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* In the infamous "pizza episode" of ''Series/PowerRangersTurbo'', Porto comes into the pizza parlor to pick up an order, wearing a dress and large woman's hat to disguise himself. (Given his natural shape, which resembles a man in a bulky spacesuit, it's not very convincing.) Not a completely straight example of the Trope, because the clerk does seem to notice ''something'' odd about him, and when Porto notices that the Rangers are there (in their civilian identities), he leaves quickly before they see him.
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* ''Series/{{Angel}}'':
** Lorne's overcoat and a trilby, which looks dashing in a Humphrey Bogart-sort of way, but about as inconspicuous as a Ninja Turtle.
** A baseball cap and sunglasses are enough to disguise him in broad daylight.
** Lorne's overcoat and a trilby, which looks dashing in a Humphrey Bogart-sort of way, but about as inconspicuous as a Ninja Turtle.
** A baseball cap and sunglasses are enough to disguise him in broad daylight.
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* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': Buffy gets rather miffed that her friends thought the Buffybot was really her going through grief. Also PlayedForLaughs at the beginning of Season 6 when it goes to Parent-Teacher Day and no-one notices the difference. In a FridgeLogic moment the Buffybot is able to impersonate Buffy well enough to fool Glory, despite the fact that Willow was unable to get the same result after months of tweaking during the summer.
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* Taken UpToTheEleven in the StudioC sketch, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tmXRSnGs1s Death Bed Repentance]]", where the ''audience'' doesn't even realize that [[spoiler: Jeremy is wearing a fake mustache and wig until he removes them, revealing his ''identical'' mustache and hair.]] How this was effective as a disguise in the first place is anyone's guess.
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* Taken UpToTheEleven UpToEleven in the StudioC sketch, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tmXRSnGs1s Death Bed Repentance]]", where the ''audience'' audience doesn't even realize that [[spoiler: Jeremy is even wearing a disguise until he takes off the fake mustache and wig until he removes them, wig, revealing his ''identical'' mustache and hair.]] How this was effective as a disguise in the first place hair, to prove that he is anyone's guess.actually Jose Delgado.
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* In ''{{Charmed}}'' the sisters fake their deaths at the end of season 7. In season 8 they pretend to be their own "cousins" and continue living in the same house, raising Piper and Leo's kids. They do change their appearance using glamors (though they also change the glamor multiple times). At one point Piper's glamored appearance turns out to have been copied from someone wrongfully accused of murder, and she's imprisoned. This doesn't seem to raise any questions about why the other two were letting this woman live there, pretending to be related to them. Muggles get a pass for not guessing the truth, but this subterfuge should have fooled demons for about half a second.
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* In ''{{Charmed}}'' the sisters fake their deaths at the end of season 7. In season 8 they pretend to be their own "cousins" and continue living in the same house, raising Piper and Leo's kids. They do change their appearance using glamors (though they also change the glamor multiple times). At one point Piper's glamored appearance turns out to have been copied from someone wrongfully accused of murder, and she's imprisoned. This doesn't seem to raise any questions about why the other two were letting this woman live there, pretending to be related to them. Muggles get a pass for not guessing the truth, but this subterfuge should have fooled demons for about half a second.second.
* Taken UpToTheEleven in the StudioC sketch, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tmXRSnGs1s Death Bed Repentance]]", where the ''audience'' doesn't even realize that [[spoiler: Jeremy is wearing a fake mustache and wig until he removes them, revealing his ''identical'' mustache and hair.]] How this was effective as a disguise in the first place is anyone's guess.
* Taken UpToTheEleven in the StudioC sketch, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tmXRSnGs1s Death Bed Repentance]]", where the ''audience'' doesn't even realize that [[spoiler: Jeremy is wearing a fake mustache and wig until he removes them, revealing his ''identical'' mustache and hair.]] How this was effective as a disguise in the first place is anyone's guess.
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** Played with in "Sic Transit Vir", when the Earth Alliance officers discover that the name of the Centauri associated with the death of thousands of Narns is "[[AbrahamLincoln Abrahamo Lincolni]]". The Centauri wouldn't necessarily pick up on the name of a historical figure of Earth, but Sheridan and Ivanova (of course) recognize the reference immediately. [[spoiler:It turns out that Vir, from his ambassadorial office on Minbar, created the fake noble, and has been using that identity to smuggle those Narns to other worlds, declaring them "dead" so that no Centauri would inquire. Vir is eventually forced to confess the scheme to Londo, but since "Lincolni" himself was never revealed to the Centauri, Ivanova continues using the name in hopes of saving more Narn lives.]]
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** Played with in "Sic Transit Vir", when the Earth Alliance officers discover that the name of the Centauri associated with the death of thousands of Narns is "[[AbrahamLincoln "[[UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln Abrahamo Lincolni]]". The Centauri wouldn't necessarily pick up on the name of a historical figure of Earth, but Sheridan and Ivanova (of course) recognize the reference immediately. [[spoiler:It turns out that Vir, from his ambassadorial office on Minbar, created the fake noble, and has been using that identity to smuggle those Narns to other worlds, declaring them "dead" so that no Centauri would inquire. Vir is eventually forced to confess the scheme to Londo, but since "Lincolni" himself was never revealed to the Centauri, Ivanova continues using the name in hopes of saving more Narn lives.]]
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* In ''{{Charmed}}'' the sisters fake their deaths at the end of season 7. In season 8 they pretend to be their own "cousins" and continue living in the same house, raising Piper and Leo's kids. They do change their appearance using glamors (though they also change the glamor multiple times). At one point Piper's glamored appearance turns out to have been copied from someone wrongfully accused of murder, and she's imprisoned. This doesn't seem to raise any questions about why the other two were letting this woman live there, pretending to be related to them. Muggles get a pass for not guessing the truth, but this subterfuge should have fooled demons for about half a second.
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* In ''{{Charmed}}'' the sisters fake their deaths at the end of season 7. In season 8 they pretend to be their own "cousins" and continue living in the same house, raising Piper and Leo's kids. They do change their appearance using glamors (though they also change the glamor multiple times). At one point Piper's glamored appearance turns out to have been copied from someone wrongfully accused of murder, and she's imprisoned. This doesn't seem to raise any questions about why the other two were letting this woman live there, pretending to be related to them. Muggles get a pass for not guessing the truth, but this subterfuge should have fooled demons for about half a second.
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-->'''B 'n' B Owner''': Mr Hilter is on the telephone a lot these days. I think he's in business.
-->'''Heinrich Himmler''': Soon, baby.
-->'''Heinrich Himmler''': Soon, baby.
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* In ''{{Charmed}}'' the sisters fake their deaths at the end of season 7. In season 8 they pretend to be their own "cousins" and continue living in the same house, raising Piper and Leo's kids. They do change their appearance using glamors (though they also change the glamor multiple times). At one point Piper's glamored appearance turns out to have been copied from someone wrongfully accused of murder, and she's imprisoned. This doesn't seem to raise any questions about why the other two were letting this woman live there, pretending to be related to them. Muggles get a pass for not guessing the truth, but this subterfuge should have fooled demons for about half a second.
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* Deliberately invoked and subverted in ''TheCosbyShow'' episode "Theo and the Real World." [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the title suggests,]] the episode features Theo boasting that he'll be extremely successful as an adult in the "real world." To test this theory, the rest of the family converts their brownstone into the "Real World Apartments," and pose as various people that Theo might experience while trying to rent an apartment, find a job, buy furniture, and get a bank loan. They change roles by assuming simple costumes and props--Cliff's "landlord" outfit, for instance, is simply turning a baseball cap backwards and putting a cigar in his mouth. The subversion comes in as family isn't trying to ''trick'' Theo; the disguises are simply to indicate that they're different individuals, like costumes in a play.
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* Deliberately invoked and subverted in ''TheCosbyShow'' episode "Theo and the Real World." [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the title suggests,]] the episode features Theo boasting that he'll be extremely successful as an adult in the "real world." To test this theory, the rest of the family converts their brownstone into the "Real World Apartments," and pose as various people that Theo might experience while trying to rent an apartment, find a job, buy furniture, and get a bank loan. They change roles by assuming simple costumes and props--Cliff's "landlord" outfit, for instance, is simply turning a baseball cap backwards and putting a cigar in his mouth. The subversion comes in as family isn't trying to ''trick'' Theo; the disguises are simply to indicate that they're different individuals, like costumes in a play.play.
* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E20WhatIsAndWhatShouldNeverBe "What Is And What Should Never Be" (S02, Ep20)]], Dean believes changing the car's license plate and getting new credit cards should be a sufficient disguise. They continue to drive a 1967 Impala and do not alter their appearance, despite having recently escaped from prison and having arrest warrants in at least 5 states.
