History DoNotDoThisCoolThing / LiveActionTV

** The show had a subtle anti-smoking message for the first season or two -- every character who smoked either turned out to be a villain or died soon after they were introduced. But Spike, who started out as a villain, [[EnsembleDarkhorse/LiveActionTV ended up being a regular and a well-liked character]]... who often smoked cigarettes. Sexily. Faith took up smoking in the last season.

* Fox News, while more fiscally conservative than socially conservative, pays lip service to the MoralGuardians by doing stories condemning various media as "immoral" (especially on ''Series/TheOReillyFactor''). But they punctuate these condemnations with lurid video clips and bring on MsFanservice-type anchors and nagging correspondents who are more amused than angry. Thirty years ago, much of what we see on Fox News would have ''never'' been shown on basic cable. No, not even CNN. Fox [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/p9ek5k/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-the-younger-games--catching-ire going after spring break]] might just [[ExaggeratedTrope take the cake]].

* On ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'', Ellie's storyline was meant to show people how cutting is not okay and should never be done no matter what the circumstances. However, despite this, many fans were inspired to cut after seeing Ellie do so.

* Similar to the "Marijuana is bad because it's illegal" commercials, there's an episode of ''Series/{{House}}'' in which a drug dealer is being disparaged by the team. His response is basically "So your big problem is not that it's immoral but that it's illegal. Sounds like we've got the same problem."
** ''House'' in general had this problem with the titular character. Dr. House was suppose to show it was bad to be a misanthropic, drug-addicted DrJerk, but the show never showed a serious problem with that. His boss once commented House was paid in peanuts because no one else would hire him, but you wouldn't know it from House's nice apartment, or wardrobe, or the surprisingly attractive prostitutes he hires. His drug addiction never seriously affected his ability to do his job unless he took way too much Vicodin (which usually only happened when some dramatic plot twist happened). And his terrible personality never stopped his co-workers from respecting him, his boss having the hots for him, or his best friend interacting with him.
* Although bigoted, Alf Garnett from ''Series/TillDeathUsDoPart'' was intended to be a figure of fun showing the stupidity of racism. He became a cult hero for misogynists and xenophobes. The same goes for the show's loose American remake. ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' was, officially, intended to show that bigotry is bad, but Archie Bunker came across as a fairly fun, likable guy in spite of it. The more progressive "Meathead" often came across as self-righteous.
* ''Series/MadMen'' is about deconstructing the myth of [[NostalgiaAintLikeItUsedToBe the good ol' days]] and is supposed to be about the 'dark side' of social conformism, corporate careerism, and white male privilege in [[TheSixties '60s]] white collar America. The show demonstrates this by endlessly displaying hot (and frequently undressed) women, acts of debauchery, plentiful alcohol, smoking without guilt, fabulous outfits, and snazzy Jet Age decor. Wait, there's a dark side to making tons of money and being able to tell people what to do?
* ''Series/{{Life On Mars|2006}}'', series one. The impression the viewer gets is that the first series of ''Life on Mars'' was written to paint Sam's contemporary attitudes as what the viewer was supposed to sympathise with, but the public response was overwhelmingly in favor of Gene Hunt's GoodOldWays. The second series and all of ''Series/AshesToAshes2008'' was written accordingly.

