My Friends and Zoidberg

The Trope Namers...and Zoidberg.[1]


Robot 1-X: How may I help you?

Bender: Save my friends! And Zoidberg!
—Futurama, "Obsoletely Fabulous"

A standard comedy trope which, at its core, takes the form:

"Group A... and Bob."


It is often expanded to mention two or more groups that form a supergroup:

"Ladies, Gentlemen... Bob."

In either version, Bob is already expected to be among the group(s) in question, but is singled out as if he's not, usually at Bob's expense; "Bob" may be anyone, including the Butt Monkey or an Acceptable Target.

This can be Played for Laughs in cases where it's literally impossible for Bob not to be a member of the groups mentioned.

It can also be used to deliver a Stealth Insult: "We welcome members of all benevolent professions, as well as lawyers." Or, inverted, it can even deliver a compliment: "You morons, and Bob."

Compare: And the Rest, Snub By Omission, Bait and Switch Comparison, I Take Offense to That Last One, Guilt by Association Gag, Ladies and Germs, and Insult to Rocks. Compare and Contrast Especially Zoidberg.


Examples of My Friends and Zoidberg include:

Advertising

  • "Avocado can be found in upscale restaurants...and now Subway!"
  • An Ace hardware commercial has a woman talking to her "friends, neighbors...Scott."
  • From an ad for Manhattan Mini Storage: "Why leave a city that has six professional sports teams,[2] and also the Mets?"

Anime and Manga

  • An incident in Lucky Star, where Konata greets the Hiiragi twins with "Tsukasa-tachi", leading Kagami to complain about not being mentioned by name. (It should be noted that Konata and Kagami being best friends (for a given value of 'best'), or more according to many fans, this snub will have been entirely intentional on Konata's part.)
  • Mazinger Z: Hilariously inverted every time the villains told a sentence along the lines of "Go ahead! Finish with Mazinger-Z... and the other two robots!". The other two robots being Aphrodite-A (or Diana-A) and Boss Borot.
  • The Battle City arc of Yu-Gi-Oh features a scene with Seto Kaiba in a single turn summoning all three of his Blue-Eyes White Dragons...and Hyozanryu.
    • In Yu-Gi-Oh GX Chazz says "we may be one man down, but we're 5 men strong. Well, 4 men and a lovely lady. Alright, 3 men, a lady and Syrus!"
  • Natsu of Fairy Tail and anyone who doesn't go on missions with him likes to say either "It's Natsu's group...plus Happy" or "Fairy Tail's strongest team...and Lucy" Lucy and Happy even do it. Only Gray seems kind enough not to.
  • Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu: At the bathhouse, there are three changing rooms: men's, women's, and Hideyoshi's.
  • In Durarara!! the character Izaya Orihara claims to love all human beings. Except Shizuo Heiwajima.
  • In an early episode of Pokémon, Misty says that she's the 4th sensational sister, who were a trio of water performers and Misty's sisters. One of them said that there are "three sensational sisters, and one runt."


Comedy

an animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be. His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth and Canada.

  • Brian Regan: "My wife and I, we have two wonderful kids...and another kid."

Comic Books

Ant-Man: So, Taskmaster, anybody ELSE still alive?
Taskmaster: Everybody worth mentioning.
Crusader: Ahh...my hand...
Taskmaster: And Crusader.

    • Ironically, Crusader would go on to play a major role in beating back the Skrull Secret Invasion. Not worth mentioning, huh...
  • In the 1995 hypothetical one shot The Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, the title character is sentenced to life in jail "for the murder of several of this nation's greatest heroes - and the X-Men Cyclops and Jubilee".
  • In one story of Archie Comics, Jughead is chosen to be a contestant in a gameshow, Dull or Not Dull (parody of Deal or No Deal). Cue this dialogue:

Jughead: I need my friends for support. (pause) Oh, and you can come, too, Veronica.

    • Variant in one comic strip, when Jughead reads a newspaper article describing their rock group:

Jughead: The Archies come across as a tight-knit and cohesive group...with one exception. (cue a shot of Reggie)

    • Another example, when Archie's superhero persona Captain Pureheart meets Dr. Detest:

Pureheart: He's contaminating all my good friends! Also Reggie!

Tyler: He says if he sees me at school again, he'll splat my friends. Oh, and Zodon, too.

Cyclops: That, sir, is no way to treat a lady.
Gambit: ..or Rogue neither, eh?
Beast: My oh my, talk about a man who loves to live dangerously!

Wolverine: The stink of what you've been doing is all over you. You're torturing my friends. Summers, too.

Fanfic

  • In Half Life Full Life Consequences, Gordon Freeman, in his dying breaths, tells John Freeman to "Save humens[sic] and Henry Freeman".
  • In a variation where the format works as a compliment, one Gorillaz fanfic featured Murdoc calling the other band members "you retards - and Noodle". Possibly attempting to save his own skin, given Noodle's Tyke Bomb status.
  • From Merlin fanfic How to Pick Up Guys At Bars: "It took Arthur a little over an hour to decide what to wear. Fretting over clothes was such a girly thing to do, he didn't dare ask any of the men for their help. (Instead he asked Lancelot.)"


