OLFACTORY -- miscellaneous TV and film references =============================================================
from Blu-Ray Special Feature "A Father's Legacy" (2013) commentary by director and co-screenwriter M. Night Shyamalan: "The thing that embodies our enemy [in the film], the thing that's hunting Jaden is this creature that can identify you only by the pheromones you give off when you're scared." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Big Bang Theory (CBS, 2007-2019) "The Gothowitz Deviation" (5 October 2009) Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) and Raj [Dr Rajesh] Koothrappali (Kunal Nayyar) are driving home from a failed attempt to enjoy a "goth night out", and are discussing the story they will make up to cover up their failure. Howard: We say there were four goth girls -- the two girls in the club had two friends. Raj: I like it, I like it. Did they smell good, despite their goth-like nature? Howard: What's that got to do with the story? Raj: Engaging my olfactory sense helps make it real for me. Howard: Fine, they smelled good. Raj: They did! Like jasmine and honeysuckle. . . . What a great night. Howard [after a pause]: Hey, wanna try a Country bar tomorrow night? Raj: Maybe we'll get lucky with some sexy cowgirls. . . . I wonder how they smell? "The Higgs Boson Observation" (11 October 2012) Sheldon (Jim Parsons) hires a female graduate assistant, and Amy (Mayim Bialik) begins to feel jealous. When she goes with Penny (Kaley Cuoco) to Sheldon's office to meet (confront) the woman, there is no-one there. Penny sees that Amy is rubbing Sheldon's telephone receiver under her arm, and asks what she's doing. "Isn't it obvious?" Amy answers, "I'm spreading my scent to mark my territory." Penny scoffs, "C'mon, Amy, that is not gonna work." Amy is confident. "Really? Because just before you became my best friend, I did this all over your apartment." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Bit of Fry and Laurie (BBC, 1987-1995) "Episode 4.1" (12 February 1995) In an effort to bring attention to the "fifth sense", this show presented a full segment entitled, "Smell -- The Forgotten Sense?", in which John Bird portrays a Vice-Professor of Smell at Demontfort University, and is interviewed by Stephen Fry on the subject. Bird: "I think we've forgotten smell. I think we neglect smell. I think that smell is the one sense that got left behind in the mad rush for profit and cheap housing." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Brooklyn Nine-Nine (FOX/NBC, 2013-2021) "Gintars" (14 March 2019) Nikolaj (Antonio Raul Corbo) is the son of Charles Boyle (Charles Boyle), who adopted him from Latvia and now builds his world around him. Enter Gintars Irbe (Ike Barinholtz), recently arrived from Latvia, who introduces himself as Nikolaj's birth father. He assures Charles that he doesn't want to take Nikolaj back to Latvia, just to meet him one time. He describes the boy as his "sex result". Jake (Andy Samberg) tries to convince Charles to let them meet without telling Nikolaj that Gintars is his birth father. Charles protests, "You're completely forgetting about the 'olfactory bond'. Nikolaj will immediately recognize his father's scent." Despite his misgivings, Charles agrees, and Gintars promises not to reveal his relationship, choosing to introduce himself as Billy Hannukah from "The Bronx, Manhattan" (sic). They meet, and after the briefest small talk, Gintars breaks his promise and blurts out that he is the boy's father. Jake sends Nikolaj off to play with drug store coupons (I guess you had to be there), and Charles rips into Gintars for breaking his promise. Gintars apologizes immediately: "I'm so sorry. I smell my boy, I don't know what came over me." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dream On (HBO, 1990-1996) ". . . And Sheep are Nervous" (12 August 1990) Eddie Charles' (Jeff Joseph) talk show features self-help guru Eden Pilott (Steve Forrest), whose new book Where'd I Leave My Penis? A New Masculinity for the '90s encourages men to get in touch with their inner man, and not to let women define them. [The timing of this episode, airing in 1990, coincides with the general rise of feminism in Western culture; the push in the United States of America for the Equal Rights Amendment; and the "male empowerment" work of Robert Bly.] Martin Tupper (Brian Benben) is in the audience, and is inspired to experience the author's 2-day retreat. At the weekend workshop, the men (except Pilott, the leader) are all in their underwear, as Pilott gives them their orientation: "It's a place for men to clarify our roles away from women, to reconnect with our inner selves. Because it's only by finding our inner strength that we can face the world." The activities include belching -- "Belching is a very important form of male-male communication"; arm-wrestling to find "inner strength" and the animal inside; crawling on the floor making animal sounds