhart have never met, if we could find somebody to play... (looks to her actor husband) Colonel... Erhardt...

Sobinski: A good actor...

Mrs. Bronski: A great actor!

Mr. Bronski: A dead actor! Don't look at me! Don't look at me!

(cut)

Mr. Bronski: (dressed as Col. Erhardt) Look at me!

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Harry: I'll ask someone I like. Someone cool.

Cut to Harry greeting Luna Lovegood.

Cquote2
  • Twister uses this after Jo's truck is destroyed.
Cquote1

 Jo: That's a very nice truck.

Bill: Don't even think about it. No way.

Cquote2

Cut to Jo, Bill and Melissa in the red truck with the Dorothy equipment in back


Literature[]

Cquote1

 Hobbie: You lied to me.

Wedge: You knew, when I said we needed four sets of women's clothing, that we were going to end up in them. You knew. So any hopes you had to the contrary were just self-delusion.

Hobbie: I understand that. But I'd rather blame you than me.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Michael: Don't worry. Let me do all the talking.

(chapter break)

Michael: I can't believe they arrested us.

Cquote2
    • During Dead Beat, Butters wants to take his polka suit with him:
Cquote1

 Butters: I'm not leaving it here for God-knows-what to mess with.

Dresden: Yes you are. We are not taking it with us. We don't have time for this.

(break)

Dresden: That stupid polka suit filled up most of the back of the SUV.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 "We are not moving to another villa," said Mother firmly.

(Next chapter starts)

The new villa was enormous...

Cquote2
  • In Shadowplay, Briony absolutely cannot play the lead in a theater group. Next paragraph, she has only ten days to learn her lines.
  • Happens surprisingly often in Tom Clancy's books, though they aren't always exactly humorous in nature, given the tone of the books.
  • In The Secrets of Droon, Keeah, Eric, and Neal have to disguise themselves as two girls and a boy to get into Maliban's court. With only one girl in the group, we get this:
Cquote1

 Neal pulled a blue gown off a rack and draped it over Eric's shoulder.

"This one even matches your eyes. How about it...Erica?"

Eric stomped his foot and began to shout.

"I won't, I won't, I won't--"

(End of chapter, next chapter...)

"Are you sure this dress matches my eyes?"

Cquote2
  • Dr. Seuss' "The Zax" (from his book The Sneetches and Other Stories) featured a Gilligan cut in the last few pages:
Cquote1

 "I'll stay here, not budging! I can and I will

If it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!"

Well...

Of course the world didn't stand still. The world grew.

In a couple of years, the new highway came through

And they built it right over those two stubborn Zax

And left them there, standing un-budged in their tracks.

Cquote2
  • When Locke, the Gentleman Bastard fomr The Lies Of Locke Lamora, encounters the Bondsmage for the first time, we get a short flashback in which his old mentor explains that one must always be very respectful to a Bondsmage or horrible retribution will occur. The first line of the next chapter is Locke addressing the Bondsmage with the words "Nice bird, arsehole."
  • A Song of Ice and Fire
    • There're some from Tyrion's perspective. At one point when things are going very badly, another dwarf who performs a comedy act asks him to join in, and he refuses blatantly. Guess what he's doing the next time we see him?
    • A decidedly un-funny one happens mid-chapter during Tyrion's trial for murdering Joffrey. Tyrion thinks to himself how unfortunate it is that Shae has been forced to testify, but reassures himself that she doesn't know anything that can harm him. The next sentence has "the girl he loved" lying to the court about how he planned the assassination and horribly mistreated her (both of which are totally untrue).


Live-Action TV[]

  • Lost has a couple of darkly humorous examples:
Cquote1

 Abaddon: Everything relies on you getting them in, getting them out, and preventing anyone from getting killed. Think you can do that?

Naomi: Sure. Why not?

Cquote2
    • Cut to Naomi's corpse.

and

Cquote1

 Miles: If Faraday said get people off the Island... I'd do it.

Dr. Chang: Well, then let's hope he knows what he's doing.

Cquote2
    • Cut to Faraday's corpse.
  • Friends has one in the One Where Rachel Quits, when she says that it feels so good that she doesn't have to serve coffee ever again. Cut to her new job, where a man tells her how her superior wants his coffee.
  • The trope namer, Gilligans Island, has a number of these. To cite one of many examples: in one episode, a group of natives visit the island searching for a "White Goddess" to take back to their island, which presumably has contact with civilization. Rather than putting one of the women in danger, the men decide that one of them dress up in drag to be the White Goddess. When it becomes apparent that the task will fall to Gilligan, he immediately protests, "I'm not gonna dress up like a girl, and you can't make me!", upon which the scene immediately cuts to Gilligan dressed as a woman (and still saying "You can't make me, you can't make me!").
  • Stephen Colbert does this right before the interview with his first-act "mini guests". First, he furiously rails against something or someone in the intro, and then he cuts straight to welcoming that person to his show. "[...] I will never, in a million years, ever understand what Jake Tapper was thinking! Here to tell me what Jake Tapper was thinking, please welcome the host of 'This Week', Jake Tapper."
  • Done constantly in Married... with Children, usually after Al says something to tempt fate.
    • In one instance, Marcy was telling him he needed to see a dentist due to his bad teeth, but Al reassures her that his teeth do not hurt and never have. Gilligan Cut to later in the night as Al screams "Now my teeth hurt!"
    • In the episode "Oldies but Young 'Uns", Al becomes obsessed with finding an old song. When he eventually sees it in a record store, the cashier says that it costs 60 dollars:
Cquote1

 Peggy: 60 dollars?! For a record? Hey, look. You must look at my husband, and mistake crazy for stupid. He's not paying sixty dollars for a record, and if he does, I'll kiss your--

(cut to Al and Peggy entering their house, Al with the record in his hand, and Peggy wiping her mouth)

