History Main / PerpSweating

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. Mild and geeky Willow enjoys interrogating Jonathan (with desk lamp) when the Scoobies suspect him of murder in "Go Fish". The gag is repeated again in "Earshot".

* ''Series/DoctorWho''. In "Inferno", the Doctor travels to an AlternateHistory Britain that's been taken over by a fascist dictatorship. He is captured and interrogated by the Brigade Leader, TheBrigadier's EvilCounterpart. This consists of the Doctor tied to a chair with a light in his face, being shouted at a lot. It works as well as you'd expect, but it's obvious the Brigade Leader isn't very smart.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. In "Chain of Command" while being tortured by the Cardassians, Captain Picard has four lights shining in his face the whole time. [[TwoPlusTortureMakesFive Or are there actually five?]]

Two character types on whom Perp Sweating almost never works include TheSociopath and people with AspergersSyndrome: two totally different types of people, both on different levels of communication than you. TheSociopath will be two steps ahead of you and retaliate with a HannibalLecture. A person with Aspergers will be seven or eight steps behind (or ahead, if they are high functioning), and get confused by subtle questions, annoyed by a GoodCopBadCop routine, and clam up if you start lying to them. The savvy ones will BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible to get back at you. Either way you're going to have to rethink your techniques with them.

* In ''Anime/{{Nightwalker}}'', Yayoi is subjected to this treatment by unseen superiors in her own anti-demon MenInBlack agency after they learn that she's been hiring a vampire to help crack cases.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' short "Jack-Jack Attack" starts with a black screen with Kari's voice complaining that it's too dark. Suddenly a light gets shone in her eyes by [[MenInBlack Rick Dicker]]. "Wow, and now it's too bright!"

* Subverted/Inverted/Monkeywrenched in ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', when they had the killer, but they need to find his latest kidnap victim before she runs out of air. He's GenreSavvy, doesn't drink anything (can't get DNA), doesn't need to poop (can't "trade" him a bathroom break for info), doesn't give them any information, can't be intimidated by even Elliot's best efforts, and they can only hold him for so long. He's a copycat killer, so when TheProfiler Dr. Huang looks at his crimes, he realized that the victims--who, like the original killer, were all mothers--were never raped. They bring in his mother, who reveals that he's a disappointment to her, and he's afraid of the dark. There happens to be a closet down the hall. This is arguably torture from a legal perspective, but they care more about saving the victim than getting a conviction by that point.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'' episode "Money Talks", Mr. Krabs shines a desk lamp on a dollar bill to get it to "talk".
* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': In "Sleuth or Consequences", Lincoln and Lucy do this to their sisters to get information on who clogged up the toilet.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' episode "Money Talks", Mr. Krabs shines a desk lamp on a dollar bill to get it to "talk".

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* Sid plays at this with Woody in ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory'' before launching into WeHaveWaysOfMakingYouTalk.
** In ''WesternAnimation/ToyStory3'', Buzz is being interrogated by the mob under a big bright light.
* Kent Mansley in ''WesternAnimation/TheIronGiant'' does this to Hogarth.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' short "Jack-Jack Attack" starts with a black screen with Kari's voice complaining that it's too dark. Suddenly a light gets shone in her eyes by [[MenInBlack Rick Dicker]]. "Wow, and now it's too bright!"

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' shot "Jack-Jack Attack" starts with a black screen with Kari's voice complaining that it's too dark. Suddenly a light gets shone in her eyes by [[MenInBlack Rick Dicker]]. "Wow, and now it's too bright!"

* ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' shot "Jack-Jack Attack" starts with a black screen with the interogatee complaining that it's too dark, then the light gets shone in her eyes by a ManInBlack. "Now it's too bright!"

* ''NininGaShinobuden'' of all series, has one of these when Onsokumaru questions Miyabi about the boy she has a crush on.

* ''Series/AngieTribeca'' is a cop show spoof, so of course they're going to have some fun with this trope. Tanner barraging a suspect with a hurricane of board game puns (you're looking at Life, you're in a lot of Trouble, you'll be Sorry, etc.) is an excellent example of how this usually goes. In another episode, Angie and Jay also quite literally sweat a perp by turning the interview room into a steam room.

* Subverted/Inverted/Monkeywrenched in ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', when they had the killer, but they need to find his latest kidnap victim before she runs out of air. He's GenreSavvy, doesn't drink anything (can't get DNA), doesn't need to poop (can't "trade" him a bathroom break for info), doesn't give them any information, can't be intimidated by even Elliot's best efforts, and they can only hold him for so long. He's a copycat killer, so when TheProfiler Dr. Huang looks at his crimes, he realized that the victims--who, like the original killer, were all mothers--were never raped. They bring in his mother, who reveals that he's a disappointment to her, and he's afraid of the dark. There happens to be a closet down the hall. Awesome ensues. Because apparently ''Law and Order'' takes place in a bizarre parallel universe where TortureAlwaysWorks. And apparently is legal.