Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Difference between revisions
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'''Alice:''' Yeah! Usually it sounds strained because it's hard to make this kind of dialog sound completely natural.
t
'''Bob:''' But even if they can't pull it off, it's usually good for a bit of comedy.
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{{examples}}
==
* Thanks to food and drug guidelines,
* A Bamzu.com commercial features [[Two Gamers on a Couch|two people on a couch]] talking about how great Bamzu is. It finishes with the man saying to the woman, "Hey, maybe ''we'' could do a Bamzu commercial!" to which she replies, "You think?"
* A series of Geico commercials feature extremely poorly "animated" characters speaking in robotic voices. One of the characters informs the other that the commercial—in which they are currently appearing—took only 15 minutes to produce (which they tie into the amount of time it takes to switch to Geico).
* One Honda commercial had a man talking about his car and the deal he got from it, while his friend says that he sounds like a car commercial.
==
* Fairly early in the ''[[Mahou Sensei Negima]]'' manga, Ako tells an aged
** In an especially tongue-in-cheek moment, Natsumi refers to herself as a side character right before making a casual observation that turns the chapter (#257) into a [[Wham! Episode]].
** It also has a more [[Fourth Wall|fourth-wall]]-[[Buffy-Speak|breaky]] one when Negi sees {{spoiler|what his father was like}}: he exclaims, "It's like he's a character from a totally different manga!"
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* In the ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generations]]'' anime, a direct translation from the game leads to a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-FfN65U1OIM#t=145s hilarious fourth wall breaking moment.]
==
* ''[[Watchmen (comics)|Watchmen]]'':
** "Who watches the Watchm-"
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** ''[[The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck]]'' shows how Scrooge [[Berserk Button|isn't happy]] about the rumors that his [[Number One Dime]] is [[Flanderization|a lucky charm]].
** In "The Last Lord of El Dorado", Scrooge's response to [[As You Know|a bit of exposition]] from Donald is "I know all that! What are you, a recap caption in some silly comic book?"
* ''[[Y: The Last Man]]'': When Agent 355 asks Yorick why he has "Fuck Communism" engraved on his lighter, he explains it's truly from a [[Preacher (Comic Book)|comic]].
* ''[[FoxTrot]]'' does this occasionally, usually to make comments about his own writing/drawing process. One example is a strip that was released around the time that ''Star Wars Episode I'' was released; Jason goes to see the movie, and when he gets home, Paige asks how he liked it:▼
{{quote|They can say 'fuck' in comic books?}}
{{quote|'''Jason:''' Come on, Paige, what are the odds of a geek like me saying anything negative?▼
* There's a truly hilarious scene in ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' in which the title character lampshades many of the common trends in his life and how difficult it makes things for him. It fits the character since he just broke up with MJ due to [[It's Not You, It's My Enemies]] and recovering from
'''Paige:''' I'd say something like the chances of George Lucas letting a cartoonist see the movie early so he could write about it in more than vague, noncommittal terms.▼
{{quote|"What else was I supposed to do? [[It's Not You, It's My Enemies|She was going to get killed because she's Spider-Man's girlfriend]] and, frankly, [[Distress Ball|she's too stupid to stay out of trouble when I tell her to
'''Jason:''' ...Well, I wouldn't go THAT far.▼
'''Paige:''' Okay, so there's a TINY chance that you didn't like it. }}▼
▲* ''[[Y: The Last Man]]'': When Agent 355 asks Yorick why he has "Fuck Communism" engraved on his lighter, he explains it's truly from a [[Preacher (Comic Book)|comic]]. "They can say 'fuck' in comic books?"
▲* There's a truly hilarious scene in ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' in which the title character lampshades many of the common trends in his life and how difficult it makes things for him. It fits the character since he just broke up with MJ due to [[It's Not You, It's My Enemies]] and recovering from {{spoiler|Gwen's death}}, but it plays very much like he's actually angry at [[Cosmic Plaything|the writer's devotion to making his life a living hell]].
