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Sherman's Lagoon - TV Tropes

  • ️Wed Dec 07 2011

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Sherman's Lagoon (Comic Strip)

Sherman's Lagoon is a newspaper comic strip by Jim Toomey. Starting in 1991, it is about the adventures of a cast of sea animals in the eponymous lagoon. Sherman is a dimwitted shark and Big Eater of epic proportions; he has a control freak wife named Megan. They have a son named Herman. There is Sherman's friend Fillmore, an intelligent but socially awkward turtle who can't seem to find a mate, and his adoptive son Clayton.

Other denizens include Hawthorne, an easily-angered hermit crab who used to wear a beer can but now goes au naturel, and Ernest, a bespectacled teenage fish who is also a computer geek. Up on shore, there's a polar bear named Thornton who hibernates down on the beach. They are ruled over by a deific Moai statue named Kahuna, who occasionally transforms the characters into other things.

Human characters include Captain Quigley, who has it out for Sherman, and an assortment of "hairless beach apes" who often get eaten by Sherman or pinched by Hawthorne.

Unusually for a comic strip, Toomey (with the exception of most Sunday strips) eschews the typical gag-a-day format and prefers longer story-arcs that last at least a week.

This comic shows examples of:

  • Animal Nemesis: A recurring character is the fisherman Captain Quigley, whose leg was eaten by Sherman. He has a Captain Ahab level of determination to catch Sherman.
  • Badass Boast: While running against Fillmore in the election for mayor of the lagoon, Hawthorne snaps that he eats "punks like you" for breakfast. Fillmore's response is, "Yeah? WELL, I EAT SPECIAL K!"

    Sherman: Memo: Work on snappy comebacks.

  • Bank Toaster: In one strip, an octopus is seen thinking about the various options and account choices banks provide, ending his inner monologue with the remark that getting a free toaster used to be so much easier.
  • Beary Funny: All Thornton ever does is sleep and lounge on the beach while drinking martinis.
    • Sherman and Ernest also meet a friendly grizzly bear named Gary while in Alaska. He owns an outhouse, which according to Sherman answers that old question.
    • There's also Shawn Mao, a panda bear friend of Thornton's who Hawthorne meets in China.
  • Be Careful What You Wish For:
    • One strip has Sherman wishing that they lived in a snowy place, where they could all have a fun snowball fight. Hawthorne then throws a rock painted white at him.
    • This strip has a fish wishing that he could fly. He is promptly snatched up by a large bird. After a Beat panel, Sherman and Hawthorne have this to say...

      Sherman: Wish granted.
      Hawthorne: When making a wish, be more specific.
      Sherman: Noted.

  • Big Eater: Sherman.

    Fillmore: You would enjoy pain if it were edible!

  • Bland-Name Product: Usually averted, but in one strip, Sherman goes to the Horizon store - a clear parody of Verizon and its stores - to get his smartphone fixed.
  • Body Horror: Always Played for Laughs.
    • Occurs when Sherman finds a cursed necklace and gives it to Megan. Sherman gains Ted Koppel hair and Megan gains a cow's head and tail.
    • One storyline reveals that Sherman's family has a recessive flounder gene, which results in Herman's eyes briefly shifting to one side of his head. Fortunately, eventually he returns to normal... well, aside from the sudden appearance of a lizard tail.
    • During a storyline in which a flock of sheep arrives on the island on a cargo ship, Sherman eats so many sheep that he starts developing wool - and bleating, too, by the way.
    • One storyline has Sherman giving Megan ANOTHER cursed necklace, resulting in (among other things) Hawthorne's head turning into that of one of the Olsen Twins. An alien also pops out of Sherman's stomach, but that's not part of the curse - that's just what happens when Megan's potato salad goes bad.
    • When you drink Hawthorne's soda "Crab Cola", you gain a tail.
  • Bound and Gagged: Sherman and Fillmore do this to Hawthorne in order to make him go to anger management therapy.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall: The characters are well aware that they are in a comic strip and sometime refer to the passage of time in numbers of panels.
    • Once, Sherman tries to tag along on a trip Hawthorne is taking because "the readers expect it." Hawthorne replies, "The READERS? What have they ever done for ME?"

