History Main / DoNotAdjustYourSet

* Iranian state-run TV was hacked several times in 2022 as part of the protests against the compulsory hijab laws. With the sheer size of the cyber security budget that goes into preventing this sort of thing, the fact that protestors managed to do it more than once was considered a major power move, helping to put dents in the dictatorship's invincible image.
* In Israel in late 2016, an news broadcast [[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/hackers-take-control-israelim-channel-2-tv-broadcast-muslim-call-to-prayer-a7461911.html had its satellites hacked into]], in a protest against proposed laws to limit the volumes of mosque loudspeakers delivering Muslim Adhan prayers.b

Alternatively, it could be demonstrated with a montage of different people around the world watching different channels, which are then replaced by the evil transmission. If played for laughs, most people will probably ignore the message itself and [[PercussiveMaintenance bang the top of the TV set]], hoping to get their programmes back. Of course, this won't work. More blatant examples may attempt a rapid change of channel, only to constantly reveal the same picture. The astonished phrase "He's On Every Station!" will likely be uttered at this point while technicians at the TV stations are shown completely baffled at how the villain has managed to hijack the broadcast. The villain's first act of mildly-annoying evil is complete. Now it's time to tell the world what else he has planned.

* In September 1985, four Polish astronomers working at the University of Torun used a personal computer and privately-owned transmitter to interrupt the Soviet-run television broadcasting with their own messages to promote anti-Communist Solidarność all over the city of Torun. They were soon caught and arrested, but due to their prior contributions to the scientific community, they got away with a fine and probation.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' has Team Flare take over the Holo-casters to announce their planned apocalypse. Justified, as their leader, Lysandre, invented the Holo-caster and runs the networks.

** When Plutonian has apparently been defeated, Survivor gets [[{{Technopath}} Qubit to rig up a device on the spot]] so he can announce the good news to the world.

* ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}''. Plutonian uses a device he captured (when he was still a superhero) from supervillain Modeus that was apparently designed for this trope. Rather than announce an EvilPlan however, he just engages in EvilGloating, telling various civilians who are listening that [[SuperHearing he's overheard them badmouthing him]] just to [[ParanoiaGambit throw a scare into them and everyone else]]. He concludes by saying that this message is a recording, meaning he could be [[RightBehindMe Right Behind You]] at this very moment.

* ''ComicBook/{{Irredeemable}}''. Plutonian uses a device he captured (when he was still a superhero) from supervillain Modeus that was apparently designed for this trope. Rather than announce an EvilPlan however, he just engages in EvilGloating, telling various civilians who are listening that [[SuperHearing he's overheard them badmouthing him]] just to [[ParanoidGambit throw a scare into them and everyone else]]. He concludes by saying that this message is a recording, meaning he could be RightBehindMe at this moment.

->''"Ah, ah ah… Don't touch that remote. I know it's heartbreaking to have your favorite shows preempted, but look what you're getting instead: ''Me!'' And a whole truckload of mindless violence and wanton property damage — ''everything'' that makes TV great! So stay tuned — you won't believe your eyes..."''
-->-- '''ComicBook/TheJoker''', ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'': "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS2E21And22WildCards Wild Cards Part 1]]"

** Brainstorm ''tries'' to do this in an episode of ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'', but [[SubvertedTrope it doesn't work.]]

* Sketch show ''Radio/SonOfCliche'' combines this with GratuitousPanning: this happens in the ''[[Franchise/TheTwilightZone Weird Dimension]]'' sketch, where your stereo radio system is taken over by forces outside of your control. The Guardians of the weird Dimension then tell the listener that adjusting your radio is pointless, as we can take over your left hand speaker.... and we can.... (dead silence).

* Dr. Eggman does the second variation in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'', declaring that he will destroy the world unless its leaders give it to him. Amusingly, he simultaneously takes over ''movie marquees'' during the broadcast to display messages like "Eggman is brilliant, Eggman is handsome" etc. [[spoiler: Then a tape of his late grandfather Gerald Robotnik of the third variation plays in the Last Story, as the ARK falls to Earth.]]