Films -- Live-Action

  • Done in the first film Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers did together, Flying Down To Rio. Fred and Ginger both play members of a music band where Ginger is the band vocalist (and the band's only girl) named Honey. Near the start of the film, Ginger/Honey is with the rest of the band when Fred approaches them and says, "Attention, boys and girls, and you too, Honey!"
  • Hudson Hawk:

Darwin: Ladies and gentlemen! And Minerva!

  • The First Wives Club: "Gentlemen? And Daddy."
  • In Spaceballs, Lord Helmet introduces the plastic surgeon as being the best of his profession "in the entire universe, and Beverly Hills."
  • Whenever anyone approached The Three Stooges and called out "Gentlemen!", they would look behind them and ask "Who came in?"
  • Clerks II: "Ladies and gentlemen! ...And you, Elias!"

Literature

  • In the Animorphs books, all of the blurbs on the back cover described the adventures of "X (the main character of that particular installment), the Animorphs, and Ax," with the subtle implication that, being an alien (and a Sixth Ranger), Ax didn't really count. It may be a reference to the fact that they came up with the term "Animorph" to refer to each other before Ax joined, but still...
    • The reasoning may be that Ax didn't join the team when he first showed up—first they were all trying to get him back with the Andalites, and then there were a few books that sort of played with the fact that neither he nor the others really trusted each other completely. Still, even Word of God once noted that they should have changed it at some point. (They do near the very end of the series, IIRC.)
    • The comedic version was also done, where Rachel demanded the Helmacrons free "my friends...and Marco, too..."
  • In The Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove, Abraham Lincoln sends three negotiators to a meeting with the Confederate States, including Ben Butler - incredibly unpopular in the Deep South for his actions in New Orleans, so a calculated insult. Robert E Lee refers to them as "the gentlemen and Mr. Butler".
  • In "Pretty in Pink" by Rachel Maude, Seedy Moon is about to give a speech at his engagement party to "friends, family, and Tila Tequila" .
  • From Harry Potter, Oliver Wood does it to himself, when he lists the members of the Quidditch team: "We've got three superb Chasers. We've got two unbeatable Beaters. And we've got a Seeker who has never failed to win us a match! (after long pause in which he realizes he's forgotten someone) And me."
  • In Snuff, it's mentioned that the Watch "appears to include at least one of every known bipedal sapient species, plus one Nobby Nobbs".
  • Who can forget Three Men in a Boat, to Say Nothing of the Dog; making this trope slightly Older Than Radio

Live-Action TV

Buffy: Have you seen me with those girls? The way I treated my friends, and my family, and Andrew...

Vince: I'm here with all my friends.
Eric: And Ari.
Vince: And Ari.

  • iCarly: Invoked by Freddie in "iHate Sam's Boyfriend".

Freddie: Hello, ladies. Or should I say lady and Sam.
Sam: (squirts cheese in Freddie's face)

Brain Guy: "Listen, you IDIOTS! ...And, Pearl, you, of course, too."

    • On another episode, Tom Servo takes the joke to the logical extreme, naming everyone present, including himself.

"Gentlemen and Gypsy. And Mike. And Crow. And Servo..."

  • In an episode of S Club 7 in Miami (aka Miami 7), Rachel reports the death of many people during a hurricane, including several talented artists and Bradley MacIntosh.
  • Josh from My Parents Are Aliens is a victim of this. One example being in the Series 6 episode, "The Alienist", where Brian gives a speech on alien rights.

Brian: "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, carbon and silicon-based organisms, Josh."

  • Leslie of The Big Bang Theory has done this several times in reference to her nemesis Sheldon: "Hello, fellow scientists. Sheldon."
    • Howard gets this a lot because he doesn't have a Ph.D unlike the others. Usually from Sheldon.

Sheldon:And then one day, she meets a group of geniuses, and their friend Howard.

    • They also like to conveniently ignore him when he brings up the fact that as an engineer he doesn't really need a doctorate to go as far as he can in his chosen profession. Case in point: Of the main cast he gets to build and operate Mars rovers, work with science icons like Stephen Hawking, and even go into space as an astronaut. It's because his skills are far more in demand on an everyday basis.
    • One episode Sheldon even goes as far as to refer to the main cast as his three best friends and an acquaintance. They were unsure which of them was the acquaintance until he returned at the end of the episode.[3]
  • How I Met Your Mother: "Ladies. Gentlemen. Ted."
  • All in The Family used a variant in "California, Here We Are." Visiting Mike and Gloria over the holidays, Archie and Edith discover the Stivics are separated and that Gloria has been seeing another married man:

Archie: How could you do a thing like this to your family? (points at Mike) And him...

  • Wings: An episode wherein Fay, gathered with the whole group to console and help someone, assures the person that he is surrounded by nice, compassionate friends who care for his well-being. And Roy.
  • The Mary Tyler Moore Show: After a disastrous poker game, Lou Grant informs Mary, "Well Mary, there's something you have to remember about poker. It doesn't matter if you win or lose. It's being involved in a group activity with people you like. And Ted Baxter."
  • The Young Ones:

Vyvyan: Mum, this is a friend of mine called Mike, this is a friend of mine called Neil, and this is a total bastard I know named Rik.'

