History Main / MistakenForDying

* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'': Po is horrified when it looks like Shifu is dying from injuries inflicted in his battle with Tai Lung... until Shifu snaps [[MoodWhiplash "I'm not dying, you idiot!"]]

-> '''C-3PO''': "Listen to them, they're dying, R2! Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough...It's all my fault! My poor master..."

-> ''"Listen to them, they're dying, R2! Curse my metal body, I wasn't fast enough...It's all my fault!"''
-->-- '''C-3PO''', ''Film/ANewHope"

Another example is when the focus character mistakenly believes ''himself'' to be dying. As a result, he decides to take [[FearlessFool suicidally risky dares]] in order to go out in a blaze of glory (and, in some cases, to [[SuicideIsPainless avoid the ravages of the imagined disease]]). Often times, the other characters tell him in the midst of one of the dares that he is in perfect health. His flash of relief is immediately replaced with mortal terror as he realizes that he has unnecessarily placed himself in mortal danger and has to be rescued.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheJetsons'' did this one, in the episode where George thinks he's only got a few weeks to live, and in the process of telling off his boss ends up being volunteered to test an experimental indestructible suit.

* Happens to SixthRanger Zhane in an episode of ''Series/PowerRangersInSpace.'' [[HumanPopsicle Being frozen for two years]] messed up his powers, and he can only stay in morph for two and a half minutes--obviously, the other Rangers' eavesdropping didn't last long enough to catch that part - only about it not looking good, and Zhane not having much time. Zhane actually hears them discussing his impending death, and decides to have some fun with it. Unlike the subsequent season, when [[TheHero Andros himself]] refers to Kendrix's HeroicSacrifice as if it were of her powers rather than [[NeverSayDie her life]], the word 'dying' is used twice in the episode.

-->'''Schultz''': "I wish you were going with me!"
-->'''Klink''': *pained* I probably deserved that..."

* Also happened in the ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries'', where Randy reads an email to Mendel, saying that "his virus is fatal". Little did he know that the email was about a mummy Mendel examined beforehand.

