Movie cliche: Something that doesn't burn, burst into flame when hit

[chorpler]

@Zsofia

On Buffy the Vampire Slayer a character once threw a computer off a desk and smashed it, whereupon it caught on fire. (And later, somebody claimed to have gotten a bunch of data off the Incredible Flammable Computer.)

Hey, they just had that on FX a couple days ago. It was the end of season 2. Angel smashes the hot teacher’s computer just after she figures out how to put his soul back, and he takes her printout, and says “Oh look, the computer caught fire. My lucky day!” and uses it to burn the paper too.

HOWEVER, it wasn’t as bad as getting the data off the burned computer. A few episodes later, Willow and Buffy found the floppy that she had copied the spell onto right before Angel showed up and killed her. Luckily it had fallen under her desk and avoided the flames … and fortunately for everybody, it didn’t burst into flames when it hit the ground.

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@Hypno-Toad

I often refer to this as Gotham Technology. In Batmans world, there’s often a fight going on in a room with consoles or machinery. Invariably, someone throws a chair at the good guy, who ducks. The chair will hit the controls, generator, or what have you, and BOOM! Sparks and flame everywhere. Apparently, neither Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark believe in UL-tested equipment.

Hey, why the casual swipe at Tony Stark? He and Bruce don’t even live in the same UNIVERSE. And I don’t recall Iron Man’s armor bursting into flame all that often.

Most of the OP’s examples are actually parodies of the cliche. A non-parodistic (but still stupid) example is from the Pelican Brief. Denzel Washington & Julia Robert’s characters are running (on foot) from the bad guys (in cars) in a parking garage; the bad guys, evidently the worst drivers ever, hit a parked car, and both vehicles burst into flames.

[Hypno-Toad]

@Skald the Rhymer

Hey, why the casual swipe at Tony Stark? He and Bruce don’t even live in the same UNIVERSE. And I don’t recall Iron Man’s armor bursting into flame all that often.

Tony is the Marvel version of Bruce in that his company seems to make all the explosive-laden monitors and keyboards.

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@Hypno-Toad

Tony is the Marvel version of Bruce in that his company seems to make all the explosive-laden monitors and keyboards.

I’m not sure that’s true in at least 2 ways.

1. What the hell does Wayne Industries do, anyway? Does anyone know? (Other than ignore really simple ways to make like in Gotham better? (The tens of millions he must spend on Batmobiles alone could easily go to, oh, PUTTING BETTER LIGHTS IN CRIME ALLEY AND PAYING FOR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS._

2. I figured that was what you meant, but as I thought on it, I can’t think of a lot of instances of equipment at either Avengers Headquarters or the Baxter Building blowing up the way things do on Star Trek.

[chrisk]

@Johnny Hildo

I’ve come to the conclusion that everything in the Simpsons universe is highly flammable.

My favorite one is the episode where Homer is Burns’ assistant, and is trying to get Burns some breakfast without having a disaster. After a few other incidents, he pours cereal into a bowl, pours milk on top, and waits for a few seconds. The contents of the bowl burst energetially ablaze.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

@Skald the Rhymer

1. What the hell does Wayne Industries do, anyway? Does anyone know? (Other than ignore really simple ways to make like in Gotham better? (The tens of millions he must spend on Batmobiles alone could easily go to, oh, PUTTING BETTER LIGHTS IN CRIME ALLEY AND PAYING FOR AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAMS._

<AHEM>

Wayne Enterprises.

Wayne Enterprises

As for what it does…

Wayne Enterprises

Wayne Technologies, also known as WayneTech, is the biggest single branch underneath the Wayne Enterprises umbrella of companies. It has always been there but only in the 1980’s did it start to skyrocket as more and more innovations were made and new things were discovered. As alien invasions and involvement have become more commonplace, WayneTech has acquired alien technology and used it for research & development. This has boosted WayneTech’s technology and science levels to rival LexCorp. Some of Wayne Technologies’ research into alien technology has contributed to large advances in medicine, cybernetics, pharmaceuticals and avionics.

Wayne Biotech is the company mostly responsible for the Gotham healthcare system. The company itself is a facility for researching and developing new and better medical procedures and systems. The company trains and teaches a huge amount of people annually. It has a good working relationship with the Gotham University and Drake Medical. Thanks to newly acquired technologies, there will surely be more breakthroughs in the medical field.

Wayne Foods is a little known subsidiary of WayneTech, a fledgling company. It runs farms and cattle ranches in the Midwest United States, and imports beef from Argentina and other countries.

There are a few canneries in Gotham, and other facilities like meat packing plants and dairies on the mainland side. It is mostly Gotham based and because it is one of the largest employers in the city, it is very popular in the city. Wayne Foods produces specialized products like ecological foods, natural lines with no additives and controlled growing.

Wayne Shipping is the second oldest branch of Wayne Enterprises and in many ways one of the most successful ones, even dwarfing the more publicized branches like Wayne Aerospace and WayneTech. For over a century Wayne Shipping has been the market leader and the leading player in shipping lines, especially in Trans-Atlantic routes. The company owns dozens of freighters which are usually booked solid. Wayne Shipping usually handles three and a half billion tons of freight each month.

Wayne Steel
The Wayne Steel plant and works are the oldest steel mills and one of the oldest shipyards in Gotham City and have nearly as much fame as the Newport News Shipyards. The Wayne Steel shipyards date back to the founding of the Tricorner naval yards. As the government’s own naval shipyards started to pull out from Gotham, Wayne Steel moved in and purchased them for WayneYards, or Wayne Shipbuilding.

