As it's a comedy series that has been going for close to twenty years, it was inevitable that RVB picked up its fair share of Running Gags. However, what is unique about them is that they came to define the show as a whole. It even has a dedicated page on its own wiki
. Below is a list of as many of them as we could find.
- It's become a tradition that episode 10 of each season will always be a Wham Episode.
- People saying "HURK, bleaugh!" whenever they die.
- Tucker being unable to use the Sniper Rifle (though he finally gets his moment at the end of Season 5).
- Vehicles having more/less pedals than there are directions.
- The Warthog playing certain music whenever it's activated. Sometimes, people also question "What is that music?" as it drives closer.
- Characters telling other characters to "Lift with the groin".
- Tucker going "Bow-chicka-bow-wow" either after saying something sexual or finding something someone else said lewd.
- Caboose's team killing, with Church being the usual victim.
- The go-to insult being "cockbite."
- Grif getting injured, most commonly by either Sarge's actions or by being punched in the groin by Tex.
- People being possessed by Church or Tex saying "Higakergerk!"
- Caboose's mental images of the other characters.
- Characters saying "Son of a bitch" before they die, though they are usually only able to get out "Son of a-" before they bite it. A not as common but also prominent gag is three characters shouting this in reaction to gunshots and/or explosions.
- The aliens referring to humans as "Shisno".
- Tucker being covered in black stuff whenever he exits a teleporter.
- Characters (usually Washington) referring to something as the "[adjective] [item of reference] ever. Of all time.".
- Lopez saying something (whether it be good advice or an insult) and no one being able to understand him because they don't speak Spanish.
- Characters mistaking thrown sticky grenades for spiders.
- Sarge's terrible passwords ("Password", "Access Code", "Codeword", etc).
- The series Arc Words, "Do you ever wonder why we're here?" and the usual response, "It's one of life's great mysteries...", can be seen as this, given how commonly the phrases are used as gags.
- Characters making a strange and/or uncomfortable statement and another character responding with "Do you wanna talk about it?".
- "You just got Sarge'd" is a phrase that commonly appears, usually as a one-liner Sarge constantly messes up.
- York having trouble with holographic locks.
- Grif or Simmons Calling Shotgun, with the one who didn't following up with "Shotgu— fuck!".
- Grif's armor being mistaken for yellow. Some Reality Subtext, as the orange armor in the original Halo: Combat Evolved engine was rendered in a yellowish color.
- Whenever the first person POV of a sniper rifle’s scope is shown, the magazine is never full (as shown by the bullet icons), and it’s usually down to 2 rounds.
- Characters asking what the A.I. acronym stands for.
- During Seasons 11-12, one of the Reds and Blues (except, surprisingly, Caboose) having done something that might've caused the ship crash that started the season (In order: Tucker flirted with the pilot, Grif spilled soda on an instrument panel, Washington knocked a cable out of the wall, Sarge messed with the engine to put the ship in slipspace, and Simmons messed with the navigation computers). It's brought to a head when the ship's crash is actually confronted in plot.Washington: I'm gonna go ahead and claim partial responsibility for that.
- Characters lampshading seemingly impossible events by saying "This doesn't seem physically possible!".
- The name "Andersmith", originally a made up name by the Blues to refer to a nonexistent dead member of their team, is now a randomly appearing name used as the last name of random characters.
- The Reds and Blues referring to their female allies with insulting names, with Caboose adding a Ms./Mrs. to it to be respectful.
- Doc randomly disappearing for an extended period of time and then coming back.
- Simmons being a professional ass-kisser.
- Church's inability to aim, even at point-blank range.
- Grif messing up a common phrase ("Monkeying about", "Morris Code"), Simmons correcting him, and then the Blues using Grif's phrasing.
- Outside of Gary/Gamma, Sigma, and Genkins, any A.I. in this series will be a terrible liar.
- A mysterious skull, implied to be Private Jimmy's.
- People exclaiming what part of the body they just got hit on as they fall unconscious.Simmons: Ow, geez, the back of my head!
- Donut denying his armor is pink. There's only a few moments when he's said that it's actually pink ("Pink armor. It's someone else's time in the barrel" and "You don't believe me because my armor is pink!"). It ends in Season 17 with Donut having sufficiently grown a spine so that he's fine with accepting its color as pink and even defiantly shouts it at one point.
- Donut unknowingly speaking in Double Entendres. Donut eventually realizes it in Season 17, but has a difficult time stopping.
- The different names for the Warthog.
- Wash firing at Donut in the Season 7 finale was originally a Wham Shot. During Season 17, which revolves around Mental Time Travel, it instead becomes a moment of Comedic Sociopathy as Donut relives it frequently.
