Fandom School (8th period): Catchphrases

It's time again for Fandom School! Today, we're going to talk about catchphrases.

What is a catchphrase? It's a phrase, line (or pattern thereof) that is repeated often enough that the audience associates it with a particular character or book/movie/TV show. I'd like to take this post to share a few of my favorite catchphrases.

Get Smart (TV show) [go to www.wouldyoubelieve.com for a complete list of catchphrases]

• "Would you believe..." - Maxwell Smart

Smart: At the moment, seven Coast Guard cutters are converging on us. Would you believe it?
Mr Big: I find that hard to believe.
Smart: Hmmm . . . Would you believe six?
Mr Big: I don't think so.
Smart: How about two cops in a rowboat?

• "Missed it by that much!" - Maxwell Smart
• "Zis is KAOS, we don't ________ here!" - Siegfried, usually to Shtarker

Shtarker: Let me let them have it. Dudududududu (making a machine gun noise).
Siegfried: Shtarker, zis is KAOS, we don't Dududu here.

Doctor Who (TV show)

• "Fantastic!" - Ninth Doctor
• "[insert things] are cool" - Eleventh Doctor
• bow ties, fezzes, stetsons, bunk beds... the list goes on
• "Allons-y!" - Tenth Doctor
• "Spoilers" - River Song
• "Hello, Sweetie" - River Song
• "It's bigger on the inside!" - (almost*) every companion, upon entering the TARDIS
• "Oi! Watch it, spaceman!" - Donna Noble to the Tenth Doctor

The Princess Bride (book/movie)

• "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." - Inigo Montoya
• "As you wish" - Westley
• "Inconceivable!" - Vizzini

Star Trek (TV show and several movies)

• "Live long and prosper" - Vulcan greeting/farewell, usually said by Spock
• "Highly illogical" - Spock
• "I'm a doctor, not a..." - Dr. Leonard McCoy
• bricklayer, psychiatrist, mechanic, coal miner, engineer, physicist... [see this website for a list of all occurrences]
• "He's dead, Jim" - Dr. Leonard McCoy

Star Wars (movie series)

• "May the Force be with you" - Jedi blessing/good luck, said by almost everyone on the good side
• "I got a bad feeling about this" - Han Solo is known for this phrase, but many other characters say variations of it as well

Harry Potter (books/movies)

• "My father will hear about this!" - Draco Malfoy
• "Bloody hell!" - Ronald Weasley
• "Wicked!" - Fred & George Weasley
• "I shouldn't have said that" - Hagrid

Sherlock (TV show)

• "Not my division!" - Greg Lestrade
• "I'm not gay!" - John Watson, said when anyone tries to ship him with Sherlock
• "I'm your landlady, not your housekeeper!" - Mrs. Hudson

I know I'm missing lots of fandoms and catchphrases, but I only included the fandoms I'm in that have multiple catchphrases. If you have any catchphrases you'd like to add, feel free to do so in the comments.

*Notable exceptions include Clara Oswald, who said "It's smaller on the outside!", and Rory Williams, who said nothing, prompting this exchange:

The Doctor [after entering the TARDIS]: It's a lot to take in, isn't it? Tiny box, huge room inside; what's that about? Let me explain...
Rory: It's another dimension.
The Doctor: It's basically another dimen — what?
Rory: After what happened with Prisoner Zero, I've been reading up on all the latest scientific theories. FTL travel, parallel universes.
The Doctor: I like the bit when someone says "It's bigger on the inside!" I always look forward to that.

Star Wars Awesomeness (May the 4th Be With You)

Happy Star Wars Day, everyone! To celebrate, I've collected my favorite Star Wars videos for you to enjoy. May the Force be with you!

Star Wars (John Williams is the Man)

a song about Star Wars set to a medley of John Williams songs

Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) Lightsaber Duel

The Piano Guys battle it out while playing a medley of Star Wars songs

The Fastest and Funniest LEGO Star Wars Story Ever Told

A humorous summary of the Star Wars original trilogy

Grocery Store Wars

A parody of Star Wars about organic vs processed food

Top 10 Fictional Characters Who Are Black

For those of you not aware, March 6 was declared to be #Blackoutday by someone on tumblr. We are only liking, posting, and reblogging posts of/about black people. In honor of that, I'm listing my top 10 fictional characters who are black. In no particular order, they are:

Martha Jones (Doctor Who)
Martha Jones is a character whose value is often disputed in the Whovian community. Some people don't appreciate her, but I am one of the people who thinks she's totally awesome. Yes, she had a crush on the Doctor, but so did most of his female companions. She has clear goals of what she wants (to become a doctor), and she works towards those goals, eventually achieving them. Like Donna, she makes the Doctor earn her respect. She saves the ENTIRE WORLD from the Master while the Doctor stands by helplessly. She knows when to move on from the Doctor and find someone else, and she does. Which brings us to the next person on the list.

