History Main / AirVentPassageway

* Also used in ''In the Name of Evil,'' but thankfully without the maze.

* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2'' ups the ante on the danger posed by the killer animatronics by including a pair of vents leading right to the security room, which you also have to keep an eye on.
** Continued in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys3'', but this time you are able to shut off individual vents to slow the animatronic's progress. However, they tend to malfunction constantly, giving you {{Hallucinations}} if not careful.
** In ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddysSisterLocation'', however, it seems ''you'' will be the one doing this instead.

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Noah uses air vents in the process of hunting a magical creature, and the trope is discussed in the commentary. And Noah also does it to ''get around school''! Raven has to shout at him to use the door.

* ''Webcomic/{{Banished}}'': To escape from the Boscis base, Rak and Timbo follow a Mammazon out this way.
* ''Webcomic/CharbyTheVampirate'': When Tony was cornered near a door he couldn't use inside the hunters' headquarters (since as an alp he can only leave the building the same way he entered it) he took possession of a rat monster to take the vents to where he needed to go.
* Justified in ''Webcomic/{{Curvy}}'' when used by a native of [[PlanetOfHats Candy World]] who is actually a ''liquorice''-based organism: she can squeeze into places a normal human wouldn't be able to. In fact, in the immediately previous page she's seen squeezing through the bars of a prison cell.
* In ''Webcomic/TheMotleyTwo'', the spaceship "Hiroja" has vents big enough that the characters can sneak around the entire ship with impunity. Perria Makara, who snuck aboard undetected, even sleeps quite comfortably in the vents (near the heating unit).
* ''[[Webcomic/MetroidThirdDerivative Metroid: Third Derivative]]'': Samus with the Morph Ball up until [[TheCorruption Phazon corruption]] damaged her Varia Suit and required emergency repairs destroying the Morph Ball in the process.
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by the DeadpanSnarker in the improvisational comic ''The Omega Key'' on [[http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Omega_Key/index.php?p=229585 this page]], where he finds it suspiciously convenient that he (a ''6'10"'' man) can fit in an air duct. (He was right, as the destination turned out to be a trap.)
* In ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'', Jardin {{lampshade|Hanging}}s [[http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider031.html the lack of handy vents.]]

Compare AbsurdlySpaciousSewer for a similar trope which takes place beneath buildings rather than in them.

* Like the opening of season 1, the opening of season 2 of ''Anime/GhostInTheShellStandAloneComplex'' is all about showing off the awesome skills of Section 9 while providing a reason for the unit's reactivation. The regular SWAT unit attempts an assault on the Chinese embassy through the air vents, but spectacularly fails with one officer dead and another being added to the terrorists' hostages. Seeing these poor results, his superiors immediately give Aramaki the green light to send in his team and get the job done.

* ''Film/TenCloverfieldLane''. When Michelle wakes up trapped in the bunker, she doesn't try to use the air vent as the hatch is too small, though she does light a fire in there to get Howard to open the door. Later the air filtration system stops working, and Michelle is the only one small enough to crawl through the vent to fix it (the door to the room is jammed). It's extremely cramped; Michelle doesn't crawl through it so much as she inches her way into it. This is played for drama [[spoiler: when she makes her escape through the vent and Howard (who's much too big to fit in the vent himself, tries to kill her by stabbing a knife through the duct.]]

* Lampshaded in ''FanFic/ChildOfTheStorm,'' wherein Clint (and later, Bucky) like to crawl around in them to get into HYDRA bases (or in Clint's case, just because he likes crawling around in the Avengers Tower ones). Tony freaked out the first time. Now, being [[TheGadfly Tony]], he still likes to pretend he has no idea of what's going on and send his robots to flush them out. Bucky notes that they'd be amazed at how many HYDRA bases he's broken into, a point he's apparently previously made to Harry. [[PersonOfMassDestruction Harry]], however, prefers [[DynamicEntry making his]] [[StuffBlowingUp own doorways]]. Or [[RefugeInAudacity using Doctor Strange as a chauffeur.]] As he loftily puts it, "One makes a statement, the other is economical.”

* Attempted by [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-39820263 these students in Australia]] when stealing an exam paper. The air duct bit worked, but the tutor was working late.

