Category: Television

“No sir. I don’t like it.”

From: The Ren & Stimpy Show

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Mr. Horse

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the 90’s Nickelodeon cartoon The Ren & Stimpy Show. Ren is frail Chihuahua who is prone to violent outbursts. He’s usually accompanied by Stimpy, a dim-witted and cheerful cat. Although targeted at kids (it is a cartoon after all), the show became controversial because they would show some adult humor which would go over children’s heads.

The quote comes from one of the supporting cast, Mr. Horse. The quote is actually Mr. Horse’s catchphrase of sorts. Generally, whenever Mr. Horse is asked to give his opinion about anything, he would express his negative feelings regarding it.

Geek wisdom: You can’t always be agreeable with everything and/or everyone. Each of us has his own opinions regarding various topics. However, even though something goes against popular opinion, that doesn’t mean that person’s viewpoint is invalid.

We like and dislike things to different degrees. We have to be tolerant with how other people feel on certain topics.

“‘Maybe, Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, in fact, means a little bit more.”

From: How The Grinch Stole Christmas

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: The Narrator

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the Dr. Seuss’ classic How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Dr. Seuss’ book was already very popular but what catapulted it into the public consciousness was the 1966 animated version. It’s been repeated on television ever since.

The quote comes from the very end of the story. The Grinch after stealing all of the Christmas gifts down in Whoville, waits upon a mountaintop, hoping to hear the villagers wait out in sadness as all their gifts have been stolen. However, instead of crying, The Grinch sees the citizens of Whoville singing for joy. After pondering as to why they’re celebrating, The Grinch comes to a realization about the holiday.

Geek wisdom: Every Christmas, we all get wrapped up with all of the gift buying and all of the gifts we’re going to receive. But, like the Grinch realized at the end of the story, Christmas is much more than that. Christmas is about spreading good cheer to your fellow man, regardless of race, religion and gender. It’s a time to get together with others.

Merry Christmas!

“I love it when a plan comes together!”

From: The A-Team

Genre: Television

Who said it?: John “Hannibal” Smith

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the 80s television show, The A-Team. The basic story of the show is actually told in the intro of the show. Essentially, a special commando unit was tried unjustly of a crime they didn’t commit. After escaping the group, consisting of John “Hannibal” Smith (leader and master of disguise), Templeton “Face” Peck (suave con man), “Howling Mad” Murdoch (delusional ace pilot) and BA Baracus (the team’s strong man), now lends their services as soliders of fortune called The A-Team. The show was a massive success, partly because of the entertaining interactions between the characters as well as Mr. T’s charisma and popularity at the time.

The quote is actually Hannibal’s catchphrase. As he’s the one who lays out the schemes and works them to suit each team member’s individual strengths, he’s able to create ingenious and unorthodox strategies that, against all logic, work out in the end.

Geek wisdom: We like to rush things out and hope for the best, hence, we love to just fly by the seat of our pants and let the chips fall where they may at times. Of course, when something goes wrong, we have to keep improvising quick fixes instead of finding solutions. This can prove to be costly and a waste of time when, if you actually tried to resolve the issue by creating meticulous plans, these problems could’ve been avoided.

“Winging it” may work sometimes but nothing beats a good plan.

“The truth is out there.”

From: The X-Files

Genre: Television

Who said it?: No one. It’s the tagline from the show.

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from The X-Files, one of the most iconic modern science fiction shows. It was a huge hit for the new Fox Network and actually put it on the map.

The X-Files deals with a special investigative branch of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The higher ups of the FBI want the X-Files division closed as well as disprove Special Agent Fox Mulder’s claims of paranormal activities that are being covered up by the government. To facilitate this, they assign physicist Dana Scully to the same branch and to provide scientific explanations to Mulder in the hopes he will give up.

The quote does pop up from time to time and is actually said by members of the cast at certain times. However, most viewers remember the quote as the tagline from the show as seen during the opening credits of each episode.

Geek wisdom: We don’t know everything. As much as we want this to be true, we’re still growing and learning about how the universe works. Even if you don’t believe in any religion, science cannot explain everything that happens in the world and the universe. In fact, the things that we believe to be fact right this very moment may turn out to be wrong once we discover the truth on how something actually works.

We shouldn’t be complacent and be confident in what we currently know. We should always be searching for knowledge.

“I don’t like to smile unless I have a reason.”

From: Daria

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Daria Morgendorffer

The story behind the quote: Daria was one of my favorite cartoon on MTV, back when the channel would actually show some pretty cool and creative programming. Instead of having a perky teenager headline the show, Daria was a pessimistic, intelligent and sarcastic girl who saw the world for what it was. The show was a huge hit for MTV and garnered a loyal following during its run on the network.

The quote comes from the episode entitled Misery Chick. Daria’s parents got their hands on her yearbook photos and comment on why she doesn’t even try to smile in any one of them. Daria replies to them in the only way she can: intelligently and objectively.