Cquote2
  • Mamas Family pulls this move in season 1 episode 2. Vint declares to his mother that nothing can make him stop seeing (his mother's mortal enemy & neighbor) Naomi Oates. Immediate cut has Vint doing the very thing. They're married by episode 4.
  • Men Behaving Badly writer Simon Nye has declared his hatred for this trope, considering it a sitcom cliché, and managed to get away with only using it once in the entire run of MBB (Ken has taken over the pub; Gary declares that he and Tony will not set foot in there again until Les is restored as barman — Gilligan Cut to him and Tony convivially sharing a drink with Ken inside the pub).
  • Subverted in The Mighty Boosh when Howard refuses to dress as a panda, saying no man should ever be forced to do that. Cut to Vince dressed as a panda instead.
  • Hogan's Heroes. In "Everyone loves a Snowman", Hogan and his men are trying to hide a recently downed bomber crew and the Gestapo finds and needs to fill a false tunnel in the barracks. Hogan tells the airmen not to worry, "There are twenty barracks on this base and we have tunnels to all but one, barracks 4." Cut to the men standing in front of Barracks #4.
  • In a segment of Beakmans World on magic, Phoebe complains how they're gonna make her the bubble-brained assistant just because she's a girl. Beak says, "If anyone around here is going to be humiliated, it certainly won't be you." Everyone agrees, including Lester... until he realizes what that means. A half second later, Whip Pan to the stage, and Lester as the bubble-brained assistant, complete with costume.
  • Variation both in the original series and The Movie of The Beverly Hillbillies: Granny loudly declares her opposition to leaving, stating that they won't get her out of her rockin' chair. The next scene shows the truck packed and loaded, including Granny's rocker. Granny's still in it.
  • Chef did this all the time.
  • A rare dramatic Gilligan Cut occurs in the My So-Called Life episode "Life of Brian":
Cquote1

 Brian: (voiceover) I vow to never again show up at Angela's door with some lame excuse!

(cut to Brian at Angela's door talking to her dad about something he supposedly borrowed from her)

Cquote2
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 Cassie: I am not getting in Brad's car with you! (cut) I don't know how you talked me into this.

Cquote2
    • And Jules doesn't know either.
  • Wings
    • In the episode "Death Becomes Him", Joe and Brian accidentally fly the wrong corpse in for a funeral. Brian suggests that Joe masquerade as the dead man until they have time to switch the bodies.
Cquote1

 Brian: Get in the box, Joe.

Joe: No! There is no way I am getting in that box.

(cut to Joe in the casket at the funeral)

Joe: (thinking) I can't believe I got in the box!

Cquote2
    • Subverted in the episode "I've Got a Secret". Alex confides to Helen and Antonio that she once posed in Playboy. When Joe and Brian discover that Antonio knows a secret about Alex, they begin to badger him.
Cquote1

 Joe: Come on. Tell us what you know.

Antonio: I can't. I won't. There is no way you're ever getting this out of me.

(Cut to Lowell walking into the office later that day with a large stack of magazines)

Lowell Okay, this is the last of them. Every Playboy from '85 to '89.

Cquote2
    • However, the cut ends up being deceptive, as it was not Antonio who blabbed, but Helen.
  • Used for an extremely rare dramatic effect in the HBO Miniseries Generation Kill. The Marines of First Recon is stopped in the middle of the night at the edge of the Euphrates River, preparing to launch an assault into Nasiriya.
Cquote1

 Lt. Nathaniel Fick: I promise you, we will move out under cover of darkness.

(cut to a nervous-looking Cpl. Harold James Trombley as 2nd Platoon's Humvees drive over the bridge into Nasiriya in broad daylight)

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Willow: Maybe you could get Angel to help you find the Gorches.

Giles: Good idea. Strength in numbers.

Xander: Oh yeah. I see a lot of hunting getting done in that scenario.

Buffy: Please. Like Angel and I are just helpless slaves to passion. Grow up!

(cut to Buffy and Angel making out in the cemetery)

Buffy: You know, this isn't hunting in the classical sense...

Cquote2
    • "First Date":
Cquote1

 Xander: (captured by a demon he'd been dating after his tendency to date dangerous demons was pointed out once again) I knew it. See? I knew it.

Cquote2
    • "Selfless"
Cquote1

 Flashback!Anya: I'm the Mrs.! I will be his Mrs.! I'll be...

(cut to Anya impaled on Buffy's sword)

Cquote2
    • "I Will Remember You":
Cquote1

 Doyle: You don't know what Buffy and Angel are doing down there.

Cordelia: They've got the forbidden love of all time. They've been apart for months. Now he's suddenly human. I'm sure they're down there just having tea and crackers.

(cut to Angel pouring himself some tea while Buffy munches on some crackers)

Cquote2
    • Plus, there's the scene that references the title of the episode. Buffy is in tears, and swear she will never forget that day. Then, the Elders press the Reset Button, and Buffy (along with everybody else except Angel) has forgotten everything that happened that day.
    • "Over The Rainbow":
Cquote1

 (Angel and the gang get into a fight)

Wesley: I think we're winning!

(cut to them tied up in the town square)

Cquote2
    • "The Puppet Show"
Cquote1

 Snyder: From now on, you're going to see a very different Sunnydale High; a tight ship. Clean, orderly... and quiet.

(cut to girl discovering the corpse of a girl who has had her organs harvested, and screaming)

Cquote2
    • From "I Robot, You Jane"
Cquote1

 Buffy: Follow Dave? What, in dark glasses and a trench coat? Please. I can work this out myself.

(cut to Buffy dressed in a Conspicuous Trenchcoat and sunglasses, lurking behind Dave)

Cquote2
  • From Merlin in the episode "To Kill the King", Morgana challenges Uther.
Cquote1

 Uther: Take care child, or I'll have you restrained.

Morgana: You just try.

(scene cuts to Morgan being dragged into a cell by the guards and chained to a wall)

Cquote2
  • From Supernatural 6.07 "Family Matters", as Dean wants to get involved in the hunt on the Alpha Vampire:
Cquote1

 Dean: (to Samuel) Big Daddy bloodsucker? I ain't gonna miss that. But this is your deal, I get it. I'll follow your lead. I trust you.

Dean: (outside) I don't trust him.

Cquote2
  • In Babylon 5, Londo and G'Kar are on Centauri Prime just when yet another conflict between the Centauri and the Narns starts, and a Centauri official demands G'Kar to be imprisoned as a security liability until the crisis is over. Londo responds "Where he goes, I go", and turns to G'Kar to comment that even one as arrogant as him wouldn't dare to imprison his own Prime Minister. Scene cut, and they're both standing in a cell, and Londo shouts "Shut up!" to G'Kar before he can say anything.
  • Mystery Science Theater 3000 loves to put this trope in the mouths of the victim-movie's characters.
  • Top Gear
    • In series 5, episode 2, there are two in rapid succession.
Cquote1

 James May: All you have to do [to enter the competition] is answer this very, very tricky automotive question: "Which Italian super car maker features a prancing horse on its logo?"

(cut across the studio to Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond)

Jeremy Clarkson: I have absolutely no idea...

(pause)

Jeremy Clarkson: Uh, anyway... Ferrari! A couple of years ago, they introduced this amazing new hyper car called the F60, and we've been trying ever since to get hold of one.

(assorted talk about the trouble they had, getting their hands on one to drive)

Jeremy Clarkson: And then, out of the blue, Nick Mason, who's the drummer with Pink Floyd, telephoned to say that he's got an F60 which we could borrow, if we promised to plug his new book. Well, we aren't really allowed to plug stuff on Top Gear, but I said to him, "Look, if we can have your F60, I'll slide a couple of references in, and I don't think any of the bigwigs'll notice...

