Unscripted moments are a fact of life in the entertainment industry, even if a writer can write the dialogue, and a director can direct the actors, the latter tend to work on the fly for a variety of reasons. They either forget their line or get caught up in the moment. They could also figure out what the character could do or just have a permission to improvise in the situation. In movies, these led to some iconic moments. The Top Gun kiss happened because Cruise totally forgot his line and just went with it, and other movies such as Thor: Ragnarok were heavily improvised.
Television makes for a riper landscape for those unscripted moments. Actors spend more time on set and more time in the characters. On some television sets or in reads, improvisation is actually encouraged. Often times, things said during those moments usually make it in to the final cut of the episode. The work can definitely get to the actors from time to time, which can lead to improvisation or breaking character. The latter can lead to some truly excellent gag reels, while the former can lead to some truly iconic television moments.
With that in mind, let’s count down some classic unscripted moments on television. Some of these became running gags and others tugged at our heartstrings, but they all are certainly memorable.
Here are 15 Unscripted Scenes That Made It Onto TV Shows.
15. Network Connectivity Problems (Parks & Recreation)
NBC’s beloved seven season long show, Parks and Recreation, had one of the most hilarious casts on television. Improvisation was actively encouraged on set by the creatives behind the scenes, and sometimes, it could lead to trouble with studio execs. One example would be the time Chris Pratt actually got naked on-set to get a genuine reaction from Amy Poehler.
Speaking of the Guardians of the Galaxy star, Pratt is responsible for an improv that series creator Michael Schur considers the funniest line on the show. In the season three episode “Flu Season”, Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) is sick with the flu. Dim but lovable, Andy Dwyer types in her symptoms in the computer, which leads to the iconic line: “Leslie, I typed your symptoms into this thing up here, and it says you have network connectivity problems.”
ittedly, it’s a pretty hilarious line and an excellent example of Pratt’s improv skills. As Michael Schur said of the line, "I’m not kidding, as a writer, it made me furious! I’m still really upset and angry. He did it once, the camera happened to be on him once and I think it’s the funniest joke that’s ever been on our show.” If a joke is so good that the creator of the show gets angry over it, then you definitely keep it in.
14. Abby Called Out (Broadchurch)
Fans loved the three series long show Broadchurch -- what wasn’t there to love? Compelling mysteries, stellar performances, tight writing, and amazing chemistry propelled the show into something truly special across both sides of the pond. We'll just agree to never talk about the American remake Gracepoint or David Tennant’s American accent ever again.
While series one focused on the hunt for the criminal responsible for Danny Latimer’s life ending, the second series continues the story by focusing on the trial and the fallout. Fans are introduced to junior barristers Abby Thompson (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) and Ben Haywood (William Andrews), who were both present during the trial of Joe Miller, with Abby representing Joe originally. Over the course of the second series, Abby romance Olly Stevens. which allowed her to learn vital information about Ellie Miller lending Lucy Stevens money during series one. She then used the information to her advantage at the trial.
Following that, in the seventh episode of the series, Abby and Ben had the rare on-screen moment together.
Ben ultimately expresses his utter distaste of Abby with, “Abby, I wanted to say… I think you’re a truly horrible person.”
According to Andrews on Twitter, showrunner Chris Chibnall allowed him and Waller-Bridge to improvise during the scene. That’s when the line came out.
13. Dean Winchester’s Catchphrase (Supernatural)
Going thirteen seasons strong, it’s no surprise that Supernatural tends to have its own inside jokes. Like NCIS, Psych, and other shows on the list, an improvised moment turned into its own running gag. As many fans know, Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) tends to use the phrase “son of a b---h” a lot. It’s become so associated with the character, that during “ScoobyNatural” when the characters went through their own catchphrases, Dean just had to let his loose as well. Believe it or not, the moment itself happened fairly naturally on set.
