History Main / SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands

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. Also compare ConvenientPhotograph, which is a case where something ''specific'' gets caught, often improbably, in a picture, but it may or may not be as a result of this trope.

-->'''Blossom''': Hey, who filmed this, anyway?\\
'''Buttercup:''' Yeah, do you have cameras set up all over the world?\\
'''Mojo Jojo''': Yes! Now shut up!

-->-- '''Creator/{{Seanbaby}}''', on ''WesternAnimation/SuperFriends''

* Defied in the Season 3 première of ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'':

'''Councilman 2:''' We don't have like a... magic window into the past-\\

* ''Literature/{{Momo}}'': Master Hora can watch anybody and anything from his house whevener he wants thanks to his magic Omnivision glasses.

* Plasmius by Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' has taken to using [[LiteralSurveillanceBug numerous, tiny, bug-shaped]], ''Franchise/SpiderMan''-esque cameras. [[IncrediblyObviousBug But not that tiny]].

** In ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl'', Lesla-Lar's spying devices can see everything Characters/{{Supergirl|TheCharacter}} does, anywhere and at any time, despite Lesla being stuck in Kandor, the Shrunken Bottle City.
** ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'': As ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} and the Omega Men fight an army of Kryptonian clones, Harry Hokum watches the battle while inside his starship, which is standing by out of the planet.

* [[TheAlcatraz Sunnyside Day Care Center]] in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'': Sunny Day Care Center has more surveillance cameras than a super-villain's mansion.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid'': Ursula uses a crystal ball to keep an eye on Ariel and her friends. Interestingly, the crystal ball specifically seems to somehow be connected to the eyes of her minions [[SlipperyAsAnEel Flotsam and Jetsam]], allowing her to see what they see when they secretly spy on Ariel.

* In ''Anime/SDGundamForce'', clips from past episodes are used as in-universe footage of those events. No explanation is made of this. The Zako Soldiers are the biggest offenders, as they had clips from episodes where there were nowhere to be found.

* Jafar from ''WesternAnimation/{{Aladdin}}'' is shown watching Aladdin in some sort of crystal ball.
* Ursula from WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaid also uses a crystal ball to keep an eye on Ariel and her friends. Interestingly, the crystal ball specifically seems to somehow be connected to the eyes of her minions [[SlipperyAsAnEel Flotsam and Jetsam]], allowing her to see what they see when they secretly spy on Ariel.
* The high whippet, Annabelle, in ''WesternAnimation/AllDogsGoToHeaven'' can appear on surfaces like glass and liquids such as puddles.
* [[TheAlcatraz Sunnyside Day Care Center]] in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'' has more surveillance cameras than [[Franchise/{{Superman}} the Luthor mansion]].

** ''ComicBook/TheKillersOfKrypton'': As Supergirl and the Omega Men fight an army of Kryptonian clones, Harry Hokum watches the battle while inside his starship, which is standing by out of the planet.

* A RunningGag in ''Fanfic/NobodyDies'' is the fact that Yui knows everything that happens in Tokyo-3. ''Everything''.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'', the ubiquity of Orochi-controlled tech and media has elements of this. Then again, so does the Illuminati.

* In Creator/JRRTolkien's Middle-Earth:

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 [[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Luthor]] managed to get a live feed of the WesternAnimation/SuperFriends repairing satellites in outer space.

->''"[[Characters/SupermanLexLuthor Lex Luthor]] 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."''

** In ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl'', Lesla-Lar's spying devices can see everything ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} does, anywhere and at any time, despite Lesla being stuck in Kandor, the Shrunken Bottle City.

** In ''ComicBook/TheSuperRevengeOfLexLuthor'', the eponymous villain proves his surveillance systems can monitor his wife Ardora, who lives in another planet, whenever he wants (in his defense, he switched on his monitor because he was concerned about her).
** ''ComicBook/Supergirl1984'': Selena can spy people in other dimensions thanks to a door-sized magic mirror.