  • Dr. Cox makes use of this trope in the Scrubs episode "My Last Day" while listing things he cares as little about as his and JD's last week together:

Dr. Cox: ...everything on the planet, everything in the solar system, everything everything everything everything everything everything everything that exists - past, present and future, in all discovered and undiscovered dimensions. Oh! And Hugh Jackman Jackman.

    • Highlighting Dr. Kelso's increasing laziness, he didn't bother learning interns' names.

Kelso: Listen up, faces, in order to save us all some time time I will call all the males "Daves" and all the females "Debbies".
Debbie: "Debbie"'s actually my name!
Kelso: Then out of fairness to the others you will be "Slagathor". Daves, Debbies, Slagathor, I will be in my office; if you need anything feel free to bother Dorian.

Narrator: Nine muscled Mythbusters, and Adam

  • Used in the Doctor Who special "The End of Time Part Two":

Donna: This photo's just with friends...friends...and Nerys.

Audrey: I'd like to share it with all my friends. And Russell.

    • The second time, Audrey got mad at Jeff for not supporting her in front of her friends. And Russell.
  • Reba has Brock, upon walking into Cheyenne's baby shower, do: "Look at all these beautiful women. (Looks at Lori Ann) You must be security." Lori Ann insults right back afterward. In a separate episode, Reba walks into the kitchen, sees Cheyenne, Van, and Barbra Jean, and says: "Hello, loved ones. Barbra Jean."
  • Becker had its own brand of Zoidberg: Bob.
  • Charlie Brooker via Newswipe described the telethon for Haiti's post-earthquake aid as "a collection of all the musicians you would ever want to listen to...and Sting.
  • True Blood:

Sookie: You're in my house, and those are my friends! Plus...Jane Bodehouse.

Sara: Gentleman. Neal.

Hey Pretty Lady.And Tyra

Holly: What could be better than giving her in front of all the people she loves? ...and Tina.

    • Later:

Vic: So I want to ask you, in front of all the people you love...and Tina...

  • During the Dean Martin Roast of Michael Landon, Lorne Greene delivered the following line: "Ladies, gentlemen...and Don Rickles..."
  • Star Trek: Voyager:
    • In one episode, the Doctor is moved to a speech that delivers one of these from out of nowhere.

"Who would have thought this group of voyagers could actually become a family: Starfleet, Maquis, Klingon, Tallaxian, Hologram, Borg, even Mr. Paris."[4]

    • The Doctor uses it in another episode in regards to Paris. He wakes up in the future to find that the historians of that era have painted a rather unflattering picture of their ancestors' run-in with the Voyager crew, and depicted them all like evil, violent lunatics. When he protests this, he follows it up by singling out Paris as not having been that different in real life from the way he's portrayed in the recreation (which is more cocky than evil).
  • Glee 2x13:

Will: All right, guys and gals! And Sue.

Rachel: Josh, these are my friends. And that's Ross.

    • This could just be because they're exes.

Ross: You know, I hate to lecture you guys, but it's kinda disgraceful, that a group of well-educated adults and Joey can't name all the states

  • Gilligans Island: In the episode "Nyet, Nyet -- Not Yet", one of the stranded Soviet cosmonauts mentions, "Three men...and a Gilligan"
  • From Home Improvement, in the episode dealing with Jill's 39th birthday:

Tim: Great? There were only eleven people at your party.
Jill: Yeah, but eleven people I really love. Well, ten plus Benny.

  • On one of the many occasions when the crew of the Red Dwarf is in trouble, Rimmer orders them to "send out a distress signal in all known languages, including Welsh."
  • From the Thanksgiving episode of season 1 of Two and A Half Men:

Alan: I'm thankful that I get to spend this holiday around all the people I love, and all the people who love me. ...And Judith.

  • From The Goodies episode "Frankenfido", when it's revealed Graeme has been gathering body parts from celebrities, following his "chopping list", to create the perfect dog:

Graeme: Look. Teeth. You wouldn't find teeth like these on a mere dog.
Tim: What are they? Horse, alligator, tiger...
Graeme: Look at them.
Tim: No! Not Donny Osmond!
Graeme: Yep.
Tim: You...you've been using people! ...And Donny Osmond!

  • In Little Mosque on the Prairie Babbar claims their mosque constitution was written by "our wise founding fathers. And Faisal."
  • On Top Gear, for the British Leyland special,[5] Richard explains why the presenters face such a challenge proving that the company ever made a good car, ever.

Hammond [narrating]: Now, for our younger viewers, we should explain why the Top Gear office thinks the three of us lost our marbles. See, some B.L. cars were quite badly built ... but most weren't built at all.

  • At the beginning of the Castle episode "Undead Again," the medical examiner at the scene of the crime greets the main characters as "our intrepid heroes...and Mr. Castle"
  • Pixelface: Romford gets one in "HAL":

"Tempting, but I'm going to have go with saving my friends. And Aethelwynne."


Machinima

Sarge: Another important development from Bungie Labs is the homo-sapien propulsafier, also known as the man-cannon.
Simmons: It fires men?
Sarge: Yes, and also Grifs. Come here Grif. Let's says the Blues are launching co-ordinated offensive...What better way to slow them down, then to choke up their movement ways with dead soldiers, or if no soldiers are available, dead Grifs.
Grif: Wait, what? (Sarge knocks Grif out and throws him in the man-cannon)

    • Sarge tends to use this a lot when addressing his soldiers, e.g.

