In my opinion, there are certain trademarks and habits people have that sometimes define who they are. A lot of these things aren't done on purpose but everyone notices them at sometime or another. The same can be said for televison characters. Somethings characters may do on a regular basis may drive you crazy and some might be endearing to you. So this topic will be about those character habits and trademarks that you love or hate. For me, Steve Urkel from Family Matters is the most annoying character ever invented. With that being said, the reason why I hate Urkel so much is because of two of trademarks. Those trademarks would be his laugh and his ability to destroy peoples property every single week. It just made me want to put my head through a wall everytime he destroyed something. On the plus side, while watching "That 70's Show" I have noticed something that makes me smile everytime. It's Kitty's trademark smile and laugh. I can't explaine it but it makes me happy everytime I see it.

Oh I LOVE Kitty's laugh!! It's probably the only reason why I watch that show.

One of the famous, albeit rarely seen trademarks would be Chandler's "could (insert pronoun here) BE more (insert adjective here)?" And I love how he exaggerates certain words... it occured mostly in the earlier seasons though.

My favorite trademarks are: House twirling his cane, the Goren lean on LO:CI (I know some people hate that though), Picard's "Make it so" on ST:TNG, and "By Your Command" from old-school BSG.

Not my favorite, but definately memorable is Xena's "ayayayayai", (or however you spell it), whenever she would jump and flip. ETA: I did love the show though.

I could actually list quite a few House ones, as I am currently obsessed, but I'll leave it for now.

ETA2: Al's "I don't think so, Tim" on Home Improvement.

The best trademarks are the ones that leave themselves open to re-interpretation while still being clearly the trademark in question.

I'm thinking largely of things like the final shot of every Powerpuff Girls episode ever, the vast majority of which ended, "And so... the day is SAVED! Thanks to... the Powerpuff Girls!!!!!" But more than a few screwed with this formula, the most memorable when an alien force comes in and out-evils Mojo Jojo and the girls enlist Mojo's help to defeat it, and the Narrator ends with "And so... the day is SAVED! Thanks to... Mojo Jojo!!!!" while Mojo grumps and grouses about being a hero.

Speaking of Mojo Jojo, I think his trademark bad-American-dub-of-a-Japanese-movie method of talking is hilarious, and the episode where Bubbles thinks she's Mojo Jojo and talks just like him is brilliant.

Sam's "Oh Boy" at the beginning of every Quantum Leap. It was so cheese-tastic, but most of the show was anyway. And as a creature of habit myself, I liked the familiarity of that line opening every episode.

Due South: Constable Fraser's "Thank you kindly" (which I have adopted) and the way he would always rub his left eyebrow with his left thumb when he was thinking. Very cute.

Also Adrian Monk's habit of rolling his shoulders nervously; and saying all the time, "Here's the thing..." when someone wants him to do something he doesn't want to do.

The character often annoyed me, but Monica's "I know!" from Friends always made me laugh, and I still use it in everyday conversation.

Are You Being Served? practically owns this thread. Most of the characters had their own special catchphrase or sight gag. Mrs. Slocumbe had "I am unanimous in that" and references to her pussy, Mr. Lucas had "Glass of water for Mr. Grainger," Mr. Humphries had, "Are you free, Mr. Grainger?," "Menswear," and of course his signature walk. Unfortunately, most of these were obscenely overused as the series went on.

Speaking of Brit-coms, I love the old man in The Vicar of Dibley who answers every question, "Oh, no no no no no no no no no. Yes."

Darkwing Duck's popping up in blue smoke and changing the lines every time "I am the ___ that ___ your ___!" Loved "Let's get dangerous!" too.

never mind. missed the point.

Elaine's "Get out!" and pushing on the person's chest with both hands (sometimes knocking them over).

Kramer's entrances. And, "Giddyup!"

From 24, Jack Bauer's line, "Who are you working for?" and "I'm going to need a hacksaw."

Climbing into the Wayback Machine, Maxwell Smart's "Would you believe...? is a classic.

As is this two-character trademark/schtick from the old Superman.

JIMMY OLSEN (responding to an order from his boss, Perry White):Right, Chief!

PERRY WHITE (roaring): DON'T call me CHIEF!

JIMMY: Right, Chief!

GOB from Arrested Development Segway and Final Countdown just laugh my ass off just thinking about them

Jed Bartlet's "What next?", and weird way of putting on a suit jacket.

Baldrick's "cunning plan"s

Classics from yesteryear:
- The Fonz's "Aaaay..." His leather jacket and Archie Bunker's chair are both in the Smithsonian.
- J.J. of Good Times with his idiotic, "Dy-no-mite!" Geez, what self-respecting person actually adopted that? Yet it was on t-shirts and bumper stickers all over the place.
- Mork's "Nanu, Nanu." I forget what it meant, though....was it a greeting?
- Welcome Back, Kotter's "Up your nose with a rubber hose." I always thought that was a pretty tame remark coming from what was supposed to be the toughest of the tough guys from a Brooklyn high school, but naturally, it was sanitized for TV.
- Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd as the lecherous Czechoslavakian brothers on Saturday Night Live who proclaimed, "We are two wild and crazy guys!" Ah, that was the golden age of SNL--there are countless memorable lines.

