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Line 1: {{trope}} [[File:FoxSucks 3557.png\|link=The Simpsons (animation)\|~~right~~frame]] {{quote\|''"BBC bastards."''~~\|'''Steve''', ''[[Coupling]]'' (a show financed by [[The BBC]])}}~~ \|'''Steve'''\|''[[Coupling]]'' (a show financed by [[The BBC]])}} When on a comedy the characters make jokes at the expense of the studio or network funding their movie or TV show. In the US, the favorite target out of the Big Four Networks seems to be FOX, although all networks are [[Acceptable Targets]] at some point or another. Line 20 ⟶ 21: '''Jackson:''' Good! }} * A dub example. If you play [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZlIcJbbm08&fmt=18 a scene] in episode 130 of [[Pokémon (anime)\|Pokémon]] [[Subliminal Seduction\|backwards]], you will hear James say "Leo Burnett and 4kids are the devil! Leo Burnett!" 4kids is the company that dubbed the series. * In-universe example in ''[[Kannagi]]''. Akiba brings a taped show for the main character Jin, because Jin accidentally taped over a show that Nagi hadn't watched yet on a VHS tape. He first hands out a Blu-ray, then when Jin mentions not having a Blu-ray player, he pulls out a tape. Nagi asks what it is, and turns out it's a Betamax tape, which Jin also doesn't have a player for. Cue the characters looking at Akiba. {{quote\|'''Akiba:''' [[Gratuitous English\|Its a Sony!]]}} Said show was produced by Aniplex, [[It Makes Sense in Context\|so it's sponsored by Sony.]] Line 26 ⟶ 27: "''Daily Lives of High School Boys'' was intermittently brought to you by these sponsors..." ** "''Daily Lives of High School Boys'' should have been brought to you by these sponsors..." == Comic Books == * In the first ''[[Great Lakes Avengers]]'', [[Squirrel Girl]] and Grasshopper appear in an offstage prologue. Grasshopper says "The only people reading comics now are [[Take That, Audience!\|overweight thirty-year-olds]] [[Basement Dweller\|living in their mother's basement]]." [[Squirrel Girl]]'s sidekick replies in an inset: "Hey, fanboys, don't take that lying down! Write angry letters to [[Marvel]] today!" * Hazmat in ''Avengers Academy'' #10: "Today's gonna suck as much as all the others... but just a little bit ''harder''. Because it's ''[[One More Day]]''... with ''no end in sight''." * A comic story of ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy ~~and~~& Mandy]]'' has Grim using his scythe for a rather ridiculous reason, to which Mandy responds "Doesn't this comic have ''any'' standards?" == Film == Line 55 ⟶ 54: {{quote\|'''Michael''': Gosh, there's a BBC''4'' in the future? They must be doing well.}} ** God's response is to chuckle. * A subtle one in '''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)]]''; in one scene, Raphael walks out of a theater after seeing ''[[Critters\| Critters 2]]'' - which, like the Turtles movie, was produced by New Line Cinema - and exclaims, [[Who Writes This Crap?\| "Where do they come up with this stuff?"]] Possibly also done to lampoon the fact that [[Hypocritical Humor\|mutant turtles like Raphael are just as weird as the aliens in the film.]] == Literature == * In ''[[~~Discworld/Maskerade\|~~Maskerade]]'', Terry Pratchett manages a dig at the publishing industry and the morality of book publishers by having Nanny Ogg bilked over a publishing deal, in which her payment for a best-seller is the usual gratis author's copy of the book and nothing else. Granny Weatherwax plays catch-up on her friend's behalf and demonstrates that a publisher's worst nightmare is a cheated witch. They leave the offices with an advance payment of five thousand dollars. * Sci-fi author [[Philip José Farmer]], in his ''[[Riverworld]]'' series where all the Earth's population is resurrected into a wholly unexpected afterlife, has the character who is his [[Marty Stu]] in the book (legitimate, as we are ''all'' characters on the Riverworld) meet a publisher who once cheated him. Near-lethal vengeance is administered. The publisher is given the name Sharko. Line 94 ⟶ 93: ** At least one jab was aimed at the viewers, in a piece about computer games: {{quote\|"Yes, videogames are going through a renaissance, and you should not miss out - like you are now, by choosing to watch TV instead, like some kind of medieval throwback farmhand fuck."}} : Also, he often lays into Endemol produced shows such as ''[[Big Brother]]'', while Brooker's production company is itself a subsidiary of Endemol. At one point this is [[Lampshaded]], by immediately following a particularly vitriolic attack on Endemol with the Zeppotron/Endemol [[Vanity Plate]] from the end of the show. : Brooker's ''[[Dead Set]]'', in which ''[[Big Brother]]'' contestants face a [[Zombie Apocalypse]], was also made by Zeppotron and was broadcast on [[Channel 4\|E4]]. * Although not a comedy, ''[[The Bill]]'' had a moment where two character were checking a hotel's CCTV cameras during an undercover operation. They were making comments related to the order of channels on the TV set. [[BBC 2]] was gardening, ITV (the show's own channel, before it became [[ITV 1]]) was adverts and the final conclusion to the joke was that [[Channel 4]] (not named) was sex, as they discovered Dave and Polly kissing in a hotel room. Taking the joke further, [[Channel Five]] equals porn (although, not as much... [[CSI Verse\|these days]].) * In one skit on ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway?\|Whose Line Is It Anyway]]'', Colin Mochrie screamed at Ryan Stiles and Wayne Brady: "You're not human! You're less than human! You're ''network executives''!" However, after the game, Drew Carey went to great lengths to point out that Colin wasn't talking about ABC (the American one). Line 115 ⟶ 114: * And then, when that didn't work, he said them in ''Spanish'' (complete with ''subtitles''): {{quote\|"NBC is like a Goat that Eats Money and Shits Trouble."