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** Indirect example but the wildfire which Aerys Targaryen left under King's Landing, was a spanner in the plans the High Sparrow had to establish the theocracy in Westeros and ultimately leads to his death.
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** Indirect example but the wildfire which Aerys Targaryen left under King's Landing, Landing was a spanner in the plans the High Sparrow had to establish the theocracy in Westeros and ultimately leads to his death.
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** Indirect example but the wildfire which Aerys Targaryen left under King's Landing, was a spanner in the plans the High Sparrow had to establish the theocracy in Westeros and ultimately leads to his death.
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** "The Rashomon Job" features the crew trying to claim that they were the one who stole a priceless dagger from a museum years ago. However, it turns out that none of them got the dagger in the end because this trope was in play. Everyone's plans collided with each other, resulting in the dagger quite literally falling into Nate's hand.
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** Thanks to the High Sparrow's manipulations, Tommen ruins whatever plans Cersei and the Small Council had to curb the power of the Faith Militant.
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* In ''Wrestling/{{TNA}}'', Wrestling/TaylorWilde and Lauren Brooke derailed [[Wrestling/StevieRichards Dr. Stevie]]'s attempts to turn Abyss into his puppet. Despite using drugs, physical abuse, and mind games to keep him in line, Dr. Stevie didn't count on Abyss falling in love with Lauren. Then, when he ordered Abyss to attack Taylor, he didn't count on her being Lauren's best friend...
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* In ''Wrestling/{{TNA}}'', Wrestling/TaylorWilde and Lauren Brooke derailed Dr. Stevie's attempts to turn Abyss into his puppet. Despite using drugs, physical abuse, and mind games to keep him in line, Dr. Stevie didn't count on Abyss falling in love with Lauren. Then, when he ordered Abyss to attack Taylor, he didn't count on her being Lauren's best friend...
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* In ''Wrestling/{{TNA}}'', Wrestling/TaylorWilde and Lauren Brooke derailed [[Wrestling/StevieRichards Dr. Stevie's Stevie]]'s attempts to turn Abyss into his puppet. Despite using drugs, physical abuse, and mind games to keep him in line, Dr. Stevie didn't count on Abyss falling in love with Lauren. Then, when he ordered Abyss to attack Taylor, he didn't count on her being Lauren's best friend...
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** Ramsay to his own father. While Ramsay takes orders from Roose, he does things Roose doesn't order and in doing so screws up Roose's plans. For one thing, there's burning Winterfell and flaying the Ironborn, when it seems Roose's offer to them of safe passage out of the North if they surrendered was genuine. Not to mention that Theon's value as a prisoner became virtually non-existent after Ramsay castrated him; Balon has no use for a son who can't continue the family line. When Roose has Ramsay use Theon to have the Ironborn at Moat Cailin surrender, the plan almost collapses because Theon is so emotionally broken that he can't command respect from them.
--> '''Roose:''' Ramsay delivered the terms. The Ironborn turned on Theon as we knew they would. They handed him over, trussed and hooded, but Ramsay... well, Ramsay has his own way of doing things.
--> '''Roose:''' Ramsay delivered the terms. The Ironborn turned on Theon as we knew they would. They handed him over, trussed and hooded, but Ramsay... well, Ramsay has his own way of doing things.
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* Shinji Kido/''Series/KamenRiderRyuki'' is this trope's personification when it comes to ''Franchise/KamenRider''. He has an unholy ability to barge in at the least convinient moment and his TheDeterminator tendencies make him impossible to remove from the plan once he gets there. Also, being an IdiotHero, he doesn't know any of this.
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** The survival of Bran and Rickon means House Stark isn't quite as dead as many characters believe.
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** On a smaller scale, part of the Lannisters plan was to [[spoiler: take the three visiting Starks (Ned, Sansa and Arya) prisoner and use them a political bargaining chips. However, on top of Joffrey executing Ned, the much overlooked eleven year old Arya turns out to have both a swordmaster and the skills to fight back and manages to escape Kings Landing. The Lannisters are left with only Sansa, and for the rest of the series have no idea what Arya's up to or even if she survived.]]
** The survival of Arya, Bran and Rickon means House Stark isn't quite as dead as many characters believe.
** The survival of Arya, Bran and Rickon means House Stark isn't quite as dead as many characters believe.
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* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei (who was not captured, but was effectively neutralized by being turned into a hamster), his son Cam (who wasn't captured because he wasn't a student), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were LatetoSchool. Since they were the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, the three students ended up becoming the new Power Rangers under the mentorship of the Sensei and with Cam's help, and soon they start fighting back against the villain.
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* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei (who was not captured, but was effectively neutralized by being turned into a hamster), his son Cam (who wasn't captured because he wasn't a student), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were LatetoSchool.LateForSchool. Since they were the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, the three students ended up becoming the new Power Rangers under the mentorship of the Sensei and with Cam's help, and soon they start fighting back against the villain.
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* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei (who was not captured, but was effectively neutralized by being turned into a hamster), his son Cam (who wasn't captured because he wasn't a student), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were late to school. Since they were the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, they ended up becoming the new Power Rangers and fighting the villain.
* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', [[spoiler: Oshin's ''very'' meddling mother-in-law Kiyo plans to part her from her son Ryuuzo when she leaves Saga to work in Tokyo, by intercepting Oshin's letters and cutting off her and Ryuuzo's communication.]] The plan works ''very'' well when [[spoiler: Oshin moves to Sakata, stops getting Ryuuzo's letters (since he doesn't know she has moved) so she thinks he's ditched her and viceversa]], until two persons ruin this: [[spoiler: Oshin's ''other'' prospect love interest Kouta (who writes to Ryuuzo to call him out on his "abandonment" and say ''he'' will help Oshin and her so Yuu instead)]] and [[spoiler: Ryuuzo's sister-in-law Tsuneko, who finds Oshin's letters, reconstructs them and shows them to Ryuuzo.]]
* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', [[spoiler: Oshin's ''very'' meddling mother-in-law Kiyo plans to part her from her son Ryuuzo when she leaves Saga to work in Tokyo, by intercepting Oshin's letters and cutting off her and Ryuuzo's communication.]] The plan works ''very'' well when [[spoiler: Oshin moves to Sakata, stops getting Ryuuzo's letters (since he doesn't know she has moved) so she thinks he's ditched her and viceversa]], until two persons ruin this: [[spoiler: Oshin's ''other'' prospect love interest Kouta (who writes to Ryuuzo to call him out on his "abandonment" and say ''he'' will help Oshin and her so Yuu instead)]] and [[spoiler: Ryuuzo's sister-in-law Tsuneko, who finds Oshin's letters, reconstructs them and shows them to Ryuuzo.]]
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* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei (who was not captured, but was effectively neutralized by being turned into a hamster), his son Cam (who wasn't captured because he wasn't a student), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were late to school. LatetoSchool. Since they were the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, they the three students ended up becoming the new Power Rangers under the mentorship of the Sensei and with Cam's help, and soon they start fighting back against the villain.
* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', [[spoiler: Oshin's ''very'' meddling mother-in-law Kiyo plans to part her from her son Ryuuzo when she leaves Saga to work in Tokyo, by intercepting Oshin's letters and cutting off her and Ryuuzo's communication.]] The plan works ''very'' well when [[spoiler: Oshin moves to Sakata, stops getting Ryuuzo's letters (since he doesn't know she hasmoved) moved away) so she thinks he's ditched her and viceversa]], until two persons ruin this: [[spoiler: Oshin's ''other'' prospect love interest Kouta (who writes to Ryuuzo to call him out on his "abandonment" and say ''he'' will help Oshin and her so son Yuu instead)]] instead, making Ryuuzo realize that something fishy going on)]] and [[spoiler: Ryuuzo's sister-in-law Tsuneko, who Tsuneko (who finds the remains of Oshin's letters, reconstructs them and shows them to Ryuuzo.Ryuuzo).]]
* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', [[spoiler: Oshin's ''very'' meddling mother-in-law Kiyo plans to part her from her son Ryuuzo when she leaves Saga to work in Tokyo, by intercepting Oshin's letters and cutting off her and Ryuuzo's communication.]] The plan works ''very'' well when [[spoiler: Oshin moves to Sakata, stops getting Ryuuzo's letters (since he doesn't know she has
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* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Naomi calls Castiel this by name, and says that he has never followed orders.
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* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** Naomi calls Castiel this by name, and says that he has neverfollowed orders.completely done what he was told.
** Naomi calls Castiel this by name, and says that he has never
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** The survival of Bran and Rickon means House Stark isn't quite as dead as many characters believe.
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* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', [[spoiler: Oshin's ''very'' meddling mother-in-law Kiyo plans to part her from her son Ryuuzo when she leaves Saga to work in Tokyo, by intercepting Oshin's letters and cutting off her and Ryuuzo's communication.]] The plan works ''very'' well when [[spoiler: Oshin moves to Sakata, stops getting Ryuuzo's letters (since he doesn't know she has moved) so she thinks he's ditched her and viceversa]], until two persons ruin this: [[spoiler: Oshin's ''other'' prospect love interest Kouta (who writes to Ryuuzo to call him out on his "abandonment" and say ''he'' will help Oshin and her so Yuu instead)]] and [[spoiler: Ryuuzo's sister-in-law Tsuneko, who finds Oshin's letters and shows them to Ryuuzo.]]
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* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', [[spoiler: Oshin's ''very'' meddling mother-in-law Kiyo plans to part her from her son Ryuuzo when she leaves Saga to work in Tokyo, by intercepting Oshin's letters and cutting off her and Ryuuzo's communication.]] The plan works ''very'' well when [[spoiler: Oshin moves to Sakata, stops getting Ryuuzo's letters (since he doesn't know she has moved) so she thinks he's ditched her and viceversa]], until two persons ruin this: [[spoiler: Oshin's ''other'' prospect love interest Kouta (who writes to Ryuuzo to call him out on his "abandonment" and say ''he'' will help Oshin and her so Yuu instead)]] and [[spoiler: Ryuuzo's sister-in-law Tsuneko, who finds Oshin's letters letters, reconstructs them and shows them to Ryuuzo.]]
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* In ''Series/WhiteChristmas'', Kang Mi Reu sneaks back into the school unbeknownst to anybody but his fellow students to pull a prank after being expelled. The killer never knew he existed and when he reveals himself and holds the other kids at gunpoint, Kang Mi Reu had since left the school. Though unable to navigate the snow Mi Reu returns and tries to pull a prank on an unsuspecting person, in actuality the killer, by wiring a doorknob to shock him. It disables the killer long enough for them to get the gun away from him and reclaim the school. Only then does he realize that a dangerous serial killer had been threatening everybody.
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* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei (who was turned into a hamster but not captured), his son Cam (who wasn't a student so he wasn't caught either), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were late to school... an since they were the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, they ended up becoming the new Power Rangers and fighting the villain.
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* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei (who was not captured, but was effectively neutralized by being turned into a hamster but not captured), hamster), his son Cam (who wasn't a student so captured because he wasn't caught either), a student), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were late to school... an since school. Since they were the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, they ended up becoming the new Power Rangers and fighting the villain.