▲{{quote|"What else was I supposed to do? [[It's Not You, It's My Enemies|She was going to get killed because she's Spider-Man's girlfriend]] and, frankly, [[Distress Ball|she's too stupid to stay out of trouble when I tell her to.]] Maybe I- Maybe I should talk to her about this. Maybe in a couple of months she'll figure out how to be smarter about being with me and I won't have to- no. [[Genre Savvy|NO! NO!]] [[Recycled Script|She almost got killed six times out of the last twelve big Spider-Man adventures.]] There is no way I'm putting her in danger because I don't have anything to do on Friday nights. No. [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy|No, leave her alone.]] [...] So I break up with her, which had to be done, but now I have to sit next to her for... [[Comic Book Time|what year is it?]] [[Vague Age|What am I? A sophomore? Tenth Grade?]] Well that means I only have a couple of years left to sit and feel her not look at me as I don't look at her. [...] She'll be making out with [[Jerk Jock|Flash Thompson]] and I'll be NOT making out with anyone ever again because [[Being Good Sucks|I CAN'T HAVE A GIRLFRIEND BECAUSE I'M SPIDER-MAN AND WITH GREAT POWER MUST COME NOT MAKING OUT WITH MY GIRLFRIEND EVER AGAIN!"]]}}
* In one ''[[Lucky Luke]]'' album, Rantanplan (after having eaten [[Extreme Omnivore|a piece of soap]]) wonders whether he's the only one making [[Speech Bubbles|bubbles]].
* Done in ''[[Quantum and Woody]]'' when Woody reads the "Dark Kitty" comic book, an [[Expy]] of [[Marvel Comics]]' [[Black Panther]] (also written by Christopher Priest at the time). Woody [[Who Writes This Crap?|badmouths the book]] [[Self-Deprecation|with criticisms that are entirely applicable]] to ''[[Quantum and Woody]]''...
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** In a similar fashion, in ''Asterix and the Soothsayer'', when the soothsayer offers to "read" the entrails of Dogmatix, Obelix retorts "No one has ever read us, and no one will!"
* A story in [[Tales from the Crypt]] called "Concerto for Violin and Werewolf" had the main character figure out the plot twist of the story because it was similar to one he had read in an American comic book called Tales from the Crypt. The story he refers to called "Midnight Mess" was an actual story that had been published a few issues before.
* During the second series of ''[[She-Hulk]]'', the titular character doesn't "lean" on the fourth wall - she blatantly ignores it. In the third series, the second series is regarded as a [[Mutually Fictional]] account of Jenn's adventures. In the final page of issue #3, a collector mentions the [[No Fourth Wall]] nature of the comic and asks her if she can really do "stuff like that". Jenn simply says, "No. I can't", but her sly smirk as she looks towards the reader and says it makes you wonder...
==
* Subverted in the fanmovie ''[[Metal Gear Solid Philanthropy|Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy]]''. Pierre teases Snake by saying that he's so cool he'd "make a good video game character, no shit - [[Completely Missing the Point|a Nintendo platformer, I'd say!]]"
* The ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]'' [[Fanfic]] ''A Different Lesson'' has a brilliant send-up of this trope via a bookseller the heroes visit, where a scroll is for sale which tells the story of the movie. Thanks to [[Gossip Evolution]], willful misinterpretation, and a certain amount of [[Shout-Out|Shout Outs]] to [[Fanon]], Po is turned into a [[Fake Ultimate Hero]] who took out Tai Lung all by himself while the Furious Five did next to nothing (the fight at the bridge becomes a "footnote"); Viper [[Flanderization|only cares about makeup and pretty clothes]], [[Mandatory Line|Monkey is mute]], while Shifu's [[Cynical Mentor]] and [[Jerkass]] tendencies are [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]]; the filmmakers' ploy with making Tai Lung ''appear'' to be a mindless beast before [[The Reveal]] of Ian McShane's voice is also referenced by making the snow leopard a drooling savage with [[Hulk Speak]], and...[[Viewer Gender Confusion|Tigress is a man]].