    Sherman: Shhhh! They're right there.

    Sherman: Really? And you can just swim inside them?

    Ernest: How else are we going to start some silly adventure?

    Sherman: Sometimes I question if your heart is in this strip.

    Ernest: Profit-sharing would help.

    Fillmore: But how can there be snow?

    Hawthorne: You need to believe in the magic of comic strips.

    Fillmore: Is a hermit crab with no shell part of the magic?

    Hawthorne: The BEST part.

    • One strip has Sherman's son Herman asking him for help with a math problem. Sherman agrees, and then we get two Beat panels of Sherman attempting to figure out the problem.

    Herman: Dad, we're running out of panels.

    Sherman: This is going to run into tomorrow's comic strip.note 

    Fillmore: Cartoonists are, in a sense, powerful.

    Sherman: (not convinced) Yeah, sure.

    Fillmore: If you anger them, they can do things... like turn you into an enormous bratwurst.

    Sherman: (now an enormous bratwurst) Yeah, sure.

    • This strip has Sherman commenting that the cartoonist on the beach that he was criticizing before doesn't take shortcuts, unlike "some cartoonists we know." He doesn't even bother drawing their lower halves, which Sherman reveals.
    • Sherman asks if he can be in Hawthorne's animated movie. Hawthorne replies that it's an ANIMATED movie. To which Sherman responds, "But I'm already a comic strip character."
    • In this strip, Hawthorne claims that Sherman is out of shape. Sherman denies it.

    Hawthorne: You got winded just going from the second panel to the third panel!

    Sherman: THEY'VE WIDENED THEM!

    • Here, Fillmore tells Hawthorne that he wants to open a restaurant, then asks how he's going to secure a loan, get permits and all that. Hawthorne's response? "Follow me to the next panel."

    (the fourth panel reveals that Hawthorne has opened up a business called "LOANS, PERMITS AND ALL THAT")

    Fillmore: (dryly) Of course.

    Hawthorne: NEXT!

    Ernest: Good point.

    Sherman: (facing the fourth wall) Snot... snot... snot.

    Fillmore: Now you're just being a jerk.

  • Broken Record: In one strip, Hawthorne is acting as Sherman's therapist. For three panels, he just says "And why do you think that is?" in response to everything Sherman says. In the fourth panel...

    Hawthorne: (in a bar) A tape recorder and a stuffed crab! And I'm making $80 an hour right now!

  • But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When Hawthorne tells Fillmore and Sherman that he just got a date with a fire-breathing contortionist, Fillmore asks if the circus is in town. Sherman says that it is, but that's just Hawthorne's regular Friday.
  • Butt-Monkey: Fillmore.
  • Bystander Syndrome:
    • When the lagoon residents are being tormented by a dive-bombing pelican, two fish called the "Pelican Busters" eliminate the problem by luring him to another lagoon where he won't be bothering them. Fillmore then says, "So, you didn't really eliminate our problem, you just made it somebody else's."
    • The conclusion to a story arc about an oil company preparing to drill for oil in the lagoon has Fillmore inform the others that they've decided against it.

    Sherman, Hawthorne, Megan, and Ernest: WE WIN! WE WIN! WE WIN! WE WIN!

    Fillmore: But they're moving just a few miles to another lagoon.

    Sherman, Hawthorne, Megan, and Ernest: SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEM! SOMEONE ELSE'S PROBLEM!

  • The Cameo:
  • Carnivore Confusion: Averted, big time. Sherman and Megan have no qualms eating other talking fish. They don't eat friends, but that's not to say they haven't been tempted...
  • Casanova Wannabe: Fillmore and Hawthorne, although Hawthorne is more than happy to give Fillmore a hard time about it.
  • The Cracker: Ernest uses his computer skills to launch a Mars rover, steal underwear from Baby Gap, and start an 86-minute war between Vermont and Canada.
  • Captain Ersatz: After finding out about Barney, Hawthorne creates a character called "Barnacle the Purple Anthropod" with the intention of having him star in a series of videos. He winds up getting sued by Barney.
  • Coincidental Broadcast: One strip has Sherman and Hawthorne watching TV. The announcer asks a bunch of questions that apply to Sherman... then, as Sherman is picking his nose, asks, "Is your finger inching its way toward your nostril?"
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: In the beginning, there was a seahorse character named Broderick. Now...there isn't. Another example is Jean-Claude the pirate ghost.
  • Delivery Stork: Discussed when Sherman and Megan find a baby on their doorstep.