}} ~~~~::: The Bugatti Veyron was on loan. Conan admitted the "crazy expensive" skits were jokes after fake ground sloth skeleton spraying fake beluga caviar on a fake authentic Picasso painting. It's also unclear how much NBC tried to prevent Conan's incredibly popular ravaging of the network and how much Conan just made up for laughs. Nearly all of his final two weeks at NBC were this trope, however. :: Not only that, Conan would often bash NBC and promote other networks, ''simply while conversing with guests'' and not making a bit out of it. It's likely Conan was saying these things simply because he really felt that way (hosting the Tonight Show was a life-long dream of his) and mostly got laughs because they were very cathartic. * ''[[The Daily Show]]'' and ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' do this frequently. One toss between the two shows had a jealous Colbert mocking fellow Daily Show alumnus Ed Helms for [[The Office\|not having a nightly show]]. When reminded that his own show was on ''Comedy Central'', Colbert broke down sobbing: "I know! God, it's horrible! I wish I was on the Food Network!" An episode of the former once showed a clip of [[Barack Obama]] being asked if he had ever seen the [[Comedy Central]] show '''[[Lil' Bush]]'', to which he replied "I heard of it, but I've never seen it." Cut to Stewart saying "Join the club." Line 123 ⟶ 122: Colbert also mocks this trope a lot, when he was feeling uneasy about giving Jon advertising. {{quote\|"No free rides, [[The Daily Show\|guy]] who made my career."}} : When ''[[The Colbert Report]]'' debuted it was followed by a short-lived talk show called ''Too Late With Adam Carolla''. One night Stephen closed his show by saying, "Stay tuned for Adam Carolla. His guest tonight? Comedy." * ''[[Strangers with Candy]]'' bit the hand hard in their final episode. Two property developers show up at Flatpoint High and repeatedly deny that they're tearing it down and building a strip mall, even as classrooms are demolished and food outlets built in their place. At the end of the episode, the teachers and students [[Trash the Set\|go on a rampage of destruction and burn down the school]], with one teacher gloating "They'll never turn it into a strip mall now!" The [[Reality Subtext]]: the property developers were based on two Comedy Central network execs. ''[[Strangers with Candy]]'' was being cancelled, and replaced with a show called ''Strip Mall''. * During the 2006 Emmy Awards on NBC, host Conan O'Brien, whose show is also on NBC, puts it delicately: Line 130 ⟶ 129: Yeah, we got trouble, right here at NBC I hate to disrespect, but my lawyer checked and I can't be sued! }} : There was also a hilarious crack about how since the ceremony was on NBC, it would probably be canceled halfway through. : In early 2010, Conan is once again taking shots at NBC, although this is less "Biting the hand that feeds" and more "Mauling the arm that hit you." : This all came full circle with Jimmy Fallon hosting the 2010 Emmys {{quote\|So NBC asked the host of Late Night to come to LA and host a different show. [[Tempting Fate\|What could possibly go wrong?]]}} * ''[[Harry Hill's TV Burp\|Harry Hills TV Burp]]'' makes fun of all channels about equally and does not spare its parent ITV. For example: {{quote\|'''Harry''': If you enjoyed the BBC's ''Who Do You Think You Are''? you may be interested in ITV's ''You Don't Know You're Born''...[[Follow the Leader\|which is]] '''[[Follow the Leader\|the same]].'''}} : Harry's earlier Channel Four series frequently made fun of that channel, depicting numerous run-ins with the Controller of Channel Four, who was portrayed as a child. *:: Not just a child, but a ventriloquist's dummy that had the personality of a child. * ''[[X-Play]]'' would occasionally jab at G4 after its [[Network Decay]], with specific references to being on the same channel as ''[[The Man Show]]''. * In one episode of ''[[Dirty Jobs]]'', there was an incident in a salt mine where one of the camera men narrowly avoided getting hit on the head by a large rock. One of the mine workers joked that when someone is injured to 'go for the wallet first.' Cue Mike Rowe's reply "He's a camera man. For the ''Discovery Channel.'' There's nothing in his wallet." Line 146 ⟶ 145: '''Mike:''' Sir, I've been in television so long, I'm a pro at [[Getting Crap Past the Radar\|bending over and taking it.]] }} * Something similar happened on ''[[Destination Truth]].'' Josh Gates is browsing through a marketplace in Turkey (I believe) and sees a beautiful rug. The shop owner tells him the price and Josh looks surprised. They then cut to him looking at much smaller rugs, roughly the size of a sheet of paper (the shop owner suggests using them under a telephone,) and Josh says "I work on cable, my friend, this is all I can afford." He never explicitly mentions Syfy, but the implication is there. * While presenting the Best Animated Feature nominees at the 2009 [[Academy ~~Awards~~Award]]s, [[Jack Black]] explains to co-presenter Jennifer Aniston his secret to success when it comes to making money at voice acting: {{quote\|'''Jack Black''': Each year I do one [[Dreamworks Animation]] [[Kung Fu Panda\|project]], then I take all the money to the Oscars and bet it on [[Pixar]].}} : [[Laser-Guided Karma\|And the winner]]? ''[[WALL-E]]''. (to which Black jumped and cheered...) *:: What was especially funny about the moment, though, is that one of the people who laughed hardest when he made this joke was...Jeffrey Katzenberg. * While we're on the topic of the Oscars, after the 2008 show played a montage of movies addressing the social issues of their time (in a very "look how awesome we are for doing this" tone): {{quote\|'''Jon Stewart''': [[Sarcasm Mode\|And none of those things were a problem ever again]].