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{{quote|''"Were they nothing more but characters, whose capacities for self-determination were undermined by an unfeeling writer—an omnipotent author that had nothing better to do except enthused prostitution to the ideals of entertainment and fame?"''}}
==
* ''[[Fight Club]]'' does this enough times to make the camera a supporting character. The narrator directly addresses the camera upon multiple occasions.
** The "film" even shakes during one of these, to the point where you can see the guide track at the edges.
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'''Richard:''' Wouldn't you like to know! Maybe it's Marilyn Monroe! }}
* In ''[[Jeepers Creepers]],'' our heroes have just decided to go back and see if the creepy guy was really hiding a body. The sister comments to her brother, "You know the part in scary movies when somebody does something really stupid, and everybody hates them for it? This is it."
* ''[[Ferris Bueller's
* In a 1980s Finnish comedy film from the ''Uuno Turhapuro'' series, a restaurant waiter has been tricked, by two alcoholics, into drinking a full bottle of vodka. Later, when a lady enters the restaurant, and listens to the waiter singing a song, she glances around, and [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xph5D2xExIM declares] with an enlightened face: "I see. This must be a Finnish movie. There is no other explanation for the presence of so many drunk people in one scene."
* ''[[Rango]]'' has the title character ask the Spirit of the West why he has to go back to town and save the day. The Spirit's response is "No man can walk out on his own story."
* the ending of ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'' pretty much consists of this. Governor LePetomane's mob are unable to distinguish between a flat set and the real town, the fight spills across at least two other completely unrelated sound stages and the Sheriff and Waco Kid find themselves out in the street, and go to the cinema to see how it ends... which is where they two of them appear back on screen to Count Basie.....
== [[Literature]] ==
* The main character of Peter David's ''[[Sir Apropos of Nothing]]'' has the epiphany early on that he's a supporting character in the storybook world around him. He's not pleased and sets out to change this.
* At one point in ''[[The Illuminatus Trilogy]]'', a character pens a scathing review of a book that seems strikingly similar to ''[[Illuminatus]]'' itself:
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* In his ''Zamonia'' novels, [[Walter Moers]] has pretty much declared the fourth wall to be a floor. The books contain a note, that Walter Moers is not actually the author of the book, but actually just a translator and editor. The original scripts have been written by Hildegunst von Mythenmetz (Optimus Yarnspinner in english versions), his [[Author Avatar]] who is an author in the world of Zamonia. However, Hildegunst has the habbit of not simply writing down the story he is telling, but constantly interrupting it and adressing his reader. These parts are so numerous that Moers left them all in when he made the translation. Hildegunst is a [[Bunny Ears Lawyer|Bunny Ears Author]] who rants about nonsense and fictional events, but is himself a satire of the modern literature scene. Hildegunst is leaning very heavily on the fourth wall at all times, but it is explained by him actually adressing his Zamonian readers and not the real world readers.
* In [[Jack Campbell]]'s ''[[The Lost Fleet]]'' novel ''Invicible'', Geary muses about the unrealistic cover that would probably be put on books about his life. He describes the covers the series actually got.
* ''[[Bored of the Rings]]'' doesn't just lean on the fourth wall, at times it seems like the fourth wall is actively propping the book up. For instance, there is the prophecy with which Bromosel arrives at the Council of Orlon: "Five-eleven's your height, one-eighty's your weight/You cash in your chips around page eighty-eight." {{spoiler|It's off by only a few pages.}}
== [[Live
* Late in the
{{quote|'''Norm''': She left halfway through the Godzilla series.
'''Woody''': [http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1912597_1912596_1912583,00.html I don't understand, why would an actress leave right in the middle of a successful series?] }}
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"So are we going to be Wednesdays at 10 every week?"
"No, we're actually going to be Wednesday at 10 for a week, then take a week off, then we'll be Wednesdays at 9." }}
** In another episode, one of the lawyers was so ecstatic at being re-hired by the firm, that he burst into song. The song? [[Diegetic Theme
** Stars William Shatner and James Spader often have dialog that alludes to their previous film and television roles. For example, Shatner's character reacts with anxiety when he hears about salmon parasites known as "cling-ons," and Spader remarks to Shatner—while both are dressed as flamingos—that he looks "pretty in pink."
