Non Sequitur Thud: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

A character has suffered an [[Amusing Injuries|amusing injury]], usually of the blunt force to the head variety. Dazed, he will say something really random and [[Non Sequitur]], normally either before going out like a light or [[Waking Non Sequitur|after being awakened]]. It seems that with proper application of blunt trauma, the human skull becomes a radio receiver tuned to a random station somewhere in the world. Three [[Stock Phrases|common phrases]] used are "[[How Many Fingers?]] am I holding up?" (helpful bystander), "I don't wanna go to school mommy" and "Anybody get the license number of that truck?" (victim)

'''Player:''' "The coach."<br />

'''Coach:''' "And who are you?"<br />

'''Coach:''' "Sit down."<br />

** The player then goes on to act like Batman for the rest of the commercial as the sales pitch is going on.

*** I dunno, that last one makes perfect sense to me...

* In an issue of the ''[[Harley And Ivy]]'' miniseries, the two infiltrate the set of a movie based on their capers. Harley is unimpressed by the actor playing the Joker, and pummels him. He is then seen babbling "Yoda? ...Dagobah system?". This is a [[Mythology Gag]] combined with an [[Actor Allusion]], as in the [[DCAU]] the Joker is played by Mark Hamill.

* A running gag in DC's '''[[Mazing Man]]'' comics was that whenever the titular character got conked on the head (including one instance when he was stuffed into a Goodwill box) he'd start singing Simon & Garfunkel's greatest hits.

** Which may make the [[Darkwing Duck]] gag listed below the World's Most Obscure [[Shout-Out]].

== Fan Fic ==

{{quote| '''Hobbes:''' How much cluck could a good duck cluck if a good duck could cluck good?<br />

'''Calvin:''' Darkness? It is I, [[Pajama Sam]]! I have come to vanquish you! }}

== Film ==

{{quote| "You have a lovely wife! Both very pretty!"}}

* In the football movie ''[[Little Giants]],'' a kid gets tackled, and mumbles "Did I pass the spelling test?" before losing consciousness.

** Also, earlier in the film, Bugs and Daffy are in "3-D Land" getting Michael's lucky basketball shorts, when Daffy makes a wrong turn while tunneling in Looney Toons fashion toward the Jordan house, resulting in a nasty confrontation with the family dog. A few seconds later, Daffy rings the front doorbell. When Bugs answers it from the inside, Daffy says (not sings) "Twinkle, twinkle, little star!" before passing out.

* Near the end of ''Son of the [[Pink Panther]]'', one of the bad guys is hit in the head by a falling statue, exclaims "That's it! No more Mr. Nice Guy!"... and promptly falls unconscious.

** Arguably the entire premise of ''[[Signs]]'' is how one of these turns out to be {{spoiler|sequitur after all}}.

* In ''[[Oliver and Company]]'', Einstein does this during a diversion by Dodger and his gang. He bumps into Jenny's limo and says, "Go on, Sparky! Find Bumper!"

** Later in the film, while Lone Star and company are lost on the desert planet, Barf gasps "Oh, waiter... [[Check, Please!]]!" before collapsing from exhaustion.

* In ''[[Fern Gully]]'', Batty (the PTSD bat played by [[Robin Williams]]) is ranting against humans when Zack touches his brain implant. He gets a jolt of electricity and says "Price check on prune juice, Bob -- price check on prune juice." Then he's out. In fact, this is a [[Running Gag]] in the movie. It becomes a plot point, during the [[Final Boss|Final Boss battle,]] he starts to get basic cable, and Zack flicks through until he gets [[Hamburger Hill]].

{{quote| '''Calvin:''' "Sir Kane! How many fingers am I holding up?"<br />

'''Sir Kane:''' "Just a little off the top. Keep the sideburns." }}

{{quote| '''Bob:''' Is this... Heaven?<br />

'''Mr. Asparagus:''' Smells like... Wisconsin! }}

{{quote| '''Bigweld:''' I'm the prettiest girl at the Harvest Moon Ball!<br />

'''Bigweld:''' If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands!... If you're happy and you know it...<br />

* Q in ''[[Tower of Terror]]'', after he receives a shock.