* The show ''Series/{{Manswers}},'' on Creator/SpikeTV, when talking about illicit drug use or other criminal activities or dangerous acts, will include a disclaimer to not do so. But if you do do it, you can get laid, according to them.
* Fox News, while more fiscally conservative than socially conservative, pays lip service to the MoralGuardians by doing stories condemning various media as "immoral" (especially on ''Series/TheOReillyFactor''). But they punctuate these condemnations with lurid video clips and bring on MsFanservice-type anchors and nagging correspondents who are more amused than angry. Thirty years ago, much of what we see on Fox News would have ''never'' been shown on basic cable. No, not even CNN. Fox [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/p9ek5k/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-the-younger-games--catching-ire going after spring break]] might just [[ExaggeratedTrope take the cake]].
* When {{Comm|ieLand}}unist UsefulNotes/{{Romania}} broadcast ''Series/{{Dallas}}'', the idea was that the people would be disgusted with the pettiness and decadence of capitalism. This was, in fact, part of the reason the series was created in the first place -- you probably are supposed to be vaguely disgusted with the way the Ewings live. It didn't work in either country. What was seen was, "[[AttentionDeficitOohShiny Ooh, shiny]]! I want!" In a few years, communism fell and the USA had a MisaimedFandom for Wall Street.
* ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'': Turning people into objects is bad! Even when they're hot, attractive objects with [[MindControlEyes blank stares]] and bare feet... oh hey, it's time to show [[spoiler:Sierra]] getting raped again!

* ''Series/TheWire'': For all of its social criticism on the dysfunctions of modern society, a significant portion of the show is given to the gang wars waged between extremely colorful and badass drug lords. While almost all of them come to bad ends, the big shot dealers sure seem to have a lot of fun while they're on top.
* Similarly, ''Series/BreakingBad'' has the same effect of showcasing the appealing aspects of the drug business, even when the bad parts are [[ParanoiaFuel fueled with endless paranoia]], and by contributing to the business in some form or fashion, you'll hurt so many different people along the way. And oh yeah, DrugsAreBad. But boy is it tough not to reap the rewards of selling pure meth, ain't it?
** The show's protagonist, Walter White, has been described as a deconstruction of the EscapistCharacter, by initially seeming like a fun character for the audience to project themselves onto, only for the show to depict his [[SlowlySlippingIntoEvil gradual transformation]] into a ruthless, vicious monster. Despite that, he is nevertheless depicted as an extremely intelligent and powerful villain, and one feared and respected by his peers and by the police and DEA, while the show's voice of reason, his wife Skyler is widely reviled by fans. Many viewers not unreasonably perceive White as cool (indeed, the show's creator Vince Gilligan has used the term "badass" to describe the character).
* In-universe example in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' when George Sr. is invited as a "[[ScareEmStraight Scared Straight]]" speaker to talk teens out of committing crimes and going to jail. He accidentally picks the wrong [[CureYourGays Scared Straight]] tent and ends up talking to a group of gay teens who feel increasingly enticed by the thought of being locked up in a jail full of bad boys.
* ''Series/TheSopranos'' was even MORE realistic and de-glamorized than ''Goodfellas''. It {{lampshade|Hanging}}d that mobsters love ''The Godfather'' and ''Goodfellas''. Guess who loved it? And many viewers who weren't gangsters also missed the point and saw Tony and crew as heroes and anyone who ratted on them as deserving of death.

* Occasionally played with on ''Series/TopGear'' when, for instance, the presenters solemnly (and with perfect insincerity) state that they strictly obey the speed limit at all times, or state "this is something we mustn't do" before engaging in impromptu drag races on public streets.
* In-universe in ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle''; Hal would tell his sons about his youthful escapades, supposedly as cautionary tales. As Lois puts it, "Cautionary tales do not end with 'It was so cool!'"
* ''Series/MythBusters'' has become the living embodiment of this trope, the hosts and cast reminding the viewers multiple times per show not to attempts the awesome and ridiculously dangerous experiments they show. Adam even promised to track down and kick the ass of anyone who tried to reproduce the million match heads burnout experiment. Their cold open and ad break cards have become "Do not try this at home" warnings after the first few seasons.
--> '''Adam:''' Remember, kids, [[LampshadeHanging no matter how much fun I'm having]], under no circumstances should you try this at home.
** A great example would be when they were test whether drafting behind a big rig to see if doing so could increase mileage. Despite the fact that they spent nearly as much time stressing how crazy attempting to draft a big rig is as they did actually testing the myth, for some people, that's just not quite enough to balance out the simple fact that ''it actually works''.
** This was actually parodied in "You Spoof Discovery", in which a flash cartoon depicted Jaime saying this:
--> '''Jaime''': Remember kids, don't try this at home - even though it's ''really cool'' and we're giving you step by step instructions on how to do it!

* ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'''s [[ParodyCommercial false ad]] for "Amazin' Laser" was full of this. While Chris Elliot exalted the virtues of using this precise, powerful and ridiculously powerful disintegrator raygun, subtitles gave more and more precise instructions. "Do not use Amazin' Laser on live targets." "Terrorists, please do not use Amazin' Laser." "On second thought, please do not buy Amazin' Laser."
* On the Investigation Discovery channel, this happens often with the {{dramatization}}s of real crimes. The most egregious examples are the shows ''Sins and Secrets'', ''Wicked Attraction'', and ''Deadly Women''. They usually discuss how sick and wrong the killer(s) are, but they then show reenactments of their scandalous affairs by attractive actors in about as much detail as you can have on cable TV. It's so bad that some of the shows have ContentWarnings. Sometimes the softcore is accompanied by the narrator and interviewees going on about the unfaithful spouses' sexual needs and how they were being awesomely fulfilled by their lovers. And also that cheating and murder is bad, ''really.''

* ''Series/PowerRangersWildForce'' has strong environmental themes, as do a lot of ''Power Rangers'' seasons, but, as ''Power Rangers'' is also a marketing vehicle for toys, quite a bit of screen time is devoted to how awesome their motorcycles are and making riding motorcycles like that look fun and cool. A motorcycle even defeats Serpenterra. The message to reduce the carbon footprint is somewhat undermined by showing how great it is to drive around in fast vehicles like this. It's not helped that the motorcycles, save for the Silver Ranger's, do NOT come from the Japanese series ''Series/HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger'', so the ''Power Rangers'' producers can't play the "we were stuck with what was in the Japanese footage" card.
* Played with in the anti-alcohol episode of ''Series/{{Glee}}''. The Glee club is asked to perform a song showing the dangers of underage drinking, but they end up getting really drunk the night before, having a great time but screwing up the assembly. The attitude of the episode is best summed up by Coach Beiste, who tells Will that drinking is fun, and kids are going to do it and it'd be hypocritical of him to lecture them on the dangers of drinking when he himself falls into the same pitfalls the students do. The lesson? Drinking is cool and fun, but you have to be responsible about it.
* Lampshaded and played with in an episode of ''Series/TheWarAtHome'', first with Dave's speech at the beginning:
-->'''Dave''': When I was a kid, all I wanted to do was sneak into "R" rated movies. In my mind, "R" stood for "really good." Nowadays, there's warnings and ratings on everything; video games, music, booze, cigarettes. You think these warnings would keep kids away from all these things. When, actually, it's sending up a flare saying, "[[RatedMForMoney Hey, look. Good stuff over here.]]\\
''(Disclaimer appears on screen: "Due to the mature subject matter, the following episode may not be suitable for all family members.")''\\
'''Dave''': ''(glances down at disclaimer)'' See? Makes you wanna watch even more, doesn't it?
** Then the main plot of the episode involves Hilary and her friend Brenda getting drunk off her parents' liquor, then Vicky worries that their drinking is a bad influence on Hilary and to Dave's annoyance, implements a rule that no one in the house can drink. Vicky only lasts two days before secretly drinking in the garage, then both Dave and Vicky get drunk off free liquor and make a scene in front of Brenda's parents, causing much embarrassment and end up lecturing Hilary that they can drink because they're the parents.
* ProfessionalWrestling is built on this. See that awesome 720 corkscrew suicide dive? [[DontTryThisAtHome Don't do that]].