** At one point William Shatner's character say: "I'm Denny Crane! I once owned my own spaceship!"
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* In one episode of ''[[Kamen Rider Hibiki]]'', the titular hero is seen telling some customers at the restaraunt where he works about this movie that "just came out the other day". He describes it as a period piece about "this group of really cool warriors", or something along those lines. The day before the episode aired, [[The Movie]], ''Kamen Rider Hibiki & The Seven Fighting Demons'', which takes place in Japan's Warring States era, premiered in theaters.
== [[Music]] ==
Not that music really has much of a [[Fourth Wall]] to begin with, but...
* During the 2012 Grammys, [[Taylor Swift]] switched a line in her song "Mean" to read "Someday, I'll be singing this at the Grammys..."
* On the song "[https://soundcloud.com/fatpossum/004-just-lay-still Just Lay Still]", John Congleton sings "...an unrelenting bass drum beat; a stubbornly persistent backbeat" while accompanied by a prominent bass drum beat that spans the entire song.
==
* ''[[FoxTrot]]'' is all over this trope, usually to make comments about his own writing/drawing process.
* ''[[FoxTrot]]'' is all over this trope. As a sterling example, the last set of dailies is Roger and Andy talking about how, after 19 years, a "major cartoonist" is moving his strip to be [[Sunday Strip]]-only. They even suggest ways in which said cartoonist could go out and thank his fans. Andy even gets in a good [[Lampshade Hanging]] in response to one of Roger's suggestions: "And break the fourth wall? Not likely."▼
▲*
** Not even the move to [[Sunday Strip]]-only stopped these from coming. The strip for July 18, 2010 depicted Jason trying to decide which costume to wear for Comic-Con; showing him dressed up as [[Pokémon (anime)|Pikachu]], [[The Lord of the Rings|Gandalf]], [[Batman]], [[Star Wars|Chewbacca]], [[Super Mario Brothers|Mario]], and a generic [[Tron]] character. When Peter suggests he goes as a [[Newspaper Comic]] character, Jason complains that he doesn't have a costume for that.▼
▲{{quote|'''Jason:''' Come on, Paige, what are the odds of a geek like me saying anything negative?
* ''[[Candorville]]'' takes a darker-than-usual approach to this, as shown on the quotes page.▼
▲'''Paige:''' I'd say something like the chances of George Lucas letting a cartoonist see the movie early so he could write about it in more than vague, noncommittal terms.
* ''[[Sally Forth (syndicated strip)|Sally Forth]]'' had Ted declare that they shouldn't do a "middle-aged couple gets overwhelmed by social media plot." When asked why he said "plot," Ted answered, "Sometimes I like to imagine my life as a series of week-long story arcs, and I want each one to be gold."▼
▲'''Jason:''' ...Well, I wouldn't go THAT far.
▲'''Paige:''' Okay, so there's a TINY chance that you didn't like it. }}
▲:*
▲** Not even the move to
▲* ''[[Candorville]]'' takes a darker-than-usual approach to this, as shown on the quotes page.{{context|We should also show it here.}}
▲* ''[[Sally Forth (syndicated strip)|Sally Forth]]'' had Ted declare that they shouldn't do a "middle-aged couple gets overwhelmed by social media plot
==
* [[Triple H]] likes to do this. In his WWF Attitude (video game) intro, he speaks to the player as "that fat-ass guy sitting on the couch." He thinks [[Edge]] is a smart guy. "Marrying the boss to get ahead in the business? That's genius!" Throw in his partner-in-crime [[Shawn Michaels]] and they nearly break the wall down, from a baby photo with [[Triple H]]'s head [[Stylistic Suck|poorly photoshopped on]] to wondering who got Vince's daughter pregnant.
** Also during the writer's strike when [[Triple H]] came out, made a bad joke and then remarked "Who writes this stuff? Oh yeah, they're on strike!"