to "enter the world of the 'four-leggeds'"; and howling when you feel like it. At the end of a day's activity, Pilott summarises their accomplishments and compliments the men on their efforts. "We've worked hard, we've worked well, we've stripped away the shallow convention to see what lies within. Now, turn to the man next to you, your brother. Smell his odor. Smell what it means to be a man." Guys begin offering their armpits to their comrades . . . -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension (Fox, 1998) "I'm OK, You're Really Weird" (1998) Dr Siggy Lloyd (Sean Sullivan)comes to Eerie to promote his book - Let's Be Immature: Free Your Inner Goofball - and sell his liquid spray product, which he claims will free people from the constraints of adulthood. "The sense of smell is the direct pipeline, if you will, to the deepest, silliest parts of the brain." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even Stevens (Disney Channel, 2000-2003) "Short Story" (21 June 2002) Due to an "unfortunate infestation of mean cockroaches" at nearby Jefferson School, Lawrence Junior High agrees to accomodate some of the Jefferson students during the week of the semi-annual semi-formal dance. Ren Stevens (Christy Carlson Romano) offers to share her locker with one of the visitors. On opening the locker, with her friends looking on, she notices extra books, and concludes, "looks like someone just moved in." Monique Taylor (Kenya Williams) inspects it closely, then announces, "Smells like a boy." Ruby Mendel (Lauren Frost) agrees: "Yeah, a cute boy!" As the episode progresses, Louis Stevens (Shia LaBeouf) begins to realize that one of the Jefferson kids is a dead ringer for him, and is a prankster whose antics are being blamed on Louis. During the dance, Principal Wexler (George Anthony Bell) has had enough of the pranks, and sends Louis outside, banning him from returning to the dance. Meanwhile, Loomis Freeman, Louis's "evil twin" (also played by Shia LaBeouf), meets Tawny Dean (Margo Harshman), Louis's sometime-girlfriend. She talks with him, believing he is Louis, but seems to wonder why he is acting so strangely. He asks her what material her dress is made of, and takes a bit of it between his fingers and smells it. "You smell purty", he says, awkwardly and very seriously. Tawny, trying to lighten the mood a bit, says, "You smell purty, too!", and they both laugh. "Hutch Boy" (5 July 2002) Louis Stevens (Shia LaBeouf) is being bullied by Lloyd Offler (Brad Bufanda), seemingly for no reason. One day at lunch, Louis is sitting with his usual friends and talking trash about Lloyd, unaware that his nemesis has walked up behind him. The expressions on his friends' faces changes when they see Lloyd, and Louis senses something might be wrong. "I smell cabbage", Louis says. He turns to see Lloyd right behind him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (film, 2011) Oskar Schell (Thomas Horn) is a remarkably self-aware, intelligent boy whose father is killed in the World Trade towers collapse on September 11, 2001. A year later, as part of an attempt to stay connected to his father, he ventures into the father's clothes closet, which has remained untouched since "the worst day" (Oskar's term for the tragedy). The first thing he does after opening the door, is take the arm of one of his father's suits, presses his face to it, and breathes deeply, then rubbing its texture against his cheek. (This is quite predictable, even as he is opening the door and entering the closet -- you know that he's going to smell something.) A quite remarkable thing happens later. As he is fumbling to retrieve a box on an upper shelf, he knocks down a blue vase, which shatters on the floor, and reveals a small envelope that was inside containing a key. (This item serves to drive most of the rest of the plot of the movie.) Without any explanation or apparent motivation, he puts the key up to his nose, and sniffs it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Family Tree (BBC2/HBO, 2013) "The Austerity Games", 12 May 2013 Tom Chadwick (Chris O'Dowd) has inherited a chest full of random items from his great aunt. Intrigued by the mysterious contents, he sets out to gather as much information about the items and, in the process, his own family. In this episode, he finds a vest (Americans might call it a jersey or tank-top) worn in the "London Games" (aka The Austerity Games) of 1948, and he suspects it might have been his grandfathers. He takes it to his friend's second-hand/antique shop: Tom: Hey, do you think there's any way that I could find out if the person who wore this is related to me? Mr Pfister (Jim Piddock): Apart from the DNA test, I suppose there's one quick way. He buries his nose in the vest and breathes in deeply, then leans across his desk and buries his face in Tom's chest. Tom: [to himself, yielding to the inevitable] Oh, you're gonna smell me. There is no further resolution to this minor sub-plot, as Pfister's daughter then walks in the shop, and attention shifts to her. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Goldbergs (ABC, 2013-present) "The Circle of Driving" (24 September 2013) [from online review]: "Instead of calling his wife [Beverly Goldberg (Wendy McLendon-Covey)] crazy for sniffing her kids' baby blankets, [when she's having a bad day] patriarch Murray [Goldberg (Jeff Garlin)] joins in." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Golden Girls (NBC, 1985-1992) "Empty Nest" (16 May 1987) Jenny Corliss (Jane Harnick) has come back from college because she found when she arrived there that her boyfriend had found another woman. Blanche Devereaux (Rue McClanahan) tells her that instead of going to Columbia ("It's in New York City, for heaven's sake; a subway runs right through it!"), she should have gone to a college where (among other things) there are "professors with just a touch of gray at the temple; wise, learned men who look up your skirt if you're sitting in the first row; meetings with them so they can explain Plato; and they lean over your books with you, and you can smell their pipe tobacco -- and their maleness." "Love Me Tender" (6 February 1989) Dorothy (Beatrice Arthur) has a blind date with short, bald Eddie (John Fiedler), and comes back the next morning describing him as "the greatest lover I've ever had". The girls can't believe it, until he sits down on the living room couch with them, and they begin to notice how he smells as each one sits next to him. Blanche (Rue McClanahan) starts to tell Eddie that Dorothy wants to break up with him, then interrupts herself: "What's that cologne you're wearing?" Eddie: "I'm not wearing cologne." Blanche: "That's impossible. Smells kind of like a mixture of Old Spice and musk and . . ." Eddie: "And a porterhouse steak?" Blanche: "Yes." Eddie: "That's me. The smell really gets intense when I sweat. . . . I'm cursed. Ever since I was a little kid I've been absolutely irresistible to women." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Hard Times of RJ Berger (MTV, 2010-2011) At the beginning of Season 1 there are references to human smell/scent/odor in nearly every episode. Of course, there's the typical trope of the scent of another person's sweat - in this case, it's the homely, female admirer (Kara Taitz as Lily Miran) of the main character (Paul Iacono as RJ Berger) who presses a recently-used towel to her nose for a deep sniff. "Pilot" (6 June 2010) There is a scene - and its reverse at the end of the episode - which is so strange that it doesn't 'ring' as being an experience from anyone's real life (my opinion). To establish the ongoing rivalry between Max Owens (Jason Blair) and the title character (Paul Iacono as RJ Berger) the writers have Coach Sinclair (Marlon Young) put RJ into a basketball game, when several other players are fouled out, giving Max, the star player, the chance to humiliate RJ in public. Max wipes his sweaty underarm with his hand, then rubs the sweat - and the stank! - over RJ's chin, saying, "That's how a man smells, Bitch." (There is no 'setup' for RJ's need to know what a man smells like! This just comes out of the blue.) Having been bullied, in usual sitcom fashion, the underdog has a chance to get even with his tormentor. At the end of the episode, at a party where all the cool kids are holding court, RJ boldly walks up to Max, pulls down his own zipper, reaches inside his pants and (apparently) takes some sweat from his balls, and wipes it on Max's face, saying, "That's how a man smells, Bitch." Later, RJ's best friend, Miles (Jareb Dauplaise) refers to the substance as "nut musk". Beyond bizarre. "Tell & Kiss" (19 July 2010) RJ (Paul Iacono) starts a rumor to make him seem more cool to the jocks who run his school, then has to 'make the rumor come true' before it gets back to the girl he claims gave him a 'tugger'. Desperate, he goes to his basketball coach, who is also his guidance counselor, Coach Jeriba Sinclair (Marlon Young). The Coach listens to what RJ has already unsuccessfully tried, then levels with him: "You only got one hope, man. Pheromones. . . . It's the smell we give off that triggers . . . attraction. And I ain't talkin' about your 'little boy musk', either. I'm talkin' about the swamp rot of a real man's tang. Think of it as nature's scented body spray. A'right? You want a tug job? Next time you see this girl, you make sure you're stankier than a cave man's ass. And pray two million years of evolution kicks in." Spoiler alert: It backfires, and everyone shuns RJ, especially the girl of his (tug-job) dreams. Except for one older woman - presumably a teacher - who walks by RJ and, in a low, sultry voice, says, "Looking good, Berger." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leave It To Beaver (CBS, 1957-1958; ABC, 1958-1963) "Beaver and Henry", 18 June 1958 Wally and The Beaver set a trap for a gopher, but find the next morning that they've caught a white rabbit. Beaver names him Henry, but very soon, we find out that Henry is a female, about to produce a litter. Beaver picks up one of the "babies" before Wally tells him not to, since rabbits may reject any offspring that smell of people. The last half of this episode deals with Beaver trying to rectify his unintentional mistake. He consults Gus the Fireman, who tells him he needs to outsmart the rabbit, since you can't reason with rabbits the way you can with a dog or a horse. Gus's advice is to sprinkle a bit of talcum on each bunny, then eyedrop a bit of vanilla extract on the mother's nose. That way, "they don't smell like rabbits, they don't smell like people ", and the mother goes right on caring for the entire litter. In the tag, Beaver asks Wally, "How come Henry wouldn't like her babies any more if they smelled like people?" Wally reflects for a moment. "I don't know. Well, I guess people wouldn't like their babies either, if they smelled like rabbits." Beaver buys it. "Yeah. I guess so" "Wally the Lifeguard", 22 October 1960 Beaver is bragging to Gilbert about his brother's new job as a lifeguard at Friends Lake: "And if we guys go up there we can see Wally bein' a lifeguard, and touch him, and smell him and everything." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lockie Leonard (Australian Children's Television Foundation, 2007-2010) "Lockie Chickens Out", 21 June 2007 Lockie Leonard (Sean Keenan) is a city boy whose family has moved to a remote, seaside town in the West. Soon after arriving, he makes friends with Egg (Clarence Ryan) - a nickname for Eggleston - who is also somewhat of a social misfit and whose father, 'The Rev', is pastor of the local (Anglican) church. Lockie's first visit to the Eggleston family home is a revelation, especially when the tour comes to Egg's bedroom. On entering, Lockie realises he is in a very new, unfamiliar environment (on several levels). Egg tells Lockie that in his posters and other 'decor' he's tried to create "a Black Sabbath/Seattle influence - perma-Grunge." "You've succeeded," notes Lockie, and then we hear his thoughts: "I was standing in the original Heavy Metal cave. And it ponged. Boy! did it pong! It ponged of old socks and lost undies, sweaty underarms, and . . ." Egg interrupts the thoughts, as if he heard - or knew - what Lockie was thinking: ". . . and the smell is totally authentic, OK? . . . It's parent-proof. They hate it." A case in point, The Rev comes to the door a bit later to invite Lockie to come with Egg to his Saturday-night Youth Group meeting. Soon he begins wiping his eyes, prompting Lockie to ask, "What's the matter?" The Rev explains, "The pong in here makes my eyes water." Egg smiles contentedly in the background, with proof his 'parent-proof' scheme works. "Weird Genes", 5 July 2007 In a voiceover, Lockie (Sean Keenan) recounts his recent adolescent crises, including "the total train-wreck with my first-ever girlfriend. Yep, only one thing to do: hibernate for the next millennium. [We see Lockie in his dark room, under the comforter in his bed.] Sure, after locking myself in my room for five days in a row things started to get a bit pongy, and Phillip broke out in a rash. . . . But at least you know what causes your own smell: sweaty socks, dirty jocks, mouldy boardies [swimsuit used for surfing], Mum's cheese broccoli . . . [here he farts under the covers in his bed, then lifts the comforter to take a whiff] Yep, all good. Reassuring." [NOTE: The appreciation, even enjoyment of one's own naturally-occurring body odours is relatively rare in television references. The fact that it occurs in two different Australian Children's Television Foundation programs - this one and Round the Twist (several episodes in Series 2, culminating in "Smelly Feat", 15 May 1992) is remarkable.] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Malcolm in the Middle (Fox, 2000-2006) "Smunday" (14 May 2000) Lois (Jane Kaczsmarek) finds out the real reason bigger kids took Dewey's (Erik Per Sullivan) bike -- it was a bet that Circus (Parker Mills) wouldn't eat a wet dogfood sandwich (it had to be the whole can). Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) and Reese (Justin Berfield) are mystified as to how Lois could have known they were lying when they said the big kids stole the bike. Suddenly, as they're having breakfast one day, Reese says, "I finally figured out how mom could tell we were lying. . . . Pheromones. She could smell the fear in us. Next time you lie, you have to take a shower first." "Convention" (22 November 2000) Hal (Bryan Cranston) and Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) are attending Hal's company convention, where Hal will once again come in contact with Jack Kenneally (Bruce Paul Barbour), a hated co-worker who, Hal says, stole his idea for a 4% increase in efficiency. At the convention, every time Hal and Jack get within striking distance, they get into a knock-down, drag-out fight. At one point, Lois berates him for acting immature. Hal explains, "I can't help it. I don't know what it is. It's like the guy gives off some kind of scent. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, then I want to tear him apart." "Evacuation" (13 May 2001) The neighborhood has been evacuated because of a toxic chemical spill, and everyone is spending the night in the school gym. Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) is not happy about their accomodations. "I can't believe this place; this cot smells like feet." "Flashback" (20 May 2001) Hal (Bryan Cranston) and Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) are at their wits end as Lois is about to give birth to Dewey, the other three boys are fighting in the mud, and they can't go back in the house because Malcolm's chemistry experiment has released toxic fumes. Lois, nearly in labor, insists that they've got to find a way to make their relationship work in spite of all that goes wrong. She insists that Hal come up with seven things that he loves about her. His first reason is, "I love how your neck smells in the morning." (His second reason, by the way, is "I love how every one of your toes looks like it came from another person's foot"!) "Houseboat" (11 November 2001) Malcolm (Frankie Muniz) is trapped into going fishing with Hal (Bryan Cranston), while Reese (Justin Berfield) and Stevie Kenarban (Craig Lamar Traylor) hang out with some wild girls from a nearby cheerleader camp. That evening at dinner, Stevie produces the bottom of a bikini swimsuit as proof that they were hanging out with the girls. Malcolm scoffs, saying, "No way. It's mom's." Reese: "If it were mom's, would I do this?" He covers his face with it, breathing in deeply, then sighing with satisfaction. "Reese's Job" (20 January 2002) Reese (Justin Berfield) has just been hired by his older brother's slacker friend, Richie (Todd Giebenhain) to work in the local Circus Burger. As Richie is giving Reese his orientation, he gestures toward Greta (Pippi [Katherine Boecher]), who is cleaning a table on the other side of the room. "I have the key to her locker. If you want to smell her jacket later, just let me know." "Long Drive" (2 March 2003) Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) is under doctor's orders to spend time away from her family to avoid stress during her pregnancy. Hal (Bryan Cranston) is distraught: "Why do you have to take your pillow to your sister's? . . . What am I supposed to sniff while you're gone?" "Baby: Part 2" (18 May 2003) Lois (Jane Kaczmarek) and Hal (Bryan Cranston) are cuddling with their newborn baby (we learn in a later episode that they've chosen the name "Jamie", and in an even later episode that it's a boy). They are admiring their handiwork (so to speak) with the usual clichés, including Hal's comment, "I'd forgotten how good they smell." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (CBS, 1959-1963) "The Call of the Like Wild" (29 May 1963) Prof. Guildenstern (Jack Raine) carelessly leaves the only existing bottle of musk ox essence on a table where Maynard (Bob Denver) mistakes it for his hair tonic. When he combs it into his hair, he becomes irresistible to women. (Men, on the other hand, merely complain of a smell of burning rubber.) In an interesting twist - more to maintain Winifred Gillis's (Florida Friebus) dignity than to reflect any semblance of real olfactory attraction - Winnie also is attracted to Maynard, only her interest is not in romancing him but mothering him. (Artistic licence.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monty Python's Flying Circus (BBC, 1969-1974) "Mr Neutron" (28 November 1974) When a military/intelligence underling (Eric Idle) receives a communication that Mr Neutron has gone missing, he reacts with utmost urgency and rings the Supreme Commander of Land, Sea and Air Forces (Michael Palin). As we see the Supreme Commander before he answers the telephone, he is seated in a vast, bare room at a very wide desk, with a huge, gold, stylized eagle (looking very much like a Nazi symbol) suspended above him. "The Stars and Stripes Forever" is playing on the soundtrack. The camera slowly trucks toward him, as he slowly, deliberately, sniffs his left armpit. The camera continues its move toward him, as he lifts up one of his shoes, and sniffs that. Each time we see the Supreme Commander, he is sniffing and examining his body, until the final scene, when the huge desk is covered with scores of small (deodorant? perfume?) bottles, and the Supreme Commander is naked (standing behind the desk). His office explodes (as does the rest of the world). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Neverland (TV film, 2011) Peter (Charlie Rowe) has just arrived in Neverland, and is looking for his "crew", transported there earlier. He finds some items of clothing, picks up a sock and sniffs it, exclaiming, "Tootles", when he recognises by the scent that they belong to his friend (played by James Ainsworth). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (Hub Television/Discovery Family Channel, 2010-2014) "Really You" (29 October 2010) Lilly Caldwell (Bailee Madison) thinks her new doll is great until she begins to realise that the doll is taking her over, identity, body and all. Lilly's brother, Brandon (Connor Price) gradually figures out what is going on, trying to convince the rest of the family that Lilly (the original) isn't crazy, and setting out to prove what he suspects. The anagnorisis (recognition scene) comes when he notices that what he thinks is the doll in the trash has Lilly's birthmark, which it didn't have before. Lilly's mother, Jill (Alisen Down) already has noticed that Lilly smells different -- not bad, just different -- and when she sees the birthmark on what appears to be the doll, she takes it out of the trash and embraces it with regret that she has lost her daughter. Lilly's father, Henry (David Orth) is skeptical, to say the least, but Jill is adamant: "It's my fault. I should have known -- I'm her mother. . . . This is our Lilly." Henry can only say that it's impossible, to which Jill replies, "And her scent, and her birthmark. Isn't that impossible?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Reivers [Yellow Winton Flyer](film, 1969) Ned McCaslin (Rupert Crosse) trades the Winton Flyer for a horse and the promise of a race in which he can win back the car. He assures his companions, Boon (Steve McQueen) and Lucius (Mitch Vogel) that he is not in the least concerned. "When it comes to horses . . . I can take one whiff (he breathes in deeply) of a horse and know I got a good one." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Round the Twist (Australian Children's Television Foundation, 1989-2001) "Copy Cat" (11 April 1992) In the second episode of the second series, the smell of Bronson's feet begins to take on the aura (!) of a running joke. In a scene where Pete (Ben Thomas), Linda (Joelene Crnogorac) and others are repairing Pete's hang-glider, Bronson (Jeffrey Walker), who is sitting alone across the room, in an action completely unrelated to what is going on or what comes later in the plot, takes off his shoe, puts it up to his face, and breathes in deeply with a look of relaxed contentment. Completely self- satisfied (apparently), he puts his sock-clad foot to the dog's nose, whereupon the dog, in a purely cliche'd reaction typical of children's films beginning in the silent era (Our Gang, for example), falls over in mock-death, feet in the air. "Little Squirt" (18 April 1992) Again without apparent relation to anything in the plot of the episode (see "Copy Cat", above, for a similar example), Bronson (Jeffrey Walker) is sitting on a rock in a stream, while a couple of lovers (non-speaking, not credited, and not seen again) are picknicking and necking on an opposite bank, perhaps 40 or 50 feet away, when he decides to lift up the tongue of his sneaker (still on his foot) and sniff it. As in the previous episode, he breathes deeply and registers deep satisfaction at the odour. Not so the couple some distance away. They begin to notice the unpleasant smell, and decide to move their picnic (and necking) elsewhere. "Pink Bow Tie" (25 April 1992) Continuing the running gag of Bronson's smelly feet without any relation to the plot or scene, this episode opens with Ghost Matthew (Andrew Baddo) and Ghost Jeremiah (Neill Gladwin) on a balcony of the lighthouse, noticing a smell "like something dead". Inside, we see Bronson Twist (Jeffrey Walker), just removing his shoe, as always, with a long sniff,and a look of deep satisfaction on his face. Just then, his dad Tony (Richard Moir) walks by his room. "What's that smell? . . . Like something dead in here. It's putrefied, like rotting flesh. It's absolutely revolting" (One would think he had thus used up all possible adjectives for the rest of the series!) He zeroes in on Bronson's foot. "Bronson, wash those feet." Then on to completely unrelated dialogue, and the episode commences. "Smelly Feat" (15 May 1992) This episode provides an explanation for seemingly unrelated scenes in previous episodes in which the smell (pong) of Bronson's feet is used as a joke. Six months before 4 September, the date when a turtle known as "Old Faithful" returns to the beach on Turtle Island to lay her eggs, Bronson Twist (Jeffrey Walker) discovers that Gribble Jr (Mark Mitchell) and his friends are planning to catch the turtle and sell her, and her eggs, to a zoo. Bronson's plan is to keep from washing his feet, or even taking off his shoes, until the day the turtle returns, then use the stink to keep the would-be poachers from capturing her. He is seen in the bath (playing with a duckie), with his feet fully "clad" in rotting shoes and socks, covered with Linda's shower caps. We also see clips from the previous episodes, with Bronson explaining