    Sherman: Maybe the stork paid us a visit.

    Megan: Storks don't bring baby fish. Storks EAT baby fish.

    Sherman: Maybe he forgot his lunch.

  • Didn't Think This Through: One storyline involving Sherman going to his high school reunion have Hawthorne help him impress his friends by making him a business card that dubs him the CEO of a fake company called Gigantico. Then he decides to take it a step further and issue a fake press release boasting about fake profits, then proceed sell fake stocks in the fake company. As a result, Sherman finds himself in danger of going to prison. Fortunately, the federal agent that comes after Sherman decides that the situation isn't worth investigating and that Sherman is too lazy to be dangerous.
  • Disguised in Drag: As part of a plan to have Sherman eat the dictator of Cubalibre and free its oppressed people, Hawthorne has Fillmore do this to distract the bodyguards.

    Hawthorne: It worked in the Bugs Bunny cartoon.

  • Disproportionate Retribution: Apparently, Hawthorne once strangled Fillmore for dropping a fly ball during a softball game.
  • Dogs Are Dumb: Rusty, a dog in Oklahoma that Ernest talks to via ham radio.

    Ernest: If you're a dog, what's three plus four?

    Rusty: Thirteen.

    Ernest: (to Sherman) It's a dog, all right.

    Sherman: I've heard they're smart like that.

  • Easily Forgiven: One series of strips has Hawthorne making a deal with Captain Quigley to help him capture Sherman for a thousand dollars. After his efforts fail, he comes clean to Sherman, who's understandably pretty angry at him. Then Hawthorne offers him a Twinkie and Sherman forgives him immediately.
  • Epic Fail:
    • Sherman's attempt at making Shake and Bake. He just baked the package (well, he shook it first).
    • Ernest's attempt at making a hair creme to help get rid of Thornton's "Hibernation Hair" results in Thornton getting a bald spot.
    • Megan's attempt to make a souffle.
    • When Sherman and Hawthorne attempt to dry-clean Fillmore's scarf, they wind up shrinking it. Fillmore's reaction is this...

    Fillmore: It's the size of a towelette! WHY WOULD I HAVE A SCARF THIS SIZE? IT'S ABSURD!

    Sherman: GOT ME! WHY DO YOUR T-SHIRTS SAY "LADIES MAN" ON THEM? THAT'S ABSURDER!

    Fillmore: THAT'S NOT A WORD!

    • Megan's attempts at making children's clothing.
    • The story arc about Hawthorne becoming a handyman is full of these. The handcrafted entertainment center that he builds for Sherman falls apart, for one thing.
    • When Sherman and Ernest go to the South Pole, they encounter penguins. One of them attempts to fly... and ends up injuring himself.
  • Evil Laugh: Hawthorne is more of a Jerkass than a villain, but he still lets one loose every so often.
  • Exact Words: When Sherman subscribes to have Hawthorne be his friend, he at one point tells Hawthorne that he needs to talk to him, only for Hawthorne to tell him that he's busy. Sherman protests that the Friendship Contact he signed says that Hawthorne HAS to, only for Hawthorne to tell him to Read the Fine Print - it says "Me or a facsimile thereof." Meaning that Sherman has to talk to Hawthorne the sock puppet.

    Sherman: (holding a crude sock puppet that doesn't resemble Hawthorne in the slightest aside from the fact that it has claws) I'M NOT TRAINED IN THE ARTS!