* On October 10, 2011, [[Michael Cole]] said that he got a ton of Twitter posts and emails about how everybody missed him. When [[Jerry Lawler]] challenged him to show him ''one'' of these, he mentioned somebody named "Sean C" who sent him one of these. Michael Cole's real name is Sean Couthard.
== [[Radio]] ==
* The [[Big Finish Doctor Who]] adventure ''Legend of the Cybermen'' has the Doctor and his companions Jamie and Zoe trapped in The Land of Fiction, where they are constantly being tricked into narrating their actions, with a segment where Jamie finds himself in a sound-studio, reading his dialogues from a script while a {{spoiler|Cyber}}man tells him to emote more.
** Also from that adventure:
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{{quote|'''Nobody No-One:''' How do you know if you yourself haven't been travelling through a universe only consisting of written language and sound for decades?}}
== [[Theater]] ==
* ''[[Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead]]'' plays with the fourth wall a lot. The first scene centers on the characters flipping a coin ninety times in a row and it comes up heads every time. Guildenstern comes quite close to realizing that the reason this is happening is because they are fictional characters and the result of every coin-flip is determined by the author, not by chance; but he never quite figures it out.
** This sort of [[Meta Fiction|meta-commentary]] on the nature of [[Theater]] is pretty much the whole point of the play, really—especially the part where Guildenstern {{spoiler|"kills" the Player}}.
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'''Jean:''' There's one playing now. [[Breaking the Fourth Wall|both turn to stare at the audience]] Take advantage of it. }}
== [[Video Games]] ==
* At one point in ''[[Metal Gear Solid]] [[Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty|2: Sons of Liberty]]'', Snake lectures Raiden about how computer simulated violence (i.e. video game violence) is completely unlike violence in real life, unintentionally discussing the argument that violent video games contribute to real life violence.
** "I'm a whole different game from Liquid!" yells Solidus. Later, immediately after the penultimate boss battle, he warns the player that there's going to be a lot of cutscenes coming up by promising Raiden, "No more games".
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* Of all games, [[FIFA Soccer]] 2012 does this. Martin Tyler and Alan Smith comment casually on the fact that the players' passing looks like the players are part of a computer game if they're timed right and accurate enough.
* When Milenna is released for a DLC for ''[[Mortal Kombat 11]]'', she finds a subtle way to thank her fans, telling Erron Black, "A million souls cried out for my return." This was a reference to the #WeWantMileena petition on Twitter which had around that many signatures.
* When the demon protagonists of post-apocalyptic and very non-traditional jRPG ''[[Last Armageddon]]'' find "Fantasy Land", a jRPG styled theme park left behind by the departed humans, they express confusion at how the humans would ever find doing the (robot) king's quests fun.
== Web Comics ==
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{{quote|'''Schlock:''' I think [the chin] looks cool. Kinda heroic, like it belongs in a comic book or something.
'''Narrator:''' For the sake of the fourth wall, the chin's coming off. }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130613093652/http://girlyyy.com/go/760 This page] of [[Girly]]: "These dickweeds sure can't get enough of it, all this swirly pitch blackness..." "It's probably because [[Lazy Artist|it's so easy to draw]]... [''next panel''] [[Cue Card Pause|our attention with it]]."
* In ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', Tarquin ([[Dangerously Genre Savvy]] already) calls out the readers when {{spoiler|Thog turns out to be the arena champion.}}
{{quote|'''Tarquin:''' It's weird no matter how many people he kills, the audience still thinks he's lovable.}}
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* Discussed (sort of) in [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1910/ this] ''[[Dinosaur Comics]]'' strip {{spoiler|wherein God notices the fact that time passes in panels and mentions it, then when questioned about what he meant, insists that he doesn't know and neither should T-Rex}}.
* [http://nekothekitty.smackjeeves.com/comics/940008/693-action-drama-suspense/Neko the Kitty]{{Dead link}} occasionally talks to a pretend audience in-comic. In later strips he also appears outside of the comic panels to deliver an additional sign-off gag.