(cut to segment backed by the Pink Floyd track "Astronomy Domine")

Cquote2
    • It should be noted the rest of the segment was packed full of Pink Floyd tracks, as well as numerous "The only thing as awesome as this car is this book I've been reading" lines.
    • Another example, from the Vietnam episode:
Cquote1

 (Hammond and May are sitting comfortably in a bar, drinking)

Hammond: Do you think he's enjoying his first biking experience?

(cut to Clarkson, riding a beat-up Vespa, decked out with a plethora of mirrors, most of which are reflecting the headlight directly into his eyes)

Clarkson: I AM THE MOST MISERABLE HUMAN BEING ALIVE!!

Cquote2
    • And from the same episode:
Cquote1

 Clarkson: (voiceover) Still, at least I'd been assured it wouldn't rain.

(fast cut to Clarkson, Hammond, and May riding their motorbikes in a teeming Vietnamese monsoon)

Clarkson: Name an upside to this, mate! Name ONE upside!

May: Well, you're not hot anymore, are you?

Cquote2
    • And still from the same episode:
Cquote1

 Clarkson (with his bike having broken down yet again) Still, at least my mates wouldn't leave me behind this time.

(cut to Hammond and May driving away at top speed)

Cquote2
    • From series 16, episode 3, where they go to Albania:
Cquote1

 Clarkson: (After reading a letter requesting a car test for the Albanian Mafia) This caused one hell of a row in the office. The producers said, 'We should go out to Albania and do the test,' and we said, 'No! We can't be seen to be helping the Mafia!' We were adamant. We said, 'this is our line in the sand. We will, not, go.'

(Cut to ferry from Corfu to Albania)

Cquote2
  • In one commentary on Father Ted, Graham Linehan called this trope the "bicycle joke", giving an example that begins with the line "You'll never catch me riding a bicycle".
Cquote1

 Dougal: If you're a solicitor, then I'm Boy George!

(cut to Dougal sitting in a crypt, rocking in a traumatized fashion)

Dougal: Karma karma karma karma chameleon...

Cquote2
  • "The bicycle joke" happens about Once Per Episode on Last of the Summer Wine, exactly as Linehan describes.
  • Episode 4 of Kamen Rider Dragon Knight has Maya tell her friend she will not get coffee for anyone. The next scene has her getting coffee for the woman she is working with.
  • Myth Busters
    • Reversed in an episode where they tested a bulletproof plexiglass, because Jamie said it was bulletproof. Jamie: "I never said it was bulletproof". Cut to an older episode, with Jamie gesturing to the substance and saying "It'll stop a bullet". Repeated for comic effect.
    • Also reversed on Adam during the American Graffiti myth with his prediction of the outcome, which spawned the now-famous "I reject your reality and substitute my own" line.
  • Kröd Mändoon and the Flaming Sword of Fire has an episode where Matt Lucas's character says to his girlfriend (who has just contracted a serious illness) that he is not going to let her die. The next scene has him crying over her grave.
  • The first episode of Frasier has Frasier closing a scene by refusing to let Eddie, his father's dog, move in with them. The very next scene opens with Eddie staring at Frasier on the couch.
  • One Foot in the Grave enjoys these. Example:
Cquote1

 Victor: I. Do. Not. Want. A Dog!

(cut to Victor building a kennel)

Cquote2
  • Monk has a number of interesting Gilligan Cuts.
    • In Mr. Monk and the Missing Granny, Monk and Sharona are seen at a homeless shelter. Monk asks if there is a more subtle disguise that will prevent them from standing out. Cut to Monk and Sharona at the serving counter.
    • In Mr. Monk Is on the Run Part Two, there is a scene where Stottlemeyer makes Natalie promise not to look for Monk after he fakes his death. Natalie promises, then we immediately cut to her hurriedly packing a suitcase.
    • An interesting one is this exchange in Mr. Monk Buys a House:
Cquote1

 [Jake is assessing some damage to a wiring fixture and the likely repair needed]

"Honest" Jake Phillips: Adrian, I'm a surgeon. It's just gonna be like taking out an appendix — a little incision, snip, snip, snip, pop over with the wire, and the fixture, a little spackle, a little paint...

Adrian Monk: Is it going to be, you know, like [mimics a jackhammer] messy?

"Honest" Jake Phillips: Nah, no way. You won't even know I was here! [Cuts to Jake hacking a hole in the wall, with shrapnel flying everywhere]

Cquote2
    • A few seconds later:
Cquote1

 "Honest" Jake Phillips: But I know a great plumber. His name is Ramone. They call him "Honest Ramone".

Adrian Monk: Of course they do.... [Cuts to Monk and Natalie sitting on the stairs as Jake and Ramone continue destroying the wall]

Cquote2


  • The West Wing: Josh has made a political deal that helps the White House but screws over Mandy, his old girlfriend:
Cquote1

 Mandy: You know what the worst part about this is?

Lloyd Russell: Well, I think you dinged up your suspension pretty good.

Mandy: No, Lloyd, it's the party they're having, right now, in the West Wing, at my expense.

Russell: They're not having a party in the West Wing.

Mandy: I've worked with these people for two and a half years. They like to win and they like to gloat.

Russell: These people are professionals. A blow was struck against party unity today. No one is going to be gloating.

(scene cut to Josh's office)

Josh: Victory is mine, victory is mine. Great day in the morning, people, victory is mine!

(everyone applauds as Josh dances and pounds on his chest)

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Bryn: There is no way you are getting me out clubbing in Cardiff tonight!

(cut)

Bryn: I never thought you'd get me out clubbing in Cardiff tonight!

Cquote2
  • 60 Second Sitcoms were minute-long sitcom parodies (complete with opening and ending titles) that TV Land used to show between programs. One called Spin and Cutter was a parody of this trope.
Cquote1

 (spin and Cutter trudge into the living room)

Spin: Thank goodness that's over!

Cutter: Yea. Well, one good thing...

Both together: At least YOU got that letter back!

(they both look at each other as we cut to... both of them in a two-man horse costume)

Spin: Wait, these aren't security guard costumes!

(cut to the two of them in security guard uniforms breaking into an office)

Spin: Someone's coming! Quick, out on the ledge!

Cutter: That's dangerous! We're on the 40th floor!

Spin: More dangerous than the Boss finding us in his office after hours?

(cut to Spin and Cutter as angels)

Spin: Well, at least it can't get any worse.

Cutter: Spin, old buddy, for once I think you're right.

Cquote2
Cquote1
Cquote2
Cquote1

 Sisko: And Major, when you're with the Romulans, try to be... diplomatic.

