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One-Joke Fake Show

 One-Joke Fake Show
type
FeatureClass
 One-Joke Fake Show
label
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show
page
OneJokeFakeShow
 One-Joke Fake Show
comment
Whenever a fictional TV show appears in a work, don't expect the writers to waste any witty writing or actual jokes on it. Instead, it will only feature (and be named for) one wacky catchphrase or stupid concept. Bizarrely, it'll often be an in-universe Long Runner. Usually done as a Take That! to live-action Sitcoms if the show is a different kind of comedy.
A Sub-Trope of Incredibly Lame Fun, and a form of Stylistic Suck. Compare Specific Situation Books. Expect the title of this Show Within a Show to be very descriptive of the only thing ever shown in this series, such as being the catchphrase of the characters.
Not to be confused with Shallow Parody, which is when a parody of an actual show has just one predictable joke.
 One-Joke Fake Show
fetched
2023-11-11T02:00:53Z
 One-Joke Fake Show
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2023-11-11T02:00:53Z
 One-Joke Fake Show
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 One-Joke Fake Show
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 One-Joke Fake Show
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 One-Joke Fake Show
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 One-Joke Fake Show
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 One-Joke Fake Show
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 One-Joke Fake Show
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 One-Joke Fake Show
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 One-Joke Fake Show
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ThePerryBibleFellowShip
 One-Joke Fake Show
isPartOf
DBTropes
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_19c9d11e
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_19c9d11e
comment
Parodied in Caddicarus where while channel flipping, Caddy comes across an advert for "Don't Worry, That's Just My Boner!"
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_19c9d11e
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_19c9d11e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Caddicarus (Web Video)
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_19c9d11e
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_222a8847
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_222a8847
comment
RoboCop: All we ever see of the in-universe sitcom It's Not My Problem is the protagonist shouting "I'd buy that for a dollar!" Characters watching laugh even though the audience never sees any joke.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_222a8847
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_222a8847
featureConfidence
1.0
 RoboCop (1987)
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_222a8847
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_261c8d3f
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_261c8d3f
comment
The Simpsons:
The only joke of the recurring cartoon The Itchy & Scratchy Show is Itchy the mouse killing Scratchy the cat in increasingly over-the-top ways. People who have worked on The Simpsons have admitted that Itchy & Scratchy would never work in real life because of this trope.
In "Homer to the Max", there's the show Admiral Baby, a Mid Season Replacement about the adventures of a baby who has somehow become an admiral in the U.S. Navy. Even Homer Simpson thinks the show is dumb.
In "Wild Barts Can't Be Broken", Bart and Lisa while under curfew try watching prime-time TV and find the line-up to consist mostly of such shows, particularly an adult sitcom named after its "zany" catchphrase, Don't Go There!
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_261c8d3f
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_261c8d3f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Simpsons
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_261c8d3f
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_2a1b28fc
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_2a1b28fc
comment
"The Mr. Frog Show" from Smiling Friends consists of the eponymous character rapidly approaching the camera, announcing his presence, and eating a bug before declaring he loves his audience, all within ten seconds. And this is apparently how the show ran for forty-seven very popular seasons.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_2a1b28fc
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1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_2a1b28fc
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1.0
 Smiling Friends
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_2a1b28fc
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_2db2ff29
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_2db2ff29
comment
F is for Family has the sitcom Bruce Again! which seems to consist primarily of an effeminate man showing up at his neighbor's door with the eponymous catchphrase and the narrator yelling for him to Get Out!.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_2db2ff29
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1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_2db2ff29
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1.0
 F is for Family
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_2db2ff29
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_3ae518ad
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_3ae518ad
comment
Idiocracy. The in-universe show Ow! My Balls! consists entirely of one guy being repeatedly subjected to groin attacks. Even when he makes public appearances all anyone wants to do is kick him.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_3ae518ad
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_3ae518ad
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1.0
 Idiocracy
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_3ae518ad
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_46518682
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_46518682
comment
Sesame Street has a SpongeBob SquarePants parody called "TriangleBob TrianglePants" which is just a man (Bob McGrath) with triangular patches on his pants, singing a song about his pants.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_46518682
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1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_46518682
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1.0
 Sesame Street
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_46518682
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_57fbac4c
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_57fbac4c
comment
Martin/Molloy had fake ads for lowbrow Brit Coms That's My Pint! and Ow! Me Plums!, all which ended with the protagonist saying his catchphrase, which was also the show's title, with the implication this was the only joke the shows had.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_57fbac4c
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1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_57fbac4c
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1.0
 Martin/Molloy (Radio)
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_57fbac4c
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_6ecd1807
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_6ecd1807
comment
In Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a former recurring sketch was "Peripheral Vision Man", a superhero who could only see peripherally. In the one episode where it comes up its original writers shop it to Fox as a series.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_6ecd1807
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_6ecd1807
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1.0
 Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_6ecd1807
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_746814ae
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_746814ae
comment
In the Arthur episode "The Rat Who Came to Dinner", Arthur is seen watching a show called Dunce Patrol that consists of nothing but the characters saying "duh" over and over.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_746814ae
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_746814ae
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1.0
 Arthur
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_746814ae
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7832b74c
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7832b74c
comment
Steven Universe:
Lil' Butler is a 1980s or 1990s sitcom about a Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense family who adopts a child to be their butler. The kid proves to be a Servile Snarker who mocks his family with the catchphrase "You people have too much money!"
