History Main / YourTelevisionHatesYou

* In ''A [[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS Dennis the Menace]] Christmas'', Dennis' attempts to bring Christmas cheer to Mr. Wilson result in [[ButtMonkey the latter being hospitalized, arrested, and having his house set on fire]]. Because [[BigBad David Bratcher]] has sold an insurance policy with the Dennis Clause to the Wilsons, this means that Henry and Alice have to pay for all the damages inadvertently caused by Dennis. When the expense for the damages is beyond what they can pay for ([[ShockinglyExpensiveBill approx. $45,000.00]]), they try to take their mind off it by watching television. Unfortunately for them, the movies playing on TV include ''Film/ChildrenOfTheDamned'', ''Film/TheBadSeed1956'', and ''Film/RosemarysBaby''.

* It happens to Fran and Maxwell on ''Series/TheNanny'' when she loses his Shakespeare original (manuscript) after being mugged. They were treated to Shakespeare plays on their TV channels.
* ''Series/TrueBlood'' has a moment where Jason -- who's just been violently dumped by his current girlfriend, in part because he's jealous of the vampire she let bite her -- starts gloomily channel-surfing and finding that every station is talking about vampires, including a nature documentary about vampire bats.
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'':
** This happens repeatedly to Al. He sits down to watch TV but only shows he hates are on: Oprah, Facts of Life, etc. This trope is averted in the episode where he has built himself a man's bathroom (with a mighty Fergusen - Bar-WHOOOOSH!). He just finished it, and went in to 'christen' it, but was constipated. He turned on the television and the array of programs loosened him right up.
** Al's family gets hit by this trope as well, if less frequently. An example happens at the start of the episode "Hot Off the Grill", where a reporter is in Fort Lauderdale on the day before Labor Day talking about the beach-goers having one last hurrah before the summer months end and claiming that "only a real no-life" would be stuck at home at a time like this, before the scene pans to Al's family watching TV, followed by his wife turning it off out of sheer annoyance.
** In "She's Having My Baby", Al is viewing several baby-related programs on television after Peg reveals she's pregnant, all which culminates in a news report that "babies have invaded Lithuania" and Al screaming in agony.
** "Dud Bowl II" features Terry Bradshaw receiving a scoreboard at Polk High that Al believes he should get and then watches episodes of ''Family Matters'' where Terry is revealed to be Urkel's long-lost father and ''Jeopardy'' where he's so popular, he receives his own ''answer column.''
** When Griff ends up getting to carry the Olympic torch in "Torch Song Duet" due to a radio contest that Al provided the answers for, the former is then featured in programs where "[he] asks O.J. the tough questions" and on an episode of ''Barney'' (while the dinosaur sings "We love Griff") which causes a jealous Al to complain "that should be ''me'' [[HypocriticalHumor hugging that big, purple idiot!"]]
* In the ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' episode "[[Recap/SherlockS02E02TheHoundsOfBaskerville The Hounds of Baskerville]]", the man whose father was apparently killed by a wolf keeps getting wolf-related channels. [[spoiler:There's a justification: he's under the influence of a fear-inducing drug]].
* In an episode of ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', Carlton is depressed since his favorite race horse is gonna be put down. Will tries to take his mind off the horse by turning the TV on, only to find that ''Series/MrEd'' just so happens to come on. [[FromBadToWorse Carlton takes it as well as expected.]]
--> '''Carlton:'''' YouBastard!!!!!

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''.