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** In the first season, the Lannisters have a very careful plan for dealing with Ned Stark in such a way that he would be discredited, but the Starks would decide against going to war, and thus the succession for the Iron Throne would be secured... and then [[spoiler:Joffrey has Ned publicly executed for shits and giggles, causing the North to declare war and making the Iron Throne look so insecure that Renly and Stannis both decide to take their chance and challenge Joffrey.]]
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** In the first season, the Lannisters have a very careful plan for dealing with Ned Stark in such a way that he would be discredited, but the Starks would decide against going to war, and thus the succession for the Iron Throne would be secured... and then [[spoiler:Joffrey has Ned publicly executed for shits and giggles, causing the North to declare war and making the Iron Throne look so insecure that Joffrey's uncles Renly and Stannis both decide to take their chance and challenge Joffrey.]]
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** Also in the sixth season, Littlefinger's long-running plan to make Sansa his new bride (and turn her into a puppet Queen of the North) is suddenly dashed when [[spoiler:Lyanna Mormount decides to shame the various Northern factions into naming Jon Snow the new King of the North.]]
* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei, who was turned into a hamster, his son Cam (who wasn't a student), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were late to school. By dint of being the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, they ended up becoming the new Power Rangers and fighting the villain.
* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei, who was turned into a hamster, his son Cam (who wasn't a student), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were late to school. By dint of being the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, they ended up becoming the new Power Rangers and fighting the villain.
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** Also in the sixth season, Littlefinger's long-running plan to make Sansa Stark his new bride (and ''and'' turn her into a puppet Queen of the North) North is suddenly dashed when [[spoiler:Lyanna Mormount decides to shame the various Northern factions into naming Sansa's "brother" Jon Snow the new King of the North.]]
* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy'sSensei, who Sensei (who was turned into a hamster, hamster but not captured), his son Cam (who wasn't a student), student so he wasn't caught either), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were late to school. By dint of being school... an since they were the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, they ended up becoming the new Power Rangers and fighting the villain.villain.
* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', [[spoiler: Oshin's ''very'' meddling mother-in-law Kiyo plans to part her from her son Ryuuzo when she leaves Saga to work in Tokyo, by intercepting Oshin's letters and cutting off her and Ryuuzo's communication.]] The plan works ''very'' well when [[spoiler: Oshin moves to Sakata, stops getting Ryuuzo's letters (since he doesn't know she has moved) so she thinks he's ditched her and viceversa]], until two persons ruin this: [[spoiler: Oshin's ''other'' prospect love interest Kouta (who writes to Ryuuzo to call him out on his "abandonment" and say ''he'' will help Oshin and her so Yuu instead)]] and [[spoiler: Ryuuzo's sister-in-law Tsuneko, who finds Oshin's letters and shows them to Ryuuzo.]]
* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's
* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', [[spoiler: Oshin's ''very'' meddling mother-in-law Kiyo plans to part her from her son Ryuuzo when she leaves Saga to work in Tokyo, by intercepting Oshin's letters and cutting off her and Ryuuzo's communication.]] The plan works ''very'' well when [[spoiler: Oshin moves to Sakata, stops getting Ryuuzo's letters (since he doesn't know she has moved) so she thinks he's ditched her and viceversa]], until two persons ruin this: [[spoiler: Oshin's ''other'' prospect love interest Kouta (who writes to Ryuuzo to call him out on his "abandonment" and say ''he'' will help Oshin and her so Yuu instead)]] and [[spoiler: Ryuuzo's sister-in-law Tsuneko, who finds Oshin's letters and shows them to Ryuuzo.]]
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* ''Series/PowerRangersNinjaStorm'' begins with the villain ambushing all the ninja schools (ninja being the only ones who could stop him) and capturing the students. Only five people manage to remain: the Wind Academy's Sensei, who was turned into a hamster, his son Cam (who wasn't a student), and three student ninja who decided to be good samaritans and so were late to school. By dint of being the only ones with anything resembling the proper training, they ended up becoming the new Power Rangers and fighting the villain.
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** Also seen in The Tapout Job; Nate is pretending to be a fight organiser from a different state. The Spanner comes in the form of the mark's assistant's cousin. The assistant apparently gets suspicion and calls his cousin, in whichever state Nate said he was from, who "knows every fight producer in the state". The cousin confirms that he's never heard of Nate's alias. Cue Hardison's "I cannot hack a hick" line.
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* ''Series/GameOfThrones'' loves this trope:
** In the first season, the Lannisters have a very careful plan for dealing with Ned Stark in such a way that he would be discredited, but the Starks would decide against going to war, and thus the succession for the Iron Throne would be secured... and then [[spoiler:Joffrey has Ned publicly executed for shits and giggles, causing the North to declare war and making the Iron Throne look so insecure that Renly and Stannis both decide to take their chance and challenge Joffrey.]]
** In the sixth season, Margaery devises an as-yet unrevealed plan to free herself and her brother Loras from the Faith Militant. Said plan becomes moot when [[spoiler:Cersei elects to have the entire Sept of Baelor blown up, killing Margaery, Loras, their father Mace, the High Sparrow, and dozens of others.]]
** Also in the sixth season, Littlefinger's long-running plan to make Sansa his new bride (and turn her into a puppet Queen of the North) is suddenly dashed when [[spoiler:Lyanna Mormount decides to shame the various Northern factions into naming Jon Snow the new King of the North.]]
** In the first season, the Lannisters have a very careful plan for dealing with Ned Stark in such a way that he would be discredited, but the Starks would decide against going to war, and thus the succession for the Iron Throne would be secured... and then [[spoiler:Joffrey has Ned publicly executed for shits and giggles, causing the North to declare war and making the Iron Throne look so insecure that Renly and Stannis both decide to take their chance and challenge Joffrey.]]
