History Main / XCalledTheyWantTheirYBack

* ''Webcomic/{{Nedroid}}'': [[http://nedroid.com/2013/02/long-distance-call/ "Long distance call"]] has a punchline remarkably similar to the ''xkcd'' example, above. (The very next comic, [[http://nedroid.com/2013/02/scandal-of-the-century/ Scandal of the century"]], hangs a lampshade on the accidental similarity.)

* From ''Series/{{Castle}}'':

Not to be confused with WeWantOurJerkBack. See MexicoCalledTheyWantTexasBack and RussiaCalledTheyWantAlaskaBack

* In the first chapter of ''Fanfic/SpidersAndMagicRiseOfSpiderMane'', Franchise/SpiderMan is summoned to Equestria to fight a dragon, who happens to talks with a very deep voice.

-->"Franchise/WonderWoman called, she wants her belt back."

* In ''Webcomic/TheWotch'', after Miranda suddenly disappears when no one's looking at her, [[DeadpanSnarker Jason]] remarks, "Franchise/{{Batman}} called; he wants [[StealthHiBye his exit]] back."

* The ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Comeback" has this joke as a plot point: as [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist George Costanza]] is [[BigEater stuffing his face with shrimp cocktail]] at a board meeting, a coworker tells him "Hey, George! The ocean called; they're running out of shrimp." [[note]]Even if he weren't eating all that shrimp, the insult still would've worked as a statement regarding [[TheNapoleon George's height]].[[/note]] [[ComebackTomorrow It's not until long after the encounter that George comes up with his own response]]: "Yeah, well, the jerk store called; they're running out of you!" None of George's friends are impressed with the comeback ("There ''are'' no jerk stores!") and give him some other insults of the same nature he could use instead (i.e. "The zoo called; they want you back by 6.") George instead saves his comeback up all episode, [[ComplexityAddiction flying all the way out to Akron, Ohio where the coworker had since moved, finding out where the guy works, and even going 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. "What's the difference? You're their all-time best seller." A flummoxed George responds by saying he had sex with the other guy's wife (which was [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Kramer's suggested retaliation]]), [[DudeShesLikeInAComa only to find out that his wife is in a coma]]. After George is back in New York, he thinks of another comeback on the drive home from the airport ''[[HereWeGoAgain and turns the car around again]]''.

* ''Franchise/SpiderMan'':

'''Dwight:''' [[Film/BackToTheFuture Well 1985 better have a time machine]] because I drive an '87.

* In a mock behind-the-scenes episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' in which Peter gets fired and David Spade gets brought in to play his replacement, at a script read one of his first lines is, "the decade called, they want their object back."
* ''WesternAnimation/YinYangYo'': Yang loses his emotions, and the first one Yin manages to restore is his sarcasm. He immediately appears as a judge on an ''Series/AmericanIdol'' {{expy}}, and tells a little girl "a sick cat called, it wants its yowl back."

** Chandler tries it, but screws it up (a ThrowItIn, as Matthew Perry actually messed up the line):
--->'''Chandler:''' Donald Trump wants his blue blazer black.\\

** Chandler responds to Ross' new leather pants by informing him, "Tom Jones called, he wants his pants back."

* Ebaumsworld's game ''Avalanche'' routinely dishes out insults when you lose, one of which is "Your village called. They want their idiot back." Manga/{{Dramacon}} used a variation of this for a T-shirt: "Your village called. They want their cosplayer back."

** In one story, Peter is going undercover at a club for {{Vampire Vannabe}}s. He dresses in what he thinks is appropriate goth-gear, only for an [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Edward Cullen]] lookalike to taunt "The nineties called, they want their vampire back!"

* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13820683/8/The-Potioneer-s-Assistant-Rebrewed The Potioneer's Assistant Rebrewed]]'' Draco is subject to a prank which makes him sparkle like the vampires in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}''.

* ''FanFic/TheInfiniteLoops'' (Mega Man Loops): Variant in the fourth ''Battle Network'' chapter, where two of the ''Admins'' indulge in this:

* ''FanFic/CatTales'': Hugo Strange appears on the makeover show ''FAB!'', and one of the show's team uses this line:

* A ''Series/MadTV'' sketch during the California gubernatorial recall, with a confrontation between governor Grey Davis and would-be governor Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger:

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': In "Revved Up", Ding Dong Daddy taunts Cyborg with "The junkyard called! They want their scrapheap back!".

* In ''VideoGame/JoJosBizarreAdventureAllStarBattle'' Josuke Higashikata (from part 4, [[NamesTheSame not the other one]]) has a counter move where, if he gets hit while fixing his hair, a small cutscene will play with his opponent insulting his hairstyle. A few characters have insults that fit this trope, but Okuyasu's insult in the English version fits the best.

* Wiki/TFWikiDotNet, in its page for [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Hot_Rod/IDW_Generation_1_continuity the IDW Hot Rod/Rodimus]] captioned [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/File:MTMTE43_Rodimus%27s_holoavatar.jpg this image]] of the character's holo-avatar with, "TheEighties called. They want their everything back."

* 'Series/WithoutATrace'': In "Two of Us", a girl disappears on prom night. The last person to see her handed her a glass of alcohol laced punch, and then added more alcohol at her urging. She then downed the whole cup in a single draught, causing him to remark:

-->'''Gavrill (to [[TheDragon Hellhound]]):''' What's with that sword? [[{{BFS}} It's so big.]] You think people are gonna drive by and not see it? Hey, the big weird store called - they want their sword back. It's big.

* The title character of ''ComicStrip/BigNate'' engages in this on occasion, as shown with the page image.
-->''And might I add: Bozo the Clown just called. He wants his tie back.''

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' when Stan sees Steve wearing an oversized shirt:
-->'''Stan:''' Steve, a homosexual giant called. He wants his shirt back.

-->'''Homosexual Giant:''' False alarm, baby. It was under the day bed. Sorry for the confusion. Gotta go, I blamed a lot of people for this one, mmm-hmm.