Way, way back in season three of the show during the episode “Bad Day at Black Rock”, Dean gets so fed up with the run of bad luck due to Sam (Jared Padalecki) losing a cursed rabbit’s foot, that he just screams “son of a b---h.” Padalecki itted that it surprised him so much that he had to turn away so the camera wouldn’t catch him laughing. Since then, the phrase has been associated with the character, complete with YouTube montages.
Another excellent improvised moment that didn’t make it in the show proper but did make it onto the gag reel is when Ackles lip syncs to “Eye of the Tiger” in the season four episode “Yellow Fever”. Where else can you see a grown man play his leg like an air guitar but on Supernatural?
12. The Animal Cracker Speech (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer)
Part of the undeniable genius of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was definitely in the show’s amazing writing. The writing was so good and so compelling that they did a virtually dialogue-free episode that’s considered to be one of the best TV episodes ever made. Even with such strong writing, it doesn’t mean that the cast wasn’t allowed to ad-lib from time to time. One of the strongest moments came from Oz (Seth Green) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) in the season two episode, “What’s My Line? (Part 2)”.
During the exchange, Willow checks in on Oz, who hurt his arm. The scene is supposed to end with the line, “You have the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen.”
Green and Hannigan kept the scene going with a diatribe on how the monkey cracker is the only one that has clothes.
Up to and including Green using a French accent for the monkey and capping the scene with, “All monkeys are French. You didn’t know that?” The entire speech is so wonderfully weird, and pure Seth Green, that the final line is often quoted by fans of the show. It also proves that the reason the writing worked so well on Buffy, is because they had actors who knew how to make it work. Now the real question remains, do animal crackers have more animal clothes or is the monkey still mocking them with his monkey pants?
11. The Psych Pineapples
For fans of the USA Network comedy-crime caper Psych, searching for the hidden pineapple is part of the fun. For those uninitiated, in nearly every episode of the show there is a pineapple hidden somewhere in the episode, which has actually become a game within a very irreverent show. Now, the origin of the pineapple, however, is rooted into something that series star James Roday came up with on the fly during the pilot.
In the episode, Shawn prepares to drive to a lakeside cabin. As one of his signature quips, he grabs a pineapple and asks if he should cut it up for the road, and the rest was history. That one moment of improv spawned a seven season and a movie long gag -- there’s even a website dedicated to finding the pineapple in Psych episodes.
Given the comedic nature of the show, it’s not a surprise that the cast would goof-off around the set too. In addition to the ad-lib that became a running gag, James Roday and Dulé Hill inspired the classic episode “American Duos” by goofing off on set. Creator Steve Franks witnessed the moment, which immediately led to him penning the episode. It certainly makes a person long for the “blue skies” days of the USA Network.
10. Danny Pudi’s Nicolas Cage Improv (Community)
Danny Pudi is easily one of the most hilarious actors working in comedy today. Given the amount of talent in the field, it is no easy feat. While Pudi’s comedic skills can be easily seen throughout the industry, nowhere are they better showcased than in the cult favorite sitcom, Community. Given the creatives behind the camera and the talent on-set, it’s no surprise that improvisation tended to happen, which led to one of the show’s best moments from Pudi’s character, Abed.
In the episode “Introduction to Teaching”, Abed takes a class focusing on the career of everyone’s fave scenery chewer, Nicolas Cage.
When he does a presentation on the actor, Abed does it while acting like Cage himself, complete with overdramatic speaking and acting totally crazy.
Though the crazy could be explained, as Abed watched Cage’s entire filmography to figure out if the man is a “good or bad” actor. Everyone in the class looked totally stunned, given the unscripted nature was probably 100% percent genuine on their part.
Given that the show is known for its bizarre comedic moments, this one certainly takes the cake. It’s almost like watching an ancient Greek tragedy play out, except a thousand times more hilarious. No one could come to a consensus on whether Cage is a good or bad actor. The world may never know.
9. Stefon Covering His Mouth (Saturday Night Live)
By the very nature of its program format, Saturday Night Live lends itself to improvisation. Over the course of rehearsals, planning out the skits, or even live on air, SNL has the unscripted worked into its very being. Like the Psych pineapples, it can lead to a running gag that fans love for years and years to come.
