View source for X Called. They Want Their Y Back.

{{trope}}
{{quote|'''Robert "Fish" Fishman:''' 1991 called, they want their teenage angst back.
'''Amelia:''' No, they just called again. They want that joke back.
|''[[The Rocker]]''}}

A common put down about how someone ran headfirst into [[Fashion Dissonance]] (or something related). Often it's something that is no longer fashionable, or that famously works for someone, but almost no one else.

Runs headfirst into [[Totally Radical]] nowadays. Or in other words, "[[The Nineties]] called, they want their Meme back". A common variation is to replace "They want their (word) back" with "They said you can keep the (word)."

Compare [[If I Wanted X, I Would Y]]; [[Better by a Different Name]].

[[Super-Trope]] to [[Mexico Called. They Want Texas Back.]]

Not to be confused with [[We Want Our Jerk Back]].  

{{examples}}
== [[Advertising]] ==
* An Australian ad for Kentucky Fried Chicken used the line, "The pigeons called. They want their lunch back."
* American restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday released several TV advertisements regarding its image rebranding in 2007. One ad involved a spokesman removing a stained glass lamp from a restaurant saying: "The 70's called, they want their lamp back."

== [[Comic Books]] ==
* "[[Godwin's Law|Hitler]] called, he wants his look back." That was Aunt May from ''[[Ultimate Spider-Man]]''. At J. freaking Jonah freaking Jameson.
* ''[[Left 4 Dead]] Comic'': [[Kenny Rogers]]' balls called. They want their hair [http://www.l4d.com/comic/comic.php?page=91 back from your face]...
{{quote|"So... You have a close enough relationship with Kenny Rogers' balls that they '''called''' you, huh?"}}
* In one ''[[Spider-Man]]'' story, he's going undercover at a club for [[Vampire Vannabe]]s. He dresses in what he thinks is appropriate goth-gear, only for an [[Twilight (novel)|Edward Cullen]] lookalike to taunt "The nineties called, they want their vampire back!"
* In a story where he had [[Wolverine]] hostage, [[Deadpool]] taunted Daken like this ("It was 1986. It wants its hair..."). When he says "back", Daken had already chopped off his hand.

== [[Fan Works]] ==
* The ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Fan Film]] ''The Formula''.
{{quote|'''Tom "Servo":''' ''It is pointless to resist?'' Yeah, the Emperor just called. He wants his friggin' lines back!}}
* From ''[[Naruto the Abridged Comedy Spoof Series Show]]'':
{{quote|'''Ino:''' Hey, Sakura, [[Christina Ricci]] called. She wants her giant forehead back, and her movie career.
'''Sakura:''' Well, [[Renee Zellweger]] called. She wants her UGLY BLONDE BITCH FACE back! ...And her movie career. }}

== [[Film]] ==
* "1976 called. They want their hair back," was said to [[Joe Dirt]] about his mullet.
* At the end of ''[[Ocean's Eleven|Oceans Eleven]]'': "[[Ted Nugent]] called. He wants his shirt back."
* ''[[The Rocker]]''
{{quote|'''Robert "Fish" Fishman:''' 1991 called, they want their teenage angst back.
'''Amelia:''' No, they just called again. They want that joke back. }}
* A variation: from ''[[The Breakfast Club]]'', Bender to Vernon; "Does Barry Manilow know that you raid his wardrobe?"
* Esther from ''[[Orphan]]'' gets this from a classmate about her old fashioned, frilly dress. "Oh, look. Little Bo Peep texted me. She wants her outfit back."

