For those of you that don't know what the fourth wall is, it's basically when an actor or actress as a character on a sitcom at any time in an episode refers to reality, or something to do with the set of the show. It can also happen when a character refers to that character being popular in real life. For example, on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, they broke the fourth wall a lot. Uncle Phil would talk about "Vivian believing Will if he said he was a multi millionaire rapper", when Will was in fact one, and references to the set, like when Will mentioned "that he had no roof" and pointed to the top of the house/set. So talk about shows & episodes where a character breaking the 4th wall, and who it was & what they said.

On Three's Company when Mr. Roper would make a degrading Joke about his wife he would look right at the camera and laugh.

The Monkees did it ALL the time.

"Who writes this stuff?", one of them would say (often Micky or Mike) and look right at the camera.

Ozzie Nelson did it frequently at the end of the episodes, often looking at the camera with a comment to the audience. For example, in one episode, Ozzie is asking David, since David was a lawyer, a legal question and then Ozzie looks at the camera and says proudly, "My son. The lawyer. I like saying that!"

George Burns did that all the time on the Burns & Allen show, as did
Bob Hope in the Hope/Crosby "Road" movies. So did Rocky & Bullwinkle on
The Bullwinkle Show. Zack did it, too, on Saved by the Bell.

Garry Shandling broke the fourth wall regularly on It's Garry Shandlings Show.

Dobie Gillis on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" did it.

The do it on Corner Gas....like when Brent is "acting" on his security camera and says"I'm not really much of an actor, basically, I play myself" (Which is of course what he did on the show), there's other examples but, the best one is when Wanda mentions that when people watch TV, they are more interested in the dialogue than the production values...and at just that moment, one of the boom microphones recording the scene comes down and whops her in the head! (She brushes it away, without comment) :lol:

Once on Murphy Brown, Miles told Murphy, "There's no studio audience out there laughing at every cute thing you say!" as he pointed directly AT the studio audience, LOL.

Also, didn't Zach break the fourth wall all the time on Saved By the Bell? He would stop time, and tell the audience what he thought, or what he planned to do. Looking back on it, that seems pretty unrealtic, LOL.

- Kristen

Once on Murphy Brown, Miles told Murphy, "There's no studio audience out there laughing at every cute thing you say!" as he pointed directly AT the studio audience, LOL.

Also, didn't Zach break the fourth wall all the time on Saved By the Bell? He would stop time, and tell the audience what he thought, or what he planned to do. Looking back on it, that seems pretty unrealtic, LOL.

- Kristen
Yes, he did. So would Tia and Tamera, the twins on Sister, Sister. Moonlighting broke the fourth wall all the time!! :lol:

In the very last episode of Happy Days (in fact it was the very last scene) Tom Bosley broke the fourth wall and directly addressed the audience.

In the very last episode of Happy Days (in fact it was the very last scene) Tom Bosley broke the fourth wall and directly addressed the audience.
You know, that scene still chokes me up. "Thank you all for being part of our family...to Happy Days!" :cheers:

Yes, he did. So would Tia and Tamera, the twins on Sister, Sister. Moonlighting broke the fourth wall all the time!! :lol:
I forgot about Tia and Tamera. But at least they didn't stop time like Zach did! LOL Oh, didn't Clarissa talk to the audience all the time on Clarrisa Explains it All?

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Green Acres yet, such as when Lisa comments on the show's production credits appearing on screen.

There's an episode of "The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air" when Will says, "why can't we afford a ceiling" and the camara looks up to the stage lights above.

Malcolm in the Middle broke the fourth wall, mainly b/c of the way the cameras always using a single camera shot whenever Malcolm himself always talked to the viewer.

Unhappily Ever After did it very frequently

Shame on you people, I am amazed that no one mentioned the best show ever for the breaking of the fourth wall....MOONLIGHTING. Bruce Willis pre Die Hard was the master....he would sit down and talk to the tv audience and he would also do it and Cybil during the course of the episode...i also think that there were some episodes of Will and Grace where that happened.