  • Extreme Omnivore: Sherman has eaten hundreds of fish, hundreds of humans, lots of human food (some of it rotten), a pizza box, a chili pepper that killed 1000 vegetarian piranhas, a bomb, and even a Twinkie!
  • Eye Scream: Played for Laughs in this strip. While training for the speed-reading competition, Fillmore's eyeballs fly out of their sockets.

    Sherman: Whoa! That can't be good.

    Hawthorne: DUCT TAPE!

  • Fan Disservice: Fillmore without his shell on.
  • Fat Idiot: Sherman is not only the biggest character in the strip, but also the dumbest.
  • Faux Horrific: Megan gets bent out-of-shape when Fillmore wraps Herman in a flannel blanket.
  • Flipper Fingers: All of the characters who have flippers or fins, most prominently Fillmore.
  • Fluffy Cloud Heaven: Sherman goes here after being hit with a speedboat.
  • Funny Animal: Thornton.
  • Gadgeteer Genius: Ernest
  • Gasshole:
    • One strip had Sherman and Fillmore camping (underwater). Fillmore suddenly complains about a horrible smell and blames Sherman, to which Sherman responds by saying that they're probably "sulfur eruptions." When Fillmore demands to know why Sherman thinks so, Sherman says that he read it on the can of beans he ate for dinner. Fillmore immediately decides he needs his own tent.
    • In one storyline where Sherman is making a lagoon militia, Bob the Bottom Dweller tries to sign up. When asked what sort of ability he has, Bob responds with a large belch. Sherman comments "Wow! Weapons grade!"
  • Get-Rich-Quick Scheme: Hawthorne attempts these near-constantly. Rarely do they ever work out.
  • Gilligan Cut:
    • When Hawthorne finds out that Sherman and Megan are in Paris, he worries that Sherman will be "an embarrassment to the entire lagoon". Fillmore tells him to give Sherman some credit. Meanwhile...

    Sherman: (to the waiter, with two loaves of French bread in his mouth) More bread, Pierre.

    • Similarly, when Sherman and Megan go to New York, Hawthorne worries that Sherman will get eaten alive. Fillmore tells Hawthorne that Sherman might have more street-starts than he thinks. Meanwhile, in New York...

    Sherman: A real Faux-Lex. Wow.

    Watch Salesman: It's the French subsidiary of Rolex.

    Cat: There's a hair in my catfood.note 

    Fillmore: Not a confidence-builder.

    • The very next day, Hawthorne reassures Fillmore that he's got "the most state-of-the-art operating equipment available". In the fourth panel, as Hawthorne's performing the operation...

    Hawthorne: Stick.

    Sherman: (holding up sticks) Pointy or leafy?

  • Green Aesop: Many story arcs involve the conservation of marine life.
  • Go-Karting with Bowser: One storyline has Sherman playing online chess with somebody that turns out to be Captain Quigley, much to his horror.
  • Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Parodied when Megan's necklace was stolen. She screamed about she was now naked, and the others obliged by not looking at her. Megan responded "You could at least act like you want to peek."
  • Humanlike Foot Anatomy: Thornton.
  • Hypocritical Humor:

    Hawthorne: Whoa Nelly, look what this loser wrote.

  • Hurricane of Euphemisms: This strip has Hawthorne's contractor do this to Hawthorne.

    Hawthorne: (understandably quite annoyed) Can you give me an answer that doesn't sound like a fortune cookie?

  • Ignoring by Singing: Sherman does this while Ernest informs him that he wants to go to the North Pole.
  • I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You!: When Sergeant Hardcase of the Internet Fish Police asks Sherman where Ernest (who he's after for downloading unauthorized music) is, Sherman refuses to tell him, then adds that he has a right to his attorney and that if Hardcase has any questions, he'll have to speak to him. Hardcase then asks where his attorney is, to which Sherman says, "Over there talking to Ernest."
  • Insane Troll Logic: When Hawthorne opens a convenience store called "Haw-Mart", he makes Fillmore pay nine bucks for a pack of gum because it doesn't have sugar in it, claiming that the de-sugaring process is extremely expensive. Fillmore dubs this the dumbest thing that he has ever heard.
  • In-Series Nickname: Hawthorne usually calls Sherman "Fat Boy".
  • Interspecies Friendship: One of the central themes of the strip, although Megan blatantly hints that the only reason why she and Sherman haven't eaten their friends is because other options are plentiful in the lagoon.
  • Interspecies Romance:

    Hawthorne: Wow! Now you're getting shot down by freaks of nature. That's gotta hurt.

