Status Quo Is God/Quotes

It's just a matter of knowing the secret of all TV shows; At the end of the episode, everything is always right back to normal.

—Fry, Futurama

Status quo, you know, is Latin for 'the mess we're in'.

—Ronald Reagan

Peter: Yeah, how did you lose your job anyway, Lois?
Lois: Ah, I don't know, Peter. Do you really care? Does anyone really care?
Peter: I guess you're right. The story's over, everything's back to normal 'til next week, so who gives a damn?

—Peter and Lois, Family Guy

Homer: Hey Mom, did you know I was blasted into space?
Mona: Yes Homer, it was national news. So... do you still work for N.A.S.A.?
Homer: No, I work at the Nuclear Power Plant.

—The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular

Monk: There's an old saying: don't change anything...ever.
Natalie: That's an old saying?
Monk: I've been saying it for years.

—Monk

I'm the last living thing on the planet! Uh...I should have this fixed by next week, folks...

—Princess Pi, Princess Pi vs. Everything

Think of a shared superhero universe as something that generates inertia. At the core of the universe, very little will ever change or even bother with the illusion of change: Superman will always be Big Blue, Batman will always mourn his parents, Wolverine will always have claws and be gruff. As you get further and further away from that core, though, you get more and more freedom to do whatever you want. A good example of this is the Planet Hulk storyline, where the only given was that the Hulk would be alive at the end of it and every other character’s fate was unknown, because they were the fringe of the Marvel Universe.

—MGK

By and large I suspect we treat our universes better than our characters - we may smash a bit of the scenary now and then, but the sets are big and expensive, and we usually have a notion to use it for more than one production. A universe may not even have a production scheduled, but function more like a mental theme park, a place to wonder around and see the sights. Add dice and you have an RPG.

—Rick Robinson, Rocketpunk Manifesto blog, 9 December 2007

Principal Skinner: Well if this episode has taught us anything it's nothing works better than the status quo. Bart, you're promoted back to the fourth grade.
Bart: Yay!
Skinner: And Lisa, you have a choice. You may continue to be challenged in third grade or return to second grade and merely be a big fish in a small pon....
Lisa: Big fish, big fish!
(Everyone cheers)
Homer: The status quo.
Milhouse The status quo? Aye Caramba!
Skinner: That's just sad.

—Bart Vs. Lisa Vs. The Third Grade, Episode 3 of Season 14, The Simpsons