History Main / SurveillanceStationSlacker

If the setting involves the character trying to watch for intruders, the latter might go the extra mile and decide to either incapacitate, or kill him.

* Though averted early in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', once Syndrome leaves to carry out his EvilPlan, his mooks are seen enjoying the havoc being inflicted by the giant robot on live television, instead of watching the security monitors showing that the Parr family have escaped their confinement.

* Though averted earlier in ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles1'', once Syndrome leaves to carry out his EvilPlan, his mooks are seen enjoying the havoc being inflicted by the giant robot on live television, instead of watching the security monitors showing that the Parr family have escaped their confinement.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Hoodwinked}}'', as the climax approaches, the [[BigBad Goody Bandit]] steals Granny's coveted recipe book from a porky police officer who is happily snoozing in the middle of the crime scene, even while the boss yells in the other room, and a friend tries to make weekend plans with him on his walkie talkie.

* ''Film/Alien40thAnniversaryShorts''. In "Ore", the human worker in the monitoring room is asleep while the [[ArtificialHuman synthetic]] is doing all the work. When he leaves the room for a toilet break, the synthetic simply locks the door to prevent him interfering in subsequent events.
* ''Film/{{The Art of War}}'' (2000). The security guard in the monitor room of UN Headquarters is actually asleep when he gets the call. To add insult to injury, TheDragon {{Neck Snap}}s him a few moments later. None of this is really his fault, as the villains worked in the building, so were already inside (they just want the freedom to kill a witness unobserved).
* The cheap 60s sci-fi horror movie ''Film/AttackOfTheTheEyeCreatures'' features a pair of Army guys who, while a flying saucer invasion is taking place, spend their time watching teenage couples in Lovers Lane on their monitor - yet somehow they're not the creepiest people in the movie.

* ''Film/{{Contact}}'', Jodie Foster doesn't really count, she's more like a protagonist version of this, but her 2 fellow scientists at SETI fit this trope perfectly.

* ''Film/ACureForWellness''. A male nurse is supposed to be monitoring the protagonist Lockhart while he's in a sensory deprivation tank. A female nurse enters and exposes herself to him, so he's too busy engaging in masturbation [[DistractedByTheSexy to notice]] that Lockhart is on the point of drowning.

* ''Film/{{girlhouse}}'': When Anna sneaks back into the house, she passes the gatehouse where Big Mike is asleep with his feet up on the console next to the monitors he's supposed to be watching.
* In ''Film/{{Hackers}}'', The guard in charge of the Gibson computer at Ellingson Mineral is asleep on duty when someone breaks into the system. He only wakes up when the alarm goes off after the fact, and has to call [[BigBad The Plague]] to come help.
* ''Film/IndependenceDay''. The man on duty at the S.E.T.I. Institute is playing OfficeGolf. A red light starts blinking and he goes over and flips a switch, which causes a series of tones to come out a speaker. He excitedly calls his boss on the phone and asks him to listen to the tones, and when the boss hears them he sits up in bed, bumping his head, then hurries to the lab, where [[BrickJoke he trips over the golf balls]]. The signals turn out to be from an alien ship approaching the Earth.

* In the ''Film/JamesBond'' movie ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' there's a scene where Bond and his current partner, Wai Lin, are breaking into Elliot Carver's stealth ship. Carver is discussing something with one of his subordinates when he notices Lin on the security monitors in the corner, with the person manning them busy writing notes on his clipboard. Carver strides over to him and yells, "What the ''Hell'' do I pay you for?"

* ''Film/LatePhases:'' The gate guard at the retirement home is a bit lazy and distracted, not always watching the monitor.
* ''Film/TheMatrixReloaded''. A security guard tells off his colleague at the gatehouse for being half asleep with his feet up on the desk. [[spoiler:He becomes dead at his post when Trinity drops a motorcycle on top of him.]]

'''Guard Two:''' ''(unimpressed)'' Why? I get paid to count them here.\\
''(Guard One shakes his head in disgust and walks off. Camera pans down to show our heroes entering the building on the monitor)''

* ''Film/{{Screamers}}''. The sentries in the Alliance bunker are playing cards and only just happen to notice the lone enemy soldier approaching on their monitors. We soon find out why they're slacking off -- there's been no enemy sighted for months as the base is defended by the titular {{Killer Robot}}s, who soon make short work of the approaching soldier.
* ''Film/{{Sneakers}}''. A security guard who appears to be in his teens is sitting around in a bank late at night watching TV. All of a sudden the fire alarm goes off and he panics, scrambling around trying to find the instruction book and figure out who to call.
* ''Film/TerminatorGenisys''. The security guard at the hospital is too busy playing with his smartphone to watch the CCTV screens, or turn to face Pops who's just walked in the door behind him. Pops bangs his head on the console.
* ''Film/ToLiveAndDieInLA''. The two detectives Chance and Vukovich fall asleep while on stakeout. They wake up to see police cars outside the place they're watching, because the BigBad has just walked in (''knowing'' the place is under surveillance) and [[RefugeInAudacity murdered someone]].
* Played with in ''Film/TRONLegacy'': The security guard at the Encom building looks like your typical slacker, and when he notices a security camera glitching he taps the screen and it goes back to normal - when actually its being hacked by Sam Flynn. However, when Sam accidentally triggers a laser tripwire, the guard ''instantly'' responds, knowing exactly what to do, and goes so far as to call backup and police to the building.

* ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet''. When Romeo is sneaking into the Capulet house to woo Juliet, the guard is shown reading a magazine instead of watching the monitors, despite reacting to sounds like [[SoMuchForStealth Romeo clumsily knocking over objects]] and Juliet shrieking in surprise and falling into the pool when she suddenly encounters her beloved.

* ''Literature/TheStrangerTimes'': The Pinter Institute employs a couple of security guards who would rather FaceTime their girlfriend or play online poker than actually do their jobs.