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Line 4: In police shows, this role may be filled by a snitch. In [[Conspiracy Thriller\|shows involving conspiracies]], the mysterious informant is usually an anonymous insider. In [[Speculative Fiction]], this role is often filled by psychics and prophets. The [[Trope Maker]] and a major inspiration for [[Stock Shout Out~~\|Stock Shout Outs~~]]s is Deep Throat, the ''Washington Post'''s mysterious informant during the Watergate scandal that drove US President [[Richard Nixon]] out of office. [[Truth in Television\|The real-life Deep Throat]], being [[Properly Paranoid]], did in fact deliver vague, cryptic information in the dead of night in a parking garage and take other extreme precautions against being discovered. Compare and contrast [[Mysterious Employer]]: he tells the characters what to do, but provides minimal information. Line 34: * An episode of ''[[Lois and Clark]]'' featured a constantly coughing informant called "Sore Throat". When Perry asked him to give them more information he said "What, like 'follow the money'? I never understood that." One episode guide refers to him as "[[Older Than They Think\|an obvious parody of Deep Throat in The X-Files]]". * Sporty James from ''[[Hunter]]'' TV series. Not very mysterious though. * The [[Mysterious Informant]] shows up, and is subverted, in the ''[[Frasier]]'' episode "Three Days of the Condo." A secretive figure approaches Frasier in the car garage of his apartment building and urges him to stand as a candidate against the current chair of the condo board in the upcoming election. When Frasier asks why his informant insists on remaining anonymous, the figure replies that he's redecorating his bathroom and doesn't want his bidet request to be denied. Then he gets in his car and zooms away. {{quote\|'''Frasier''': That would work better without the vanity plates, Dr. Dorfman.}} ** Later in the episode, Frasier's [[Mysterious Informant]] sends him an "anonymous" letter saying the building tenants are supporting Frasier. {{quote\|'''Daphne''': Wouldn't this be more anonymous if it didn't say, 'From the desk of Doctor William M. Dorfman'?}} * This trope was parodied in ''[[Happy Days]]'' when Milwaukee is in the midst of a bitter garbage strike and Richie is investigating a story about it. Fonzie says he has a source, but since he wants to be anonymous, he will only appear as a silhouette on a window blind standing outside to give yes or no signs to questions. When he steps forward, Richie notes that it is obviously Al, but Fonz insists that Richie plays along. Reluctantly, he cooperates with his questions until Al forgets himself and answers a question by talking. Now with the silliness completely pointless, Richie opens the blind and the two finish their conversation normally. Line 50: == [[Western Animation]] == * ''[[The Simpsons (animation)\|The Simpsons]]'' parodied this in one episode with a trenchcoat-wearing, cigarette-smoking Mr. Smithers. * ''[[Family Guy]]'' has also had one, with the shadowed [[Mysterious Informant]] obviously being [[The Muppet Show\|Kermit The Frog]]. In another episode where they had become a reality TV family and Meg was kicked out of the family for being boring, Peter and Lois met her in this fashion, complete with offering her a cigarette. * ''[[Hey Arnold!]]'': In [[The Movie]], there was a principal character who was impersonating "Deep Voice", a reference to "Deep Throat". This character also wore a trenchcoat and used a voice simulator. {{spoiler\|It was really Helga Pataki.}} * Used in ''[[The Fairly ~~Odd Parents~~OddParents]]'' when Tootie gives Timmy's parents information about her sister Vicky's evil deeds under the alias of "[[Shout-Out\|Deep Toot]]" (the name of which Timmy's dad finds hilarious). * [[Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep"\|The Mole]] in ''[[Ozzy and Drix]]''. He's not entirely sane. == [[Real Life]] == * [[Truth in Television\|Real-life example]] and [[~~Trope Makers\|~~Trope Maker]]: "Deep Throat", the Watergate informant whose identity (William Mark Felt Sr.) was only recently revealed. So ubiquitous, nearly every [[Mysterious Informant]] is either an outright reference/parody, or at least has some aspects gleaned from Deep Throat. However, some aspects of the trope draws heavily from the [[Popcultural Osmosis]] of ''[[All the President's Men\|All the Presidents Men]]''; the real-life Deep Throat's identity was a mystery to the general public, but Bob Woodward knew exactly who he was talking to. {{reflist}} [[Category:Characters As Device]] [[Category:~~Mysterious Informant~~{{PAGENAME}}]] [[Category:Messenger Tropes]]