“Did I do that?”
“What’choo talkin’ ’bout, Willis?”
“This tape will self-destruct in five seconds.”
Even if you’ve never seen an episode of Family Matters, Diff’rent Strokes, or Mission Impossible, you could probably either identify the quote to the show, or at least recognize that it’s a line from some TV show. That’s the power of a good catchphrase, a phenomenon that, like a theme song that explains the premise of the show, rarely exists anymore. It’s most often associated with corny sitcoms from the 1970s-1990s, and as everyone knows, TV was terrible until The Sopranos came along. (This is obviously hogwash, but it sure seems like a lot of people believe this.) But the greatest show of all-time, The Simpsons, has multiple catchphrases (“If anyone needs me, I’ll be in my room”), as do all-timers like Seinfeld, Star Trek, and The Honeymooners.
But with the exception of The Simpsons, all those shows are long gone. In fact, of the show’s found on TV Guide‘s 60 greatest catchphrases of all-time list published in 2013, only eight are still on the air, five of which are reality shows. We’re long overdue to crown a new king or queen of catchphrases. Here are 10 options, all from shows that aired or are still airing in the 2010s, ranked in order of catchphrase quality.
Honorable mentions:
-“Good God, Lemon” from 30 Rock (useful, but it’s usually followed by an hurtful insult — catchphrases are supposed to be fun!)
-“This guy f*cks” from Silicon Valley (hard to say in certain company)
-“Bazinga!” from The Big Bang Theory (“Bazinga” will, unfortunately, go down as one of the most iconic catchphrases of all-time, right up there with “Kiss my grits!” and “How rude!” But like “Kiss my grits!” and “How rude!,” it was never funny in the first place, and gets more annoying with every use, which is now roughly 54,298 times. But if you want a catchphrase that appears on an unlicensed shirt sold on a New Jersey boardwalk, “Bazinga!” is your best bet.)
And now, the top 10.
10. Show: Rick and Morty
Catchphrase: “Wubba lubba dub dub”
Case For: “Wubba lubba dub dub” was a beautiful mistake. Here’s writer Ryan Ridley on Rick’s nonsensical Arsenio Hall-inspired catchphrase:
I wrote that last scene in “Meeseeks and Destroy” with Rick offering Jerry and Beth the Fleeseeks box very quickly while trying to make a deadline. After Rick’s line: “What? It just has a mop and some floor wax in it” the script than has him dropping to the floor, spinning around like Curly from the Three Stooges, and saying “Whoobwhoobwhoobwhooob.”
It was me being lazy and wanting to make myself and the writers laugh at the way I was (ahem) ironically phoning it in. I fully expected Dan [Harmon] to rewrite the entire scene and make it a brilliant and pointed conclusion to the story, but instead he just deleted the Curly bit and changed the line to “Wobble gobba lop bops!”
That’s how it was written when Justin [Roiland] took the script to the recording booth and he said that line in three different ways and of the three, thought “Wubba Lubba Dub Dub” was the funniest. That’s how these things happen sometime. Just a series of accidents.
As far as origin stories go, that’s more Batman than The Whizzer.
Case Against: Rick has since moved on to “I don’t give a f*ck,” and “Hit the sack, Jack,” and “rubber baby buggy bumpers,” and “lick lick lick my balls,” “Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, bitch,” and “AIDS,” among others. Also, “wubba lubba dub dub” is Bird-Person for “I am in great pain, please help me.” That’s a bummer.
9. Show: Happy Endings
Catchphrase: “Ah-mah-zing”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wthLKEiWyM
Case For: It’s snappy, it’s catchy, it’s, well, ah-maz-ing.
Case Against: “Ah-maz-ing” is Penny’s “How you doing?” but every time I hear someone use it, I think of other, funnier Happy Endings quotes, like, “When I get drunk, I eat ribs,” and “Reading’s stupid, TV rules!” (Same.) That’s not the sign of a top-of-the-list catchphrase. Also, I miss Happy Endings.
8. Show: BoJack Horseman
Catchphrase: “Suck a d*ck, dumb sh*ts”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yM0r8sPuDBQ
Case For: In a season three episode of the Netflix comedy, a drugged-up BoJack and Krill & Grace creator Cuddlywhiskers are working on an early draft of The Bojack Horseman Show when they settle on an anti-catchphrase.
BoJack: Yeah, like if every time he enters the room, he was like, “Whassup, bitches?”