The premise of Crying Breakfast Friends is in its name: The characters are sentient breakfast foods that cry constantly. (It's also an opportunity for the show's actual writers to poke fun at themselves. While Steven is a big fan of Crying Breakfast Friends, his dad doesn't see the appeal of a show about characters who "cry all the time"—which is only a slight exaggeration of how much the Steven Universe cast cry themselves.)
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7832b74c
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7832b74c
featureConfidence
1.0
 Steven Universe
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_7832b74c
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7c038c18
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7c038c18
comment
Phineas and Ferb gave us "Horse in a Bookcase". All that is seen of the show is the theme song which is just "It's a horse in a bookcase..." sung over and over again. It is ultimately cancelled after 19 whole years.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7c038c18
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7c038c18
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1.0
 Phineas and Ferb
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_7c038c18
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7dbde88b
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7dbde88b
comment
Drake & Josh has "Celebrities Under Water" which is a reality game show about...celebrities holding their breath underwater.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7dbde88b
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_7dbde88b
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1.0
 Drake & Josh
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_7dbde88b
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_89bf8ce
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_89bf8ce
comment
30 Rock is ripe with these, from Black Frasier to God Cop. The glimpses we get of TGS would also qualify, as they're usually no more than a few seconds at a time.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_89bf8ce
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1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_89bf8ce
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1.0
 30 Rock
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_89bf8ce
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_8dba224e
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_8dba224e
comment
An episode of The Cleveland Show has Cleveland watching the sitcom The Barf Family, who... barf.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_8dba224e
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_8dba224e
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1.0
 The Cleveland Show
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_8dba224e
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_92844ddb
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_92844ddb
comment
Dinosaurs. "The Smoo Show." Consists of people saying the Informed Obscenity "Smoo!" over and over again.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_92844ddb
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_92844ddb
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1.0
 Dinosaurs
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_92844ddb
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_a183d57f
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_a183d57f
comment
Futurama has Everybody Loves Hypnotoad, which has no actual jokes. The entire show is the titular Hypnotoad against a white background, hypnotizing the audience into believing they are being entertained. Occasionally it will cut to the exterior of a suburban house, its one nod to the sitcom format.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_a183d57f
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_a183d57f
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1.0
 Futurama
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_a183d57f
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_ac8355bf
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_ac8355bf
comment
In Parappa The Rapper 2, the opening cutscene for Stage 2 has Parappa having an Imagine Spot of watching a show called "Danger Tick", where the titular character dies at random intervals. Parappa feels left out because everyone else in the living room is laughing, and he has no idea why. Given how it's apparently an 'adults only' show, it feeds into his anxiety about being seen as a child.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_ac8355bf
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_ac8355bf
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1.0
 PaRappa the Rapper (Video Game)
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_ac8355bf
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_acb92fd0
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_acb92fd0
comment
Father Ted parodies itself this way. The characters watch a series called Father Ben consisting of one-line inanities.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_acb92fd0
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_acb92fd0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Father Ted
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_acb92fd0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_ad41ee71
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_ad41ee71
comment
SuperMarioLogan: In "Bowser Junior Sneaks Into a Movie", Cody and his Ken doll watch a movie called Happy Pony 4, which is just two ponies singing its title over and over again.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_ad41ee71
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_ad41ee71
featureConfidence
1.0
 SuperMarioLogan (Web Video)
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_ad41ee71
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_aedfc20a
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_aedfc20a
comment
In The LEGO Movie, Emmett's (and most of Bricksburg's) favorite TV show is Where Are My Pants? wherein a husband shows up in his underwear asking his wife the titular question in an over-the-top way. In the climax Wyldstyle interrupts the broadcast while throwing a pair of pants at the lead actor declaring the show's over.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_aedfc20a
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_aedfc20a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The LEGO Movie
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_aedfc20a
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_b4fe32c9
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_b4fe32c9
comment
Invader Zim has The Angry Monkey Show, which is nothing but a monkey glaring at the camera.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_b4fe32c9
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_b4fe32c9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Invader Zim
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_b4fe32c9
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_bc848d30
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_bc848d30
comment
SpongeBob SquarePants:
A Running Gag in "Rock-a-Bye Bivalve" has Patrick laugh hysterically at an unseen TV show where the only joke seems to be a guy getting hit in the head with a coconut. One time does mix it up, though — the guy gets hit by two coconuts.