{{quote| "Good morning!"}}

* Unusual variation in [[Laurel and Hardy]]'s ''[[Way Out West]]'', during the singing of "Trail of the Lonesome Pine": Stan shows off singing in a deep baritone, to Ollie's consternation. Ollie gets a mallet from behind the bar and konks Stan-- who switches to a ''woman's soprano'', finishes off the song, then keels over.

** In [[Babes in Toyland]], the villain konks Stan over the head... Stan looks confused, turns to Ollie, and says "Did he hit me?" Ollie nods, and Stan collapses.

{{quote| '''Kirk:''' How many fingers am I holding up? (while making the Vulcan salute)<br />

'''Mccoy:''' That's not very damn funny! }}

{{quote| '''Kel:''' I know, my lord. You wish I were a boy. But being a girl is more fun. More fun-er? Is that right?<br />

'''Wyldon:''' Go lie down, Mindelan. You're tilt-silly. }}

** Different books have it being different things, but he always has a non-sequitur thud. She beats him up multiple times, and he usually has one each time.

* ''[[Harry Potter]] and the Goblet of Fire'' features this type of behavior from a Muggle as a side-effect of an unusually large amount of magical memory modification: when the main characters are checking out of a campground in August he waves them off with a "Merry Christmas."

* In the seventh book, ''[[Captain Underpants]]'' lands on his head. When Harold and George rush to his side to see if he's okay, he mutters "Mommy, my train went swimming in the piano."

{{quote| '''Tobias:''' "Miss Scarlet? Was it Miss Scarlet with the plum in the professor?"}}

** In ''Imzadi II,'' written by the same author, who is one of the creators of [[Space Cases]], Lwaxana is stuck and delivers the quote below from that show.

== Live Action TV ==

* In ''[[Veronica Mars]]'', Sheriff Lamb murmurs "I smell bread" just before he passes out after a suspect has hit him with a baseball bat. This example gives the trope a more dramatic and poignant spin: {{spoiler|Lamb, a regular series antagonist, is lying in a pool of blood when he mutters the phrase, and later in the episode we find out he has died from his injuries.}}

** This comes from the "auras" (hallucinations) that usually precede brain "episodes" such as seizures, aneurysms or, rarely, a stroke. "Smelling toast" is one of the most common olfactory hallucinations and has become a meme of its own. ([http://www.atforumz.com/archive/index.php/t-222393.html See this page for more information.]) It's possible that a head injury caused just such an event.

* In ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'', a scheme to rescue Tiger from the Gestapo nearly goes bad when the Russian man they have playing Himmler hits his head on a pipe and collapses. He abruptly sits up a moment later, salutes, and says, "Long live our glorious leader, the Czar!" before passing out again.

* In ''[[Doctor Who]]'', physical trauma (especially post-regenerative stress) often causes the Doctor to get mixed up and refer to former companions and adventures.

** {{spoiler|Flesh!}}Eleven in The Almost People utters a few catchphrases of previous doctors, in their original voices. He also gets them a bit confused

{{quote| Reverse the Jelly Baby of the Neutron Flow}}

{{quote| "[[This Page Will Self-Destruct|This pig will self-destruct in 5 seconds]]!"}}

{{quote| '''Kryten:''' ''(gibberish)'' Two and one-half badgers, please -- ''(gibberish)'' ...No, that's all right, I'll eat them here. -- ''(gibberish, bangs his head on the pillar)'' ...Ah, that's better. Now I can '''''win self-determination for the South Maldivian people!!''' (additional spluttering and gibberish, bangs his head on the post again)''}}

** What really sells this is Mulder's [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKciFkoykYA reaction].

{{quote| '''Mulder''': (indignantly) I. Did. Not.}}

* Effy in ''[[Skins]]'', immediately upon being shot up with an overdose of (probably) heroin:

{{quote| "Sometimes I think I was born backwards, you know, came out my mum the wrong way... I hear words go past me backwards. The people I should love, I hate, and the people I hate --" *falls over*}}

{{quote| '''Lester:''' If we come back, I want a raise, perks, the company car, and three kilos of-- [tranquilizer dart] Gluten free biscotti! [Thud!]<br />

'''Jeff:''' [tranquilizer dart] ...I think my water just broke.[Thud!] }}

* ''[[Criminal Minds]]'' has a rare chilling example in later episode. An agent {{spoiler|Prentiss worked with before transferring to the BAU}} checks a peephole in a door. The perspective is from what she sees, which is a man standing nearby. {{spoiler|A silenced gunshot is heard, and she says in a dreamy voice, "Grandma brought it... for Christmas" as a drop of blood runs down her forehead just before she falls over, dead.}}

* In one episode of ''[[Seinfeld]]'', Kramer gets kicked in the head by Crazy Joe Davola. He happened to be wearing a helmet at the time, but still ended up with a concussion. The next time we see him, he has one pant leg on, only shaved the right side of his face, and is completely unaware of both. The first real non-sequitur however, is when he yells "YO-YO MA!" in mid-conversation with Jerry and George. After that he answers the phone speaking [[Gratuitous Italian|Italian-sounding gibberish]].