* Lampshaded in ''FanFic/ChildOfTheStorm,'' wherein Bucky and Clint like to crawl around in them to get into HYDRA bases (or in Clint's case, just because he likes crawling around in the Avengers Tower ones). Tony, being [[TheGadfly Tony]], likes to pretend he has no idea of what's going on and send his robots to flush them out. Harry, however, prefers [[DynamicEntry making his]] [[StuffBlowingUp own doorways]].

* The main characters use this method of travel at one point in '[[Literature/HIVESeries H.I.V.E.]]'. The trope is played a bit more realistically than usual: the vents are not well-lit, the characters are concerned about the noise they're making, their route has some difficult paths and "obstacles", and there's some mention of the effect that crawling along a cramped space would have. When entering the vents, they have to use a screwdriver to remove the grille. The only reason they don't get lost is because of Otto's uncanny ability to remember their route. However, they oddly don't have any difficulty removing the exit grille (and due to the exit's location, there was no way they could have checked it beforehand). There's also no excuse for the lack of security cameras in the air vents, given they're big enough to crawl through.

* Justified in ''Videogame/StyxMasterOfShadows''. Styx, being a goblin significantly smaller than a human, can crawl through many Ventilation shafts and pipes that are way too small for a human. [[spoiler: Although this may sound like security overlook, but when the Atrium was built, there was no such thing in existence as a goblin.]]

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Asuka, Rei, and Shinji were forced to use this route to get into the Geo-Front during a power outage when none of the doors would open. The air vent entrance also {{Lampshaded}} the MaleGaze when Asuka kept kicking Shinji for "looking ahead." Later in the episode, we are treated to the sight of ''HumongousMecha'' escaping via (humongous) air ducts. The geofront itself is an immense underground open space, hence the need for extremely large duct shafts to the surface to keep the air fresh.

* In ''Manga/YuGiOhR'', Jounouchi and Honda avoid some {{Mooks}} this way. {{Lampshaded}} by Jou, who complains about how claustrophobic it is and keeps getting accidentally kicked in the face by Honda.

* {{Lampshaded}} in the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio adventure "The Apocalypse Element".

* The absurdly spacious ones in Arkham are viciously {{Lampshaded}} in the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' fic ''FanFic/BruceHasAProblem''; evidently they were originally dog runs put in by a director who thought dogs would have mental healing properties, abandoned when the director died in a dog-petting accident. They were then repurposed as vents by another director, who was looking to cut costs to fund a step pyramid he was building.

* In the ''Literature/HarryPotter'' [[AlternateUniverse AU]] series ''FanFic/TheDarknessSeries'', Harry uses this when doing spy work at Riddle Manor [[spoiler: [[JustifiedTrope in snake form.]]]]

* The heroes use these to break into the base in the ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutron'' fanfic ''FanFic/TheOtherSideOfTomorrow''.

* {{Lampshaded}} near the start of ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' when Korso tells Cale to head for the vents. Cale responds sarcastically that no one would think to look for them there.

** Used quite famously in the [[Film/DieHard first film]]: the villains quickly realize the hero John is using the ventilation system, and come perilously close to catching him inside. Also {{Lampshaded}} in that John [=McClane=] is rather muscular and the vents are small; he remarks, "Now I know what a TV dinner feels like." Plus, he gets really dirty.

* Another ''[=MST3K=]'' film, ''Film/FutureWar'', subverts this trope. A minor character climbs into a air vent to avoid a rampaging killer cyborg. The vent promptly collapses through the ceiling under the weight of her average-sized body and she gets killed.

* Subverted and {{Lampshade H|anging}}ung in ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle'', when Kumar calls in an incident as a diversion and crawls through a heating duct to get Harold out of jail, making a racket, having an argument with Harold (who doesn't want to escape) while still in the duct, getting stuck in it and eventually causing the duct to collapse, falling onto a table and hitting his head on a file cabinet. He does manage to grab the bag of weed and get Harold out due to {{Lampshade H|anging}}ung PoliceBrutality, though.

* In the HBO Movie ''Deadly Voyage'' (depicting the murder of 8 African stowaways on a Europe-bound cargo ship), the 9th stowaway manages to to escape from the ship and his would-be killers by shimmying up one of these. Made all the more harrowing by the fact that movie is based on a true story and that this isn't AdaptationDisplacement--this is EXACTLY how the man was able to get away.