    Fillmore: (angrily) Do you mind?

    • Fillmore once gained an Abhorrent Admirer in the form of a large sea elephant.
    • One strip has Vinny, an alligator from the sewers of New York, hit on Megan. She gets angry.
    • A vampire squid has also flirted with Megan. She turns down his offer to let him bite her because she has a child (AND a husband, as he reminds her) and she ends up cooking him.
    • One storyline has Hawthorne falling for a lobster.
    • One storyline has Herman, a shark, having a crush on a squid named Sophie. Who is also the daughter of the Giant Squid who just so happens to be Sherman's arch-nemesis.
  • It Amused Me: When Ernest and Hawthorne discover that sharks are attracted to heavy metal music...

    Hawthorne: We should find out other types of music affect sharks.

    Hawthorne: In the name of entertaining ourselves.

    Ernest: Equally important.

  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Hawthorne may be rude and self-centered, but when the chips are down, he is always there for Sherman.
  • Kangaroos Represent Australia: A storyline where Hawthorne visits Australia has him meeting a kangaroo.
  • Kids Prefer Boxes: One Sunday strip has Sherman give his son Herman an expensive robot toy, and goes on about how 'Santa' waited hours in line to get one. When he sees Herman playing with the box, he's understandably upset.
  • Kitchen Sink Included: In a battle between Kahuna and fellow deity Apu-Ko-Hai, Apu-Ko-Hai throws a kitchen sink at Kahuna.
  • Lame Pun Reaction:
    • After Sherman flunks Dance Class, he tells Fillmore that his teacher told him that his dancing would never improve without surgery. Fillmore asks what kind of surgery could possibly improve his ability to dance. Sherman's response?

    Sherman: A lambadomy.

    Fillmore: (does a Facepalm) Why do I ask?

    • This strip has Hawthorne starting another venture: he's buying run-down crab holes, fixing them up, and then selling them.

    Fillmore: So, you're...

    Hawthorne: I'm a hole flipper.

    Fillmore: (staring at the fourth wall, dryly) He said proudly.

  • Lampshade Hanging: After Hawthorne's dry cleaning business burns to the ground, a police fish asks how an underwater business could burn to the ground. Hawthorne then asks why the need to pay for an underwater fire Marshall.
  • Lazy Bum: How lazy is Thornton? When the others throw him a birthday party, he has his secretary call them to tell them that he won't be able to attend because it's too much effort.
  • A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: One arc where Hawthorne gets a pair of mind-reading antennae.
  • Misplaced Wildlife: Thornton the polar bear, oh so very much. Freshwater animals often pop up in the lagoon, and the characters sometimes swim in freshwater.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: One series of strips has Sherman eating the president of a small island nation called Cubalibre, resulting in a tyrant seizing power. Sherman insists to Fillmore that the man can't be all bad... to which Fillmore reveals that he's converting all of their Dunkin' Donuts into fitness centers, prompting Sherman to shout, "WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"
  • My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: Sherman's attempt at speaking Spanish when he and Megan arrive in Mexico.

    Sherman: (to the fish at the front desk in their hotel) Hola, nachos! Muy cerveza pinata!

    (The fish glares angrily at him)

    Megan: (also pretty angry) You've managed to insult an entire culture.

    Sherman: Before check-in. That's a record.

    • This strip has Sherman and Megan arriving in Russia. Sherman mentions that he's brushed up on his Russian.

    Sherman: (to two Russian fish) Hello-ski! I'm Sherman-ski!

    Megan: You don't just add a "ski" to the end of everything to make it Russian!

    Russian Fish: (whispering to the other) Moronski.

