Category: Television

“Failure is always an option.”

From: Mythbusters

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Adam Savage and the rest of the Mythbusters crew

The story behind the quote: The quote comes the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters. The show has been on air since 2003 and is set to air its final season this year. Mythbusters is all about taking various myths, movie scenes, idioms, viral internet videos and such, and testing them using scientific methods to see how true they all are by attempting to recreating them.

The quote is sort of the television show’s motto. It’s generally credited to Adam Savage, one of the original Mythbusters along with Jamie Hyneman. It’s been said and mentioned throughout the entire series’ run, especially when something does go wrong.

Geek wisdom: The general public tells us that we can’t make mistakes. But, in actuality, you can. It’s okay to get something wrong at times as it teaches us that it was a mistake. We can learn a lot of things through experiencing not only our successes, but we can obtain knowledge from failure as well.

“It’s a Festivus miracle!”

From: Seinfeld

Genre: Television

Who said it?: A lot of the the cast!

The story behind the quote: We’ve already noted in a previous post that Seinfeld has a lot of memorable quotes. So… here’s another one! And I chose the most appropriate quote just for the holiday season!

The quote comes from the Seinfeld episode entitled “The Strike.” In the episode, Frank Costanza (played by Jerry Stiller) tells Kramer (played by Michael Richards) about the holiday he created called Festivus, a holiday “for the rest of us.” Jerry and the gang try to use the Festivus dinner as a means to escape other people but, unfortunately, Kramer keeps on telling people where they’re going to be. Whenever these people do find Jerry and his friends, Kramer yells out the quote.

Geek wisdom: No matter what religion you celebrate, or if you practice any religion or faith-based belief at all, this is still the time for everyone to come together and practice a little good cheer. At the very least, try to get along with the entire world at this time of the year. Besides, wouldn’t the world be a better place if we just tried to have peace even if it is just for a couple of days?

“Dude, sucking at sumthin’ is the first step towards being sorta good at something.”

From: Adventure Time

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Jake the Dog

The story behind the quote: This will be my second quote from Cartoon Network’s big hit Adventure Time. The show follows the adventures of Finn the Human and Jake the Dog in the Land of Ooo. The show has gained a huge following of not only kids, but adults as well due to its silly humor and as it has the guts to throw in some jokes/situations that only grown-up would appreciate

The quote came from the Season 1 episode, “His Hero.” In the episode, Finn and Jake meet with Billy, who is supposed to be the greatest warrior who ever lived. Billy tells the heroes that, as the villains just keep on returning, they should try helping people using non-violent means. Unfortunately, Finn and Jake aren’t very good at it. This is when Jake delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: It’s easy to give up when you try something new. Whether it be picking up an instrument or trying to learn a new skill, you’ll probably not be very good at it. And it can be easy to get frustrated and give up. But no one said learning something new is going to be easy all the time.

It takes practice to become really proficient at something. The only way to get good at something is to actually do it and to keep on doing it until it becomes second nature to you.

“We were on a break!”

From: Friends

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Ross Geller

The story behind the quote: This is going to be my third quote from Friends, the hit sitcom from the ’90s. Even if the show did end a little over a year ago, Friends is still being shown in syndication in the United States and various parts of the world.

The quote is actually a recurring gag from the show. Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston) is tired of her boyfriend Ross Gellar’s (played by David Schwimmer’s) continuous bouts of jealousy has finally had enough. She then tell Ross that, maybe, they should “take a break” from the relationship. Ross, thinking that the relationship is over, sleeps with another woman. Ross and Rachel do make up shortly after but, when she finds out that Ross did sleep with someone, the two have a heated argument regarding what it exactly means what being “on a break” means.

Geek wisdom: Both sides do have a legitimate argument to make regarding the situation. That’s because both Ross and Rachel interpreted the situation differently because no clarity was given.Terminologies can get a little squirrely at times. Entire sentences can be interpreted by different persons in different way.

It’s always best to clarify and get details when something is pretty vague.

“We don’t make mistakes; we just have happy accidents.”

From: The Joy of Painting

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Bob Ross

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from way in the past. But it does seem timely as Twitch, the video game streaming site, had just ran a marathon of Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting television series since October 29. A lot of kids of the ’80s and ’90s grew up watching The Joy of Painting, not because they actually painted, but rather because it was fun watching Bob Ross create a beautiful painting in under 30 minutes. Besides, he just sounded so positive, he made viewers believe they could paint like him if they actually just tried.

The quote is actually a running catchphrase of the show. He would say it frequently to viewers whenever it appears he made an error that ruined the entire painting. The clip below is from the episode aptly titled “Happy Accident” where Bob Ross actually wipes out an entire painting and shows viewers what can be done with it.

Geek wisdom: There are very few mistakes in life that cannot be corrected if you try hard enough. Even seemingly insurmountable problems can have solutions as long as you really take the time to solve it and not give up.

And even if you do make a mistake that is “permanent” and cannot be fixed no matter what you do, there’s still something you can do: learn from it. Take it as a learning experience so that, in the future, you don’t make the same mistake.

