Danger, Will Robinson
Encyclopedia
“Danger, Will Robinson!” is a catchphrase from the 1960s’ American television series Lost in Space
spoken by voice actor Dick Tufeld
. The Robot, acting as a surrogate guardian, says this to young Will Robinson when the boy is unaware of an impending threat. In everyday use, the phrase warns someone that they are about to make a mistake or that they are overlooking something. The phrase is also used in hacker culture.
When given in person, the vocal klaxon is sometimes accompanied by oscillation of the speaker's arms, parodying the Robot's body language
.
Despite the popularity of the phrase, it was only said once on the show. This was during episode 11 of season 3 "The Deadliest of the Species". The Robot gave warnings intermittently to Will and the other crew members of the Jupiter 2, in the form of the expressions "Warning!" and "Danger!"
The official studio website (which no longer exists) for the 1998 Lost in Space feature film
was www.dangerwillrobinson.com.
album You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
, Ike Willis
says "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" as a segue
between the songs "In France" and "Drowning Witch".
In the 1994 computer game Sid Meier's Colonization using the 'Go' command when in debug mode brings up a message with the title DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!.
In the 1995 film 12 Monkeys, Jeffrey Goines played by Brad Pitt
yells out "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" in a fit while in a mental institution.
In an episode of Boy Meets World
, Cory Matthews says "Danger, Danger Will Robinson!" to his father referring to how he is dressed.
In 1997, a musical parody of Lost in Space titled Danger, Will Robinson! opened in Chicago and became a cult hit. It featured songs from the 1950s and 1960s integrated into the plot.
In The West Wing episode "20 Hours in America, Part I
", Josh Lyman
uses the phrase in response to a group of pro-life
teenage girls heckling him on the subject of abortion
.
In volume 29 of the Ranma ½
manga, the poison-slicing sword wielded by Ranma Saotome utters this line when Ranma encounters the toxic plants utilized by the herbalist twins Pink and Link.
In the 1998 Lost in Space film
, a reference to the quote shows up in the following dialog: Robot: It sounds like old morse code. Will Robinson: What does it say? Robot: Danger, Will Robinson, danger.
In CSI
, Sara Sidle
says "Danger, Will Robinson" to Greg Sanders
at least once.
In the Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys episode "Splitzy's Choice", the malfunctioning Orbitron blurts out the line.
In The Simpsons
episode "Mayored to the Mob
", the Robot itself cries out "Danger, Bart Simpson!"
In the 2003 film Thirteen
, the character Luke says it aloud to himself when two underage girls attempt to seduce him.
In the 2000 PC card game Hoyle Bridge by Sierra On-Line, Inc., the phrase "Danger, Will Robinson!" is said by one of the computer players, a robot named Primus.
In Wizards of Waverly Place
, episode 29 sesaon 2 "Wizards & Vampires vs. Zombies" Dan Benson as the character Zeke says "Danger, Will Robinson" as he does robot-moves with his arms.
In the Gilmore Girls
8th episode of season 2, as Lorelai Gilmore warns her daughter Rory not to carry on her conversation with her grandmother Emily Gilmore.
In Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Season 2, episode 21 ("Fear Strikes Up Conversation"), as Zelda goes into "Witch Snap", she says "Danger, Will Robinson".
In Farscape
, Season 1, Episode 19 ("Nerve (Part 1)"), after being tortured in the Aurora chair Crichton recites "Danger, danger Will Robinson. Beware the chair".
In the 2007 Disney animated film, Meet the Robinsons
one of the main characters is Wilbur "Wil" Robinson.
It is mentioned on Will & Grace
on at least one occasion.
In The Troop
episode "Double Felix", the troop's security robot says "Danger, Will Robinson!" while malfunctioning and right before exploding.
In the manga
"Challengers" by Takanaga Hinako volume 3, chapter 2, the character Mitsuga Kurokawa think "D-danger, Will Robinson!!"
In the sixteenth episode of NCIS
's 8th season, McGee says the line when finding himself attracted to a woman involved in a case.
There are many occasions in Whose Line is it Anyway?
where in the game of Props, two flexible things are used as the robots arms, and they say "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!".
In the film «Mystery Train
» by Jim Jarmusch
one of the main characters of the third arc is called Will Robinson. This leads to the discussion than explains the name of the chapter, «Lost in Space», as the characters indeed are "lost in space" after all that had happened. Will is also being mocked at by the hotel bellboy, who cries "Danger, Will Robinson!" as he enters the hall.