Mickey Smith (Doctor Who)
I bet most of you are thinking that Mickey Smith is stupid and lame. I did at first, but not any more. See, there's a little thing called character development. Throughout series 1 and 2, Mickey grows and changes to be smarter and more independent, among other things. The one thing that doesn't change is that Mickey is fiercely loyal. He keeps waiting for Rose, even when she disappears with the Doctor. When she's gone for a year and he's a suspect in her murder, he says nothing because he wants to protect her (also because he knows he won't be believed). When he realizes that she will never love him and treat him the way he deserves, he moves on, but he still does everything he can to help her and the Doctor. He joins Torchwood and is totally awesome. He marries Martha, who has also been unappreciated by the people in her life, and they go freelance to fight aliens. Mickey goes from a cowardly, clingy "tin dog" to a brave, loyal, and strong man.

Danny Pink (Doctor Who)
I was really worried Danny was going to be a poorly written character, but it turned out that Moffat actually did a good job with Danny. He reminds me a little of Mickey and a little of Rory, but he's different from both of them. He's really accepting and supportive of Clara, even to the point that he allows her to continue traveling with the Doctor. And he has a fierce loyalty towards Clara, doing everything he can to help her. I wasn't sure about the whole soldier thing, but I like the way it feeds into his character, making him brave, smart, and strong. Also, the "bad day" he had as a soldier gives him a strong sense of guilt which serves to make him more real and the "bad day" also gives him a heightened sense of morality, which I think is very important.

Gwen (Merlin)
My mom pointed out that there would not have been black people in Europe during the time of King Arthur, but oh well. I'll happily take POC representation over historical accuracy (unless it's a documentary, of course). Gwen is sweet and sensitive and smart, but she can also be super tough when she needs to be. Like Merlin, she helps make Arthur a better man.

Sam Wilson aka Falcon (The Avengers)
The Avengers are awesome. Every member of the Avengers is awesome, including Falcon. Because he's a newer member of the group, he doesn't get as much attention as he deserves. He's smart, funny, and talented. Also, his suit is totally awesome! Another score for superheroes who have super technology instead of superpowers.

Captain Ray Holt (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
If you don't watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you should. It's awesome. Captain Ray Holt is one of the major characters (he's the captain of district 99 of the NYPD). Not only is he black, he's also gay. Representation for the win! He's strict and smart, but he can also be funny at times. And he's the only one with the willingness and ability to call Jake out on his antics.

Agent J (Men In Black)
Have you seen Men In Black? No? Go watch it right now. Don't come back until you've read it. Okay. Now you agree that Agent J is awesome, right? Will Smith is the bomb, and he portrays this role really well (I also really like Will Smith as Alex Hitchins in "Hitch").

Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)
I love Tiana. She's smart, funny, and most importantly, hardworking. I think she's a really great role model for people who want to fulfill their dreams. She's really good at being kind to and respectful of other people. Also, she doesn't put up with other people's bad behavior.

Sid (Galavant)
Okay, so he's basically the show's comic relief, but I still like him. He's funny and, as we learn in "Two Balls" (did they think through that title? Did they do that on purpose?), not nearly as bad as the average squire. He expresses resentment at being always ignored, and after the aforementioned episode, he does gain a little more respect from Galavant, who had to spend some time in Sid's shoes.

God (played by Morgan Freeman)*
Obviously nobody can know for sure exactly what God will be like until getting to heaven, but I always picture God as basically Morgan Freeman. I'm also really glad that they cast a black guy for God and not a white person. Jesus was middle-eastern (and Jewish), so I'm glad God was portrayed as POC as well.

*God is not a fictional character, but he is a character in the fictional movies Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty. I wanted to include him in the list. Don't judge.

Alright so that's all well and good, but I need to mention something important: I had a lot of trouble thinking of enough people to put on this list. If I were making a list of my favorite fictional characters ever, I would have trouble limiting it. I think it's disgusting that POC characters are portrayed by white actors. We need more POC representation! *raises fist for emphasis* That is all. Have a nice day!

