Flipping The Bird / Live-Action TV

Examples of Flipping the Bird in Live-Action TV.

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Creators:

Creators

• David Letterman got away with it on his show; a guy wrote him a letter saying that he's hanging upside down, so Dave flipped him the bird upside-down. Which is a Bilingual Bonus for those who are from the Middle East who know that the middle finger pointed down means "impotent"!

Series:

#-L

• 7th Heaven plays this for drama when Simon is caught flashing the gesture among a group of friends, and later Ruthie shows her mother. The actual fingers are obscured, but it's made clear which ones are being held up via slow-motion and a dramatic music sting.
• Altered Carbon
  • In "In a Lonely Place", Isaac Bancroft shows off a priceless desiccated human hand that once belonged to the famous founder of an offworld colony, then manipulates it into Flipping the Bird at all the party guests. No-one's impressed.
  • In "Force of Evil", Takeshi Kovacs is captured and searched by the villains who find a tracking device that Detective Kristin Ortega secretly planted on him in the first episode. They see this as evidence that he's an undercover police officer and torture him. After escaping Kovacs leaves the bug clenched in the fist of a headless corpse for Ortega to find, middle finger raised.
• Ash vs. Evil Dead: In "The Host", the first thing Ash does after receiving a new prosthetic hand from Pablo is using it to flip him off.
• Are You Being Served?:
  • An episode involved a few of the British reverse-V variant; it was described to prospective Japanese buyers of the store as the British Workers' Salute. They return the favour after Status Quo Is God is maintained from hijinks, apparently intentional.
  • Another episode had the department demoted to working in the bargain basement (long story). When they arrived at work the next day, as they were supposed to arrive early to help move everything down, they instead all gave Mr. Rumbold the "V" salute and closed the lift.
• Babylon 5:
  • A promotional (we think) image has the cast flipping off the camera in costume, with Peter Jurasik (Londo) giving both barrels. It can usually be found as an Image Macro with a caption like "Babylon 5 agrees that you're a fucking idiot".
  • According to Patricia Tallman in her book Pleasure Thresholds, it was a spontaneous reaction to being forced to do an unpaid cover shoot for TV Guide at the end of a long week.
• Bar Rescue:
  • Jon Taffer has Tim from The Brixton paint over his mural in preparation for the bar's makeover. In response, Tim paints a giant middle finger on the wall.
  • In response to Jon chewing him out during the initial recon, the owner of "The Dugout" does this to him as he leaves.
• The Barrier: Emilia lives right across the hall from the neighborhood informer Begontilde, who tends to operate as a professional Nosy Neighbor. At some point, Begontilde helps someone get into Emilia's apartment so they can kidnap her granddaughter, which makes Emilia extremely angry at her. Later, when another plotline results in a couple of people Begontilde doesn't know being brought into Emilia's apartment by her daughter and son-in-law, Emilia walks to Begontilde's door and raises her middle finger towards it because she knows Begontilde is spying on them via her peephole.
• Beef:
  • The poster is structured with two fists with middle fingers raised at each other, with said middle fingers drawn to look like Danny and Amy. This fits the feud theme of the show.
  • In the trailer, Amy is nearly hit by Danny, drives a bit, then honks her horn and sticks her middle finger out the window. This pisses him off so much that he starts chasing her.