Hey...I mentioned Moonlighing on the first page!! :( ;) :lol:

One of my favorite sitcoms did it once -- the cast of Barney Miller broke the fourth wall for their tribute to Jack Soo.

One of my favorite sitcoms did it once -- the cast of Barney Miller broke the fourth wall for their tribute to Jack Soo.
Ah yes - how could I forgot? God bless Jack Soo. :D

Some good examples.

http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=94819&highlight=fourth+wall

"IT'S GARRY SHANDLINGS SHOW", "BURNS AND ALLEN"* and "DOBIE GILLIS" used to do it all the time. (I know those were mentioned before, but I'm bored!:) )


*I read somewhere that George Burns copied the idea from the play "OUR TOWN".

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Green Acres yet, such as when Lisa comments on the show's production credits appearing on screen.I used to love that! "I'm waiting for the 'directed by' and the 'produced by' ".

I used to love that! "I'm waiting for the 'directed by' and the 'produced by' ".
How about the "written by" eggs? :rofl:

Ozzie Nelson did it frequently at the end of the episodes, often looking at the camera with a comment to the audience. For example, in one episode, Ozzie is asking David, since David was a lawyer, a legal question and then Ozzie looks at the camera and says proudly, "My son. The lawyer. I like saying that!"

True, the boys, usually Ricky, would do it often in the very earlier years of the show(1952-1954). There is one episode, cannot remember the title, where Ricky addressess the viewers and says something like. "You think it's difficult dealing with him(referring to his older brother Dave), try living with him in real life."

Oh, and how can we forget the Twilight Zone, season 1. First there was the episode titled "A World of Difference" with the theme of breaking the forth wall and what truly was reality. But better was the ending of the final episode from that first season, "A World of His Own" with Keenan Wynn as a writer who brings to life people by merely describing them into his Dictaphone. At the end Rod Serling comes on and says "We hope you enjoyed tonight's romantic story on the Twilight Zone. At the same time we want you to remember that this is purely fictional. In real life such ridiculous nonsense could..." Keenan Wynn interrupts, "Rod, tsk, tsk, tsk, you shouldn't." and goes to the wall safe and pulls out some magnetic tape and tosses it into the fireplace where it burns and we watch Rod Serling fade away.

on Friends in TOW The Routine when Monica and Ross are all excited by the fact they were going to be on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve Chandler looks right at the camera and says "Oh My God"

In the Starsky & Hutch (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=556) ep. Long Walk Down a Short Dirt Road, Starsky says to Hutch he sounds like Dirty Harry, which is a reference to actor David Soul's (Hutch) previous cop role in the Dirty Harry movie sequel Magnum Force.

Cleveland Brown did it in Family Guy when he said to Quagmire "I'm getting a spinoff" The Cleveland Show premieres this fall.

It's Garry Shandling's Show. They didn't break the fourth wall...they had no fourth wall :)

How about Parker Lewis Can't Lose?

This Is A Fantastic Subject For A Thread. All of The Examples I Could
Possibly Come Up With Have Already been Mentioned, So All That's
Left For me To say is Job Well Done!
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3474/3236405241_9e5773e626_m.jpg

How about Parker Lewis Can't Lose?
You're right - I'd forgotten about Parker Lewis. Whatever happened to Corin Nemec, anyway?? :confused:

In the ALF (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=29) ep. Somewhere Over the Rerun, ALF dreams he's in his favourite sitcom Gilligan's Island (http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=39).

On the final episode of "The Cosby Show", when Cliff and Claire were dancing alone in the Cosby living room, they danced off the stage and walked arm in arm past the audience. Was that exit shown on the original broadcast, or did they simply keep the cameras rolling to show it later?

I'd stopped watching the show long before that time, and have never seen the entire final episode. But I've seen clips of that last dance and of Cliff and Claire walking past the audience.