[Cuddlywhiskers laughs]
BoJack: Not that, because that’s horrible. But, you know, something like that.
Cuddlywhiskers: “Whassup, bitches?”
BoJack: That is so dumb.
Cuddlywhiskers: But also kind of brilliant, right?
“Suck a d*ck, dumb sh*ts” is to BoJack Horseman as “Whassup, bitches?” is to The BoJack Horseman Show. Except, y’know, good.
Case Against: It reminds me of Sarah Lynn. I don’t want to be reminded of Sarah Lynn. I take it back: let’s go with Todd saying “hoo-ray!” instead.
7. Show: Friday Night Lights
Catchphrase: “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose”
Case For: Coach Taylor ending a rousing speech with “Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose,” especially with a stirring Explosions In the Sky song in the background, makes me feel like I can run through a brick wall.
Case Against: Running through a brick wall would hurt.
6. Show: Community
Catchphrase: “Pop pop!”
Case For: POP POP.
Case Against: I say “cool, cool, cool” more often. It’s my “yada yada yada.”
5. Show: True Detective
Catchphrase: “Time is a flat circle”
Case For: True Detective season one was so good that even though True Detective season two was a disaster, you’re still kind of excited of True Detective season three. And this line was Matthew McConaughey at his monologue-chewing, cigarette-smoking, beer can man-creating best.
Case Against: Rust Cohle only says “Time is a flat circle” once on True Detective. That’s not technically a catchphrase. Catchphrases imply that a certain line is uttered more than once, often ad infinitum. Plus, it’s only half the quote: “Time is a flat circle. Everything we’ve ever done or will do we’re gonna do over and over and over again.” He’s also ripping Nietzsche off.
4. Show: Mad Men
Catchphrase: “NOT GREAT, BOB”
Case For: I’m also cheating here, because like “Time is a flat circle,” Pete Campbell only yells “NOT GREAT, BOB” once. But what a one time! I would argue it’s the most useful catchphrase on this list. Every morning when I look at Twitter, I think, “NOT GREAT, BOB.” Every time my favorite team loses: “NOT GREAT, BOB.” Every time I think about how Pete and Peggy had a baby, and now Peggy is on The Handmaid’s Tale with Pete’s real-life wife, Rory from Gilmore Girls: “NOT GREAT, BOB.” I want to put it number one, but…
Case Against: …I can’t. How do I feel about “NOT GREAT, BOB” finishing fourth because of an arbitrary rule I made? NOT GREAT, BOB.
3. Show: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Catchphrase: “Females are strong as hell”
Case For: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is arguably the most quotable show on TV (do I have an entire folder on my phone for subtitled screencaps? Yes, I do), but it’s most memorable phrase isn’t said about Kimmy, or Tituss, or even Lillian. It’s from Walter Bankston, who utters the instantly immortal “Females are strong as hell.” It’s a rallying cry that belongs on flashy bumper stickers and motivational signs at marathons, and in gender study courses in college.
Case Against: Try saying “Females are strong as hell” without getting the theme song stuck in your head all week. It’s literally impossible.
2. Show: Game of Thrones
Catchphrase: “Winter is coming”
Case For: I was recently looking for a Game of Thrones shirt on Etsy before the seven season premiere, but was disappointed with the options: a solid 40 percent of the merchandise reads, “Winter is coming.” That’s a fine quote and one that would result in knowing glances from strangers whenever I walked around wearing the shirt, but I was hoping for something with more of a Hot Pie flair. It just goes to show how omnipresent “Winter is coming” has become. It’s even the marketing strategy for the new season, and by far the most popular catchphrase on this list on Google. The term “winter is coming” has 62,800,000 results, compared to 9,110,000 for “bazinga,” 15,900,000 for “NOT GREAT BOB,” and 41,300,000 for the vague “pop pop.” But.
Case Against: It’s no longer coming; it’s here.
1. Show: Parks and Recreation
Catchphrase: “Treat yo’ self”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmeQqu8wkfg
Case For: It has to be “Treat yo’ self.” No catchphrase has permeated pop culture as much as Tom and Donna’s best day of the year (October 13). You see it at spas, at restaurants, at bars, basically anywhere where someone is hoping to sell you something, but they don’t want to explicitly say “Buy my book” (another good catchphrase). Hence, treat yo’ self. It’s moved beyond Parks and Recreation. Even people who have never seen the show use it.
Case Against: There is none. It’s the iconic catchphrase of the 2010s.