* In the ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' episode [[Recap/SupernaturalS02E20WhatIsAndWhatShouldNeverBe "What Is And What Should Never Be" (S02, Ep20)]], Dean believes changing the car's license plate and getting new credit cards should be a sufficient disguise. They continue to drive a 1967 Impala and do not alter their appearance, despite having recently escaped from prison and having arrest warrants in at least 5 states.
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** The show also occasionally spoofed this idea with the Mad Hatter. In "Christmas in Wonderland," the gang meets to plan a holiday surprise for the Queen of Hearts. Tweedledee points out that, since the gift is a surprise, it should be a secret meeting--if the Queen spots them, the plan will be ruined. The Hatter announces "Only if she ''recognized'' us!", and provides everyone, including preteen Alice, with the same disguise--a large white Santa Claus beard.
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** The show also occasionally spoofed this idea with the Mad Hatter. In "Christmas in Wonderland," the gang meets to plan a holiday surprise for the Queen of Hearts. Tweedledee points out that, since the gift is a surprise, it should be a secret meeting--if the Queen spots them, the plan will be ruined. The Hatter announces "Only if she ''recognized'' us!", and provides everyone, including preteen Alice, with the same disguise--a large white Santa Claus beard.beard.
* Deliberately invoked and subverted in ''TheCosbyShow'' episode "Theo and the Real World." [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the title suggests,]] the episode features Theo boasting that he'll be extremely successful as an adult in the "real world." To test this theory, the rest of the family converts their brownstone into the "Real World Apartments," and pose as various people that Theo might experience while trying to rent an apartment, find a job, buy furniture, and get a bank loan. They change roles by assuming simple costumes and props--Cliff's "landlord" outfit, for instance, is simply turning a baseball cap backwards and putting a cigar in his mouth. The subversion comes in as family isn't trying to ''trick'' Theo; the disguises are simply to indicate that they're different individuals, like costumes in a play.
* Deliberately invoked and subverted in ''TheCosbyShow'' episode "Theo and the Real World." [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin As the title suggests,]] the episode features Theo boasting that he'll be extremely successful as an adult in the "real world." To test this theory, the rest of the family converts their brownstone into the "Real World Apartments," and pose as various people that Theo might experience while trying to rent an apartment, find a job, buy furniture, and get a bank loan. They change roles by assuming simple costumes and props--Cliff's "landlord" outfit, for instance, is simply turning a baseball cap backwards and putting a cigar in his mouth. The subversion comes in as family isn't trying to ''trick'' Theo; the disguises are simply to indicate that they're different individuals, like costumes in a play.
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** Another recurring sketch, "Cheeseburger Doyle," also spoofed this trope. The main character was a [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext talking cheeseburger with eyes that ran a detective agency]]--and not a human-sized burger either, but an ''actual four-inch sandwich puppet.'' Upon being hired to solve a mystery, Doyle would infiltrate the scene of the crime wearing a phony mustache and, occasionally, a small hat; when questioned if he was a cheeseburger, he'd deny it, making up a generic name ("Oh, no...I'm Al"). After catching the culprit red-handed, he would proceed to dramatically reveal himself: "AHA! I'm not REALLY a construction worker named Al!" After (literally) shaking off the disguise, the suspect would react in over-the-top shock ("CHEESEBURGER DOYLE!"), while others reacted in amazement at Doyle actually being a cheeseburger.
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** Another recurring sketch, "Cheeseburger Doyle," also spoofed this trope. The main character was a [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext talking cheeseburger with eyes that ran a detective agency]]--and not a human-sized burger either, but an ''actual four-inch sandwich puppet.'' Upon being hired to solve a mystery, Doyle would infiltrate the scene of the crime wearing a disguise, usually a phony mustache and, occasionally, a or small hat; when questioned if he was a cheeseburger, he'd deny it, making up a generic name ("Oh, no...I'm Al"). After catching the culprit red-handed, he would proceed to dramatically reveal himself: "AHA! I'm not REALLY a construction worker named Al!" After (literally) shaking off the disguise, the suspect would react in over-the-top shock ("CHEESEBURGER DOYLE!"), while others reacted in amazement at Doyle actually being a cheeseburger.
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** Another recurring sketch, "Cheeseburger Doyle," also spoofed this trope. The main character was a [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext talking cheeseburger with eyes that ran a detective agency]]--and not a human-sized burger either, but an ''actual four-inch sandwich puppet.'' Upon being hired to solve a mystery, Doyle would infiltrate the scene of the crime wearing a phony mustache and, occasionally, a small hat; when questioned if he was a cheeseburger, he'd deny it, making up a generic name ("Oh, no...I'm Al"). After catching the culprit red-handed, he would proceed to dramatically reveal himself: "AHA! I'm not REALLY a construction worker named Al!" After (literally) shaking off the disguise, the suspect would react in over-the-top shock ("CHEESEBURGER DOYLE!"), while others reacted in amazement at Doyle actually being a cheeseburger.
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** One "Word of the Day" sketch features Jack Black and Elmo defining the word "disguise," so as might be expected, Paper Thin Disguises came into play. Jack claims to be a "master of disguise," and tries to prove it by putting on various outfits to conceal his identity. The first is a large sombrero and a pair of sunglasses; the second is a rainbow clown wig and...another pair of sunglasses. Elmo instantly sees through both disguises, which makes Jack sad. He leaves, and a few moments later, a Muppet chicken enters. Elmo asks if the chicken has seen Jack Black...three guesses as to who the chicken ''really'' is.
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The disguise in \"The Queen Who Came in from the Cold\" is both funny and a spoof of old spy movies.
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** In another episode, Abby thinks Oscar might really be a prince and wants to kiss him, which Oscar wants to avoid. At one point Oscar dons a disguise (Groucho Marx glasses) which doesn't work.
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** In another episode, Abby thinks Oscar might really be a prince and wants to kiss him, which Oscar wants to avoid. At one point Oscar dons a disguise (Groucho Marx glasses) which doesn't work.work.
* An episode of ''LiveActionTV/AdventuresInWonderland'' entitled "The Queen Who Came in from the Cold" featured the Queen of Hearts--a heavyset Black woman with a fondness for wearing all-red outfits--upset about receiving a number of anonymous letters complaining about her newest taxes. To find out who the letter writers are, she assumes a disguise--an all-red dress, her hair partially over her face, and a large red hat--and speaks in a half-whisper. It fools ''everyone'' but the Cheshire Cat--and the characters interact with the Queen on a daily basis! What makes it even funnier is that there are no other women, African-American or otherwise, in Wonderland, and yet everyone is completely unable to recognize her.
**The show also occasionally spoofed this idea with the Mad Hatter. In "Christmas in Wonderland," the gang meets to plan a holiday surprise for the Queen of Hearts. Tweedledee points out that, since the gift is a surprise, it should be a secret meeting--if the Queen spots them, the plan will be ruined. The Hatter announces "Only if she ''recognized'' us!", and provides everyone, including preteen Alice, with the same disguise--a large white Santa Claus beard.
* An episode of ''LiveActionTV/AdventuresInWonderland'' entitled "The Queen Who Came in from the Cold" featured the Queen of Hearts--a heavyset Black woman with a fondness for wearing all-red outfits--upset about receiving a number of anonymous letters complaining about her newest taxes. To find out who the letter writers are, she assumes a disguise--an all-red dress, her hair partially over her face, and a large red hat--and speaks in a half-whisper. It fools ''everyone'' but the Cheshire Cat--and the characters interact with the Queen on a daily basis! What makes it even funnier is that there are no other women, African-American or otherwise, in Wonderland, and yet everyone is completely unable to recognize her.
**The show also occasionally spoofed this idea with the Mad Hatter. In "Christmas in Wonderland," the gang meets to plan a holiday surprise for the Queen of Hearts. Tweedledee points out that, since the gift is a surprise, it should be a secret meeting--if the Queen spots them, the plan will be ruined. The Hatter announces "Only if she ''recognized'' us!", and provides everyone, including preteen Alice, with the same disguise--a large white Santa Claus beard.
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* In the ''{{Greg the Bunny}}'' episode "The Singing Mailman", when Dottie convinces the others to pretend they like the actor playing the mailman, Greg decides to wear a disguise, which includes a sombrerro, pancho, and mustache. It doesn't seem to fool anyone, but when he removes his mustache, Tardy Turtle reacts with surprise, "Hey! That french man is Greg!"
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* In the ''{{Greg the Bunny}}'' episode "The Singing Mailman", when Dottie convinces the others to pretend they like the actor playing the mailman, Greg decides to wear a disguise, which includes a sombrerro, pancho, and mustache. It doesn't seem to fool anyone, but when he removes his mustache, Tardy Turtle reacts with surprise, "Hey! That french man is Greg!"Greg!"
