Prank War

Two or more characters engage in a series of escalating pranks against each other, sometimes pranking their intended target and sometimes not. Usually one emerges the winner at the end.

Murphy Brown

Appearances

• The Dick Van Dyke Show: Season 4, episode 16, "The Impractical Joke" (1965). When Buddy and his friend, Phil, prank call Rob, Rob is determined to get his revenge on Buddy by psyching him out and making him think he's planning a reprisal. Unbeknownst to him, Phil plans an epic prank on Buddy instead.
• The Patty Duke Show: Season 2, episode 27, "Patty, the Practical Joker" (1965). When Ross puts his frog in Patty's bed, it triggers a prank war that wreaks havoc on the whole Lane family.
• Too Close for Comfort: Season 2, episode 14, "Charlie's Last Hurrah" (1982). Henry's old friend Charlie comes to visit and tells Henry that he's dying (he isn't), and his last wish is to have a date with an attractive stewardess he met, and he wants Henry to come with him as her friend's date. Henry reluctantly complies, and Charlie arranges for Muriel, Jackie, and Sara to eat at the same restaurant and catch them. Henry is incensed, and he decides to teach Charlie a lesson by telling him that his little prank caused Muriel to leave him and ruined his whole life. Charlie is so shocked that he swears he'll never play another practical joke again.
• Mr. Belvedere: Season 2, episode 19, "Heather's Tutor" (1986). After Wesley accidentally walks across the Hoefnagels' newly-paved driveway, the Owenses start a prank war with them that involves lots of unordered takeout, a Mariachi band, and "For Sale" signs on the Hoefnagels' lawn, and ends with the Hoefnagles blocking the Owenses' front door with a brick wall.
• Cheers: Season 6, episode 23, "Bar Wars" (1988). When Sam calls Gary of Gary's Olde Towne Tavern to gloat over the one-year anniversary of the Cheers bowling win, their trophy mysteriously disappears, and Sam finds it at Gary's in pieces, which triggers an escalating prank war between the two bars.
• The Golden Girls: Season 4, episode 19, "Till Death Do We Volley" (1989). Dorothy's high school best friend, Trudy, a notorious prankster, is in town for their high school reunion, and she can't help taking this opportunity to start a prank war with Dorothy.
• Murphy Brown: Season 2, episode 22, "Frank's Appendectomy" (1990). Murphy sets up an elaborate prank to convince Frank that "Deep Throat" wants to reveal his identity to him, and it sets off a prank war that involves not just Murphy and Frank, but Miles, Mr. Kinsella, and even Murphy's secretary of the day.
• Cheers: Season 11, episode 19, "Bar Wars VII: Naked Prey" (1993). It's St. Patrick's Day, and as usual, Cheers and Gary's are in competition to sell the most beer, and it leads to the prank war to end all prank wars.
• 3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 3, episode 3, "Tricky Dick" (1997). After Dick and Mary break up, Dick pranks her by sending her a fake letter inviting her to dinner at the White House. Mary responds by having "Dr. Dick Salmon" painted on their office door. This leads to a childish prank war between them that gets way out of hand.
• Just Shoot Me!: Season 3, episode 4, "Funny Girl" (1998). Maya tries to prank Finch by hiding his soda, and Finch insists her pranks are lame because women aren't funny. Of course, this enrages Maya, who cranks up her prank game with an elaborate joke on Elliot, but what she doesn't know is that Finch is in on her plan from the beginning, and he's using it to get back at her.
• Frasier: Season 10, episode 5, "Tales from the Crypt" (2002). It's Halloween, and Bulldog starts his usual round of pranks on Frasier. Frasier tells Roz and Martin that he wants to get back at Bulldog by playing an elaborate prank involving actors dressed as zombies, and Roz and Martin team up with Bulldog to plan a reverse prank on Frasier by convincing him that Bulldog pulled out a gun and shot one of the actors, but unbeknownst to them, Frasier is planning a reverse prank of his own.
• Malcolm in the Middle: Season 4, episode 5, "Forwards Backwards" (2002). Through flashbacks, we see how an escalating prank war between Malcolm and Reese culminates in a head-on go-kart collision that sends them both to the hospital.
• Community: Season 2, episode 9, "Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design" (2010). A massive prank war ensues when Jeff makes up a fake class, and the Dean, Annie, the drama teacher, and a cop all get involved and prank each other.