History Main / StatusQuoGameShow

* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': Cliff, ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}''

* While this wasn't technically a game show, one episode of ''TheGreatestAmericanHero'' had Ralph become a baseball player. One plot element plot had him cheated out of his salary by being given a contract which disguised insurance as income. This had no relation to the rest of the episode, and seemed to be there only to avoid the change in status quo that would be caused by making Ralph a millionaire.

** TruthInTelevision: Quite a few people come to Vegas to party and gamble on their 21st birthday and start the party right at midnight. Unfortunate for those who live in states where your driver license always expires on your 21st birthday and most casinos won't (and aren't obligated to) accept expired IDs. (They are obligated, however, to accept a valid passport, and those don't expire when you turn 21; remember that!)

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Fry participates in the quiz show, "Who Dares to Be a Millionaire?" hosted by Morbo. Stupid as Fry is, he quickly left after failing the $1 question thinking that the tool to use to hammer a nail is a another nail which becomes the RunningGag of this episode.

* The beginning of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode featured Moe in a ''WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'' parody game show facing a nuclear-related question for $500,000. He calls Homer because he works at the nuclear power plant, however, Lisa gave Moe the answer. Moe decides to stay for half rather than risking for a million. The episode proceeds to the actual plot about Krusty's ratings being stolen.

-->-- '''Bambi''', ''TheYoungOnes''

* In an issue of the original ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga, Jounouchi becomes a contestant on a game show called "Get a Million Yen!", which has a top prize of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a million yen.]] Yugi, however, finds out the game is rigged, and ends up playing a Shadow Game with the producer. Thanks to the distraction preventing the producer from rigging the game, Jounouchi becomes the first contestant to win the million yen. However, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero thanks to Yami Yugi's penalty game causing the producer to demand money on the air]], the production company goes bankrupt, rendering Jounouchi's check for one million yen worthless.

* In an issue of [[Manga/YuGiOh the original ''Yu-Gi-Oh!'' manga]], Jounouchi becomes a contestant on a game show called "Get a Million Yen!", which has a top prize of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a million yen.]] Yugi, however, finds out the game is rigged, and ends up playing a Shadow Game with the producer. Thanks to the distraction preventing the producer from rigging the game, Jounouchi becomes the first contestant to win the million yen. However, [[NiceJobBreakingItHero thanks to Yami Yugi's penalty game causing the producer to demand money on the air]], the production company goes bankrupt, rendering Jounouchi's check for one million yen worthless.

* A political cartoon around 1988 had then-President Ronald Reagan on ''WheelOfFortune'' facing the yet-to-be-solved game board which read "GET TO THE _OTTOM OF THE IRAN-CONTRA AFFAIR." Reagan: "Uh...is there a 'Q'?"

** And later the whole family on ''Series/FamilyFeud'', where Sandra does horrible in the first section of Fast Money, and Calvin nearly wins it all on his own...except for switching his final answer from the one that would've won them the big money.

* ''Series/LateNight with Creator/JimmyFallon'' has a sketch called "Wheel of Game Shows", where (as a SpinOff of [[{{Calvinball}} Wheel of Carpet Samples]]) audience members are subject to minigames that are outright impossible to win. From a recent episode, a "spot the difference" game was rigged to have a very obvious difference that Fallon ultimately denied the existence of, the red tissue someone asked to find was [[MoonLogicPuzzle on the bottom of the tissue box instead of inside it]], a rebus puzzle has an UnexpectedlyObscureAnswer ("Play My Sports" instead of "[[AccidentalInnuendo Tickle My Balls]]"), and Fallon assumes people know how to play "Brownie Points" (you stack them, not eat them. They're allegedly laced with [[{{Squick}} PCP]]).

** In the short "The Binky Show," Garfield appears as a contestant on the game show "Name That Fish," which turns out to be a stupidly insipid game with no strategy or rhyme or reason for existing other than to humiliate and disgust the contestants. The prizes turn out to be stupid as well ([[{{Zonk}} useless household junk]] to a car made of spaghetti and a trip to a run-down hotel "where you'll spend three glorious days and 16 miserable nights"). Luckily, it turns out to be AllJustADream.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', Roy Rooster was the host of a game show that was actually called "You Can't Win," in which the questions were designed to be impossible to answer and everyone went home with a lovely consolation prize consisting of a rock.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' had Garfield win the lottery after Jon opted to toss away his ticket. However, during an interview on a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous-type show, Garfield was revealed to be underage (about 12-13 when the episode was produced) and the judge of the lottery suddenly appeared to void the winning. The new winner? The host of that very show where Garfield was just outed in!
* The ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Big Man on Hippocampus" had the Griffins on ''Series/FamilyFeud'' and in the Fast Money round, Lois blazes through with 199 of the 200 points needed to win the $5,000 prize. However, Peter is chosen as the second contestant and he blows it big-time, demanding to be credited for the answer "chair" (an answer that Lois had already given) and then forgetting how to ''pass'' a question he didn't know.