Kira: I'm always diplomatic!

(cut to Major Kira meeting with Romulans)

Kira: That is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard and I resent the implication!

Cquote2
  • On Breaking Bad, Marie is giving a sponge bath to her husband, Hank, while he's recuperating from surgery after being shot. He's reluctant to leave the hospital, while Marie wants him home, so Marie strikes up a deal: if she can make his... you know... stand up, salute, and... you know... within one minute, he will leave the hospital. He laughs at her, saying that there is no way, just no w--... jump cut to an annoyed Hank being wheeled out of the hospital, followed by a smirking and, presumably, triumphant Marie.
  • Yes, Prime Minister does this in the episode "One of Us":
Cquote1

 Hacker: Don't discuss this with Arnold until I've spoken to him.

Humphrey: (indignant) Of course not, Prime Minister, I wouldn't dream of it.

(cut to a visibly-distraught Humphrey taking a sip of wine)

Humphrey: So what do you think I should do, Arnold?

Cquote2
  • Reba
    • In an episode, Reba's son-in-law becomes a driver in a pizza joint while having no vehicle of his own, so he requests Reba to drive him for deliveries. Reba refuses and refuses...and cut! In the next, scene she is driving her son-in-law for deliveries, albeit reluctantly.
    • In an earlier episode, her ex-husband begs her to come with him to help him spread his father's ashes on a golf course. She declares, "Uh-uh! Those puppy-dog eyes aren't gonna work on me anymore!" Cut to the golf course, where she stands next to him holding a rake.
  • How I Met Your Mother uses this from time to time.
    • In the episode where Ted and Barney drunkenly talk about getting Robin back:
Cquote1

 Barney: I should probably leave... before I do something I regret...

(cut to Barney on the street outside Robin's apartment)

Barney: ROBIN...ROBIN, I LOVE YOU!

Cquote2
    • Another example is in early season 6. Barney needs help moving, and asks for help. The gang point out that not even he, the master manipulator, can get them to help him move. Barney smiles, loosens his tie, cricks his neck, flexes his knuckles, takes a breath and...
Cquote1

 (cut to the gang in Barney's mother's house, packing boxes)

Lily: How the hell did he do that?

Cquote2
    • In the second episode of Season 7:
Cquote1

 Marshall: I wanna be the kind of man my child can look up to. So, sweeping declaration, I am never getting drunk again as long as I live. (the rest of the gang laughs) I'm serious! (scene briefly stops so Future Ted can narrate)

Future Ted: Kids, it's not that your Uncle Marshall had a drinking problem. But whenever he made a sweeping declaration like that, you pretty much knew...

(the next day, Marshall walks in drunk)

Marshall: I DID IT AGAIN!

Future Ted: But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Cquote2
  • The ICarly special iQuit iCarly had this:
Cquote1

 Spencer: NO! WE NEVER SURRENDER THIS BOAT!

(cut to Spencer and Gibby being thrown into a garbage dumpster)

Spencer: ...They have our boat.

Cquote2
  • A very early episode of Zoey 101 had this, when Zoey is telling Chase about how living with Quinn is giving her a hard time:
Cquote1

 Chase: You can't just look a girl in the face and say, "I don't want to live with you anymore."

(cut to Quinn's room where she is looking at Zoey)

Quinn: Zoey, I don't want to live with you anymore.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Beck: The producers took two seperate phone conversations and cut them together!

Jade: I want to hear that from them!

(Tori holds her hands out in questioning; cut to the Black Box theater)

Producer: Yeah, we took two seperate phone calls and cut them together.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Kelly: What are you gonna do, chimp-nap Lolo and train him to like Big Time Rush?

(cut to the studio where Lolo is across from them)

Kelly: I WAS BEING SARCASTIC!

Cquote2
    • Subverted in "Big Time Wedding", when Mrs. Knight says that she absolutely refuses to marry Buddha Bob. Cut to the two at the Palm Woods pool in wedding clothes, where a "sermon" is reciting a passage and asks Mrs. Knight if she's sure about this...and she refuses.
    • And lastly, in the pilot, a Gilligan Cut without the cut. Gustavo yells at Kendall, saying that he absolutely refuses to take James, Carlos, and Logan with him to Los Angeles. Kendall says, "So... we have a deal." And Gustavo agrees.
  • The Sarah Jane Adventures episode "The Nightmare Man Part 1" features this exchange:
Cquote1

 Luke: Are you really gonna make scrambled egg? Remember what happened last time?

Sarah Jane: I think I can manage.

(cut to Clyde reading a text message from Luke)

Clyde: "Mum just set the kitchen on fire again."

Cquote2
Cquote1

 FDR: Are--are you dense? I said I wanted you to drop dead. Now... drop dead!

(slams the door in Kramer's face)

Kramer: I knew it... Stupid Jerry...

(cut to Jerry's apartment, ten minutes earlier)

Jerry: Kramer, I know what I'm talking about. There's no way FDR wants you to drop dead.

Cquote2
  • Taxi. A Gilligan Cut without the cut: the gang is helping Jim out at his new bar. Jim hears that Alex plays piano and loudly introduces him as a performer. Alex adamantly states that he won't play — a gorgeous woman sidles up to him and purrs "I'd love to hear 'Ebb Tide'." Alex promptly launches into "Ebb Tide".
  • Dexter has one of these when the title character goes after a new killer who poses as a car salesman. He's duped quite well in a funny moment.
Cquote1

 Dexter: I go in there to hunt a serial killer, I come out with a new car. How the hell did that happen?

Cquote2
    • In his defence, it was a great car for his purposes (transporting his victims).
  • In the No Ordinary Family episode "No Ordinary Quake", Jim & Stephanie are talking about how to test their son JJ for superpowers
Cquote1

 Jim: So what're you going to do, honey? You gonna tell your son you don't believe him and, what, ask him for his DNA?

Stephanie: I think I can come up with a more subtle approach.

(cut to Stephanie the next day, placing a cup on the table in front of JJ)

JJ: You want me to pee in a cup?

Cquote2
  • Played with, perhaps unintentionally, in the Star Trek the Original Series episode "Spectre of the Gun": the group decide they'll wait right here until 5:00, when they're scheduled for the shootout at the OK Corral (It Makes Sense in Context), but are instantly teleported there.
  • This happened at least once per episode in Johnny Tolengo, where Juan Carlos Calabró played a snarky pop singer half his own age.
  • From an episode of Sledge Hammer, when it's suggested that the police hold a fund-raising telethon:
Cquote1

 Captain Trunk: That is the most preposterous thing that I have ever heard! We will have a telethon over my dead body!