* In an episode of ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'', La Chilindrina is trying to set up a surprise party for Don Ramón, [[ForgottenBirthday who's forgotten his birthday]], asking for help from Quico, Doña Florinda and Doña Clotilde. However, due to el Chavo's ExactEavesdropping, [[PoorCommunicationKills they assume they mean]] Don Ramón is ill and going to die, and later that they plan to MercyKill him to spare him of the agony.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/TopCat'' had Officer Dibble mishear a conversation between T.C. and a doctor about a broken clock and think T.C. only has one week to live. After a few more misunderstandings, T.C. figured out the situation and tried to take advantage of it. Of course Dibble eventually found out and got quite angry at this development.
* The "mechanic's report mistaken for doctor's diagnosis" premise was [[RecycledScript recycled]] in the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' episode "Scrooge's Last Adventure". Huey, Dewey and Louie took Scrooge [=McDuck=]'s grandfather clock to a mechanic after they accidentally broke it while playing inside. While at the same time, Scrooge was getting a checkup at the clinic. From there it turned into a parody of ''{{Film/Tron}}''.
* ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'': In "From Zero to Hero", local buffoon Bluster overhears Cranky Kong complaining about his defective X-ray machine and ends up thinking he's going to die. He resolves to be a good ape for the remainder of what little time he has left. WeWantOurJerkBack ensues... It's even lampshaded when Cranky realizes what's going on.
-->'''Cranky:''' So, Bluster's being a nincompoop. He thought we were talking about him instead of the x-ray machine, and now he's determined to weasel his way into the history books by killing all of us with his good deeds!
* The ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode "Carl Be Not Proud" had Johnny think a report that Carl's sickly Venus fly-trap had only twenty-four hours to live was talking about Carl, and Carl taking advantage of the situation by talking Johnny into doing his bidding for the day.
* ''WesternAnimation/CampLazlo'', "The Big Cheese": Scoutmaster Lumpus thinks he's going to disintegrate after eating a certain kind of rare cheese.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'', "Dying for Pie": Squidward thinks Spongebob has eaten an exploding pie, and does everything he wants for a day.
* A variant occurs in the ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' episode "A Case of Ed", where Ed and Eddy [[InducedHypochondria trick Edd into thinking he has a rare and deadly disease]].
* Also happened in the ''WesternAnimation/GodzillaTheSeries'', where Randy reads an email to Mendel, saying that "his virus is fatal". Little did he know that the email was about a mummy Mendel examined beforehand.
* Another example of "mechanic's report mistaken for doctor's diagnosis" occurs in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheRaccoons'', where Cyril Sneer is ill and his pig servants, overhearing the doctor on the phone about his clapped-out car, mistakenly think Cyril "only has a few days to live". At first, Cyril also believes this "diagnosis", but, on learning that he only has a cold, keeps up the pretence in an attempt to force the Evergreen Standard (which needs a new printing press) out of business. However, Bert Raccoon thinks of a way he and his friends can both commemorate Cyril and save their paper - a memorial printing press.
* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode [[http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/103810/ "The Death of Eric Cartman"]] combines "mechanic's diagnosis mistaken for doctor's diagnosis" with the other kids coincidentally getting so angry with him they decide to ostracize him. The result is Cartman believing himself to be already dead.
* ''WesternAnimation/DrawnTogether'' has an episode [[spoiler: where Captain Hero hits his arch nemesis with a car, and decides to take care of him on his deathbed. However, it's just an elaborate ploy to get CH to wash his balls, a recurring theme between the two.]]
* Pickles thinks he's dy...um, [[NeverSayDie close to Hamburger Time]] in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}''. It turns out everyone in the band switched their medical records with each other and the real one dying was [[spoiler: Toki's cat]].
* Variation/subversion in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}''. After the kids find a cootie-catcher and discover that the predictions made with it are coming true, Gus believes he will die the next day, as predicted. So, he decides that if he's going to die, he might as well do everything he was too afraid to do before...including trapping and humiliating the bully he attacks him all the time. After the good fortune everyone had runs out and they realize Gus ''won't'' die, they arrive to tell him this just as the bully is about to get trapped in a net. There is a subversion, however, as Gus doesn't regret doing what he did, and ''the bully'' becomes terrified because he realizes that [[BewareTheNiceOnes Gus nearly pulled one over on him and wonders who else might do that.]]
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/GoofTroop'' ("Terminal Pete"), Pete believes that he only has a few hours to live after hearing from the doctor about his "terminal illness", and so he needs to [[LikeYouWereDying spend the last hours of his life playing stuntman]]. However, [[spoiler:the "terminal illness" thing turns out to be a joke, made up by the doctor and played out when Pistol's gopher had snuck into the sheets where Pete was lying on when the X-ray picture was taken.]]
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs1981'' episode "Smurf Me No Flowers", Brainy assumes from overhearing Papa Smurf in his laboratory talking about Vanity's plant that Lazy's insomnia is a prelude to his fellow Smurf's soon departure from life, and so he gets his fellow Smurfs to hold a final party for Lazy to comfort him in his final days without letting him know. Of course, Brainy ends up spilling the beans about it, and Lazy decides that he's going to do some daring deeds in his final days -- including a bullfight, which makes his fellow Smurfs fearful for him.