** The obese officer "House" {{Lampshades}} it when he complains about having to take the stairs (when one infiltration team got to take the elevator [[JanitorImpersonationInfiltration while disguised as maintenance personnel]]) and is reminded that he was offered the vents.

* Used and {{Lampshaded}} in Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/ChroniclesOfChaos Fugitives Of Chaos]]'', Vanity--who has the power to find-slash-create hidden passages--finds an accessible air vent.

* Used in the last two books of Creator/TimothyZahn's ''Literature/{{Dragonback}}'' series; the (less-than-subtle) justification is that large air vents are actually standard design in capital ships, so that in the event of a hull breach emergency air supplies can be funneled to the compromised areas in large amounts, buying the occupants time to reach emergency air masks and so on. Although humans can't fit through them as it is, so it can almost be call a {{Lampshading}}. Shontine/K'da ships are actually ''designed'' for the stealthy, compressible K'da to be able to move through in case of hostile takeover, and a human sourly remarks that he outgrew the ability to navigate even big ships' navigation ducts when he was seven. When a K'da takes to those vents for the first time she gets thoroughly lost; in a later escapade she's almost caught when her tail twitches in shock enough to thump a vent.

* Both played straight and subverted in Creator/JohnRingo's ''[[Literature/PaladinOfShadows Choosers Of The Slain]]''. They need to sneak into the secure facility of one of the bad guys, so (played straight) they pick the slimmest girl on the team, as the men on the team are too large especially wearing all their weapons. Subverted because they knew she would get stuck half-way down when the air vents narrowed, so her sole job was to get to that point and release a small robot (an R2-D2 toy they had picked up in a toy store and then modified to include surveillance and communications gear) which could go the rest of the way.

* Subverted and {{Lampshaded}} in ''[[Literature/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineRelaunch Star Trek: Section 31: Abyss]]''. After escaping her cell, Ezri Dax goes up into an air vent, which (contrary to what the holonovels of her youth would have her believe) is very dirty, dark, small and has creepy things living in it. (She is, however, successful in using the air vents to move throughout the base to important rooms.)

* Averted and {{Lampshaded}} in Creator/SergeyLukyanenko's ''Literature/{{Competitors}}'', when Valentin and Lena are confined to quarters in a SpaceStation. When Valentin suggests escaping via the air vents, Lena laughs that he watches too many movies and points out that the vents are barely a foot wide. Valentin's suggestion to set off the fire alarm has Lena point out that this would cause the quarters to be depressurized to contain the fire.

** Played straight in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E2TheTenthPlanet The Tenth Planet]]''. Ben even has a ''map'', albeit one drawn by the man who designed the ventilation system.
** Also played straight in the Third Doctor episode, ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E2InvasionOfTheDinosaurs Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'', where Sarah Jane is locked in a closet and escapes through an air duct.
** Used straight in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS12E2TheArkInSpace The Ark in Space]]'' (albeit realistically: Sarah Jane Smith is the only one small enough to fit and even she get stuck).
*** This got a CallBack in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS13E5TheBrainOfMorbius The Brain of Morbius]]'': The Doctor finds an improbably tiny vent. Sarah asks, "Are you suggesting I--" "--No, I'm ''not'' suggesting you climb down there!" the Doctor snaps. Instead, he uses it to send poison gas to Dr. Solon, who's in the next room.
** In ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS15E4TheSunMakers The Sun Makers]]'', the Doctor rescues Leela from a PublicExecution by steaming by crawling through the steam vent.
** Used by the Fourth Doctor and company in Tom Baker's second Dalek story ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E1DestinyOfTheDaleks Destiny of the Daleks]]'' -- notable for the Doctor pausing to mock the Daleks' inability to follow them...

** {{Deconstructed|Trope}} in the episode ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E9TheSatanPit The Satan Pit]]''; Rose suggests escaping through the maintenance ducts, to which Security Officer Jefferson replies: "[[ActorAllusion I appreciate the reference]][[note]]Danny Webb, who plays the role, also appeared in ''Film/{{Alien 3}}''[[/note]], but there's no ventilation. No air, in fact, at all. They were designed for machines, not life forms." They're able to escape through them anyway, though, by manipulating the air-pressure controls to "flood" certain ducts.
** The Doctor and companions use one of these to escape from Area 51 in the animated special ''[[Recap/DoctorWho2009ASDreamland Dreamland]]''. The Doctor {{Lampshades}} their captor's [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] GenreBlindness.