* Usually averted whenever it happens on ''{{Series/Sesame Street}}'', when other characters see through the paper-thin disguises. Some examples include:
**A sketch where Ernie gets a disguise kit and uses it to fool Bert, who is not fooled at all. However, when a wolf shows up, Bert thinks it is Ernie.
**In another sketch, Cookie Monster dresses as "The Cookie Bunny", and "corrects" Ernie whenever he refers to Cookie as Cookie Monster.
**In one episode, Big Bird and Alan bake birdseed cookies for Granny Bird. When Cookie finds out, he dresses as Granny Bird. Big Bird and Alan know that it's him all along but play along with it.
**In another episode, Abby thinks Oscar might really be a prince and wants to kiss him, which Oscar wants to avoid. At one point Oscar dons a disguise (Groucho Marx glasses) which doesn't work.
* Usually averted whenever it happens on ''{{Series/Sesame Street}}'', when other characters see through the paper-thin disguises. Some examples include:
**A sketch where Ernie gets a disguise kit and uses it to fool Bert, who is not fooled at all. However, when a wolf shows up, Bert thinks it is Ernie.
**In another sketch, Cookie Monster dresses as "The Cookie Bunny", and "corrects" Ernie whenever he refers to Cookie as Cookie Monster.
**In one episode, Big Bird and Alan bake birdseed cookies for Granny Bird. When Cookie finds out, he dresses as Granny Bird. Big Bird and Alan know that it's him all along but play along with it.
**In another episode, Abby thinks Oscar might really be a prince and wants to kiss him, which Oscar wants to avoid. At one point Oscar dons a disguise (Groucho Marx glasses) which doesn't work.
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* Parodied in a ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch, where "Mr. Hilter" and his associates, "Ron Vibbentrop" and "Heimlich Bimmler" campaign for the National Bocialist Party in England. Nobody recognizes them, despite wearing Nazi uniforms, speaking in German, and denying that they're Nazis rather [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial unconvincingly]].
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* Parodied in a ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch, where [[ThoseWackyNazis "Mr. Hilter" Hilter"]] and his associates, "Ron Vibbentrop" and "Heimlich Bimmler" campaign for the National Bocialist Party in Minehead, England. Nobody recognizes them, despite wearing Nazi uniforms, speaking in German, thick German accents, and denying that they're Nazis rather [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial unconvincingly]].
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* Subverted in an episode of ''Series/{{MASH}}'' where Colonel Flagg comes into Radar's office wearing a pretty absurd disguise, and Radar recognizes him quickly. When Flagg sternly asks him how he recognized him, Radar nervously said that Flagg was so good at not looking like himself that he guessed that someone who looked so much not-like him must be him. (However, when Flagg then walked into Colonel Potter's office, it didn't fool Potter either.)
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* This was practically a RunningGag in ''{{Kamen Rider Den-O}}'', as [[PeopleInRubberSuits giant friendly Tengu rubber-suit monster]] Deneb would routinely stroll through the streets next to the main characters wearing no more of a disguise than... say, a hat.
** ''KamenRiderBlack'' plays it painfully straight with the main character. Now, while a suit that covers one's entire body is good for hiding one's features, Kotaro has a habit (shared with pretty much every Rider ever, actually) of using his Rider-motif bike in civilian identity. He gets a new bike as Black, and rides ''it'' in civilian form, too. Establishment shots frequently have it parked outside in plain view. He never tries to pretend to ''not'' be hunting down whatever [[NebulousEvilOrganization Golgom]] is up to, or ever make an excuse for running off. Somehow, nobody notices.
** Inverted in ''KamenRiderDouble'' in that, while Shoutarou rides around on the same bike that Double uses, the Fuuto Police Department inspector believes that Shoutarou is a 'friend' of Double. One could assume that he also told the inspector that Double gave him a duplicate bike and that the public simply also believes this.
** ''KamenRiderBlack'' plays it painfully straight with the main character. Now, while a suit that covers one's entire body is good for hiding one's features, Kotaro has a habit (shared with pretty much every Rider ever, actually) of using his Rider-motif bike in civilian identity. He gets a new bike as Black, and rides ''it'' in civilian form, too. Establishment shots frequently have it parked outside in plain view. He never tries to pretend to ''not'' be hunting down whatever [[NebulousEvilOrganization Golgom]] is up to, or ever make an excuse for running off. Somehow, nobody notices.
** Inverted in ''KamenRiderDouble'' in that, while Shoutarou rides around on the same bike that Double uses, the Fuuto Police Department inspector believes that Shoutarou is a 'friend' of Double. One could assume that he also told the inspector that Double gave him a duplicate bike and that the public simply also believes this.
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* This was practically a RunningGag in ''{{Kamen Rider Den-O}}'', ''Series/KamenRiderDenO'', as [[PeopleInRubberSuits giant friendly Tengu rubber-suit monster]] Deneb would routinely stroll through the streets next to the main characters wearing no more of a disguise than... say, a hat.
**''KamenRiderBlack'' ''Series/KamenRiderBlack'' plays it painfully straight with the main character. Now, while a suit that covers one's entire body is good for hiding one's features, Kotaro has a habit (shared with pretty much every Rider ever, actually) of using his Rider-motif bike in civilian identity. He gets a new bike as Black, and rides ''it'' in civilian form, too. Establishment shots frequently have it parked outside in plain view. He never tries to pretend to ''not'' be hunting down whatever [[NebulousEvilOrganization Golgom]] is up to, or ever make an excuse for running off. Somehow, nobody notices.
** Inverted in''KamenRiderDouble'' ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'' in that, while Shoutarou rides around on the same bike that Double uses, the Fuuto Police Department inspector believes that Shoutarou is a 'friend' of Double. One could assume that he also told the inspector that Double gave him a duplicate bike and that the public simply also believes this.
**
** Inverted in
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* Invoked totally in ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' with Gerard Depardieu, where the disguises of the Count often involve no more than a larger nose than Gerard's normal one.
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* Invoked totally in ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' with Gerard Depardieu, Creator/GerardDepardieu, where the disguises of the Count often involve no more than a larger nose than Gerard's Gérard's normal one.
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* In the costume party episode of ''Series/{{Taxi}}'', Jim apparently fools everyone by going just wearing his [[LimitedWardrobe usual outfit]]. However Alex notices and he puts on a pair of novelty glasses.
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* In the ''{{Series/Greg the Bunny}}'' episode "The Singing Mailman", when Dottie convinces the others to pretend they like the actor playing the mailman, Greg decides to wear a disguise, which includes a sombrerro, pancho, and mustache. It doesn't seem to fool anyone, but when he removes his mustache, Tardy Turtle reacts with surprise, "Hey! That french man is Greg!"
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* In the ''{{Series/Greg ''{{Greg the Bunny}}'' episode "The Singing Mailman", when Dottie convinces the others to pretend they like the actor playing the mailman, Greg decides to wear a disguise, which includes a sombrerro, pancho, and mustache. It doesn't seem to fool anyone, but when he removes his mustache, Tardy Turtle reacts with surprise, "Hey! That french man is Greg!"
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* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcmXCXqI7Ew&feature=related The Butterfield Detective Agency]] sketch from ''ThePeterSerafinowiczShow'', in which most of Butterfield's disguises consist of hats or simple props.
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* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcmXCXqI7Ew&feature=related The Butterfield Detective Agency]] sketch from ''ThePeterSerafinowiczShow'', in which most of Butterfield's disguises consist of hats or simple props.props.
* In the ''{{Series/Greg the Bunny}}'' episode "The Singing Mailman", when Dottie convinces the others to pretend they like the actor playing the mailman, Greg decides to wear a disguise, which includes a sombrerro, pancho, and mustache. It doesn't seem to fool anyone, but when he removes his mustache, Tardy Turtle reacts with surprise, "Hey! That french man is Greg!"
* In the ''{{Series/Greg the Bunny}}'' episode "The Singing Mailman", when Dottie convinces the others to pretend they like the actor playing the mailman, Greg decides to wear a disguise, which includes a sombrerro, pancho, and mustache. It doesn't seem to fool anyone, but when he removes his mustache, Tardy Turtle reacts with surprise, "Hey! That french man is Greg!"
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** In the episode with Milton Berle, Fozzie is afraid of meeting his idol and hides throughout the show. At one point, he wears a disguise, which is merely a pair of glasses with a fake nose and large beard attached. At first Scooter appears to be fooled, but then it's revealed he isn't.
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*** Of course, the movie also played it perfect with Gordon's spot-on U.S. Grant impression. (The fact that Grant was played by Creator/KevinKline as well helped a bit, too.)
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*** Of course, the movie also played it perfect with Gordon's spot-on U.S. Grant impression. (The fact that Grant was played by Creator/KevinKline as well helped a bit, too.)) He still [[ImposterForgotOneDetail can't fool West, however.]]