• In The Big Bang Theory, Howard has "borrowed" a robotic arm from his lab and is using it to serve dinner, very slowly. When Sheldon makes a snarky comment:
  Howard: Hey, Sheldon. (types into the command console, and the robot raises two fingers)
  Sheldon: Peace?
  Howard: No, not peace. Hang on... (types some more)
• The opening credits of Blackadder Back & Forth show a member of the Blackadder clan as a World War II soldier flipping the bird to Winston Churchill in response to his V sign.
• The Boys (2019)
  • In "Proper Preparation And Planning", Ashley gets mad about Queen Maeve walking out on her impending TV interview because her ex-girlfriend Elena is in hospital. Maeve casually flips her the bird as the elevator doors close, to the amusement of Starlight and Stormfront.
  • In "We Gotta Go Now", Homelander turns up at a protest rally, and when someone in the crowd does this trope, Homelander lasers his finger off and then sweeps his Eye Beams across the screaming protesters...fortunately it's an Imagine Spot.
• Breaking Bad: After Walt falls out of Gus's favour, Gus has security cameras installed in the superlab so that he can keep constant surveillance on Walt and Jesse as they're cooking meth. When Walt notices one of the cameras turning towards him, he shows Gus exactly what he thinks of them without any words.
• In the Broad City episode "The Last Supper", Abbi and Ilana's waiter does this while he's fighting with his girlfriend in the kitchen.
• Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer used the two-finger variant as an eloquent response to Xander's accusatory gesturing when they were struck speechless. And in the next season, that shot made it into the opening credits sequence. Spike pulled off the same gesture to Angel during a flashback to WWII in Season five of Angel, quipping "Heil Hitler".
• The Colbert Report's Stephen Colbert uses this a lot, although it's blurred out. He often uses the playground prank of shielding his middle finger from view while doing so, then pulling the shield away once he's lowered his finger to deny that he was ever doing it.
• Cowboy Bebop (2021). While playing Rock–Paper–Scissors with Spike, Faye does the two-finger salute when choosing Scissors.
• In the Criminal Minds episode "Cold Comfort", Garcia is reading horoscopes and Prentiss declares that they are bullshit. Garcia mentions in the horoscope about bout "eliminating this cold front with a simple but affectionate gesture" and Prentiss replies with "I have a simple gesture" and flips them off (the camera angle changes for censorship purposes). The whole video can be seen here.
• Daredevil (2015):
  • Foggy has found out Matt is the masked Devil of Hell's Kitchen and is not too happy about it. At one point, Matt tries to explain how the world looks through his eyes.
    Foggy Nelson: So, you can see.
    Matt Murdock: That's not… You're not… Are you even listening to what I'm saying?
    Foggy Nelson: Yeah, "world on fire," I got it. But you can see! Right?
    Matt Murdock: Yeah, in a manner of speaking. But I—
    Foggy Nelson: No! No manner! [holds his middle finger to Matt's face] How many fingers am I holding up?
    Matt Murdock: [with a "Seriously?" look on his face] One.
  • Grotto is being suited up for a police sting. Before he goes out, he asks Karen for a good luck kiss. Karen gives him a middle finger.
    Grotto: [chuckles] I'll take it.
• There were several occasions on Dead Like Me where characters clearly gave someone else the finger, thanks to the fact that the show was aired on Showtime.
• Doctor Who: In "Robot of Sherwood", the Doctor waggles his fingers towards Robin Hood as he pulls on a glove, with a single finger held up for an extra couple of seconds. It also doubles as an Actor Allusion to Peter Capaldi's other famous role, that of Malcolm Tucker (who swore a lot).
• The Expanse. Belters have their own Hand Signals that they use as impromptu Future Slang, with the inevitable insulting versions. In "Home", after Colonel Johnson makes a smartass remark to his Number Two Drummer, she responds with a crossed-finger gesture that's clearly meant to be this trope.
