Automoderated users, Autopatrolled users, Bureaucrats, Comment administrators, Confirmed users, Moderators, Rollbackers, Administrators
213,963
edits
Fun with Acronyms/Live-Action TV: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
m (Mass update links) |
No edit summary |
||
| (11 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{trope}}
Examples of [[{{TOPLEVELPAGE}}]] in [[{{SUBPAGENAME}}]] include:
* In ''[[Married With Children|Married... With Children]]'', Al started an anti-feminist organisation known as the '''N'''ational '''O'''rganisation of '''M'''en '''A'''gainst '''A'''mazonian '''M'''asterhood, or NO MA'AM. The spacing and apostrophe are of course just for show.▼
* ''[[Get Smart (TV)|Get Smart]]'' had the organisations CONTROL and KAOS, neither of which stood for anything.▼
▲* In ''[[
▲* ''[[
* Chandler's job in ''[[Friends]]'' required him to pay attention to the '''W'''eekly '''E'''stimated '''N'''et '''U'''sage '''S'''ystems, as well as the '''A'''nnual '''N'''et '''U'''sage '''S'''tatistics.
** Also on ''[[Friends]]'', Joey gets cast on "Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E.", where the latter is a '''C'''ybernetic '''H'''umanoid '''E'''lectronically '''E'''nhanced '''S'''ecret '''E'''nforcer. Joey fails to realise this isn't just a happy coincidence.
* In an episode of ''[[
** In ''Cassandra'', Rimmer mentions that the name of the Canaries convict army is said to be an acronym of '''C'''onvict '''A'''rmy '''N'''early '''A'''ll '''R'''etarded '''I'''nbred '''E'''vil '''S'''heepshaggers.
* In ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'', Del buys some headed notepaper for the business. He initializes everything, because "Modern businesspeople only speak in initials." Their company is '''T'''rotter's '''I'''ndependent '''T'''raders, and Rodney has a '''D'''iploma '''I'''n '''C'''omputerization. Lampshaded when Rodney comments:
{{quote|
* An episode of ''[[
** The movie in this episode was "[[The Incredibly Strange Creatures|The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living And Became Mixed-Up Zombies]]." {{spoiler|There were no incredibly strange creatures or mixed-up zombies.}}
** Then there is the '''SOL''' itself. In-canon, it stands for '''S'''atellite '''O'''f '''L'''ove, like the Lou Reed song, but also for [[Double Entendre|a vulgar idiom]] that describes Joel/Mike and the 'Bots predicament quite well.
* One can not help suspect that the name of the '''C'''elestial '''I'''ntervention '''A'''gency from ''[[
** ''[[
** In the revived series, as of the fourth season, the organization has been renamed to the "'''UN'''ified '''I'''ntelligence '''T'''askforce, in response to some issues the ''actual'' United Nations had with the name (Though not with the UN affiliation, for whatever reason).
** The start of the fourth series in April 2008 coincides with the online game [[
** What about the TARDIS? '''T'''ime '''A'''nd '''R'''elative '''D'''imension '''I'''n '''S'''pace.
*** Or '''T'''ethered '''A'''erial '''R'''elease '''D'''eveloped '''I'''n '''S'''tyle, depending on who you ask.
Line 21 ⟶ 23:
** One of the books has the ''S''t ''O''scar's ''D''atabase ''I''nformation ''T''erminus, sometimes called "The facility that dare not speak its acronym"
** LINDA, the '''L'''ondon '''I'''nvestigation ' '''N''' ' '''D'''etective '''A'''gency.
*** Which first appeared during [[Russell T. Davies]]'s time as writer of ''Why Don't You...'', as the '''L'''iverpool '''I'''nvestigation '''N''' '''D'''etective '''A'''gency.
** The [[Big Finish]] audio ''Minuet In Hell'' is a remake of a [[Fanfic]] audio, relocated from [[Regency England]] to America, [[Twenty Minutes Into the Future]]. For much of it, [[Go Among Mad People|the Doctor is locked in a mental institution]] called the '''B'''righam '''E'''lisha '''D'''ashwood '''L'''aboratory of '''A'''lternative '''M'''entalities; the original version, of course, used the ''real'' [[Bedlam House|Bedlam]].
** The new series takes the "use letters from within the words" cheat to its logical conclusion with ATMOS, which stands for "'''ATM'''ospheric '''O'''missions '''S'''ystem". (With bonus [[Incredibly Lame Pun]].)