** In the sixth season, Margaery devises an as-yet unrevealed plan to free herself and her brother Loras from the Faith Militant. Said plan becomes moot when [[spoiler:Cersei elects to have the entire Sept of Baelor blown up, killing Margaery, Loras, their father Mace, the High Sparrow, and dozens of others.]]
** Also in the sixth season, Littlefinger's long-running plan to make Sansa his new bride (and turn her into a puppet Queen of the North) is suddenly dashed when [[spoiler:Lyanna Mormount decides to shame the various Northern factions into naming Jon Snow the new King of the North.]]
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* On ''AgentsOfSHIELD'' Lincoln's severe wounding by James during the fight on the Zephyr put him in a situation where he sees that Daisy has the necklace that she'd foreseen being present in the explosion that kills someone on the team, which clues him into the fact she's preparing [[HeroicSacrifice to take the warhead up in the Quinjet herself]] which then motivates him to do it instead, being the only one who has the power to fry the Quinjet's systems so Hive can't stop it. Had James not seriously wounded Lincoln, he wouldn't have had the conversation with Daisy.
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* On ''AgentsOfSHIELD'' ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'' Lincoln's severe wounding by James during the fight on the Zephyr put him in a situation where he sees that Daisy has the necklace that she'd foreseen being present in the explosion that kills someone on the team, which clues him into the fact she's preparing [[HeroicSacrifice to take the warhead up in the Quinjet herself]] which then motivates him to do it instead, being the only one who has the power to fry the Quinjet's systems so Hive can't stop it. Had James not seriously wounded Lincoln, he wouldn't have had the conversation with Daisy.
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* On ''AgentsOfSHIELD'' Lincoln's severe wounding by James during the fight on the Zephyr put him in a situation where he sees that Daisy has the necklace that she'd foreseen being present in the explosion that kills someone on the team, which clues him into the fact she's preparing [[HeroicSacrifice to take the warhead up in the Quinjet herself]] which then motivates him to do it instead, being the only one who has the power to fry the Quinjet's systems so Hive can't stop it. Had James not seriously wounded Lincoln, he wouldn't have had the conversation with Daisy.
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* In ''Wrestling/{{TNA}}'', Taylor Wilde and Lauren Brooke derailed Dr. Stevie's attempts to turn Abyss into his puppet. Despite using drugs, physical abuse, and mind games to keep him in line, Dr. Stevie didn't count on Abyss falling in love with Lauren. Then, when he ordered Abyss to attack Taylor, he didn't count on her being Lauren's best friend...
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* In ''Wrestling/{{TNA}}'', Taylor Wilde Wrestling/TaylorWilde and Lauren Brooke derailed Dr. Stevie's attempts to turn Abyss into his puppet. Despite using drugs, physical abuse, and mind games to keep him in line, Dr. Stevie didn't count on Abyss falling in love with Lauren. Then, when he ordered Abyss to attack Taylor, he didn't count on her being Lauren's best friend...
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* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Malcolm's dad Hal is accused of being the mastermind of a money laundering scheme in his corrupt company, which was setup by the real culprits to make Hal the fall guy. Unfortunately, the culprits made a mistake claiming they witness Hal did the Money laundering every Friday...except Hal has been skipping work on Friday for the last 15 years!
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* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Malcolm's dad Hal is accused of being the mastermind of a money laundering scheme in his corrupt company, which was setup by the real culprits his corrupt coworkers to make Hal the fall guy. Unfortunately, the culprits made a mistake of claiming they witness Hal did the Money laundering every Friday...except Hal has been skipping work on Friday for the last 15 years! years to go and have fun with proof of his adventures.
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* In ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'', Malcolm's dad Hal is accused of being the mastermind of a money laundering scheme in his corrupt company, which was setup by the real culprits to make Hal the fall guy. Unfortunately, the culprits made a mistake claiming they witness Hal did the Money laundering every Friday...except Hal has been skipping work on Friday for the last 15 years!
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* In the ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' episode "Till Death Do Us Part" two fiances attempt to pull off ThePerfectCrime and murder the bride's father on their wedding day. They succeed in murdering their target, but fail to get away with it due to the unexpected interference of a dog.
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* In the ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' episode "Till Death Do Us Part" two fiances attempt to pull off ThePerfectCrime and murder the bride's father on their wedding day. They succeed in murdering killing their target, but fail to get away with it due to the unexpected interference of a dog.
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* In the ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' episode "Till Death Do Us Part" two fiances attempt to pull off ThePerfectCrime and murder the bride's father on their wedding day. They succeed in murdering their target, but they fail to get away with it due to the unexpected interference of a dog.
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* In the ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' episode "Till Death Do Us Part" two fiances attempt to pull off ThePerfectCrime and murder the bride's father on their wedding day. They succeed in murdering their target, but they fail to get away with it due to the unexpected interference of a dog.
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* In the ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' episode "Till Death Do Us Part" two fiances plot a XanatosGambit to murder the bride's father on their wedding day. They succeed in murdering their target, but they fail to get away with it due to the unexpected interference of a dog.
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* In the ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' episode "Till Death Do Us Part" two fiances plot a XanatosGambit attempt to pull off ThePerfectCrime and murder the bride's father on their wedding day. They succeed in murdering their target, but they fail to get away with it due to the unexpected interference of a dog.
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* In the ''Series/DiagnosisMurder'' episode "Till Death Do Us Part" two fiances plot a XanatosGambit to murder the bride's father on their wedding day. They succeed in murdering their target, but they fail to get away with it due to the unexpected interference of a dog.
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* In the ''Series/DoctorWho'' story ''City of Death'', Duggan, the detective who seems to have gotten into his line of work just because he likes hitting things, derails the villain's ''multi-millennial'' scheme with one thoughtless, well-timed punch.