}} : John Oliver's segment on the 78th academy awards where he says they managed to move past the dark clouds of failure from the previous year (the one Jon Stewart hosted). * In the [[Spike Milligan]] series ''Q6'' (1975), the first episode features several digs at the BBC's security guards, the "crummy wardrobe department" and the high prices in the canteen. * ''[[The Goodies]]'' contains numerous swipes at the BBC, most notably in the episodes "Alternative Roots" and "The End", during which a service announcement warns of "cutbacks of a hundred percent" - and the screen immediately goes black! Line 160 ⟶ 159: * In his show ''[[No Reservations]]'', celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain frequently pokes fun at his producers and The Travel Network. ** Although compared to the absolute ''demolishing'' of [[Food Network]] in his book, ''A Cook's Tour'' (which was funded by the network in question), Bourdain is pratically complimentary. * ''[[The Soup]]'' takes sooooooooo many jabs at [[~~Main/Ptitle 4 hhloid 7\|~~E!]] They even have a segment dedicated to mocking E! shows called "Let's take some E!" ** Also a staple of ''[[Chelsea Lately]]''. Chelsea Handler frequently ridiculed the network president, even while she was dating him. * An episode of ''[[Family Matters]]'' had Carl passive-aggressively chewed out by his wife for liking [[The Three Stooges]], and essentially calls him childish and sadistic for liking a show about people getting hurt. His nephew Richie even says that the show was too juvenile for him. Saying this while The Three Stooges is essentially the grandfather of sitcoms (including ''Family Matters'') and is practically responsible for physical comedy as a whole. Even hypocritical considering how much physical comedy ''Family Matters'' itself used. Line 182 ⟶ 181: '''Kid:''' There're trying to kill it! There're trying to kill it! '''Cory:''' Those are bad, bad people. }} : ABC took notice and changed the timeslot back not long after this. * One of the reasons ''The [[Dana Carvey]] Show'' was cancelled was because Dana mocked his sponsors so much that they stopped backing his show. * The 2011 episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' with guest host [[Miley Cyrus]] had a sketch called "[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZdIFRKeSso&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL19B7160BD391FE59 Disney Channel Acting School]", where Miley (dressed in an exaggerated [[Hannah Montana]] costume and poofy hair) and [[Raven-Symone]] (played by [[Kenan and Kel\|Kenan Thompson]]) host an infomercial for the school. The sketch parodies the writing, wardrobe and comedic devices [[Disney Channel]] [[Kid Com]]s such as ''[[Hannah Montana]], ''[[That's So Raven]]'' and ''[[Wizards of Waverly Place]]'' use regularly. Line 190 ⟶ 189: * ''Babylon 5'': At the start of season 2, Executive Meddling made the creators sex up Ivanova's appearance. She started wearing redder lipstick and had her hair loose instead of pulled back. When Garibaldi came out of his coma and returned to duty, he commented on her 'new look'. Ivanova snapped back "With everything that's been going on around here I'd think you'd have other things on your mind besides my look!" Take That, Executive Meddlers! * An unusual case: ABC has been owned by The Walt Disney Company since 1995, and in the Tom Bergeron era of ''[[America's Funniest Home Videos]]'' (which started at the [[Turn of the Millennium]]), the grand prizes each season are usually related to the [[Disney Theme Parks]] or the company's other vacation ventures. The show usually sends Bergeron to the venues in question to spend chunks of his host segments shilling them. Aside from those special episodes, however, Disney hasn't stopped the show from airing home videos that cast the parks in a less-than-ideal light (costumed characters falling off of parade floats or scaring toddlers, kids and adults being unpleasantly surprised by Epcot's famous "leapfrog fountains", etc.), and in one 2005 finale Bergeron joked that when his daughters are at Disney World, the three things they're most eager to see are "Mickey, Minnie, and Daddy's Wallet." == Music == Line 198 ⟶ 196: * Mr. Bungle were apparently doubtful as to whether or not their major label debut would even be released: In one line of "Carousel" they ask "Will Warner Brothers put this record on the shelf?" (although, possibly as a way of [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]], the liner notes make the blatantly false claim that the lyric is "[[Grease\|look at me I'm Sandra Dee]])". [[Devo]] was also known to mock Warner Brothers, and the music industry in general. Their promotional videos included characters that embodied every record executive stereotype: Rod Rooter, a pimply manager who didn't get Devo ("I can forgive you guys for being artists, but I can't forgive you for being stupid!" "Look at the airplay charts! No, no Devo!") and Daddy-Know-It-All, the boss of Big Entertainment who orders Rod to keep Devo in line. == Newspaper Comics == Line 204 ⟶ 201: Pastis has mocked his syndicate several times as well. * Gary Trudeau, creator of ''Doonesbury'', has slapped at his employer several times for making him submit strips six weeks in advance, with characters saying things along the lines of "even though the election happened last week, we don't know who won because this strip was submitted six weeks ago." == Radio == Line 220 ⟶ 216: {{quote\|'''Tim Hartford''': I hadn't previously seen the show myself, but I