Chain Letter
One or more characters receive a chain letter. Some of them might pass it on, but usually one of them doesn't and risks the wrath of the chain letter gods.
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
Appearances
- The Mary Tyler Moore Show: Season 2, episode 10, "Don't Break the Chain" (1971). Mr. Grant sends out chain letters to everyone in the office and insists that they don't break the chain, so Mary reluctantly sends it out to 20 other people, and she unwittingly re-opens communications with some people from her past whom she would rather not hear from again.
- It's a Living: Season 5, episode 18, "Daddy's Little Girl" (1988). Amy receives a chain letter and feels pressured to send it out to other people to avoid a terrible fate.
- Northern Exposure: Season 6, episode 4, "The Letter" (1994). Shelly receives a chain letter in the mail, but she doesn't believe in them, so she crumbles it up and throws it away. Immediately bad things start happening, so she digs through the dump to find the letter, then mails letters to continue the chain. Immediately, things start looking up, but then she goes to Ruth Anne's, and Ed tells her she was short on postage, so her letters were never mailed.
- Wings: Season 7, episode 11, "B.S. I Love You" (1996). Antonio gripes about receiving a chain letter, then he discovers that Roy and Fay have already sent out 20 of theirs, and they've both come into good fortune while Antonio is having some of the worst luck of his life.
- Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist: Season 5, episode 7, "Chain Letter" (1998). Ben receives a chain letter and has a hard time finding enough people to send it to. He calls Laura every few minutes, trying sneaky ways to get her address, but she refuses to give it to him.
- 3rd Rock from the Sun: Season 4, episode 16, "Superstitious Dick" (1999). Dick and Mary both receive the same chain letter, but Mary throws hers away, then suffers a string of freak accidents and other misfortunes.