** In the episode ''The Pirate Planet'', after all the planning to destroy the Mentiads by both a cyborg pirate captain and a tyrannical Queen Xanxia in disguise, the Mentiads and the Doctor manage to do [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin this trope]]... literally.
** In the story "The Caves of Androzani", unusually, the Doctor's role in the story is limited to frantically attempting to get him and Peri out alive. His mere presence, however, inadvertently causes the entire messed-up Androzani society to implode. The Doctor brings down a corrupt government ''accidentally''.
** Generally speaking, the TARDIS spends her days throwing herself, the Doctor and his Companions at various intricate plots specifically so they can act as nifty spanners, just by dint of shuttling between crisis points, whenever they may be. *VWOOP-VWOOP-VWOOP* is the sound of somebody's ten-step plan starting to belch smoke.
* ''Series/GetSmart'', of course; Maxwell Smart is more likely to defeat KAOS by accident than on purpose.
* A British SketchComedy program parodied this. A man is buying a camera, and is shown one that is "totally idiot proof". He then smashes it on the table. ''"What did you do that for?" "Well, I'm an idiot."'' The shopkeeper then shows him a camera made out of '''concrete'''.
* In an episode of ''Series/{{Wallander}},'' the title character avoids a fatal bullet by tripping over a conveniently-placed rug.
* In ''Wrestling/{{TNA}}'', Taylor Wilde and Lauren Brooke derailed Dr. Stevie's attempts to turn Abyss into his puppet. Despite using drugs, physical abuse, and mind games to keep him in line, Dr. Stevie didn't count on Abyss falling in love with Lauren. Then, when he ordered Abyss to attack Taylor, he didn't count on her being Lauren's best friend...
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Kelly Bundy tended to mess up whatever plan she became involved in, given her role as TheDitz and BrainlessBeauty. It's even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Peggy at one point as the Bundys and the D'Arcys are being arrested by the police, when she notes that it probably wasn't a good idea to let Kelly in on the plan.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' has this when a sorcerer's plan to [[VirginSacrifice sacrifice his virgin daughter]] for power is thwarted when it turns out she hasn't been a virgin since she was in her teens. She even dated one of his mage bodyguards, who probably ''knew'' that she had to be a virgin for the sacrifice to work, and shuffles awkwardly offscreen after she points him out.
* The Season 5 finale of ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' features an unusual instance of a smart character acting as fate's tool: [[spoiler: Shane Botwin's murder of Pilar, a brilliant criminal who acted as puppeteer for Estaban, the Mexican stock exchange, and Mexican government as a whole. Essentially, Shane and his croquet mallet accomplished in a mere second what Nancy and Guillermo had failed to do in half a season, and those two burnt down an entire town without getting caught...]]
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' has a rare example of this happening to ''the hero.'' In "Objects In Space", River's BatmanGambit to lead Early onto the top of the ship where Mal can ambush him is almost dashed by Simon trying to stop Early, [[KansasCityShuffle unaware that River is actually prepared to ambush Early and not simply surrendering]]. Fortunately, Simon's woeful lack of skill in combat means Early is able to beat him back in time to waltz into the trap.
* [[Series/StargateSG1 SG-1]] was once called to help Thor to serve this very purpose[[note]]Actually a subversion: the Asgard didn't need stupid people, they needed people who thought very differently from the Asgard, as the Replicators were perfectly capable of countering Asgard attempts, but had no experience with humans[[/note]].
--> '''Jack O'Neill''': So what you're basically saying is you need someone dumber than you?
--> '''General Hammond''': I'm sorry, Thor, but we need SG-1 here.
--> '''Sam Carter''': I could go, sir.
--> '''Jack O'Neill''': I dunno, Carter, you may not be dumb enough.
* In the third series of ''Series/{{Primeval}}'', Helen has a plan to [[spoiler: kill the first hominids and thus erase humanity from existence.]] She very nearly succeeds, if not for [[spoiler: one desperately hungry raptor]].
* The main characters in ''Series/TheGoodGuys'' are generally competent cops (yes, even [[BunnyEarsLawyer Dan Stark]]) who solve major crimes largely by stumbling into them while investigating something much smaller.
* Shotaro Hidari, despite being the '''main character''' of ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', gets this from every single one of the show's [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]]. Neither [[spoiler:Ryubee Sonozaki nor his wife Fumine, AKA Shroud]], ever considered that the overly emotional and all-too-human detective could possibly be a factor in their plans, especially since [[spoiler:Ryubee's Terror Dopant form emits such raw PrimalFear that Shotaro can barely ''think'' in his presence, and Shroud was planning on partnering up Ryu Terui (Accel) with Philip since they're both immune to that effect]]. Neither did the TrueFinalBoss [[spoiler:Jun Kazu, the Utopia Dopant]], thanks to his RealityWarper powers. Shotaro manages to show them all up, overcoming his limitations with a combination of {{Hot Blooded}}ness and loyalty to his TrueCompanions that lets him make the impossible possible, even defeating [[spoiler:Utopia]] ''without'' transforming into Double. Arguably [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Shotaro being tied heavily to the concept of the Joker -- he's both the Wild Card (the element nobody saw coming) and the Trump Card (the key to victory).
