- General References
- References By Episode (Coming Soon)
Character Names
Many characters' names, including all of the main characters on the series, are derived from names of other famous TV characters or actors.
Main Character Names:
- Larry Cunningham - "Larry" is taken from the characters Larry, Darryl, and the other brother Darryl on Newhart. "Cunningham" is taken from the Cunningham family on Happy Days.
- Darryl Drummond - "Darryl" is taken from the characters Larry, Darryl, and the other brother Darryl on Newhart. "Drummond" is taken from the Drummond family on Diff'rent Strokes.
- Marcia Partridge - "Marcia" is taken from the character Marcia Brady on The Brady Bunch. "Partridge" is taken from the Partridge family on The Partridge Family.
- Vanessa Keaton - "Vanessa" is taken from the character Vanessa Huxtable on The Cosby Show. "Keaton" is taken from the Keaton family on Family Ties.
- Cherie Drummond - "Cherie" is taken from the actress/character Cherie Johnson on Punky Brewster. "Drummond" is taken from the Drummond family on Diff'rent Strokes.
- Dr. Rick Savage - "Rick" is taken from the actor Rick Schroeder on Silver Spoons and NYPD Blue. "Savage" is taken from the actors Fred Savage on The Wonder Years and Working, and Ben Savage on Boy Meets World.
Other Character Names:
- Jeannifer Lampez (from Episode #18 "Jeannie from the Block") - While not a specific character or actor name, her name is a play on the character Jeannie on I Dream of Jeannie, Jeannie's lamp, and actress/singer Jennifer Lopez.
- Jessie (from Episode #19 "Flinstoned") - Although spelled differently, her name is taken from the character Jesse Spannow on Saved by the Bell. Jesse was the character that got addicted to pain killers, which this episode is spoofing.
- Mason Matlock (from Episode #18 "Jeannie from the Block") - "Mason" is taken from the character Perry Mason on Perry Mason. "Matlock" is taken from the character Matlock on Matlock. Like Perry Mason and Matlock, Mason Matlock is also a lawyer.
- The Other Brother Darryl (from Episode #02 "The Other Brother Darryl" et al) - His name is taken from the other brother Darryl on Newhart. Together with the two main characters, they make Larry, Darryl, and the Other Brother Darryl, just like the characters from Newhart.
- Pizza Delivery Girl Sarah Jenkins (from Episode #15 "A Hex in the Duplex") - "Sarah Jenkins" was an actual character name from the Scooby-Doo Where Are You? episode "Foul Play in Funland."
- Professor Hyde White (from Episode #15 "A Hex in the Duplex") - "Hyde White" is taken from the character Professor Jameson Hyde White from the Scooby-Doo Where Are You? episode "What a Night for a Knight."
- Samantha Sabrina (from Episode #09 "Move Witch, Get Out the Way") - "Samantha" is taken from the character Samantha Stephens on Bewitched. "Sabrina" is taken from the character Sabrina Spellman on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
- The Smorks (from Episode #07 "Noel Neill Smorkgasbord") - The name is a combination of Smurfs and Snorks.
- The "Termidate" Contestants (from Episode #16 "Gimme a Break-Up") - The four girls Darryl goes out with are named Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda. These are the names of the four lead characters on Sex & the City.
- Tommy Lee Smith (from Episode #01 "The Alien Pilot") - "Tommy Lee" is taken from the actor Tommy Lee Jones and "Smith" is taken from the actor Will Smith. Both actors were in the Men in Black movies, and like Tommy Lee Smith, they dealt with aliens.
Dancing
There have been several instances on the series where the majority of the cast is seen dancing, usually at the end of an episode. Here are a list of such occurrances:
- Show Open - The entire cast dances at the beginning of the opening theme.
- Episode #05 "The Slayer's Club" - (1) Dr. Rick references the show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Everyone starts dancing afterwards. Laugh-In also had a lot of dancing. (2) After Vanessa turns Dr. Rick and a friend into vampires, they do a dance similar to Michael Jackson's Thriller. Darryl is seen grooving to it, saying he doesn't know whether to "get scared or get funky."
- Episode #06 "The Making of Who's Ya Daddy?" - Everyone is dancing in the music video.
- Episode #08 "Eighties is Enough" - Larry, Marcia, and Vanessa breakdance in a reference to Yo! MTV Raps.
- Episode #10 "Fresh Breath of Bel-Air" - Everyone is dancing and bobbing their heads to Larry and Darryl's freestyle battle.
- Episode #12 "Girlz II Men" - Darryl does a dancing striptease to Marcia, Vanessa, and their friends.
- Episode #15 "A Hex in the Duplex" - Larry mentions they need to fill more time in the episode, so "let's dance!" Everyone starts dancing Scooby-Doo like dances.