Sarge: Alright men...and Donut...
Sarge: Alright everyone...and Griff...

    • Heck, it even appears on the website for the Recreation DVD, which say it has "all of your favorite characters (and Simmons)".


Music

  • In The Beatles fandom and lore, Ringo Starr often is treated this way—sometimes seriously, sometimes jokingly, depending on the period. Part of this is Ringo's own doing: unlike John Lennon and Paul McCartney, who had, let's say, healthy egos, and George Harrison, who was The Quiet One, Ringo loved Self-Deprecating Humor. He liked to joke that he was actually an awful drummer who was riding the others' coattails; his bandmates, on the other hand, have all said his skills are second to none. Well, or something like that. Also, Ringo was the last Beatle to get his own TV Tropes page.
    • Being a drummer doesn't help, either. Drummers in general are often the butt of a lot of jokes about musicians. For example: "What do you call a guy who hangs out with musicians all day?"
  • In the They Might Be Giants song, The Mesopotamians, the fictional band is made up of Sargon, Hammurabi, Ashurbanipal and Gilgamesh. Poor old Gilgamesh's name is covered by the chorus nearly every time by the end of the song. Oddly, the song was supposed to be a parallel of The Might Be Giant's start. Make of that what you will.
  • Machine Head had a pretty lulzy one at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards where they thanked all the awesome bands on Roadrunner...and Nickelback.
  • On Showbread's tour supporting their album No Sir, Nihilism Is Not Practical, they were the headlining band, with two metal bands opening for them. Showbread's frontman, Josh Dies, referred to the tour several times as "the Monsters of Metal Tour...and Showbread".
  • Axis of Awesome sometimes introduce themselves in this manner:

Jordan: Good evening everyone, I'm Jordan.
Lee: I'm Lee.
Benny: And I'm...
Jordan & Lee: We are the Axis of Awesome.
Benny: ...And I'm Benny.

  • Tenacious D manage to pull it of constantly [[[Up to Eleven]] ...in a duo!]] They are Jack Black. And K.G.


Professional Wrestling

  • Mick Foley did this all the time to prank his friend Al Snow. When he"retired", he was presented with the original WWF Hardcore Championship by a lot of the other extreme wrestlers. In his farewell speech, he said "It's an honor to be in the ring with so many hardcore legends. And Al Snow!" On another occasion, he managed to convince a pilot to announce after a landing "Welcome to all the WWF Superstars...and Al Snow."
  • Professional Wrestling itself can be subjected to this when compared to other sports. Seriously "Sports" is listed but "Pro Wrestling" is separate? Where's the love?
    • That's because wrestling is not legally recognized as a sport in most jurisdictions.
      • On the other hand wrestlers are not accepted by the screen actors guild either so they get it from both sides


Radio

Beethoven: We have ten thousand men in this orchestra, Athaniel; nine-thousand-nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine musicians. And you.

Grytpipe-thynne: You may have noticed that throughout the civilized world... and America... British prestige has fallen very low.

  • (From the non-politically correct 1950's):

My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen... and Wogs! We present - The Goon Show!

John: That sounds nothing like a trained soprano! Sounds much more like Moira Anderson! [6]

  • ISIRTA, c 1967:

Graeme Garden (as old Scottish retainer) And at every full moon, there would be unholy sacrifice of a chartered accountant...
Jo Kendall (gasps in horror) You mean.... human sacrifice?
Garden: Nay, lassie, just a chartered accountant...


Religion

  • Early example: In Mark 16:7 (in The Bible), an angel tells the ladies visiting Jesus' (empty) tomb to "tell his disciples and Peter" to meet up in Galilee. This is an inversion of the trope: Peter had denied Jesus three times a couple days before, so the angel is specifying that he should be included among the Disciples.
    • In the Old Testament, the Bible mentions that Solomon had seven hundred wives, "and Pharaoh's daughter." This acts as an inversion according to many commentators, who note that she's singled out because Solomon loved her much more than the others.


Sports

  • Several NASCAR examples:
    • Before a NASCAR race in the mid-90s, the person giving the command at the start of the race did it as "Gentlemen, and Jimmy Spencer, start your engines!"
    • Matt Martin before the 2nd race of the 2005 Gatorade Duel: "Gentlemen, and Dad (Mark Martin), start your engines!"
  • The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has become known in recent years as "the city of Champions...and the Pirates" in light of their baseball team setting a record for consecutive losing seasons (and the Penguins and Steelers completing championship-caliber years).
  • It is sometimes said that New York City is home to six professional sports teams... and the Mets (some version of this joke replace them with the Knicks, depending on how the teams are doing at any given time).
  • In Basketball:
    • During the 2010 NBA Basketball Hall of Fame induction, Larry Bird came to the pedestal and said that the team was "a cast of characters and different personalities...then Charles Barkley"
    • What was originally supposed to be a respected Miami Heat trio ended up being more known as the ultimate Miami duo of Dwayne Wade and LeBron James...and Chris Bosh.
  • There seems to be an inverted version of this when it comes to stereotypes of nations "apathetic" to soccer, in the saying that, "The only people that hate The Beautiful Game are Americans...and Canadians, Australians, New Zealanders, and some Irish." This is also true when it comes to stereotypes of nations referring the sport as soccer.
  • Happens in Ice Hockey quite a bit:
This happens more frequently the more south you go (in which Hockey is cropped out entirely or replaced with NASCAR). Don't say this the farther north you go though, especially in Canada.
  • In Canada the line that opens a CBC hockey broadcast is: "Hello Canada and hockey fans in the United States and Newfoundland...". This is not exactly an example, as when the line was recorded (the 1930's) Newfoundland wasn't a Canadian province, but another of the self-governing dominions of the British Empire.
  • Conn Smythe began many a public speech with, "Ladies, gentlemen... and Frenchmen."