== [[Live-Action TV]] ==
* Subverted (but to make it funnier) in ''[[How I Met Your Mother]]''. Marshall wants to wear some really tacky pants they called "Joey Buttafuoco pants". Ted says, "[[Bel Biv Devoe]] called, ''even they'' don't want those pants back."
* ''[[Dancing With the Stars]]''
{{quote|'''Sonia Kruger:''' ''(about a wig)'' Willie Mason called. He says he wants his hair back.}}
* ''[[Degrassi the Next Generation]]''
** Episode "It's Raining Men":
{{quote|'''Spinner:''' OK, I guess it's Straight Eye for the Gay Guy. OK... this... Enrique called. He wants his shirt back.}}
** Another good example is the [[Wild Teen Party]] episode where Manny asks an increasingly drunken Emma: "Does Mexico know you've taken all of their tequila?"
* ''[[Kyle XY]]'', episode "What's the Frequency, Kyle?":
{{quote|'''Josh Trager:''' Hilary Duff called and she wants her shirt back.}}
* ''[[Joan of Arcadia]]'', episode "No Bad Guy":
{{quote|'''Luke:''' Copernicus called; the universe doesn't revolve around you.
'''Joan:''' What a coincidence, because the dork police called and said they want their leader back. }}
* ''[[The Office]]'', episode "The Merger":
{{quote|'''Andy:''' Oh, by the way, 1985 called. It wants its car back.
'''Dwight:''' [[Back to the Future (film)|Well 1985 better have a time machine]] because I drive an '87. }}
* A variation in ''[[Seinfeld]]'': "Hey, George! The ocean called, they're running out of shrimp." "Yeah, well, the jerk store called, they're running out of you!" "What's the difference? You're their all-time best seller."
** Well the life support machine called...
** And what made this a real kicker was that George had been saving this comeback up all episode, and had even gone so far as to recreate the original scenario where the first putdown had been used so that he could spring it. He wasn't prepared for a comeback to his comeback.
* ''[[Scrubs]]'' had J.D. describe an elderly patient as a "neat old lady" and Turk tells him "the 1930s called, they want their lingo back." His repeated use of the trope in the conversation led to the page quote.
* ''[[Full House]]'':
{{quote|'''Stephanie:''' Hey Kimmy, [[Sesame Street|Big Bird]] called. He wants his legs back.}}
* Oswald on ''[[The Drew Carey Show]]'' won a wrestling tournament, and the trophy is, well...
{{quote|"[[Wonder Woman]] called, she wants her belt back."}}
* [[Frasier]], to Niles: "Niles, I've got news for you -- Copernicus called and you are not the centre of the universe!"
* ''[[Friends]]''
** Chandler tries it, but screws it up (a [[Throw It In]], as Matthew Perry actually messed up the line):
{{quote|'''Chandler:''' Donald Trump wants his blue blazer black.
'''Ross:''' What?
'''Chandler:''' Blue blazer ''back''. He, he wants it ''back''.  }}
** Also from ''Friends'', Chandler responds to Ross' new leather pants by informing him, "Tom Jones called, he wants his pants back."
* From a special episode of ''[[American Idol]]'':
{{quote|'''Paula:''' ''(to Jack Black)'' The [[School of Rock]] called, they want their diploma back...}}
* Sometimes used by either Stacey London or Clinton Kelly on ''[[What Not to Wear]]'' to mock some of the outdated or unusual fashion choices made by the subjects of their show.
* Kelso attempted this in the ''[[That '70s Show]]'' episode "Bye-Bye Basement". Fez walks in wearing a puffy shirt, and Kelso tries to make fun of him, but isn't very successful.
{{quote|'''Kelso:''' Hey, uh, puffy-shirt guy called, he wants his puffy shirt back.}}
* ''[[30 Rock|Thirty Rock]]''. Jack uses this line a ''lot'' on Liz.
* ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''
** One skit from the early '90s consisted entirely of idiots doing variations of this joke at each other.
{{quote|"Siegfried and Roy called, they want their relationship back."}}
** Another one featured a parody of ''[[The Weakest Link]]'' in which Anne Robinson's shtick devolved into nothing but insults.
{{quote|"[[The Flintstones|Fred Flintstone]] called, he wants his head back."}}
** In one of David Spade's "Hollywood Minute" segments from a mid-90's Weekend Update, Spade said of Skeet Ulrich, "Johnny Depp called; he wants his DNA back."
* And speaking of ''[[The Weakest Link]]'', ''this'' gem from the half-hour daytime edition with George Gray:
{{quote|Gino: "The 70s called, they want their [sweater] back!"
George: "Now, that's not nice, not everybody can afford to shop at Pimps R Us!" }}
* From ''[[Castle]]'':
{{quote|'''Castle''': "Well, how about just a lowkey evening with your girlfriends? You guys can have a John Hughes marathon and fill out a Cosmo quiz.
'''Alexis''': "Dad, the 80s just called, it wants its plan back." }}
* A [[Mad TV]] sketch during the California gubernatorial recall, with a confrontation between governor Grey Davis and would-be governor Arnold Schwarzenegger:
{{quote|'''Grey Davis(answering the phone mid-sentence):''' "What's that? Okay, I'll tell him." (beat) "That was Skeletor. He wants your wife's face back."}}