* ''Series/{{Survivor}}''
** In ''Heroes Vs. Villains'', Tyson served as a Spanner In The Works for Rob's gambit by serving as an UnwittingPawn in [[ManipulativeBastard Russell's]] gambit. The Villains tribe was divided between Rob's and Russell's supporters, with Rob leading 6-3. However, Russell had an [[MacGuffin immunity idol]], which meant that when the tribe voted someone out, he (or whoever he gave the idol to) could stand up and play the idol to prevent any votes cast against them from counting. Rob wasn't sure whether the idol would be played by Russell or by Russell's closest ally, Pavarti, but Rob had a plan to guarantee they could get rid of either Russell or Pavarti. He would have three people vote for Russell and three for Pavarti; then, regardless of who played the idol, the other one would have three votes. Even if all three people on Russell's side voted for one person, it would have meant a 3-3 tie between votes to get rid of Russell or Parvati and votes to get rid of whichever Rob supporter Russell targeted, leading to a tie-breaker that Rob's side could easily win. However, the plan fell through because Tyson actually let Russell (his alliance's enemy) tell him who he should vote for. Rob had assigned Tyson to be one of the three people to vote for Russell. However, Russell told Tyson that he would sacrifice Pavarti and use the idol to protect himself, leading Tyson to think that he should vote for Pavarti because votes against Russell wouldn't count after Russell played the idol. Russell had other plans, and gave the idol to Pavarti. After the votes were cast, Pavarti played the idol, meaning that the final vote count was four votes (including Tyson's) against Pavarti that didn't count, two votes against Russell, and three votes cast by Russell and his allies against... [[HeKnowsTooMuch Tyson]]. It was three to two, and Tyson was sent home. Afterward, Tyson admitted to the camera, "I am a victim of my own stupidity." His action was one of five official nominees for the dumbest action in Survivor history.
** Sash fell victim to ''three'' Spanners during ''Nicaragua''. He was in a very good position in the game, having just ousted [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]] Marty and Brenda in quick succession, but then his closest allies Kelly and [=NaOnka=] decided to quit at the same time, leaving him without an ideal final three (Kelly did very little in both strategy and physical play, and [=NaOnka=] was universally disliked by the other tribemates). He managed to quickly get himself into a secret alliance with Chase, Holly, and Jane, but then Fabio, who was both the alliance's obvious target and had been [[ObfuscatingStupidity faking the part]] of the DumbBlonde up until that point, planted the idea in Chase's head that Jane needed to be taken out before anyone else. Sash proceeded to make the plan his own, which in turn led to Jane revealing the alliance at the next Tribal. From there, Sash could only helplessly watch as Fabio went on a string of Immunity Challenge runs, keeping him safe to the very end, which forced Sash to turn on his alliance and vote out Holly. The end result? A Final three of Sash, Chase, and Fabio, with Chase getting four votes, Fabio ''winning'' with five, and Sash with... none at all.
* An episode of ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' features a villain whose intelligence was boosted so he can perfectly predict anything that will happen and set up ridiculously complicated scenarios to kill people and escape from the agents chasing him. He's foiled by [[spoiler:Olivia not actually being from his universe, just brainwashed to think she is. So she doesn't recognize a sign indicating a low oxygen area, and doesn't pause to grab an oxygen mask, allowing her time to dodge the stack of pipes he thought would kill her.]]
* This trope has made the lives of the investigators on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' much, much easier over the years. Whether it's people discovering a dead body before it can be completely dissolved or buried, witnesses who unwittingly provide evidence that ties a murderer to a crime scene, or a HeroicBystander who catches a Peeping Tom that also turns out to be a serial rapist, various members of the public have helped the [=CSIs=] bring a lot of criminals to justice in many different ways.
* Tragically, Lancelot became this for Arthur and Guinevere on ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' despite repeated promises to himself and Merlin that he would never come between them. However, Morgana resurrects him after his HeroicSacrifice, robs him of his free will, and forces him to seduce Guinevere (who was enchanted to respond to his advances).
* In the first volume of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', there was a large and complicated plot that involved blowing up New York in order to usher one of the characters into the White House. The only thing stopping it from being a GambitRoulette was the fact that the people responsible were basing their convoluted plot on the works of an artist who could paint the future. And it was working, hell, it almost did work. Unfortunately for them, a certain FutureBadass with the power to control the Space-Time continuum didn't like the result, and traveled back five years to give a message to one of the present day characters. This guy had ''no'' idea that there was any sort of plan, he just thought it all happened naturally, but the message he delivered set off a chain of events that ended up ruining the plan at the last minute.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': In "The Gold Job" Hardison demands, and is given, the opportunity to run his own con by [[TheChessmaster Nate]]. Hardison plans an elaborate BatmanGambit based on video game theory and it's working very well, until the people he's manipulating decide that it's not worth the effort to keep jumping through his hoops. In an ending scene Hardison receives a [[ChekhovsGun letter]] Nate wrote earlier in the day which outlines the three things the plan needed to succeed (which Hardison's plan made possible). Nate then explains how he plans his cons to anticipate the possibility of spanners; he starts with the crude, ugly basic plan, and then plans the elaborate, beautiful, intricate plan from there.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Naomi calls Castiel this by name, and says that he has never followed orders.
** The Winchester brothers might also qualify, as it is their [[spoiler:unwillingness to do as they're told that derails the angels' apocalypse plans.]]
* ''{{Series/Salem}}'': John Alden's mere presence in Salem is screwing up the witches' preparations for their Grand Rite. Increase Mather later becomes this as he basically appoints himself the inquisitor of Salem.
* In ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'', Captain Holt and Sergeant Jeffords begin to secretly "[=CompStat=]" the precinct office in order to meet a paperwork deadline, by secretly manipulating the detectives in order to increase efficiency. Unfortunately, both of them forgot that Detective Peralta was out of the precinct while they were doing this; when he gets back to find Detective Scully moved to his desk, Peralta shoos Scully away to the break-room, which leads to a chain of events which sees Scully [[TheDitz accidentally start a fire]] and bring the whole thing crashing down around them.