Video Games

Yosuke: "I have my friends and my family...and you."

  • Ratchet and Clank Up Your Arsenal: "Ladies and gentlemen...oh, and Helga." This is not exactly an insult, however, as Helga seems much cheerier after the addendum.
    • It's because Helga IS neither. She's a robot, and hence, genderless, even if she's modeled after a female.
    • It's likely that this is an objection on her part to Qwark's usage of "ladies" (as Helga is hardly lady material) rather than a reference to her being a robot. She identifies as female and is referred to as a female. Note that, despite being present at the time, Clank wasn't excluded like she was.
  • The Bungie Podcast's theme song ends with the line "It's our podcast show, with Brian and friiieeennnds...and Frankie."
  • Gigolo Assassin, one of the flash games on Adult Swim's website: "Great nations of the world...and Sweden."
  • Otomedius features "a cast of well-designed characters... and Emon."
  • Used in Jade Empire:

Black Whirlwind's journal: Kill anything that moves, as long as it doesn't look like one of my companions or the bun man.

      • To be fair, the "bun man" isn't actually one of your companions, per se. He doesn't participate in battle himself, he only throws you "fuel" for your drunken fist style. That's literally his only purpose for being there; to throw booze jugs on the ground to keep you drunk.
  • The third Sly Cooper game involves our protagonist having to distract the cops, so he interrupts a meeting (in the middle of the police station) being led by his love interest, Carmelita Fox. They are thoroughly distracted when he shouts out, "Attention assorted meatheads...and lady."
  • In Strong Bads Cool Game for Attractive People: Strong Badia the Free, after each of the main characters forms their own country, Marzipan organizes a collection of "treasures from all the developed countries, plus Coachnya".
  • Kingdom Hearts 358/2 has a non-comedic example: 'Count the chairs. When have we ever been more than thirteen?'
  • In the Lunar: The Silver Star PSP remake, Royce turns your entire party to stone, save for Jessica, who mopes for a second with the line, "My father...my friends...and Kyle..." What makes it funnier is the fact that Kyle is the one who saved her from being "stoned" in the first place.
    • The implication is that she thinks of Kyle as more than a friend, not less.
  • Courtesy of The Dark Id, in the New Game+ section of his Chrono Cross Let's Play;

After the battle, Solt and Peppor come to investigate the unstoppable end game squad that could murder their entire army busting through the front gate. And Pierre.

"Marines, SAS, hands up
 Zakhaev, (ha ha) hand up"


Web Comics

Jax:Alright ladies and gentlemen, and Nightwolf, here's how this plan is gonna work...

Man: Everyone that ever loved you just died. Your mother will be here to pick you up shortly.

The Judger: We are "The Legion of Superheroes, and the Knifeketeer," a collection of the world's mightiest crime fighters. And the Knifeketeer.
The Knifeketeer: I'm feeling a bit excluded.
The Judger: You're included. That's what "and" means.

C-3P0: "I love it here. A beautiful desert cruise with wonderful friends. And you."

  • A rare example of the trope being used as a compliment, let alone to oneself, occurs in Freak Angels when Karl introduces himself to Alice.

Karl: Welcome to the home of ten twentysomethings with arrested development and an obsession with loud, crap shagging. And me.

Durkon: They be a fine group, for humans. And an elf.
Hilgya: And a halfling.
Durkon: No, I left 'im out on purpose.

    • Later on there's Haley's reaction to learning that Roy and Belkar have been imprisoned,

"Crap! We need to break Roy out of there! And then decide what to do about Belkar!"

Sploorfix: ...a war in which millions of innocent, intelligent beings will perish?
Vexxarr: No, no. See, the Lattroxx and Bleen would be fighting each other...

  • From El Goonish Shive, an example that manages to be as insulting as it is complimentary.

Sarah: Damnit, why are all my friends attracted to freaks?
Tedd Hey, are you calling Grace a freak?
Sarah: Nope.

Cale: Ladies and gentlemen. And gnomes. Bloodrage. Skeletons. Sisters and sons. Imps. And -- What is that?
Richard: A gruffalo.
Cale: A gruffalo? What's a gruffalo?

Sarda:Your all selfish monsters who need to die for the good of everyone else.
Black Mage: Wait, even Fighter?
Sarda: Except Fighter.
Fighter: Yay!
Sarda: He's a casualty.
Black Mage: Yay!

Web Original

Angel: Didn't...three people go to get fuel?
Michael: No, no, I said two friends. The other one's just Burt.