* The ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'' episode "Monkey Business" after Helga gets a rash from being licked by an organ grinder's monkey and mistakenly checks out a book on fictitious diseases causing her to believe she has contracted a disease called "monkeynucleosis" in which she will turn into a monkey and die, since she displays all the symptoms in the book she decides to hold a funeral for herself and give up her possessions to her classmates, her friend Phoebe eventually tells her that the disease doesn't really exist just as she's about to confess her love to Arnold, once she finds out she continues to treat him like crap as she usually does.
* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory,'' Dexter downs a massive burrito and gets gas, an experience he's clearly never had before. He decides to run an experiment to see what will happen to him, but uses a balloon in place of himself. Of course, overinflating the balloon causes it to pop, convincing Dexter he's going to explode. He sets out to get his affairs in order, including leaving Dee Dee his lab and coming clean to his parents. Once his countdown to doom reaches zero... he farts.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AllHailKingJulien'' King Julien pretends to be sick to get out of having to work, prompting his advisor to take him to the local doctor to disprove him, only for the incompetent doctor to diagnose him with a week to live. Julien's enemies use this information to disguise an assassination attempt; when Julien starts actually getting sick as a result of being poisoned, everyone assumes he was right all along and is actually dying of a disease.
* ''WesternAnimation/NumbChucks'': In "Hunk O Chuck", Buford convinces Fungus that a giant tree is going to grow out of his nose at sundown, and it is played exactly like this trope.
* ''WesternAnimation/ThePinkPanther and Sons'' re-enact the "talking about a machine" version beat by beat in "Rocko's Last Round." Rocko gets some x-rays taken at the doctor's office, but leaves with a good diagnosis. Meanwhile, his friends come to the office to support him and overhear the doctor talking with a mechanic about a car and think Rocko will be dead in two days. They try not to tell Rocko they know, leading Rocko to not understand why everyone is being so kind to him even to the point of getting his favorite celebrity boxer to visit him, until Rocko finally overhears them talking about it and learns the "truth." By the time its straightened out, he's trying to beat the crap out of a bank robber since he thinks he's got nothing to lose.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': In "Tip of the Zoidberg", Prof. Farnsworth believes that he's dying of a rare condition that he contracted from a yeti years ago, but it turns out that it was a near-identical condition that instead causes him to [[OurWerebeastsAreDifferent turn into a yeti himself]].
* The ''WesternAnimation/{{Spliced}}'' episode "Best Before Date" is about Entree finding a barcode on his butt that when scanned, says he has 24 hours until his "best before" date comes. HilarityEnsues as he tries everything he can to stall his expiration date, including convincing his best friend Peri that he is Entree to expire his place. [[spoiler:The date arrives, but rather than dying, Entree grows hairy mould on his head that he treats like real hair.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': After working outside all day in a storm, the Plantars come down with all the symptoms of a deadly disease. They take this mostly in stride, accepting their inevitable deaths, but Anne takes it upon herself to get them to a healing spring just in time. When they get there and their symptoms don't clear up, they realize they weren't sick at all; it was just due to a mushroom Anne mistakenly fed them.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': The episode "Have Bed - Will Travel" sees Mrs Davis' medical records mixed with an ill nonagenarian friend, making Miss Brooks believe her landlady is mortally ill. Mrs. Davis is also given the wrong diagnosis by her doctor, although heartwarmingly she chooses to keep it to herself. Mrs. Davis doesn't realize Miss Brooks has found out.
* ''Series/TheLoveBoat'': A real tearjerker. A boy and his grandmother go on the cruise. A twelve-year-old boy had a month before overheard that a conversation between his parents, thinking they're talking about the fact that his beloved grandmother is terminally ill . . . ''his father told his mother nothing can be done''. The boy confesses to Dr. Bricker how upset he was about his grandmother dying. But this isn't the case. The boy's grandmother confesses to Dr. Bricker, after what the boy talking to her about death . . . the grandmother thought the boy may have heard something he shouldn't have. It turns out the grandmother wasn't mortally ill, the boy was dying and he didn't know it. Dr. Bricker's face as the boy and his grandmother left at episode's end said it all.
* ''Series/HeyDude'' also did the die-if-he-goes-to-sleep variant, with the cast accidentally overhearing a conversation with a doctor - a doctor that turned out to be a veterinarian diagnosing a horse (which also led to them throwing a party with mashed carrots and oats in the snack bowls).
* In ''Series/YesMinister'', Sir Humphrey describes his promotion in a way that gives Hacker the impression that he's dying.
* On ''Series/{{Frasier}}'', Daphne thinks Martin is dying, when he's just starring in a nativity play.
** And in the last episode, everyone thinks Frasier is dying, when he's just moving to San Francisco. Done quite well; rather than an offhand remark everybody misconstrues, it begins when Frasier claims he went to the doctor to cover for missing a day's work, then later goes to the doctor (without telling anyone why, as he's embarrassed) to have botox, but the procedure gets mixed up and makes his eyes water constantly like he's crying. He gathers his friends (to tell them he's moving, but they don't know that) and gives some prized possessions away. Even then they are reluctant to jump to the obvious conclusion, but a message gets left on Frasier's answering machine that they all can hear which speaks of his medical results (from the Botox, but they don't know that) "not looking good." Followed by Frasier announcing his move to San Francisco in this way, "We all knew we weren't going to stay together forever. I mean, that's not what life is about. Cry, if you must, but I assure you, when I pass through that Golden Gate I will be smiling!"
* Parodied on ''Series/{{Newhart}}'', when Dick stars as the father in Stephanie's short-lived sitcom. Stephanie (playing twins) overhears him saying: "Tonight, I am going to die...my hair."

