History Main / PlotDrivenBreakdown

* ''Series/KeepingUpAppearances'': In the horse-riding episode, Hyacinth desperately wants to enter the bedroom to take care of her dreadful appearance before her guests arrive; but she cannot open the bedroom door, but it can't be locked because there isn't a key. This is not explained or resolved.

* In the case of ''Comicbook/{{Empowered}}'''s super suit, it is easier to list the times when the [[ClothesMakeTheSuperman Hypermembrane]] ''does'' work correctly. A justified example. Emp has a theory that the suit's reliability is tied into her self-confidence. The times the suit works are usually when she's pissed off or determined.

** [[Series/StarTrekVoyager Voyager]] was particularly bad at this, one episode (workforce part 2) had transporters and warp drive fail within minutes of each other, despite the sheer size of each system a single weapon hit is all that is required to take them offline.

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* There's at least one scene (and probably two or more) in the Ruby-Spears production of the American ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon, where Mega Man runs low on power in a critical situation.

* [[WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}} Ben Tennyson's]] Omnitrix [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce never works right]]. [[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Even when it's upgraded]]. Although it's implied that the Omnitrix/Ultimatrix is semi-sentient, and gives Ben unexpected transformations as a way of saying "Here, exercise your strategy instead of using the obvious solution". Though all too often it ends up giving him a transformation that ends up putting him in extra danger, instead, like giving him Rath when he's facing an opponent who can mind control cats, or during the Khyber story arc when the Omnitrix refused to transform into anything other than the aliens that Khyber's hound could actively counter with their natural predators.

** In season four a group of Cylon rebels make a deal with the team of humans searching for the route to Earth. They agree to return to the Colonial fleet together and stress how key it is that they [[FasterThanLightTravel jump]] back at the same time or ''Galactica'' will immediately shoot the Cylons' Basestar down. Naturally this is when the jump drive on the humans' ship fails, and when the Basestar reaches the fleet their communication systems ''also'' fail so Athena and Starbuck can't tell ''Galactica'' not to fire on them.

* One [=RidiculousCake=] video features a [[NonHumanHumanoidHybrid fox/dolphin]] lady scuba-diving for fun, until her oxygen tank's regulator valve suddenly unlocks itself, releasing the pressurized air all at once. This happens for [[ExcusePlot no reason other than]] to have her [[InflatingBodyGag inflate like a giant 3-foot balloon]] and float on the surface like a life raft.

* This trope seems to happen in every ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' game. Samus' powerups always malfunction or disappear somewhere whenever she needs them. Typically, this happens offscreen between games. However, the first two ''VideoGame/{{Metroid Prime|Trilogy}}'' games [[TasteOfPower start you off with some items]] but have you lose them early on, to a reactor explosion and some thieving Ing, respectively. ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'' instead has you in possession of all your items but unable to use them for plot-related reasons--not a malfunction, strictly speaking, but it serves the same purpose. ''VideoGame/MetroidFusion'' explains that you had your abilities, but they were all loaded into your old Power Suit, which had to be surgically removed. [[GrandTheftMe Then, the X Parasite took it over...]]

* In the ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'' episode "Act of Contrition", a recon drone kills 13 pilots when its restraints come off seemingly on their own. It's some tragic TruthInTelevision, as this exact same incident had happened in reality with missiles being shuffled to their aircraft on aircraft carriers falling to the deck and going kablooie. A character in the episode even says "I know it's hard to hear, but we were lucky. If that had been a ''missile...''"
** Said equipment used to store the drone was also ''40+ years old.''
** It seems the network asked Moore to add some joy and happiness to the show. The pilots certainly are happy. Just as they blow up. Then, the network stopped asking for things.

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

* One [=RidiculousCake=] video features a [[NonHumanHumanoidHybrid fox/dolphin]] lady scuba-diving for fun, until her oxygen tank's regulator valve suddenly unlocks itself, releasing the pressurized air all at once. This happens for [[ExcusePlot no reason other than to have her]] [[InflatingBodyGag inflate like a giant 3-foot balloon]] and float on the surface like a life raft.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Captain N|TheGameMaster}}''. It doesn't matter if he just left the palace and walked through the main gates, or if he's traveled to fourteen different worlds and then fought through 7 stages of deadly, monster-infested secret passages, his zapper/pad WILL run out of power the moment he has to fight Mother Brain. it didn't happen that much, but it was an easy out for the writers to force the heroes to retreat and fight another day.

