Characters receiving Shockingly Expensive Bills in Live-Action Television Series.
- In Married... with Children, Al's method of paying bills consists of crying, screaming at the total amount, banging his head on the table, getting depressed or suicidal and ultimately just waiting for Peg to finish signing the check for the bill.
- In Community season 2, Abed stages a My Dinner with Andre dinner with Jeff (at the same time as Jeff tried to do a Pulp Fiction dinner for Abed). During the credits stinger, Abed and Troy get the bill from the waiter. While we don't get a figure, Abed's eyes pop out of his head and Troy briefly breaks down in tears. The two decide to run.Troy: They said it was market-price! What market are you shopping at?!
- Mike from Suits is panicked when Smug Snake Lewis runs up a ridiculously large bill on wine at his dinner. Naturally, Jerkass with a Hidden Heart of Gold Harvey pays it off for him.
- Several instances on Square One TV.
- One time on Mathnet George was working undercover as a diner cook, and had to deal with a patron who didn't expect tax on his bill. "I didn't order tax on my hamburger, just ketchup!" Of course this was just an excuse to deliver some Educational Programming about tax and percentages. The bill wasn't that much bigger than he expected, but it was bigger.)
- In a "Dirk Niblick" animated segment, siblings Fluff and Fold have three dollars to spend on birthday presents for a set of quadruplets, and they estimate that their four toys cost the full three dollars. However, because Fluff has rounded her prices up and Fold has rounded his prices down, they are four cents short.Fluff, Fold: Three dollars and four cents, question mark, exclamation point, question mark, exclamation point?!?!
Cashier: That's right, three dollars and four cents, period.
- In one episode of Arrested Development, Michael calls his father on the phone in the hotel room where he's waiting for his fiancee, to prove to him that he's not afraid of intimacy. After his father tells him to put her on, Michael claims she's in the shower, to which George Sr. replies that he'll wait. They end up waiting through to the following morning, and anybody who's ever seen the overpriced phone rates at hotels can anticipate Michael's reaction to his room charge that morning:Michael: Oh, come on!
- Happy Days: in episode "Goin' to Chicago" the high school choir goes on a field trip to Chicago. Richie, Potsie & Ralph sneak out of the hotel room they're staying in to go to a nightclub, where all checks are $36. Link.
- iCarly:
- The episode "iOwe You" has Sam having to pay back Carly and Freddie $526 of money borrowed from them.
- In "iShock America", the iCarlys have to pay the NCC $500,000 for taking the blame for Gibby's pants falling on live TV, otherwise iCarly will be shut down.
- On Chappelle's Show, Dave Chappelle is getting a haircut when the TV in the barber shop reports that he just signed a contract for his show paying him millions of dollars. Cut to everyone at the barber shop looking at him and the barber announcing that the bill for the haircut is $11,000.
- Whose Line Is It Anyway? had an absurdly large bill come at the end of the Emergency Room version of the restaurant sketch.
- Earl from Dinosaurs is shocked at the high number on his phone bill, until Francine points out it's their phone number. Earl is not as shocked when he sees the actual bill, although he does admit it's pretty high.
- On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, upon receiving a plumber's bill:Dawn: That's a weird phone number. Oh, wait... Is that the bill?!
- Played for Drama on The Sopranos. Chris is the low man on the totem pole when the crew goes out to dinner, so he's constantly stuck paying the tab. This starts a vicious feud between Chris and Paulie about respect, which culminates when Chris is saddled with a six-figure restaurant bill from Atlantic City. He can barely cover the cost of the check, and when the waiter follows him into the parking lot to demand a tip, Chris murders him.
- The Aliens in 3rd Rock from the Sun thought the bill was the population of Cleveland. When informed of its true nature, they used a modem to redirect the bill to one of the actors visiting the same hotel, namely George Takei.George Takei: (looking at his bill) $3,000? That's all right, I can afford it. I'm a famous actor.
Desk Clerk: No, that's $30,000, Mr. Takei.
George Takei: Oh, my! - One episode of Victorious features this, prompting both a Spit Take and a successful sneak out from their teacher. Unusual in that they already knew the restaurant was expensive and had ate there before, but Robbie had asked for a big bowl of caviar putting the price beyond what they could afford. Granted, the waitress never told Robbie that would be an extra charge, so she's kinda to blame too but nobody points that out. After explaining they didn't have enough money, the restaurant manager decides to call the police, making Sikowitz run away unnoticed while the students are left to protest and argue with the staff.