Wayne Shipbuilding, also known as WayneYards, is a venerable and respected shipyard in Gotham City and the world. Along with the Newport News Shipyards, WayneYards is responsible for a large number of the naval warships, commercial, and private ships that are built. Even though the Newport facilities might appear to be WayneYards’ prime competitor, it is actually the Japanese and Korean shipyards that are Wayne Shipbuilding’s main competitors for civilian and merchantmen ships.

Wayne Aerospace is a highly successful branch of Wayne Enterprises. The W.A. is mostly known for its extremely well built, luxurious and exclusive corporate and private jets and airliners. Much like the Gulfstream, Wayne Enterprises tries to keep the Slipstream corporate jets out of the hands of rock and sports stars and sells them mostly to corporations. This in turn has made the Slipstream into a cult item among the rich because it is fashionable to have a plane that you shouldn’t really have. Wayne Aerospace’s experimental aviation branch produces experimental and the research planes built for the United States government and NASA. The military aviation branch designs and manufactures highly successful jet fighters and helicopters for the US military. The most notable models of these are the W-4 Wraith fighter and the Kestrel attack helicopter. As the most prominent aerospace company in the region, Wayne Aerospace has a working partnership with Eagle Air Force Base near Gotham City.

Wayne Chemicals controls such branches of Wayne Enterprises as Wayne Oil, Wayne Pharmaceuticals and Wayne Botanical. Wayne Oil acquired Luxor Oil and its impact is now being felt in Gotham. Wayne Chemicals also has a small percentage of ownership in Tyler Chemicals, based in New York City. Wayne Oil gives Batman a direct link to OPEC and other oil organizations and companies.

Wayne Industries is a research and development company for all things industrial – from heavy machines to engines to motors, pneumatic systems and large scale systems. The company studies, researches and develops cleaner, mechanical fission and fusion power plants.

Wayne Medical is the sister company to Wayne Biotech but they have a different field of study and work. Wayne Medical does study cancer and AIDS with Wayne Biotech, but Wayne Medical’s primary mission is as the force behind the Gotham healthcare system.

Wayne Electronics has recently become a major player in home and personal computing. It is easily managing to rival LexCorp’s products in speed, durability and ease of use. Wayne Electronics is a large consortium that manufactures almost anything from portable radios to stereo and Hi-Fi systems, movie cameras, cameras and electronics, measuring devices, scanners, surveillance equipment, computers and other electronics devices. Wayne Electronics is one of the top selling brand names in electronics, from multimedia to precision systems. Its other branches of business include information technology, wired networks, wireless networks and space exploration systems and satellites.

Wayne Entertainment is in many ways in direct competition with WGBS, Galaxy Communications, and LexCom (Scott Telecommunications was a former rival, bought out at 3 times market value). Most of those companies along with other television and movie companies provide the same services as Wayne Entertainment, but there is an ace up Wayne Entertainment’s sleeve.

Ok, he’s got a leedle business, a shop onna corner…yeesh! :eek:

[Skald_the_Rhymer]

@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

<AHEM>

Wayne Enterprises.
Wayne Enterprises - Wikipedia

As for what it does…
Wayne Enterprises - Wikipedia

Ok, he’s got a leedle business, a shop onna corner…yeesh! :eek:

That’ll teach me to be snarky.

The insanity of that article makes my head hurt, though.

[Hypno-Toad]

@Skald the Rhymer

I figured that was what you meant, but as I thought on it, I can’t think of a lot of instances of equipment at either Avengers Headquarters or the Baxter Building blowing up the way things do on Star Trek.

That’s just because there’s been less animation in the Marvel world. But if Marvel starts putting out more cartoons, the ratio of thrown chairs to building fires will no doubt rise.

[Leaper]

@Joey P

Did they do it in both movies?

Apparently so.

[Heller_Highwater]

I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned one of my favorite examples yet. In an episode of Futurama, a sleep-bending Bender uncoils Zoidberg’s slinky. Some scenes later, Zoidberg sends the slinky down the stairs, having re-wound it. At the bottom, the slinky spontaneously bursts into flames.

For a non-parody answer, I think there was a Bond movie (one of the Dalton ones, I think) where Bond bails out of an airplane, just before it crashes into a mountain and explodes. The problem, though, was that the reason the plane was going to crash was because it was completely out of fuel. Now, I may be forgetting some details, and there may have been something combustable/explosive on board, but I don’t recall any such thing.

[chorpler]

@Heller Highwater

For a non-parody answer, I think there was a Bond movie (one of the Dalton ones, I think) where Bond bails out of an airplane, just before it crashes into a mountain and explodes. The problem, though, was that the reason the plane was going to crash was because it was completely out of fuel. Now, I may be forgetting some details, and there may have been something combustable/explosive on board, but I don’t recall any such thing.

Or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, when they have to bail out of the plane using that rubber life raft for a parachute / shock absorber because the plane is out of fuel and the pilot has taken the only parachute. When the plane flies into the side of a nearby mountain as they’re falling, BLAMMO! Huge fireball. I remember seeing that and saying “Hey, I guess the plane wasn’t out of fuel after all, Dr. Jones!” to my friend.

[Lumpy]

I think this is because in the fiction universe nitrocellulose is the cheapest, strongest and most lightweight plastic available; widely used despite it’s distressing flammability.