Geek wisdom: People have the tendency to tell you how you should react to a certain topic. They’ll tell you that you shouldn’t be upset when something goes wrong. Or they’ll tell you that they just don’t understand why you feel a certain way since they wouldn’t feel that way if the same thing happened to them.No one should tell you how to feel on a certain topic. They have no idea of how it actually feels. How you choose to feel on a certain topic is entirely your own.

When this happens to others, try to understand why they feel that way. Don’t deny them the freedom to act a certain way.

“Where’s the beef?”

From: 80’s Wendy’s commercial

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Old Lady/Clara Peller

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from a successful series of commercials made by Wendy’s. The reason why these ads were so successful was because people still remember its slogan.

The first ad shows three elderly ladies marveling at the size of the “fluffy” bun offered by Wendy’s competitors. However, after taking the top bun off, we actually see that the size of the hamburger patty is very small. While two of the ladies keep their mouth shut, the third old lady (Clara Peller) disgruntledly delivers the quote, which has become some sort of a catchphrase for her.

Geek wisdom: Like in the commercial, the bun may make the burger look big. But in reality, since the meat patty isn’t that big, you’re actually being shortchanged. Unfortunately, it’s easy to be fooled by appearances. In fact, sometimes, we only concern ourselves with appearances.

People these days are more concerned style over substance. We tend to forget that substance is definitely more important than superficial features.

“This one’s for you, Morph!”

From: X-Men (cartoon)

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Wolverine

The story behind the quote: This week’s quote comes from the excellent animated X-Men animated series which ran from 1992 to 1997. The show is based on Marvel comics popular team of mutants. The show did a great job of translating some of the story lines from the comics it was based on, even if it did introduce some new elements…

One such element was the introduction of a character named Morph, who has the mutant ability to shapeshift. It was implied that he was a close friend of Wolverine. Unfortunately, Morph is killed in Episode 2. Wolverine does manage to get some manner of revenge by wrecking a couple of Sentinels. In fact, the quote comes from Wolverine while destroying one of the mutant hunting machines.

Geek wisdom: Just because someone dies, it doesn’t mean that they are gone from our lives. We still have the memories of our times with them. In fact, we can actually gain strength by the severe loss of a loved one. We can honor their memory by going through life and recalling happy memories with our dear departed ones once in a while.

“Worst. Episode. Ever.”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Comic Book Guy

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from The Simpsons’ very own Jay Albertson. You may not know him by his birth name but you probably know him better as Comic Book Guy, the overweight proprietor of the Android’s Dungeon comic book store.

The quote originally came from the episode “The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show.” As the Itchy & Scratchy showed the episode introducing a new character, Poochie, Comic Book Guy was the first to immediately bash the new character on message boards.

Unfortunately, I can’t find the exact clip on YouTube. However, since the phrase has become Comic Book Guy’s catchphrase, I was able to get this clip…

And, just in case the clip gets yanked off YouTube, here’s a pic of the quote:

Worst. Episode. Ever.

 

Geek wisdom: People have opinions. Some of these opinions will be in direct contrast from your own. You may like a particular television show or episode while the entire world may see things differently and hate it with a passion. These variations can be due to a huge number of reasons.

But it’s not really important to know the reason for these differences. What is important is to know that there are going to be different points of view on the same topic and you’re opinion is as valid as the rest of the world.

“Na-nu, na-nu!”

From: Mork & Mindy

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Mork

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Mork & Mindy, a sitcom that ran from 1978 to 1982. The show stars the late Robin Williams as Mork, an alien from the planet Ork, sent to Earth to observe human behavior… or so he thought. In fact, Orson, Mork’s superior actually sent him away from Ork as humor is not allowed on the planet. Mork encounters Mindy on the planet and she agrees to shelter the alien during his stay on Earth.

The quote is actually the Orkian way of greeting as well as saying farewell to someone. When it is used to say hello to someone, Orkians will give the quote and extend their hand like an ordinary handshake. But when used to say goodbye to someone, Orkians must twist both earlobes while giving the quote as seen in the intro of the show.

Geek wisdom: No matter the language we use, it’s important to be cordial with each other. A friendly handshake is definitely unmistakable way to extend your intention of friendship with another.

RIP Robin Williams. You will be missed.

“I Knew I Should’ve Taken That Left Turn At Albuquerque!”

From: Looney Tunes

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Bugs Bunny

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from Bugs Bunny, probably one of the most popular animated characters in the world. His popularity and the longevity of the character has made him the default mascot for Warner Bros animated project.

He may be clever enough to outwit red-haired cowboys, bald hunters with a speech impediment and even alien conquerors from the planet Mars. But Bugs Bunny sure has a bad sense of direction! Whenever he travels to far away locations, he burrows through the earth in a attempt to get to his destination. Unfortunately, he keeps on making the same wrong turn in New Mexico…

Geek wisdom: Have you ever gotten lost or gotten so turned around that you have no idea where you are? Or have you ever gone on a trip and then lost your way? The best thing to do in these situations is to just ask for directions. A lot of times, though, we don’t. We try to figure where we are by backtracking. While this may help out sometimes, we do waste a lot of time doing this.

There’s no shame in asking for help when you get lost. If you’re unsure, stop and ask for directions.