* Hitlerella does this (and quotes a variation of this trope's title) in [[http://nonadventures.com/2011/06/04/immaculate-reception/ this]] ''Webcomic/TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella'' strip. Wonderella is pissed. [[ComicallyMissingThePoint Not because of anything Hitlerella says, though]]. [[FelonyMisdemeanor But she was recording that show!]]

* WebOriginal/TheInnocent: The polish [[EmergencyBroadcast alerts]] always say: ''NIE WYLACZAJ TELEVIZJI!''[[labelnote:translation]] DO NOT TURN OFF YOUR TELEVISION!.[[/labelnote]]

** In "Two-Face," Two-Face uses the phrase to announce his underworld debut, but he gets the quote wrong: "Don't bother adjusting the picture. For the next five minutes, I'M in control!"

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/FriskyDingo''; the program opens with the title theme of ''WesternAnimation/{{Sealab 2021}}'', another 70/30 production, which is then interrupted by Killface as he explains his evil plan to launch the planet Earth into the Sun. Once he's finished, it turns out that he's actually only ''rehearsing'' his speech, and that he hasn't yet raised enough money to interrupt the worldwide TV signals. Killface's inability to afford this (as his USC Film school grad abductees note, it would cost about 20 billion dollars) puts much of the first season's plot into motion. He ends up settling on...grammatically incorrect postcards to get his message across.

* On ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans2003'', in the TrappedInTVLand episode "Episode 257-494" (AKA "Don't Touch that Dial", appropriately enough), Control Freak does this at the beginning of the episode. It turns out this is part of his scheme, though: he's modified the signal to send waves through people's television sets that turn them into mindless zombies, so that while they're watching him battle the Teen Titans, the TV is literally rotting their brains.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/PinkyAndTheBrain'' episode "Brain's Song", Brain uses this...twice. First, he somehow manages to broadcast a tearjerker (broadcasting ''live'' no less) in order to make everyone in the world chronically depressed so he can easily take over. And for the most part, it works. (Apparently, no one turns off their TV when their favorite show is interrupted for a so-called "true story" about a Football player whose career is ended by career-ending stomach cramps.) Unfortunately for Brain, when he takes over the airwaves again to try and announce his leadership of the world, he finds himself suffering from uncontrollable "post-production jitters" (thanks to his own work in simulating the aforementioned stomach cramps), and thus appears so funny that he inadvertently cures the world's depression. (And creates a new CatchPhrase: I am the O-o-o-overlord!!!!). In another episode, he hijacks television networks as part of a plan to try to replicate the (in)famous Orson Welles War of the Worlds panic. Unfortunately, the quality of his production is so low that everyone thinks that it's hilarious rather than terrifying.

** He also did it again in ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeResolute''. In his message, he demanded UN to surrender their countries to him. To prove the point that [[TookALevelInBadass he's serious]], he [[spoiler:nukes Moscow]].

-->'''Dr. Two-Brains''': "Hello, [=WordGirl=]! ...And I guess anyone else watching this."
* Ed from ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'' does this twice, once actually saying "Do not adjust your set" (Though he was talking to Eddy, who was asking where Edd was, and whom Ed went to retrieve) and the second time actually [[BreakingTheFourthWall turning to the audience]] and saying "Don't touch that dial, kids!"
* The Bakshi ''WesternAnimation/MightyMouse'' cartoon "Don't Touch That Dial," probably CBS's finest ten minutes. The hero is constantly transposed into other cartoon shows at the whim of a diaper-clad toddler. Having enough, Mighty Mouse breaks through the screen, smashes the remote control and delivers a verbal moral smackdown.

* '''Audio outputs temporarily muted. [[SelfDemonstratingArticle Do not adjust the playback volume]]. The content being played is protected by Cinavia and [[UsefulNotes/DigitalRightsManagement is not authorized for playback on this device]].''' Trying to play a video file which happens to have a particular stealth signal in its audio channel will cause this trope 20 minutes after playback. It is supposedly aimed against piracy, but will also hit fair use rights such as on-disk backups of legally owned Blu-Ray disks.