** Done to the point of being {{Lampshaded}} in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist Time Heist]]''. All the vents have the warning "No Entry Under Any Circumstances". The Doctor and crew entirely ignore said notices.

* The frequent use of this trope in its [[Series/DoctorWho parent show]] is {{Lampshaded}} in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' story "Death of the Doctor".

* The unaired pilot ''{{I-Man}}'' subverts and {{Lampshades}} this one: Scott Bakula references it as an escape plan... and then finds out that the room only has a regular air vent.

** Famously {{Lampshaded}}:

** {{Lampshaded}} and subverted in an episode. When trapped in an office building, Michael wryly notes that air vents are viable escape routes... if you happen to be size of a four year old. He does state, however, that instead of using air ducts, you can instead use the sub-ceiling of an office building to escape danger.

* {{Lampshaded}} and subverted in ''Series/TheMiddleman'' episode "The Clotharian Contamination Protocol":

* {{Lampshaded} in ''Series/DarkSeason'' episode 5 where Marcie escapes and says, "A ventilation shaft. Marvellous, I'm a cliche."

** {{Lampshaded}}: "Looks like Parker's going to have to climb through the air duct again..." Somewhat justified in that Parker is a) a master thief with an extensive knowledge of building layouts, and b) petite.

* In ''Series/{{Helix}}'', once he escapes from isolation, Dr. Peter Farragut, a research scientist infected with TheVirus, holes up inside the vent systems at the arctic research facility where he works, and {{Exploit|edTrope}}s their extensiveness to make his way around the facility once his RFID chip has been disabled. {{Lampshaded}} by Major Balleseros during an attempt to trail Peter:

** ''Challenge'' magazine #32 adventure "A World On Its Own''. One way for the {{PC}}s to get into the starport is to go through the service ducts for air circulation and electronics lines. The only problems are that most of the ducts are barely large enough for human beings and the chance of getting lost.

* ''Buck Rogers XXV (in the 25th Century)'' adventure [=XXVCA3=] ''Deimos Mandate''. When the pirates attack the [=RAM=] meeting, Mortimer tells the {{PC}}s to enter two air vent ducts and move around using them in order to ambush the pirates.

** {{Lampshaded}} in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Episode 1'' by mentioning that Freeman used to participate in races to break into Dr. Kleiner's office when he locked his keys inside. Naturally, the air vents are now full of headcrabs. And subverted in the same game, where one vent you crawl through collapses, landing in a room filled with ExplodingBarrels and laser-tripwire mines.

** And just because it was such a big part of the first game, in ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', air vents abound, often leading to rooms with a couple of neat little bonuses, or an easy way around the guards. This is even {{Lampshaded}} in an early conversation, where someone asks if the reason you took so long getting to his office is if you got stuck in an air duct. And not too long after, during the first mission, if you sneak in, when asked how he got in, the player character explains that he used the air-duct, and is going to include them in his presentation about security loopholes.

** In the RailShooter prequel ''Extraction'', you do get to crawl through the vents and similar locales several times, but it's {{Lampshaded}} that they are tight, cramped and hard to move quickly in. The fact you only face Leapers and Crawlers in them only makes it worse.

* ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' features a number of extremely large (and life-saving) air vents. {{Lampshaded}} in one instance when Faith does this and a guard can be heard below exclaiming "Wow, the rats must be ''huge'' in here!"

* In [[{{Erie}} Erie]], these adult-man-sized ducts are the player's saving grace. The game heavily consist of sprinting away for your life from mutant monsters and luckily, they can't fit in vents.

* {{Lampshaded}} by the DeadpanSnarker in the improvisational comic ''The Omega Key'' on [[http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Omega_Key/index.php?p=229585 this page]], where he finds it suspiciously convenient that he (a ''6'10"'' man) can fit in an air duct. (He was right, as the destination turned out to be a trap.)
* In ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'', Jardin {{Lampshades}} [[http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider031.html the lack of handy vents.]]

* Played straight in ''Literature/MagicalGirlHunters'' when sneaking into the Mashihaishi Ultra building. The confusing layout is {{Lampshaded}} with Yoi asking directions of other people traveling through the same vent system.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingSpiez'': The title team use this technique in episode "Operation Spy-Sitter".

