History Main / SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands

* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'': Mizzamir plays the Palantir Ploy throughout the book. It seems to work perfectly at first, but the presence of both Kaylana and Valeriana in the group causes it to only give him some vague glimpses of the villains' progress (Arcie also damaged his scrying font while prying gemstones out of it, thus reducing the font's power). Later, the protagonists get ahold of a {{magic mirror}} which allows them to remotely view Mizzamir, conveniently revealing [[spoiler: that Robin in his spy]].

** After enough of this hilarity, Deviltech[[superscript:TM]] developed [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-06-25 another version]], but it's really lame.

* ''WesternAnimation/BigHero6TheSeries'': Obake has this coupled with OminousMultipleScreens. [[spoiler: [[ContrastingSequelAntagonist Liv Amara]]]] notably averts this, preferring to hear the explanation verbally or just check the news.

* Robot Santa in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' has a screen where he spies on people being naughty. (Which, due to a glitch in his programming, is ''everyone''[[note]]Except Dr. Zoidberg, the only person Robot Santa regards as "nice".[[/note]]). "Don't you ever knock? Who knows what naughty things I could be watching? I get New Orleans on this thing, you know!"

->''"ComicBook/LexLuthor had cameras everywhere. It didn't matter if Jayna was on the toilet or if Superman was 3 galaxies away enjoying a bowl of cereal, Lex Luthor could put it up on the big screen if he wanted."''

The bad guys [[SinisterSurveillance have cameras everywhere]]. They probably also have OminousMultipleScreens to follow all those cameras. Like some even-more-sinister version of ''Series/BigBrother'', they always know exactly where the heroes are and what they're doing, even if there's no possible reason for them to be able to. It doesn't matter if they're [[SubspaceAnsible three galaxies away]] or [[SanDimasTime five thousand years in the past]], the villains can still find them. They can put anything that they want up on the big screen, making you wonder why they don't just give up on the bizarre plans for world domination and [[CutLexLuthorACheck just surreptitiously blackmail every government]] in the world without the good guys ever finding out. Or at least you would if you weren't so busy trying to puzzle out exactly how [[Comicbook/LexLuthor Luthor]] managed to get a live feed of the WesternAnimation/SuperFriends repairing satellites in outer space.

* ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'': Professor Utonium has a screen in his lab that can show any spot in the city, no matter how little sense it makes for him to view anything there. Mojo Jojo, [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls unlike in the original]], does not.

* Played with in an issue of ''Franchise/TheFlash'', where the Mirror Master finds a PocketDimension in which he can see through all the mirrors in the world. However, with millions of mirrors to choose from, he can't find the one he's ''looking'' for. [[spoiler:This turns out to be not quite right, though; the woman he's seeking has removed all reflective surfaces from her house.]]

* Justified in ''ComicBook/AgentsOfAtlas'', where their opponent has [[spoiler:a video link to their robot team member, allowing him to always have a camera where they are.]]

** At the beginning of ''ComicBook/{{Crucible}}'', Lys Amata, preceptor of the titular space academy, is watching [[ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} Kara]] going through her day; and in the second-to-last issue, Lys Amata can be seen watching footage of the battle between her students and Roho's villainous squad on Earth. It's never explained how she got real-time records of events happening in a faraway world.

** In ''ComicBook/TheComingOfAtlas'', ComicBook/LanaLang uses [=LexCorp's=] flying drones to monitor the battle between the Science Police and a giant monster, and later the fight between Superman and Atlas.

* ''Literature/VillainsByNecessity'': Mizzamir plays the Palantir Ploy throughout the book. It seems to work perfectly at first, but the presence of both Kaylana and Valeriana in the group causes it to only give him some vague glimpses of the villains' progress (Arcie also damaged his scrying font while prying gemstones out of it, thus reducing the font's power). Later, the protagonists get ahold of a {{magic mirror}} which allows them to remotely view Mizzamir, conveniently revealing [[spoiler: that Robin in his spy.]]

** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums "The Sound of Drums"]], the Master observes the Doctor, Jack and Martha on a public CCTV camera, while speaking to the Doctor on a mobile phone. While the camera's existence is perfectly plausible, the Master's ability to quickly gain access to the exact one our heroes are standing in front of is not, [[spoiler:even if he is the Prime Minister.]] [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Barring Fourth Tier Time Lord technology]], of course, [[WildMassGuessing though the episode doesn't say that]].

* On ''Series/HenryDanger''. When Henry is blamed for causing Debbie to fall off of a roof of a building, he shows three high-quality pictures that [[ClearMyName proves he's innocent]] and [[spoiler:Piper did it by accident.]]

* In the first ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'' game, [[MeaningfulName Mr. Dark]] spends most the game spying on the eponymous hero. Doesn't matter if Rayman's inside a cave or atop a mountain; Mr. Dark is always watching from that hill.

* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'': This is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when Kim points out the obvious security risks of the bad guy having a direct video link into the hero's base. Somehow, [[GenreBlindness the heroes fail to see any problem with this]]. Aside from Kim and [[FaceHeelTurn Shego]], who exasperatedly comments that [[TooDumbToLive such idiocy]] is the reason the DarkActionGirl left.