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** Played with in "Sic Transit Vir", when the Earth Alliance officers discover that the name of the Centauri associated with the death of thousands of Narns is "[[AbrahamLincoln Abrahamo Lincolni]]". The Centauri wouldn't necessarily pick up on the name of a historical figure of Earth, but Sheridan and Ivanova (of course) recognize the reference immediately. [[spoiler:It turns out that Vir, from his ambassadorial office on Minbar, created the fake noble, and has been using that identity to smuggle those Narns to other worlds, declaring them "dead" so that no Centauri would inquire. Vir is eventually forced to confess the scheme to Londo, but since "Lincolni" himself was never revealed to the Centauri, Ivanova continues using the name in hopes of saving more Narn lives.]]
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** Madame Vastra is a Silurian living in Victorian London. Despite her only cover being a transparent black net veil over her head, nobody seems to notice that she's got green scaly skin and bone frills unless she specifically lifts the veil to show them.
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*** Of course, the movie also played it perfect with Gordon's spot-on U.S. Grant impression. (The fact that Grant was played by KevinKline as well helped a bit, too.)
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*** Of course, the movie also played it perfect with Gordon's spot-on U.S. Grant impression. (The fact that Grant was played by KevinKline Creator/KevinKline as well helped a bit, too.)
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* Spoofed in the Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} series ''AllThat'', where the local superhero encounters an impersonator robbing the bank. [[EasyImpersonation Said impersonator is a little girl.]] The real superhero repeatedly tries to convince the TooDumbToLive townspeople that he's the real thing. They are unable to tell the difference between the two even when the real superhero bends a metal pole, and the impersonator just rips a piece of paper.
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* Spoofed in the Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} series ''AllThat'', ''Series/AllThat'', where the local superhero encounters an impersonator robbing the bank. [[EasyImpersonation Said impersonator is a little girl.]] The real superhero repeatedly tries to convince the TooDumbToLive townspeople that he's the real thing. They are unable to tell the difference between the two even when the real superhero bends a metal pole, and the impersonator just rips a piece of paper.
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** Avterted in the film of the series where Penguin disguises himself as the Commodore he and his team have kidnapped. Batman and Robin are not fooled for a minute.
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* A few on ''Series/HannahMontana'' have this. Especially Robbie Ray which is just a fake mustache.
** Robbie's mustache is made even thinner as anyone could easily put 2 and 2 together that Robbie Ray and Robbie Ray Stewart are the same person especially when one considers that he never hides the fact that he is Robbie Ray even without the mustache. It very possible this is an attempt to lampshade this trope as Robbie seems to be the same person with or without the mustache.
* Many episodes of ''Series/ILoveLucy'' have Lucy and Ethel dressing up in paper thin disguises to fool their husbands in some scheme. Depending on what the plot demands Ricky and Fred are either completely fooled or recognize their wives right away.
** Tennessee Ernie Ford doesn't recognize the Wicked City Woman trying to seduce him (just Lucy in a black wig.)
* The ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'' episode "General Hospital" features Blackadder trying to find a German spy in the field hospital. One of the men recovering there has a very thick German accent, introduces himself simply as "Smith" and behaves rather suspiciously...[[spoiler:Subverted in that as Blackadder points out, not even the Germans are stupid enough to send a man with such a pitiful disguise to be a spy; he's actually a British spy who's been in Germany for so long he's developed an accent.]]
** Similarly, George's suggestion that they find the German spy by going to the hospital and looking for the person whose name begins with "von" receives understandably short shrift from Blackadder.
** Similarly, in "Major Star", Private "Bob" Parkhurst is just a woman dressed up in mens clothing, without any facial disguising of any sort, and yet she is able to fool the General into thinking she is a man, to the point where he is disgusted by her "disgusting drag act" when she gives a cabaret performance (as opposed to earlier, when he thought George's actual drag act so real, he tried to date "Georgina").
** In Blackadder The Third, the Prince of Wales and his butler exchange clothes and fool everyone, even their Igor, Baldrick or the King, the Prince's father.
*** To be fair, the King was a complete nutter, Baldrick was a complete idiot, and the entire setting is a CrapsackWorld where the character of Blackadder is typically the OnlySaneMan (with the exception of the first season).
*** This is theoretically actual history this is taking place in, so the fact that the king is off his nut shouldn't come as a surprise-he's George the Third.
**** This example gets a {{lampshade|Hanging}} and HandWave at the same time: Prince George says the switch will never work because his picture hangs on every wall. Baldrick says that, according to his cousin Bert, [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness paintings of the era are painted to a romantic ideal rather than as a true depiction of the idiosyncratic facial qualities of the person in question]]. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Blackadder then remarks "Your cousin Bert obviously has a larger vocabulary than you do, Baldrick"]]
** In "The Witch-Smeller Pursuivant" in ''Blackadder I'', Blackadder goes KingIncognito to avoid detection while he consults a wise woman. His disguise consists of a leather strap across his face. However he is recognised by a Peasant, despite people referring to him as 'Stranger'.
* Used in the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode 'Coup by Clam'. A female character has disguised herself as a man by covering up her breasts in spite of the fact that her face is completely unchanged. She manages somehow to fool the guard she works with (possibly justified by the guard being an idiot as well as a misogynist dickhead) but Chiana sees straight through it. Also used again in that episode with John dressing up amusingly as one of the least convincing women ever, in order to enter a club where all the male clients are known.
* On ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Master, whose skills involved being a master of disguise, disguised himself frequently during Roger Delgado's tenure with a pair of glasses. Anthony Ainley also adopted paper-thin disguises in "Castrovalva" and "Time-Flight" (In the latter case, they actually intended to fool someone, as Ainley even used a pseudonym in the credits). The Master hid behind pseudonyms like "Colonel Masters", "Mr. Magister", "Dr. Masterly", etc. In the new series, he hides behind an unintentionally SignificantAnagram.
*** To be fair, in most cases the Master was trying to fool ordinary people who at that point had no idea who he was or what was going on (often his schemes involved infiltrating organizations under false identities), and his pseudonyms are probably ''intended'' to be bad as a mockery of a species he looks down on. In fact most of the time whenever the Master appears in disguise to the Doctor or someone who actually knows who he is they see right through his disguise immediately (and he probably wouldn't have it any other way).
*** In The End Of Time he even lampshades it, sort of.
** In "The Visitation" (Peter Davison Doctor) the villain travels to London wrapped up in a huge cloak. Seeing as he's a lizard-like alien with nothing covering his large green snout this disguise is particularly unconvincing.
** In the Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures, Sabbath demonstrates just what an {{expy}} of the Master he is, with a dreadful pseudonym (Mr. Holiday) and a disguise which, being BiggerOnTheInside, makes him ''very slightly thinner than he actually is''. The Doctor is thrown off, while the readers wonder if the Doctor recognizes people who've been on a diet.
* Subversion: On ''Series/TopGear'', the presenters occasionally switch out James "Captain Slow" May for their "tame racing driver", a [[TheFaceless masked man]] known only as The Stig. The whole disguise is The Stig wearing one of May's iconic shirts (a ghastly purple-and-pink striped number) over his white racing suit. Mysteriously, no one finds it convincing.
-->'''May:''' Some say I was bound and gagged in locker room...
** Also played with during the Hammerhead i-Eagle Thrust challenge when the "[[BlatantLies independent tester]]" was clearly May with a gaffer-tape mustache and his hair tied back.
** And in the "Three Wise Men" special, when Clarkson and Hammond dress up in niqab.
-->'''Hammond:''' [[Series/AlloAllo It is I!]]
* In ''Series/{{Glee}}'', the kids switch names to screw with the substitute teacher. What name does the blonde, female Brittany choose? Mike Chang.
* Someone handed ''Series/MacGyver'' the IdiotBall in the episode "Cleo Rocks". Despite clues so obvious that a child could work it out, it takes Mac most of the episode to realize that his old nemesis Murdoc is back, even though his disguise is so thin that it's obvious who he is the first time we see him. From behind. In the dark. And he's only halfway in the frame. They clearly thought it was working, too, since even after the first [[TheReveal reveal]] where Murdoc appears undisguised, it's only after we get a ''second'' reveal that anyone realizes that he's been in disguise all along.
** More like [[ViewersAreMorons the producers expected the audience to be carrying the idiot ball]]. Since it was airing on USA network at the time, they were probably right.
* From ''Series/AlloAllo'', there is the character of Monsieur Roger [=LeClerc=], "Man of a thousand faces - every one the same." Most episodes see him donning a completely useless disguise and conspiratorially whispering [[CatchPhrase "It is I, Le Clerc!"]]
** Subverted: A'' 'Duck Seller' '' enters the café approaches the bar and identifies as Le Clerc only for Le Clerc to pop up and out the Seller as an impostor. It is in fact Mme. Edith in a very convincing disguise.