Nappa: Well, it's been fun kid. I mean, for me, not for you. As for you (cut to Piccolo), everyone important to you is dead.
Krillin: Hey, I'm still alive--
Nappa: EVERYONE IMPORTANT.

    • And when Goku arrives and sees all the characters Nappa killed, but only because Yamcha's meant to be awesome:

Goku: Hey guys, what'd I miss? Oh...are they all? Tenshinhan...Piccolo...Yamcha...Oh wow, especially Yamcha.

    • And during Popo's training:

Tienshinhan: Let's do it for Chiaotzu!
Yamcha: And Krillin!
(Chirping Crickets)
Yamcha: OK, just Chaotzu.

  • Episode 9 of Khenpoe's Bleach The Abridged Series, when Ichigo starts his explanation of what happened at the Don Kanonji/Trashy event:

Ichigo: Friends, teachers...Rukia.

Curly: Aah, we're like The Three Musketeers! Plus Nathan. Plus Guido.
(There are only four people there.)

Lemme see if I can't sum up for you here: world's most powerful heroes and villains on my side. Plus Sabra and Thor-Girl and Doc Samson. And Nighthawk, even. Actually, tell you what, we'll spot you Nighthawk. It's not like we don't have a million guys who can fly already, you know.

Quick! What do Yoda, Belle, Gollum, the Avatar chick, and the entire cast of Looney Tunes all have in common? Besides their ginormous eyes, obviously? Well, in addition to not being real humans, the voices who provided some of the most memorable characters in cinematic history--and Avatar--are all ineligible to win Academy Awards for their performances because, apparently, voice acting is not "acting."

  • and 8-Bit Mickey!
  • An entry in Mario Lanza's Funny 115 V.2, a Survivor fansite, we are treated to "It is day 39, and it is time for the final two and Mick to face the jury."
  • In Toby Turner's 'Trapped in a pistachios ad!' vid, the audience is advised to watch a clip of A-list celebrities, and Snooki, eating pistachios.
  • On Were Alive Michael chastises a bunch of rebellious Tower dwellers by saying "I just sent two of my friends out there to help you people, and I'll not have you throw it back in their faces!" Angel brings it up a bit later:

Angel: Didn't we send three people out there?
Michael: I said two friends. The other one was just Burt.

Twilight: All my friends are here. And Applejack is here, too.

  • In Volume 2 Episode 1 of RWBY, Ruby addresses her team thusly:

Ruby: Sisters! Friends! Weiss!
Weiss: (offscreen) Hey!

    • In fact, this is a Running Gag in Volume 2 of RWBY, where Weiss is frequently addressed separately from whatever group she's with, usually as "Ice Queen". And objecting.

Western Animation

  • Futurama: The Trope Namer, Bender's plea to Robot 1-X that he "Save my friends! And Zoidberg!" Over the course of the show, he writers have been trying to develop Zoidberg to have occasional bouts of heroic moments, in which he averts his own trope!
    • Zoidberg later returned the insult, referring to Leela, Fry, and Bender as "my friends and the robot."
    • Zoidberg even Zoidbergs himself:

Fry: Everyone we invited is here.
Zoidberg: Also Zoidberg!

      • Zoidberg even did it in the midst of a monologue.

Zoidberg: So all over the world, couples stood together in joy. And me, Zoidberg!

    • In "The Deep South", folk singer Donovan talks about how all the quality people (like Jeff Foxworthy and the inventor of Coca-Cola) evacuated the sinking city of Atlanta. As the boat pulls away and in the middle of his narration, Jane Fonda charges through the crowd, shoving people aside and leaps into the boat at the last second, prompting Donovan to add "And Jane Fonda was there too" mid-sentence.
    • A stealth subversion in Proposition Infinity:[10]

The Professor: Oh, the Humanity!! Also Bender.

    • Also achieved twice in quick succession (both being acknowledged by the potential Zoidberg in question) in Into The Wild Green Yonder, when the gorilla hole is being tested:

Lead Tester: Stand by, men! ...and manly aliens.
Lead Tester, after hole is successfully completed: Good work, men! ..and manly aliens.

    • In Mobius Dick there is a flashback to fifty years earlier when Zoidberg was popular enough to use this joke on the captain of the first Planet Express Crew.

Zoidberg: Hey, it's all my favourite patients, and also Captain Tucker! Pow!
general laughter, high fives exchanged
Captain Tucker: You totally got me, Dr. John. You're hilarious.
Hermes (back in the present): Zoidberg was popular!?!

    • Used again in Fry Am the Egg Man, where Fry gets a monster (Mr. Peppy) as a pet:

Fry: Mr. Peppy is not like Zoidberg. He's my friend.
Zoidberg: Awww!

    • Used in "Less Than Hero", insulting Fry.

Go, go, go, New Justice Team!
Fighting justice is their quest!
Superking, Clobberella, and all the rest!

      • Fry is the only member of the team left - but he's still "all the rest".
  • The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer" includes this, when a NASA guy starts a press conference with: "Ladies and gentlemen and members of the press..."
    • Another episode had the story of Lewis and Clark retold with Carl and Lenny.

Homer (as Chief): "We have always known of the coming of the white-man, and Carl"

Timmy: Ladies! And Timmy Turner's dad!
Timmy's Dad: Hey, that's me!