* Comicbook/LexLuthor in ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends''. He had cameras everywhere, including Earth orbit...and near the Earth's ''core''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'' abused this heavily. One episode had the Legion of Doom getting real-time footage of events 75 million years in the past. (Wrap your head around that one.)

* ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' [[Franchise/TransformersGeneration1 Generation 1]]:
** It is ''crawling'' with hidden cameras, from both the Decepticons ''and'' the Autobots. Oddly enough, even when they're supposedly connecting with the 'visual sensors' of another bot, there's always some sort of angled camera view instead.
** Megatron has one of those [[spoiler:when he's dismembered]] during the first few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' episode "To The Moon, Baboon" Cranky's contribution to the time capsule is a film of K. Rool's past defeats. Said film consists of clips from past episodes, set in sepia tones. It's unclear how Cranky was able to accomplish this, although he ''does'' have unlimited access to the wish-granting Crystal Coconut. On a lesser, but more frequent note is that King K. Rool is able to have video conferences with Klump anywhere. Klump even manages to interrupt one of K. Rool's games in "Buried Treasure." Season 2 explained this slightly by showing K. Rool communicating with Klump via walky-talky...although the video part is never understood.

* ''Anime/GetBackers'': [=MakubeX=] while inside his tower.

* The Digimon Kaiser in ''Anime/DigimonAdventure02''. One of the standby jokes in any CrackFic involved him being caught aiming the camera in [[MaleGaze odd directions]]...

* The Gamesmaster from the ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeARealAmericanHero'' episode of the same name takes this UpToEleven. His screens showed the inside of Cobra's base, ''Lady Jaye changing her clothes'', and the Baroness ''taking a bath''. Serious ParanoiaFuel.

* [=MakubeX=] in ''Anime/GetBackers'' while inside his tower.

* In ''Densetsu No Stafy 4'' of the ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy'' series, The Evil Degil uses the Mon Amor Stone to oversee the Star/Starfish ''KidHero''es ''PlayerCharacter'''s Prince Starfy and Princess Starly of the Pufftop Kingdom and how far they progressed in the Ami Kingdom, and she sends her strongest and most loyal minions to try to assassinate them, as you defeat the bosses that have been sent to murder you and get further in the Ami Kingdom, Degil gets visibly and verbally more frustrated that Starfy and Starly are still alive and getting ever so closer to fighting and defeating her in her lair.

* In Densetsu No Stafy 4 of the ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy'' series, The Evil Degil uses the Mon Amor Stone to oversee the Star/Starfish ''KidHero''es ''PlayerCharacter'''s Prince Starfy and Princess Starly of the Pufftop Kingdom and how far they progressed in the Ami Kingdom, and she sends her strongest and most loyal minions to try to assassinate them, as you defeat the bosses that have been sent to murder you and get further in the Ami Kingdom, Degil gets visibly and verbally more frustrated that Starfy and Starly are still alive and getting ever so closer to fighting and defeating her in her lair.

* A character limit caused this to apparently happen in the English versions of the first two generations of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' ''from a kind, loving mentor''. Whenever you tried to use an item improperly, the game would all of a sudden have Professor Oak speak to you, saying that this isn't the correct time to use that. ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' explained that Oak had set up a complex series of cameras across Kanto and Johto expressly for this purpose. By the time the games moved to a 32-bit system, there was more room for text, and thus they could explain that it was simply the character imagining what his mentor would say in that situation.

* Dr. Wily in the ''WesternAnimation/MegaMan'' cartoon had what some fans call the 'Anywhere Screen', letting him see live feed of just about anywhere.

* ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'': {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in "Monkey See, Doggie Two", when Mojo Jojo steals the Anubis head for the second time and replays clips from the last episode of the effects of the head's magic in countries around the globe.

* Mumm-Ra from ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats'' does this. Only partially justified, based on how much you want to believe that he really is confined to his pyramid in any given episode. Lion-O's Sword Of Omens can do this too.
* Shredder was a huge offender of this trope in the [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 '80s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]'' cartoons.

* L from ''Manga/DeathNote'' likes constant surveillance, [[spoiler:as do Mello and Near]]. L is often seen watching OminousMultipleScreens. At one point he put 64 cameras in his suspect's room only to take them out again later.

* Briefly appears in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' for a single episode: Tymilph has a wall of screens, displaying various things. [[MaleGaze Including one camera aimed directly at Kiyoh's breasts.]]

* ''Franchise/WonderWoman'':

* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

* ''The Light of Other Days'' by Creator/ArthurCClarke and Creator/StephenBaxter:
** The whole book is about the invention of a device that allows the user to look anywhere in the world they want; later on, the technology is discovered to be able to directly view events ''in the past''. The main focus of the novel is on how the world adapts to the fact that "privacy" literally has no meaning anymore, since you can be watched at any point in your life (and even things you've done in the past).
** It's implied that the Overlords in ''Literature/ChildhoodsEnd'' have similar technology, and that it contributed to the downfall of mass religion, as people got to see their religious figures in flesh.
** Creator/IsaacAsimov's short story "The Dead Past" covers similar ground.