• In an episode of ER, Doug Ross was treating a young man dying of cystic fibrosis who wanted to enact a DNR. Unfortunately, as he was not yet 18, Doug could not do this, and so, at his mother's bidding, intubated him against his will. As the kid is wheeled off to be admitted to the hospital, he gives Doug the finger in response to the latter's apologies. This was the first time this happened in the show's run, but it made sporadic appearances throughout — Romano flipped off his physical therapist in response to her questions about his motility, and a wrongly arrested, deaf patient flipped off the cops even as they apologized to him (aside from the fact that he was friends with the woman he was wrongly accused of attacking, it's implied the cops leaped to conclusions because she was white and he was black). The amused interpreter declared, "I don't think you need me to translate that one"^note  Ironically, there is an actual ASL sign for the term "Fuck you", but the guy clearly chose the middle finger as the one they'd recognize immediately
• In the Farscape episode "Kansas", Chiana gets the idea that this gesture is a friendly greeting and shows it off to a few people.
• Jewel Staite and Nathan Fillion of Firefly engaged in an ongoing competition of finding the most creative ways to flip each other the bird.
• One episode of Flight of the Conchords (possibly called "Racist", since it was the one about the racist shopkeeper) featured the band's American friend teaching them how to "flip the bird".
• One episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has Will chewing out Carlton for driving so slowly on the expressway, that George Burns gave them this in response. To this, Carlton dismisses the gesture by claiming, "He was waving; the man has arthritis!"
• In Friends, Ross made an alternative gesture for the finger (banging his fists together) as a child so he could do it in front of his parents. Other members of the gang also started using it.
• The Goodies
  • In "Lighthouse Loonies", the QE2 sails so close to the lighthouse they see the Queen's hand doing the Royal Wave through the window. When the Goodies are rude to her, Prince Phillips hand comes through the window next and gives them a regal two-finger flip-off.
  • In "The Race", Graham Garden shows off the various gadgets in the racing car he's built, including flip-out hand-signal indicators for "turning right", "turning left" and "turning nasty".
  • In "Kung Fu Capers", Graeme is reading from a Kung Fu instruction manual.
  Graeme: Now hold out your hand, and stick up two fingers.
  (Tim holds up two fingers in the obscene V-sign)
  Graeme: (still reading) No, not like that.
  (Tim rotates his hand)
  Graeme: (still reading) Yes, like that.
  • In "Bunfight at the O.K. Tearooms", Bill raises two fingers to the barmaid, who gives him the bird in response until he indicates he actually wants a couple of drinks. The surly barmaid shoots them down the bar and off the edge, causing Bill to give her a genuine bird.
• In the Haven series finale "Forever", Duke Crocker returns as a ghost to assist his friends. When Dwight expresses doubts that it's really him, he gets annoyed and flips Dwight off.
• In one episode of Home Improvement, when Tim and Al were showing hand signals for crane operating, Tim swung his arm and accidentally broke Al's first model crane. Al then says he has one more hand signal for Tim that wasn't in the manual.
• One imprisoned criminal on the short-lived series Hooperman goes the extra mile with this. He not only gives the title police detective the finger, he cuts it off and mails it to him.
• How I Met Your Mother:
  • Barney attempts to do this to Ted. Unfortunately, he's wearing a penguin costume at the time, so he refers to it at "flippering you off".
  • Also implied (since Ted's telling the story to his kids) as giving the thumbs up.
  • In another episode, Marshall (whose entire body is hurting from working out too much) holds up four fingers to Ted and asks Lily to help him fold down three of them.
• Iron Fist (2017)
  • When Ward Meachum figures out that his father has been spying on him with cameras hidden in his office, he flips twin middle fingers and sweeps them randomly around the room. He later does the double deuce to the cameras in Dr. Edmonds' office after Harold has drugs planted in his car for the cops to find.
  • Claire Temple is waiting in the car while Danny and Colleen investigate a heroin factory. She sees Madame Gao turn up with her bodyguards and starts honking the horn to warn them. A guard rushes over to stop her and there's a blink-and-you-miss-it shot of Claire giving him the bird before driving off.
• Japanese show Legal High in episode 3, when Machiko (someone who you'd least expect to do this), annoyed by the interviewers, stands up and gives one to their camera. Which by the end of the episode, is aired on TV (pixellatied).