Line 28 ⟶ 30:
** In the 1973 episode "The Green Death" the meglomaniac computer which plans to take over the world was called BOSS (Bimorphic Organisational Systems Supervisor). "My creators found it amusing. I find it...[[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|appropriate]]."
** In ''[[The Sarah Jane Adventures]]'', when Sarah describes what former companions are doing, she mentions "Dorothy [[Only One Name|something]]" who now runs an organisation called '''A''' '''C'''haritable '''E'''arth.
** Also there's {{spoiler|Professor Yana, whose actually [[The Master (trope)|The Master]] in human form. The Doctor is then reminded of The Face of Boe's dying words: '''Y'''ou '''A'''re '''N'''ot '''A'''lone.}}
* S.A.M. from ''[[
* ''[[The Daily Show]]'' example quoted above is, in fact, a lampshading of a long-running gag where the anchor would read the full name of an organization when it is first introduced, and acronym it as "NAMBLA", e.g. "Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or ''NAMBLA''". Of the ''10 F*** ing Years'' montage played sparingly throughout 2006, one showed the scale of just how many times this joke has been used (even after ignoring the countless times Craig Kilborn did). There were, of course, variations--they created fictional organizations that could be abbreviated as NAMBLA and then identified themselves as members of such; they created portmanteaus of NAMBLA and other acronyms (NAMBLOPEC), or just pronounced it funny (NAMBLA during an Ice Age? N-n-A-a-a-M-m-B-b-L-A-a-a.)
** Jon Stewart eventually ends the segment by apologizing for any distress he's caused the North American Man-Boy Love Association -- "or, as it's more commonly known, UNICEF."
Line 36 ⟶ 38:
** Also, when they had a [http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-june-11-2001/fruit-juice-pt--2 panel] of "experts" from fictional organizations '''C'''itizens '''O'''ffering '''C'''rucial '''K'''nowledge, and "Gaywad", which actually doesn't stand for anything.
* Humorously done in an episode of ''[[Drake and Josh]]'' when Drake wins a contest to go skydiving. The skydiving instructor gives Drake the directions on what to do in five easy steps - '''S'''quat, '''P'''ray, '''L'''eap, '''A'''aah (the shout you make as you go down) and '''T'''ouchdown. The final acronym doesn't exactly give you the best encouragement.
* According to the novelization of ''[[Star Trek:
** Inverted in the Original Series; several parts of the Engineering Room set were stencilled with the acronym '''GNDN''' to indicate that a studio set '''G'''oes '''N'''owhere and '''D'''oes '''N'''othing.
* In ''[[Eight Is Enough]]'', the youngest member of the family, Nicholas, mentions a mnemonic for all the names of the eight kids in the family, by age: ''Dumb Martians Just Sit Nearby Eating Tender Noodles'' which stands for David, Mary, Joanief, Susan, Nancy, Elizabeth, Tommy and Nicholas.
* '' '''S'''exo y '''O'''tros '''S'''ecretos'' ("'''S'''ex and '''O'''ther '''S'''ecrets")
* ''[[The Man
** Note that the acronymization for "THRUSH" is of questionable canonicity. In the series, no such expansion of the name was ever given. The "Technological Hierarchy" acronym derives from several [[Expanded Universe]] U.N.C.L.E. novels by author David McDaniel. However, not only is the "United Network Command" expansion of "U.N.C.L.E." canonical, but series creators Sam Rolfe and Norman Felton [[Credits Gag|included an acknowledgment]] of the organization's help in every episode's end credits: "We wish to thank the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement without whose assistance this program would not be possible."
** The straight meaning of ''uncle'' led to several uncle-related jokes in the series. However, in dubbed versions sometimes the acronym was also translated. In Latin-America the series became ''El agente de CIPOL'', where the acronym stood for ''"Comisión Internacional Para la Observancia de la Ley"'', a close aproximation of the original meaning. All the uncle-related jokes were kept, however... and were rendered nonsensical.
Line 47 ⟶ 49:
* According to the ''[[Look Around You]]'' episode on maths, it stands for the gibberish phrase '''M'''athematical '''A'''nti-'''T'''elharsic '''H'''arfatum '''S'''eptomin.