== [[Music]] ==
* In the rap spoof "[http://www.toccionline.com/creations/iraq_without_me/ Iraq Without Me]", Saddam Hussein plays this card in the middle of berating Osama bin Laden. "By the way, Castro called -- he wants his beard back!"
* The title of a song by the Awkward Romance: "Judas Called, He Wants His Sense Of Loyalty Back".

== [[New Media]] ==
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQayijW07ho&feature=channel_page "Hey, Jermaine Jackson called ... he wants his hair back"]
* A common response to a [[Wall of Text]] is "China called, they want their wall back."
* The first image caption from the top down on the TF Wiki article for [[Transformers Cybertron|Crumplezone]] actually reads, "[[He-Man and the Masters of the Universe|Trap-Jaw]] called, he wants his head back." Also, the first image caption from the top fown for the TF Wiki article for [[Transformers Animated|Bulkhead]] actually reads, "Crumplezone called, he wants his head back."
* A common bumper sticker: "Your village called, they want their idiot back."
** T-shirt variation: "Your village called, their idiot is missing."
* The ''[[Doctor Who]]'' analysis blog ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20180324184235/http://tardiseruditorum.blogspot.co.uk/ TARDIS Eruditorum: A Psychochronography In Blue]'' has a photo caption for ''[[K-9 and Company]]'' reading "The 1980s called. They said you can keep their bloody title card."
* Back in the late '90s, it was "reported" [[Muammar Gaddafi]] got the message that [[Michael Jackson]] wanted his jacket back.

== [[Newspaper Comics]] ==
* The title character of ''[[Frazz]]'' once took a long bike ride on a chilly day, ending up with only the lower half of his legs windburned.
{{quote|'''Caulfield:''' ''(pointing to Frazz's white-and-red legs)'' Poland called. They want their flag back.}}
* ''[[Get Fuzzy]]'': "Hilary Clinton called, she wants her manners back!"
* One ''[[FoxTrot]]'' story arc had Paige's pink glitter pen accidentally put in the washer, causing it to bleed on Peter's sweatshirt.
{{quote|'''Jason:''' The Ice Capades called. They want their costume back.}}

== [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* Circa 2001, Edge interrupted X-Pac, who was complaining about how he used to be a big deal.
{{quote|'''Edge:''' 1998 called, they're sick and tired of you, so feel free to join us in the year 2001 at any time.}}

== [[Video Games]] ==
* Ebaumsworld's game ''Avalanche'' routinely dishes out insults when you lose, one of which is "Your village called. They want their idiot back."
** [[Drama Con]] used a variation of this for a T-shirt: "Your village called. They want their cosplayer back."

== [[Web Comics]] ==
* In ''[[The Wotch]]'', after Miranda suddenly disappears when no one's looking at her, [[Deadpan Snarker|Jason]] remarks, "[[Batman]] called; he wants [[Stealth Hi Bye|his exit]] back."
* ''[[xkcd]]'' [http://xkcd.com/875/ confronts this trope] with [[Fridge Logic]].
* ''[[The Order of the Stick]]'', [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0327.html strip #327]:
{{quote|'''Vaarsuvius:''' [[Cutting the Knot|Gordium called]] -- they have a knot that you may want to take a look at.}}
* ''[[Sinfest]]'' received [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209170825/http://sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=1823 a call] too.