“‘Unagi’ is a state of total awareness.”

From: Friends

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Ross Geller

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the very popular sitcom Friends. The show focused on a group of friends (pretty obvious) with rather different personalities yet managed to stick together for a long time. The show launched the careers of many of the actors and actresses involved in the show.

The quote comes from Ross Geller (played by David Schwimmer). The episode starts out with Rachel Green (played by Jennifer Aniston) and Phoebe Buffay (played by Lisa Kudrow) commenting about a self-defense class they took and how they can pretty much defend themselves. However, Ross, who mentions he’s taken “kara-teh,” they actually won’t be able to protect themselves from attackers because they do not have, what he called “unagi.”

Trivia: What Ross probably means is “Zanshin,” which means pretty much what he thinks the word “unagi” means.

Geek wisdom: Even the smartest people can be wrong at times. In Friends, Ross is supposedly the most educated of the group. However, he flat out gets the word wrong and, even when confronted with different people commenting that “unagi” is an eel, he still never bothers to actually check if he was wrong since he “knows” he’s correct.

Ross’ mistake can happen to anyone, even you. Make sure to double-check your facts once in a while and be ready to admit when you’re wrong.

“I’m guilty of a far more monstrous crime. I’m guilty of being a dwarf.”

From: Game of Thrones

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Tyrion Lannister

The story behind the quote: The quote comes the HBO television series Game of Thrones. The hit fantasy television is based on George R. R. Martin’s book series entitled “A Song of Fire and Ice.” The series’ name actually comes from the first book of the series.

The quote comes from the sixth episode of the fourth season, The Laws of Gods and Men. Tyrion Lannister (played brilliantly by Peter Dinklage) is put on trial for the murder of King Joffrey during the Purple Wedding. Realizing the entire thing is a farce and he will never get a fair trial, Tyrion gives a defiant speech, stating what he is actually guilty of…

 

Geek wisdom: It’s hard to admit but various forms of discrimination is alive and well in our society. Whether it be racism, sexism or any other form of persecution, if someone is out of the social norm, they will be treated differently and, most of the time, unfairly. These people will have a difficult time getting a fair shake in the world.

As a society, we have to understand the cultural differences and actually break free from our preconceptions of social norms. This is the only way discrimination can truly be eradicated.

“I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar.”

From: Firefly/Serenity

Genre: Television/Movie

Who said it?: Hoban “Wash” Washburne

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from Serenity, a film sequel of sorts to Joss Whedon’s (sadly) short-lived sci-fi television series, Firefly. The film’s title is derived from the name of the Firefly-class spaceship the crew uses.

The quote comes from near the end of the film. In order to break through an Alliance barricade, Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds lures a horde of Reaver ships to the Serenity’s position to distract the Alliance ships. While this does work to a degree, the Serenity still has to find a way to slip through the Alliance forces. This is when Hoban “Wash” Washburne summons his courage to actually pilot the Firefly-class ship against seemingly impossible odds…

Geek wisdom: It’s incredibly easy to psyche ourselves out when under pressure. It’s easy to talk ourselves out of doing of even attempting to perform complicated tasks. In order to actually do them, confidence is key. We have to believe in ourselves whenever we do anything. Whether it be relatively mundane activities or extremely complex processes, we have to believe in ourselves that we can actually do it.

“Annie’s pretty young. We try not to sexualize her.”

From: Community

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Jeff Winger

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Community. Initially, a sitcom on NBC, the show was cancelled, dashing hopes for the dream of it getting “six seasons and a movie.” But, with Yahoo! Screen coming in for the save and picking up the cult show, all that’s missing now is the movie. The story has evolved from Jeff Winger (played by Joel McHale) trying to get a law degree from Greendale Community College to him actually becoming a faculty member. But Greendale is still the crazy school it’s always been.

The quote comes from the first season episode, “Investigative Journalism.” Buddy (portrayed by guest star Jack Black) attempts to join the study group. He then makes a sexual comment directed at Annie Edison (played by Alison Brie). Jeff quickly takes him aside and delivers the quote.

Geek wisdom: We tend to put people on pedestals. We worship people celebrities and fantasize that our crushes have perfect lives. What we fail to realize in situations like this is that these people are people, too! Sometimes, our own imagination tends to get the better of us and we don’t realize that they may have their own problems and their lives, while it may seem perfect, isn’t a great as we think.

“Same Bat-Time, Same Bat-Channel!”

From: Batman

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Narrator

The story behind the quote: While I’ve already created an earlier entry for the 1966 Batman camp-fest, that was for the movie. This time, the quote comes from the television series.

The 1966 Batman television series (starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin) followed the style of the older serial films. As such, each story arc was broken up into two episodes. The first episode will always end in a cliffhanger with Batman and Robin in some sort of jam. The episode will then end with the narrator summing up the Dynamic Duo’s predicament and advising viewers and fans to make sure to watch how they’ll save themselves.

Geek wisdom: In this ever changing world filled with uncertainty, it’s always nice to fall back on something you can rely on. It’s comforting to have something consistent.