* ''[[UFO]]'' (the 1970's live-action series by the Andersons) had SHADO ('''S'''upreme '''H'''eadquarters '''A'''lien '''D'''efence '''O'''rganisation). Its symbol was a silhouetted man casting a shadow, and was pronounced "shadow" by its members. There's also a talking radar satellite called SID ('''S'''pace '''I'''ntruder '''D'''etector) and of course U.F.O (pronounced "u-fo" by Commander Straker and the usual way by everyone else). If you don't know [[Flying Saucer|what that stands for]], then you're spent the past half-century as an [[Alien Abduction|alien abductee]] in [[Human Popsicle|suspended animation]].
** The [[Gerry Anderson]] series are generally big on acronyms. From ''[[Stingray (1985 TV series)|Stingray]]'', we have WASP (World Aquanaut Security Patrol): from ''[[The Secret Service]]'', BISHOP (British Intelligence Service Headquarters, Operation Priest); from ''[[Joe 90]]'', WIN (World Intelligence Network) and BIG RAT (Brain Impulse Galvanoscope, Record And Transfer). To name but a few.
* In ''[[Knight Rider]]'', Michael and co. worked for the '''F'''oundation for '''L'''aw '''A'''nd '''G'''overnment. Despite the catchy acronym, they only use "FLAG" a couple of times on screen, preferring to say "The Foundation".
** On the other hand, there was K.I.T.T himself ('''K'''night '''I'''ndustries '''T'''wo '''T'''housand)
*** And his [[Evil Twin|evil prototype]] K.A.R.R. ('''K'''night '''A'''utomated '''R'''econnaissance '''R'''obot)
*** And in the 2009 reboot, it was '''K'''night '''I'''ndustries '''Three''' '''T'''housand.
* Several ''[[Robot Wars (TV series)|Robot Wars]]'' contestants used this trope for naming their robots, by far the most hilarious was S.M.I.D.S.Y ('''S'''orry '''M'''ate '''I''' '''D'''idn't '''S'''ee '''Y'''ou).
** That particular robot was constructed by a team of bikers. "Sorry mate, I didn't see you," is the traditional excuse give by car drivers when they cut off or sideswipe a biker.
* In ''[[Himitsu Sentai Goranger]]'', the group backing the heroes is EAGLE, the '''Ea'''rth '''G'''uard '''Le'''ague.
Line 64 ⟶ 66:
*** The title of ''[[Power Rangers RPM]]'' (the adapted version of ''Go-onger'') [[All There in the Manual|wasn't explained in the show]], but it stands for '''R'''acing '''P'''erformance '''M'''achines. And while [[Prop Recycling]] is the norm on these shows, few were as blatant as a van unashamedly emblazoned with "GO-ONGER" on the side, explained as standing for '''G'''round '''O'''utdoor '''O'''perational '''N'''etwork '''G'''eneral-purpose '''E'''xplorational '''R'''over.
* In ''Spin City,'' a con man manages to get the mayor to write his organization, '''C'''onvicts '''A'''re '''S'''aved by '''H'''orses a check, and asks him to just use the acronym.
** Same thing in ''[[30 Rock
*** In another episode, Liz went to a GE retreat with Jack. She was excited about going to lunch until she discovered that "lunch" was a class called '''L'''ego '''U'''tilization for '''N'''egating '''C'''risis '''H'''ierarchies. After this, she got the chance to go to "class", which turned out to be '''C'''onsuming '''L'''unch '''A'''nd '''S'''imple '''S'''ocializing.
** The [[Bastard Operator From Hell|BOFH]] is fond of this trick, inventing the '''C'''harlotte '''A'''mchip '''S'''chizophrenics '''H'''ospice in the knowledge that the Boss can't spell 'schizophrenics'. (Charlotte, of course, being the wife of that new contractor, '''R'''oger...)
Line 73 ⟶ 75:
* An episode of [[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]] had an organization known as '''M'''others '''O'''pposed to the '''O'''ccult.
** And naturally lampshaded it.
{{quote|
* It's too early to know if this acronym is intentional, but in the ''[[Dollhouse]]'' episode "Getting Closer" (2x11), Caroline (the future Echo) and Bennett first meet on the campus of the '''T'''ucson '''I'''nstitute of '''T'''echnology.
* The "Mr. Neutron" episode of ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' had the American agency the '''F'''ederal '''E'''gg '''A'''nswering '''R'''oom, actually the cover for the '''F'''ree world '''E'''xtra-'''E'''arthly '''B'''odies '''L'''ocation and '''E'''xtermination center.