(cut to Trunk singing "Hava Nagila" at the telethon)

Cquote2
  • Justified: Arlo to Raylan: "You're not gonna arrest me!" Cut to Raylan dragging him off in handcuffs.
  • In the Spartacus: Blood and Sand episode "The Thing in the Pit", Spartacus is condemned to fight in the pits, as is Kerza.
Cquote1

 Kerza: I'm not dying in the pits. I'll show these cunts. My cock was forged in Vulcan's flames! I will fuck! Them! All!!

(cut to Kerza in the Pit, getting beaten to death)

Cquote2
  • On Boy Meets World, Cory wants to dress up as a girl as part of a "Chick Like Me" plot, but when he tries it out he looks very unconvincing. He and Topanga then suggest that Shawn do it instead, to which Shawn refuses. Cut to school the next day where Shawn is dressed as a girl.
  • In the BBC adaptation of The Body in the Library, Colonel Bantry's "I am not going downstairs to ask if there is a body in my library" is instantly disproved.
  • In part two of the Power Rangers Dino Thunder/Ninja Storm crossover episode, Blake insists that there's absolutely no way he's going to follow Hunter and Cam into the Abyss of Evil to reclaim their powers. Cut to him wearing a helmet and rappelling gear, stating once more for the record that he thinks this is a bad idea before they begin climbing down.


Tabletop Games[]

  • Feng Shui, in keeping with the action/comedy genre, actively advised this as a way of resolving disputes with recalcitrant players. If one person adamantly refuses to go along with something, Gilligan Cut to him going along with it anyway.


Theater[]

  • In Lysistrata, the title character tells the Greek women that she has a way to end the war. One of the women says she'll do anything, just anything. L. says, "We have to stop sleeping with our men." "Anything but THAT!" Which makes this Older Than Feudalism.


Video Games[]

  • The Starcraft custom campaign, "The Shifters". The pre-mission briefing for Chapter 3, between space-pirate Yvonne and his girlfriend/XO went thusly:
Cquote1

 XO: Please tell me you have a plan. We're not just going to walk in the front entrance, are we?

Yvonne: Of course not! I may not have a plan, but I assure you, we won't be walking in the front entrance.

(briefing ends and the mission begins; on-screen text pops up)

"Kel-Morian Sanctity December 2nd Front Entrance"

Cquote2
  • Flight of the Amazon Queen. Joe King escapes from the hotel room he was locked up in, but is caught by two goons at the hotel entrance.
Cquote1

 Eddy: I don't know how you got out of your room, King, but this time I'm going to make it difficult for you to leave the building!

King: Oh yeah? What are you going to do? Take my clothes from me?

(cut to Joe King back in his room, in underwear)

King: Me and my big mouth...

Cquote2
  • There's a text one at the start of Big Shell Evil in Metal Gear Solid 2's "Snake Tales". Otacon wants Snake to go to the Big Shell to look after his sister, Snake tells him no, Otacon continues asking, Snake says "Leave me alone!", and the next paragraph starts "Six hours later, I was standing on the Big Shell".
  • In World of Warcraft, the Alliance quest that brings you to the Twilight Highlands has one of these. Fargo Flintlocke, the airplane pilot, tells you to not black out after using the entire fuel supply to get you to the highlands as fast as possible. Then it cuts to you waking up with the dwarf standing in front of you looking at the plane, crashed in a ship's mast. Fargo's response was, "Oh, like you coulda done any better."
  • In the "Get Tannen!" episode of the Telltale Games adventure game Back to The Future: The Game, Artie McFly (Marty's grandfather) is hiding from Kid Tannen (Biff's father), a mobster and Artie's former boss. Marty and Doc Brown try to convince him to go to Kid's speakeasy to meet with Kid's singer and lover Trixie (who is secretly in love with Artie). He utterly refuses, which immediately cuts to "I don't know why I let you convince me..." as they are approaching the speakeasy.
  • In Halo: Reach, this little conversation:
Cquote1

 Catherine-B320: All we need is a green light from Holland.

Carter-A259: Good luck with that.

Catherine-B320: You're the one asking him.

Carter-A259: Oh, there's no way in hell he's gonna go for this.

(later)

Jorge-052: Still can't believe Holland said yes to this.

Cquote2


Visual Novel[]

  • In Kira Kira, Shikanosuke swears he will not dress as a girl to get into Sarina's mansion. No way. Not happening. Even if he can pull off an extremely effective girl, it will never ever happen again. After that declaration, he gets an entire line before we get a cut to him. You have to hand it to him, he manages to actually look better than any of the real girls.
  • In Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1, the Christmas event with Reiichi Himuro in the third year has the protagonist ask him to take her with him to his friend's bar after the school's Christmas party. He adamantly refuses, saying it's no place for him to take a student. Cut to "Yo, welcome. A table for two?"


Web Animation[]

  • Subverted in the Homestar Runner cartoon "Bug in Mouth Disease". Strong Bad is watching a Caleb Rentpayer marathon, and the announcer says, "And coming up next on Caleb Rentpayer, find out who shot Caleb." "'Who shot Caleb?' Oh, there's no way I'm missing that one. NO. WAY." Fade out and fade in on the couch now empty. It turns out he was just sitting right in front of the TV with his head taped to the screen.


Web Comics[]

Cquote1

 Jennie: Oh, don't worry. We won't have any trouble.

(next panel)

Jennie: What seems to be the trouble, Officer?

Cquote2
Cquote1
Cquote2
Cquote1

 Rain: (thinking) And even if he did, he probably wouldn't even believe what he saw, right? Yeah, I'm sure he wouldn't tell anyone...

Rudy: (to Maria and Gavin) Hey, guys! You'll never guess what I saw!

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Dr. Lee: You think you can distract me, doctor? Go ahead and try. Hit me with your best shot. (cut to them both in bed)

Cquote2


Web Original[]

  • Happens twice in a row in the Kate Modern episode "Spiders":
Cquote1

 Gavin: I've got a plan B.

Tariq: What? We pay in gardening?

(cut to Tariq digging in the garden)

Tariq: I was only joking!

Gavin: Oh, come on! You missed — you missed a bit there. It's not forever! And just think about what we're getting for it.

(cut to a dusty old garage full of cardboard boxes)

Tariq: I thought you said it was perfect!

Cquote2
Cquote1

 The paunchy noble's sagging round face flushed suddenly pale,

Crow: It flushed pale? Did it blanch red after that?

then pastily lit up to a lustrous cherry red radiance.

Crow: Hold me.

Cquote2
  • A veritable Running Gag of The Nostalgia Critic. He's constantly thinking that movies could only be made sillier, stupider, or worse if they do the one thing... that they're about to do.
  • Also happens in Kickassia, when The Cinema Snob agrees to talk to Critic about the twenty tons of dynamite he ordered.
Cquote1

 Paw: What if he suspects us going behind his back?