* One [=RidiculousCake=] video features a [[NonHumanHumanoidHybrid fox/dolphin]] lady scuba-diving for fun, until her oxygen tank's regulator valve suddenly unlocks itself, releasing the pressurized air all at once. This happens for [[ExcusePlot no reason other than]] [[FetishFuel to have her]] [[InflatingBodyGag inflate like a giant 3-foot balloon]] and float on the surface like a life raft.

* One [=RidiculousCake=] video features a [[NonHumanoidHumanoid fox/dolphin]] lady scuba-diving for fun, until her oxygen tank's regulator valve suddenly unlocks itself, releasing the pressurized air all at once. This happens for [[ExcusePlot no reason other than]] [[FetishFuel to have her be]] [[InflatingBodyGag inflated like a 3-foot balloon]] and float on the surface like a life raft.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', one breakdown of the TransformationRay Gun caused a NoodleIncident and two other breakdowns triggered an arc leading to a new main character being created.

* Similarly the FATE role-playing system. Almost any sort of breakdown, including guns running out of ammunition, only happens when it's dramatically useful. On the other hand, the [[LuckManipulationMechanic Fate Point]] economy means that the PLAYER may frequently suggest such breakdowns to the GM in order to get HeroPoints to spend elsewhere. There's also a specific stunt, [[OneBulletLeft One Shot Left]] that lets the player declare their gun is out of ammo in return for a bonus that guarantees the last shot will be plot-appropriately spectacular.

->'''The Doctor:''' Clicking towards oblivion. How long K-9?
->'''K-9:''' Insufficient data.

The video game equivalent is called the BrokenBridge.

* [[WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}} Ben Tennyson's]] Omnitrix [[WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce never works right]]. [[WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien Even when it's upgraded]]. Although it's implied that the Omnitrix/Ultimatrix is semi-sentient, and gives Ben unexpected transformations as a way of saying "Here, exercise your strategy instead of using the obvious solution". Though all too often it ends up giving him a transformation that ends up putting him in extra danger, instead, like giving him Rath when he's facing an opponent who can mind control cats, or during the Khyber story arc when the Omnitrix refused to transform into anything other than things that Khyber's hound could actively counter.

-->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfMh_5hy-48& blooper]] from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor The Armageddon Factor]]"

** Also happens with the warp drive, or more commonly, the holodecks, the latter being lampshaded by O'Brien in one episode of DS9.

-->-- ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfMh_5hy-48& blooper]] from '''"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E6TheArmageddonFactor The Armageddon Factor]]"'''

* This trope seems to happen in every ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' game. Samus' powerups always malfunction or disappear somewhere whenever she needs them. Typically, this happens offscreen between games. However, the first two ''VideoGame/{{Metroid Prime|Trilogy}}'' games [[TasteOfPower start you off with some items]] but have you lose them early on, to a reactor explosion and some thieving Ing, respectively. ''[[VideoGame/MetroidOtherM Other M]]'' instead has you in possession of all your items but unable to use them for plot-related reasons--not a malfunction, strictly speaking, but it serves the same purpose.

[[folder:Film]]

* This happens all the time to any source of light in ''Film/DarknessFalls''.

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* In ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney: Trials and Tribulations'', Phoenix bravely and perhaps stupidly attempts to cross a burning bridge to save Maya, only to have it collapse when he is half way across. He is sent plunging into an incredibly deadly river only to survive with little more than a head cold. But this accident ultimately leads to a major break in the case.

* In ''Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack'', the Millennium Falcon's HYPER Drive systems refuse to work for nearly the whole film which means they can't easily escape the Imperial Fleet like everyone else, [[ForWantOfANail leading to their eventual capture, which requires Luke to divert from his training early to save them leading to his defeat by Vader and Han's capture by Fett.]] Basically if it had worked there wouldn't be any danger in the film at all past the quarter point.

* In the reimagined ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'' episode ''Act of Contrition'', a recon drone kills 13 pilots when its restraints come off seemingly on their own. It's some tragic TruthInTelevision, as this exact same incident had happened in reality with missiles being shuffled to their aircraft on aircraft carriers falling to the deck and going kablooie. A character in the episode even says "I know it's hard to hear, but we were lucky. If that had been a ''missile...''"