    • The above example is a played-with variation. Timmy was going to say "Ladies and Gentlemen", but since his dad was the only gentleman in the room, he had to address him by "name".
      • Also, what Timmy actually says is something like "Hey all you screaming women...and Timmy Turner's Dad", making it more a joke about Timmy's dad's masculinity.
    • In another episode:

Timmy: Everyone I know and love (and Mr. Crocker) are headed...!

    • In "Timmy's Secret Wish", Timmy risked his life to save other characters. A member of the Fairy Council described them as Timmy's friends and Foop. (Crocker and Dark Laser were among the 'friends')
  • In the Chowder episode "A Taste of Marzipan":

Mung: You see, Chowder, there is enough room in this festival for two good chefs...and Endive.

    • Mung can't resist this trope, it seems. He also did the more obvious variant:

"Ladies and gentlemen! ...And Endive."

  • In The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius, Jimmy pulls this: "Ladies and Gentlemen!...And Cindy."
  • In Horrid Henry, Horrid Henry and the Lost Dog, Peter finds a dog's hair and analyses in his "lab", where he finds that it isn't a human hair, "and it isn't one of Henry's either".
  • In Avatar: The Last Airbender, "It's three on three plus Sokka." Due to Sokka being a warrior, but not a Bender.
    • Since 2 of the 3 opponents weren't Benders either, that was still quite Zoidberg'ish.
    • The Avatar Extras re-airings get into it too. In the end of "The Chase," when the Gaang plus Zuko attack Azula, it notes this is the first time in the series all four elements are seen attacking at once. Plus Sokka.
  • In one episode of Tiny Toon Adventures:

Buster Bunny: Ladies and gentlemen...
Montana Max: (in audience) BOOOOOO! BOOOOOOOO!
Buster Bunny: ...and Monty.

    • In the same episode, Bugs Bunny addresses the group of veteran cartoon characters:

Bugs Bunny: Distinguished friends, honored colleagues, beloved cartoon-stars...and uh, you too Daffy.
Daffy Duck: ...Oh, har har, it is to laugh.

Hank: Hey guys...and Kahn.
Kahn: Hello!

    • Dale does it in "The Honeymooners" episode.

Hank You guys don't have to come.
Dale Of course we're coming. We're the three amigos!...And Bill.

  • A visual variant on the same style gag is done in, of all places, the darkest episode of Danny Phantom, "The Ultimate Enemy". In a Crapsack World future, Jack, Maddie, Jazz, Tucker, Sam, and Mr. Lancer are dead. The first five get a statue that says "Gone, but Not Forgotten". The last? Just plain "Gone".
  • In the last episode of American Dragon: Jake Long, the presence of Jake's father gives Grandpa pause when he greets the family.

Grandpa: Welcome to Hong Kong, beloved family and...daughter's husband.

Phineas: Friends, bullies, Irving...

    • In "The Lizard Whisperer", during Ferb's speech to motivate Phineas and Isabella:

"And we few, we happy few, we small band of brothers--and girl from across the street--"

Mrs. Gordon: Ladies. Gentlemen. Hoodsey.

  • Aqua Teen Hunger Force: "Friends...relations...whatever the hell Meatwad is..."
  • In season 4 of Winx Club, we follow the adventures of the Winx Club and Roxy.
    • Subverted, since she did become a Winx.
  • The Teen Titans cartoon:

Cyborg: "Ladies and Gentlemen...and whatever Beast Boy is..."

    • Justified in that Beast Boy had turned into a ring-tailed lemur just then, and Cyborg probably really didn't know what he was.
  • In the Timon and Pumbaa episode "The Laughing Hyenas: TV Dinner", this is done visually. Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed sit in directors chairs. Shenzi has the megaphone of Director 1, Banzai has the megaphone of Director 2, but Ed has a megaphone labeled simply Ed.
  • In The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, when Hey Nanny Nanny arrives to put Mandy in her place, Grim says the following.

Grim: "She travels all over the world...and Burbank..."

Omi: Xiaolin Warriors, double your efforts! Raimundo, triple yours.