* In ''[[Question Duck]]'', when the duck and main human character return with [[Wild Hair]] after [[Schedule Slip]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20130607160459/http://questionduck.smackjeeves.com/comics/1387643/277/ another character asked where they had been.] (This is only the third time in this strip that someone other than the duck has spoken.)
* Nadine in ''[[Demolition Squad]]'' does this from time to time, pointing out that she has completed the SAME year in school three or four times over, that she is an unrelated teenager below the age of majority freeloading at the principal characters' apartment for no clearly explained reason, that he would do well not to mention this is a job interview, that she has been wearing the same outfit for several years, and so on.
* Happens early on in ''[[I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space]]''
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* Done in an episode of ''[[Potter Puppet Pals]]'' where Harry says towards the end, "...leave a comment, or submit a video response. And remember to subscribe!" It is presumed he's saying it to the audience before the camera cuts to Ron and Hermione, who look very confused.
==
* The ''[[Justice League]]'' episode "Wild Cards" ends with Hawkgirl and Green Lantern kissing, resolving the [[UST]] that had developed between them since the first season. This is followed by the voiceover of an old woman saying "It's about time!" The camera cuts to show that this is the same old woman who has been playing a slot machine since the beginning of the episode, and she just hit the jackpot.
** Earlier in the episode, Joker announces that the League is being timed on how quickly they can defuse the bombs. A "digital clock" appears on screen and starts the clock ticking at 22:51, the typical run time of the show straight. He then comments "Oh, what were you expecting from me; a ''round number?''" Later he looks at the clock and comments that there isn't a lot of time. Sure he's breaking the fourth wall on his [[Show Within a Show]], but he's leaning on ours as well.
** In ''[[Justice League Unlimited]]'' [[Green Arrow]] makes an entrance where he [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GMbeQe0klA&feature=related sings along with his own theme song.]
* ''[[South Park]]'' has a funeral for Chef in-show, where Kyle seems to be discussing the out-of-show reasons why the late Isaac Hayes chose to leave the program. Kyle expresses his fondness for Chef, and it's clear that he's also expressing the writers' fondness for Hayes.
** The beginning of the 200th episode has Kyle and Cartman exchanging insults. Stan tells them to stop, saying "all you're doing is rehashing a bunch of old stuff!"
** The 201st episode had the boys saying that it was silly people would care more about knowing who Cartman's father is than showing Muhammad. He is in fact referring to the show's fanbase.
* In the ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]'' TV show, when [[Stan Lee]]'s resident [[Author Avatar]] for the show hears Spidey's comment on how catchy ''Amazing Spider-Man'' (the original title for the comics in their earliest incarnation) sounds, he promptly writes it down, saying that it could be big. Then Spidey says that it would be less than [[The Spectacular Spider-Man|spectacular.]]
* In ''[[The Boondocks]]
* ''[[Futurama]]'' pushes this as far as it can go in ''Bender's Big Score'' with the Fox...er, [[Fictional Counterpart|"Box Network"]]. After being told that ''Futur--''... Planet Express has been uncancelled, Leela stands in front of a pile of ventilation machines and asks "but what does this mean for our many fans?".
** "It means we're back on the air! ... Yes! Flying on the air in our mighty spaceship!"
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** In ''The Beast With A Billion Backs'':
{{quote|'''Harold Zoid''': I got a part in a fancy DVD-movie! It's only one line but I'm gonna ham it up like you wouldn't believe!}}
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]'' is surprisingly shy with these, perhaps because creator [[Matt Groening]] was adamant about the show maintaining its own reality and not resorting to fourth wall gags. Still, a few nods slip through. In the first clip show, Bart abruptly sets up a clip of an Itchy and Scratchy episode, which has nothing to do with what is being talked about. After it plays, Marge asks Bart why he brought that up. Bart replies, "It was an amusing episode.... ''of our lives''."
** In the same episode, Grampa
** And when they think the family is cured of its dysfunction, Lisa muses "Could this be an end to our series ... of events?"