Gilda Radner's "Oh! Nevermind!"

Dan Ackroyd's "Jane you ignorant slut!"

Chevey Chase's "Good evening. I'm Chevey Chase and you're not"

Different Strokes: Arnold's "Whatchu talkin' about?"

The opening sequence of The Simpsons where they all sit on the couch.

Barney Rubble's laugh and Fred Flintstone's "Yabba Dabba Doo"

Also:

Homer Simpson: Mmmmmm . . . . [insert word here], and D'oh

Mrs. Slocombe from Are You Being Served's ever-changing hair color

Brian the Dog's alcohol problem

Quagmire: "Giggity!"

Giles from Buffy cleaning his glasses is a particular favourite. I love the fact that after him doing it for six years it was revealed he usually did it when he didn't want to look at the gang being stupid.

And how has this thread gotten this far without someone mentioning CSI: Miami's Sunglasses of Justice? Why bother acting when you can just repeat the formula "Say something intense"[Put on or take off glasses]"Repeat intense line"

Though I'm not really a fan of the original Trek, Dr. McCoy's "Dammit Jim! I'm a doctor, not a _____!" was enjoyable. It always made me smile when Dr. Bashir on DS9 would say something similar: "I'm a doctor, not an historian," or "I'm a doctor, not a botanist."

There's also Mr. Spock's "Facinating."

Cliff Huxtable's oversized sweaters with the little button on it.

Kojak's Lollipop

And as discussed at length over at the Little House on the Prairie thread, Laura had a habit of turning and running away. In fact, pretty much every character did it at one point or another, but it was as much of a trademark for Laura as were her braids. And Pa had his manly tears, flowing 70's hair and his shiny, hairfree chest! Mrs. Oleson was sure to say "For Heaven's Sake!" at least once an episode.

SouthPark: They've Killed Kenny! You Bastards!

All in the Family: Archie calling Mike - Meathead, Gloria - Little Girl and Edith - Dingbat. And as Shnuglet pointed out we can't forget his chair.

I Love Lucy: Lucy crying after her well laid plans go awry.

Dr. McCoy was also famous for using his handy-dandy, pocket-sized diagnostic gizmo to check the corpse of a never-before-seen crewman who had just been ray-gunned/bitten/stung/stricken with a heretofore unknown disease or otherwise molested by an alien force or creature, before turning to Kirk and declaring poignantly, "He's dead, Jim."

The Prisoner - Number Six: "Be seeing you."

Doctor Who - 4th Doctor: "Hello, I'm the Doctor, this is [companion's name(s)], would you like a jelly baby?"

NCIS - Gibbs - slaps Tony's head, after Tony says something stupid, another trademark is Ducky talking to the corpses he's examining.

Kung Fu: The Legend Continues - Kwai Chang Caine's trademark was talking without using contractions, Kermit always said at least one "Oh yeah" in any episode he was in, Peter calling K.C.C. "Pop".

Forever Knight - Nick Knight - brooding/feeling guilty about what he's done in his past.

The Equalizer - Mickey's crooked/half smile, McCall's verbal smackdowns.

I loved Sam's "Oh boy!" on QL too, already mentioned above.

Farscape - John Crichton - the many, many, many pop culture references.

After needing a bandage during the filiming of the pilot for WKRP in Cincinnati, Les always had a bandage somewhere on successive episodes. And of course, there's his trademark "walls."

On Three's Company, I always liked Norman Fell's mugging to the other camera after a zinger.

Cliff, as well as Ted Knight's character on Too Close for Comfort, each wore many different college sweatshirts.

JJ had his "getting ... the door" walk.

C. Montgomery Burns from The Simpsons - (steeples fingers) "Excellent".

Hannibal from The A-team - "I love it when a plan comes together."

Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes, putting his index fingers together and pressing them against his lips as he thinks about a crime.

Marge Simpson - "Now let's never speak of it again."

Hyacinth Bucket ("that's BOUQUET!") from "Keeping Up Appearances" and her "candle-light suppers". Also: Onslow's "Oh, nice!" whenever anyone tells him to shove off.

Doctor Who - 9th Doctor: "Fantastic!" This is such a part of the ninth doctor for me that when David Tennant said it in The Christmas Invasion I let out a little "no!"

And there's always "tell me what you don't like about yourself" from Nip/Tuck.

And then strut around with your hands awkwardly on your hips. I really wonder if that particular affectation was the writers'/producers' idea, or Caruso's own addition to the character.