** In Leclerc's case, Rene almost always recognises him immediately. However, when events like the Colonel and the Captain being trapped as British [=POWs=] in a Stalag Luft, and examined closely by their own General, or Herr Flick [[CrossDresser posing as a temporary typist]], [[CampGay Gruber]] or the airmen (complete with large handlebar moustaches) posing as nuns, and going completely unrecognised, the trope is played much straighter.
** As mentioned, [[CampGay Gruber's]] disguises are usually pathetic, but one episode features him disguised as a nurse so convincingly that most viewers don't realise it's him until he speaks. Judging from the ''explosion'' of laughter, the studio audience didn't recognise him either.
** In another case, Michelle of the Resistance comes in dressed as a very old lady. Though the ''identity'' of the person under the disguise may not be immediately apparent, it is quite obvious that it is a disguise due to the fact that her skin is very young looking apart from the false nose...[[ShesGotLegs and the fact that when she sits down a pair of decidedly not old lady legs emerge from the coat.]]
* Beautiful subversion on ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', where Tobias steals the plot of ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'' and dresses himself up as a British nanny in order to try to get closer to his daughter - complete with ''Film/MaryPoppins''-style song-and-dance numbers and Tobias' own total lack of competence at housework. The other characters, apparently far more GenreSavvy than Tobias himself, recognize Tobias right away, as well as the movie he took it from, and their trying to deal with this without breaking Tobias' heart create some of the show's most hilariously painful scenes.
** The best part is that in order to impersonate a woman, David Cross had to shave off his signature mustache - thus, whenever Tobias reappears as himself, he's wearing a painfully fake mustache.
* Terryin Al Murray's ''[[VideoGame/BenThereDanThat Time, Gentlemen, Please!]]'' is frequently able to pass himself off for someone else just by wearing different clothes, an obviously fake moustache and in some cases simply saying he's not Terry. This doesn't last for long however since Terry is known to be 'very gassy'. He is however hailed as a master of disguise by everyone he fools.
* On ''Series/TheWildWildWest'', Artemus Gordon was supposed to be a MasterOfDisguise, but most of his disguises involve little more than a fake scar or cheap mustache. They make "paper thin" seem unnecessarily complimentary. This was because the [[ExecutiveMeddling network heads complained whenever he wore a disguise that actually worked]], [[ViewersAreMorons fearing it would confuse the audience]], and required that all of his disguises be paper thin. The actor and the make-up people are on record complaining about this.
** Unintentionally averted in "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary", when Artie is disguised as a gas company meter man; he broke his leg during filming of the episode so he was replaced for part of the climax by a stand-in (who looks ''nothing'' like Ross Martin).
** In [[Film/WildWildWest the film version]], however, it's much much worse. Gordon is introduced disguised as a saloon girl... and despite looking rather obviously like a man, and sounding very little like a woman, his disguise fools the living Hell out of everyone. Yet, even this is topped when James West dons an awkward harem costume and interrupts the villain's inaugural NebulousEvilOrganisation meeting by doing a Little Egypt dance, which despite being membrane-thin and a grossly obvious diversion tactic, somehow gains the rapt attention of every bad guy in the scene.
*** Of course, the movie also played it perfect with Gordon's spot-on U.S. Grant impression. (The fact that Grant was played by KevinKline as well helped a bit, too.)
**** In fairness, Artie was also occasionally disguised as a woman on the original show as well ("The Night of the Freebooters" and "The Night of the Green Terror") but never to that extent.
* Eric van Helsing from ''Series/YoungDracula'' who doesn't even shave his beard off when disguising himself as a woman.
* {{Supervillain}} Sylar on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has an uncanny, entirely non-superpowered ability to convince other people that he's someone he's not, mostly by using a [[BriefAccentImitation variety of fake accents]] combined with [[BavarianFireDrill acting like he's supposed to be there]]. Once he gains the power to generate actual illusions, he quickly manages to bluff his way into becoming President of the United States.
* This was practically a RunningGag in ''{{Kamen Rider Den-O}}'', as [[PeopleInRubberSuits giant friendly Tengu rubber-suit monster]] Deneb would routinely stroll through the streets next to the main characters wearing no more of a disguise than... say, a hat.
** ''KamenRiderBlack'' plays it painfully straight with the main character. Now, while a suit that covers one's entire body is good for hiding one's features, Kotaro has a habit (shared with pretty much every Rider ever, actually) of using his Rider-motif bike in civilian identity. He gets a new bike as Black, and rides ''it'' in civilian form, too. Establishment shots frequently have it parked outside in plain view. He never tries to pretend to ''not'' be hunting down whatever [[NebulousEvilOrganization Golgom]] is up to, or ever make an excuse for running off. Somehow, nobody notices.
** Inverted in ''KamenRiderDouble'' in that, while Shoutarou rides around on the same bike that Double uses, the Fuuto Police Department inspector believes that Shoutarou is a 'friend' of Double. One could assume that he also told the inspector that Double gave him a duplicate bike and that the public simply also believes this.
* Parodied in a ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch, where "Mr. Hilter" and his associates, "Ron Vibbentrop" and "Heimlich Bimmler" campaign for the National Bocialist Party in England. Nobody recognizes them, despite wearing Nazi uniforms, speaking in German, and denying that they're Nazis rather [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial unconvincingly]].
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' subject ''The Rebel Set'' features one of the most bizarre examples of all time: the mastermind of an armored car robbery goes incognito on a train to bump off his henchmen (all of whom have spent a lot of time with him) and keep the money for himself. His disguise? A priest's collar. The [=MST3k=] guys have said that the first time they saw the film, it took them all quite a while to realize it was even supposed to be a disguise.
* In the Cloris Leachman episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', pigs take over the show and fill all the roles. Cloris comes out on stage while "Kermit the Pig" is making an introduction and states her belief that he's not Kermit the Frog, despite being green (not easy for a pig) and having the collar. What changes her mind? "Ribbit!" He didn't even have to hide his ears or snout.
** Any role played by Gonzo fits, as the mask has to fit that unique nose of his
-->'''Gonzo:''' (As the Black Knight) The world will forever wonder who I am!\\
'''Kermit:''' Though some may harbor suspicions...
** Beaker once [[LampshadeWearing donned a lampshade]] to hide from testing Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's invention. This worked well, until Beauregard plugged him in.
** Bunsen takes a turn while being harassed by multiple clones of Beaker, trying to hide his identity using a ConspicuousTrenchcoat, a hat and a plastic glasses/nose/'stache arrangement. It fools Kermit but works for all of thirty seconds before the Beakers find him.
** In ''Tales OF the Tinkerdee'', a pre-Muppet Show Creator/JimHenson production, Taminella Grindenfall, witchiest witch of them all, is able to disguise herself as a Santa Claus, the princess, the kingdom prime minister, and an artist by wearing different wigs and hats.
* In an episode of the UK version of ''WhoWantsToBeASuperhero'', after one of Dr. Dark's henchmen steals the secret identity files of their superheroes, they are forced to don disguises and create distractions in an attempt to take them back off him. Most of the heroes' disguises were paper thin and if anything would make them stick out like a sore thumb. Fortunately the henchman was fooled until he saw some of the superheroes taking the files from under his snout.
* Invoked totally in ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' with Gerard Depardieu, where the disguises of the Count often involve no more than a larger nose than Gerard's normal one.
* Invoked in ''Series/DadsArmy'' when, on a training exercise, Captain Mainwaring decides to dress some sheep in tin hats to make it look as though they were his men dressed as sheep. Meanwhile Corporal Jones poses as a [[MobileShrubbery log]] using a pantomime costume. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny It gets funnier.]]
* ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'' contains a rare effective example. It's obviously the same actor with different makeup and hair, but because [[ActingForTwo that actor plays about a third of the characters on the show]], you'll never guess. Saying which two characters are the same person would be telling.
* The same kind of [[LoadsAndLoadsOfRoles economy casting]] is used on ''Series/TheMightyBoosh''. But it didn't make Howard and Vince's attempts to masquerade as old ladies in the Bingo Hall seem any less feeble. Howard in particular should really have considered doing something about his moustache...
* In ''LazyTown'' no one ever realises the person causing trouble who looks like Robbie Rotten in a silly outfit ''is'', in fact, Robbie Rotten in a silly outfit. This is especially hilarious because his cover is blown at the end of EVERY episode, yet the townspeople will ''still'' fall for his PaperThinDisguise in the next episode. (And yet, Robbie Rotten himself thinks his disguises are amazingly awesome and calls himself "The Master of Disguise.")
** If he actually is fooling everyone, then he's probably on to something.
** Taken to the extreme in "Play Day" where his hat falls off and not one person yells "Robbie Rotten!" like they usually do.
