Category: Television

“…the points don’t matter.”

From: Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Genre: Television

Who said it?: The various hosts of the show

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the incredibly long-lived improv comedy show, Whose Line Is It Anyway? The basic premise of the show is that the host gives a panel of four comedians a series of various scenarios to act out improv-style. He may then ask the comedians to perform various other things on the fly, like changing the personality in the middle of the scene. The humor is usually derived from how the comedians react and how they react to each other.

The quote is usually said by the host to explain that, although it’s supposed to be a game show, the points are just arbitrarily on a whim. The original UK show (hosted by Clive Anderson) doesn’t mention this often. However, when the show moved to the US, hosts Drew Carrey (during the show’s intial 1998-2005 run) and Aisha Tyler (who is currently the host of the revival since 2013), make it a point to mention the quote frequently.

Geek wisdom: Social convention will try to tell us what makes us a success. They will try to pound into us there is a series of tick boxes you have to fill in to say that you’ve made it in life. Have a family. Have a high paying job. Own your own house. But these things may not mean anything to others… maybe even you.

We try to compare ourselves to these “points” even though they may not matter to us because society tells us so. We don’t have to follow the normal convention of success as the measure of a man’s success depends on whether or not he met his own personal goals or not.

“I’ve made a huge mistake.”

From: Arrested Development

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Most of the Bluth Family Members but mostly “Gob”

The story behind the quote: Arrested Development is a sitcom that focuses around the Bluths, a family of rather deviant people. While the sitcom was acclaimed by critics and did get a huge cult following, the show was ultimately cancelled after only three seasons. The show’s fanbase did prove large enough to warrant Netflix to develop a fourth season roughly seven years after the show’s cancellation. The show is known for a lot of Easter Eggs as well as recurring gags like this week’s quote.

The quote is actually exclaimed by the majority of the Bluth family, however, it’s Gob Bluth that says it the most often. It’s usually uttered after one of the characters does something he/she thinks is the right thing to do only to realize a few moments later that it was actually a bonehead move.

Geek wisdom: Everyone makes mistakes and it’s okay to make them most of the time. Mistakes are actually one of the best tools we have to learn new things. However, it’s a huge mistake to keep on making the same errors over and over again, repeating them ad nauseam.

“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.