Show-within-a-show
A
show-within-a-show is typically a fictional
television show featured within the
fictional universe of a real television show. Less frequently, the term may be applied to a fictional
radio show within a real television or radio show. It often features a
frame story.
Historically, the idea of a
play within a play is an ancient one, appearing in
Ovid's
Metamorphoses;
William Shakespeare's
A Midsummer Night's Dream and
Hamlet, etc. Many films also feature this idea,
Singin' in the Rain and
Pee-wee's Big Adventure being two examples.
*
UltraLord within
The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
*
Bionic Bunny,
Dark Bunny,
Terrific Turbo-Trooper Toy T-Bot Team,
Mary Moo Cow,
Vidiboobies,
Love Ducks and many others in
Arthur.
*
The Colonial Gang within
Battlestar Galactica.
Colonial Gang*
The Gray Ghost and
That's our Baby! within
Batman: The Animated Series.
* Several television series including cop drama
Manhunt, variety program
Big Night Out, and medical drama
Mercy Flight within
The Box.
*
Rainbow Monkeys within
Codename: Kids Next Door.
*
Big Shots within
Cowboy Bebop.
*
Sick Sad World within
Daria.
* The
Bad Wolf television corporation in the 2005 series of
Doctor Who.
*
Now Where They At? within
Drawn Together.
*
Crash Nebula,
Maho Mushi, and many other series shown in
Channel Chasers within
The Fairly OddParents.
*
The Brown Hornet within
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids.
*
Wake Up, San Francisco,
Mr. Egghead,
Rigby the Rhino within
Full House.
*
All my Circuits,
Everybody Loves Hypno-toad, and
The Scary Door within
Futurama.
*
Tomorrow's Another Day within
Generations.
*
Kujibiki Unbalance within
Genshiken.
*
Dinobonoids and
My Troubled Pony within
The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
*
Mysterious Mysteries within
Invader Zim.
*
Men on Film within
In Living Color.
*
Life with Mr. Jiggy,
Emergency Pet Groomer,
Pals,
Agony County,
The Fearless Ferrett,
Laugh Riot, and
The Mod Quad within
Kim Possible.
*
Los Días y Las Noches de Monsigñor Martínez and
Manger Babies within
King of the Hill.
*
Real **********ing Talk with Dollar Bill Montgomery within
MADtv.
*
Psycho Dad within
Married... with Children.
*
Gekigangar III within
Martian Successor Nadesico.
*
WJM-TV Six O'Clock News,
The Happy Homemaker, and
Chuckles the Clown within
The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
*
Bear on Patrol,
Muppet News Flash,
Pigs in Space,
Veterinarian's Hospital and others within
The Muppet Show.
*
Vermont Today within
Newhart.
*
The Valley within
The O.C.. Additionally, after MTV launched
Laguna Beach: The Real O.C. the O.C-verse's equivalent of MTV launched
Sherman Oaks: The Real Valley.
*
Miss Sally's Schoolyard and
Up Your Ante within
Oz.
*
Hip Hop Helicopter,
Iesha,
My Momma and Me,
Two for Two, and
Soul Sisters within
The Proud Family.
*
Androids within
Red Dwarf.
*
TJ Laser and
It's Not My Problem ("I'd buy that for a dollar!") within
RoboCop.
*
Commander Cash within
RoboCop: The Series.
*
Reptar within
Rugrats.
* Numerous shows within Saturday Night Live, including Wayne's World, It's Pat!, and Weekend Update.
* Jerry
within Seinfeld.
* Elmo's World within Sesame Street.
* Krusty the Clown, The Itchy & Scratchy Show, Bumblebee Man,
Eye on Springfield, Smartline, and hundreds more[1] within The Simpsons.
* Terrance & Phillip and Jesus and Pals within South Park.
* Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy and The New Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy
within SpongeBob SquarePants.
* Mathnet within Square One TV
* Wormhole X-Treme! within Stargate SG-1.
* Undercover Superstar
, and Revenge of the Babysitter within That's So Raven.
* Invitation to Love within Twin Peaks.
* Capitol Beat within The West Wing''.
* Various segments within
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming, the majority of which are talk shows.
*
Grosse Pointe within
Grosse Pointe.
*
Tool Time within
Home Improvement.
*
Mystery Science Theater 3000 within
Mystery Science Theater 3000 (the "experiments" were sold to basic cable as a TV series).
*
The Larry Sanders Show within
The Larry Sanders Show.
*
The Alan Brady Show within
The Dick Van Dyke Show.
*
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace within
Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
*
Good Morning, Miami within
Good Morning, Miami.
*
Sports Night within
Sports Night.
*
FYI within
Murphy Brown.
*
The Sword of Damocles and
Beaver Creek within
Made in Canada.
*
KYTV, a spoof of an entire fictional network.
*
Frontline, a spoof of a current affairs television show.
*
31 Minutos, a spoof of a news program.
*
The Red Green Show.
*
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip within
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
*
30 Rock.
*
Drawn Together, a sitcom set on a fictitious TV reality show.
*
Silverstone within
The Famous Jett Jackson;
** also, in
Jett Jackson: The Movie, the "real" Jett Jackson and "fictional" Agent Silverstone switched realities.
*
SCTV, which is about a TV station.
*
The Joe Schmo Show, a reality series about a fake reality series (
Lap of Luxury and
Last Chance for Love in seasons 1 and 2, respectively)
*
Frasier*
Martin*
Midnight Caller*
NewsRadio*
The New WKRP in Cincinnati*
Remember WENN*
WKRP in Cincinnati* The Steel Samurai and several (samurai themed) films in
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney*
List of fictional television shows