* On ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'', in one episode Andy tells April that Jerry is dying as a last-second lie to cover up a secret, leading to April being abnormally friendly to Gerry and doing nice things for him until she finds out the truth.
* On ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'', Charlie tells Dennis he has cancer, hoping that the news will make its way to the waitress he has a crush on, who he has seen wearing a Livestrong bracelet. Unfortunately for Charlie, she instead feels sorry for Dennis because his friend is dying, and they end up sleeping together.
* Penultimate episode of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' gives us the Doc's "final speech": Thinking he's dying, he apologizes in excruciating detail for every wrong he's ever done, even those no one knows about. Only of course it turns out he's fine. Yikes.
* In the episode "Half-Wit" of ''Series/{{House}}'' everyone thinks that House is dying of brain cancer, and it actually looks like he is for most of the episode. However, by episode's end, everyone discovers that House was just faking having cancer so he could get high off of the powerful drugs cancer patients are given.

* An episode of ''Series/{{Titus}}'' featured Christopher and his father both believing that the other was dying. (The were both lied to by Christopher's fiance so that they would spend time together.)
** An earlier episode had Christopher and his friends thinking his father was already dead, and having an impromptu wake/roast until dear old Dad showed up to berate him in the episode's final minutes.
*** Hilariously, that's the ''pilot''.

* A sketch on ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'', where an Edwardian gentleman meets his girlfriend at a train station but coughs "What's the matter dear?" "Oh, it's just a cough". Repeat around three times, [[IncurableCoughOfDeath gradually getting more weak and feeble]], then one day he's not at the station! Oh, no, he's just a bit late and he feels much better... but the girl was only going out with him because she thought he had TB.
--> '''Woman:''' I wish I hadn't let you do me now.
--> '''Man:''' [[SarcasmMode Charming.]]
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Body Parts", Quark thought that he had a fatal disease from a doctor on his homeworld so like all Ferengi, he arranged to sell his desiccated remains. It turns out that the doctor was wrong. The really funny part of that one was Quark's reaction to the misdiagnosis: "This means I get to ''sue'' the doctor for malpractice!... And I'm going to live!" [[spoiler:Unfortunately, the "buyer" demands to collect Quark's remains in 6 days, whether he's dead or not.]]

* On ''Series/WhosTheBoss'', Tony's father-in-law is trying to admit to Tony that he is going to jail, but he [[CannotSpitItOut can't bring himself to say the word jail]]. Tony thinks that the unspeakable truth that his father-in-law can't say is that he's going to die (because after all, [[NeverSayDie if he were dying, it would be hard to say that as well]]). The father-in-law spends the episode milking this undeserved sympathy, because after all, this is much preferable to admitting that he's a convict.
* In ''Series/ChildrensHospital'', Lola wants to break up with Owen, so she tells him she has a brain tumor. He freaks out and vows to find a cure. Realizing what went wrong with her "cunning plan" Lola tries too tell him the truth, but Owen insists that every denial is "just the brain tumor talking."
* ''Series/StargateAtlantis'': Rodney [=McKay=] is immune to a nanite virus, but neither he nor those he's quarantined with know that.