While Bill Hader is wowing us all with his criminal turned actor on HBO’s Barry, his start, like many, came from SNL. Hader’s most famous and popular character came in the form of Stefon, the city correspondent on Weekend Update. Known for his flamboyant personality, outlandish descriptions of clubs, and his eccentric manner of dress, Stefon was an immediate fan favorite. When Hader officially left SNL, it ended with Stefon marrying Seth Meyers (who created the character with John Mulaney).
One important character quirk for Stefon, however, is that he always begins his segments with his hands covering his mouth. According to Hader, this was more of a method of self-preservation. He never really knew what the final product for Stefon was going to be until on-air. Covering his hands over his mouth was a way to compose himself before speaking. Though, Hader said that he always had a hard time keeping in character during the segments, and based on how hilarious they were, we can’t blame him.
8. Oscar And Michael Kiss (The Office)
It’s safe to call The Office one of the greatest comedies of the 21st century. It’s perhaps the rare Americanization of a British show that actually sures the original. It will not surprise fans, or even the casual viewer, that the actors did improv things on the show. In fact, many of their interview segments were ad-libbed by the cast.
One of the best-known moments of the show, however, comes from the season three opener “Gay Witch Hunt”.
In the scene, Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) attempts to shut down accusations that he’s homophobic by kissing openly gay employee Oscar (Oscar Nunez) on the mouth.
What transpires is a kiss between two people so awkward, it definitely gives the audience flashbacks to their own first kisses.
The script originally called for Michael to kiss Oscar on the cheek. Carrell, however, suggested that Michael should kiss Oscar on the lips. As Paul Lieberstein, who played Toby on the show, described, “One take, Steve just won’t let Oscar turn away. He got closer and closer.” With that, comedy history was born in all of its awkward glory.
7. The Gibbs Slap (NCIS)
A lot of running jokes through shows just seem to start with a bit of improvisation, don’t they? Here’s another one from that category of unscripted yet perfect bits: the “Gibbs Slap” from NCIS. The fifteen-season long series has had a lot of bits over the years: DiNozzo’s (Michael Weatherly) references to movies, Ziva’s (Cote de Pablo) confusion over idioms, Ducky’s (David McCallum) wandering stories, just to name a few. Nothing, however, is quite as visceral and as on point for a character as when Gibbs (Mark Harmon) gives a quick smack on the back of someone’s head when they’re off-topic/being annoying. DiNozzo usually gets the slap.
So how did the Gibbs slap come into being? It’s an answer straight out of the series. Apparently, Michael Weatherly was being annoying on-set and Mark Harmon just cuffed him on the back of the head to get him to focus.
The creatives liked it so much that they kept it in with the take, and then added it in future episodes of the show. Seasons later, it’s so integral that when USA s the NCIS marathons, it’s a focus of a promo. The head slaps have tapered a bit since Weatherly left the show back in season thirteen. We’ll always love them, though.
6. Moira Queen’s Final Words (Arrow)
Arrow has had a lot of ings over the years that have gutted audiences. Few have the sheer raw emotion as the ing of Moira Queen (Susanna Thompson) at Deathstroke's (Manu Bennett) hands.
During the first rehearsal for the episode, “Seeing Red”, Susanna Thompson threw in the line, “Close your eyes, baby” when Moira stands to sacrifice herself.
In an interview with Give Me My Remote, Thompson recalled the heartbreaking addition to the script. “I knew he could shoot Moira at any time. The last thing I wanted was for Thea to see that. She’s right there. I was just going over it and over it in my head, prior to getting to the set several days in advance, and I thought, "This is what she would say. And I’m not going to tell anybody, I’m just going to do it.” And the first rehearsal I said it, Marc Guggenheim [Arrow creator] told our script supervisor, “Keep it, keep it, I love it. Keep it.”
The fans probably didn’t love it because they were all straight-up sobbing at that point. Although it was a powerful capper and an emotional final line to a complex, morally ambiguous character who loved her children.