* ''Series/{{Wiseguy}}''. After Frank [=McPike=] is thrown out of his house by his wife, he's DrowningMySorrows in a bar when the jukebox starts playing "Hit The Road, Jack" (''and don't come back no more no more no more'', etc). Frank calmly walks over to the jukebox and shoots it.
* A similar scenario to the ''Barney Miller'' example occurs on an early episode of ''Series/HannahMontana''. Looking to get her mind off of flubbing the national anthem at a sporting event, Miley finds that every news outlet is running that specific story, including the Spanish one.
** In another episode, Miley is trying to keep Lillie from finding a gossip article about her attending a party she lied about being canceled, as she didn't want Lillie to attend where she can embarrass her. Miley tries turning on a tv, only to find a news report playign about the article.
* ''Series/{{Roundhouse}}''
** A VerySpecialEpisode about gangs has a montage of this type, with show parodies such as ''[[Series/NorthernExposure Northern Explosion]]'' and ''[[Series/ThePartridgeFamily The Cartridge Family]]''.
** Another instance {{exaggerate|dTrope}}s this as the shows that Lisa watches to get her mind off not being able to get a date for the school dance seem to be about... her not being able to get a date for the school dance.
* ''Series/HangTime'': A twist in that it's also Your Book Hates You; in the episode "Fighting for Your Dreams," Kristy tries to take Antonio's mind off of blowing a shot at getting into the University of Kentucky after injuring his knee by watching TV... only to turn on the Kentucky Derby, and then a commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken (although she turns off the TV before the announcer says the full name). She then reads a mystery book to him, in which the character remembers the summers he spent in... you know where this is going.

* ''Series/ThePartridgeFamily'': Danny watches TV to take his mind off his upcoming tonsillectomy, which Shirley assures him will be a simple operation. The first show he sees features a man saying into a telephone, "Have you told your son the truth yet, Mrs. Carstairs? I know it's difficult, he's so young. Well, maybe it is better if he does think it's only a simple operation. The truth won't make the end any easier."

* ''Series/TheBoys2019''.
** After Hughie's girlfriend is accidentally killed by superhero A-Train, he naturally [[INeedAFreakingDrink needs a freaking drink]] but starts to FreakOut in the liquor store because everywhere he turns there's CelebrityEndorsement by A-Train.
** Lampshaded when Queen Maeve visits a lesbian ex-girlfriend, who's still angry over Maeve dumping her for the life of a celebrity superhero. She points out that while Maeve can move on with her life, she has to put up with images of her former lover on posters and television screens everywhere she goes.

* ''Series/CowboyBebop2021''. The episode "Dog Star Swing" opens with an advertisement for the Walking Sally doll which Jet Black is desperate to buy for his daughter before it sells out. His monitor ends up glitching with the doll saying "Come and get me!" [[BrokenRecord over and over]] before he manages to shut it off.
-->'''Jet:''' I swear this doll is mocking me!
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'': During the gang's trip to London, Joey has just told Phoebe (who couldn't come) that he isn't homesick. He turns on the TV which is playing ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' and the theme song's lyrics about going "where everybody knows your name" make him realise that he actually ''does'' miss New York.

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[[quoteright:250:[[ComicBook/{{Tintin}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tintin_whiskey.png]]]]

* ''Manga/CrayonShinChan''

* ''[[Literature/RascalDoesNotDreamOfBunnyGirlSenpai Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl]]'': PlayedForDrama when [[spoiler:on December 28th, Sakuta mindlessly watches TV to try and distract himself from Mai's death four days ago, [[SurvivorGuilt which he feels guilty about]]. All four channels he switches to are covering her funeral, causing him to recoil in pain]].

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComics:''

* ''Franchise/{{Tintin}}''
** From "Explorers on the Moon"

* PlayedForDrama in ''ComicBook/TheDarkKnightReturns'', where the retired ([[MandatoryUnretirement but not for long]]) Bruce Wayne finds an old ''Franchise/{{Zorro}}'' movie - the same one his parents took him to the night of their murder - playing on the tube. At first he tries to tough it out, but when his old trauma comes flooding back he tries to watch something else... and finds every single channel reporting some horrific crime in [[WretchedHive future!Gotham]]. One night later, ComicBook/{{Batman}} makes his grand return.

--> '''[[PsychoPsychologist [=TV=]]]:''' Get real, Kevin! 'Cause when you feel like a dirtbag, it's because you're a dirtbag. So just own it! Just say it out loud: ''[RJ mouths along with TV]'' I am a dirtbag.
* Practically parodied in ''WesternAnimation/HoodwinkedTooHoodVersusEvil''. The poor Wolf just keeps flipping channels, and the TV just gets more ridiculously pointed.

