Lampshade Hanging/Puppet Shows

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Lampshades hung in puppet shows.


  • Sesame Street In the 1989 special, Big Bird in Japan, Big Bird is discussing his being abandoned by his tour group in Tokyo with his new friend, to which she responds aghast: "But that's horrible! What kind of a tour would leave without a bird and his dog?" To which Big Bird responds thoughtfully: "I dunno, probably the kind of tour that would take a bird and a dog in the first place."
  • The Muppet Show and all their movies hang enough lampshades to open a store.
  • Ventriloquist Jeff Dunham and his entourage of puppets often joke about the fact that Jeff is the one who's delivering all the dialogue. Especially in this one moment where Peanut and José Jalapeño start talking to each other in Spanish:

Jeff: What are you doing?
Peanut: I'm speaking to José in his native tongue!
Jeff: Well, don't do that!
Peanut: Why not?
Jeff: Well, it makes me feel... left out.
Peanut: (awkward pause) Huh?
Jeff: Well, I don't speak Spanish!
Peanut: (stares at Jeff)
José: (also stares at Jeff and hums Twilight Zone theme)
Peanut: Picture it if you will...

    • Another, from one of his early appearances, where he picks on Stu, a member of the audience:

Peanut: (to Stu) Gonna come kick my butt?
(Peanut turns toward Jeff)
Peanut: Your elbow...

    • And again (twice in one bit of banter, actually), with Peanut...

Peanut: (interrupted by Jeff) What!? We cannot talk at the same time! I am so sick of this crap! I have tried going solo!
Jeff: What happened?
Peanut: (looks at the stool he's standing on) Kept falling off this frickin' thing...

    • Jeff Dunham really likes this trope. At one point, Peanut keeps trying to "bite" Jeff's face, and Jeff keeps on blocking him.

Peanut: You're so fast. It's like you know.

    • And again, after a long stint of Peanut mispronouncing Jeff's name:

Peanut: Am I pissing you off-fa-fa?
(gets a angry face from Jeff)
Peanut: (turns to the audience) The strange thing is I am actually pissing him off. And he would like to kill me, but that would be a form of suicide.

    • Peanut seems to be made for this (either via Flanderization or through Characterization Marches On), especially when paired with José.
    • Not just Peanut, all the puppets will at one point or another point out they aren't real and reference coming out, or going into, the zen suitcase often.

Achmed the Dead Terrorist: Look at my ass. It says: "Made in China".