M-Z

• R. Lee Ermey said that the Marine salute in Mail Call done properly has the index finger and "social finger" touching the brim of the cap.
• The Mandalorian: In "The Prisoner", Zero raises a finger and his data probe to the Mandalorian while bragging that Robots Are Just Better than organics like him.
• Monday Mornings: One patient who was unresponsive and appeared dead reacted when Dr. Robidaux asked him to grab her hand. Dr. Tierney thought that was a reflex and asked him to hold up a finger. He did and showed a sense of humour as well by holding up the middle finder to the amusement of the whole hospital.
• David Cross does this at the end of a Mr. Show sketch in which he's been fired (for the same actions which get his co-workers promoted) at the camera, which links into the next sketch.
• In a flashback episode of My Name Is Earl where Earl is competing against his cousin Blake for Joy's affection.
  Earl: Honey, this is for you (kisses his two fingers in Joy's direction). Blake, one of these two fingers is for you.
• Referenced in MythBusters. While testing the bouncing bullet myth (about a bullet that ricocheted in such a way that it killed the shooter), Adam and Jamie used a cardboard cutout of Jamie to represent the gunman/victim. One of the bullets they fired struck cutout!Jamie, in the words of the narrator, on the finger he "occasionally uses to advise fellow motorists".
• Hilariously averted in the NCIS Season Eleven episode, "Homesick", when McGee appears to be upset and preoccupied at his desk:
  Abby: He gave me the finger when I walked in. (Tony and Bishop look shocked, and she hurriedly holds up her index finger) The "one minute" finger, not the bad one.
• Done regularly by various people in The Office. Always pixellated out.
• One Piece (2023):
  • In the first episode, we get to see Zoro's encounter with Baroque Works' agent Mr. 7 when the latter comes to recruit him for the organization. Zoro asks if members of Baroque Works get a facial tattoo, and says that if so, he prefers number 1 while flipping at Mr. 7.
  • In Episode 8, after Buggy expectedly reneges on his deal with the Straw Hats when he finally gets his body back, he flips Zoro and Sanji off with both hands before bolting out of there.
• Person of Interest. In "B.S.O.D.", Root insults an omniscient AI with a raging God complex to its proverbial face. And then literally flips it off. The image is pixellated, but it's still glorious.
  Root: You can just call me Root, bitch.
• Phoenix. As a bomb disposal officer sets off to diffuse a Hair-Trigger Explosive, the cops engage in Black Comedy banter.
  Sgt. Faithful: Hey mate, before ya go...you wanna leave me your [credit card] pin number?
  Bomb officer: Yeah, it's only got one digit. (raises middle finger)
• The 1973 TV movie Pueblo tells the story of the capture and imprisonment of the crew of USS Pueblo, including the real-life incident where they flipped the bird during a propaganda photoshoot and told their North Korean captors it was a good luck sign in Hawaii. Their captors weren't amused when they found out the truth.
• Red Dwarf:
  • Lister and Rimmer give the V-sign a few times, and at one point a Skutter (cleaning robot) gives it to Rimmer, which is quite an accomplishment considering their claw only has three digits.
  • Lister and the Cat treat Arnold to one in 'Better than Life', and Kryten (trying to figure out what he is after thinking he's in a Lotus-Eater Machine) speculates that he'd be the Cowboy Cop who'd give one to Da Chief.
  • When Kryten is temporarily turned into a human and explains to his spare parts that they can't rotate out anymore his extra arm flips him the V.
• Roseanne:
  • In one episode Leon starts making changes to the restaurant when Roseanne isn't there by persuading Nancy and Jackie to agree to said changes. Nancy and Jackie inform Roseanne that they all voted in favor of uniforms and breakfast in her absence. Then...
    Nancy: We also voted that the restaurant's official bird should be the toucan.
    Roseanne: Would you like to see the bird I voted for? (she makes a gesture behind her hand that implies flipping the middle finger)
  • There's also an entire episode based around kids giving the finger in their school picture, Becky among them. It turns out she didn't; it was the kid next to her and it happened to look like her hand. She just let everyone believe she did so she'd be popular.