now realise it's a bit like ''[[Its A Knockout]]'', but without the high philosophical concepts. After watching it, I had one question for David: ''Why?'' }} == Print Media == * ''[[MAD]]'' is well-known for its satires of movies, television, and other forms of media, and it very often lampoons works produced by Warner Communications, its parent company. == Video Games == Line 229 ⟶ 227: * Strong Bad does this quite often towards [[Telltale Games]] in ''[[Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People\|Strong Bads Cool Game for Attractive People]]'' and its making-of mockumentary ''Behind The Bad'' (and eventually carried over in ''[[Poker Night At the Inventory]]''), usually complaining about how they never follow his idea of the "perfect" Strong Bad video game. This, however, is subverted near the end of "8-Bit Is Enough" when the developers [[Throw the Dog a Bone\|finally made an albeit lo-res polygon render of a concept sketch from Strong Bad for the episode's final battle]], [["Hell Yes!" Moment\|and Strong Bad couldn't be more happy about it.]] * Online game makers Nitrome did this and a bit of [[Self-Deprecation]] with their 100th game, ''Nitrome Must Die''. Example: in one level, the whiteboard in the background shows ideas for a new game... with a deadline of 8 hours. * More a case of taking a shot at ''former'' employers; Koji Igarashi's messy divorce from Konami is well known, and when he started his own company, ArtPlay (after raising $5.5 million on Kickstarter) he released ''[[Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night]]'', a sort of [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''[[Castlevania]]''. Just to troll his former employers, the game includes a scene were the hero fights two demonic slot machines, a jab at the business Konami has been in since abandoning ''Castlevania''. == Web Comics == * ~~[[Web Comic]] example:~~ Most of the jokes in ''[[The ~~Order of the Stick\|~~Order of the Stick]]'', especially in the first 200 or so comics, are at the expense of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' or its publisher, [[Wizards of the Coast]]. Rich Burlew, the author, is a freelance game designer who mostly works for Wizards on D&D-related projects. An early strip based on Wizards' slightly bizarre copyright policy is actually titled [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0032.html Biting the Hand That Feeds Me].▼ ~~== Webcomics ==~~ ▲* [[Web Comic]] example: Most of the jokes in ''[[The Order of the Stick\|Order of the Stick]]'', especially in the first 200 or so comics, are at the expense of ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'' or its publisher, [[Wizards of the Coast]]. Rich Burlew, the author, is a freelance game designer who mostly works for Wizards on D&D-related projects. An early strip based on Wizards' slightly bizarre copyright policy is actually titled [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0032.html Biting the Hand That Feeds Me]. The ''OotS'' strip in the last three issues of ''[[Dragon (magazine)\|Dragon]]'' magazine had the Order discover the dragon from the cover of issue 1, whose subsequent career mirrored that of the magazine itself. The second of these strips was titled "Claw/Claw/Bite The Hand That Feeds Me". Line 243 ⟶ 241: Continues in [[Atop the Fourth Wall\|Linkara's]] review of KISS comics. When asking Todd if he'd like to co-review after giving the history of KISS, he just laughs at the thought of him reviewing a comic. "I forget how nerdy this site is." Linkara didn't look pleased. ** In "The Sexual Awakening Of The Human Nerd" by [[The Nostalgia Chick]]'s supporting cast, Dr. Tease interviews the other reviewers, describing them as "These creatures - I mean, humans - I mean, nerds". * [[Zero Punctuation\|Yahtzee]] has an infrequent habit of calling the Escapist out on having him play and review games he'd rather not. Its not exactly suprising, considering he [[Hates Everyone Equally\|he insults ~~bascially~~basically everyone else]]. == Western Animation == * ''[[The Simpsons]]'' has a long history of poking fun at the [[FOX]] network. * ''[[The Simpsons]]'' and ''[[Family Guy]]'' both have histories of poking fun at the [[FOX]] network. Probably the most striking example was [https://web.archive.org/web/20090828170638/http://www.hulu.com/watch/41275/family-guy-canceled the first scene in the first episode of ''Family Guy'' after it had been revived from cancellation], where Peter recites the long list of every prime-time show that Fox cancelled after ''Family Guy''.▼ There is a list [https://web.archive.org/web/20131108070159/http://www.snpp.com/guides/foxswipe.html here] of many of the jabs at Fox. Specific ''Simpsons'' examples: * ''The Simpsons'' reached a disturbing new nadir in its "MoneyBART" episode, its [[Couch Gag]] (storyboarded by subversive street artist [[Banksy]]) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX1iplQQJTo depicting] the production of ''Simpsons'' episodes and merchandise taking place in a toxic sweat shop within a bulding shaped like the 20th Century Fox [[Vanity Plate]]. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11510513 This BBC report] claims the sequence "led to delays, disputes over broadcast standards and a threatened walk out by the animation department." Line 261 ⟶ 258: {{quote\|'''Lisa''': But he's a big star! '''Krusty''':Yeah...