* Del Boy from ''OnlyFoolsAndHorses'' went on ''Goldrush'' (a thinly disguised ''Series/WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire'') and lost in the final round. Then the producers realized that, wait a minute, his answer was actually ''right''. So they called him up to apologize and offer him the prize money. But he assumed it was a prank call and told them to give the money to charity.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'': In "Arthur and the Big Riddle," Arthur loses on a game show called ''Riddle Quest'', but he only does so because he gets distracted wondering whether he'd be on the show for the rest of his life if he kept winning.
** Thought he threw the match because he didn't want that to happen.
*** [[InvincibleHero Ken Jennings]], [[FunnyAneurysmMoment anyone]]?
* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' had Garfield win the lottery after Jon opted to toss away his ticket. However, during an interview on a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous-type show, Garfield was revealed to be underage (about 12-13 when the episode was produced) and the judge of the lottery suddenly appeared to void the winning. The new winner? The host of that very show where Garfield was just outted in!
* The ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Big Man on Hippocampus" had the Griffins on ''Series/FamilyFeud'' and in the Fast Money round, Lois blazes through with just 199 of the 200 points needed to win the $5,000 dollars prize. However, Peter is chosen as the second contestant and he blows it big time, demanding to be credited for the answer "chair" (an answer that Lois had already given) and then forgetting how to ''pass'' a question he didn't know.

* In ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'', Hank won an Alamo Beer contest for a chance to win $1,000,000 if he throws a football through a one foot hole in a giant Alamo Beer can or let former quarterback Don Meredith throw the ball instead for $100,000 during a New Orleans game. Hank made many successful practice throws, but his tough choice made Meredith (who had a winter coat on) throw the ball instead... and misses, costing a possible college fund for Bobby.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'' episode "Hands on a Big Mixer" Chower, Mung and a bunch of other people enter a contest where they have to keep their hand on a giant mixer and whoever is the last one to let go will win it. In the end, Chowder supposedly wins and lets go, only for it to turn out there was another contestant with their hand still on it; Chestnut, who is so tiny that nobody saw him until the reveal.

* Since most movies aren't slaves to the status quo, they're usually exceptions to this trope. A notable example is Rosie Perez's character Gloria becoming a five-day champ on ''Jeopardy!'' in ''White Men Can't Jump''.

* Rocky's wife says this exact line to him in ''RockyIV'', trying to convince him not to box his Russian challenger.
** Mason Dixon's manager says it in ''Rocky Balboa'', pointing out that if he wins, he beat up a 60-year-old... and if he loses, a 60-year-old beat the crap out of him.

* ''NationalLampoonsEuropeanVacation'' opens with the Griswolds on a game show called "Pig In A Poke". They win by accident and the prize is a trip to Europe, setting up the movie's plot.

[[caption-width-right:350:She owes ''Trebek'' money.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': Arnold, his grandparents and two boarders use TeamSpirit to beat another family on a game show called "Fighting Families" (similar to the old Nick game show ''[[DoubleDare1986 Double Dare]]'').

[[folder:Theatre]]
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=petsdXjRN4w You just can't win. You're not that strong.]] Of course, because this is ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', someone has to win.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* [[http://badgods.com/probablylose.html You Probably Lose.]]
[[/folder]]

* One story in ArchieComics has Reggie on a thinly veiled parody of ''Series/LoveConnection''. He says he has a good time, but his date calls him a stuck-up, self-centered dick. His consolation prize is a board-game version of the show, and he's noticeably choking slightly as he accepts it. The last panel is everyone in the main cast, even his longtime rival Archie, feeling sorry for him for being humiliated on national TV. Even the ''reader'' is sorry for him.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', Fry participates in the quiz show, "Who Dares to Be a Millionaire?" hosted by Morbo. Stupid as Fry is, he quickly left after failing a $1 question thinking that the tool to use to hammer a nail is a nail which becomes the RunningGag of this episode.

* While ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' was airing as part of ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', an episode had Brain appearing on a knockoff of ''Series/{{Jeopardy}}''. Brain crushes the competition, winning half of the money he needs for his plan to take over the world. However, he misses the final question which Pinky happened to know earlier and, having bet everything, loses his entire bank.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has Dexter and Dee Dee partake in a game somewhat similar to ''Double Dare'' called ''Sibling Rivalry''. Dexter wanted to win the telescope and Deedee wanted the pony. Inverted in that Deedee wins, but chooses the prize Dexter wanted... which, of course, she uses to spy on him.

* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory'' has Dexter and Deedee partake in a game somewhat similar to ''Double Dare'' called ''Sibling Rivalry''. Dexter wanted to win the telescope and Deedee wanted the pony. Inverted in that Deedee wins, but chooses the prize Dexter wanted... which, of course, she uses to spy on him.