Snob: He won't suspect us, I'll put it very delicately.

(cut to)

Snob: Everybody thinks you're nuts.

Cquote2
  • This is how Linkara summarizes the plot of JLA: The Obsidian Age Book One in his Comics in Five Panels:
Cquote1

 "We're the Justice League, and we have to go back in time to rescue Aquaman! This certainly won't result in our deaths or anything!"

(cut to panel of Superman's really-most-sincerely-dead skeleton)

"OH F***!!!"

Cquote2
Cquote1

 33. Not allowed to chew gum at formation, unless I brought enough for everybody.

34. (Next day) Not allowed to chew gum at formation even if I *did* bring enough for everybody.

Cquote2
  • A typical joke on Cracked articles of the "top x" variety. If they say "That's an oxymoron, like pyromaniac firemen", the next point will be about pyromaniac firemen.
  • One happens during the Two Best Friends Play video of Portal 2 when Chell is going through G La DOS's old chamber:
Cquote1

 Matt: So nothing bad is going to happen?

Pat: Nothing bad is going to happen.

(cut to G La DOS crushing Wheatley)

Matt: Oh fuck! You said nothing bad was going to happen!

Pat: To you!

Matt: Nigel!

Cquote2
  • In We Are Our Avatars, The Grinning General has this as one of his powers. If he tries to invoke this power, his body severely pays the price.
  • Occasionally happens in a dark way in The SCP files, as below in an excerpt from File II on SCP-087:
Cquote1

 ' Dr. ______': Thank you. Please continue down.

' D-9035:' Look, Doc. I think I've gone far enough.

' Dr. ______': Please continue, as per our agreement.

' D-9035': I don't wanna be doing this, agreement or not.

[DATA EXPUNGED]

D-9035 steps over the destroyed step and continues down the staircase.

Cquote2


Western Animation[]

  • Hey Arnold absolutely loves this trope.
    • "Arnold as Cupid", S1:
Cquote1

 Oscar: Don't worry, Arnold, I can't lose. (cut) ...I can't believe I lost.

Cquote2
    • "Das Subway", S1:
Cquote1

 Helga: No subway for me. Not no way, not no how. I am NOT taking the subway. (cut) ...I can't believe I'm taking the subway.

Cquote2
    • "Big Caesar", S2:
Cquote1

 Gerald: No way, Arnold. There's no way we're fishing in a swan boat. (cut) ...I can't believe we're fishing in a swan boat.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Arnold: Stinky, we are not calling our go-cart the Mauve Avenger. (cut) ...I cannot believe we called our go-cart the Mauve Avenger.

Cquote2
    • "Dinner for Four", S3:
Cquote1

 Helga: Look, I am not gonna go back in there, tell them the truth, and wind up washing dishes. (cut) ...I can't believe I told them the truth, and I wound up washing dishes.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Rhonda: You may have lost your dignity, but I certainly haven't lost mine! There is no way I am recycling old bottles and cans to pay for my LUNCH!

(cut to Rhonda prowling through a dumpster)

Cquote2
  • Family Guy
    • Double Subversion in the episode "Death is a Bitch". Death asks Peter to take over for him by crashing a plane full of people, and Peter absolutely refuses.
Cquote1

 Peter: Forget it, Death, I'm not gonna do your dirty work! There's no way I'm getting on that plane! Absolutely no way, and that's final.

(cut to Peter, still standing in place)

Peter: See, I'm still here and there's nothing you can say that'll change my mind.

Death: Either you kill them or I kill you.

(cut to Peter on the plane)

Cquote2
    • In another episode:
Cquote1

 Lois: Peter, I'm getting a little worried about Chris. All he does lately is sit alone in his room talking to that zit.

Peter: Relax, Lois. What's a zit gonna do? Talk to him and tell him to sneak out of the house and cause trouble?

(cut to Chris having already snuck out of the house)

The zit: Now light it, ring the doorbell, and run like hell!

Cquote2
    • Subverted in the episode "The Cleveland-Loretta Quagmire". Peter remarks that he and Brian shouldn't tell Cleveland that his wife is having an affair. That's the last thing they want to do. Gilligan Cut to Peter and Brian having done everything else in the world, so since there's nothing left to do, they might as well tell Cleveland that his wife had an affair.
      • And in the same episode, after Peter and Brian have found out that Quagmire was the one who slept with Loretta, Quagmire begs them not to tell Cleveland, which Peter says he won't do. Cut to Cleveland at the Griffins' house, where Peter is telling him just that.
  • Freakazoid provides a subversion. Freakazoid declares emphatically he is not going into the sewers after Cobra Queen. We cut to the sewers; the camera pans around, but Freakazoid isn't there. Cut to him sitting at home, watching Animaniacs.
Cquote1

 Freakazoid: (to audience) See? I said I'd never go.

Cquote2
    • Outright lampshaded in "Candlejack", where Freakazoid encounters a villain who can only capture those who say his name aloud.
Cquote1

 Steph: Don't say his name!

Freakazoid: You mean, don't say "Candlejack?" {{[[[Gilligan Cut]] Camera cuts to Freakazoid being tied up with everyone else.}}]

Steph: (disappointed) Freakazoid, why did you say his name?

Freakazoid: (overly excited) 'Cuz I wanted to one of those really funny things, like in — you ever watch F Troop where Agarn says, "There's no way I'm wearing a dress! Absolutely not! No dress," and Forrest Tucker's like, "Yeah, you're wearing that dress, you're gonna wear that dress," and then they wipe, blrblrblrbllrbrl, and Agarn's wearing a dress. (cut to such a scene from F Troop)

Agarn: (in a high-pitched falsetto) Yoo-hoo! Look, oh brothers! Look who's here for you! (cut back to Freakazoid)

Candlejack: Oooh, I love that bit!

Cquote2
  • Futurama
    • In the episode "Time Keeps on Slippin'", time-skips are setting up natural Gilligan Cuts. Though oddly this is a bit of a subversion as a subplot is Fry (and the audience) trying to figure out what worked.
Cquote1

 Leela: (on Fry loving her) I appreciate it, but nothing you can do will ever, ever make me...

(time-skip)

Preacherbot: ... man and wife!

Cquote2
    • There is also this one, after Fry asks to enter the basketball game against the Harlem Globetrotters:
Cquote1

 Fry: We're 35 points ahead with two minutes left. What could possibly--

(Time-skip to Fry holding the ball; the crowd boos as a Globetrotter takes the ball and scores)

Marv Albert's head: Globetrotters win, 244-86.

Cquote2
    • The children in a localized skip:
Cquote1

 (Child 1 watches old man walk out of the SSI office)

"Stupid senior citizens. Why should we have to pay for their social security benefits?"