* The protagonists in ''Literature/{{Safehold}}'' have access to spy satellites and tiny remote cameras that can be placed just about any place on the planet. With Safehold stuck in MedievalStasis and having no concept of that technology, and no way to stop it if they did, this provides a massive advantage for the protagonists. Their biggest problems have been having so ''much'' information and needing to filter out what's important and the Church of God Awaiting, assuming they just have damnably good spies, working out blind spots in their surveillance & using lone agents to counter. They also can't spy inside the Temple, the Church's headquarters, because it was built and is operated by the same level of tech, and Merlin is concerned about triggering something if the bugs get too close.
* In ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'', Merrin Meredith and later Simon Heap can use the appropriately-named [[EvilLair Observatory]] to spy out the Castle from a safe distance.

[[folder:Mythology]]
* This is OlderThanPrint with Norse myth:
** Odin is said to possess a high seat called "Hlidskjalf" which enables him (and anyone else who sits on it, at least if they are gods) to see everything that occurs in the nine worlds. However, to his defense, Odin is the master of all the gods. Which is a pretty good defense, don't you think?
** Plus, Odin has his two ravens, Hugin ("Thought") and Munin ("Memory") who fly out at dawn each day from Odin's hall across the three worlds and upon their return whisper in his ears the news of everything they've seen.

* Played straight and subverted in ''Series/ThePrisoner'' where part of Number Six's problem is that the Village is rife with spies and hidden surveillance. As the show progresses, he learns first to hide intentions from their gaze, and eventually to twist these measures to manipulate his jailers.

* Mocked by [[WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall Linkara]] in his [[http://atopthefourthwall.com/adventures-of-the-kool-aid-man-1/ Kool-Aid Man #1 review]]:
** There Kool-Aid man is able to bring up a camera shot of some "Thirsties" bothering some children even though he shouldn't be able to switch to footage of this, relating Kool-Aid Man to [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Big Brother]].
--->"''The Kool-Aid Man sees you when you're sleeping. *leans in close to camera* The Kool-Aid Man sees you in your nightmares.''"
** He actually did this joke before with Creator/MrT as well.

* Comicbook/LexLuthor:
** ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends''. He had cameras everywhere, including Earth orbit...and near the Earth's ''core''.
** And as Creator/{{Seanbaby}} pointed out, they could have used blackmail to take over the world several times over by now... except it's the ''Superfriends'', the show where everyone, hero or villain ''or the show's writers'', is TooDumbToLive.

** It is ''crawling'' with hidden cameras, from both the Decepticons ''and'' the Autobots. Oddly enough, even when they're supposedly connecting with the 'visual sensors' of another bot, there's always some sort of angled camera view instead. The [[Wiki/TFWikiDotNet Transformers wiki]] often lampshade this with their Improbable Viewpoints entries.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicBook/DonnyCatesVenom https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rco018_24.jpg]]]]

* ''ComicBook/DonnyCatesVenom'': In Issue #8, the Maker -- an evil version of Reed Richards -- is shown to have a series of [=CCTVs=] showing events ranging from Thanos' death to Namor's war on the surface world to the events of ''ComicBook/SpiderGeddon''.

* ''WesternAnimation/GetAce'': The villains seem to have eyes on Ace at all times, even explicitly placing hidden cams inside the protagonist's house. One episode reveals they kept tabs on him and his family ''while on vacation''.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[ComicBook/InfinityWars2018 Infinity Wars]], Namor's war against the surface world, ''ComicBook/SpiderGeddon''... ComicBook/TheMaker can watch it all!]]

* Initially averted and later justified in ''ComicBook/Warheads''. In early issues, their superiors are completely unable to monitor the squad when they jump through a wormhole. Later, they [[WetwareCPU integrate a dead Warhead’s brain into a scrying device]] and start monitoring the team without their knowledge.

* The power of Hermit Purple, Joseph Joestar's Stand in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure''. He can summon pictures of where a person is by destroying a camera, and can read the future by adjusting a television set (it manifests as people on random TV channels saying words that link into a proper sentence). Dio Brando has the same power due to having the body of Jonathan Joestar (Joseph's grandfather).

** In [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]], the Pre-Crisis Amazons had a scrying device with which Hippolyta could view anything on earth, or elsewhere in the cosmos, with ease if she so desired. She mostly used it to keep an eye on her daughter's exploits.

See also BigBrotherIsWatching for the {{dystopia}}n version. Not to be confused with MagicalSecurityCam, which is when the surveillance footage is recycled from elsewhere in the show.

* In ''Fanfic/AshikabiOfThunderAndLightning'', [[TheTechnopath Matsu]] has hacked Shinto Teito's computer systems so that she can spot attacks being made against Minato before they can reach him. [[ProperlyParanoid This has saved him multiple times.]]

** In ''ComicBook/TheComingOfAtlas'', ComicBookLanaLang uses [=LexCorp's=] flying drones to monitor the battle between the Science Police and a giant monster, and later the fight between Superman and Atlas.