that each situation was his research and development into just how effective he could make his "weapon". Sister and brother Linda (Joelene Crnogorac) and Pete (Ben Thomas) at first don't believe Bronson is serious, until he unties his shoe and merely lifts up the tongue of his sneaker. "Whaaugh, Bronson, that is foul", Pete winces. Bronson blushes shyly. "Aw, thanks" he says. Linda and Pete agree to help, and Pete gets two gas masks out of a nearby drawer. Linda points out that they only have two, and Pete reminds her that Bronson doesn't need one. "They're his feet. You don't smell your own." As Bronson declares throughout the episode, "Up the Pong". "Skunk Man" (Season 4 Episode 12, 2001) Bronson Twist (Mathew Waters) decides it's time to put his collection of smells to good use and becomes a superhero, Skunkman, fighting evil with the power of the pong. ("Pong" is Australian slang for stink.) [NOTE: The appreciation, even enjoyment of one's own naturally-occurring body odours is relatively rare in television references. The fact that it occurs in two different Australian Children's Television Foundation programs - this one and Lockie Leonard ("Weird Genes", 5 July 2007) is remarkable.] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Simpsons (animated; Fox, 1989-present) "Homer vs. Lisa and the 8th Commandment" (7 February 1991) Mr Burns finds out that Homer is having a party at his house to watch a boxing match on his (stolen) cable TV. Burns tells Smithers that he wants to join the party. Smithers reminds Burns that he could buy the PayPerView himself, but Burns insists on going to Simpson's house. "The big title fight is one of those rare occasions that I savor the sights, the sounds and (sniffs in deeply) ah yes, the smells of other men." "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?" (21 February 1991) Homer meets his long-lost, unmarried and very wealthy brother, Herb Powell. While Homer is introducing his family, he asks his brother to hold baby Maggie. Homer throws Maggie (literally) to his brother. Herb catches Maggie and breathes in deeply; his first words are, "God, that 'new baby' smell!" "Bart to the Future" (19 March 2000) [NOTE: the expression documented here appears in numerous other episodes.] Nelson's often-heard comment (as he is leaving), "Smell-ya later" is used several times in this episode by various people. In a vision arranged by a Native American, Bart sees his future in which he is basically a slacker, while Lisa is president of the United States. At one point, Bart gets a hologram (future replacement for telegram!) from Nelson, who ends his message with his catch phrase. Bart comments, "I can't believe 'Smell-ya later' replaced 'Goodbye'." When the hologram delivery-boy leaves, he, Bart and Bart's roommate Ralph Wiggum all repeat the phrase. "Pokey Mom" (14 January 2001) At a prison rodeo, Marge notices and admires the artistic talent of Jack, one of the prisoners. She volunteers to teach an art class at the prison, and while she is there, one of the prisoners in her class asks, "Can I smell your dress?" Everyone laughs, but Jack grabs the guy by the shirt and says, "Hey, you show some respect. This one here is not for smellin'." The prisoner then asks Jack, "Hey, can I smell your clothes?" "Bye Bye Nerdie" (11 March 2001) The basic premise of this entire episode is Lisa's scientific theory that bullies beat up nerdy smart kids but leave others alone because of a pheromone present in smart kids' sweat. Francine is a new girl at Springfield Elementary who punches Lisa in the face when she tries to make friends. As Lisa explains to Nelson, she doesn't understand Francine's motivation, noting that she trips all the smart kids, letting Bart walk by virtually unnoticed. She gets grounskeeper Willie to let her into the security closet, where she watches some surveillance tapes. In the lunchroom one day, Lisa sees Francine approaching and hides under the table. Francine pauses, then reaches under the table and drags Lisa out, choking her. "How did she know I was there?" In another, Francine walks by Lisa, standing beside the swimming pool (an Elementary school with a swimming pool?), but Francine does nothing. "Hey, that time she looked right at me, but didn't touch me." Then Lisa notices Francine is wearing a nose-clip for swimming. She sets up an experiment. She collects sweat from Martin Prince and other school nerds and, when Martin demands an explanation, Lisa tells him, "I believe the key to bully-nerd antagonism lies in your drippings." One day, at the end of a stay-in-school motivational speech by a big dumb boxer, Dredrick Tatum, she tests her theory by putting some of the nerd sweat on Mr Tatum's suit coat. School bully Nelson, as if in a trance, gets up from his seat and proceeds to batter the boxer (with no effect, of course, except to annoy the man: "I insist that you desist."). Mrs Crabapple: "Nelson, what are you doing?" Nelson (crying): "I don't know; I can't help myself." Lisa arranges a demonstration at the "12th Annual Big Science Thing" convention. She titles her presentation, "Airborne pheromones and aggression in bullies". After a slide show covering the history of bullying, Lisa announces, "I have isolated the chemical emitted by every geek, dork and four-eyes. I call it 'Poindextrose'." The scientists scoff, but her demonstration ultimately succeeds. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- That '70s Show (Fox, 1998-2006) "Baby Fever" (Season 3, Episode 7, 28 November 2000) Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp) states her reason for wanting to have another baby: "That clean-baby smell". "Pinciotti vs Forman" (2 October 2001) After their breakup, Eric (Topher Grace) tells Donna (Laura Prepon) that she's no longer welcome in his basement to hang out with the gang. Later, she is talking with Jackie (Mila Kunis), who reminds her that "You helped make that basement what it is today." "Right!" Donna says, "No-one would even go over there before me. It smelled like feet." "Sally Simpson" (18 February 2004) Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) is uncomfortable with the romantic feelings his fellow Police Academy Cadet Suzy Simpson (Alyson Hannigan) has been expressing, so he sets up a date for her with Fes (Wilmer Valderrama) at the Academy shooting range. When Fes arrives, he "hints" that Kelso should leave: "Beat it. I want her to smell nothing but me." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Thin Blue Line (BBC, 1995-1996) "Alternative Culture" (5 December 1996) Kevin Goody (James Dreyfus) is trying to attract Maggie Habib (Mina Anwar) with a perfume he has been told is "sex dynamite", because, he says in his confusion, it has the essence of "testosticles". Gladstone (Rudolph Walker) debunks the idea. "Listen, son, a woman likes to smell a man as nature intended: sweat, Guinness and pickled onions. You can't bottle that." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two and a Half Men (Fox, debuted 2002) "Pilot" (22 September 2003) When we are introduced to Rose (Melanie Lynskey), she says she is Charlie Harper's (Charlie Sheen) housekeeper, but we soon find out that she is obsessed and is stalking him. She usually appears by climbing up to Charlie's deck from the beach below. In this first episode, she appears in this way, and knocks on the deck door when Alan Harper (Jon Cryer) is in the living room. He lets her in, and once inside she breathes deeply, and says, "Oh, yeah, I can smell him." "Smell who?" Alan asks suspiciously. "Your brother. He has a very musky scent," explains Rose. "Uh, huh," Alan says, realising she is pretty damn weird. Thinking she is Charlie's housekeeper, Alan says, "Well, I'll just, uh, let you get to work." "Oh, wait," Rose says urgently, as she comes over and sniffs Alan. "Oh, no, it's OK", she says, and waves him away. "Camel Filters and Pheromones" (5 January 2004) Berta (Conchata Ferrell) has brought her 16-year-old granddaughter, Prudence (Megan Fox) with her to her job as Charlie Harper's (Charlie Sheen) housekeeper. Prudence is in the kitchen talking to Jake (Angus T. Jones), but Berta insists that she do some work to help out with the housekeeping. As she leaves, Jake sighs, "Boy, she smells good." "Yeah", Berta scoffs, "if you like Camel filters and pheromones." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Where the Wild Things Are (film, 2009) When Max (Max Records) arrives among the Wild Things, Carol (voiced by James Gandolfini) approaches him, and sniffs him. Max follows suit, sniffing Carol. No comments are made regarding the sniffing, so it supposedly simply results in them deciding neither is a threat to the other. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You Can't Do That on Television (Nickelodeon, 1979-1990) "Personal Hygiene" (Season 2 Episode 8, 14 March 1981) Many references to cleanliness, body odor, &c. "Cosmetics" (Season 3 Episode 13, 17 Mar 1982) Show about deodorants, after shave, perfume, &c. "Failure" (Season 9 Episode 18, 1989) Chris [Bickford] is seen sniffing his own armpits. When Ted [Wilson] comes in and asks him what he's doing, he says, "I was just thinking what a manly smell I have here now that there's some hair there." It is determined that he has "one little baby" hair growing there, and Ted says, "It's amazing how one little hair could give off all that stink . . ." -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Young Sheldon (CBS, 2017-PR) "Family Dynamics and a Red Fiero" (Season 2 Episode 9, 15 November 2018) When George Sr gets a job offer in Tulsa, Sheldon muses on what it would be like to move: "I'd have a new room, in a new house, and the new house would probably have a different smell; and I probably wouldn't like that smell, because I don't like new smells; and I'd be going to a new school with new kids and new teachers, and I bet they'd all smell different as well."