History Main / GlassyPrison

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon|1}}'' and ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' feature a variation on this, as DJ Octavio is repeatedly captured and imprisoned in an oversized snow globe after being defeated. And we do mean repeatedly: redoing the FinalBoss stage is a case of him [[CardboardPrison simply breaking out of the snow globe]], either by himself when no one was looking or one of the characters letting him go themselves.

-->'''Max:''' Of course...they've got [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheasant_under_glass Pheasant under glass]]! ''(99 [[IncrediblyLamePun rolls her eyes]])''

* ''Series/GetSmart''. In "Pheasant Under Glass", a KidnappedScientist is being held by KAOS in a "[[SpaceX nuclearized]] glass", so CONTROL hires an [[GlassShatteringSound opera singer to break the glass with her voice]]. [[spoiler:When the note fails to shatter the glass, she just smashes it with her BrawnHilde body.]]

->'''99:''' Hey Max, look...[[KidnappedScientist Professor Pheasant!]]
->'''Max:''' Well what's he doing in a telephone booth, reading a book?
->'''99:''' That's not a telephone booth, Max--that's a glass cell.
->'''Max:''' Of course...they've got [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheasant_under_glass Pheasant under glass]]! ''(99 [[IncrediblyLamePun rolls her eyes]])''
-->-- ''Series/GetSmart'', "Pheasant Under Glass"

* ''Series/GetSmart''. In "Pheasant Under Glass", KidnappedScientist is being held by KAOS in a "[[SpaceX nuclearized]] glass", so CONTROL hires an [[GlassShatteringSound opera singer to break the glass with her voice]]. [[spoiler:When the note fails to shatter the glass, she just smashes it with her BrawnHilde body.]]

* ''Series/{{Dracula2020}}'': [[spoiler: Count Dracula gets stuck in one after reaching England after his regenerative coma. He is quickly let out of it with the help of a lawyer though.]]
* ''[[Series/Jake20 Jake 2.0]]'' featured one of these, a glass-walled holding cell (with [[NobodyPoops no facilities]]) in the middle of an empty room with constant surveillance. Its use in the series emphasized that the characters held there (various terrorists) were dangerous not because of any special Jake-style abilities but because of the threat they posed to national security. (Ironically, Jake's nemesis [=DuMont=], who ''could'' have used special looking after, ended up in a regular prison, which he easily wormed his way out of.)

* In ''[[{{Literature/Gor}} Kur of Gor]]'' Tarl Cabot is imprisoned in what the narrator calls a "glassine" tube. The narrator means "glass-like" but [[YouKeepUsingThatWord that's not what glassine means]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' and ''VideoGame/Splatoon2'' feature a variation on this, as the series BigBad DJ Octavio is repeatedly captured and imprisoned in an oversized snow globe after being defeated.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Team Rocket put Pikachu in one of these in the Best Wishes episode "The Name's N".

* ''Series/TheBlacklist:'' Done to Raymond Reddington after he turns himself in to the FBI.
** Interestingly subverted in one episode where a gang of killers infiltrate the FBI compound and Reddington locks himself in the bulletproof, airtight cage; effectively turning his prison into a bunker so he can wait for rescue.

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' episode "The Final Problem" reveals that [[spoiler: Sherlock]] has a sister and she is housed in a maximum-security psychiatric facility, inside a glass chamber. Cue a WindowLove scene between the two siblings. [[spoiler:She actually uses this trope to her advantage, setting the scene to ''look'' like it's in play, when actually the glass pane isn't there at all, giving her the chance to surprise Sherlock when he thinks he's physically safe from her]]
* ''Series/{{Dracula2020}}'': [[spoiler: Count Dracula gets stuck in one after reaching England after his regenerative coma. He is quickly let out of it with help of a lawyer though.]]

Being imprisoned in such a manner, functionally [[PeopleZoo on exhibit]] for the captors, may be a demeaning moment, or an opportunity to show how self-assured the character is. Possibly a result of the character falling victim to TheCollector. Overlaps with HumanPopsicle if the character is rendered immobile. That said, having one or more walls be see-through does have practical advantages for a jailer - if the guards can casually look into the room at any time, then it becomes a lot harder for the prisoner to do things like make shivs, attempt to saw through the window bars or dig an escape tunnel without getting caught.

* The US military lock Carl Creel in one in the Series/AgentsOfSHIELD episode [[Recap/AgentsOfSHIELDS2E1Shadows "Shadows"]].

This trope comes into action when a character is deliberately placed within a transparent cage to hold them. This transparent material can be glass, another material, or SomeKindOfForceField. If only one wall is transparent, then it's a ForceFieldDoor or a material version thereof.

** ''Film/XMen1'' Magneto is imprisoned within a plastic, transparent prison at the end.

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' episode "The Final Problem" reveals that [[spoiler: Sherlock]] has a sister and she is housed in a maximum-security psychiatric facility, inside a glass chamber. Cue a WindowLove scene between the two siblings.

* ''Manga/{{BakiTheGrappler}}'': Ryukou Yanagi is first shown imprisoned in a tempered glass box, the walls of which are perfectly transparent and able to withstand a missile strike. He breaks out of it with minimal effort.

* ''[[Series/Jake20 Jake 2.0]]'' featured one of these, a glass-walled holding cell (with [[NobodyPoops no facilities]]) in the middle of an empty room with constant surveillance. Its use in the series emphasized that the characters held there (various terrorists) were dangerous not because of any special Jake-style abilities but because of the threat they posed to national security. (Ironically, Jake's nemesis DuMont, who ''could'' have used special looking after, ended up in a regular prison, which he easily wormed his way out of.)

Being imprisoned in such a manner, functionally [[PeopleZoo on exhibit]] for the captors, may be a demeaning moment, or an opportunity to show how self-assured the character is. Possibly a result of the character falling victim to TheCollector. Overlaps with HumanPopsicle if the character is rendered immobile.

* ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'': The SHIELD Helicarrier contains one designed as a TailorMadePrison for the Hulk, that can be dropped 30,000-odd feet out of the bottom of the ship at the push of a button. They use it to contain Loki.
* In ''Film/ThorTheDarkWorld'', Loki also ends up in a cell with a transparent ForceFieldDoor.

* The blue canine-like alien Stitch, of ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' is introduced to the audience in a holding cell of this variety, trying vainly to break out.

* Raoul Silva in ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'' is captured by Bond and incarcerated in a glass cell in MI6 headquarters before being interrogated by M.

* In ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS2E61TheSilence The Silence]]", a chatty fellow lives in a glass cell in the middle of a [[SmokyGentlemensClub Gentlemen's Club]] so he can prove he's keeping his wager to stay silent for an entire year.