Category: Television

“To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy’s first law of Equivalent Exchange.”

From: Fullmetal Alchemist

Genre: Cartoons, Television, Anime

Who said it?: Alphonse Elric

The story behind the quote: Fullmetal Alchemist is an extremely popular manga and anime set in an alternate timeline where people still use alchemy instead of modern chemistry. According to the series, alchemy evolved into the practice of transmuting basic components into various items. For example, if you collect the broken parts of a radio, you wouldn’t need to send it to a repairman; using alchemy, you can simply use these parts to rebuild the radio. As long as the elements are in the right amounts, you can theoretically anything.

By the way, MINOR SPOILERS…

The main characters of the series are the Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse. They are in search for the legendary Philosopher’s Stone because of a disastrous accident they caused. When their mother died, they decided to try to revive their mother through alchemy (which is forbidden). They managed to get the necessary elements to supposedly resurrect her but there was a reason why it’s strictly forbidden to perform alchemy on a human.

While all of the necessary earthly elements and materials are all there, it does not include the spiritual soul that is still lacking. Because of this, Edward lost his right arm and left leg and Alphonse’s spirit is trapped in a suit of armor. The brothers believe that the Philosopher’s Stone, which will enable an alchemist to bypass the need for the elements to be exact. But they’re not doing to to try to resurrect their mother anymore. They’re doing it to restore their bodies.

The quote comes from the English version of the anime, which you can see below.

Geek wisdom: In order to get something really difficult to obtain, we must be ready to put the necessary work into getting it. Sure, there are going to be those lucky that beat the odds without any real effort, but we really shouldn’t bank on it happening to us. That’s why not everyone is rich. Think of the people that are highly successful and, most of the time, they will tell you that they had to work hard for what they have. The problem is that we usually just see the end result of all their hard work and assume they had it easy all the time.

Anything and everything you want to achieve can be achieved most of the time. The only thing is that you have to be willing to put in the backbreaking work to make it all the way to your goal.

“Wonder Twins Powers activate!”

From: Super Friends

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Zan and Jayna

The story behind the quote: The Super Friends cartoon starred DC Comics’ most popular heroes, including Superman and Batman among others. Apparently, they didn’t think that it was enough to have Earth’s mightiest heroes in a cartoon so the producers of the show decided to add the Wonder Twins… who were created specifically for the show. Oh, and they have a space monkey.

The Wonder Twins, Zan and Jayna, are alien twins who do not have any special abilities by themselves. However, by coming into contact with each other (or having something connect them together… like using Gleek, their aforementioned space monkey), they can actually change into any shape. Zan, the male, has the ability to change into anything made of water. Jayna, on the other hand can change to any animal (even a dinosaur).

Geek wisdom: Teamwork is extremely important. The Wonder Twins themselves cannot use their shapeshifting powers unless they come into contact with each other. People are generally the same thing. While we can feel utterly helpless as individuals, we can actually perform great things if we work together.

Even when we are a part of a team, we can still feel useless and not contribute to the group’s success. While Gleek’s only ability is to lengthen his tail, he is able to help the Wonder Twins by acting as a conduit for them to use their powers. This goes with us; while our contribution is only going to be minimal, it doesn’t mean that the contribution is not meaningful. As the old saying goes: Every little bit helps.

“It’s over 9,000!”

From: Dragon Ball Z

Genre: Cartoons, Television, Anime

Who said it?: Vegeta

The story behind the quote: The original Dragon Ball series was about a young Son Goku and his friends in search for the legendary Dragon Balls. Their search for these magical items is more than just a treasure hunt. The reason is, if all 9 Dragon Balls are gathered, they will summon Shen Lon, a mystical dragon that will be able to grant any wish, even reviving someone from the dead.

However, with Dragon Ball Z, that all changed. While the characters still searched for them, the Dragon Balls actually took a backseat to all of the fighting. Here, Son Goku is now an adult and his actual origins are explored more deeply. During the first story arc (the Saiyan Saga), it is explained that the reason why Goku is an extremely powerful fighter is because he is actually an alien from the planet Vegeta and he was actually supposed to conquer the planet (but bumped his head and forgot).

Now, the prince of Goku’s home planet, who also happens to be named Vegeta, goes to planet Earth and tries to rule over it. Goku steps in to defend the Earth. While Vegeta was originally unimpressed with Goku as his scouter, a device that measures fighting ability, shows that Goku isn’t that impressive.

However, that all changes when Goku powers up…

Geek wisdom: We can easily underestimate people. It’s easy to see someone who did not have any formal education and dismiss that person as a failure. We tend to forget that there are a lot of successful college dropouts, like Bill Gates and the guy who developed Facebook.