* ''Series/SonsOfAnarchy'' is yet another example of this, like many modern crime series. The series is suppose to show the stressful, painful, and tragic lives of SAMCRO and the people whom are associated with them, because of secrets, lies, backstabbing, and murder. The storyline is based off ''{{Theatre/Hamlet}}''. However, the show also glamorizes the biker gang culture. SAMCRO are shown as misunderstood, anti-heroes whom are protecting a small town from negative outside influences - when they are just career criminals. Drugs, booze, and loose women are promoted as being plentiful and great fun for inspiring bike enthusiast. Even being a CorruptCop is cool, as long as that cop is being corrupt for their friends.
* In the [[DrugsAreBad anti-marijuana]] ''Series/AfterschoolSpecial'' episode "Stoned", Scott Baio plays an uptight and unpopular high school student who [[TheStoner starts smoking pot]] moderately and then learns to loosen up, makes some friends, meets a pretty girl and saves his brother's life after a potentially fatal boating accident.
* ''Series/{{Narcos}}'' ran into some similar problems like ''Series/BreakingBad'' only this show is based on real-life drug lords such as Pablo Escobar. His son, Sebastian Marroquin, accused the show [[https://sg.news.yahoo.com/pablo-escobars-son-slams-tv-series-glorifying-criminals-002102462.html for glorifying drug lords after young people are asking him on how to be like his late father]].
* ''Series/ThirteenReasonsWhy'' caused this reaction among some [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_Reasons_Why#Social_impact critics]], leading to schools sending warnings home to parents and Netflix adding extra ContentWarnings. The show's graphic depiction of Hannah's suicide, as well as the tapes she left behind explaining how the people at her school caused her suicide is part of the reason. Critics claim that, instead of raising awareness of bullying, this may cause already vulnerable teens to think that suicide will solve all their problems (since, in the end, Hannah's tapes achieve her desired outcome of making everyone who wronged her feel guilty).
* An episode of ''Series/JoanOfArcadia'' had an in-universe deconstruction of the trope. The Girardi kids learn that Will once shot and killed a robber during a bank heist. Luke remarks "Dad blew a guy away. That's so cool"--and Will ''immediately'' [[BerserkButton rips into the teen for saying it]]. He goes on to explain that the fact that he killed a man is the precise opposite of cool, and how he's still struggling with the guilt of leaving a man's family to bury their loved one, regardless of his being a criminal.

* Played with in ''Series/TheInbetweeners'' when the boys (bar Will) decide to experiment with marijuana:
-->'''Jay:'''You're a mummy's boy. Go on, petal, have a puff. Show us you're not scared.
-->'''Will:''' I would, but I don't actually smoke because...what's that thing you get when you smoke?
-->'''Neil:''' Sex?
-->'''Will:''' No, cancer, Neil.
** Subverted by the end of the episode, as Will caves into peer pressure and ends up embarrassing himself, while Simon gets a mouthful of someone else's vomit, Neil blacks out and Jay has an attack of paranoia.

* ''Series/TigerKing'' has been accused of this, especially regarding Joe Exotic and his private zoo, which the series focuses on. While Joe is undeniably portrayed as a terrible person, a lot of viewers find him to be [[CrazyIsCool awesome]] and even [[IneffectualSympatheticVillain sympathetic]], and his hobby of collecting live predators to look exciting.

* ''Series/GuestFromTheFuture'' has the following FantasticAesop, spelled out by the narrator: if you find a time machine, never turn it on without the adults' permission. The characters in the series do turn it on without permission... and end up stopping two major villains and averting a potential galactic war. It has led the fans to assume the show's narration stealthily employs SarcasmMode.
* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'': Despite how many times Sabrina laments that magic just makes her life even more stressful, it still seems as though it would be a lot of fun to have her powers.
* ''Series/LizzieMcGuire'': Kate has the cheerleading squad diss Lizzie with a routine based around "U-G-L-Y". While it's just another demonstration of what a bully she is, you can't deny that a whole cheerleading routine as a Diss Track is quite a stylish way to mock it (especially as Lizzie had owned up to starting a mean rumor about Kate). Extra points for the implication that Kate came up with the routine on the spot.