* In an episode of [[Pushing Daisies]], the Norwegian detective team's mobile crime lab's full name is the '''M'''obile '''I'''nvestigative '''L'''ab '''F'''acility (made even funnier by the fact that it's referred to as "Mother" throughout the entirety of the episode).
* ''[[Star Trek: Enterprise]]'' had a team of [[Space Marine|SpaceMarines]] called MACO's (for '''M'''ilitary '''A'''ssault '''C'''ommand '''O'''perations). Which gave them an excuse to wear a cool mako shark on their arm patch.
* An episode of ''[[
* The original ''[[Kamen Rider]]'' fought the evil organization SHOCKER, which was a [[Gratuitous English]] acronym for '''S'''acred '''H'''egemony '''O'''f '''C'''ycle '''K'''indred '''E'''volutional '''R'''ealm.
** And ''[[Kamen Rider X]]'' gave us GOD, the '''G'''overnment '''O'''f '''D'''arkness. That probably [[Unfortunate Implications|wouldn't go over too well]] outside Japan...
Line 86 ⟶ 88:
** ''[[Kamen Rider Agito]]'' involves a police unit formed to fight mysterious monsters called the '''S'''quad '''A'''gainst '''U'''nidentified '''L'''ifeforms.
* Alan B'Stard aka ''[[The New Statesman]]'' had a lucrative con with a number of bogus charities including '''C'''hristian '''A'''pproach to '''S'''ociety '''H'''andbooks following '''C'''roatian '''A'''nd '''S'''erbian '''H'''elpline and later '''C'''entral '''A'''mazonian '''S'''piritual '''H'''ealers. He is later called on it in a television interview and a list is read out.
{{quote|
* ''[[Family Matters]]'' has the fictional '''I'''llinois '''O'''ccidental '''U'''niversity.
** Also, Carl Winslow's middle name is Otis, making his initials spell "COW". This has been explicitly pointed out on at least one occasion.
* On ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]'', Marshall and Lily buy an apartment on a new trendy neighborhood named Dowisetrepla. Only too late do they realize that it stands for '''Do'''wn '''Wi'''nd of the '''Se'''wage '''Tre'''atment '''Pla'''nt.
* Filth ? The [[Moral Guardian|Mary Whitehouse]] Story: Her husband had interrupt the first meeting of her newly formed organisation, whispering in her ear the self?defeating nature of the acronym of the new movement: Clean Up National Televison. The ?National? was quickly removed.
* On ''[[That '70s Show]]'', in an episode, Jackie becomes a SLOPP: she joins the '''S'''ingle '''L'''adies '''O'''f '''P'''oint '''P'''lace. In another episode, Donna blurts out "Good ol' VD", but then corrects herself when she realizes it has other meaning than '''V'''alentine's '''D'''ay.
** Fez stands for '''F'''oreign '''E'''xchange '''S'''tudent, with the "z" being "poetic license".
* A ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' episode has Leonard, Howard, Raj and Leslie team up against Sheldon on a science competition. The formers' team is called '''P'''erpetual '''M'''otion '''S'''quad. The latter's team is called '''A'''rmy '''A'''nts. Dr. Gablehauser, who hosted the competition, was clearly not amused, but didn't comment.
** In "The Bus Pants Utilization", the guys are developing Leonard's idea for a new smart phone app. Sheldon suggests naming the app "the '''S'''urprisingly '''H'''elpful '''E'''quation-'''L'''inked '''D'''ifferential '''O'''ptimized '''N'''umerator", and pretends the acronym was unintentional.
* Lindsay from ''[[Arrested Development (TV series)|Arrested Development]]'' mentioned a charity organisation called "HOOP". While the name itself sounded innocent, it was in fact for an anti-circumsicion thing, and stood for "'''H'''ands '''O'''ff '''O'''ur '''P'''enises". And then, when the show was about to be canceled, Michael and George Senior [[Jossed]] the idea of an eventual [[Channel Hop]], saying that the '''H'''ouse '''B'''uilders '''O'''rganisation refused to work with the Bluth Company.
** The name of the episode? S.O.B.s, which also stands for [http://saveourbluths.com/ Save Our Bluths], a fan site [[Exactly What It Says
** For years, the Bluths made fundraisers for an illness called TBA. Which, at first, was simply meant to be a notice that they hadn't decided on the disease yet, and it was '''T'''o '''B'''e '''A'''nnounced. And then there's Maeby who fakes a terminal illness which she calls "BS" (pretty self-explanatory).
