The Reference Explanation Thread

[Nate the Great]

Magic Eight Ball: Signs point to yes.

Yeah, parentheses can remind me of the weirdest stuff at times.

Anyway, you wouldn't care to elaborate, Muddy?

[Derek]

Link: Alright, Ganon. It is down to you, and it is down to me.
Ganon: Yeah, let's see you try to hurt me -- OW!

Yeah, Link's line is a Princess Bride line, but that was basically it for the reference. In PB, the line is the start of the battle of wits between wesley and vizzini. But Ganon in the first Zelda (aka Gannon) is a pretty easy kill (as Link says in that same scene), so if anything Gannon's line is to show that what should have been an epic battle really isn't.

That or it's just one of my fiving rules: If I can't make it funny, throw in a reference to something else so that it seems clever.

[Nate the Great]

I guess that my brand of humor would dictate that a Princess Bride setup line reference requires a Princess Bride punchline reference:

Link: So, it is down to you, and it is down to me.
Ganon: It would appear so. You wanna just skip the battle of wits and cut straight to the epic battle sequence?
Link: Works for me. And by the way, I DO intend to cut right to it.
Ganon: GAK!

Hehe.

[NAHTMMM]

I've been re-reading the ENT fivers, and am ashamed to say I only just caught on to this reference in Five Minute "Twilight":

Phlox: Because of transdimensional space parasites. That's why. They've taken up residence in your brain to eat your memories.
Archer: Will it hurt?
Phlox: OH yeah.

That makes at least two Triangle and Robert shout-outs on the main site. I want to say three, but the only other one I can remember is the inverted capital G in the "Dirty Pair" parody.

[Zeke]

Awesome! I didn't think that one would ever be noticed. (For the uninitiated, it's a reference to this classic Orpuddex strip. Man, I love that guy. Here's another one.)

Off the top of my head, I can't think of any other references I've made in actual content. But I did once use "Ovinoculatron" as an Easter egg code word.

[Wowbagger]

"I was even thinking of giving Ron Moore a call, although he's been a bit capricious lately." --TJI Brief #7

Was "capricious" a sly way of mentioning Caprica, or am I seeing references that aren't even there now?

[Sa'ar Chasm]

Given Zeke's penchant for wordplay, I'd be surprised if it wasn't.

[Wowbagger]

From "Terra Nova Pre-Cancelled":

Reaction to the announcement has been muted, with most observers merely giving a jaded shrug. One of the few to weigh in was actor Anthony Montgomery: "Ever heard of Emily's Reasons Why Not? Disappeared in the early twenty-first century. How about Australia's Naughtiest Home Videos? 1992. Cut off in mid-pilot and no one ever found a trace. A lot of people spent years, decades, trying to figure out what those shows did wrong, but when it comes to unrealized potential, neither of them held a candle to Terra Nova. And we cancelled it! Woo!"

I just got this.

And feel like a total idiot.

[Zeke]

Do you mean how it's all a riff on Mayweather's speech at the end of "Terra Nova"? Don't kick yourself about that -- it wasn't a great episode. I remember ENT S1 with an unusual level of detail because I fell in love with the show at first sight; I ate it up, even the weaker stories, because the characters and dialogue were so good. "Terra Nova" isn't particularly memorable on its own merits, and I only used it here for its title.

Oh, and you're right about "capricious".

[Flying Gremlin]

Originally Posted by Zeke

"Terra Nova" isn't particularly memorable on its own merits, and I only used it here for its title.

Shale.

From "Patterns of Force":

Kirk: We need to get through to John Gill. Spock, any ideas?
Spock: Captain, remember.... Wenn ist das Nunstuck git und Slotermeyer?
Kirk: Sure -- yes.... Ja. Beierhund das oder die Flipperwald gesprut!
Guards: HAHAHAH-- GAK!

...the Funniest Joke in the World, right?