(local time skip to them being elderly)

"I deserve free money!"

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Narrator: So he [Stan] picked up the cubs and down the mountain he stormed, and took them to where abortions are performed.

Stan: No, he didn't.

Narrator: Yes, he did.

Stan: No, he didn't!

Narrator: Yes, he did.

Stan: No, he didn't!

Narrator: Yes, he... (cut) ...did!

Stan: Aw, God damn it!

Cquote2
    • Used twice in the episode "Butt Out": first, a team of cheesy motivational performers visit the school assembly to discourage smoking:
Cquote1

 Actors: Remember kids, if you smoke, you could grow up to be a failure. Worse yet, you could grow up to be dead! So don't believe what those evil tobacco companies tell you! Yeah, because if you don't smoke, you could grow up to be just like us!

(cut to the four boys coughing as they desperately smoke behind the school)

Stan: Here, gimme another one, gimme another one!

Cquote2
    • Also in "Butt Out":
Cquote1

 Kyle: If we go to the tobacco company, I know exactly what will happen: they'll take us in, and then Rob Reiner will show up with all of the townspeople holding torches or something, and there'll be a big showdown until we talk about what we learned, and changed everyone's minds, this is all following a formula!

Stan: So it's either deal with all that, or get grounded for three weeks...

(cut to the townspeople surrounding the tobacco company, holding flaming torches)

Cquote2
    • From "Tsst":
Cquote1

 Cartman: (Who is residing beside a trash bin in the rain) This is BULLCRAP! Mom'll break soon. I can outlast her.

(Cut to his house, where Liane is making a calligraphic painting and he arrives)

Cartman: Alright, I'm back.

Cquote2
  • Drawn Together had one episode where Foxxy Love was vehemently protesting she would not run a suicide hotline, only to have her agree to it after the cut. She lampshades it by muttering "Goddamnit!".
  • Played with in Courage the Cowardly Dog. Muriel decides to take Eustace and Courage on vacation, but Eustace insists that he's not getting out of his chair. Cut to a view of the boat sailing off. Then cut to Eustace sitting in the same chair on the deck of the boat. "Nope. Not getting out of this chair."
  • The Batman provides a bit of an odd example in "Artifacts":
Cquote1

 Mr. Freeze: The cryo-chamber. Cold enough to put me on ice until someone wakes me up and puts me back together.

Gray: (Who is thousands of years in the future) Still can't believe some fool woke Frost up and put him back together.

Cquote2
  • George Shrinks. Becky asks George if anyone will mind the fact he's taken a number of parts from household objects to build his ghost catching machine. George says that they won't even miss them. Cut to Junior finding the wheels off his toy car gone, Mom noticing the vacuum cleaner has had parts ripped from it and Dad finding his tape deck has vanished.
  • In the Invader Zim episode "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy", Professor Membrane explains that any attempt to travel back in time and change history is likely to create a future that is worse for the traveler (or cause, say, a giant fish in a bear suit to attack Tokyo). The Professor finishes, "Anyone who would want to build a space-time object replacement device is a complete moron!" Of course, the next thing we see is Zim saying "Gir, the space-time object replacement device is ready!"
  • SpongeBob SquarePants
    • Subverted temporarily in the episode "Born Again Krabs". Mr. Krabs prepares to take a bite out of an old, filthy, tainted patty. Just as he is about to bite down on it, the shot cuts to an ambulance, implying that Krabs was now being rushed to the hospital. As it turns out, the ambulance was only passing by the Krusty Krab. Krabs comments on it, then takes a bite out of the patty, and the cut is played straight afterwards.
    • Played straight in "Can You Spare a Dime?". After quitting his job, Squidward claims that the town will soon be eating out of the palm of his hand. Cut to him sitting in a box asking for change from people walking by.
  • Done on Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy in the episode "Sir Ed-A-Lot", where Sarah forces the Eds to play "princess" with her:
Cquote1

 Eddy: Next thing you know she's gonna want a throne.

(scene transition to later, with Sarah sitting on a makeshift throne)

Eddy: (raises glass) A toast, to my big mouth!

Cquote2
  • Sonic Sat AM has this (part of a plan to steal Robotnik's materials):
Cquote1

 Sonic: A hedgehog never gives up.

(cuts to middle of Robotropolis)

Sonic: I give up!

Cquote2
  • The Simpsons
    • Variation on the trope in the episode "Burns Baby Burns". Mr. Burns's son, an uncultured slacker voiced by Rodney Dangerfield, finds his father. Appalled by Larry Burns' antics, Burns disowns him. A saddened Larry walks late at night with Homer, trying to find some way of regaining his father's love.
Cquote1

 Homer: Larry, there's only one sure way to make him realize how much he loves you, and that is a phony kidnapping!

Larry: Yeah, right. I dunno. Maybe I should just leave town.

Homer: (sing-songy) Phony kidnapping.

Larry: Nah, I know what I gotta do. I gotta clean up my act. (dramatic music swells) No more joking around all the time, no more slacking off at work, and most important, no more booze! I know I can do it!

(cut to Burns at his front door, holding a note)

Burns: (reading) Your son has been kidnapped.

Cquote2
    • Double Subverted in another episode, when Homer accidentally leaves Maggie at a convent and they won't give her back. When coming up with a plan, Homer says he absolutely won't dress up like a nun. Cut forward to him...reaffirming he isn't dressed as a nun. Then Lisa says they don't need him to, and then he says "You sure?" and goes off screen for a second and comes back dressed as a nun saying that he has the costume already.
    • During a Documentary Episode titled "Springfield Up":
Cquote1

 Declan Desmond: Are you two considering children?

(24-Year-Old) Homer: (scoffs) Kids? No way. You'll never see a couple of rug-rats tying me down.

(cut to 8 years later with baby Bart and Lisa)

(32-Year-Old) Homer: You better not put this shot after the one where I said I won't have kids. That would be a devastating edit.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Jimmy: Ah, no big deal. I didn't really want to be in this play. (Cut) YOU GOTTA PUT ME IN THIS PLAY! I'LL DO ANYTHING! Even... (clears throat) Stage crew.

Cquote2
  • Kim Possible's brothers are suffering a bad cold and she's trying to keep them from sneezing everywhere:
Cquote1

 Kim: I do not want to catch this.

(cut to Kim in bed with a cold)

Kim: How did I catch this?

Cquote2
    • In the same episode, Ron and Doctor Drakken also catch colds after making similar statements.
  • In one episode of Phineas and Ferb:
Cquote1

 Candace: Yes, they're building something. But I've realized that the problem is I always jump the gun. So I'm gonna wait until just the right moment... (stops and looks panicked)

Stacy: Candace? Hello?