Lost in Space
Lost in Space is a science fiction TV series created and produced by Irwin Allen, filmed by 20th Century Fox Television, and broadcast on CBS. The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965, and March 6, 1968...
spoken by voice actor Dick Tufeld
Dick Tufeld
Dick Tufeld is an American actor, announcer, narrator, and voice actor from the 1950s onward.He is perhaps best known as the voice of the Robot in the TV series Lost in Space, a role he reprised for the 1998 feature film...
. The Robot, acting as a surrogate guardian, says this to young Will Robinson when the boy is unaware of an impending threat. In everyday use, the phrase warns someone that they are about to make a mistake or that they are overlooking something. The phrase is also used in hacker culture.
When given in person, the vocal klaxon is sometimes accompanied by oscillation of the speaker's arms, parodying the Robot's body language
Body language
Body language is a form of non-verbal communication, which consists of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously....
.
Despite the popularity of the phrase, it was only said once on the show. This was during episode 11 of season 3 "The Deadliest of the Species". The Robot gave warnings intermittently to Will and the other crew members of the Jupiter 2, in the form of the expressions "Warning!" and "Danger!"
The official studio website (which no longer exists) for the 1998 Lost in Space feature film
Lost in Space (film)
Lost in Space is a 1998 American science fiction film starring Gary Oldman and William Hurt. The film was shot in London and Shepperton, and produced by New Line Cinema. The plot is adapted from the 1965–1968 CBS television series Lost In Space...
was www.dangerwillrobinson.com.
Appearances in other media
On the Frank ZappaFrank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
album You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 is a double disc collection of live recordings by Frank Zappa, spanning from December 10, 1971 to December 23, 1984. "Sharleena" had been previously issued as a flexidisc in "Guitar Player" magazine. All the songs on disc one are by the 1984 band...
, Ike Willis
Ike Willis
Ike Willis is a singer and guitarist who was a regular sideman for Frank Zappa, first joining Zappa's band for the fall 1978 tour and remaining in the band for several years. He did not tour with Zappa in 1981 and 1982 for personal reasons, but returned to touring with Zappa for his final two...
says "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" as a segue
Segue
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.-In music:In music, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue without a pause. It comes from the Italian "it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.For written music it implies a transition...
between the songs "In France" and "Drowning Witch".
In the 1994 computer game Sid Meier's Colonization using the 'Go' command when in debug mode brings up a message with the title DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!.
In the 1995 film 12 Monkeys, Jeffrey Goines played by Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
yells out "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!" in a fit while in a mental institution.
In an episode of Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...
, Cory Matthews says "Danger, Danger Will Robinson!" to his father referring to how he is dressed.
In 1997, a musical parody of Lost in Space titled Danger, Will Robinson! opened in Chicago and became a cult hit. It featured songs from the 1950s and 1960s integrated into the plot.
In The West Wing episode "20 Hours in America, Part I
20 Hours in America, Part I
"20 Hours in America" is a double episode of The West Wing .-Plot:...
", Josh Lyman
Josh Lyman
Joshua "Josh" Lyman is a fictional character played by Bradley Whitford on the television drama The West Wing. For the majority of the series, he was White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the Josiah Bartlet administration...
uses the phrase in response to a group of pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
teenage girls heckling him on the subject of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
.
In volume 29 of the Ranma ½
Ranma ½
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Rumiko Takahashi with an anime adaptation. The story revolves around a 16-year old boy named Ranma Saotome who was trained from early childhood in martial arts...
manga, the poison-slicing sword wielded by Ranma Saotome utters this line when Ranma encounters the toxic plants utilized by the herbalist twins Pink and Link.
In the 1998 Lost in Space film
Lost in Space (film)
Lost in Space is a 1998 American science fiction film starring Gary Oldman and William Hurt. The film was shot in London and Shepperton, and produced by New Line Cinema. The plot is adapted from the 1965–1968 CBS television series Lost In Space...
, a reference to the quote shows up in the following dialog: Robot: It sounds like old morse code. Will Robinson: What does it say? Robot: Danger, Will Robinson, danger.
In CSI
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is an American crime drama television series, which premiered on CBS on October 6, 2000. The show was created by Anthony E. Zuiker and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...
, Sara Sidle
Sara Sidle
Sara Sidle is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by actress Jorja Fox. Sidle is a forensic scientist and one of the core characters of the show, which revolves around a crime scene investigation team from Clark County, Nevada that investigates...
says "Danger, Will Robinson" to Greg Sanders
Greg Sanders
Gregory Hojem-Sanders, is a fictional character on the CBS crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, portrayed by Eric Szmanda. Greg appeared in every episode, with exception of "Blood Drops", "Fahrenheit 932", "Crate N' Burial" and "Too Tough To Die" from season one, "Cross Jurisdictions" from...
at least once.