** Subverted in the episode "Defeeted" where the mayor recognises Robbie straight away, even though the villain is wearing one of his better disguises: a superhero outfit. The characters have fallen for [[PaperThinDisguise lesser disguises]] in the past.
* Spoofed in the Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} series ''AllThat'', where the local superhero encounters an impersonator robbing the bank. [[EasyImpersonation Said impersonator is a little girl.]] The real superhero repeatedly tries to convince the TooDumbToLive townspeople that he's the real thing. They are unable to tell the difference between the two even when the real superhero bends a metal pole, and the impersonator just rips a piece of paper.
** To make it better, the superhero was black (and a bit fat), while the little girl was white (and pretty thin).
* On ''Series/{{CSI}}'', in the episode "Living Legend", a series of murders are committed, ostensibly by separate people. All of the killers look amazingly alike (including the one who's supposed to be black and female). All of the killers use names that are obviously cribbed from horror movies. None of the killers try to hide their identities, which don't lead back to any real people. Any viewer with half a brain cell will have figured out by the fifteen-minute mark that all the killers (plus a few other characters) are played by ''[[NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize special guest star]] [[Music/TheWho Roger Daltrey]]'', but it takes the well trained and highly intelligent police until the 48 minute mark to even figure out that any one of the killers is actually using a disguise and fake name, let alone figure out that they're all the same person.
* On ''Series/RobinHood'', all the outlaws had to do to render themselves invisible was to put on their hoods. In any given crowd of people, there would always be a little group of people that had their hoods obscuring their faces - this was never considered suspicious.
** An especially strange example is when Will Scarlett and Allan-a-Dale put on their hoods ''after'' a guard has stormed past and told them to get out of his way.
** Funny hats also did the trick, as did a fancy dress for Djaq. Guy of Gisborne stops her as she infiltrates the castle, only for him to give her some orders, thinking she's a serving girl. Just for the record, Djaq was a ''Saracen woman''. I guess Guy sees a lot of them around Nottingham...
* The 2005 Canadian series ''Series/YoungBlades'' was '''notorious''' for this. The best example was Jacqueline - a female Musketeer [[SweetPollyOliver masquerading as a man]] - who used to conceal her femininity by tying back her (waist-length) hair, assuming a bizarre guttural voice and frowning a lot. In some episodes she sported a highly amusing fake goatee, which only made things worse. And yet no one penetrated her disguise, ''ever'', even when she let her hair down, put on a dress and started pretending to be her own twin sister. It was absurd!
** In fact, most of the characters seemed to think that if they just put on a mask that covered their eyes they would be instantly unrecognizable even to their closest friends. [[IdiotPlot They were usually right...]]
** Notably averted in the episode "The Chameleon," where the villain had the ability to ''shapeshift'' at will. Though of course, given the good guys' track record for recognizing impostors, an eyepatch and a cigar might have served him just as well.
*** Also ''inverted'' in "The Chameleon," where the Chameleon disguises himself as Jacques, and D'Artagnan claims the disguise was paper thin to him because "Jacques" acted like a man, not like a woman disguised as a man.
* Common on ''Series/{{Batman}}'', where the citizens of Gotham City are remarkably unobservant when it comes to recognizing Special Guest Villains. On at least two occasions, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker is able to successfully impersonate someone else -- not by wearing makeup to hide his distinctive features, or even by changing clothes, but by simply ''wearing a hat''.
* Subverted in ''Series/ChappellesShow'', when Tyrone Biggums is tricked into an intervention with his friends. One of them, Rhonda, recalls the time that he carjacked her. He tried to hide his identity simply by pulling his red hat over his head like a ski mask, but Rhonda instantly recognized him anyway:
-->'''Tyrone:''' Get out the car!\\
'''Rhonda:''' Tyrone, what are you doing?\\
'''Tyrone:''' Who's Tyrone? Huh? I don't know Tyrone!\\
'''Rhonda:''' No, it's you with your crusty-ass lips.\\
'''Tyrone:''' Stop playin', and get out the car! Get out the car! I don't know no Tyrone.
* A RunningJoke on ''Series/TheSteamVideoCompany'' where every week an exasperated cast member would express dismay at the shoddiness of Bob Todd's disguise.
* In ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters'', villain Enter is made of data and can change his clothes in the blink of an eye, but for some reason never bothers with the rest of the disguise, and maintains his appearance and signature goggles every time.
* Subverted in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' Season 4. Leonard tries to pick up Women in an Apple Store by wearing a T-shirt. When that fails Howard tells him it doesn't work going back with a false moustache.
* Inverted in the ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' episode "The Theater Thug". Because Josh keeps getting attacked because he looks a lot like a wanted criminal, he decides to put on a heavy trenchcoat and hat. Everyone recognized him instantly.
* On ''Series/BabylonFive, Londo needs to sneak [[spoiler: Na'Toth]] off of Centauri Prime. His solution? Put a dress on her, partially conceal her face, and then [[RefugeInAudacity act slobberingly drunk as he very publicly walks her to the spaceport]], reasoning that everyone would go out of their way to ignore such an act.
* Played straight in ''Alias'' when Sydney literally uses wrapping paper as a skirt. This and a cheap convenience store wig are enough to fool the valley-girl clique she is attempting to blend in with.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcmXCXqI7Ew&feature=related The Butterfield Detective Agency]] sketch from ''ThePeterSerafinowiczShow'', in which most of Butterfield's disguises consist of hats or simple props.
** Robbie's mustache is made even thinner as anyone could easily put 2 and 2 together that Robbie Ray and Robbie Ray Stewart are the same person especially when one considers that he never hides the fact that he is Robbie Ray even without the mustache. It very possible this is an attempt to lampshade this trope as Robbie seems to be the same person with or without the mustache.
* Many episodes of ''Series/ILoveLucy'' have Lucy and Ethel dressing up in paper thin disguises to fool their husbands in some scheme. Depending on what the plot demands Ricky and Fred are either completely fooled or recognize their wives right away.
** Tennessee Ernie Ford doesn't recognize the Wicked City Woman trying to seduce him (just Lucy in a black wig.)
* The ''Series/{{Blackadder}} Goes Forth'' episode "General Hospital" features Blackadder trying to find a German spy in the field hospital. One of the men recovering there has a very thick German accent, introduces himself simply as "Smith" and behaves rather suspiciously...[[spoiler:Subverted in that as Blackadder points out, not even the Germans are stupid enough to send a man with such a pitiful disguise to be a spy; he's actually a British spy who's been in Germany for so long he's developed an accent.]]
** Similarly, George's suggestion that they find the German spy by going to the hospital and looking for the person whose name begins with "von" receives understandably short shrift from Blackadder.
** Similarly, in "Major Star", Private "Bob" Parkhurst is just a woman dressed up in mens clothing, without any facial disguising of any sort, and yet she is able to fool the General into thinking she is a man, to the point where he is disgusted by her "disgusting drag act" when she gives a cabaret performance (as opposed to earlier, when he thought George's actual drag act so real, he tried to date "Georgina").
** In Blackadder The Third, the Prince of Wales and his butler exchange clothes and fool everyone, even their Igor, Baldrick or the King, the Prince's father.
*** To be fair, the King was a complete nutter, Baldrick was a complete idiot, and the entire setting is a CrapsackWorld where the character of Blackadder is typically the OnlySaneMan (with the exception of the first season).
*** This is theoretically actual history this is taking place in, so the fact that the king is off his nut shouldn't come as a surprise-he's George the Third.
**** This example gets a {{lampshade|Hanging}} and HandWave at the same time: Prince George says the switch will never work because his picture hangs on every wall. Baldrick says that, according to his cousin Bert, [[SesquipedalianLoquaciousness paintings of the era are painted to a romantic ideal rather than as a true depiction of the idiosyncratic facial qualities of the person in question]]. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Blackadder then remarks "Your cousin Bert obviously has a larger vocabulary than you do, Baldrick"]]
** In "The Witch-Smeller Pursuivant" in ''Blackadder I'', Blackadder goes KingIncognito to avoid detection while he consults a wise woman. His disguise consists of a leather strap across his face. However he is recognised by a Peasant, despite people referring to him as 'Stranger'.
* Used in the ''Series/{{Farscape}}'' episode 'Coup by Clam'. A female character has disguised herself as a man by covering up her breasts in spite of the fact that her face is completely unchanged. She manages somehow to fool the guard she works with (possibly justified by the guard being an idiot as well as a misogynist dickhead) but Chiana sees straight through it. Also used again in that episode with John dressing up amusingly as one of the least convincing women ever, in order to enter a club where all the male clients are known.
* On ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Master, whose skills involved being a master of disguise, disguised himself frequently during Roger Delgado's tenure with a pair of glasses. Anthony Ainley also adopted paper-thin disguises in "Castrovalva" and "Time-Flight" (In the latter case, they actually intended to fool someone, as Ainley even used a pseudonym in the credits). The Master hid behind pseudonyms like "Colonel Masters", "Mr. Magister", "Dr. Masterly", etc. In the new series, he hides behind an unintentionally SignificantAnagram.
