Here at Nerdist, we love a good cultural reference. If we had a mission statement [Uhh, editors? Do we have an official mission statement? Is that something I should already know?] [Editor’s Note: Yes, and yes.] the love of slyly referencing something in new forms of media would be worked into it somehow. So it should come as no surprise that we absolutely love this video chock full of TV shows referencing famous films.
In a recent video, Vox‘s YouTube channel showcased 28 times that TV shows gave a sly and/or direct nod to scenes from a wide range of films. It’s a delight to see how many cartoons or shows generally thought of as low-brow wink at some serious cinema. In some cases it’s recreating aspects of iconic scenes. This is apparent in Netflix’s Daredevil having an exhausting brawl in a hallway much like that of 2003’s Oldboy, or the ludicrously weird Eric Andre Show referencing 1973’s The Holy Mountain (which is an insanely weird film by the way).
Some mimic scenes as with Children’s Hospital doing their own version of the opening credits of Do The Right Thing, Rugrats having a chase like Mad Max 2 (helicopter and all) and Arrested Development honoring Buster Keaton with quite possibly the best gag ever. Community went real deep when an entire episode that was, on the surface, a Pulp Fiction parody was actually a homage to My Dinner With Andre.
But if we had to choose, our favorite would have to be Pinky and the Brain and their episode “The Third Mouse.” Not only is the episode itself is a parody of 1949’s The Third Man, but the fact that Brain’s character is basically Orson Welles in mouse form makes the wink at the film so much better.
What are your favorites in the video? Did Vox miss any really good ones? Let us know in the comments below!
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Image: Vox [British Lion Film Corporation – The Third Man, Warner Bros. – Pinky & the Brain]
