History Main / NeverRecycleYourSchemes

** What's the plot of ''Film/ANewHope?'' TheEmpire has constructed a super-weapon called the Death Star, and [[LaResistance the Rebel Alliance]] has to exploit a fatal flaw to destroy it. What's the plot of ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi?'' The Empire has constructed a ''second'' Death Star ''without'' that fatal flaw, so the Rebel Alliance has to destroy it before it's complete or it will be basically unstoppable.

-->'''Sidney''': Curses! And I won't try this specific scheme ever again even if the reptile is always readily available because I've already done this one!

* Zigzagged by [[BigBad [=HitTheTarget=]]] in ''WebVideo/StampysLovelyWorld''. While several of his schemes are relatively one-off in terms of how they are carried out -- e.g. outright assault, [[spoiler:sabotage, and invisibility potions]], some recycle concepts used in previous attempts.
** [[spoiler:Both Episodes 184, "Clone Calamity" and 700, "Tragic Day" make use of the You Again Cloning Contraption in Stampy's Secret Base, and the battles that occurred in the episodes as a result of using [[CloneArmy armies of clones]] end up getting someone KilledOffForReal.]]
** [[spoiler:Both Episodes 261, "Christmas Rescue" and 575, "Polly-Bot" rely on kidnapping a trusted Helper. The latter instance is coupled with a [[RottenRoboticReplacement robotic imposter]] to lower suspicion.]]
** [[spoiler:Both Episodes 291, "Egg Hunt" and 455, "Revenge" involve StuffBlowingUp.]]
** [[spoiler:Both Episodes 418, "I Can't Win" and 670, "Hacked" have HTT getting a set of ArmorOfInvincibility.]]
** [[spoiler:From what we can see over the years, [[HostageSituation taking hostages]] always seems to work, whether it be a pet, a Helper, or Stampy's control over his own ''[[EnslavedTongue vocal cords]]''.]]

* ''Film/OceansThirteen'': "You don't run the same gag twice. You do the next gag!"

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSpongebobSquarepantsMovie''

This is probably due to RuleOfCool, because if the villain did the same scheme over, modified to account for the hero's last successful attempt, the viewers would expect the bad guy to win (and then [[EvilOnlyHasToWinOnce there'd be no more show/comic/book/etc.]]), and if they tried and failed with the same scheme, the villain would get predictable and the viewers would get bored. Furthermore, much of the action in many of these stories revolves around figuring out what the villain's scheme actually is, or discovering that there even is a scheme in the first place. If he's just doing the same thing again, there's no mystery, and you must now stretch the typically climactic act of thwarting him across the entire episode.

-->'''[[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Terra]]:'''[[[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Dr. Wily]]] then gives [duplicated artifacts of power] to an android which manages to defeat the entire team! They only finally win by [[RidiculouslyHumanRobots exploiting the thing's humanity]]. But does Wily try again with a less human robot? Noooo! Next episode he's making a fricken' robocat to lure Duke into [[VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfBayouBilly Bayou Billy's]] swamp! And it wasn't just once! That stuff happened '''all the time!'''

* {{Subverted|Trope}}, and borderline {{inverted|Trope}}, in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''. Syndrome started his villainy with the Omnidroid 1 and had never stopped using Omnidroids for the rest of his life. Each time a superhero was able to defeat an Omnidroid, Syndrome would observe what caused it to lose, then build another Omnidroid to cover those vulnerabilities. By the time Mr. Incredible fought an Omnidroid, it was Syndrome's 8th. When he returns, Syndrome's made a 9th one, and after that beats him (though he fakes his death to throw Syndrome off), he decides to incorporate its design into the 10th and final model.

** [[spoiler:Both Episodes 184, ''Clone Calamity'' and 700, ''Tragic Day'' make use of the You Again Cloning Contraption in Stampy's Secret Base, and the battles that occurred in the episodes as a result of using [[CloneArmy armies of clones]] end up getting someone KilledOffForReal.]]
** [[spoiler:Both Episodes 261, ''Christmas Rescue'' and 575, ''Polly-Bot'' rely on kidnapping a trusted Helper (the latter coupled with a [[RottenRoboticReplacement robotic imposter]] to lower suspicion).]]
** [[spoiler:Both Episodes 291, ''Egg Hunt'' and 455, ''Revenge'' involve StuffBlowingUp.]]
** [[spoiler:Both Episodes 418, ''I Can't Win'' and 670, ''Hacked'' have HTT getting a set of ArmorOfInvincibility.]]
** [[spoiler:From what we can see over the years, [[HostageSituation taking hostages]] always seems to work, whether it be a dog, a Helper, or Stampy's control over his own ''[[AndIMustScream vocal cords]]''.]]