----
** In the episode ''The Pirate Planet'', after all the planning to destroy the Mentiads by both a cyborg pirate captain and a tyrannical Queen Xanxia in disguise, the Mentiads and the Doctor manage to do [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin this trope]]... literally.
** In the story "The Caves of Androzani", unusually, the Doctor's role in the story is limited to frantically attempting to get him and Peri out alive. His mere presence, however, inadvertently causes the entire messed-up Androzani society to implode. The Doctor brings down a corrupt government ''accidentally''.
** Generally speaking, the TARDIS spends her days throwing herself, the Doctor and his Companions at various intricate plots specifically so they can act as nifty spanners, just by dint of shuttling between crisis points, whenever they may be. *VWOOP-VWOOP-VWOOP* is the sound of somebody's ten-step plan starting to belch smoke.
* ''Series/GetSmart'', of course; Maxwell Smart is more likely to defeat KAOS by accident than on purpose.
* A British SketchComedy program parodied this. A man is buying a camera, and is shown one that is "totally idiot proof". He then smashes it on the table. ''"What did you do that for?" "Well, I'm an idiot."'' The shopkeeper then shows him a camera made out of '''concrete'''.
* In an episode of ''Series/{{Wallander}},'' the title character avoids a fatal bullet by tripping over a conveniently-placed rug.
* In ''Wrestling/{{TNA}}'', Taylor Wilde and Lauren Brooke derailed Dr. Stevie's attempts to turn Abyss into his puppet. Despite using drugs, physical abuse, and mind games to keep him in line, Dr. Stevie didn't count on Abyss falling in love with Lauren. Then, when he ordered Abyss to attack Taylor, he didn't count on her being Lauren's best friend...
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Kelly Bundy tended to mess up whatever plan she became involved in, given her role as TheDitz and BrainlessBeauty. It's even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d by Peggy at one point as the Bundys and the D'Arcys are being arrested by the police, when she notes that it probably wasn't a good idea to let Kelly in on the plan.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' has this when a sorcerer's plan to [[VirginSacrifice sacrifice his virgin daughter]] for power is thwarted when it turns out she hasn't been a virgin since she was in her teens. She even dated one of his mage bodyguards, who probably ''knew'' that she had to be a virgin for the sacrifice to work, and shuffles awkwardly offscreen after she points him out.
* The Season 5 finale of ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' features an unusual instance of a smart character acting as fate's tool: [[spoiler: Shane Botwin's murder of Pilar, a brilliant criminal who acted as puppeteer for Estaban, the Mexican stock exchange, and Mexican government as a whole. Essentially, Shane and his croquet mallet accomplished in a mere second what Nancy and Guillermo had failed to do in half a season, and those two burnt down an entire town without getting caught...]]
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'' has a rare example of this happening to ''the hero.'' In "Objects In Space", River's BatmanGambit to lead Early onto the top of the ship where Mal can ambush him is almost dashed by Simon trying to stop Early, [[KansasCityShuffle unaware that River is actually prepared to ambush Early and not simply surrendering]]. Fortunately, Simon's woeful lack of skill in combat means Early is able to beat him back in time to waltz into the trap.
* [[Series/StargateSG1 SG-1]] was once called to help Thor to serve this very purpose[[note]]Actually a subversion: the Asgard didn't need stupid people, they needed people who thought very differently from the Asgard, as the Replicators were perfectly capable of countering Asgard attempts, but had no experience with humans[[/note]].
--> '''Jack O'Neill''': So what you're basically saying is you need someone dumber than you?
--> '''General Hammond''': I'm sorry, Thor, but we need SG-1 here.
--> '''Sam Carter''': I could go, sir.
--> '''Jack O'Neill''': I dunno, Carter, you may not be dumb enough.
* In the third series of ''Series/{{Primeval}}'', Helen has a plan to [[spoiler: kill the first hominids and thus erase humanity from existence.]] She very nearly succeeds, if not for [[spoiler: one desperately hungry raptor]].
* The main characters in ''Series/TheGoodGuys'' are generally competent cops (yes, even [[BunnyEarsLawyer Dan Stark]]) who solve major crimes largely by stumbling into them while investigating something much smaller.
* Shotaro Hidari, despite being the '''main character''' of ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'', gets this from every single one of the show's [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]]. Neither [[spoiler:Ryubee Sonozaki nor his wife Fumine, AKA Shroud]], ever considered that the overly emotional and all-too-human detective could possibly be a factor in their plans, especially since [[spoiler:Ryubee's Terror Dopant form emits such raw PrimalFear that Shotaro can barely ''think'' in his presence, and Shroud was planning on partnering up Ryu Terui (Accel) with Philip since they're both immune to that effect]]. Neither did the TrueFinalBoss [[spoiler:Jun Kazu, the Utopia Dopant]], thanks to his RealityWarper powers. Shotaro manages to show them all up, overcoming his limitations with a combination of {{Hot Blooded}}ness and loyalty to his TrueCompanions that lets him make the impossible possible, even defeating [[spoiler:Utopia]] ''without'' transforming into Double. Arguably [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] by Shotaro being tied heavily to the concept of the Joker -- he's both the Wild Card (the element nobody saw coming) and the Trump Card (the key to victory).