** When the family watches the "Mr. Plow commercial" on a bad channel in the graveyard time slot.
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{{quote|'''Jay:''' And if you ever want to visit ''my'' show --
'''Bart:''' Nah, we're not going to be doing that. }}
** There's [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090710013658/http%3A//www.snpp.com/guides/meta.html a list of all of the meta-references on ''The Simpsons'' at SNPP
** In [[The Movie]], Homer complains about paying money to see the Itchy and Scratchy movie when they could have seen the same stuff on TV for free, and declares everyone in the theater to be a huge sucker. Especially... *points at the camera* you!
** Part 1 of ''Who Shot Mister Burns?'' ends with the following:
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{{quote|'''Jenny''': This is your last chance to back down, Tuck.
'''Brad''': Yeah, once you [[Jumping the Shark|jump that shark]] the show's over. }}
* ''[[Family Guy]]'' does this
* ''[[Ben 10: Alien Force]]'' has an example which combines this with [[Development Gag]]<ref>"Hero Generation" was the working title for Alien Force</ref>
{{quote|'''Kevin''': This is the stupidest show ever.
'''Ben''': This isn't a good one to start with. It's not Sumo Slammers Classic; it's Sumo Slammers: Hero Generation! It's a sequel to the original series, but they kinda messed it up. It's set five years in the future and the bad guy is friends with the good guy. }}
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** In the same episode, Cyborg mentions that they are in the first episode of the fourth season of the program they got trapped in. They were indeed on the first episode of the fourth season on their own series.
* An episode of ''[[Jimmy Two-Shoes]]'' has Jimmy saying "I'm glad everything worked out, 'cause usually 'bout this point in the story something goes really wrong." No points for guessing what happens next.
* An episode of the
** One of the episodes from the "Six Forgotten Warriors" arc has Spider-Man give us this wonderful line:
{{quote|"[[Take Over the World]], Kingpin? Now you're starting to sound like a Saturday-Morning '''cartoon''' villain!"}}
** Over in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'', Doc Ock has tired of the [[You Fight Like a Cow]] quips and asks Spider-Man why he won't just shut up already. Spidey smartasses back that his fans "expect a certain amount of quippage every battle."
* Episode 19 of ''[[Scooby
* In the eleventh episode of ''[[Young Justice (animation)|Young Justice]]'' Conner gets angry at M'Gann, when she's trying to help him with his daddy issues, and states that they "don't live in a fantasy world where all problems are solved in 30 minutes."
* In the ''[[X-Men: Evolution]]
* [[Hawkeye]] joined the Avengers in ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes]]'' after helping foil the Leader's plan to turn everyone in the world into gamma-irritated monsters. Part of his foiling involved turning four infected Avengers back to their normal selves. The very next episode saw him having to free four Avengers (three of which had previously succumbed to gamma-powered transformations) from the clutches of the Masters of Evil. Once all the heroes reunited, Hawkeye remarked, "I'm not so sure I wanna be part of a team I have to rescue every week."
* On ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'', Doofenshmirtz engages in [[Conversational Troping]] by comparing the misunderstanding between him and his daughter to a crazy sitcom. Then he says, "This isn't a sitcom, [[This Is Reality|this is real life]]!" He and Perry then [[Aside Glance|glance uncomfortably in the direction of the audience.]]
* Used once in ''[[Recess]]'' when Gretchen wins a NASA contest because of her essay, and thinks she's going to be going on the space shuttle. This comes to T.J.'s attention,
{{quote|'''T.J.:''' Gretchen! You're an astronaut, not a cartoon character!}}
* ''[[Transformers Generation 1]]'' has a couple of episodes with scenes that seem to make a reference to this being a [[Market-Based Title]] where the characters are representations of toys. In one episode, several members of the cast wind up in a child's bedroom on an alien planet with a technology level similar to ours, but where the inhabitants are much larger; thus they are the size of the child's other toys. In another episode, Optimus Prime needs to load a bomb into a gun in order to dispose of it, with Megatron's alternate form being the ideal weapon, but Megatron is injured and cannot transform; Prime does so ''manually'', much like one would with a Transformers action figure.
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