What a person can or cannot is something anyone can measure. Everyone has the potential to do great things so it’s a pretty dumb idea to count them out just because of the way they look.

“Wile E. Coyote… Super Genius!”

From: Looney Tunes

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Wile. E. Coyote

The story behind the quote: We think of Wile E. Coyote as the main antagonist of the Road Runner. We also think of him as someone that cannot talk (being a coyote and all). However, Wile E. Coyote actually didn’t just chase after very fast birds. He also has a taste for rabbits as well. Oh, and he’s very articulate as well.

There were actually around 5 episodes where Wile E. tried to take on Looney Tunes’ main star, Bugs Bunny. During these bouts, he would actually announce himself to Bugs and proclaim that he will capture and eat the bunny. After all, as he is much smarter than a rabbit, he will easily be able to outwit the long-eared creature with very little trouble. In fact, he is a (self-proclaimed) “super genius.”

Well, we all know how that’ll turn out, right?

Geek wisdom: We put ourselves in high regard and that’s a good thing. We actually have to do that; it builds confidence. It becomes bad when it goes to the realm of overconfidence. The speaking Wile E. Coyote believes that he’s of superior intellect to Bugs Bunny. Yet, he’s outsmarted time and time again by the rabbit. In fact, if you think about it, something as simple as the Road Runner (who can’t even speak!) can actually outsmart ol’ Wile E.

Yes, it’s good to be confident with your abilities and knowledge. But don’t get too overboard with it.

“Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?”

From: Scooby Doo

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Various people

The story behind the quote: Scooby Doo is an animated series that started way back in the late 60’s. Yet, the entire franchise manages to stay popular even after more than 40 years. It started out as a cartoon with a bunch of friends (Fred Jones, Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, Norville “Shaggy” Rogers and the titular character, Scooby Doo) go around the United States investigating supposed supernatular cases then exposing them as frauds.

The show got a total revamp, first from adding Scrappy Doo, Scooby Doo’s adventurous nephew, removing most of the cast (except for Shaggy and Scooby) and totally eliminating the crime solving gimmick. The show eventually became a slapstick comedy.

The show will then get another revamp with the ghosts and monsters actually being real (no person in a costume) and the heroes trying to fend them off. Even after that, there were more changes to the basic story, with the only real constants being Scooby and Shaggy staying as the stars and the pair’s love of eating.

Speaking of eating, another thing that has not changed from the start of the show is the Scooby Snack that Scooby loves. Although it’s supposed to be a dog biscuit, it is apparently super delicious and even Shaggy loves to eat them as well! In fact, the two of them can be bribed into dangerous situations, as long as they can help themselves to the treat.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a clip of the original show. But I did find one from A Pup Named Scooby Doo, which you can see below:

Geek wisdom: Everyone does have a price. It’s not really a bad thing. Think about it as there’s always something that will motivate you to do the things that you wouldn’t do normally. It’s more of a motivational tool.

If you’re stuck in a job you don’t like, but you do it for your family, you can grind right through it. Even in exercising, if you can dream of the results (great health, good body), you can power through it.

Anything is worth doing, as long as the proper motivation is there.

“Me fail English? That’s unpossible!”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Ralph Wiggum

The story behind the quote: GeekWisdom has been running for more than a year now and I’ve never posted a quote from one of the longest running series of all time. The Simpsons has been on air for over 24 seasons, had a feature-length film and has entered pop culture consciousness but this is the first time a quote is being posted here. One of the reasons is because I can’t embed most of the Simpsons video clips on YouTube. Another is, well, nothing really is super memorable from the main cast… but I forgot about Ralph Wiggum.

Ralph is the dim-witted son of the dim-witted Police Chief of Springfield, Clancy Wiggum. He tends to do incredibly odd things that are pretty stupid and he has the tendency to make unrelated comments with the situation he’s in. Unfortunately, it seems that he’s pretty much in the dark about his clue about how clueless he really is.

In the clip below, Principal Skinner is announcing the children who are failing in English. Ralph is overjoyed and actually thinks he won something. When Principal Skinner corrects Ralph, he smiles and expresses disbelief since he thinks he’s really great in speaking the language.

Geek wisdom: We can be extremely ignorant of our own… ignorance. We like to believe that we are so totally awesome and great. However, it’s totally possible that we’ve put ourselves on an extremely high pedestal and actually fail to see our own… well, failures.

It’s easy to be blind to our own weaknesses. We sometimes have to take a long, hard and impartial look at ourselves to really see who we are.

“Have a pancake!”

From: Wonderfalls

Genre: Television

Who said it?: A cow creamer?

The story behind the quote: Sometimes, even great and inventive television shows get cancelled. One of those shows would be the brainchild of Bryan Fuller. However, if you were thinking of Pushing Daisies, well, no. It’s not. It’s another show that actually stars Pushing Daisies’ Ned, Lee Pace. That show is Wonderfalls.

