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{{trope}}
{{quote|"I don't know -- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election."
|John McCain's Concession Speech, Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, November 4, 2008 }}
{{quote|'''Interviewer''': How do you think your fans will react [now that you're returning to playing golf after being treated for sex addiction]?
'''Tiger Woods''': I don't know. I don't know.
|Interview, March 22, 2010}}
An ubiquitous utterance in film, television, and the legitimate theatre, signifying that the protagonist is (dramatically) out of ideas. For real, this time.
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'''[[Very Special Episode|After School Specials]]'''
{{quote|'''Concerned Parent:
'''Troubled Teen:
(runs away, slamming any doors in her path) }}
'''Sci-Fi'''
{{quote|'''Guy At Console:
'''Captain:
(close-up of pulsating space-gas blob on the view screen) }}
The '''Double "Don't Know"''' is closely related to [[One-Liner, Name. One-Liner.]] - simple, repetitive phrases used to provide closure to a scene or plot, including but not limited to: "I do, Billy. I really do," or, "It sure is, Billy. It sure is." etc. This variation is mostly a [[Dead Horse Trope]], though the namesake phrase(s) linger on.
The
{{examples}}▼
== Literature ==▼
* Happened by accident in ''[[The Stand]]''. Near the end, one character is asked the reason for all of what happened. He says, "I don't know," then pauses. [[Stephen King]] spent a good month trying to come up with an answer, couldn't, and had him repeat himself.▼
▲{{examples}}
== Live Action Television ==▼
== [[Film]] ==▼
* A sample exchange from ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' ("The Battle"): ▼
{{quote|'''Beverly:''' You had no choice.▼
'''Picard:''' Didn't I? I don't know anymore... I just don't know. }}▼
* Spoofed in the "Killer Sheep" sketch on ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' by having a scientist ramble "I just don't know. I really just don't know. I'm afraid I really just don't know," and so on. ▼
* In the comedy TV show ''Corner Gas'', the theme song goes, in part: "I don't know, the same things you don't know. I don't know, I just don't know."▼
== Western Animation ==▼
* From the ''[[Jonny Quest]]'' episode "The Robot Spy": ▼
{{quote|'''Jonny:''' What is it, Dad?▼
'''Dr. Quest:''' I don't know, Jonny, I really don't know! }}▼
▲== Film ==
* Played straight - as so many things were - in ''[[I Was a Teenage Werewolf]]''.
* ''[[Top Gun]]'', as the classic '80s cliche storm, features it, though in a slightly different way than might be expected.
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* [[The Terminator]]: When Kyle and Sarah are on the run from the Terminator, she asks him if he can stop it.
{{quote|'''Sarah''': Can you stop it?
'''Reese''': '''I dunno'''. With these weapons, '''I dunno'''. }}{{context|reason=How is this an example of the trope as written?}}
* In the ''[[Dirty Harry]]'' series film [[The Enforcer]], one of the terrorists wants to know something:
{{quote|'''Bobby''': Did Wanda deliver the [Ransom Note] tape to the cops?
'''Lalo''': I don't know, I don't know, I don't know. I wasn't with her. }}
▲== [[Literature]] ==
▲* Happened by accident in ''[[The Stand]]''. Near the end, one character is asked the reason for all of what happened. He says, "I don't know," then pauses. [[Stephen King]] spent a good month trying to come up with an answer, couldn't, and had him repeat himself.
▲* A sample exchange from ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' ("The Battle"):
▲{{quote|'''Beverly:''' You had no choice.
▲'''Picard:''' Didn't I? I don't know anymore... I just don't know. }}
▲* Spoofed in the "Killer Sheep" sketch on ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'' by having a scientist ramble "I just don't know. I really just don't know. I'm afraid I really just don't know," and so on.
▲* In the comedy TV show ''Corner Gas'', the theme song goes, in part: "I don't know, the same things you don't know. I don't know, I just don't know."
▲== [[Western Animation]] ==
▲* From the ''[[Jonny Quest]]'' episode "The Robot Spy":
▲{{quote|'''Jonny:''' What is it, Dad?
▲'''Dr. Quest:''' I don't know, Jonny, I really don't know! }}
----
{{quote|'''[[The Muppet Show|Statler]]''': Can you think of anything that would make that last show something other than completely worthless?
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{{reflist}}
[[Category:Stock Phrases]]
▲[[Category:Double Don't Know]]
|
Latest revision as of 15:07, 17 May 2021
An ubiquitous utterance in film, television, and the legitimate theatre, signifying that the protagonist is (dramatically) out of ideas. For real, this time.
"I don't know -- I don't know what more we could have done to try to win this election." —John McCain's Concession Speech, Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix, November 4, 2008
|
Whereas in Real Life, most of us are content to say "I don't know" once, if at all, fictional characters are likely to repeat the phrase for dramatic effect. It's a common act break, being almost magnetically attracted to music stings and commercial breaks.
Although there are several variations of the Double Don't Know, there are a few particularly common breeds. Samples, with context:
Concerned Parent: But what about the Mid-Winter Sophomore Diversity Dance Social? |
Sci-Fi
The Double "Don't Know" is closely related to One-Liner, Name. One-Liner. - simple, repetitive phrases used to provide closure to a scene or plot, including but not limited to: "I do, Billy. I really do," or, "It sure is, Billy. It sure is." etc. This variation is mostly a Dead Horse Trope, though the namesake phrase(s) linger on.
The Double "Don't Know" is a Stock Phrase. It has nothing to do with "what now?" cliffhangers that don't feature repetitive statements akin to those described above. It's also unrelated to Donald Rumsfeld's famous Unknown Unknowns - "the things we don't know we don't know".
Film
- Played straight - as so many things were - in I Was a Teenage Werewolf.
- Top Gun, as the classic '80s cliche storm, features it, though in a slightly different way than might be expected.
Viper: Would you wanna fly with him? |
- In Ghostbusters, after being fired from the University:
- The Terminator: When Kyle and Sarah are on the run from the Terminator, she asks him if he can stop it.
Sarah: Can you stop it? |
[context?]
- In the Dirty Harry series film The Enforcer, one of the terrorists wants to know something:
Bobby: Did Wanda deliver the [Ransom Note] tape to the cops? |
Literature
- Happened by accident in The Stand. Near the end, one character is asked the reason for all of what happened. He says, "I don't know," then pauses. Stephen King spent a good month trying to come up with an answer, couldn't, and had him repeat himself.
Live-Action TV
- A sample exchange from Star Trek: The Next Generation ("The Battle"):
Beverly: You had no choice. |
- Spoofed in the "Killer Sheep" sketch on Monty Python's Flying Circus by having a scientist ramble "I just don't know. I really just don't know. I'm afraid I really just don't know," and so on.
- In the comedy TV show Corner Gas, the theme song goes, in part: "I don't know, the same things you don't know. I don't know, I just don't know."
Western Animation
- From the Jonny Quest episode "The Robot Spy":
Jonny: What is it, Dad? |
Statler: Can you think of anything that would make that last show something other than completely worthless? |