* In the ''Series/MadeInCanada'' Series 2 opener, "The Merger", Pyramid CEO Alan Roy's daughter Siobhan drops in on him at the health spa he has been visiting and finds him with an IV drip in his arm; she later overhears him asking a doctor how long he has, and being told, "Two, maybe three months." This, coupled with Alan talking of wanting to step down as head of Pyramid and return to directing films or going on a world cruise, leads Siobhan and several other characters to assume he is dying. However, it later emerges that he is planning to step down due to a pending merger, while the doctor was referring to the fact that Alan's body is rejecting his new pectoral implants.
* ''Series/{{Psych}}'' did this in its eighth season. Shawn, Gus, and Juliet think Lassiter is dying when he becomes too scared to do his job, takes out a new life insurance policy, and starts seeing a doctor to have himself checked out. The real reason for Lassiter's change in behavior is he just found out his wife is pregnant.
* ''Series/TheDoctorBlakeMysteries'': In "Mortal Coil", Lucien self-diagnoses his symptoms as possibly being cirrhosis of the liver and starts making preparations for his possible demise. However, when he eventually gets blood tests done, it turns out to be the far less serious (and more treatable) hepatitis, which has similar symptoms, combined with additional symptoms from his attempt to quit drinking.
* Happens less than you might think on ''Series/OnTheBuses''. One example is in ''Bye Bye Blakey'', where Stan overhears Blakey discussing his plans to leave his job, and believes he is dying instead. As you do in these situations in Sitcomland.
* In the second "era" of ''Series/LesPetitsMeurtresDAgathaChristie'', Alice has a scooter accident at the start of an episode and has to spend most of it in a hospital with her leg in a cast. At some point, her doctor gets her file mixed up with that of a cancer patient, and tells Marlène and Laurence (her next-of-kin) that she's not long for this world. Them taking it badly is both PlayedForLaughs and [[PlayedForDrama for drama]].
* In an episode of ''Series/ElChavoDelOcho'', La Chilindrina is trying to set up a surprise party for Don Ramón, [[ForgottenBirthday who's forgotten his birthday]], asking for help from Quico, Doña Florinda and Doña Clotilde. However, due to el Chavo's ExactEavesdropping, [[PoorCommunicationKills they assume they mean]] Don Ramón is ill and going to die, and later that they plan to MercyKill him to spare him of the agony.
* In the ''Series/BroadCity'' episode "Fattest Asses," Abbi has an opportunity to be a trainer, but gives it up to a skinny, coughing, bald woman who always wanted to teach a class. It turns out she doesn't really have cancer - she shaved her head to raise awareness of her band.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'': The episode "M-Corp" has Lister injected with a health monitoring chip that updates him on when he's going to die. The chip, upon encountering a serious arterial blockage, tells Lister he's about to die in five seconds... and then promptly shorts out with Lister none worse for the wear. Kryten believes that the chip was confusing its own death date for Lister's.
* ''Series/{{Harrow}}'': In "Parce Sepulto" ("Forgive the Dead"), the VictimOfTheWeek is a health blogger who believes she was cured of cancer by a [[SpiceRackPanacea miracle mineral supplement]]. However, [[spoiler:she had never actually had cancer. She had self-diagnosed as having the cancer after she experienced similar symptoms to her mother and brother, who had both died of a rare form of cancer. When she actually went to get a formal diagnosis, her manager intercepted the letter informing her that she did not have cancer, as they were making too much money promoting the supplement.]]
* ''Series/{{Benson}}'' did this twice:
** One episode has Kraus think she's dying after overhearing a conversation between Benson and her doctor. They were actually talking about a horse the doctor owned who was on her last legs.
** Benson would later visit a female doctor who he displays romantic feelings for. She calls him up and tells he they need to talk about something serious. Benson thinks she's discovered something wrong with him and his days are numbered. She's just trying to tell him that she's married and can't start a relationship with him.

Compare DisneyDeath, LastDayToLive, {{Hypochondria}}, MistakenForUndead, NoLongerWithUs, and ReportsOfMyDeathWereGreatlyExaggerated. Can overlap with GassyScare.

* In ''Little Hare'' ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH3s2Cp2xM4 available here]]) a meek loser overhears his doctor explaining to a janitor her pet's diagnosis and believes he has one month to live. He re-evaluates his life, decides to somehow leave his mark on the world, grows a backbone and becomes an activist. He encourages his neighbours to beautify their district, he coerces his supervisor to behave, he forces civil servants to to their job... After learning he's not going to die, he retains his newfound courage and even [[BreakingTheFourthWall chides the narrator]] for being unceremonious.

* A variation in ''Film/AlmostFamous'': it appears that the band's plane will crash, resulting in an outpouring of everyone's emotions and secrets. The last guy to talk simply shouts "I'm gay!" Then the plane stops shaking.

--> Woman: I wish I hadn't let you do me now.
--> Man: [[SarcasmMode Charming.]]
* In ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Body Parts", Quark thought that he had a fatal disease from a doctor on his homeworld so like all Ferengi, he arranged to sell his desiccated remains. It turns out that the doctor was wrong.
** The really funny part of that one was Quark's reaction to the misdiagnosis: "This means I get to ''sue'' the doctor for malpractice!... And I'm going to live!" [[spoiler:Unfortunately, the "buyer" demands to collect Quark's remains in 6 days, whether he's dead or not.]]