The general idea is that Jayne Tyler (played by Caroline Dhavernas) a smart and sarcastic underachiever who has her life turned upside down when various inanimate objects (such as the aforementioned cow creamer) tell her to do various things to help people. While these acts may seem extremely mundane and simple, like in the quote mentioned, these actions have far reaching implications, which she would never foresee.

You can actually see the first part of the episode where the quote is mentioned below:

Geek wisdom: Like in the show, the smallest decisions we make have bigger implications that we may not see. In fact, all of the actions you have done throughout your lifetime has made you the person you are today. All of those choices has brought you to this specific point in time.

While we may not really understand the implications of the minor choices we do, they do impact us, one way or another. Make sure you make the correct ones.

“These pretzels are making me thirsty!”

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! The quote comes from the third season episode “The Alternate Side.”

Kramer goes to Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment to announce that he just got a line in the latest Woody Allen movie. George then busts in, severely rattled because of his new job of parking cars across the street (which is apparently not as easy as he thought it would be). Anyway, Elane asks Kramer what the line is and he tells everyone the line he’s going to say is “These pretzels are making me thirsty!” Elaine and Jerry then give their own way of saying the line. Then, George, who is still stressed from his job, gives the line in a very angry tone.

Everyone looks at him funny and George explains that they have no idea what the pretzel guy is feeling that day. Maybe the guy is angry because he took up a job parking cars for a living. He then rushes to the window and yells the line at the people waiting for George to park their cars.

Geek wisdom: We always tell people to use their words when they talk. However, the way they say it is also very important. You can’t just rely on the actual words; you have to listen to the way the words are being said. In fact, the way something is being said can actually be more important than the actual words.

Try to pay attention to the way things are being said and not just the actual thing being said.

“Did I do that?”

From: Family Matters

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Steve Urkel

The story behind the quote: Family Matters was a sitcom that initially started as show about the Winslow family and how they dealt with family issues. That all changed with the introduction of Steve Urkel. Steve Urkel (portrayed by Jaleel White) was the nerdy next door neighbor who wanted to win the heart of Laura, the teenage daughter of Carl and Harriet Winslow. Although Urkel was only supposed to be a guest character, viewers loved the character so much that he eventually became a regular character and, in fact, became the reason to watch the show since most (if not all) of the stories revolved around him.

A lot of the jokes was due to Urkel’s extreme clumsiness. These clumsy acts would usually cause a ton of damage to the Winslows property. Although he knows that he did destroy the items in question, he would still look around and ask if he was the one who did it. In fact, it happened so frequently, it became one of his catchphrases.

Here’s probably the most disastrous thing that Urkel has actually done:

Geek wisdom: We sometimes do stupid things or have accidents. While they may or may not be intentional, these actions are still ultimately our fault and our responsibility to rectify. A lot of us actually shrink away from taking ownership of the problems that we cause and try to pass it on as the fault of others.

Our life, our choices. We have to live with the repercussions of what we do, no matter if they were good or bad.

“Not that there’s anything wrong with that!”

From: Seinfeld

Genre: Television

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

The story behind the quote: There’s a reason why Seinfeld was the most popular television show in the 80’s and 90’s. It was funny. It took risks in their jokes and, the best thing of all, it was a show about nothing. There was no lesson to be learned. No moral about how you should behave. It was just about comedian Jerry Seinfeld, his best friend George Costanza, his ex-girlfriend Elaine Benez and the next door neighbor, Cozmo Kramer. However, the writers were intelligent enough to make sure that the stories to not really offend anyone but rather took a humorous look at life.

One example of this would be “The Outing” episode. Here, Elaine notices that two girls are listening to her conversation with Jerry and George. She then veers the conversation to make it look like Jerry and George are a gay couple, which the two eavesdroppers believe. It turns out that one of the eavesdroppers was a reporter and mistakenly “outs” them. Of course, Jerry and George realizes that a lot of people are going to think they’re gay and try to correct the reporter, but, they both don’t want to seem that being gay is a bad thing. So, they always mention that there is nothing wrong with being gay every time they deny that they’re homosexuals.

You can also watch a pretty good summary of the entire episode by going to this link.

Geek wisdom: We love geeky stuff, like comic books, video games and superheroes. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Other people may have problems with it but we have to know that they’re the ones with the problems, not us.

Even the people that care for us will say that they “worry about us” since we’re so involved with hanging out at Comic-con or staying up late to catch the midnight release of  the game that we’ve waited months for. They simply don’t realize that there is nothing wrong with us. We all have our quirks that makes us different from each other. Sometimes we have to remind people that there’s nothing wrong with the things that makes us who we are.