* {{Lampshaded}} and subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', when Emperor Zurg chews out the designer of his latest evil lair for making the air ducts big enough for heroes to fit through.

* Peter and Brian do this in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', complete with a ShoutOut to ''Film/DieHard''. They don't make it all the way in stealthily, though, Peter's large girth causes the vent to give out and dump them right in the middle of the prom.

** {{Lampshaded}} in ''[[TheMovie Bender's Big Score]]''. While trying to destroy a [[Franchise/StarWars "Death Star"]], Al Gore's head in a jar flies a through an air vent actually ''labeled'' "Achilles' Vent", lasers a-blasting, successfully destroying it.

* Subverted in the ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'' episode "Jimmy in the Big House", when [[IdiotHero Jimmy and Beezy]] tries to get out of prison by going through air vents. Suddenly, a screen pops out and it's a video message from [[EnfantTerrible Heloise]] who lets them know that they have made it far in escaping but in her prison, there is NO ESCAPE! As a result, they are blown out of the air vents by the fans at high speed and back to where they were. In this case, it's probably [[JustifiedTrope justified]] since Heloise probably made the vents that big just to [[ForTheEvulz crush prisoner's hopes for escaping]].

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePenguinsOfMadagascar'': Penguins try this in "Officer X factor", but X swiches the vent on and they fall down the passageway.

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' {{Lampshaded}} this in an ''ComicBook/IronMan'' spoof. Two {{Mooks}} guarding The Mandarin's lair are able to instantly determine that the deafening banging and screeching noises they hear are from Iron Man trying to sneak through the air ducts.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' episode "The Space Piranhas". Jan and Jace infiltrate an enemy base using the ventilation system. {{Lampshaded}} when the BigBad says "As usual, the intruders have taken refuge in the ventilating system".

** Subverted and {{Lampshaded}} in [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS3E18TheCitadel "The Citadel"]]. With the entry point the Jedi wanted to use blocked, Anakin and Obi-Wan muse how to get in, and Ahsoka points on the ventilation hatch. Anakin argues that they're too small to gain access, but in response Ahsoka points out, that they might be too small for Anakin, Obi-Wan and the clones, but she might be able to squeeze through -- which she is, although barely. In the next episode Obi-Wan's entire team tries to escape the Citadel in absurdly spacious airvents. However these had lethally effective security doors, and the warden at least had enough common sense to send at least one drone in the airvents.

* This is a favorite route of the girls in ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'' for breaking in, clearly thanks to MaleGaze.
** Also done in the spinoff ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingSpiez'' though vaguely more realistically due to the characters being 13 (Lee), 12 (Marc and Megan) and 11 (Tony). Even more plausibly the character seen doing this the most is Tony who, due to his young age, would realistically fit.

* The strangely clean air ducts of the SHIELD Helicarrier are {{Lampshaded}} in the ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' episode "For Your Eye Only" which, as a spy movie parody with nods to ''Film/DieHard'', has Spidey using air ducts rather frequently.

* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Asuka, Rei, and Shinji were forced to use this route to get into the Geo-Front during a power outage when none of the doors would open. The air vent entrance also {{lampshade|Hanging}}d the MaleGaze when Asuka kept kicking Shinji for "looking ahead." Later in the episode, we are treated to the sight of ''HumongousMecha'' escaping via (humongous) air ducts. The geofront itself is an immense underground open space, hence the need for extremely large duct shafts to the surface to keep the air fresh.

* In ''Manga/YuGiOhR'', Jounouchi and Honda avoid some {{Mooks}} this way. Lampshaded by Jou, who complains about how claustrophobic it is and keeps getting accidentally kicked in the face by Honda.

* Lampshaded in the ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio adventure "The Apocalypse Element".

* Kei tries this in ''The LightNovel/DirtyPair'' series ''Biohazard''. But she gets stuck when her full, child-bearing hips won't fit. Mmmm. It's a ShoutOut to one of the TV episodes. Also contains Yuri's wonderful 4th-wall-leaning (slash) LampshadeHanging from her outside POV: "Been hitting the cheesecake a little too hard, hmm?"

* The absurdly spacious ones in Arkham are viciously lampshaded in the ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' fic ''FanFic/BruceHasAProblem''; evidently they were originally dog runs put in by a director who thought dogs would have mental healing properties, abandoned when the director died in a dog-petting accident. They were then repurposed as vents by another director, who was looking to cut costs to fund a step pyramid he was building.