- Episode #16 "Gimme a Break-Up" - During the end credits, Dr. Rick dances with the girls Darryl "termidated."
- Episode #18 "The Arnie Sykes Friday Night Special" - Everyone is dancing in the music video.
- Episode #19 "Flinstoned" - Cherie and Jessie dance in the kitchen while high on Flinstones Chewables. Dr. Rick and a pig puppet join them.
- Episode #20 "I, Wonder" - At the end of the episode, Darryl yells out "Let's dance!" Then he, Marcia, and the robot children start doing the Robot.
Darryl's Exclamations
Darryl has a habit of taking TV shows, celebrities, or other elements of pop culture and using them as exclamations, similar to someone saying "Wow!" or "Oh my goodness!" Here are samples of those exclamations:
- "Good Morning Miami!" (from Episode #01 "The Alien Pilot") - Darryl says it when sees Dr. Rick Savage for the first time. The exclamation is a reference to the short-lived NBC series Good Morning, Miami.
- "Regis Philbin!" (from Episode #17 "Jeannie from the Block") - Darryl says it when Jeannifer gives him a bank statement showing his bank account is full of money. The exclamation is a reference to Regis Philbin, host of Live with Regis & Kelly, and more appropriately, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
- "What in the Bobby's World are you doing here?" (from Episode #07 "Noel Neill Smorkgasbord") - Darryl says it when he is awaken early in the morning by Cherie, who's watching "The Smorks." The exclamation is a reference to the Howie Mandel animated series Bobby's World.
- "Who in the Wide World of Sports is that?" (from Episode #02 "The Other Brother Darryl") - Darryl says it when he sees his twin brother for the first time. The exclamation is a reference to the sports series ABC's Wide World of Sports.
Death of Celebrities Mentioned on the Series
With a show like this, it's no surprise that celebrites names will be mentioned. But TV JUNKIES has a strange, morbid history of mentioning celebrities who are alive at the taping and/or airing of an episode, only to die afterwards. Here is a list of such celebrities and episodes.
- John Ritter (from Episode #02 "The Other Brother Darryl") - Darryl trips over a couch and exclaims, "Who am I, John Ritter?" This is in reference to Ritter's character Jack Tripper on Three's Company, who was constantly seen performing pratfalls. John Ritter was alive when the episode taped, but died just weeks before the episode premiered.
- Fred "Rerun" Berry (from Episode #03 "The New Larry") - Darryl mentions trying but failing to run The Fred "Rerun" Berry Fan Club; Fred Berry being the actor who played Rerun in What's Happening!! Like John Ritter, Berry was alive when the episode was taped, but died just weeks before the episode aired.
- Ed Bradley (from Episode #19 "Flinstoned") - At Cherie's sleepover, the girls are debating who they would rather kiss, Ed Bradley, Mike Wallace, or Michael Douglas. Ed Bradley was alive when the episode was taped and when it aired in 2005. Ed Bradley passed away the following year.
*In a strange coincidence, in 2005, André Meadows and Jamey White of TV JUNKIES worked together on a short feature, a musical comedy entitled Hef and the Magnificent Mansion. In it, the character Charlie (played by Meadows), sings the song "I'm Going to the Mansion" (written by Meadows). One of the lines of the song is "I'm going to the mansion / Where Don Adams visits every day." Don Adams was alive when the film was taped, but died before the movie premiered.
Frank's Place
The character of Darryl seems to have a particular fascination with the show Frank's Place. He has mentioned it numerous times on the series, and always follows it by saying it was "a show too good for its time."
In reality, Frank's Place was one of the first "dramedies" on television, premiering in 1987 on CBS. The series, delevoped by actor Tim Reid and director Hugh Wilson, was critically praised not only for its positive portrayal of African-Americans, but for its unconvential methods of the sitcom format (not using a laugh track or a studio audience, producing it film-style with one camera as opposed to the three or four camera system, and subtle humor vs. broad physical humor or one-liners). Even though the series won the Televison Critics Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, an Emmy for Best Writing in a Comedy Series, and an NAACP Image Award for Tim Reid, ratings for the series were not strong and it was cancelled after only one season. Oddly enough, a lot of the format methods of Frank's Place can be seen in a lot of situation comedies today (The Office, My Name is Earl, 30 Rock, Scrubs, Malcolm in the Middle, The Bernie Mac Show, just to name a few).
Here are the times Darryl mentions the series:
- In Episode #02 "The Other Brother Darryl," Darryl mentions that the dad in the sitcom Sister, Sister "was Frank from Frank's Place, a show too good for its time."
- In Episode #15 "A Hex in the Duplex," when the Crazy Fisherman mentions their place is haunted, Larry asks "What place?" Darryl replies, "Frank's Place!" and again mentions its "a show too good for its time."
