Show Within a Show/Playing With

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Basic Trope: A fictional TV show within an actual TV show.

  • Played Straight: The characters in Alice and Bob love to watch a show called Troperz.
  • Exaggerated: Every episode in Alice and Bob covers Troperz full-time, with the characters discussing its plot.
  • Justified: Showing Alice and Bob being on all the time nicks Willing Suspension of Disbelief so in their down time they watch Troperz.
  • Inverted: Alice and Bob is occasionally shown to be a TV show watched by people in the "real" world.
  • Subverted: Troperz is a very popular show within the Alice and Bob universe, but only for one season.
  • Double Subverted: ...However, in later seasons it gets good, so they watch it again.
  • Untwisted: Show Within a Show Within A Recursive Reality.
  • Parodied: The show is only mentioned/the viewers only see it once.
  • Deconstructed: Troperz ends up popular enough to be defictionalized.
  • Reconstructed: The characters in Alice and Bob try to keep Troperz on the air.
  • Zig Zagged: The characters in Alice and Bob love to watch a show called Troperz. However, they end up addicted, so the show is cancelled. That is, until it gets defictionalized.
  • Averted: Troperz is not shown/mentioned within the Alice and Bob universe, not even in a minor situation.
  • Enforced: Alice and Bob is a Slice of Life show.
  • Lampshaded: "How does this show air?"
  • Invoked: Alice and Bob turn on the TV and to watch Troperz and hope it will entertain them.
  • Defied: Alice and Bob try to avoid watching Troperz at all costs.
  • Discussed:

Alice: Troperz is on in 5 minutes! I love that show!

  • Conversed: "Hey, at least they're trying to be realistic for once..."
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