* ''Series/{{Survivor}}''
** In ''Heroes Vs. Villains'', Tyson served as a Spanner In The Works for Rob's gambit by serving as an UnwittingPawn in [[ManipulativeBastard Russell's]] gambit. The Villains tribe was divided between Rob's and Russell's supporters, with Rob leading 6-3. However, Russell had an [[MacGuffin immunity idol]], which meant that when the tribe voted someone out, he (or whoever he gave the idol to) could stand up and play the idol to prevent any votes cast against them from counting. Rob wasn't sure whether the idol would be played by Russell or by Russell's closest ally, Pavarti, but Rob had a plan to guarantee they could get rid of either Russell or Pavarti. He would have three people vote for Russell and three for Pavarti; then, regardless of who played the idol, the other one would have three votes. Even if all three people on Russell's side voted for one person, it would have meant a 3-3 tie between votes to get rid of Russell or Parvati and votes to get rid of whichever Rob supporter Russell targeted, leading to a tie-breaker that Rob's side could easily win. However, the plan fell through because Tyson actually let Russell (his alliance's enemy) tell him who he should vote for. Rob had assigned Tyson to be one of the three people to vote for Russell. However, Russell told Tyson that he would sacrifice Pavarti and use the idol to protect himself, leading Tyson to think that he should vote for Pavarti because votes against Russell wouldn't count after Russell played the idol. Russell had other plans, and gave the idol to Pavarti. After the votes were cast, Pavarti played the idol, meaning that the final vote count was four votes (including Tyson's) against Pavarti that didn't count, two votes against Russell, and three votes cast by Russell and his allies against... [[HeKnowsTooMuch Tyson]]. It was three to two, and Tyson was sent home. Afterward, Tyson admitted to the camera, "I am a victim of my own stupidity." His action was one of five official nominees for the dumbest action in Survivor history.
** Sash fell victim to ''three'' Spanners during ''Nicaragua''. He was in a very good position in the game, having just ousted [[TheChessmaster Chessmasters]] Marty and Brenda in quick succession, but then his closest allies Kelly and [=NaOnka=] decided to quit at the same time, leaving him without an ideal final three (Kelly did very little in both strategy and physical play, and [=NaOnka=] was universally disliked by the other tribemates). He managed to quickly get himself into a secret alliance with Chase, Holly, and Jane, but then Fabio, who was both the alliance's obvious target and had been [[ObfuscatingStupidity faking the part]] of the DumbBlonde up until that point, planted the idea in Chase's head that Jane needed to be taken out before anyone else. Sash proceeded to make the plan his own, which in turn led to Jane revealing the alliance at the next Tribal. From there, Sash could only helplessly watch as Fabio went on a string of Immunity Challenge runs, keeping him safe to the very end, which forced Sash to turn on his alliance and vote out Holly. The end result? A Final three of Sash, Chase, and Fabio, with Chase getting four votes, Fabio ''winning'' with five, and Sash with... none at all.
* An episode of ''Series/{{Fringe}}'' features a villain whose intelligence was boosted so he can perfectly predict anything that will happen and set up ridiculously complicated scenarios to kill people and escape from the agents chasing him. He's foiled by [[spoiler:Olivia not actually being from his universe, just brainwashed to think she is. So she doesn't recognize a sign indicating a low oxygen area, and doesn't pause to grab an oxygen mask, allowing her time to dodge the stack of pipes he thought would kill her.]]
* This trope has made the lives of the investigators on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' much, much easier over the years. Whether it's people discovering a dead body before it can be completely dissolved or buried, witnesses who unwittingly provide evidence that ties a murderer to a crime scene, or a HeroicBystander who catches a Peeping Tom that also turns out to be a serial rapist, various members of the public have helped the [=CSIs=] bring a lot of criminals to justice in many different ways.
* Tragically, Lancelot became this for Arthur and Guinevere on ''Series/{{Merlin}}'' despite repeated promises to himself and Merlin that he would never come between them. However, Morgana resurrects him after his HeroicSacrifice, robs him of his free will, and forces him to seduce Guinevere (who was enchanted to respond to his advances).
* In the first volume of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', there was a large and complicated plot that involved blowing up New York in order to usher one of the characters into the White House. The only thing stopping it from being a GambitRoulette was the fact that the people responsible were basing their convoluted plot on the works of an artist who could paint the future. And it was working, hell, it almost did work. Unfortunately for them, a certain FutureBadass with the power to control the Space-Time continuum didn't like the result, and traveled back five years to give a message to one of the present day characters. This guy had ''no'' idea that there was any sort of plan, he just thought it all happened naturally, but the message he delivered set off a chain of events that ended up ruining the plan at the last minute.
* ''Series/{{Leverage}}'': In "The Gold Job" Hardison demands, and is given, the opportunity to run his own con by [[TheChessmaster Nate]]. Hardison plans an elaborate BatmanGambit based on video game theory and it's working very well, until the people he's manipulating decide that it's not worth the effort to keep jumping through his hoops. In an ending scene Hardison receives a [[ChekhovsGun letter]] Nate wrote earlier in the day which outlines the three things the plan needed to succeed (which Hardison's plan made possible). Nate then explains how he plans his cons to anticipate the possibility of spanners; he starts with the crude, ugly basic plan, and then plans the elaborate, beautiful, intricate plan from there.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Naomi calls Castiel this by name, and says that he has never followed orders.
** The Winchester brothers might also qualify, as it is their [[spoiler:unwillingness to do as they're told that derails the angels' apocalypse plans.]]
* ''{{Series/Salem}}'': John Alden's mere presence in Salem is screwing up the witches' preparations for their Grand Rite. Increase Mather later becomes this as he basically appoints himself the inquisitor of Salem.
* In ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'', Captain Holt and Sergeant Jeffords begin to secretly "[=CompStat=]" the precinct office in order to meet a paperwork deadline, by secretly manipulating the detectives in order to increase efficiency. Unfortunately, both of them forgot that Detective Peralta was out of the precinct while they were doing this; when he gets back to find Detective Scully moved to his desk, Peralta shoos Scully away to the break-room, which leads to a chain of events which sees Scully [[TheDitz accidentally start a fire]] and bring the whole thing crashing down around them.
----