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns''. Bruce Wayne is trying to live with his retirement, but keeps getting either news reports on the crime wave in Gotham, or the movie that was playing the night his parents were murdered.

* ''Film/ModernTimes'' has one, even though the movie itself is OlderThanTelevision. In one scene, the Tramp is in a waiting room sitting near a woman with a terrible and noisy gas problem. Eventually, he turns on the radio next to him, to a commercial for antacids. He turns it off quickly.
* In ''Film/StrangerThanFiction'', Harold is told to take a day off to "do nothing," so he stays at home and watches TV to try to get his mind off of the voice declaring his imminent death. So he turns on nature shows, because he likes animals. Unfortunately, all the nature shows he turns on involve animals killing each other.
* In ''Film/ANewLife1988'', newly-divorced Steve flips channels only to keep seeing the same mattress store ad with the jingle "have more fun in bed!"
* Early on in ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy'', Geena Davis's character throws her doctor fiance out when she finds him cheating with another girl. The next day, as she's weeping at the kitchen table, a soap opera shows a doctor fooling around with a nurse, ''on top of his comatose wife.''

* ''Film/PhatGirlz'': the main character Jazmine Biltmore is having a bad case of depression due to her love life and her WeightWoe, she turns on the TV where she sees several weight-related programs: a cartoon with a depressed fat man being enticed into pigging out, an ad for a weight-loss clinic, an ad for a type of exercise, and a talk show with a woman crying over her weight and her hopelessness in dieting. This leads to Jazmine from having a HeroicBSOD to a FreakOut.
* In ''Film/ThreeOClockHigh'', one of the first things the main character, a high school student, does one school day is inadvertently offend a bully who promises to beat him up at 3 PM. Before the scheduled fight, our hero goes to his biology class, where he sees a film about how poor defenceless critters like crickets get eaten (with crunching sound effects) by big mean predators.
* In a DeletedScene of ''Film/{{Lolita}}'' (1997), Dolores and Humbert are on their road trip with the car radio on, playing the comedy ''The Bickersons''. There's [[LaughTrack canned laughter]] as [[FilleFatale Dolores]] flirts with Humbert, but when he talks about her going back to school they start arguing with the Bickersons doing likewise. When Humbert says bluntly that their holiday is over, causing Dolores to fall into a sullen silence, the announcer can be heard saying they'll be back after a few commercials for the Bickerson's in "The Honeymoon Is Over".
* In the film ''Film/{{Houseguest}}'', Sinbad's character has just been slapped and dumped by his girlfriend for his immature behavior. He goes home and turns on the TV and ends up with a marathon of slaps and punches on every channel, including ''Film/GroundhogDay'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', [[Series/{{Cheers}} Sam and Diane's epic slap fight]], and [[Film/BlazingSaddles Mongo punching a horse.]]

* In ''Film/FortyCarats'', Ann is trying to forget about a man she had a fling with in Greece. The TV plays a Pan-Am ad that invites people to go on vacation to Greece and says, "Go! Go! Go!" Ann snaps, "I went!" and turns the TV off.
* In ''A [[ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS Dennis the Menace]] Christmas'', Dennis' attempts to bring Christmas cheer to Mr. Wilson result in [[ButtMonkey the latter being hospitalized, arrested, and having his house set on fire]]. Because [[BigBad David Bratcher]] has sold an insurance policy with the Dennis Clause to the Wilsons, this means that Henry and Alice have to pay for all the damages inadvertently caused by Dennis. When the expense for the damages is beyond what they can pay for ([[ShockinglyExpensiveBill approx. $45,000.00]]), they try to take their mind off it by watching television. Unfortunately for them, the movies playing on TV include ''Film/ChildrenOfTheDamned'', ''Film/TheBadSeed1956'', and ''Film/RosemarysBaby''.