- In CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the mobster Lou Gedda ran an extortion racket in his strip joint where high rollers would receive absurdly large bills. Anyone who objected would be strapped into a barber chair in the back, beaten, and then threatened with a straight razor. Two corrupt cops on his bankroll kept the police at bay.
- The Red Skelton Show: Invoked for laughs in "The Cop and the Anthem". Freddie the Freeloader is trying to Get into Jail Free, so he convinces the staff of a high-end French restaurant that he's an Eccentric Millionaire and orders a lavish dinner. When the bill comes, he reads off a list of expenses that covers the front, back, and edges of the paper, then blithely admits that he doesn't have a penny to his name.Freddie: My compliments to the cashier!
- At the end of one episode of Drake & Josh, the boys have come home from an unauthorized skydiving trip that went very wrong. They're in the clear up until the angry instructor comes at their door and sticks Walter with a $400,000 repair/replacement fee for them crashing the helicopter. Knowing that he'll ground them for it, the boys do it themselves and go to their room while he's trying to process it.
- On Friends when Joey decorates his new apartment, he goes overboard with his credit cards, prompting the company to send "Envelope 1 of 2."
- Seinfeld:
- In "The Friar's Club", Jerry briefly ends up losing a New York Friars' Club jacket when one of the members of a magic show he was watching throws it into the audience. He tries to get a replacement, but it would cost $800 to do so.
- In "The Mom & Pop Store", Kramer points out to the owners of the eponymous store that their ceiling had faulty wiring and advises them to get it fixed. However, it turns out their shop is so out of code that to bring it up to code would cost $4000, and are put out of business as the electrician has no choice but to report them.
- In one episode of The Weird Al Show, Al, in order to maintain a Celebrity Lie, looks up how much it costs to hire John Tesh for an afternoon. At first he thinks it's only $300, but then the Guy Boarded Up in the Wall reminds him to count the zeros. "Ah, three hundred zero zero! ...Thirty thousand dollars?!?"
- Odd Squad:
- In "O is for Opposite", Oprah's Mirror Self ends up doing a Dine and Dash, eating five egg salad sandwiches and a tub of egg salad at Delivery Doug's back-alley restaurant before suddenly disappearing when Olympia and Otis catch up to her and the former attempts to get a selfie with her. Upon them finding out she left, Doug sticks them with the bill totaling $500, much to their shock. The reason it's so high is because Doug uses goat eggs instead of chicken eggs for his egg salad, which are stated to be hard to get. Olympia and Otis end up leaving without paying the bill at all.
- Subverted in "Overdue!" when Orla goes to return an Extremely Overdue Library Book to Octavius, the Odd Squad Librarian in charge of the organization's Main Library, and is told that the overdue fine she'll have to pay for a book taken out 400 years ago is no more than $10.
- Young Sheldon:
- This trope plays a crucial role in "A Computer" where when Mary decides to buy the $1200 Tandy XL Computer Sheldon always wanted, she realizes that the family is always low on cash because of how much money George spends on Lone Star beer. Sheldon calculates if George switched to Hawaiian Punch they could afford a bigger house.
- In "A High-Pitched Buzz", George is shocked at the repairman announcing it'll be $200 to repair the refrigerator Sheldon disassembled (and failed to reassemble). George angrily strikes enough fear into Sheldon to convince the latter to immediately take up a job as a paperboy.
- The Lenny Henry Show Michael Jackson's Thriller Parody ends with the Vincent Price impression voiceover declaring "This film will shock, your flesh will creep/It's nasty, but it sure ain't cheap/And Michael will scream harder still/Just wait until he gets... the bill!" and Henry-as-Jackson being presented with the bill for making the video and indeed screaming.
- An episode of Family Matters had Eddie fall victim to the "Bottle bar" scam (see Real Life section). Thankfully Carl, being a cop, knows how to thwart these (such as pointing out Eddie is under 21 so they shouldn't have sold him the expensive bottles in the first place).
- "Mr. Bean": In "The Curse of Mr. Bean", Mr. Bean visits a public pool, and after leaving, has to pay a £16 parking fee (approximately £35/$45 today). He then attempts many times to drive out of the car park without paying.