*** To be fair, in most cases the Master was trying to fool ordinary people who at that point had no idea who he was or what was going on (often his schemes involved infiltrating organizations under false identities), and his pseudonyms are probably ''intended'' to be bad as a mockery of a species he looks down on. In fact most of the time whenever the Master appears in disguise to the Doctor or someone who actually knows who he is they see right through his disguise immediately (and he probably wouldn't have it any other way).
*** In The End Of Time he even lampshades it, sort of.
** In "The Visitation" (Peter Davison Doctor) the villain travels to London wrapped up in a huge cloak. Seeing as he's a lizard-like alien with nothing covering his large green snout this disguise is particularly unconvincing.
** In the Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures, Sabbath demonstrates just what an {{expy}} of the Master he is, with a dreadful pseudonym (Mr. Holiday) and a disguise which, being BiggerOnTheInside, makes him ''very slightly thinner than he actually is''. The Doctor is thrown off, while the readers wonder if the Doctor recognizes people who've been on a diet.
* Subversion: On ''Series/TopGear'', the presenters occasionally switch out James "Captain Slow" May for their "tame racing driver", a [[TheFaceless masked man]] known only as The Stig. The whole disguise is The Stig wearing one of May's iconic shirts (a ghastly purple-and-pink striped number) over his white racing suit. Mysteriously, no one finds it convincing.
-->'''May:''' Some say I was bound and gagged in locker room...
** Also played with during the Hammerhead i-Eagle Thrust challenge when the "[[BlatantLies independent tester]]" was clearly May with a gaffer-tape mustache and his hair tied back.
** And in the "Three Wise Men" special, when Clarkson and Hammond dress up in niqab.
-->'''Hammond:''' [[Series/AlloAllo It is I!]]
* In ''Series/{{Glee}}'', the kids switch names to screw with the substitute teacher. What name does the blonde, female Brittany choose? Mike Chang.
* Someone handed ''Series/MacGyver'' the IdiotBall in the episode "Cleo Rocks". Despite clues so obvious that a child could work it out, it takes Mac most of the episode to realize that his old nemesis Murdoc is back, even though his disguise is so thin that it's obvious who he is the first time we see him. From behind. In the dark. And he's only halfway in the frame. They clearly thought it was working, too, since even after the first [[TheReveal reveal]] where Murdoc appears undisguised, it's only after we get a ''second'' reveal that anyone realizes that he's been in disguise all along.
** More like [[ViewersAreMorons the producers expected the audience to be carrying the idiot ball]]. Since it was airing on USA network at the time, they were probably right.
* From ''Series/AlloAllo'', there is the character of Monsieur Roger [=LeClerc=], "Man of a thousand faces - every one the same." Most episodes see him donning a completely useless disguise and conspiratorially whispering [[CatchPhrase "It is I, Le Clerc!"]]
** Subverted: A'' 'Duck Seller' '' enters the café approaches the bar and identifies as Le Clerc only for Le Clerc to pop up and out the Seller as an impostor. It is in fact Mme. Edith in a very convincing disguise.
** In Leclerc's case, Rene almost always recognises him immediately. However, when events like the Colonel and the Captain being trapped as British [=POWs=] in a Stalag Luft, and examined closely by their own General, or Herr Flick [[CrossDresser posing as a temporary typist]], [[CampGay Gruber]] or the airmen (complete with large handlebar moustaches) posing as nuns, and going completely unrecognised, the trope is played much straighter.
** As mentioned, [[CampGay Gruber's]] disguises are usually pathetic, but one episode features him disguised as a nurse so convincingly that most viewers don't realise it's him until he speaks. Judging from the ''explosion'' of laughter, the studio audience didn't recognise him either.
** In another case, Michelle of the Resistance comes in dressed as a very old lady. Though the ''identity'' of the person under the disguise may not be immediately apparent, it is quite obvious that it is a disguise due to the fact that her skin is very young looking apart from the false nose...[[ShesGotLegs and the fact that when she sits down a pair of decidedly not old lady legs emerge from the coat.]]
* Beautiful subversion on ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'', where Tobias steals the plot of ''Film/MrsDoubtfire'' and dresses himself up as a British nanny in order to try to get closer to his daughter - complete with ''Film/MaryPoppins''-style song-and-dance numbers and Tobias' own total lack of competence at housework. The other characters, apparently far more GenreSavvy than Tobias himself, recognize Tobias right away, as well as the movie he took it from, and their trying to deal with this without breaking Tobias' heart create some of the show's most hilariously painful scenes.
** The best part is that in order to impersonate a woman, David Cross had to shave off his signature mustache - thus, whenever Tobias reappears as himself, he's wearing a painfully fake mustache.
* Terryin Al Murray's ''[[VideoGame/BenThereDanThat Time, Gentlemen, Please!]]'' is frequently able to pass himself off for someone else just by wearing different clothes, an obviously fake moustache and in some cases simply saying he's not Terry. This doesn't last for long however since Terry is known to be 'very gassy'. He is however hailed as a master of disguise by everyone he fools.
* On ''Series/TheWildWildWest'', Artemus Gordon was supposed to be a MasterOfDisguise, but most of his disguises involve little more than a fake scar or cheap mustache. They make "paper thin" seem unnecessarily complimentary. This was because the [[ExecutiveMeddling network heads complained whenever he wore a disguise that actually worked]], [[ViewersAreMorons fearing it would confuse the audience]], and required that all of his disguises be paper thin. The actor and the make-up people are on record complaining about this.
** Unintentionally averted in "The Night of the Avaricious Actuary", when Artie is disguised as a gas company meter man; he broke his leg during filming of the episode so he was replaced for part of the climax by a stand-in (who looks ''nothing'' like Ross Martin).
** In [[Film/WildWildWest the film version]], however, it's much much worse. Gordon is introduced disguised as a saloon girl... and despite looking rather obviously like a man, and sounding very little like a woman, his disguise fools the living Hell out of everyone. Yet, even this is topped when James West dons an awkward harem costume and interrupts the villain's inaugural NebulousEvilOrganisation meeting by doing a Little Egypt dance, which despite being membrane-thin and a grossly obvious diversion tactic, somehow gains the rapt attention of every bad guy in the scene.
*** Of course, the movie also played it perfect with Gordon's spot-on U.S. Grant impression. (The fact that Grant was played by KevinKline as well helped a bit, too.)
**** In fairness, Artie was also occasionally disguised as a woman on the original show as well ("The Night of the Freebooters" and "The Night of the Green Terror") but never to that extent.
* Eric van Helsing from ''Series/YoungDracula'' who doesn't even shave his beard off when disguising himself as a woman.
* {{Supervillain}} Sylar on ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' has an uncanny, entirely non-superpowered ability to convince other people that he's someone he's not, mostly by using a [[BriefAccentImitation variety of fake accents]] combined with [[BavarianFireDrill acting like he's supposed to be there]]. Once he gains the power to generate actual illusions, he quickly manages to bluff his way into becoming President of the United States.
* This was practically a RunningGag in ''{{Kamen Rider Den-O}}'', as [[PeopleInRubberSuits giant friendly Tengu rubber-suit monster]] Deneb would routinely stroll through the streets next to the main characters wearing no more of a disguise than... say, a hat.
** ''KamenRiderBlack'' plays it painfully straight with the main character. Now, while a suit that covers one's entire body is good for hiding one's features, Kotaro has a habit (shared with pretty much every Rider ever, actually) of using his Rider-motif bike in civilian identity. He gets a new bike as Black, and rides ''it'' in civilian form, too. Establishment shots frequently have it parked outside in plain view. He never tries to pretend to ''not'' be hunting down whatever [[NebulousEvilOrganization Golgom]] is up to, or ever make an excuse for running off. Somehow, nobody notices.
** Inverted in ''KamenRiderDouble'' in that, while Shoutarou rides around on the same bike that Double uses, the Fuuto Police Department inspector believes that Shoutarou is a 'friend' of Double. One could assume that he also told the inspector that Double gave him a duplicate bike and that the public simply also believes this.
* Parodied in a ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' sketch, where "Mr. Hilter" and his associates, "Ron Vibbentrop" and "Heimlich Bimmler" campaign for the National Bocialist Party in England. Nobody recognizes them, despite wearing Nazi uniforms, speaking in German, and denying that they're Nazis rather [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial unconvincingly]].
* ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' subject ''The Rebel Set'' features one of the most bizarre examples of all time: the mastermind of an armored car robbery goes incognito on a train to bump off his henchmen (all of whom have spent a lot of time with him) and keep the money for himself. His disguise? A priest's collar. The [=MST3k=] guys have said that the first time they saw the film, it took them all quite a while to realize it was even supposed to be a disguise.