Music from the Series
A list of actual songs that can be heard or seen performed on the series:
- "African-American Idol" by Arnie Sykes feat Overlord - A snippet of the song plays during the "Austin American Idol" pieces on the show.
- "The Breakdance Kid Theme" by Arnie Sykes - Plays when Larry, Marcia, and Vanessa are breakdancing in Episode #08 "Eighties is Enough."
- "Friday Night" by Arnie Sykes feat Gloria Chain & Miss Kitty - The song for the music video in Episode #18 "The Arnie Sykes Friday Night Special."
- "I'm Still Living in the 80's" by Owen Egerton - To fit the theme for the series, this song plays as the opening theme song for Episode #08 "Eighties is Enough."
- "Is It Raining?" by André Meadows - Plays during Cherie and Jessie's Flinstones Chewables-induced dancing in Episode #19 "Flintstoned."
- "Larry vs. Darryl" by Ben Bartley & André Meadows - Larry and Darryl's battle rap from Episode #10 "Fresh Breath of Bel-Air."
- "Mansion Groove (Instrumental track)" by Huey Esquire - Plays when Darryl, Marcia, and the robot children dance in Episode #20 "I, Wonder."
- "Middle Earthquakin'" by Arnie Sykes feat April Queen - Plays when Dr. Rick is dancing with the "Termidate" contestants in Episode #16 "Gimme a Break-Up."
- "Revenge of the TV Junkies" by André Meadows & Jamey White - André and Jamey perform this homage to Revenge of the Nerds at the end of Episode #08 "Eighties is Enough."
- "Slayer Rave (Instrumental track)" by André Meadows - Plays during the extensive fighting sequence in Episode #05 "The Slayer's Club."
- "Visions of Love, Visions of Truth" by Unknown Artist - A royalty-free song that plays during the montage in Episode #11 "Man of La Marcia."
- "Wall of Gloria (Round 'N Round)" by Gloria Chain - Plays during the elaborate chase sequence in Episode #15 "A Hex in the Duplex."
- "Who's Ya Daddy?" by Arnie Sykes - The opening theme song of the show and the song for the music video in Episode #06 "The Making of Who's Ya Daddy?"
The following is a list of actual songs "re-imagined" by cast members on the series:
- "Break My Stride" by Matthew Wilder (performed by Jamey White & André Meadows) - Dr. Rick and Darryl sing this song explaining why Dr. Rick couldn't find Darryl in Episode #08 "Eighties is Enough."
- "Down Under" by Men at Work (Performed by Jamey White) - Dr. Rick uses the song to explain where he comes from in Episode #08 "Eighties is Enough."
- "Every Time I Turn Around (Theme from Punky Brewster)" by Judy Hart Angelo & Gary Portnoy (Performed by André Meadows) - Darryl recites the song as a poem in Episode #16 "Gimme a Break-Up."
- "Everywhere You Look (Theme from Full House) by Jesse Frederick & Bennett Salvay (Performed by André Meadows & Ben Bartley) - Larry and Darryl sing a snippet of this song in Episode #03 "The New Larry."
- "One Step Closer (Theme from Lizzie McGuire) by Angie Jaree & Elliot Lurie (Performed by André Meadows & various kids) - André and kids he interviews sing the song, getting it all correctly except for one line, in the sketch "The Movie Guys: The Lizzie McGuire Movie."
- "Small Wonder (Theme from Small Wonder)" by Diane Leslie, Howard Leeds & Ron Alexander (Performed by Sedreana Saldaña & Jamey White) - Marcia and Dr. Rick use the lyrics from the song to describe V.I.C.I. in Episode #20 "I, Wonder."
- "Sometimes When We Touch" by Dan Hill (Performed by Andrea Newell, Jamey White, Sedreana Saldaña, André Meadows) - Cherie, Dr. Rick, Darryl, and Marcia sing it as an expression of love in Episode #11 "Man of La Marcia."
Puppets
Puppets seem to appear a lot thoughout the series. Here is a list of such instances:
- In the sketch "Collect Calls," an ALF puppet to tell the caller about his long distance service 10-10-227-90210.
- In Episode #01 "The Alien Pilot," an ALF puppet crashlands in Larry and Darryl's backyard and stays in their home temporarily.
- In Episode #09 "Move Witch, Get Out the Way," Larry and Samantha Sabrina turn into various puppets during their wizard's duel, including a pig, a moose, and a dog.
- In Episode #11 "Man of La Marcia," Larry turns his own hand into a puppet and talks to it while he and Vanessa are trapped in Big Brother 7.
- In Episode #19 "Flinstoned," a pig puppet covers the screen during Cherie and Jessie's rave and squeals to go to the next scene.
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