* The Templin Institute is a Website/YouTube channel devoted to analyzing and explaining the lore of alternate worlds, organizations, and figures from science fiction and fantasy. Occasionally, the fourth wall they peer through into these worlds glances right back at them.

* During its original run on NBC, ''WesternAnimation/{{Underdog}} started off with the announcer intoning "Don't touch that dial! Here's some exciting scenes from today's ''Underdog'' show! Let's watch!" Followed by a teaser for the story.

* In Israel in late 2016, an news broadcast [[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/hackers-take-control-israelim-channel-2-tv-broadcast-muslim-call-to-prayer-a7461911.html had its satellites hacked into]], in a protest against proposed laws to limit the volumes of mosque loudspeakers delivering Muslim Adhan prayers.

Yes, no matter what sort of evil scheme he has planned, or how well funded his operation is, since EverythingIsOnline, any Evil Genius worth his salt can just flick a switch, and his image will instantly be transmitted to every TV set in the world, so that he can tell everybody about how [[AllYourBaseAreBelongToUs all their base are belong to him]]. No explanation is ''ever'' given for how he does this, it's just assumed to be something that every {{supervillain}} can do automatically. The device is probably given to them for free upon graduation from Evil Academy (along with a [[SharkPool pool of sharks]] and [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere a pile of kryptonite]]).

* ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'': [[BigBad Lucemon]] broadcasts the message "You will choose to follow me or be destroyed" on every computer, TV, cell phone, etc. screen in Tokyo upon arriving in the human world. However, being from {{Cyberspace}}, his being able to do this is ([[MagicAIsMagicA internally]]) plausible so long as EverythingIsOnline. At the end of the episode, his pummeling of the heroes is replaced by [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the message appearing on your own TV screen.]]

* ''Franchise/DragonBall''

* In ''Anime/SailorMoon'', Galaxia does something like this to tell people of the Earth that they all are going to die, right before the Senshi have their final battle against her. This may also be because of the fact that her base is at a TV station and her minions use the disguise of working for "Ginga TV" when they're searching for Star Seeds.

* ''ComicBook/AllNewWolverine #8'': [[ComicBook/{{SHIELD}} Maria Hill]] wants to tap [[Comicbook/{{X 23}} Wolverine]] for a mission. Laura wants nothing to do with her. So when Maria calls her, Laura refuses to answer her phone. So Hill picks up for her. Laura then warns Gabby not to say anything. So Hill ''puts Laura's phone on speaker''.

* ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman1961'': After murdering Franchise/{{Superman}}, Lex Luthor hacks all radio channels in the world to gloat.

* Pre-television example: The first plot hatched by [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel's]] nemesis Doctor Sivana in UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfComicBooks was a scheme to take over all the world's radio stations to silence them forever.

* Subversion: in ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'', it is explicitly shown how V infiltrates the [[BlandNameProduct BTN]] studios to broadcast his pre-recorded speech throughout Britain [[spoiler:via the national emergency broadcast system]]. It's somewhat unusual to see a protagonist resort to this, too -- but then, even the film version of V is a very unusual protagonist.

* Subverted in ''Film/{{Serenity}}'', where, as in the ''ComicBook/VForVendetta'' example, it's the ''heroes'' who use this method to broadcast their evidence that the government [[spoiler:is directly responsible for the annihilation of Miranda and the creation of the Reavers]]. After the government [[spoiler: hacked many/all TV sets to show subliminal messages to River.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents: Channel Chasers'' was about trying to ''prevent'' Vicky from this trope. Bizarrely, at the end, Timmy's parents are the ones to broadcast on every station, but for good, making this a double-Trope-subversion.

** Dr. Two-Brains: "Hello, [=WordGirl=]! ...And I guess anyone else watching this."

* ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat'' has no qualms about doing this to announce how a planetary dictator has faked the election results.

* ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'' have Team Rocket take over the Goldenrod Radio Tower. Before you defeat them, every available channel on your Pokegear's Radio feature will feature them announcing their takeover and calling out to Giovanni, their former leader.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'' has Team Flare take over the Holo-casters to announce their planned apocalypse.
*** Justified, as their leader, Lysandre, invented the Holo-caster and runs the networks.

[[folder:Web Comics]]