Fandom Love (Happy Valentine's Day)

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I'd like to start off by saying that I love all of you (platonically, of course- except for my boyfriend, who I love non-platonically). I know that some of you are in relationships and some of you are single, so I tried to make a post that will celebrate the day while not making anyone feel left out.

Let's talk about love. And because this is a fandom blog, let's use examples from fandoms.

There are several different types of love. I decided to use this website to decide how to categorize the different types. So, without further ado, here is the list.

Agape - selfless love. Agape is unconditional love that makes you donate to charity, be friendly with people you don't know, and do anything to help someone or make them happy.
Example: Merlin and Arthur in Merlin (more Merlin than Arthur), Harry in Harry Potter

Storge - family love. This is the love siblings have for each other (you may not like each other, but you do love each other), the love between a parent and child. It can also be a strong friendship.
Example: Elsa and Anna in Frozen, Sam and Dean in Supernatural (I think? I haven't seen much of that show)

Pragma - enduring love. This is the love between an old married couple, still faithful after decades of commitment. This is the love between old friends. This is the love that endures all odds.
Example: Amy and Rory in Doctor Who, Carl and Ellie in Up

Philautia - self-love. This isn't narcissism, but rather self-respect. This is accepting yourself just as you are. This is the belief in yourself that leads you to do great things.
Example: Peggy Carter from Captain America and Agent Carter, Martha from Doctor Who

Philia - shared experience. This is the love you have for your co-workers, the people in your sports team (or marching band), the people in your class.
Example: Harry, Ron, and Hermione in Harry Potter; the fellowship (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Legolas, Gimli, Aragorn, and Boromir) in The Lord of the Rings

Ludus - flirtatious love. This is the feeling you get when you first fall in love with someone or when you notice a hot girl/guy. It's the kind of love that's all about having fun. It lasts for a short time until ending or developing into another type of love.
Example: Hazel and Augustus in The Fault In Our Stars, Eleven and River in Doctor Who (actually, their relationship is wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey and falls into several of these categories)

Eros - romantic and sexual love. This is the love in which you are really attracted to someone. Like Ludus, it only lasts so long; after a while it either dies out or develops into another type of love, such as pragma.
Example: Romeo and Juliet (I really hate that story, by the way), Jack and Rose in Titanic

So regardless of whether if there is a "special someone" in your life, remember to love the people around you. In fact, love everyone. Even those who don't deserve it - especially because those are the people who need it the most. Spread the love, everyone!

Fandom School (Lunch): How To Describe a Fandom

Greetings and welcome again to Fandom School! Sorry class is late, I got kinda busy. Anyway, onto today's topic.

If you're like me, you are in a lot of fandoms, and while some of your friends are in some of your fandoms, there are plenty of times people ask you "what's [insert fandom here] all about?". So for the synopsis-challenged, here are some descriptions of fandoms that you can use for explaining to your friends.

Avengers: a bunch of awesome superheroes (Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, and Thor) team up against Loki.

Big Bang Theory: a sitcom about a really smart but really annoying scientist (Sheldon Cooper), his roommate, his friends, and his girlfriend

Broadchurch: a murder mystery set in a small town where everybody has something to hide. There's a good deal of rivalry between the two detectives on the case.

Doctor Who: a man (well, technically an alien) travels through time and space in a blue box. His goal is to save the universe, but he also does all sorts of fun, weird stuff while he's at it

Galavant: a musical comedy about a hero who had his "true love" stolen from him by the king and is convinced to go back to being a hero and rescue a kingdom because it gives him a chance to get back at the king and possibly reclaim his true love.

Harry Potter: a boy named Harry learns that he is a wizard and that he is destined to defeat the dark lord Voldemort. With his new friends Ron and Hermione, he sets out to do just that.

How to Train Your Dragon: like any good Viking, Hiccup wants to kill dragons, but when he meets toothless, his whole world changes and he discovers that maybe dragons and Vikings don't have to fight each other.

Hunger Games: a dystopian novel/movie in which there are 12 districts that send two tributes each year to fight to the death in a televised horror known as The Hunger Games. When Katniss volunteers to go instead of her sister Prim, she has to survive the Games and maybe even try to change the oppressive government.