* Lampshaded near the start of ''WesternAnimation/TitanAE'' when Korso tells Cale to head for the vents. Cale responds sarcastically that no one would think to look for them there.

** Used quite famously in the [[Film/DieHard first film]]: the villains quickly realize the hero John is using the ventilation system, and come perilously close to catching him inside. Also lampshaded in that John [=McClane=] is rather muscular and the vents are small; he remarks, "Now I know what a TV dinner feels like." Plus, he gets really dirty.

* Subverted and [[LampshadeHanging lampshade hung]] in ''Film/HaroldAndKumarGoToWhiteCastle'', when Kumar calls in an incident as a diversion and crawls through a heating duct to get Harold out of jail, making a racket, having an argument with Harold (who doesn't want to escape) while still in the duct, getting stuck in it and eventually causing the duct to collapse, falling onto a table and hitting his head on a file cabinet. He does manage to grab the bag of weed and get Harold out due to [[LampshadeHanging lampshade-hung]] PoliceBrutality, though.

** The obese officer "House" lampshades it when he complains about having to take the stairs (when one infiltration team got to take the elevator [[JanitorImpersonationInfiltration while disguised as maintenance personnel]]) and is reminded that he was offered the vents.

* Used and lampshaded in Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/ChroniclesOfChaos Fugitives Of Chaos]]'', Vanity--who has the power to find-slash-create hidden passages--finds an accessible air vent.

* Used in the last two books of Creator/TimothyZahn's ''Literature/{{Dragonback}}'' series; the (less-than-subtle) justification is that large air vents are actually standard design in capital ships, so that in the event of a hull breach emergency air supplies can be funneled to the compromised areas in large amounts, buying the occupants time to reach emergency air masks and so on. Although humans can't fit through them as it is, so it can almost be call a lampshading. Shontine/K'da ships are actually ''designed'' for the stealthy, compressible K'da to be able to move through in case of hostile takeover, and a human sourly remarks that he outgrew the ability to navigate even big ships' navigation ducts when he was seven. When a K'da takes to those vents for the first time she gets thoroughly lost; in a later escapade she's almost caught when her tail twitches in shock enough to thump a vent.

* Subverted and lampshaded in ''[[Literature/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineRelaunch Star Trek: Section 31: Abyss]]''. After escaping her cell, Ezri Dax goes up into an air vent, which (contrary to what the holonovels of her youth would have her believe) is very dirty, dark, small and has creepy things living in it. (She is, however, successful in using the air vents to move throughout the base to important rooms.)

* Averted and lampshaded in Creator/SergeyLukyanenko's ''Literature/{{Competitors}}'', when Valentin and Lena are confined to quarters in a SpaceStation. When Valentin suggests escaping via the air vents, Lena laughs that he watches too many movies and points out that the vents are barely a foot wide. Valentin's suggestion to set off the fire alarm has Lena point out that this would cause the quarters to be depressurized to contain the fire.

** The Doctor and companions use one of these to escape from Area 51 in the animated special ''[[Recap/DoctorWho2009ASDreamland Dreamland]]''. The Doctor lampshades their captor's [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] GenreBlindness.

** Done to the point of being lampshaded in ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist Time Heist]]''. All the vents have the warning "No Entry Under Any Circumstances". The Doctor and crew entirely ignore said notices.

* The frequent use of this trope in its [[Series/DoctorWho parent show]] is [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] in ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' story "Death of the Doctor".

* The unaired pilot ''{{I-Man}}'' subverts and {{lampshade|Hanging}}s this one: Scott Bakula references it as an escape plan... and then finds out that the room only has a regular air vent.

** Famously {{lampshade|Hanging}}d:

** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and subverted in an episode. When trapped in an office building, Michael wryly notes that air vents are viable escape routes... if you happen to be size of a four year old. He does state, however, that instead of using air ducts, you can instead use the sub-ceiling of an office building to escape danger.

* Lampshaded and subverted in ''Series/TheMiddleman'' episode "The Clotharian Contamination Protocol":

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''Series/DarkSeason'' episode 5 where Marcie escapes and says, "A ventilation shaft. Marvellous, I'm a cliche."

** Lampshaded: "Looks like Parker's going to have to climb through the air duct again..." Somewhat justified in that Parker is a) a master thief with an extensive knowledge of building layouts, and b) petite.