* Creator/{{Fox News|Channel}}, while more fiscally conservative than socially conservative, pays lip service to the MoralGuardians by doing stories condemning various media as "immoral" (especially on ''Series/TheOReillyFactor''). But they punctuate these condemnations with lurid video clips and bring on MsFanservice-type anchors and nagging correspondents who are more amused than angry. Thirty years ago, much of what we see on Fox News would have ''never'' been shown on basic cable. No, not even CNN. Fox [[http://www.cc.com/video-clips/p9ek5k/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-the-younger-games--catching-ire going after spring break]] might just [[ExaggeratedTrope take the cake]].

-->'''Will:'''I would, but I don't actually smoke because...what's that thing you get when you smoke?

* ''Series/SquidGame'', a series depicting a hellish contest where the rich force the poor into playing murderous versions of kids games where the sole survivor will win a cash prize, was an unexpected success in the West, especially for a non-English drama series from Korea. Much to the chagrin of some fans it was immediately followed by people recreating the games in various video games with level creators, as many found the idea of performing high-stakes versions of kids games a surprisingly fun idea and overlooked the whole "death" thing. However, this took on a whole new level when WebVideo/MrBeast recreated the contest itself for a Youtube skit (only without the death and with a much smaller cash prize)and many people criticized him for missing the entire point of the show, however some defended him on the basis that everyone who appeared in the video was paid and therefore he was ultimately doing a good thing.

* ''Series/SquidGame'', a series depicting a hellish contest where the rich force the poor into playing murderous versions of kids games where the sole survivor will win a cash prize, was an unexpected success in the West, especially for a non-English drama series from Korea. Unfortunately, it was immediately followed by people recreating the games in various video games with level creators, as many found the idea of performing high-stakes versions of kids games a surprisingly fun idea and overlooked the whole "death" thing. However, this took on a whole new level when WebVideo/MrBeast recreated the contest itself for a Youtube skit (only without the death and with a much smaller cash prize); so, a show about how horrible it would be if rich people had poor people perform contests for their amusement got emulated by a rich man who thought it'd be cool to get poor people to perform contests for his amusement (and views). Yeah.

* Although bigoted, Alf Garnett from ''Till Death Us Do Part'' was intended to be a figure of fun showing the stupidity of racism. He became a cult hero for misogynists and xenophobes. The same goes for the show's loose American remake. ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' was, officially, intended to show that bigotry is bad, but Archie Bunker came across as a fairly fun, likable guy in spite of it. The more progressive "Meathead" often came across as self-righteous.

* ''Series/SquidGame'', a series depicting a hellish contest where the rich force the poor into playing murderous versions of kids games where the sole survivor will win a cash prize, was an unexpected success in the West, especially for a non-English drama series from Korea. Unfortunately, it was immediately followed by people recreating the games in various video games with level creators, as many found the idea of performing high-stakes versions of kids games a surprisingly fun idea and overlooked the whole "death" thing. However, this took on a whole new level when Creator/MrBeast recreated the contest itself for a Youtube skit (only without the death and with a much smaller cash prize); so, a show about how horrible it would be if rich people had poor people perform contests for their amusement got emulated by a rich man who thought it'd be cool to get poor people to perform contests for his amusement (and views). Yeah.

* Played with in the anti-alcohol episode of ''Series/{{Glee}}''. The Glee club is asked to perform a song showing the dangers of underage drinking, but they end up getting really drunk, having a great time but screwing up the assembly. The attitude of the episode is best summed up by Coach Beaste, who tells their teacher Will that drinking is fun, and kids are going to do it and it'd be hypocritical of him to lecture them on the dangers of drinking when he himself falls into the same pitfalls the students do. The lesson? Drinking is cool and fun, but you have to be responsible about it.

* In-universe example in ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' when George Sr. is invited as a "[[ScareEmStraight Scared Straight]]" speaker to talk teens out of committing crimes and going to jail. He accidentally picks the wrong Scared Straight tent and ends up talking to a group of gay teens who feel increasingly enticed by the thought of being locked up in a jail full of bad boys.