History Main / CleanUpTheTown

* ''TheUntouchables''.

* This is a good deal of the plot of ''Walking Tall''.

* ''RoadHouse''. Dalton starts off acting as head bouncer at a bar, but is forced to CleanUpTheTown to save his own life.

* Example of comedic use: ''BackToTheFuture'':

* Many episodes of ''StargateSG1''. Often, the SG 1 team arrives on a planet to discover that an enemy force ("Goa'uld" or otherwise) has enslaved or is otherwise tormenting the local population, prompting the team to clean up the town.

* ''Series/OnceUponATime'': Emma came to Storybrooke when her long-lost son showed up and said she was TheChosenOne. She didn't believe the kid, but when she got a good look at the town and the crooked mayor, she decided to stay put and be a professional pain in her side, eventually getting the job of sheriff. As such, she's untanggling all of the town's dark secrets.

* ''GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' starts off [[spoiler: and ends up]] being about CJ and Sweet cleaning up their crack-ridden 'hood.

* The SpongebobSquarepants episode 'Pest Of The West' has Spongebuck immediately being appointed sheriff so he could save the town from Plankton's ancestor, Dead Eye Plankton. He does exactly that.

* [[{{Discworld}} Carrot Ironfoundersson]], when he arrives in Ankh-Morpork - but he's so nice about it...

* ''LooneyTunes'' short "Drip-Along Daffy": Daffy comes to "clean up this one-horse town", and in the end he does... as streetsweeper. "Lucky for him, it ''is'' a one-horse town."

[[AC:{{Videogames}}]]''

* In ''{{Crackdown}}'', the city's police force barely is able to hold the line at their own headquarters. [[SuperSoldier The Agent]] must go through the city, killing the leaders of the three gangs who rule the city and their lieutenants. [[spoiler: It becomes a subversion when it's revealed the Agency [[XanatosGambit allowed the gangs to run roughshod, so they'd be able to assert a despotic regime once they clean out the gangs.]]]]

* Played straight to hilarious effect in ''BlazingSaddles'' when the new sheriff has to clean up the town and resorts to unorthodox methods. Candy Gram, anyone?

* [[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Deconstruction Deconstructed]] in HarlanEllison's short story, "The End of the Time of Leinard". The sheriff who was brought in to clean up the town decades before is now seen as a menace for his heavy-handed tactics, leading the town to conspire to get rid of him.

----

A new person (or an old inhabitant returning after years away) comes to a town suffering from lawlessness and corruption. He or she is appointed to a position of responsibility, such as TheSheriff, and proceeds to reduce crime, establish the rule of law, and topple the corrupt powers that kept the town from prospering.

A stock plot in TheWestern, although easily transplanted to other settings. Often, it may be a corrupt organization that needs cleaning up instead.

In more cynical works, the would-be reformer ends up succumbing to the corrupt system, dying or worse, becoming just as corrupt as the people they replaced.

In comedic works (particularly cartoons, it seems), may entail a broom and/or dustpan, a pointy stick and garbage can, or other literal interpretations of the phrase.

'''Lou''': Good. You can start by sweeping the floor. [hands Goldie a broom]
* Jimmy Cagney does this with, of all things, the Bureau of Weights and Measures in ''Great Guy''.
* Played straight to hilarious effect in ''BlazingSaddles'' when the new sheriff has to clean up the town and resorts to unorthodox methods. Candy Gram, anyone?

* ''RoadHouse''. Dalton starts off acting as head bouncer at a bar, but is forced to CleanUpTheTown to save his own life.
* Happens in (of all places) ''SgtPeppersLonelyHeartsClubBand'', after Mean Mr. Mustard's theft of the magical musical instruments turns the town of Heartland into a crime-ridden cesspool. How does the title band clean things up? With a musical carnival!

* ''{{Dodge City}}''

* [[{{Discworld}} Carrot Ironfoundersson]], when he arrives in Ankh-Morpork - but he's so nice about it...

* ''{{Shadowrun}}'' adventure ''Harlequin's Back''. In one of the mini-adventures in the book, "A Fistful of Karma", the PC's must defeat a cruel tyrant who oppresses the people of a mining town.
* ''{{Dragon}}'' magazine #71 (back when it wasn't just DungeonsAndDragons) had a ''Boot Hill'' module called "The Taming of Brimstone", in which the player characters had to clean up the title town.

* The {{Spongebob Squarepants}} episode 'Pest Of The West' has Spongebuck immediately being appointed sheriff so he could save the town from Plankton's ancestor, Dead Eye Plankton. He does exactly that.

<<|{{Plots}}|>>

* The entire cast of ''{{Angel}}'' was eventually assigned to run the uber-evil law firm they had spent the last four years fighting. Everyone angsted a lot about whether they were up to the task, or would be corrupted themselves.

* ''The Untouchables''.

* In ''{{Crackdown}}'', the city's police force barely is able to hold the line at their own headquarters. [[SuperSoldier The Agent]] must go through the city, killing the leaders of the three gangs who rule the city and their lieutenants. [[spoiler: It becomes a subversion when it's revealed the Agency [[XanatosGambit allowed the gangs to run roughshod, so they'd be able to assert a despotic regime once they clean out the gangs.]]

* ''{{Outland}}''

* Happens in (of all places) ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'', after Mean Mr. Mustard's theft of the magical musical instruments turns the town of Heartland into a crime-ridden cesspool. How does the title band clean things up? With a musical carnival!

* The first album by ''TheProtomen'' largely takes place some time after Dr. Light created Protoman to do this, and ''Game/MegaMan'' decides to follow in his footsteps. [[spoiler:Mega Man ends up discovering that Protoman [[WorldHalfEmpty grew so disgusted]] with the inhabitants of TheCity [[DyingLikeAnimals and their unwillingness to fight for themselves]] against [[BigBad Wily's]] [[{{Dystopia}} tyranny]] that he turned on them and became Wily's [[TheDragon Dragon.]]]]

* ''GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' is about CJ and Sweet cleaning up their crack-ridden 'hood.

* {{Outland}}

Contrast TheUmbridge, who may believe they're in this plotline, but are actually making things worse.

* The first album by ''TheProtomen'' largely takes place some time after Dr. Light created Protoman to do this, and MegaMan decides to follow in his footsteps. [[spoiler: MegaMan ends up discovering that Protoman [[WorldHalfEmpty grew so disgusted]] with the inhabitants of TheCity [[DyingLikeAnimals and their unwillingness to fight for themselves]] against [[BigBad Wily's]] [[{{Dystopia}} tyranny]] that he turned on them and became Wily's [[TheDragon Dragon.]]]]