• Roundhouse pulled one-off in its episode about discrimination with the "Race Krispies" sketch. Self-censored (with a cardboard sign): "Hey four-eyes, how many fingers am I holding up?"
• Saturday Night Live:
  • In a "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood" sketch, Mr. Robinson put on a puppet show, with finger puppets of poor black people imploring President Reagan to improve the economy. Before the show ended, the puppet on Mr. Robinson's middle finger stood alone, and exclaimed, "Mr. President, I think I speak for all black people!"
  • Also, during the "Celebrity Jeopardy" skits, Connery drew a picture of an extended middle finger for his Final Jeopardy answer.
• Seinfeld:
  • One episode had George thinking that one of the waitresses at Monk's was giving him the finger as she handed him the bill. Later in the same episode, he's in the car and sees another driver give him the finger. He angrily follows the guy for a full hour until he finally stops for gas, then gets out to tell him off... and discovers that the man's hand is in a cast that leaves his middle finger sticking up.
  • In another episode, Jerry talks about the gesture (and how ridiculous he thinks it is) in his stand-up routine, saying he would be more offended if somebody gave him "the toe."
• She-Hulk: Attorney at Law:
  • In the first episode, Smart Hulk pushes his cousin Jen off a cliff while training her to be the She-Hulk, and she flips him off as she is falling.
  • Also in "This Not Real Magic?", after the judge denies Jen's preminilary injencturies, Donny Blaze (who previously made a rabbit "appear") tells Jen, Wong and Madisynn he also has a "bird". Cue the middle finger.
• Special Ops: Lioness: Secretary of State Mullins flips off Byron, who chewed him out, in the season finale.
• Squid Game: In "VIPS", Mi-nyeo does this towards Deok-su while the players are eating after the fourth game.
• In Stargate SG-1, Jack O'Neill told someone that his name was "spelled with two Ls!" while holding up three fingers.
• Done beautifully (if surreptitiously) by Glenn in The Thick of It: Julius asks him to hold up his fingers to count something and while he's talking, Glenn slowly lowers his fingers except for the middle one and keeps flipping the bird to Julius's face for a while.
• In a sketch from Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! the band Pusswhip Banggang has a song titled "Flip You the Bird".
• Titans (2018)
  • In "Rose", Shimmer flips off Donna Troy as she's taken into custody, by kissing the tip of her finger while it's in the 'bird' position.
  • Driver Eight does this to Cliff as he's being dragged away.
• Two and a Half Men:
  • After coming home from the hospital, Alan tries to flip off Charlie after he makes a "I Told You So" comment, but can't since his hand in a cast.
    Charlie: Aww... you wanna flip me the bird, but the poor little fellow can't fly.
  • In another episode, Jake flipped off his teacher. Charlie decides to learn Jake's various ways to covertly flip off people: itchy-eye (scratching your eye with your middle finger), "read between the lines" (also sticking up the ring and index fingers) and the cranker - flipping the bird slowly jack-in-the-box style. The latter lacks plausible deniability.
• Whose Line Is It Anyway?:
  • Brad Sherwood asks "Wanna see my fingers turn blurry?" He then makes The Finger, which, yes, gets censored by being blurred. Unusual for this show; usually they use a Censor Box.
  • Another episode had Ryan accidentally banging his head, with Drew joking "How many fingers am I holding up?" Ryan replies with "How about me?", holding up just the one (censor box'd).
  • Ryan has also done the variant where he scratches his face with his middle finger, which also gets censored.
  • There is also a running gag in which all the cast members give the director the finger.
• On Win Ben Stein's Money, Ben would itch the side of his face with his middle finger, giving a subtle bird to co-host Jimmy Kimmel whenever he says something to insult Ben.
• In The Wire, Bill Rawls is introduced by giving Jimmy McNulty an extended "Fuck you" speech while holding up a double deuce.
• It's a rare episode of The Young Ones when Vyvyan doesn't flip a V to Rick and/or Neil every other scene.

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