== [[Web Original]] ==
* ''[[Unskippable]]'' about Vincent's cape in ''[[Dirge of Cerberus]]'':
{{quote|"Todd McFarlane called. [[Spawn]] wants his cape back."}}
* Graham Stark on ''[[Loading Ready Run]]'' spent $130 just to [http://loadingreadyrun.com/videos/view/391/commodoreHUSTLE-02-Red pull off the joke more effectively].
* [[Let's Play]] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5ForcJDk7s video] of ''[[Rose and Camellia]]'':
{{quote|"''[[Final Fantasy IX]]'' called, they want [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|their unexpected final boss]] back."}}
* Related, [http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/finalfantasy/ff4/ff4-1.htm Hardcore Gaming], talking about [[Final Fantasy IV|Zeromus]] (the original [[Giant Space Flea From Nowhere|unexpected final boss]]): "[[Phantasy Star]] called; it wants its critter back."
* [[Professor Otaku]] does a Let's Play, saying, "Sky walker? [[Star Wars|Luke]] called. He wants his name back.
* [http://icanhascheezburger.com/2010/02/11/funny-pictures-toilet-seat-back/ "ABBA called, they want their toilet seat back."]
* A variation occurs in the video where [[The Nostalgia Critic]] and [[The Angry Video Game Nerd]] reviewed ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]]: The Making of the Coming Out of Our Shells Tour''.
{{quote|'''Nostalgia Critic:''' Hey, [[MC Hammer]] called. He's being outsucked.}}
** From ''[[Atop the Fourth Wall]]'', while Linkara is on the phone with [[The Cinema Snob]].
{{quote|'''Linkara:''' Oh, and by the way, George Clooney in Ocean's 11 called, he wants his fashion sense back}}

== [[Western Animation]] ==
* Hilariously subverted in ''[[The Venture Brothers|The Venture Bros]]'' episode "The Invisible Hand of Fate":
{{quote|'''Shoreleave:''' Waylon Flowers called, he wants his madam back. Boom!
'''Hunter Gathers:''' Oh yeah? Well [[The Village People]] called, '''AND THEY WANT YOU TO GO FUCKING KILL YOURSELVES YOU PRANCEY BASTARDS!'''}}
* ''[[The Simpsons (animation)|The Simpsons]]''. Said to Marge, commenting on her hairdo:
{{quote|'''Lisa:''' Buckingham Palace called. They want their hat back.}}
* Subverted in ''[[American Dad]]'':
{{quote|'''Stan:''' Steve, a homosexual giant called, he wants his shirt back.
''[[Literal Metaphor|(phone rings)]]'' 
'''Homosexual Giant:''' Sorry, false alarm, I found it under my couch... }}
* MTV's CGI ''[[Spider-Man: The New Animated Series]]'' had this in "The Party", as Harry is drinking a martini.
{{quote|'''Peter:''' Harry, [[James Bond|Double Oh Seven]] called, he wants his life back.}}
* In ''[[Regular Show]]'', using this phrase will literally send Y back to X. The whole plot of the episode was that Mordecai and Rigby, the lead characters, have cell phones from the 1980's. When they get a call that says, "The 80's called, they want their cell phones back!", since the two were holding the phone, they went back to the 80's. This was hilariously used at the end of the episode, where the two call their boss and (since they now know it's possible,) send the recliner he's sitting in back to the 1970's.
* Played with in ''[[Archer]]'':
{{quote|''"Hi, it's the 1930s. Can we have our words, clothes, and shitty airplane back?...Call you back, 1930s! And hey, watch out for that Adolf Hitler. He's a bad egg!"''}}

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