Danger, Will Robinson
“Danger, Will Robinson!” is a catchphrase from the 1960s’ American television series Lost in Space spoken by voice actor Dick Tufeld. The Robot (played in body by Bob May), acting as a surrogate guardian, says this to young Will Robinson (portrayed by Bill Mumy) when the boy is unaware of an impending threat. In everyday use, the phrase warns someone that they are about to make a mistake or that they are overlooking something. The phrase is also used in hacker culture.
When given in person, the vocal klaxon is sometimes accompanied by oscillation of the speaker's arms, parodying the Robot's body language.
Despite the popularity of the phrase, it was said only once on the show. This was during episode 11 of season 3 "The Deadliest of the Species". The Robot gave warnings intermittently to Will and the other crew members of the Jupiter 2, in the form of the expressions "Warning!" and "Danger!"
The official studio website (which no longer exists) for the 1998 Lost in Space feature film was www.dangerwillrobinson.com.[1]
Appearances in other media
- On the Frank Zappa album You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3, Frank Zappa says "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" as a segue between the songs "In France" and "Drowning Witch".
- On the Kid Rock song Where U at Rock from Devil Without a Cause, one verse says "I'm like the robot from Lost in Space" and "Danger! Danger!" plays in the background.
- In the 1985 film The Sure Thing, the character Gib played by John Cusack says it to Alison played by Daphne Zuniga when he is teaching her how to shotgun a beer and she fails to do so.
- In the 1995 film 12 Monkeys, Jeffrey Goines played by Brad Pitt yells out "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" in a fit while in a mental institution.
- In The West Wing episode "20 Hours in America, Part I", Josh Lyman uses the phrase in response to a group of pro-life teenage girls heckling him on the subject of abortion.
- In The Jamie Foxx Show episode Little Red Corvette in 1997, Jamie Foxx and Braxton played by Christopher B. Duncan end up in jail when Jamie Foxx buys a stolen car and Braxton yells "Danger, Will Robinson, danger!" when they are approached by a cell mate.
- In the 1998 Lost in Space film, a reference to the quote shows up in the following dialog: Robot: It sounds like old Morse code. Will Robinson: What does it say? Robot: Danger, Will Robinson, danger.
- In CSI, Sara Sidle says "Danger, Will Robinson" to Greg Sanders at least once.
- In the 2003 film Thirteen, the character Luke says it aloud to himself when two underage girls attempt to seduce him.
- In Wizards of Waverly Place, episode 29, season 2 "Wizards & Vampires vs. Zombies", Dan Benson as the character Zeke says "Danger, Will Robinson" as he does robot-moves with his arms.
- In Sabrina, the Teenage Witch Season 2, episode 21 ("Fear Strikes Up Conversation"), as Zelda goes into "Witch Snap", she says "Danger, Will Robinson".
- In Farscape, Season 1, Episode 19 ("Nerve (Part 1)"), after being tortured in the Aurora chair Crichton recites "Danger, danger Will Robinson. Beware the chair".
- In The Troop episode "Double Felix", the troop's security robot says "Danger, Will Robinson!" while malfunctioning and right before exploding.
- In the sixteenth episode of NCIS's 8th season, McGee says the line when finding himself attracted to a woman involved in a case.
- In The Nanny Season 2 Episode 3 'The Strike' Fran quotes the phrase - 'When the kids say "Fran says no" That's be big robot screaming Danger Will Robinson!'
- There are many occasions in Whose Line is it Anyway? where in the game of Props, two flexible things are used as the robots arms, and they say "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!".
- In season 5 episode 7 of How I Met Your Mother, "The Rough Patch", an actor dressed as a robot shouts "Danger, Will Robinson".
- In the Charley Davidson series (by Darynda Jones) they are the names for certain bodyparts of the main character.
- In Fallout 3 (video game) a basic enemy robot known as "Mr. Handy" will occasionally say this during battle.
- In Jagged Alliance 2 (video game) the mercenary Gumpy will call out "Warning, Will Robinson!" when spotting a Blootcat
- In The Simpsons episode "TK", the Lost in Space robot says "Danger, Bart Simpson!" at a sci-fi convention when it appears actor Jonathan Harris (who played Dr. Zachary Smith on the show) may engage the young "Simpsons" boy in inappropriate behavior.
- In Killing Floor (video game) a female character named "Ash Harding" may shout this as a warning to other players.
- Todd Friel from Wretched Radio uses the term frequently especially when someone is on "thin ice" in danger of falling away from orthodoxy
- In Dragonball Z Abridged in Episode 44
- In "Gilmore Girls" season 2 episode 8, Lorelai Gilmore (played by Lauren Graham) says "Warning, Warning... Danger, Will Robinson, danger" to her daughter to warn her about something her Grandmother is going to make her do.
References
- ↑ Aladino V. Debert (1998). "Visual Effects Headquarters Archive: Lost in Space". Retrieved 2008-11-25.