(cut to Candace running with her phone in her hand)

Candace: They're on the move, I'll bust them now! I'll bust them now!

Cquote2
Cquote1

 (an extremely large number of catapults shoot at them)

All three main characters: AAAAHHHHH!

(cut to them on the ground, singed)

Sokka: Secret love cave, let's go.

Cquote2
    • In "Runaway", Aang solemnly gives his Avatar promise not to go scamming people again. Cut, and we see a montage of them doing exactly that.
    • In "The Puppetmaster", the gang is staying at a creepy inn. After hearing some creaky noises arround the inn, Sokka is, of course, completely scared shitless. Talking to Momo, he says, "I know, Momo, I'm scared too, I'll never be able to sleep like this." Cut, and we see Sokka deep asleep, snoring loudly, and drooling all over the pillow.
  • The Fairly Odd Parents
    • A scene from episode "Nectar of the Odds", when Timmy wants to raise money to buy some shockingly expensive tickets from Francis to see Crash Nebula on ice:
Cquote1

 Wanda: How do most ten-year-olds make money?

Timmy: A lemonade stand...oh no, there's no way, no way I'm selling...

(cut to Timmy at the lemonade stand)

Timmy: ... lemonade, twenty-five cents.

Cquote2
    • Also, earlier in the same episode, it inverts this:
Cquote1

 A.J.: What are you gonna do? Make three tickets appear like magic?

(Timmy grins; cut to his home)

Timmy: What do you mean I can't make three tickets appear like magic?!

Cquote2
    • And in "Foul Balled":
Cquote1

 Timmy: Stop laughing at my friend. You're still down 29 runs with 1 inning left. There's no way you can catch us!

(10 minutes later, the Bankees are one run behind the Losers)

Chester: I can't believe they're about to catch us.

Cquote2
    • The list goes on...
  • Also done in an episode of Danny Phantom, when Danny comes up with an idea involving overshadowing Tucker:
Cquote1

 Tucker: No way. Forget it. Absolutely not! NO!

(cut to a scene where Tucker is overshadowed)

Cquote2
  • From American Dad Christmas episode "For Whom the Sleigh Bell Tolls":
Cquote1

 Stan: I promise I will not buy Steve a gun for Christmas.

(cut to Stan handing Steve a machine gun)

Stan: Happy Wednesday, son!

Cquote2
    • From the first season episode "Stan of Arabia (Part II)"
Cquote1

 Roger: Look, I don't know what you've heard about American girls, but we don't just jump into bed with someone we just met.

(cut to Hayley in bed with a Saudi she just met)

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Scootaloo: These mamby-pamby stories aren't getting us any closer to getting our cutie marks... We need action, we need Rainbow Dash!

(cut to Scootaloo looking very bored as Twilight is now telling her story)

Cquote2
    • In "Sisterhooves Social":
Cquote1

 (in the park)

Sweetie Belle: Rarity will think it's an excellent idea!

(back home)

Rarity: What a ridiculous idea!

Cquote2
  • The Ren and Stimpy Show, "Stimpy's Cartoon". When Stimpy finishes the eponymous cartoon, he rushes to arrange a meeting with (fictional) Golden Age cartoonist Wilbur Cobb. Ren quips "You're living in a dream world if you think the great Cobb'll see you!", which prompts a Match Cut to Ren in a suit, waiting with Stimpy in Wilbur Cobb's office.
  • The Problem Solverz
    • Done in "Videogamez".
Cquote1

 Konishi: I warn you, though, the game is dangerous. Don't let it suck you in.

Horace: No, it'll never suck us in.

(cut to case identification card)

"Case # 00101001: The Video Game That Sucks The Problem Solverz In."

Cquote2
    • And again in "Fauxboro".
Cquote1

 Alfe: Just don't tell Horace I've gone crazy.

Roba: Okay, I won't.

(cut to Roba in Horace's room)

Roba: He's gone crazy!

Cquote2
Cquote1

 "They took us by surprise that time. Took away our greatest weapons; stealth, and superior tactics. But that ain't gonna happen twice."

(cut to the penguins being chased by angry hornets)

"It happened twice! IT HAPPENED TWICE!"

Cquote2
    • The episode "Herring Impaired" features Private and Kowalski contracting a disease which causes them to babble uncontrollably and crave fish. Skipper, while attempting to control them by repeatedly slapping them, insists that his "iron constitution" has made him immune to the disease. Rico turns away, only to realise seconds later that Skipper has stopped slapping the other two, and turns around just in time to see Skipper get crazy eyes and scream "FIIIIIISH!"
  • Batman the Animated Series
    • Episode "Pretty Poison" has a bunch of these one after the other. In a conversation with Dent and Ivy at dinner talking about Bruce, Dent claims he is late because he is probably busy, cue the shot of Batman trying to catch a bad guy. He then comments he runs with a high class of crowd because of his wealth, cue the shot of Batman running after the bad guy. Lastly he mentions Bruce still gets his kicks, cue Batman kicking the bad guy.
    • In "Eternal Youth", Alfred insists he cannot go to the spa with Maggie. Wipe to the next scene where he is being driven by Maggie to the spa.
Cquote1

 Alfred: I'm being shanghaied.

Cquote2
Cquote1

 Dudley: What's he gonna do? Put us in jail?

(cut to Dudley and Kitty in jail)

Dudley: Wow, he put us in jail.

Cquote2
  • In Megas XLR, "Rear view mirror, mirror" Coop is surrounded by other Mechs ordering his surrender. His comment is a confident "No prob, I got this!" Immediately cut to Coop chained up and being dragged off.
  • In Potsworth and Company episode "When Bubba Rules", the Nightmare Prince's Mother sent Count Bubba Bonebreaker to replace him. When asked about what he'd be, the Nightmare Prince was told he'd be a janitor. He then said he wouldn't be one even in a billion years. Cut to the next scene, where he's already doing janitor duties.
  • In Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, as Monkey trains Po to restrain his punches to help Kwan the Unkillable win in his last match using plates...
Cquote1

 Po: What if we run out of plates?

Monkey: We're not going to run out of plates. (instant cut, Monkey looks miffed) We ran out of plates.

Cquote2


Real Life[]

  • "I'll just close my eyes for a minute, but I definitely won't go to sleep. This paper's due in the morning!" — Cut to waking up three hours late the next morning, paper still unfinished.
  • Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. On February 10, he announced that he would not be stepping down, contrary to rumors that had been flying around. The next day, his Vice President, Omar Suleiman, announced his resignation.
  • The infamous "Baghdad Bob" became a Running Gag in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, when his pronouncements that the US was being thrown back by the Iraqi army would be shortly contradicted by reports of a smashing American victory in the same city.