* A recurring line when people are knocked out in the first ''[[Discworld]]'' video game is "Did anyone get the number of that donkey cart?" This actually plays into a puzzle, as later on in the game you {{spoiler|1=get a donkey arrested by giving a recently KOed assassin its registration.}}

* In the third ''[[Sly Cooper]]'' game, after Carmelita shoots Muggshot repeatedly with her [[Stun Gun]], he mumbles, "Mudda, is that you? I'm sorry... I didn't know they were yours.." before toppling unconscious.

** Although it's not precisely a [[Non Sequitur Thud]], he can ask the same question later on, to be informed that his mother is a duck (yes, another ''Loom'' reference). In fact, Guybrush exhibits a marked tendency to rattle off some distinctly nonsensical crap whether he's got a concussion or not.

{{quote| "Is that you, mother? I washed my hands..."}}

{{quote| YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW SO SEW SO-SO / GREETINGS CHEESE POPSICLE / THE NUMBER YOU HAVE DIALED IS CURRENTLY OUT OF PORK CHOPS / FROM EAST TO WEST IT GOES GOES / BROKEN BROKEN / OH SO SEW BROKEN / *whir* *clank* *clunk*}}

* In ''[[Marathon Infinity]]'' when {{spoiler|you deactivate Durandal in the level Hang Brain}} there are some mighty gibberish when you read one of the computer terminals. Go [http://marathon.bungie.org/story/hangbrain.html here] and scroll down to "Hang Brain (Terminal 1: 1st Message)" to read it.

** The full line is one of the weirdest things ever heard.

{{quote| I hear it's amazing when the famous purple stuffed worm in flap-jaw space with the tuning fork does a raw blink on Hara-kiri Rock. I need scissors! 61!}}

{{quote| ?BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP. [[Shout-Out|I AM ERROR.]] PRESS ANY KEY TO RESTART. ...SYSTEM NOT FOUND. INSERT INSTALL DISC. DISC NOT FOUND. PLEASE CONFIRM DISC COVER IS CLOSED. READ ERROR. INSERT BOOT DISC AND PRESS ENTER. NO RESPONSE. SYSTEM MAY BE BUSY OR MELTING INTO SLAG. APPLICATION ERROR. SAVE YOUR WORK AND QUIT. [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero|YOU LOST EVERYTHING. WAY TO GO, GENIUS]]. WAITING FOR PROCESSORS. "404 computer hamsters not found." THREAT LEVEL UPGRADED TO JELLY ROLL 1. DETONATION IMMINENT. BEEBLEBLIP! C:/ run query identification C:/ run insult generator C:/ results: go away yeti-lip! CTRL ALT DEL!?}}

** It also appears to be a rather beautiful [[Take That]] aimed at Nintendo's competitor Microsoft.

* In the Xbox party game ''Whacked!'', each playable character has their own assortment of quotes that the game randomly chooses for them to say when dying or picking up weapons. One of the characters, Otto, is asleep throughout the entire game. When dying, two of his many quotes are "Avenge me, Spartacus!" or "Please, sir, may I have another?". When grabbing a weapon, he might say "Launch the torpedoes!" or "Seize the castle!".

* ''[[Punch Out]]'' does this in the Wii version with some characters. One example is Great Tiger, who, in the middle of being counted on the mat after being knocked down, will raise himself from the mat, cross-eyed, and interrupt the ref's count to mutter a disjointed sentence in Hindi before collapsing right back down with a dramatic thud.