* In ''Series/{{Helix}}'', once he escapes from isolation, Dr. Peter Farragut, a research scientist infected with TheVirus, holes up inside the vent systems at the arctic research facility where he works, and {{Exploit|edTrope}}s their extensiveness to make his way around the facility once his RFID chip has been disabled. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by Major Balleseros during an attempt to trail Peter:

** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''VideoGame/HalfLife2: Episode 1'' by mentioning that Freeman used to participate in races to break into Dr. Kleiner's office when he locked his keys inside. Naturally, the air vents are now full of headcrabs. And subverted in the same game, where one vent you crawl through collapses, landing in a room filled with ExplodingBarrels and laser-tripwire mines.

** And just because it was such a big part of the first game, in ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'', air vents abound, often leading to rooms with a couple of neat little bonuses, or an easy way around the guards. This is even lampshaded in an early conversation, where someone asks if the reason you took so long getting to his office is if you got stuck in an air duct. And not too long after, during the first mission, if you sneak in, when asked how he got in, the player character explains that he used the air-duct, and is going to include them on his presentation about security loopholes.

** In the RailShooter prequel ''Extraction'', you do get to crawl through the vents and similar locales several times, but it's lampshaded that they are tight, cramped and hard to move quickly in. The fact you only face Leapers and Crawlers in them only makes it worse.

* ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' features a number of extremely large (and life-saving) air vents. Lampshaded in one instance when Faith does this and a guard can be heard below exclaiming "Wow, the rats must be ''huge'' in here!"

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by the DeadpanSnarker in the improvisational comic ''The Omega Key'' on [[http://www.drunkduck.com/The_Omega_Key/index.php?p=229585 this page]], where he finds it suspiciously convenient that he (a ''6'10"'' man) can fit in an air duct. (He was right, as the destination turned out to be a trap.)
* In ''Webcomic/{{Outsider}}'', Jardin [[http://well-of-souls.com/outsider/outsider031.html lampshades the lack of handy vents.]]

* Played straight in ''Literature/MagicalGirlHunters'' when sneaking into the Mashihaishi Ultra building. The confusing layout is lampshaded with Yoi asking directions of other people traveling through the same vent system.

* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'', when Emperor Zurg chews out the designer of his latest evil lair for making the air ducts big enough for heroes to fit through.

** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in ''[[TheMovie Bender's Big Score]]''. While trying to destroy a [[Franchise/StarWars "Death Star"]], Al Gore's head in a jar flies a through an air vent actually ''labeled'' "Achilles' Vent", lasers a-blasting, successfully destroying it.

* ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' {{lampshade|Hanging}}d this in an ''ComicBook/IronMan'' spoof. Two {{Mooks}} guarding The Mandarin's lair are able to instantly determine that the deafening banging and screeching noises they hear are from Iron Man trying to sneak through the air ducts.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGhost'' episode "The Space Piranhas". Jan and Jace infiltrate an enemy base using the ventilation system. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d when the BigBad says "As usual, the intruders have taken refuge in the ventilating system".

** Subverted and lampshaded in [[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS3E18TheCitadel "The Citadel"]]. With the entry point the Jedi wanted to use blocked, Anakin and Obi-Wan muse how to get in, and Ahsoka points on the ventilation hatch. Anakin argues that they're too small to gain access, but in response Ahsoka points out, that they might be too small for Anakin, Obi-Wan and the clones, but she might be able to squeeze through -- which she is, although barely. In the next episode Obi-Wan's entire team tries to escape the Citadel in absurdly spacious airvents. However these had lethally effective security doors, and the warden at least had enough common sense to send at least one drone in the airvents.

* The strangely clean air ducts of the SHIELD Helicarrier are lampshaded in the ''WesternAnimation/UltimateSpiderMan'' episode "For Your Eye Only" which, as a spy movie parody with nods to ''Film/DieHard'', has Spidey using air ducts rather frequently.

* Creator/AndreNorton's Literature/TheZeroStone novel ''Uncharted Stars''. While on the pirate space station Waystar, Murdoc Jern's companion Eet enters the station's air ducts to do some snooping.

* In ''{{Literature/Wander}}'', Wander and Dagger use the airvents [[spoiler:to escape from a nest of smilers set up in an abandoned prison.