** And then, there's MRF on Rita's bracelet, first thought to stand for '''Mr''' '''F''', then revealed to stand for {{spoiler|'''M'''entally '''R'''etarded '''F'''emale}}.
Line 116 ⟶ 118:
** '''G'''uards for '''U'''tilit'''Y''' '''S'''ituation from ''[[Ultraman Mebius]]''.
* The first movie of Brazilian group Casseta & Planeta: an anarchist is trying to name his group. First option goes "PIROC" (something like "PRIC" - "No, not that! Who'll want to get into the PRIC?!"). The following two, "METE" and "CHUPA" ("put in" and "suck"), are only liked by their depraved hostage. So he decides to put something that would encompass each member of the group - '''P'''arty '''A'''narcho-'''N'''ationalist '''A'''nti-meat (a radical vegetarian) '''C'''arlos (surname of the other guy) - '''PANAC''', which with an "a" at the end would be "dork" in Portuguese (the hostage thought it fit the group perfectly!).
* [
* Subverted in ''[[Heroes (TV series)|Heroes]]'': While playing to [[The Men in Black]] trope, Mr. Bennet denied working for the government by saying "I'm not a part of any organization with initials". Fans promptly played with it by adopting the [[Fan Nickname]] "Organization Without Initials".
* ''[[Stargate SG
** It means '''N'''ational '''I'''ntelligence '''D'''epartment, according to the Stargate Wiki.
** ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]'' gave us '''F'''riendly '''R'''eplicator '''An'''droid.
*** The third season finale had this:
{{quote|
'''Weir:''' ''(sighs)'' Which one's that again?
'''Sheppard:''' '''P'''lanetary-'''W'''ide '''A'''nti-'''R'''eplicator '''W'''eapons. }}
** SG-1 has a lot of acronyms in regular use as it focuses on a military organisation, but the seriousness of the meaning varies a bit, as seen with the IDC ('''ID'''entification '''C'''ode) being transmitted using a GDO ('''G'''arage '''D'''oor '''O'''pener).
Line 134 ⟶ 136:
* The H2IK sequence in ''[[Defying Gravity]]'' basically means "Hell if I know". It just makes the people saying it sound like they know what they're doing.
* A ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' sketch had four kids in a kids' show with the first letters their names referred were on their shirts, each one referring to a particular virtue: '''F'''reindship, '''U'''nity', '''C'''aring, and '''K'''indness.
* An episode of ''[[
** The KFC space simulator computer S.A.N.D.E.R.S.('''S'''ystematic '''A'''ndroid '''N'''etwork '''D'''iode '''E'''nergy '''R'''ocket '''S'''ystem).
** A second example is the C.C.C.P ('''C'''ity '''C'''ollege '''C'''osmic '''P'''rogram), a [[Genius Bonus]] when you realize that '''C.C.C.P.''' are actually the English letter imitation of the Cyrillic name for the USSR. "C.C.C.P." was placed on the helmet of the first man Russia actually sent into space.
* The 2001 revival of ''[[Card Sharks]]'', which had a Las Vegas-themed set and [[In Name Only|virtually nothing in common]] with previous versions of ''Card Sharks''. As a result, it quickly earned the [[Fan Nickname]] of "CaSINO", which stood for "'''Ca'''rd '''S'''harks '''I'''n '''N'''ame '''O'''nly".
* ''Averted'' by ''[[Lost in Space]]''. [
* ''[[Madan Senki Ryukendo]]'' has the '''S'''hoot '''H'''ell '''O'''bduracy '''T'''rooper organization, or SHOT, which its titular heroes belong to. Another fine example of [[Gratuitous English]].
* [[My Name Is Earl]] has '''B'''lack '''L'''adies '''O'''f '''W'''restling, which Joy's black sister Liberty Washington becomes a member of.
* An [[All That]] sketch had the '''L'''eague of '''A'''mazing '''M'''agnificent '''O'''utstanding '''S'''uperheroes.
* In one of the recurring "Celebrity Secrets" segments aired during [[Late Night]] With [[Conan O
* In the first episode of the [[Marvel Cinematic Universe]] TV series ''[[Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.]]'', there's this exchange:
{{quote|'''Maria Hill:''' What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for, Agent Ward?
'''Grant Ward:''' Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
'''Maria Hill:''' And what does that mean to you?
'''Grant Ward:''' It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out "S.H.I.E.L.D."}}
{{tropesubpagefooter}}
| |||