Real Life

  • At the 2008 Discworld convention, the convention chairman made a speech beginning: "My lord Patrician. Honoured Guild leaders. Ladies and gentlemen. Members of the Watch. Nobby. And Bernard Pearson."
    • Nobby Nobbs is a favorite for this one, as he doesn't fit into any easily defined group (including, often, humanity - The blurb to "Feet of Clay" claims he was 'disqualified from the Human Race for shoving'. Think about it).
      • Forget the blurb, the books have made multiple mentions of the fact that Nobby needs an affidavit from the midwife who delivered him testifying that he is, in fact, a human.
        • It goes further than that, it says the balance of probability is that he is human.
      • In one book it was made official by the Patrician's signature, but in another he wonders if the paper is forged.
  • An old joke -- "Three musicians and a drummer"
    • Vocal variation -- "Three men and a tenor"
    • And inverted for "Three reporters and a gentleman from the Times".
  • Frequently used when writing the Acknowledgments section of a doctoral thesis, as you will probably have to thank several people for political reasons, even if they don't actually merit mentioning. "I'd like to thank everybody who contributed to this project, and also this pet student my professor has". In extreme cases, your advisor is Zoidberg!
  • Former German federal president Heinrich Luebke may or may not once have given a speech in Africa, opening with the words "Meine Damen und Herren, liebe Neger, ..." (Ladies and gentlemen, dear negroes...)
  • Before he became a senator, Al Franken performed at a Clear Channel pro-Iraq-War rally. (He admits it's not his proudest moment, since he was against the Iraq War, just as he is now.) He opened with: "Ladies, Gentlemen, SportsRadio 640 WGST contest winners, and Lee Greenwood..." This incident is referenced in his book, Lies and The Lying Liars Who Tell Them.
  • One of Neil Gaiman's earlier books, Ghastly Beyond Belief (co-written with Kim Newman) is dedicated "To all intelligent lifeforms everywhere...and to my sister Claire."
  • At the 2006 Academy Awards, Jon Stewart (who was hosting) opened with "Good evening everybody, ladies, gentlemen...Felicity." (Felicity Huffman, who was nominated for playing a transsexual in Transamerica.)
  • And now, of course, we have all the planets. And Pluto.
  • From a community-driven appliance drive: "We accept all appliances...and microwaves."
  • Any speech that opens in the style of "Friends, Romans, countrymen..." risks sounding like this, especially if the listener perversely insists on interpreting the list as non-intersecting groups. The U.S. President's annual State of the Union address traditionally begins with something along the lines of "Ladies, gentlemen, members of Congress, distinguished guests..."
  • In Argentina, after a train accident, this immortal line was given: "Murieron tres personas y un boliviano.", or if you prefer: "Casualties are three persons and a Bolivian.", you can just get yourself an idea of how racist our country is from that alone. And it still managed to be freaking hilarious.
  • A much likely unintentional one, Creative Commons licenses have versions readable by "humans", "machines" and "lawyers".
  • Can't we just say everyone and Linda?
  • This sign.
  • Presumably unintentional example from an advert broadcast in the UK: "Get all these hilarious comedies, and Grown Ups and The Other Guys, on Blu-Ray or DVD"
  • When Khruschev came to power in USSR, the opposition in Central Committee was labeled "factionary anti-party group which included Molotov, Kaganovich [...] and Shepilov who adjoined them", mostly to "discount" at least one—8 members of the Communist Party top rung in "anti-party group" was too much. "Shepilov" immediately became memetic alias for any extra joining an established group, and it has become a joke that the longest last name in Russia is Andshepilovwhoadjoinedthem. Shepilov even wrote memoirs later, titled "The Unadjoined".
  • Outside of Spain, the Spanish vosotros pronoun is often given this treatment, probably because Spain is the only country to use it.
  • As of the 2011 Canadian federal election, the House of Commons consists of 167 Conservative MPs, 102 New Democratic Party MPs, 34 Liberal MPs, 4 Bloc Québécois MPs, and Elizabeth May.[11]
  • Some editors in This Wiki tend to use this at times...and Pothole it to this very page.
  • In a sort of reversal, Roadrunner Records' official website obliviously boasts, in the header, to be the "Official home of Slipknot, Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman, Lenny Kravitz, Young the Giant, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Trivium, Megadeth, Dream Theater, and all the best in rock, hard rock, and metal." We won't tell them if you don't.
  • Steve Coogan in this Guardian article about Top Gear:

"I've been fortunate enough to work with the likes of Peter Baynham, Armando Iannucci, Chris Morris, Simon Pegg, Julia Davis, Caroline Aherne, Ruth Jones, and the Mighty Boosh – some of the funniest and most innovative people in British comedy. And Rob Brydon too."

  • During the January 18th internet blackout protest, Gawker had a headline of "Today, some of the best websites on the internet-and Reddit-are blacked out to protest SOPA."
  • The G8 was often referred to by the press as "The 7 most developed countries... and Russia." [12]
  1. ↑ Weren't we going to crop that guy out?
  2. ↑ Actually seven: New York Rangers and Islanders in NHL, New York Jets and Football Giants in NFL, New York Yankees in MLB, and Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks in NBA
  3. ↑ It was Howard
  4. ↑ Being a dishonorably discharged convict at the beginning of the series, it's true that Tom Paris technically isn't with Starfleet...but that's sure not what the Doctor's delivery is implying.
  5. ↑ Series 10, Episode 7
  6. ↑ Scottish singer and, well...trained soprano.
  7. ↑ Due to among other things, the sport’s difficulty in appealing to the Southern United States considering that there is little to no snow in those areas and hockey is obviously popular in places where it snows in the winter.
  8. ↑ Due to the (at least perceived) skill and popularity disparity between the Canadian and American counterparts.
  9. ↑ For those familiar with the above example, this is unsurprising, although some would argue that being a "Zoidberg" is at least progress for Soccer in North America, as really obscure and unpopular sports would not even be considered.
  10. ↑ (a justified example because Bender really isn't part of humanity).
  11. ↑ She's the leader of the Green Party, and the first Green MP to be elected to the House of Commons.
  12. ↑ The actual ranking of Russia on the "most developed countries" list varies with the metric used. For example, as of 2012, Russia ranks 9th on gross domestic product, behind Italy, the UK and Brazil, however Russia ranks 4th on nuclear energy production and 1st on oil production (second behind the Arab League if the latter is taken as a whole country).
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