** ''ComicBook/TheDeathOfLightningLad'': It is not explained how the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes' space monitor can show events ranging from a Sun-Eater plunging into the Sun to monsters rampaging in random planets.
** ''ComicBook/TheLegionOfSuperHeroes'': When Cosmic Boy turns of the Legion's Television Trouble-finder, the monitor automatically displays images of a scavenging ship. Cosmic Boy never explains how the Trouble-finder finds, records and broadcasts random catastrophes.

* ''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]].

* Dr. Claw in ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'' has cameras everywhere. Apparently his minions carry them around everywhere, but sometimes they pop up in weird places, like ancient pyramids, the police stations, and Gadget's ''own house!''

** He has space-capabilities as well, if he knows where Jack is, how about an orbital weapon? Or just a ColonyDrop (not like that kind of collateral damage is OoC for Aku, the living embodiment of darkness and evil).

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsRebels'': Averted for the most part or at least rarely ever brought up, just like in most of other ''Star Wars'' media.
** Played with in one episode. Agent Kallus turns off the surveillance to Ezra's cell so that [[spoiler:they can talk about why what Ezra is doing is putting Kallus's spywork at risk]]. Later, the other villains notice that the surveillance has been shut off, tipping them off that there's something special about the prisoner (unaware that it is Ezra) and that there's [[spoiler:an inside man]], but Kallus is able to set it up as [[spoiler:Lyste]]'s doing.

'''The Monarch:''' ...Really? So we're not going to have to sit through hours of [[ADateWithRosiePalms me abusing myself]] to [[Series/NightCourt Markie Post]]?\\

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'': Joseph Joestar's Hermit Purple Stand 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).

* ''Franchise/TheDarkTower'':
** Stephen King's epic Dark Tower universe includes thirteen different-hued crystal balls of "the Wizard's Rainbow"--they can be used as typical crystal balls are, but each has a certain psychotic bent.

** ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsChainOfMemories Chain of Memories]]'' had Axel, Larxene, Marluxia, and Naminé watching Sora's every move from that one room, through a crystal ball. [[spoiler:Downstairs, Zexion, Lexaeus, and Vexen were doing the same thing to Riku, though Vexen switches to upstairs once the Riku Replica is finished.]] Justified, considering that the entire game takes place in one castle.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld'', the ubiquity of Orochi-controlled tech and media has elements of this. Then again, so does the Illuminati...
* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'': Combines this with one of the most brilliant aversions of GameplayAndStorySegregation to date when we find out that the bad guys had been tracking our heroes through [[spoiler:the SavePoint network]].

[[folder:Webcomics]]

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'':

* On ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':

* Played straight and subverted in ''Series/ThePrisoner1967'' 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.

* ''LightNovel/AiNoKusabi'': Iason has surveillance cameras all over Eos watching Riki where ever he goes.

* 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.

** In ''ComicBook/TheUnknownSupergirl'', Lesla-Lar's spying devices can see everything Supergirl does, anywhere and at any time, despite Lesla being stuck in Kandor, the Shrunken Bottle City.

* 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]].

* ''Anime/DragonQuestLegendOfTheHeroAbel'' has Baramos monitoring the heroes' progress through magic, using the eyes of his many minions.

* The non-{{canon}} spy spoof arc of ''Webcomic/DanAndMabsFurryAdventures'' shows [[http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_455.php some increasingly-improbable surveillance]], then {{lampshade|Hanging}}s it in [[http://missmab.com/Comics/Vol_456.php this strip]].
* In ''Webcomic/HolidayWars'', The Bunny teams up with The Forgotten which allows him to keep track of the story's protagonist. You can [[http://www.holiday-wars.com/blog/2011/05/20/episode-167/ check it out here]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'' has Satan's "Drone Cams" apparently see everything and [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2010-12-05 collect data for soul audits]]. Except they fail half of the time. Not resistant [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2011-10-01 even to bedeviling]], so upon annoying a [[HotBlooded Fire Succubus]] become <[[KamehameHadoken Bomf!]]> -skeet. And the Zombie Guy simply [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-02-12 punched one out]]. And pestering Buddha got these things "[[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-03-14 enlightened]]" by him. Once self-aware, they turned Big D's [[OminousMultipleScreens wall of screens]] into [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-03-16 non-stop]] nature [[http://www.sinfest.net/view.php?date=2012-03-28 show]] and became afraid of his employees.