[with disgust] on ''Fox''. }} *:: "Missionary: Impossible" begins with [[Betty White]] hosting a PBS pledge drive. At the end of the episode, she pops up again, this time hosting a pledge drive for ''Fox''. She urges viewers not to let "crude, lowbrow programming disappear from the airwaves". A ''Family Guy'' logo appears on the TV set she's standing next to. {{quote\|'''Betty White''': Sure, Fox makes a fortune from advertising but it's still not enough. '''Rupert Murdoch''': Not nearly enough! }} ~~**~~:: That particular example is more of a swipe at ''Family Guy'' than at Fox. The rivalry between those two shows is not particularly friendly. ~~**~~:: In that same episode at the end, someone calls in pledging $10,000, and Rupert Murdoch says "You've saved my network!" Bart, hanging up the phone, says "Wouldn't be the first time." *:: This also ended up biting them back; in one episode they mock Butterfinger, a long-time sponsor of the show. Nestle responded by canceling their contract. Acknowledged in the next episode, where the [[Couch Gag\|blackboard gag]] read "I will not bite the hand that feeds me Butterfingers." *:: In a flash-forward episode, set <s>[[Comic Book Time\|in 2010]]</s> 15 years from now, we find out that all the programs on Fox have become porn. This happened so gradually that Marge hadn't noticed until that point in time. *:: The Road Rage episode ("Marge Simpson in: Screaming Yellow Honkers"). The family promotes NBC for its quality programming, ending with "How do we know if there's something good on now? Just change the channel", followed by Homer reading out a forced statement over the episode's credits that NBC sucks and Fox rules, under gunpoint, ending with him saying, "CBS: great," and being shot. *:: "Sunday, Cruddy Sunday" has Homer and company tangling with Rupert Murdoch, who refers to himself as "the billionaire tyrant". (Murdoch was [[Self-Deprecation\|actually playing himself]].) *:: Another example is when a promo for ''Joe Millionaire'' goes across the top of the screen. Homer then eats part of it, but disgustedly spits out the Fox logo. *:: In another episode, the Flanders' kids have been infected with the "Osaka Flu" going around town. Ned then asks himself why God has "forsaken" them only to have a flashback to the one time they watched ''[[Married... with Children]]'' (complete with sinister lightning). {{quote\|'''Ned''': Oh Maude, the network slogan was true! "Watch Fox and be damned for all eternity!"}} *:: In "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", the family criticizes Lisa's recent activism:▼ ▲* In "Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy", the family criticizes Lisa's recent activism: {{quote\|'''Homer''': And we can't watch Fox because they own those chemical weapon plants in Syria.}} ::* In "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" you may remember Troy McClure from such Fox network specials as ''Alien Nose Job'' and ''Five Fabulous Weeks of "The Chevy Chase Show"''.▼ ~~**~~:: And in "[[Halloween Episode\|Treehouse of Horror IX]]" Ed McMahon would like to remind you that the FOX special ''World's Deadliest Executions'' is brought to you by the producers of ''When Skirts Fall Off'' and ''Secrets of National Security Revealed''.▼ ▲* In "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular" you may remember Troy McClure from such Fox network specials as ''Alien Nose Job'' and ''Five Fabulous Weeks of "The Chevy Chase Show"''. ::* In ''The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase'', Troy McClure says that FOX approached the Writers of ''The Simpsons'' to create "35 new shows" to fill a "few holes" in the schedule. Cue a poster of the FOX schedule: A slot each for ''The Simpsons'', ''[[The X-Files]]'', and ''[[Melrose Place]]'', All other slots are question marks.▼ ▲** And in "[[Halloween Episode\|Treehouse of Horror IX]]" Ed McMahon would like to remind you that the FOX special ''World's Deadliest Executions'' is brought to you by the producers of ''When Skirts Fall Off'' and ''Secrets of National Security Revealed''. ::* In "Simple Simpson", the family watches ''Promiscuous Idiots Island'' on Fox, the home of promiscuous idiots.▼ ▲* In ''The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase'', Troy McClure says that FOX approached the Writers of ''The Simpsons'' to create "35 new shows" to fill a "few holes" in the schedule. Cue a poster of the FOX schedule: A slot each for ''The Simpsons'', ''[[The X-Files]]'', and ''[[Melrose Place]]'', All other slots are question marks. ::* Plus, there was a scene in a Sideshow Bob episode where Rupert Murdoch himself (speaking with a bad Australian accent) was in jail with Bob. They actually had to ask for and GOT permission from Murdoch himself for that one. His response was apparently "[[Self-Deprecation\|I would be honored to be in jail in The Simpsons]]".▼ ▲* In "Simple Simpson", the family watches ''Promiscuous Idiots Island'' on Fox, the home of promiscuous idiots. ::* In the episode where Lisa was petitioning to have Springfield turn off all its lights so she could see an upcoming meteor shower, she complained that the only thing she could see in her telescope was the Fox satellite. The screen then cuts to a broken, falling apart satellite that's only being held up by regular party balloons.▼ ▲* Plus, there was a scene in a Sideshow Bob episode where Rupert Murdoch himself (speaking with a bad Australian accent) was in jail with Bob. They actually had to ask for and GOT permission from Murdoch himself for that one. His response was apparently "[[Self-Deprecation\|I would be honored to be in jail in The Simpsons]]". ::* And in the episode written by and guest starring Ricky Gervais, Fox is described as the home of the world's worst sitcoms, before Lisa points out that the show ''Mother Flippers'' (i.e. ''Trading Spouses'') is a rip-off of an [[Wife Swap\|existing show]]. She is bribed with a Fox sweatshirt, but when she points out it's actually an ABC sweatshirt they throw her in the ''[[American Idol]]'' holding pen.