Nine Out of Ten Doctors Agree: Difference between revisions

As a result, it has in recent years become fashionable for some commercials to poke fun at the trope, implying that the tenth doctor ''would'' have endorsed their product, were it not for some external force (he was reaching for the "agree" button when a poisonous snake bit him, sending him into a convulsion before he could agree).

 

 

This trope has nothing to do with [[Doctor Dolittle]], [[Doctor Doom]], [[Doctor Faustus (Theatre)|Doctor Faustus]], [[Doctor Horribles Sing Along Blog|Doctor Horrible]], [[Doctor Phil]], [[Doctor Slump]], [[Doctor Strange]], [[Dr. Strangelove]], [[Doctor Fate]], [[Doctor Zhivago]], [[The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde|Doctor Jekyll]], [[Doctor Steel]], [[Witch Doctor|witch doctors of any denomination]], or any of the Doctors from [[Doctor Who (TV)|Doctor Who]], though you probably could find something at least nine of them agreed on. <ref> Specifically Doctors 1-7, 9, and 10. We would've asked the Eighth Doctor, but nobody really knows what he's been doing and we're all too lazy to consult [[Big Finish Doctor Who|the audio dramas]] and [[Eighth Doctor Adventures|stuff]]. And Eleventh's too busy saving the universe with Mr. and Mrs. Pond, so...</ref>

* The original instance of this phrase comes from Trident gum, where "four out of five dentists recommended sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum". They didn't add the qualifier "if their patients ''insisted'' on chewing gum", nor did they tell you that [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_174a.html the fifth dentist recommended that his patients not chew gum at all].

** Years later, Trident would parody this device by having four out of five dentists endorse the gum, with the fifth accidentally denouncing it (being knocked unconscious and landing his face on the "NO" button, [[Squirrels in My Pants|having a squirrel crawl up his leg]] and [[Groin Attack|bite him in the groin]], causing him to yell [[Big No|"Nooooooo!"]] etc.).

** This was parodied on an early episode of ''[[Friends]]'' - someone enters and says "Guess what!" and Chandler immediately quips, "The fifth dentist caved, and now they're all recommending Trident?"

** It was also parodied in a 2004 ''[[Corner Gas (TV)|Corner Gas]]'' episode when Wanda admitted that she hadn't seen a dentist since 1992. Brent said, "Well, you should really try to squeeze in a visit every decade or so. Four out of five dentists recommend seeing a dentist. I don't know what the fifth guy's thinking."

* An extreme example: an ad for Whiskas claimed that "8 out of 10 Cats prefer Whiskas." This was later changed to "8 out of 10 owners who expressed a preference said that their cats preferred Whiskas." ("who expressed a preference" means there could be twenty thousand cats who'll eat anything for every eight Whiskas lovers, but they don't count.)

** This is actually gave the name to the Channel4 [[Panel Show]] ''8 Out Of Ten Cats'', which is all about statistics and opinion polls.

'''Sam''': What did the fifth one do?<br />

'''Max''': He kept sobbing, and saying, "Why can't we all just get along?" }}

* Dying after beaming into a toxic atmosphere in ''[[Space Quest]] V'' results this quote, "4 out of 5 doctors agree that beaming into a toxic atmosphere without the proper equipment can be hazardous to your health."

** Another version: "9 out of 10 doctors agree: [[Tom Baker|Four]]'s scarf is too long."

* Colin Mochrie on ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway]]?'':