Google Maps on Dexter

In Season 4, Episode 1 of the Showtime TV series Dexter, our protagonist uses Google Maps to find the address of a killer.

Star Trek Groaners [Star Trek]

Question: What did Worf say when small ice asteroids began hitting the Enterprise hull?
Answer: “Captain, we are being hailed.”

Question: What did the first officer answer when Picard asked “Why did you let Troi win at poker?”
Answer: “Because I Riker.”

[See more at Miss Cellenia]

Magic: The Gathering on “SNL” [Games]

On Saturday Night Live season 33, episode 2, originally broadcast on October 6, 2007 and again repeated on August 2, 2008, Seth Rogen’s monologue makes reference to the card game Magic: The Gathering. Seth is reading from an SNL acceptance speech he wrote when he was 13 in anticipation of hosting 20 years later. In addition to making great retro references such as a talking Lamborghini (derived of course from KITT in Knight Rider) and becoming a member of the Wu-Tang Clan, his monologue included new ideas for new Magic: The Gathering cards.

I remember playing this turn-based collectible card game later in my childhood (I think I was 17 at the time). The concept was a simple one: each player started with a set number of “life points”, and you would try to force your opponent’s life points to zero by strategically playing and turning cards. Each card was coloured white, blue, red, green, or black, and had specific instructions. Each card could “attack” (such as “Destroy all creatures. They can’t be regenerated.”) or “defend” against an oncoming attack (“Counter target spell.”). Depending on the outcome of the cards, one of the two players would win.

One of the great aspects of playing the game was trading – the starter decks came with 60 random cards. As the game became more and more popular, the players discovered that some of the more powerful cards were rarer to find than others. A trading frenzy ensued, with players trading up to 20 cards or more for one very powerful one, and I know many players who blew a fortune on attaining the one card that would be required to make theirs the perfect deck.

Of course, the game was converted to digital format in 2002, and eventually became of the first online turn-based card playing games.

Johnny Ryan in The IT Crowd [Stand-Up Comedy]

A “Back In Bleck” album poster (or perhaps a 7″ record) by Johnny Ryan stands on the wire shelf behind Roy’s desk, to his right.

“Johnny Ryan is my current favorite “modern” comic artist, even though he occasionally pisses me off. He’s an angry guy who picks both appropriate and inappropriate targets, and will aim for an easy poop and pork joke whenever possible. And because he doesn’t appear to like competition, he’ll occasionally aim a sharp barb at hard targets that include some of the early alternative comix masters without whom there would be no Johnny Ryan. The bottom line, however, is that Ryan’s comics are balls-out hilarious.”

[via Mania]

Anti-Piracy Stickers in The IT Crowd [Hobbies]

Fun anti-piracy stickers can be found pasted on the door to the IT department: “MP3 is not a crime“, “Fair use has a posse”, as well as two Electronic Frontier Foundation stickers. An ominous “Danger of Death” sign warns visitors to the IT department of impeding doom.

YouTube on Reba [YouTube]

In the episode of Reba where Barbra Jean is hired to be a weather spokesperson for a local TV station, she is ecstatic to hear that her disastrous video has it to YouTube. The viewers have clearly labeled the popular video “Bimbo Bloopers”. Of course, doing such a search will bring up a number of NSFW videos, but you can see the Reba segment here.

Clearly, Barbra Jean is enjoying the popularity, as shown in a phone conversation at the end of the show:

Barbra Jean: “Yeah, I know. How many hits ?”
(pause)
Barbra Jean: “I don’t care if they’re all inmates!”

Klingon Mating Rituals in Big Bang Theory [Nga'Chuq]

In Season 1, Episode 12, the characters are found discussing the rules of Klingon mating rituals to answer the age-old question of whether a Vulcan can mate with a Klingon, and survive to tell the tale. Luckily, we never find the answer on the show.

Klingon mating rituals are very violent, and they resemble a very primitive type of S&M – foreplay consists of kicking the p’tahk out of your partner before having your way with them. Bruises, broken bones, and sometimes death is a part of life of Klingon sex. Occasionally during Klingon orgasm, it is not uncommon to pass out completely by the pain.

Now that’s what I call an orgasm!

ATLAS in Big Bang Theory

There is an ATLAS project poster in the engineering office at the University where the characters work.

Dell XPS on Big Bang Theory [Hot Gadgets]

Both Sheldon and Leonard use a black and orange Dell XPS to work on when inside their apartment.

Yoda on Big Bang Theory [Star Wars]

When Sheldon expresses his opinion to compete in the University’s Physics Bowl, Leonard has just one thing to say: “Bad feeling I have about this, mmm ?“