▼ ▲* In the episode where Lisa was petitioning to have Springfield turn off all its lights so she could see an upcoming meteor shower, she complained that the only thing she could see in her telescope was the Fox satellite. The screen then cuts to a broken, falling apart satellite that's only being held up by regular party balloons. ::* Behind the Laughter: The only reason that "The Simpsons" got picked up as a show, was because Marge's hairdresser was also ''president'' of the Fox network.▼ ▲* And in the episode written by and guest starring Ricky Gervais, Fox is described as the home of the world's worst sitcoms, before Lisa points out that the show ''Mother Flippers'' (i.e. ''Trading Spouses'') is a rip-off of an [[Wife Swap\|existing show]]. She is bribed with a Fox sweatshirt, but when she points out it's actually an ABC sweatshirt they throw her in the ''[[American Idol]]'' holding pen. ::* In the couch gag for "Elementary School Musical", the 22nd season premiere, a Fox executive appeared giving the Simpsons a cupcake with a candle on it to celebrate the beginning of the season. After Maggie blew out the candle, the executive took the cupcake and ate it himself.▼ ▲* Behind the Laughter: The only reason that "The Simpsons" got picked up as a show, was because Marge's hairdresser was also ''president'' of the Fox network. ::* Subverted in another episode, when a media circus hits town, the Fox news van is very large and rolls into view while "We Are The Champions" plays.▼ ▲* In the couch gag for "Elementary School Musical", the 22nd season premiere, a Fox executive appeared giving the Simpsons a cupcake with a candle on it to celebrate the beginning of the season. After Maggie blew out the candle, the executive took the cupcake and ate it himself. ::* The show did a parody of ''[[The Island of Dr. Moreau]]'' called "The Island of Dr. Hibbert." In it, Dr. Hibbert has been turning the people of Springfield into half-men/half-beasts. He himself comes out wearing a fox stole which resembles Mr. Burns, prompting Bart to say, "Ooooh, he got the Fox treatment."▼ ▲* Subverted in another episode, when a media circus hits town, the Fox news van is very large and rolls into view while "We Are The Champions" plays. ::* In-universe example in one episode. Krusty bad-mouths a particular drug company (I think Percodan) while being taped, then mentions "a word from our sponsor", who also happens to be the same drug company he just criticized. Cue [[Oh Crap]] moment for him.▼ ▲* The show did a parody of ''[[The Island of Dr. Moreau]]'' called "The Island of Dr. Hibbert." In it, Dr. Hibbert has been turning the people of Springfield into half-men/half-beasts. He himself comes out wearing a fox stole which resembles Mr. Burns, prompting Bart to say, "Ooooh, he got the Fox treatment." ::* In "Sideshow Bob Roberts" Larry King is moderating in a mayoral debate. Before the debate, he addresses the audience.▼ ▲* In-universe example in one episode. Krusty bad-mouths a particular drug company (I think Percodan) while being taped, then mentions "a word from our sponsor", who also happens to be the same drug company he just criticized. Cue [[Oh Crap]] moment for him. ▲* In "Sideshow Bob Roberts" Larry King is moderating in a mayoral debate. Before the debate, he addresses the audience. {{quote\|'''King''':I'm your moderator, Larry King. Now, a word to our audience: even though we're being broadcast on...Fox, there's no need for obnoxious hooting and hollering. '''Cue obnoxious hooting and hollering''' }} ▲* ''[[~~The~~Family ~~Simpsons~~Guy]]'' ~~and~~is ~~''[[Family~~no ~~Guy]]''~~better. ~~both~~"What ~~have~~are ~~histories~~they ofgonna ~~poking~~do? ~~fun~~Cut atour ~~the~~budget?" ~~[[FOX]]~~Peter ~~network~~mused in one episode. ~~Probably~~One of the most ~~striking~~well ~~example~~known instances was [https://web.archive.org/web/20090828170638/http://www.hulu.com/watch/41275/family-guy-canceled the first scene in the first episode of ''Family Guy'' after it had been revived from cancellation], where Peter recites the long list of every prime-time show that Fox cancelled after ''Family Guy''. This was revisited in the episode "Family Gay". At a horse race, the announcer rattles off the list of entrants, all of them named for recently cancelled Fox shows. Other examples include: ''[[Family Guy]]'': "What are they gonna do? Cut our budget?" :* ~~They~~An ~~also~~inversion ~~inverted~~of this ~~trope~~Trope, in the episode "Death Is a Bitch". Assigned by Death with the task of killing the cast of ''[[Dawson's Creek]]'', Peter demurs:▼ * And their first episode after coming back, as previously mentioned. Revisited in the episode "Family Gay". At a horse race, the announcer rattles off the list of entrants, all of them named for recently cancelled Fox shows. ▲* They also inverted this trope, in the episode "Death Is a Bitch". Assigned by Death with the task of killing the cast of ''[[Dawson's Creek]]'', Peter demurs: {{quote\|'''Peter:''' I'm not gonna kill those kids. If they die, I'll have nothing to watch on Wednesdays. ''[Glancing at the camera, and breaking out in a nervous grin]'' Other than the fine programs on Fox.