television – Page 4 – My Geek Wisdom

“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.

“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:

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.

“And I for one welcome our new insect overlords…”

From: The Simpsons

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Kent Brockman

The story behind the quote: It’s actually hard to write Geek Wisdom using the Simpsons. Not because there aren’t a lot of quotable lines from the show. Rather, it’s because 20th Century Fox will usually take down a lot of video clips from the show! This is a quote that has been in the making since I started writing this blog but I’ve never really been able to find a good clip or even a picture of the quote… until now!

The quote became popularized in the Simpsons episode “Deep Space Homer” wherein Homer Simpson becomes an astronaut because of NASA’s attempt to bring an “ordinary” man into space for publicity. Unfortunately, Homer accidentally breaks the ant terrarium, causing the ants to float all around the shuttle.

During an interview with news anchorman Kent Brockman, one of the ants float very close to the camera. Kent then concludes that the ants have taken of the shuttle and will be conquering the planet Earth next… so he delivers the quote.

Since I’m pretty sure the clip will be taken out soon (even with the edit), I’ve decided to post a picture of the quote below.

Geek wisdom: A person’s character can only be tested during hard times. And it may actually be surprising how fast your friends and even your family members can turn on you when things start to go south. Your mettle will also be tested during those trying times and you yourself may be shocked how quickly you can betray your family and friends.

A true test of a person’s character is what he’ll do when the odds aren’t in his favor. Like Kent Brockman, he caved when he thought the human race was about to be enslaved. How will you react against those odds?

“Autobots! Transform and roll out!”

From: The Transformers

Genre: Cartoons, Television

Who said it?: Optimus Prime (most of the time)

The story behind the quote: Most people nowadays have, at the least, a passing familiarity of the Transformers series. The cartoon has gone through various revisions and reiterations. But there are two things that have always remained fairly constant: The Autobots are led by the heroic Optimus Prime and Optimus Prime usually delivers the quote as a sort of battlecry before heading towards battle.

It doesn’t matter if the show has them transforming into vehicles, animals or other creatures/things, Optimus Prime will give this order when it’s time for the Autobots to charge into the battle to take on the evil Decepticons led by Megatron.

Geek wisdom: Change is always scary. Whether it’s trying something new or even getting feedback that you need to adjust something about yourself, the idea of change can be hard to swallow. However, sometimes, in order to move on, you have to be willing to transform yourself.

Change is not necessarily a bad thing; it’s just something you’re not used to. You never know if it’s good or bad until you at least try it out.

“Challenge accepted!”

From: How I Met Your Mother

Genre: Television

Who said it?: Barney Stinson

The story behind the quote: The quote comes from the hit CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother (abbreviated as HIMYM). The premise of the series is that the narrator, the future Ted Mosby, is telling his children the story of how he met their mother. However, he just doesn’t tell them the story about how they met (that would be a very short sitcom). Rather, he sits them down and relates the events in his life that led to him meeting his mother. Ted says it’s important to tell them all of that since, because of everything he went through, he became the man their mother fell in love with.

Anyway, the quote comes from Barney Stinson (played by Neil Patrick Harris). This is actually one of his catchphrases. Barney will utter these words when someone makes an off-hand comment about something that cannot be done. He will then try to perform the “impossible” (even though “the challenge” wasn’t even issuing a challenge in the first place).

Geek wisdom: People generally don’t want to tackle problems. They would rather not deal with issues and the problems of life. However, if we do not accept these challenges life gives us, they will always prevent us from getting better.

We should always be ready to accept these challenges and strive to overcome them. It is difficult but, once you do defeat the problem, then the problem doesn’t have to bother you anymore.

“My cabbages!”

From: Avatar: The Last Airbender

Genre: Television and Cartoons

Who said it?: The Cabbage Merchant

The story behind the quote: Now, this is a quote that is fairly recent and wasn’t even given by any of the main characters of the show. In fact, the person who delivers this quote doesn’t even have an official name as far as I know. However, he does say it a lot and I realized there is some wisdom you can get from those two simple words of despair he exclaims often.