Les Misérables: a book/musical/movie set in 19th-century France that follows the story of several people in unfortunate circumstances- Valjean, who was imprisoned for 20 years for a minor offense and breaks parole to start a new life; Javert, the officer who is determined to find Valjean because he believes that criminals cannot ever be good; Fantine, a woman whose life is destroyed when a man impregnates her and then leaves her, forcing to resort to terrible things; and many other characters who go through difficult times. (Sorry the summary is so long- if you want a shorter one, just use the first part of the sentence.)

Lord of the Rings: In the Hobbit (written before the Lord of the Rings, not as a prequel), a young hobbit named Bilbo gets dragged into an adventure with a wizard named Gandalf and a band of dwarves to reclaim the lonely mountain and its gold from the evil dragon Smaug. On the way, Bilbo finds a ring. In the Lord of the Rings, we learn that this ring is evil, and Frodo (Bilbo's son) sets out with three other hobbits, a dwarf, an elf, two men, and Gandalf to throw the ring into Mordor and destroy the evil wizard Sauron.

Merlin: a young warlock named Merlin travels to Camelot, where magic is banned, and becomes a manservant to Prince Arthur. Merlin learns that it is his destiny to protect Arthur, even though Arthur is (at first) a total jerk. So, Merlin saves Arthur over and over again, all the time keeping his magic a secret. (For those who know Arthurian legend, it's like an AU of that- Merlin and Arthur are roughly the same age, and magic is banned in Camelot.)

Pitch Perfect: an all-female collegiate a cappella group called the Bellas struggles to do well and make it into the finals of the collegiate a cappella competition, and there are also tensions within the group as the leader Aubrey is resistant to any new ideas.

Sherlock: an eccentric genius becomes the world's only consulting detective, solving cases for Scotland Yard with the help of his trusty sidekick, John Watson. (There have been many adaptations of the original Arthur Conan Doyle books, including Elementary (a CBS show), Sherlock (a BBC show), and several movies.)

Star Trek: the crew of a spaceship called the Enterprise aims to "boldly go where no man has gone before". They encounter all sorts of adventures.

Star Wars: the Galactic Empire is terrible, and the Rebel Alliance has been formed against it. Just when it seems like the Rebels are going to be crushed, a young man called Luke Skywalker is trained to be a jedi master and defeat the Empire once and for all.

The Fault In Our Stars: this beautifully sad book/movie follows the story of two teenagers, Hazel and Augustus, who fall in love. They know it won't last long, though, as Hazel has cancer and Augustus is a cancer survivor. They decide to make the most of the time they have.

The Princess Bride: this classic book/movie is a tale of true love and high adventure. Buttercup loses Westley, the love of her life, and is about to be wed to Prince Humperdinck, but everything changes when she is kidnapped and then is stolen from her original captors by a mysterious man in black.

Favorite Moments From The SuperBowl

I'm really more of a fangirl than a sports fan, but I did watch the SuperBowl. I mainly just watched it because SuperBowl parties have good food, but I did pay some attention to the game. I also checked my twitter feed to see what other people were saying. These are a few of my favorite moments from twitter, commercials, and the game itself.

Twitter

Referring to this Nissan ad and this Toyota ad

Commercials

Chevy Commercial "Blackout"

Budweiser Commercial "Lost Dog"

Coca Cola: Make It Happy

Middle Seat - Dorito's SuperBowl Commercial

Weight Watchers - All You Can Eat

NO MORE's Official SuperBowl PSA

Kia Sorento: The Perfect Getaway

T-Mobile Wi-Fi Calling

Bud Lite: Real Life Pac-Man

The Game Itself

Actually, there's only one part of the game I found spectacular, and it's Jermaine Kearse's insane catch in the fourth quarter.

Fandom School (3rd period): Reaction GIFs

Hello and welcome back to Fandom School! The subject is feels and the topic is reaction GIFs, specifically GIFs about feels. As every fangirl (fanboy, fanperson) knows, feels are part of the package when you join a fandom. And since you're going to have feels, you might as well find GIFs to represent those feels, right?

There are a few main types of feels that one encounters within a fandom:

Sad/Nervous

Causes: character is in danger, character death, something goes wrong

Happy

Causes: you like a character/episode/plot point, things go right

Fangirling

Causes: your OTP is together, you meet your favorite actor, your favorite character comes on screen, you find a really good book/movie/tv show/fanwork, people like your fanworks

Tyler Oakley

Tyler Oakley is fabulous, so he gets his own section of reaction gifs