}} *:: In "Meet the Quagmires" we get this exchange: {{quote\|'''Molly:''' Hey did you guys hear on the news how President Gore hunted down and killed Osama bin Laden with his bare hands? '''Lois:''' Yeah, who woulda thought that bin Laden was hiding out in the cast of [[Mad TV]]? '''Quagmire:''' Man, the perfect hiding spot. The one place no one would look! }} ~~**~~:: Also an [[Actor Allusion]], as Alex Borstein who voices Lois had a recurring role on [[Mad TV]]. *:: Then there was the episode where they took one potshot after another at [[Fox News]] when Lois went to work for them. ~~**~~:: In ''Something Something Something Dark Side'' the opening scrawl turns into a ramble about how Fox thought so little of the ''[[Star Wars]]'' franchise that it did not bother to retain merchandising rights, handing those off to Lucas. It then goes on to point out precisely how valuable those merchandising rights turned out to be and questions the sanity of Fox stockholders for sticking with a company that makes such unbelievably stupid choices about money. *:: In "Big Man on Hippocampus", there was what appeared to be the trademark black with white lettering panels from [[Adult Swim]] questioning why anyone would watch the show on Fox since it is much funnier on [[Adult Swim]]. *:: Peter closes the episode "Three Kings" with "Now stay tuned for whatever Fox is limping to the barn with". *:: They've even made fun of TBS in "Hell Comes to Quahog": {{quote\|'''Announcer:''' We now return to [[Fan Service\|Showgirls]]... '''Peter:''' Yeah! '''Announcer:''' ...[[Nipple-and-Dimed\|on]] [[Edited for Syndication\|TBS]]. '''Peter:''' Aww. }} * ''[[Animaniacs]]'': In ~~an ''[[Animaniacs]]''~~the Wheel of Morality segment, Wakko's response to Yakko's "It's that time again!" is "[Time] to [[Getting Crap Past the Radar\|make the Fox censors cry?]]" Their treatment of the network censors in "Valuable Lesson"... ** From the Thanksgiving episode, arguing over a turkey: {{quote\|'''Pilgrim:''' Give me the bird! '''Yakko:''' [[Getting Crap Past the Radar\|We'd love to, really]], but the Fox censors won't allow it. }} : In the ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' [[Spin-Off]], the opening song commented on [[Pinky, Elmyra ~~and~~& ~~The~~the Brain\|the addition of Elmyra]] with the lines "[[Executive Meddling\|It's what the network wants, why bother to complain?]]". At the end of the song, Brain also says "I deeply resent this", and, given the very real hatred of the idea by the show's own writers, it seems likely enough he was referring to more than just his in-story predicaments with Elmyra. This was itself preceded by the episode ''Pinky and the Brain and Larry'', with an intentionally lame and useless extra character inserted just to show how the show didn't need a third wheel... but it was railroaded through anyway. *: The most notable example would be the episode "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets In This Town Again", which features the titular lab mice as the stars of a hit TV show [[Executive Meddling\|being heavily meddled with by network executives, who think heavily altering the show's premise will increase ratings]]. : After being forced to switch from FOX to The WB, ~~practically~~they proved to not be the type who played favorites. Practically every episode of ''Animaniacs'' used the [[Couch Gag\|rotating gag credit]] at the end to bash their new network: "Be The First Kid on Your Block To Actually Watch The WB!" * [[The Critic]]'' had a few, which make sense, seeing as the protagonist was, well, [[Captain Obvious\|a critic:]] ** ~~[[The Critic~~{{quote\|'''Jay Sherman]]:''' "It's a giant horse's ass! ''(turns to the camera)'' You're watching Fox. Give us 10 minutes; we'll give you an ass."}} : Hearing the word 'ass' on TV doesn't sound like much nowadays, but back then it was long before [[South Park]] made swearing okay and a fairly surprising shock to hear. : One of his voiceovers during the [[Eyecatch]]: "You're watching Fox. Shame on you!" * The intro to the first ''[[Futurama]]'' movie is a long string of jokes where the cancellation of the show is compared to Planet Express' flight license being canceled by the "Box Network", which is in turn an unending string of attacks on Fox for canceling the show in the first place.▼ * ''[[Futurama]]'', being a [[Spiritual Successor]] to ''[[The Simpsons (animation)\|The Simpsons]]'' had many: ▲ The intro to the first ~~''[[Futurama]]''~~ movie is a long string of jokes where the cancellation of the show is compared to Planet Express' flight license being canceled by the "Box Network", which is in turn an unending string of attacks on Fox for canceling the show in the first place. The [[Couch Gag]] tagline for that movie is ''[[Self Deprecating Humor\|"It just won't stay dead!"]]'' In the first string of Lampshade jokes that opens the movie, the Professor mentions that the executives responsible for their cancellation had been fired, then beaten up, badly mauled and finally ground into a fine powder that was then packaged and sold as 'Torgo's Executive Powder,' a product with a million and one uses. Line 328 ⟶ 324: {{quote\|'''Fry''': Wow, so this is a real TV station, huh? '''Technician''': Well, it's a Fox affiliate. }} ::* Fry then spills his drink on the control console, knocking the station off the air. The technician panics, but Fry is confident that nobody will notice. {{quote\|'''Technician''': Oh my God. You knocked FOX off the air! '''Fry''': Pfft, like [[Exact Words\|anyone on Earth]] cares. }} :: The trope strikes again in the very first Comedy Central episode, which opens with a still of the Hypnotoad while a voiceover by Bender tells the viewer, on the count of three, to [[Canon Discontinuity\|forget]] the show was ever cancelled by [[FOX\|idiots]] and revived by... ''bigger'' idiots. *::: This is something of an inversion of this trope, for instead of mocking their old network, they mock the one they are just picked up by. They don't have a single bad word to say about [[Cartoon Network]], and for good reason. :: Back when they were on Fox, the crew go on a tour of Hollywood, where the tour guide says the Fox logo spotlights are used to blind pilots so that they can film the resulting plane crashes. * ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' took aim at network execs in general in its very first episode: {{quote\|Babs: "It takes a group of highly-paid network executives YEARS to come up with a TV show!" Buster: "Which means it should take US... about as long as this next commercial break!" }} : In a segment featuring instructions on how to make your own cartoon, Buster comments after a long list of writers, animators and other personnel. {{quote\|'''Buster:''' And one guy who does nothing except sign his name on it! ''[Steven Spielberg falls onto the top of the pile.]''