Making a List

Just in time for the holidays, TVLand is making a list - of the top 100 catch-phrases in TV history, just in time to make a special out of it. And to get idiots on the Internet to talk about it.

With most lists of this type, my biggest reservations are for the most current entries. While I still enjoy How I Met Your Mother - even though with the removal of Ted's future kids, it sounds like future Ted is talking to himself - I don't think that "Suit up!" is necessarily in the top 100. It's more deserving than "Tell me what you don't like about yourself" from Nip/Tuck, which is both not that catchy and way too generic. I'm also not sure how William Shatner screaming his own character's name on Boston Legal cracked the list, even if it is funny.

(I'd also note that "Welcome to the O.C., bitch" would be better on a list of top 100 TV phrases turned into mocking or ironic restatements.)

Not surprisingly, the better catch-phrases from the current aren't from scripted prime-time programming. "The tribe has spoken" and "You're fired!" both fit pretty well; "Here it is, your moment of Zen" less so based on not being that catch-phrasey.

Not surprisingly, the '70s is most represented on the list with 26 entries. Saturday Night Live has six entries. And odd repeat is "Hey hey hey," which is in from both Fat Albert and What's Happening. They're said differently, of course, but it's funny seeing them next to each other like that. Throw in "Heh heh" from Beavis and Butthead and you get the feeling that the list should have been arranged chronologically.

With the given list, I'm going to guess that "Do you believe in miracles?" will top the list once it's presented in order. Also not much of a catch phrase, but memorable nevertheless. My dark horse is "I want my MTV"; it not only became a catch-phrase of sorts, it also marks a generational change in how entertainment was presented (for better or worse).

Anyway, suggestions for replacements are welcome. To start, I would happily replace any of the current clunkers with "Whoa nelly!" or some other oft-repeated nugget from Keith Jackson.