== Web Animation ==

** Hard to say for sure, but it may be a shout-out to ''[[Weebl and Bob]]''.

{{quote| Joel: "Who knew that near-death delirium [[Ear Worm|could be so catchy?"]]}}

== Web Comics ==

** Happens to Belkar in [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0748.html this strip]:

{{quote| '''Belkar:''' 'mfine. Halfings may only be able to advance to level 8, but I've got Attack Rank G.<br />

** It takes a rather dark turn when Lord Manpower's Uncroaked corpse still mutters about "pie..."

** Also, possible [[Fridge Brilliance]], as brain damage can cause synesthesia in some cases.

** [http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20090211 This one] has a rather long one caused by a dose of [[Bottled Heroic Resolve]], and it doesn't actually involve a thud so much as an easing to the ground and a period of dragging the [[Reliable Traitor]] to a conveniently located medical lab (that is actually a [[Maximum Fun Chamber]]).

** Gil also spends some time thinking he's in Paris after being shot and throwing a giant robot. ''In that order.''

** Also an earlier one from Ocelot [http://gigaville.com/comic.php?id=139 here].

* After everything bad that could happen seems to happen to [[Dominic Deegan]], the [[Non Sequitur Thud]] in [http://www.dominic-deegan.com/view.php?date=2008-05-13 this strip] forms the bridge between his [[Freak-Out]] and [[Heroic BSOD]].

{{quote| '''Richard:''' Good was shot a that. Toast. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!}}

* In a subversion in ''[[8-Bit Theater (Webcomic)|Eight Bit Theater]]'', Fighter, resident idiot, gets stabbed in the head and starts talking about stuff that actually has plot relevance. Until he gets stabbed again. (Played straight plenty of other times, though).

* Eddie from ''[[Emergency Exit]]'' talks like this ''all the time''...and it's eventually revealed that {{spoiler|it's because he has a portal ''in his head''. Because he ''[[Body Horror|forced it through his own skull]]'' to keep the villain from getting it.}}

* In ''[[Three Panel Soul]]'': "Jes, get your damn oatmeal off me!"

'''Ken:''' Don't you asking of meaning of the words I said. You already knew because kick ass of course not, damnit! [[Unsound Effect|*Falling*]] }}

* Seen [http://www.webcomicsnation.com/eddurd/everydayheroes/series.php?view=single&ID=167865 here] in ''[[Everyday Heroes]]'' after a particularly vigorous [[Hyperspace Mallet]] attack.

{{quote| '''Demoman:''' "HaaHaHa! Joke's on th'wall! My face is drunk, so hurt pain doesn't bad me!"}}

* In ''Bite Me!'', when Lucien (a vampire) gets hit with garlic, he starts babbling things like: "why mother that shade of purple is very becoming on your lizard fork"--though this may have more to do with being drunk of the fumes than head trauma: http://www.bitemecomic.com/?p=538

== Web Original ==

** Also Spider-Man's slightly drunken ''[[Transformers]]'' freak out:

{{quote| '''Spider-Man:''' *To Ironman* Bumblebee!<br />

** And then there was the time he got hit so hard, he spent the rest of the episode thinking he was "The Duchess".

* In the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' short "Rabbit Seasoning" (part of the famous "Hunter Trilogy"), Daffy gets shot in the face after peeking his head out of Bugs's hole to see if Elmer Fudd is "still lurking about". Bugs suggests that Daffy should act as a decoy, and Daffy mumbles, dazedly "No more for me thanks, I'm driving" before falling unconscious.

{{quote| ''(angry construction worker stomps up to Daffy)''<br />

'''Daffy:''' Oh, no thanks are necessary, my good man! I was just doing my duty--<br />

{{quote| '''Porky:''' (as Dr. Watkins) Tell me, Holmes, at what sort of school did you learn to be a detective?<br />

'''Daffy:''' (dazed) Elementary, my dear Watkins... Elementary... }}

* ''[[A Goofy Movie]]'' had this exchange take place when Goofy and Max were spending a night in the their car:

{{quote| '''Goofy:''' (''half-asleep'') How many cups of sugar does it take to get to the moon?<br />

'''Max:''' Uh... three and a half?<br />

'''Goofy:''' ... ''*thud*'' ZZZZZ... }}

** In "Survival of the Idiots", Patrick is knocked out by Sandy and says "Hot wings", as [[Circling Birdies|drumsticks fly around his head.]]

* In the ''[[Kappa Mikey]]'' episode ''Le Femme Mitsuki'', blabbermouth Mikey says "Can I borrow a dollar?" after Mitsuki shocks him with one of her gadgets so that he won't tell anyone about the agency she used to work at.