}} * ''[[Invader Zim]]'' had a minor character named 'Nick' who was created as a symbol for [[Nickelodeon]]. Nick had various disturbing science experiments performed on him by the main character. Considering that Nick was perpetually happy, it might be a jab at how Nickelodeon disliked the dark stuff ''Zim'' was putting out, instead living in an eternally happy rainbow land. ** Considering that Nick was perpetually happy, it might be a jab at how Nickelodeon disliked the dark stuff ''Zim'' was putting out, instead living in an eternally happy rainbow land. * Yet another Fox example occurred from J Jonah Jameson on ''[[Spider-Man: The Animated Series]]'': "All the networks are laughing at me. Even FOX!" * In the "Cartoon Wars" episodes of ''[[South Park]]'', the creators had a very public disagreement with Comedy Central over their right to visually portray the Islamic prophet Mohammad in their show, after a French satirical magazine was fire-bombed by terrorists for doing just that. The episode is essentially an extended debate between freedom of speech (in regards to comedy and satire) and censorship in the name of political correctness. During the scene where Mohammad was supposed to appear, South Park inserted a neutral title card stating (truthfully) that Comedy Central had ultimately refused to allow Mohammad to be show. The irony was that South Park had featured Mohammad as a character in the episode "Super Best Friends" and had him hidden in the title sequence of the show for the last two seasons. Line 346 ⟶ 341: {{quote\|'''Reducto:''' No! [pulls out a complicated schematic] There is no government, just a few multi-national corporations that run everything. [The words "An AOL/Time Warner Co." appear on the bar's sign in the background.] }} * ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'': After the original version of the episode was rejected for not meeting Broadcast Standards and Practices guidelines, the ~~''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]''~~ episode "Gee Whiz" was rewritten to be an extended slam of said organization, complete with a filmstrip about network standards that ends by congratulating the viewer for making "a bland show that no one can relate to". A filmstrip that makes its point by showing the incorrect and then the correct way ''[[Crosses the Line Twice\|to blow a nun's head off]]''. ** Another example in the one hundredth episode has Shake trying to push the show's merchandise at the Adult Swim Shop, saying they "sell all our stuff for more than you can buy in other places." Line 356 ⟶ 352: * The beginning of "Tortoise Beats Hare" has Bugs Bunny reading the credits out loud. He blows his top after seeing the cartoon title: {{quote\|'''Bugs:''' ''(angrily)'' Why dese guys don't know what they're talkin' about, the big buncha joiks! (''smugly'') I oughta know. I woik for 'em.}} * "Blooper Bunny" has [[Daffy Duck]] kvetching about his role in the Bugs Bunny 51~~-1/2~~½ anniversary special: {{quote\|'''Daffy:''' Who writes this slop?! (''Groans'') Warner Brothers doesn't have a creative bone in their...}} * After ''[[~~Re Boot~~ReBoot]]'' was dropped by ABC the show retroactively dubbed [[Big Bad\|Megabyte]]'s forces "'''A'''rmored '''B'''inome '''C'''arriers. Which leads to the line: {{quote\|It's the ABC's, they've turned on us.! Treacherous Dogs. }} * ''[[Duckman]]'' frequently made jabs at the USA Network. * ''[[Eek! The Cat]]'' has an episode of Eek visiting his own production studio, to find out that series writers are treated as slaves, being forced to write to the point of getting crazy of it and haven't seen the outside world for a long time and that [[Executive Meddling\|executives will do anything to get their way]], including ''riding them over with a steamroller''. * The years when ''[[Daria]]'' was on the N! network... whose other shows oozed the same dumb popularity-obsessed teen attitude that Daria mocked. * ''[[Rocky and Bullwinkle]]'' has been known to poke fun at their producers on occasion. Example: Line 373 ⟶ 369: '''Rocky:''' I'm not talking about the Bullwinkle Show. '''Bullwinkle:''' You had better; we could use the publicity. }} : Another example, as Boris and Natasha look for an A-bomb to blow open a giant trunk: {{quote\|'''Rocky:''' They said A-bomb! Do you know what that means, Bullwinkle? '''Bullwinkle:''' Sure. "A bomb" is what some people call our show! '''Rocky:''' (''miffed'') I didn't think that was very funny. '''Bullwinkle:''' (''looking to camera'') Neither did ''they,'' apparently. }} * In one scene from ''[[Amphibia (TV series)\|Amphibia]]'' (a cartoon produced by [[Disney]]) Polly goes into a store in the mall where kids can construct their own stuffed animals. After perusing the available pieces, she finds a nose-mouth piece that resembles that of Mickey Mouse. "Eh, no thanks," she says and tosses it aside. ---- ~~{{quote\|~~:[[Self-Demonstrating Article\|Oh look, another "witty" self-demonstrating]] [[The Stinger\|stinger]] to show that [[TVAll The Tropes]] is dumber-- – more informal!-- – than [[The Other Wiki]]. [[Flat Joy\|Joy]].}} {{reflist}} [[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]▼ [[Category:Comedy Tropes]] [[Category:Insult Tropes]] ▲[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]