List of references in live-action television
For television shows staring Mario, please visit the TV & Movies page.
Note: This list is for live-action sightings only. For Mario sightings in cartoons, see Animation Sightings.
This list is incomplete. You can help the Super Mario Wiki by adding more sightings!
Amazing Race
During the show's ninth season, during the penultimate episode, BJ & Tyler, one of the teams, says that the race "is on like Donkey Kong".
America's Funniest Home Videos
In a specific episode, a kid is seen playing an underground level from Super Mario Bros.. And in another a kid can be seen getting Super Mario Bros. 2.
Bones
The episode, "The Gamer in the Grease," features a fictitious arcade game entitled Punky Pong where the player plays an explorer battling a Donkey Kong-inspired giant gorilla.
Boy Meets World
In one episode, Mr. Feenie talks about how technology is wasted and mentions how it's used to play Super Mario Bros., namely to beat King Koopa and rescue the Princess.
El Diario de Daniela
Martin, Daniela's best friend, can be seen playing Super Mario 64 in a black N64 with the Atomic Purple Controller in his bedroom. For unknown reasons, later in the soap opera the N64 was replaced with a SNES and some cartridges can be seen too.
Disney Cruise Line
When the show is talking about an arcade room for the kids in the cruise ship, one kid in the background can be seen playing Diddy Kong Racing.
Drake & Josh
In the episode "The Bet", several implications are made that the game that Josh is playing is a Super Mario Bros.-like level, most notably Drake's telling Josh to "Jump the mushroom." Josh was most likely playing Super Mario World, because if the player has an item in their Item Holder, and if the player grabs a Mushroom, it will replace the item. Another possibility is that the "mushroom" that Drake was talking about is a Goomba. Later in the episode Josh gets a Gamesphere (which is a spoof of the Gamecube). Also, Megan said "Take that Red Turtle Shell!", in which he was talking about a Red Koopa Troopa. She also had a GS (a spoof of a Nintendo DS).
E3
An interview conducted for E3 (Youtube)
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
In the 1991 episode "Love at First Fight", when Kayla Samuels asked Will if "He had ever memorized too many things at once that his head was going to bust?" he responded, "No, but I once got up to the third world of Super Mario Bros., and yo it was hectic up there!".
GoTV
GoTV, a service that lets people watch shows on their cell phones, had a series of shows about the New Super Mario Bros. They showed one weekly for four weeks.
- May 15, 2006 - Interview with Shigeru Miyamoto
- May 22, 2006 - Review of the New Super Mario Bros.
- May 29, 2006 - Interview with Mario
- June 5, 2006 - Nintendo DS Lite preview
George Lopez
In one episode, George's father-in-law, Vick, dies his hair and mustache black in order to impress a lady. He incidently also wears a red shirt and blue pants. After Vick is turned down, George exclaims "Nice try, Super Mario!"
Hangin with Mr. Cooper
In one episode, the boys can be seen playing an underground level of Super Mario World.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
In one episode, Wayne can be seen playing as Princess Peach on Luigi Raceway in Mario Kart 64.
Lock 'N Load with R. Lee Ermy
When Gunny was testing an RC controlled AA-12 shotgun, he said it felt like playing Mario Bros.
Mister Rogers' Neighborhood
In a 1983 episode, a boy teaches Mr. Rogers how to play Donkey Kong. After watching the boy play, Mr. Rogers plays for a little while. After that, a man comes by and shows Mr. Rogers and the boy the inside of the cabinet, and how the controls work.
Modern Marvels
In episode 397, 80's Tech, Mario, Donkey Kong, Pauline, a Red Koopa Troopa, Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man, and the ghosts make cameos. An Atari 2600, a Nintendo Entertainment System, a Game Boy, and a Nintendo GameCube are also briefly seen.
My Name is Earl
In the Episode Foreign Exchange Student, Earl and his friends try to convince a Frenchman to stay in Camden County so Earl can cross him off his list. Randy, Earl's Brother, starts listing popular arcade games. Second on his list is Donkey Kong.
Rock of Love 2 with Bret Michaels
In the Las Vegas episode, durning a fight with one of the contestants, Jessica, another contestant states that "It was on like Donkey Kong."
Sabado Gigante
In Sabado Gigante, there is a short character who dresses as Mario on the show.
Saturday Night Live
- Wario Land: Shake It! was referenced in the sketch "Wii Guys" on the 2009 Valentine's Day episode of Saturday Night Live. The sketch begins with two young men playing Wario Land: Shake It! in the basement of their family's house. They were eventually joined by their father, played by Alec Baldwin, who was not a big fan of video games until his sons introduced him to the unique Wii Remote. The sketch parodied the concept of shaking objects and enemies in-game via shaking the Wii Remote. The humor of the sketch was derived from the play-style of the father, who would hold the Wii Remote vertically and shake it with one hand, obviously playing on the similarities between shaking the Wii Remote and male masturbation. The sketch can be viewed at NBC.com.
The Big Bang Theory
In The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation, Rajesh calls Howard's new Mustache a "Mario & Luigi" look.
The Daily Show
During the January 7th, 2010 episode, Jon Stewart talks about two recently retired Democrats. After he brings up the story, a picture of the Democrats' faces pasted onto Mario and Luigi's artwork from Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga appears, along side the caption "Donkey Gone".
The Red Green Show
The "Adventures with Bill" segment from the episode where the lodge members attempt at converting their excess grapes into wine features Bill and his comrades trying to fix a roof. During their capers, Bill begins to climb up a ladderway not unlike the girders of Donkey Kong and Dalton ends up knocking several metal canisters down the staircase, resulting in a Donkey Kong parody as Bill climbs to the roof. As he sees this, Red exclaims, "Hey! Super Mario Brothers!", using the common Canadian pronunciation of "Mario".
The Sarah Silverman Program
In one episode, a commerical for a ficticious video game entitled Cookie Party: The Video Game is shown, which features a Mario-inspired level.
The Sopranos
In one episode, AJ is seen playing Mario Kart 64.
Two Pints of Lager And a Packet of Crisps
In one episode, Gaz is seen trying to help his brother Munch know what is real and what is not real, at one point, Munch says "Not even the Super Mario Brothers?" and Gaz replies "Well okay, that's real!"
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
In one of the games, Wayne Brady had to make up a song based on a random person's profession. During one episode, a videogame reviewer from The Daily Radar was chosen. Both Mario and Donkey Kong were mentioned.
Full House
In one of the episodes in season 2, Stephanie Tanner asks her teacher if she can play Super Mario Bros on the Gameboy.