* In the Cloris Leachman episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', pigs take over the show and fill all the roles. Cloris comes out on stage while "Kermit the Pig" is making an introduction and states her belief that he's not Kermit the Frog, despite being green (not easy for a pig) and having the collar. What changes her mind? "Ribbit!" He didn't even have to hide his ears or snout.
** Any role played by Gonzo fits, as the mask has to fit that unique nose of his
-->'''Gonzo:''' (As the Black Knight) The world will forever wonder who I am!\\
'''Kermit:''' Though some may harbor suspicions...
** Beaker once [[LampshadeWearing donned a lampshade]] to hide from testing Dr. Bunsen Honeydew's invention. This worked well, until Beauregard plugged him in.
** Bunsen takes a turn while being harassed by multiple clones of Beaker, trying to hide his identity using a ConspicuousTrenchcoat, a hat and a plastic glasses/nose/'stache arrangement. It fools Kermit but works for all of thirty seconds before the Beakers find him.
** In ''Tales OF the Tinkerdee'', a pre-Muppet Show Creator/JimHenson production, Taminella Grindenfall, witchiest witch of them all, is able to disguise herself as a Santa Claus, the princess, the kingdom prime minister, and an artist by wearing different wigs and hats.
* In an episode of the UK version of ''WhoWantsToBeASuperhero'', after one of Dr. Dark's henchmen steals the secret identity files of their superheroes, they are forced to don disguises and create distractions in an attempt to take them back off him. Most of the heroes' disguises were paper thin and if anything would make them stick out like a sore thumb. Fortunately the henchman was fooled until he saw some of the superheroes taking the files from under his snout.
* Invoked totally in ''Literature/TheCountOfMonteCristo'' with Gerard Depardieu, where the disguises of the Count often involve no more than a larger nose than Gerard's normal one.
* Invoked in ''Series/DadsArmy'' when, on a training exercise, Captain Mainwaring decides to dress some sheep in tin hats to make it look as though they were his men dressed as sheep. Meanwhile Corporal Jones poses as a [[MobileShrubbery log]] using a pantomime costume. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny It gets funnier.]]
* ''Series/TheLeagueOfGentlemen'' contains a rare effective example. It's obviously the same actor with different makeup and hair, but because [[ActingForTwo that actor plays about a third of the characters on the show]], you'll never guess. Saying which two characters are the same person would be telling.
* The same kind of [[LoadsAndLoadsOfRoles economy casting]] is used on ''Series/TheMightyBoosh''. But it didn't make Howard and Vince's attempts to masquerade as old ladies in the Bingo Hall seem any less feeble. Howard in particular should really have considered doing something about his moustache...
* In ''LazyTown'' no one ever realises the person causing trouble who looks like Robbie Rotten in a silly outfit ''is'', in fact, Robbie Rotten in a silly outfit. This is especially hilarious because his cover is blown at the end of EVERY episode, yet the townspeople will ''still'' fall for his PaperThinDisguise in the next episode. (And yet, Robbie Rotten himself thinks his disguises are amazingly awesome and calls himself "The Master of Disguise.")
** If he actually is fooling everyone, then he's probably on to something.
** Taken to the extreme in "Play Day" where his hat falls off and not one person yells "Robbie Rotten!" like they usually do.
** Subverted in the episode "Defeeted" where the mayor recognises Robbie straight away, even though the villain is wearing one of his better disguises: a superhero outfit. The characters have fallen for [[PaperThinDisguise lesser disguises]] in the past.
* Spoofed in the Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} series ''AllThat'', where the local superhero encounters an impersonator robbing the bank. [[EasyImpersonation Said impersonator is a little girl.]] The real superhero repeatedly tries to convince the TooDumbToLive townspeople that he's the real thing. They are unable to tell the difference between the two even when the real superhero bends a metal pole, and the impersonator just rips a piece of paper.
** To make it better, the superhero was black (and a bit fat), while the little girl was white (and pretty thin).
* On ''Series/{{CSI}}'', in the episode "Living Legend", a series of murders are committed, ostensibly by separate people. All of the killers look amazingly alike (including the one who's supposed to be black and female). All of the killers use names that are obviously cribbed from horror movies. None of the killers try to hide their identities, which don't lead back to any real people. Any viewer with half a brain cell will have figured out by the fifteen-minute mark that all the killers (plus a few other characters) are played by ''[[NarrowedItDownToTheGuyIRecognize special guest star]] [[Music/TheWho Roger Daltrey]]'', but it takes the well trained and highly intelligent police until the 48 minute mark to even figure out that any one of the killers is actually using a disguise and fake name, let alone figure out that they're all the same person.
* On ''Series/RobinHood'', all the outlaws had to do to render themselves invisible was to put on their hoods. In any given crowd of people, there would always be a little group of people that had their hoods obscuring their faces - this was never considered suspicious.
** An especially strange example is when Will Scarlett and Allan-a-Dale put on their hoods ''after'' a guard has stormed past and told them to get out of his way.
** Funny hats also did the trick, as did a fancy dress for Djaq. Guy of Gisborne stops her as she infiltrates the castle, only for him to give her some orders, thinking she's a serving girl. Just for the record, Djaq was a ''Saracen woman''. I guess Guy sees a lot of them around Nottingham...
* The 2005 Canadian series ''Series/YoungBlades'' was '''notorious''' for this. The best example was Jacqueline - a female Musketeer [[SweetPollyOliver masquerading as a man]] - who used to conceal her femininity by tying back her (waist-length) hair, assuming a bizarre guttural voice and frowning a lot. In some episodes she sported a highly amusing fake goatee, which only made things worse. And yet no one penetrated her disguise, ''ever'', even when she let her hair down, put on a dress and started pretending to be her own twin sister. It was absurd!
** In fact, most of the characters seemed to think that if they just put on a mask that covered their eyes they would be instantly unrecognizable even to their closest friends. [[IdiotPlot They were usually right...]]
** Notably averted in the episode "The Chameleon," where the villain had the ability to ''shapeshift'' at will. Though of course, given the good guys' track record for recognizing impostors, an eyepatch and a cigar might have served him just as well.
*** Also ''inverted'' in "The Chameleon," where the Chameleon disguises himself as Jacques, and D'Artagnan claims the disguise was paper thin to him because "Jacques" acted like a man, not like a woman disguised as a man.
* Common on ''Series/{{Batman}}'', where the citizens of Gotham City are remarkably unobservant when it comes to recognizing Special Guest Villains. On at least two occasions, SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker is able to successfully impersonate someone else -- not by wearing makeup to hide his distinctive features, or even by changing clothes, but by simply ''wearing a hat''.
* Subverted in ''Series/ChappellesShow'', when Tyrone Biggums is tricked into an intervention with his friends. One of them, Rhonda, recalls the time that he carjacked her. He tried to hide his identity simply by pulling his red hat over his head like a ski mask, but Rhonda instantly recognized him anyway:
-->'''Tyrone:''' Get out the car!\\
'''Rhonda:''' Tyrone, what are you doing?\\
'''Tyrone:''' Who's Tyrone? Huh? I don't know Tyrone!\\
'''Rhonda:''' No, it's you with your crusty-ass lips.\\
'''Tyrone:''' Stop playin', and get out the car! Get out the car! I don't know no Tyrone.
* A RunningJoke on ''Series/TheSteamVideoCompany'' where every week an exasperated cast member would express dismay at the shoddiness of Bob Todd's disguise.
* In ''Series/TokumeiSentaiGobusters'', villain Enter is made of data and can change his clothes in the blink of an eye, but for some reason never bothers with the rest of the disguise, and maintains his appearance and signature goggles every time.
* Subverted in ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' Season 4. Leonard tries to pick up Women in an Apple Store by wearing a T-shirt. When that fails Howard tells him it doesn't work going back with a false moustache.
* Inverted in the ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' episode "The Theater Thug". Because Josh keeps getting attacked because he looks a lot like a wanted criminal, he decides to put on a heavy trenchcoat and hat. Everyone recognized him instantly.
* On ''Series/BabylonFive, Londo needs to sneak [[spoiler: Na'Toth]] off of Centauri Prime. His solution? Put a dress on her, partially conceal her face, and then [[RefugeInAudacity act slobberingly drunk as he very publicly walks her to the spaceport]], reasoning that everyone would go out of their way to ignore such an act.
* Played straight in ''Alias'' when Sydney literally uses wrapping paper as a skirt. This and a cheap convenience store wig are enough to fool the valley-girl clique she is attempting to blend in with.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcmXCXqI7Ew&feature=related The Butterfield Detective Agency]] sketch from ''ThePeterSerafinowiczShow'', in which most of Butterfield's disguises consist of hats or simple props.