In the Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys episode "Splitzy's Choice", the malfunctioning Orbitron blurts out the line.
In The Simpsons
The Simpsons
The Simpsons is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle epitomized by its family of the same name, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie...
episode "Mayored to the Mob
Mayored to the Mob
"Mayored to the Mob" is the ninth episode of The Simpsons tenth season, which originally broadcast on December 20, 1998. After Homer prevents Mayor Quimby and Mark Hamill from being trampled at a convention, Homer trains to become a bodyguard and is employed by Quimby...
", the Robot itself cries out "Danger, Bart Simpson!"
In the 2003 film Thirteen
Thirteen (film)
Thirteen is a 2003 American drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and written by Hardwicke and Nikki Reed, the film's co-star. The film also stars Evan Rachel Wood and Holly Hunter. It is a semi-autobiographical film inspired by Reed's life at age 12 and 13 with Wood's character "Tracy" being...
, the character Luke says it aloud to himself when two underage girls attempt to seduce him.
In the 2000 PC card game Hoyle Bridge by Sierra On-Line, Inc., the phrase "Danger, Will Robinson!" is said by one of the computer players, a robot named Primus.
In Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place
Wizards of Waverly Place is a Disney Channel Original Series that premiered on October 12, 2007. It won "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards in 2009...
, episode 29 sesaon 2 "Wizards & Vampires vs. Zombies" Dan Benson as the character Zeke says "Danger, Will Robinson" as he does robot-moves with his arms.
In the Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls
Gilmore Girls is an American family comedy-drama series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. On October 5, 2000, the series debuted on The WB and was cancelled in its seventh season, ending on May 15, 2007 on The CW...
8th episode of season 2, as Lorelai Gilmore warns her daughter Rory not to carry on her conversation with her grandmother Emily Gilmore.
In Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch (TV series)
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch is an American sitcom based on the Archie comic book series of the same name.The show stars Melissa Joan Hart as Sabrina Spellman, a teenager with magical powers, who lives with her aunts Hilda and Zelda , and their magical talking cat Salem...
Season 2, episode 21 ("Fear Strikes Up Conversation"), as Zelda goes into "Witch Snap", she says "Danger, Will Robinson".
In Farscape
Farscape
Farscape is an Australian-American science fiction television series filmed in Australia and produced originally for the Nine Network. The series was conceived by Rockne S. O'Bannon and produced by Jim Henson Productions and Hallmark Entertainment...
, Season 1, Episode 19 ("Nerve (Part 1)"), after being tortured in the Aurora chair Crichton recites "Danger, danger Will Robinson. Beware the chair".
In the 2007 Disney animated film, Meet the Robinsons
Meet the Robinsons
Meet the Robinsons is a 2007 American computer-animated family film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures on March 30, 2007. The forty-seventh animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, the film was released in both the United States and the...
one of the main characters is Wilbur "Wil" Robinson.
It is mentioned on Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
on at least one occasion.
In The Troop
The Troop
The Troop is an American-Canadian live-action, single camera comedy-adventure television series about a trio of teenagers who fight and capture monsters and other supernatural phenomena that invade the fictional town of Lakewood...
episode "Double Felix", the troop's security robot says "Danger, Will Robinson!" while malfunctioning and right before exploding.
In the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
"Challengers" by Takanaga Hinako volume 3, chapter 2, the character Mitsuga Kurokawa think "D-danger, Will Robinson!!"
In the sixteenth episode of NCIS
NCIS (TV series)
NCIS, formerly known as NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service, is an American police procedural drama television series revolving around a fictional team of special agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which conducts criminal investigations involving the U.S...
's 8th season, McGee says the line when finding himself attracted to a woman involved in a case.
There are many occasions in Whose Line is it Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
where in the game of Props, two flexible things are used as the robots arms, and they say "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!".
In the film «Mystery Train
Mystery Train (film)
Mystery Train is a 1989 independent anthology film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch and set in Memphis, Tennessee. The film comprises a triptych of stories involving foreign protagonists unfolding over the course of the same night...
» by Jim Jarmusch
Jim Jarmusch
James R. "Jim" Jarmusch is an American independent film director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and composer. Jarmusch has been a major proponent of independent cinema, particularly during the 1980s and 1990s.-Early life:...
one of the main characters of the third arc is called Will Robinson. This leads to the discussion than explains the name of the chapter, «Lost in Space», as the characters indeed are "lost in space" after all that had happened. Will is also being mocked at by the hotel bellboy, who cries "Danger, Will Robinson!" as he enters the hall.