This is also a show that has had a lot of fun with Monk's (or occasionally someone else's) explanation of how the crime was done... IIRC, there was one where Monk couldn't talk for some reason, and one of the other characters was doing the explanation ("What Monk is trying to say is that the killer put the shears in the Goodwill bin!" or whatever). There's definitely a parallel structure going on, with even a sort of impish recognition that it's a writerly device as well as a character trait.

How about "God will get you for that." from Maude.

"Goodnight John-Boy" from the Waltons.

Picard constantly pulling down his uniform when he would sit down and Riker proping his his foot up and leaning over the back of Data's chair. (Which would bug the snot out of me)

Columbo's "Just one more thing."

Lenny and Squiggy's "Hello"

Homer's "H'oh"

Well my brain just went numb.

Good one!

As I'm typing this, I can't remember if somebody already posted about the "L" that Laverne always wore. Just did a quick check and didn't see it...

Another one is when Norm walked into Cheers and everyone yelled "NORM" (Diane would say "Norman") and then he would have a great one-liner. For example:
"How's it going Norm?"
"It's a dog eat dog world and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear"


Thanks NJMark, I always noticed the bandage, but I had no idea why it was there.

I just thought of some of my favorite's:

Love Connection: Chuck Woolery-"We'll be back in two and two with the finger gestures".

That 70's Show-Red calling someone a dumbass ot telling Eric he was going to put his foot up his ass in many different ways.

Mad about you:Paul-:This is what Im saying".

Also, I must give a shout-out to Friends. Every character on that show had a trademark I loved. Joey-"How you doin?" Monica-"I know" Rachael-The way she would jump and move around when she was happy. Ross-Whenever he noticed something he said that was annoying or stupid. Phoebe-When she would get hysterical and start yelling. Chandler-His ability to make a joke at the drop of a hat.

X-Files - Scully doing The Eyebrow when particularly skeptical to a thing Mulder just said

Buffy - VampireWillow with her "Bored now"

Law & Order - Good ole Lennie Briscoe making a pun right before going into the opening credits. Something like ," I specifically asked for him to be put on suicide watch. Apparently here at Riker's that mean that they watch you commit suicide."

Full House - "You got it dude" from the cutesie twins playing Michelle Tanner.

Seinfeld - "Hello Newman." "Hello Jerry" The best is when Jerry's mom did it to Newman.

Arrested Development - GOB has already been mentioned, but my two favorite lines of his are, "Come on!" and "I've made a huge mistake."

Punky Brewster - "Punky Power" by Punky herself. For some reason, I feel like she also said leaping lizards or something like that.

Sanford and Son - "This is the big one" Everytime Sanford's son started to do something that made him upset.

Fantasay Island - "De plane! De plane!" by loveable Tatoo

Happy Days - "Sit on it Potzy" I think Richie mainly said it, but others joined in.

Alice - "Kiss my grits" by Flo

In I love Lucy, Ricky Ricardo would speak spanish everytime he got mad.

Prison Break. Micheal's "middle-distance" staring. The End.

The Golden Girls. Sophia Petrillo. "Picture it... Sicily..."

Also from Golden Girls, Dorothy's amazing St. Olaf stories.

The Nanny (one of my guiltiest of guilty pleasures) gave us the heinous Fran laugh and the Lucy-esque "Oh, Mr. Sheffield!"

There's Mary Tyler Moore's "Oh Rooooob!" on the Dick Van Dyke Show.

Don't forget Homer's "Mmm...(insert food, inanimate objects, human beings, etc)" from The Simpsons

Full House- Uncle Jesse's trademark was most definetly "Have Mercy"

I believe that's Rose. Also from Golden Girls, the cheesecake.

In Home Improvement, you never see Wilson's face. Tim takes potshots at Al on Tool Time.

You're right it is Rose. I can't believe I mixed up the Girls!

Spike always had his leather duster from Wood's mother, and Angel had his as well.

Let's not forget the ever-present smuginess of a smile the man wears. Either way, they both grate on my nerves terribly.

Tony Almeida's purposeful sipping from his beloved Cubs mug on 24 is the thing that represents the essence of that character to me.

The Addams Family- Gomez' "That's french!" Kissing ensues.

Don’t forget his raincoat of justice.



And Shirley’s gruff, “Who is it?” as she stood at the door armed with a baseball bat. Shirley was also so straight-laced that she always called Laverne’s nemesis Rosie by her married name, Mrs. So-and-So. I forget what her name was now but it was very ironic because I'm pretty sure that Rosie was divorced, which was virtually unheard of in the 1950s.

There was also Arnold’s uber-annoying “Whatchoo talkin’ about, Willis?!” from Diff'rent Strokes. I’m sorry but that wasn’t even remotely “cute” the first time he said it. And it just plained sucked as the years wore on.


A day late on the quote tags but I added them.

Concerning Mr. Spock, why does everyone always remember "Fascinating!" but seemingly never "Most illogical, Captain"? I loved the facial expression that almost always accompanied that phrase.