* Used for GallowsHumor in ''[[Literature/TheAdversaryCycle Nightworld]]'', which has a RunningGag in that a particular cable channel is broadcasting horror movies for all the people who have locked themselves in their houses due to TheNightThatNeverEnds and the accompanying swarm of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s. The list of horror movies get longer as the days get shorter, and the titles always match whatever horror has just been unleashed on the world.

* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': The team is somewhat uneasy about morphing flies, having previously had a traumatic time morphing ants. So of course, the day before it happens ''The Fly'' (both the [[Film/TheFly1958 1958]] and the [[Film/TheFly1986 1986 versions]]) is broadcast, and of course they all watch it.

* This YouTubePoop "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPH3m-skbz0 The Age-Old Mask Device]]" uses this trope, featuring examples of LatexPerfection on every channel.

* In the second ''Anime/{{Patlabor}}'' movie, a detective has been left handcuffed to a pipe while the bad guys carry out their EvilPlan. He rips the pipe free of the wall and runs for his car only to find it's been immobilized. Seeing airships and helicopter gunships flying off towards Tokyo, and him helpless to warn anyone, he wails: "Why can't I find a phone?!" Standing next to him is a huge billboard of an Pacific island beauty (this is winter in Japan) making a phone call.

* Something similar happened in ''[[WesternAnimation/GarfieldSpecials Garfield's Halloween Adventure]]''. After he and Odie escape a mob of {{Ghost Pirate}}s from a haunted house, Garfield decides to watch TV before going to bed, and turns to a channel showing the old man from the haunted house hosting an all-night pirate movie festival. He turns it off quickly.

** Turns into a case of Your Movie Theatre Hates You in the episode "Heat". Trying to find relief in the cool movie theatre during a heat wave, the only movies playing are ''The Day the Sun Exploded'', ''Invasion of the People Melters'' and ''Hotter Than the Sun''.
** A movie theater example: In "Hooky", Arnold and Gerald skip school and spend the whole episode narrowly avoiding getting caught, they take refuge in the movie theater and before the movie starts; A PSA is played of a politician telling kids to "stay in school".

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bonkers}}'': The episode "Stressed to Kill" had one scene where a stressed out Lucky Piquel tries to watch some television to ease himself over his trouble in capturing the Mole, only for every channel to mention moles or feature characters that look like the Mole.

-->'''Jon:''' Boy, I'm hungry, but I need to go on a diet.\\

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' In "[[Recap/RecessS3E4ACareerToRemember A Career to Remember]]", several Third Street School alumni have come to talk about their professions on Career Day, which inspires the main gang to talk about their potential careers. Most of the kids have decided what they want to be when they grow up, but Spinelli hasn't. She tries to keep her mind off what her future career will be by watching television, but every channel she turns to has something related to careers.

** In "The Last Temptation of Homer": Homer is attracted to a sexy female co-worker; back at home he tries his best to not think about cheating on his wife. When he tries to distract himself with watching TV, he cycles though several channels about sex and cheating--first a news special about the affairs of various notable Presidents, then a nature documentary about a fly which has thousands of sex partners and suffers "virtually no guilt", and then a program where the only words Homer hears upon changing the channel are "Just do it!" (It's a ringworm PSA.)

* ''{{Literature/Animorphs}}'': The team is somewhat uneasy about morphing flies, having previously had a traumatic time morphing ants. So of course, the day before it happens ''Film/TheFly'' is broadcast, and of course they all watch it.

* ''Manga/CrayonShinChan'' have the short story arc where Misae is currently pregnant with Shin-Chan's kid sister, Himawari, and getting hit rather badly with MorningSickness. Shin-Chan suggests she watch a movie to calm herself, flipping on the movie channel... and said channel happens to be playing the chest-bursting lunch from ''Film/{{Alien}}''. Cue Misae throwing up.

* ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheTinLabyrinth'' have this trope PlayedForDrama. Gian and Suneo are infiltrating the robot-populated city of Mechapolis while disguised as robots, when they entered a diner and, in a TooDumbToLive moment, Gian accidentally orders katsu-don, ''human'' food, in a world where humans are hunted by robots on sight. Just as the diner's robot chef starts eyeing on Suneo and Gian suspiciously, an emergency news report suddenly and conveniently broadcasts news about two human intruders in Mechapolis. Cue Gian and Suneo [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere making the split when the robot chef's back is turned]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'': In the Season Two episode "Operation: Bumblebee (Part One)", [[KidAppealCharacter 'Bee]] has his Transformation Cog -- the biomechanism that allows a Cybertronian to transform -- stolen by the paramilitary group MECH. Stuck in the base, he tries to watch TV with the humans, but the first thing they see is a car commercial. To add insult to injury, said commercial was for the ''exact same model car 'Bee's alt-mode was based on.'' To cap it off, the tagline for the car?
-->''The new Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world. It will ''transform'' it.''

* ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'': In the PilotMovie, Bloo has just learned that Mac has to give him up, and as he changes the channels late at night, every show is about being lonely, saying goodbye, or having "the blues". One show even talks about the Grand Canyon being a "deep depression".

** In one episode, after feeding Garfield, Jon slumps in front of the television:

-->'''Jon:''' I really gotta go on a diet.\\
'''TV Announcer:''' Do you have to go on a diet?!\\
'''Jon:''' [[LampshadeHanging Why does my TV always know what I'm thinking?]]

** When Griff ends up getting to carry the Olympic torch in "Torch Song Duet" due to a radio contest that Al provided the answers for, the former is then featured in programs where "[he] asks O.J. the tough questions" and on an episode of ''Barney'' (while the dinosaur sings "We love Griff") which causes a jealous Al to complain that "it should be ''me'' [[HypocriticalHumor hugging that big, purple idiot!"]]

** In "Duffless", after getting ticketed for a DUI, Homer to spend 1 month without beer. On day 1, Homer sees a commercial for Duff Beer.

* ''[[Literature/RascalDoesNotDreamOfBunnyGirlSenpai Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl]]'': [[spoiler:On the day of Mai's funeral, Sakuta mindlessly watches TV to try and distract himself from her death. All four channels he switches to are covering Mai's funeral, causing him to recoil in pain]].

** In "The Last Temptation of Homer": Homer is attracted to a sexy female co-worker; back at home he tries his best to not think about cheating on his wife. When he tries to distract himself with watching TV, he cycles though several channels about sex and cheating--first a news special about the affairs of various notable Presidents, then a nature documentary about a fly which has thousands of sex partners and suffers "virtually no guilt", and then a program where the only words Homer hears upon changing the channel are "Just do it!" (It's a ringworm PSA.)

** In "Krusty Gets Kancelled", Krusty is trying to get back in shape by sparring with Homer, but he's too depressed to punch. Then Maggie touches the remote, and ''The Gabbo Show'' (which is what caused Krusty's show to be cancelled) comes on; Krusty becomes angry, and starts punching Homer furiously. Then Maggie hits the button again, and a news report comes on saying the price of pork has gone up. Now ''Homer'' is ''just'' as angry, and starts punching ''Krusty'' just as hard.
** In "Homer Loves Flanders", Homer fails to win tickets to a football game and angrily hits his radio, which starts playing ''Two Tickets To Paradise'' by Eddie Money. Homer misses the irony and is actually cheered up by the song.
** In "Homer's Barbershop Quartet" after Chief Wiggum is kicked out of the titular group, he tries to forget about it by watching TV but all the shows he was watching showed comedians mocking him.
** In "I Don't Know Why the Caged Bird Sings", Marge makes a promise to a bank robber, whose mother abandoned him as a child, to visit him in prison of he turns himself in, only to get cold feet and rescind on it by distracting herself. Later that night, she starts feeling guilty about it while watching an old movie about a prisoner who holds out hope that his mom will show up to witness his execution; she doesn't.

* ''Film/TheNuttyProfessor'': When Professor Sherman Klump watches TV, he sees ad after ad for weight-loss products. Amusingly, his father Cletus actually discussed this during a Klump family dinner, saying "Every time you turn it on, somebody talkin' about 'lose weight, get healthy.".