The quote comes from Nickelodeon’s animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The series tells the story of Aang, the latest Avatar of the world and destined to bring peace and order to it. However, since he is just a child, he runs away because of the pressure of the role and gets encased in ice for a hundred years. That is, until two children from the Water Tribes, siblings Katara and Sokka, release him from his icy tomb. The two help Aang try to fulfill his destiny of mastering bending of all four elements (water, earth, fire and air) while being pursued by the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, Prince Zuko.

Like I said, the quote comes not from any of those characters that I mentioned but from a man simply known as The Cabbage Merchant. He pops in a lot of episodes, trying to sell and trade his produce by something always happens to them, which is why he always delivers the quote out of anguish.

Geek wisdom: Life can be full of misfortune and disappointment. This is displayed very prominently by the cabbage guy from the show as it seems to be whenever he encounters Aang and company, his harvested cabbages get devastated. However, it’s how you persist after these hardships that prove yourself as a person.

While the first series never really showed what happened to the cabbage merchant, the sequel to the series, The Legend of Korra shows that the cabbage vendor created his own company and his son is now prosperous because of it. If he didn’t pick himself up after all of the hardship he went through, the cabbage vendor wouldn’t have been able to build a successful company.

“Life is like a hurricane”

From: Duck Tales

Genre: Television and Cartoons

Who said it?: Opening Song

The story behind the quote: The song comes from the one of the most popular cartoons from the late 80’s, Disney’s Duck Tales. While we were generally familiar with Donald Duck and his animated shorts, Disney decided to put out new 30 minute adventures instead, with more complex storylines as well as more action. During the first episode, it’s explained that Donald will be out sea for an extended period of time (he’s a sailor, remember?) so he will not be able to take care of his nephews Huey, Dewey and Louie. He leaves them in the care of Scrooge McDuck, his uncle and who also happens to be the richest duck in the world.

They all go on fantastic adventures around the world to find new treasures to increase Uncle Scrooge’s wealth. They come across new new friends like Launchpad McQuack, “ace” pilot and come in contact with new memorable foes such as Flintheart Glomgold, the second richest duck in the world who always schemes to eventually surpass Uncle Scrooge in wealth.

The quote, as you all probably know, comes from the extremely catchy theme song of the show, which you can hear below.

Geek wisdom: Life can be hard and unpredictable. It will throw various challenges and difficulties at you during the most unexpected times. The best thing to do is to take on these challenges as they come rather than just complain about them and do nothing about it.

Besides, when you do tackle them and succeed in overcoming your problems, like Uncle Scrooge and his friends, you’ll have your own fantastic tales to tell later!

“Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.”

From: The Incredible Hulk

Genre: Television, Comics

Who said it?: “David” Bruce Banner

The story behind the quote: The Incredible Hulk television series was based on the comic book character of the same name. However, the TV series differs greatly from the comic version. While the origin for the Hulk is pretty much the same (the hapless scientist gets bombarded by gamma rays which alters his DNA), every thing else is different. Even the scientist’s name was changed from Bruce Banner to David Banner (Bruce became his middle name). The plot was altered so that The Hulk (played by Lou Ferrigno) is being hunted for the alleged murders of the scientist that was helping Banner. This causes David Banner (portrayed by Bill Bixby) to drift to different towns to escape law enforcement as well as trying to help people he meets along the way.

The quote actually comes from the very first episode, where David Banner catches a tabloid reporter snooping around near the place where the experiments had taken place. David Banner catches the reporter and delivers the quote, stating that he should stop looking into the story or else.

Geek wisdom: Don’t poke the bear! We all have the tendency to be bullies (yes, even the bullied will bully people even weaker people). We think there are going to be no consequences to teasing and riffing on people; we think they won’t do anything. We may think that but we have no way of thinking what they’ll do in the future.

We’ve seen movies, television shows and comics where the person being bullied becomes someone extremely powerful and then take it out on those who bullied them. In fact, we have even seen people just snap and go on shooting rampages just so they can get some form of “revenge” on society. We have no idea how they’ll focus their anger in the future. Sure, they may be in control of it now. But we have no idea how they’ll deal with it in the future.

David Banner may seem like a weakling but, well, don’t get him angry. That goes for other people as well. We have no idea if they will just Hulk out one day.