* ''[[Jimmy Neutron]]'': Sheen has just been conked on the head, and Jimmy asks "How many fingers am I holding up?" Sheen replies "November?" before passing out.

'''Sheen''': ''(Turns around looks up)'' Actually, I'm gonna have to go with Carl on this one.<br />

''[[Subverted Trope|(Giant Chicken shaped Yolkian ship appears)]]'' }}

{{quote| Ed, after being hog-tied by Eddy in ''An Ed In The Bush'': It's a long ball, coach!}}

** In fact, many of Ed's lines are non sequiturs since he has the attention span of buttered toast, wandering off into his own thoughts and coming back to reality to say something off-the-wall.

''(a few seconds later)''<br />

'''Peter''': Here, kitty, kitty, kitty... (thud) }}

{{quote| '''Waspinator''': Waspinator? Negative, negative, I am Shrapnel, Decepticon hero-o-o.<br />

'''Waspinator''' ''(after getting blasted)'': [[Shout-Out|More than meets the eye]]...'''*thud* ''' }}

** He also says the same line in the DCAU TV-movie ''[[Batman]]: Mystery of the Batwoman''.

** Relatedly, in the Animated Series, there is an episode where Alfred and an old "cousin" (former colleague in the British espionage branch, Alfred used to be a secret agent apparently) are held hostage by terrorists who try to extract two halves of a missile code from them. After being dosed with truth serum, Alfred's colleague gives up his sequence of letters and numbers, but Alfred is able to resist enough to disguise his passcode as Non Sequitur ramblings (it helps that his code is a line of poetry about unicorns).

* In a ''[[Pinky and The Brain]]'' episode, after getting clobbered, Brain gets windmills circling his head and says "All my thoughts are in Dutch".

** "Brain, are you all right?" "Yes, Phaedo, but why are you wearing that llama?"

{{quote| '''Skippy:''' (After being hit by a football) Which way did he go, George? Which way did he go?<br />

'''Slappy:''' ...Time for a little sit down, Skippy. }}

** In a later episode, Stan's mom Sharon, who is concerned that her son killed a few people (it was actually his goldfish) hits Officer Barbrady over the head with a frying pan, prompting the latter to utter "Tennis, anyone?" before losing consciousness.

** In "Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants" in a shout out to "Russian Rhapsody" as mentioned above after getting blown up by a stick of dynamite his teeth play like piano keys and he say "Terrorists is the cwasiest peoples".

* In ''[[The Penguins of Madagascar]]'' episode "Miracle on Ice", Kowalski gets knocked out during a hockey game and starts babbling in an oddly erudite manner, since he's the [[Cunning Linguist]] of the group.

{{quote| "Flibbertigibbit, man! I'm as juxtaposed as the next hamburger!"}}

* Literally in ''[[The Spectacular Spider-Man]]'': one of Mysterio's bats starts saying "Non sequitur" repeatedly after being attacked (though they tend to throw them around anyway).

* ''[[Clone High]]'': "Eggs over easy please!"

* The very first episode of ''[[Time Squad]]'' had this trope. After [[Camp Gay|the Larry 3000]] gets pummelled by angry farmers for supposedly being a flesh-eating robot, Otto picks up Larry's head to show that Larry doesn't have teeth and therefore isn't a flesh-eating robot. Larry's NST: "I'm okay to drive. ''[chuckles drunkenly]'': Just help me to the car."

* In ''[[The Flintstones]]'' episode "Monster Fred" after being hit on the head with a bowling ball Fred says "Duh,can you tell me a story Mommy?"

* [[The Haunted World of El Superbeasto]], after getting clobbered by some retro movie monster, the title character spouts "Fred Savage, is that you?" then gets clobbered again.

* ''[[The Critic]]'': While Jay Sherman is attending a play, a giant bell drops onto his head and rings several times. After rising back up, a frazzled Jay mutters "Mommy, can I wear the jammies with the feet?"

* In ''[[The Cleveland Show]]'' episode "The Hurricane!", a tree falls on Cleveland and he temporarily thinks he's Walter Cronkite.

* ''[[Transformers Prime]]'' has a lot of fun with this trope and Agent Fowler when he gets incapacitated. It's happened twice so far, and shows every sign of becoming a running gag.