Politic-O-Pinion

Top 100 TV Catchphrases Revealed

Starting 11 December and continuing for five nights TV Land will be rolling out its list of the Top 100 TV catchphrases of all time. They range from the profound (”Ask not what your country can do for you …” J.F.K.) to the profane (”I’m Rick James, bitch!” Dave Chappelle), from the classic (”Baby, you’re the greatest” The Honeymooners) to the contemporary (”Here it is, your moment of Zen” The Daily Show). In all, they well represent the effects of TV on society and social colloquialism.

“We have found that television is such a huge part of baby boomers’ DNA that it makes sense that so much of America’s pop culture jargon has come from TV,” says TV Land president Larry Jones.

Some on the list are absolutely obvious. Words and phrases that, because of their ubiquity have been added to the dictionary itself. Homer Simpson’s famous “D’oh” for example has made its way on to the list. Another no-brainer is a line spoken by nearly every cast member of its host series, Cheers. The line, need I say it: “Norm!”.

There are lines on the list, like the two above, that were staples of the series. “Stifle!” a staple phrase of All In The Family is one such phrase. Another, not to be overlooked, is The Walton’s classic, “Good night, John Boy”.

Other lines are one-time greats, or at the very least influential in their own right. “Senator, you’re no Jack Kennedy” is a famous quip leveled at then-Veep candidate Dan Quayle. Seen only once on TV (reruns notwithstanding) the phrase has become as staple knock-down phrase in political circles.

Or, in fiction, “No soup for you!” the famous line from Seinfeld - which has given us other great phrases not included on this list.

Catchphrases also feature broadly on the list. This makes sense because of their prevalence in their series and their attachment to the character that uttered them. Joey Tribiani’s contribution, “How you doin’?” is one such example; “Would you believe?” from Maxwell Smart is a personal favourite of mine.

Not to be outdone, TV advertisements have contributed their share of phrases to the list. From Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” to the “Whassup?” from those Budweiser ads there are at least a half dozen lines that made the cut.

There are even a few immortal lines that are, in my completely biased opinion, unfortunate contributions to TV history. “Heh heh”, from Beavis and Butt-head (and one from Ren & Stimpy, too) and “That’s hot”, a line unfortunately attributed to Paris Hilton, are amongst the top 100. I could have come up with something better, I’m sure.

There are many others that will likely evoke a remembrance in a great many of us, if nothing else. As I read the list I actually had a tear come to my eye twice (though I won’t say where). Here’re a few other examples from TV Land’s Top 100 Catchphrases:

• “Come on down!” (Johnny Olson, “The Price is Right”)
• “Oh, my God! They killed Kenny!” (Stan and Kyle, “South Park”)
• “I know nothing!” (Sgt. Schultz, “Hogan’s Heroes”)
• “Sock it to me” (”Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In”)
• “Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?” (Grey Poupon ad)
• “Say good night, Gracie” (George Burns, “The Burns & Allen Show”)
• “The tribe has spoken” (Jeff Probst, “Survivor”)
• “You rang?” (Lurch, “The Addams Family”)

In the words of the immortal Walter Cronkite: And that’s the way it is…

Entry Filed under: In The News, Pure Opinion

Related Posts:

• No related posts