The Sir Urchin and Snail Fail Show consists of Snail Fail bashing Sir Urchin over the head with different objects. Sir Urchin gets mad and says "Why, you!", and Snail Fail shrugs and says "What I do?" SpongeBob and especially Patrick love it.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_bc848d30
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_bc848d30
featureConfidence
1.0
 SpongeBob SquarePants
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_bc848d30
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_c4a22754
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_c4a22754
comment
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series:
An early episode featured "Zork and Pals", Bakura's idea for his own spin-off series, where he and Zork talk about destroying the world as a whacky sitcom activity. It started off as a one-time joke, before getting more and more clips and finally a full length episode.
To a lesser extent the "Kill Your Family Show", which features Melvin chanting "KILL YOUR FAMILY!" A young Marik watching the show immediately gets brainwashed by it.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_c4a22754
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_c4a22754
featureConfidence
1.0
 Yu-Gi-Oh! The Abridged Series (Web Video)
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_c4a22754
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d022e3b3
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d022e3b3
comment
Total Drama Do Over: Characters occasionally watch the show "Honey, Where Is The Remote?" which solely consists of a husband and wife asking where the TV remote is.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d022e3b3
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d022e3b3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Total Drama Do Over / Fan Fic
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_d022e3b3
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d26874b6
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d26874b6
comment
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: In the first book, Rowley creates a comic strip called "Zoo-Wee Mama!", where the punchline of every strip is a character shouting out the title phrase. Despite its repetitive premise, the strip becomes a major success at school and even gets published in the school paper.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d26874b6
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d26874b6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Diary of a Wimpy Kid
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_d26874b6
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d46cc708
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d46cc708
comment
Ed, Edd n Eddy: The most commonly seen Show Within a Show is Fish Bowl 2, which from what is seen consists entirely of fish swimming around with no dialogue or plot. Despite this the show is popular in the Cul-de-Sac.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d46cc708
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d46cc708
featureConfidence
1.0
 Ed, Edd n Eddy
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_d46cc708
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d8520b74
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d8520b74
comment
In Sam & Max: Freelance Police, there's the sitcom Midtown Cowboys ("They're probably hiding a cow!"), in which a pair of cowboys are keeping their herd in their no-pets-allowed apartment and have to hide it whenever the landlord drops by. It somehow becomes a smash hit in Germany.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d8520b74
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d8520b74
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1.0
 Sam & Max: Freelance Police (Video Game)
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_d8520b74
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d9c602eb
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d9c602eb
comment
South Park: Terrance and Phillip have only one joke: they fart and then laugh.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d9c602eb
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_d9c602eb
featureConfidence
1.0
 South Park
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_d9c602eb
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_dd8335c5
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_dd8335c5
comment
I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson: In one sketch, the CEO of Corncob TV defends his series Coffin Flop, which consists of nothing but footage of bodies falling out of defective coffins, often nude.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_dd8335c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_dd8335c5
featureConfidence
1.0
 I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_dd8335c5
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_e9169644
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_e9169644
comment
Illbleed has a recurring cartoon program called Fall-Down Bear. It's a show about a bear who falls down a lot. The ways this happen vary from Fall-Down Bear tripping over a pebble to getting an axe thrown into his head.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_e9169644
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_e9169644
featureConfidence
1.0
 Illbleed (Video Game)
hasFeature
One-Joke Fake Show / int_e9169644
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_f3b0b2a3
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_f3b0b2a3
comment
In The Muppets (2011), one of the most popular children's shows is Punch Teacher, which consists of children punching a teacher for two hours. It becomes a plot point: the Muppets earn a time slot for their telethon because Punch Teacher gets cancelled (due to a completely unexpected protest by the teachers' union).
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_f3b0b2a3
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_f3b0b2a3
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1.0
 The Muppets (2011)
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_f3b0b2a3
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_fdbace96
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One-Joke Fake Show
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_fdbace96
comment
Gravity Falls has a number of TV show with ridiculous premises, including Duck-tective, a show about... a duck... who is a detective.
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_fdbace96
featureApplicability
1.0
 One-Joke Fake Show / int_fdbace96
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1.0
 Gravity Falls
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One-Joke Fake Show / int_fdbace96

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 One-Joke Fake Show
processingCategory2
Comedy Tropes
 One-Joke Fake Show
processingCategory2
Parody Tropes
 Idiocracy / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 RoboCop (1987) / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 The Muppets (2011) / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 Diary of a Wimpy Kid / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 Negative Øhio (Music) / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 Father Ted / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 F is for Family / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 The LEGO Movie / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show
 WordGirl / int_b26a0772
type
One-Joke Fake Show