  • My Little Phony: One storyline has Hawthorne, inspired by My Little Pony, create a toyline called "My Little Crabby". However, the toy company in China reads his order for 100,000 toy hermit crabs wrong, and he gets 100,000 toy hermits (complete with body order). He decides to work with it, though, and sells "My Little Hermit" dolls. Nobody buys them, so he sells them on eBay.
  • Naked People Are Funny: Hawthorne frequently wanders around in the nude for the shock factor. Fillmore also occasionally takes off his shell, although he does it to get the shell cleaned or to indulge in a spa day.
  • No Animals Were Harmed: After blowing up the secret submarine base of a teenage girl selling pirated CDs, Ernest turns to the fourth wall and says, "And no fictional humans were harmed in the making of this strip."
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed: The beach has been visited by a rap star called "Vanilla Thighs".
    • Somebody by the name of Izzy Isbourne also offered to make one of Fillmore's poems into a rock song.
    • One series from 2004 has the lagoon being visited by Steve Gerwin, an obvious parody of Steve Irwin.
  • Non-Mammalian Hair:
  • Non-Indicative Name: One strip has Hawthorne pointing out that calling Sherman a "great white shark" isn't accurate - he's not white, he's gray, and according to Hawthorne he's not so great either.

    Hawthorne: You should be called the "so-so gray shark".

    • He then goes on to mock Fillmore's species being called a "green sea turtle" and says that he should be called an "ugly brown sea turtle". Then he points out that calling him a "hermit crab" isn't very indicative either - he doesn't act like a hermit.
  • Noodle Incident: One strip has Hawthorne wearing a disguise while stalking a clam. When Sherman asks why he needs the disguise, Hawthorne replies "Creditors. Whole other story."
  • Nutritional Nightmare: One storyline had Megan become a celebrity chef whose dishes included things like "sugar sprinkled on a stick of butter."
  • Obfuscating Stupidity: Discussed in this strip. After a string of robberies, Sherman theorizes that the jellyfish is behind it, to which Hawthorne claims that he doesn't have the intelligence to pull it off. Sherman then suggests that perhaps his lack of intelligence is just a disguise. Hawthorne doesn't believe it.

    Hawthorne: Sometimes I wonder if yours is a disguise.

    Sherman: Nope.

    • Another strip has Hawthorne telling Sherman to do this when the health department comes to his tattoo parlor. In the next strip, Hawthorne discovers that it's been shut down. Why? Well...

    Sherman: I pretended that I couldn't speak English, so they asked me what language I did speak. So I said I didn't speak ANY language. Then they asked, "What language are we speaking now?" So I said "English." That's when they got suspicious.

    Sherman: So, you see, I tried to play dumb.

    Hawthorne: But the REAL dumb took over.

  • Our Werebeasts Are Different: One series of strips has Hawthorne get pinched by a werecrab, which Sherman describes as "half-crab, half-wolf".
  • Paper-Thin Disguise:
    • One strip has Sherman don a turtle shell in order to hide from a rival shark.

    Sherman: Hey, check out the tush on that turtle babe.

    Fillmore: It's a guy.

    • When Sergeant Hardcase of the Internet Fish Police comes after Ernest for downloading unauthorized music, Ernest then pulls the Look Behind You trick and puts on a mustache while Hardcase's back is turned. It works - not only does Hardcase complain that "the kid got away" and leave, but Sherman doesn't recognize Ernest either.
    • While at a resort, Hawthorne is turned down by every female crab there. The solution? According to him, it's to put on a disguise and make a fresh start. He decides on a mustache - even though he's apparently wanted in three states when he wears it. Alas, all the women still recognize him.
  • Parental Abandonment: Ernest doesn't have parents anywhere. This gets lampshaded once by Fillmore.
  • Penny-Pinching Crab: Hawthorne is a greedy and unethical hermit crab who is constantly coming up with questionable schemes to make money. He also gets angry easily (irritable/crabby).
  • Perfectly Cromulent Word: During the spelling competition in the Kiddie Olympics, Sherman submits the first word for Fillmore and Clayton: "BLRRRECHT".

    Fillmore: Can you use it in a sentence?

    Sherman: Your cologne smells like BLRRRECHT.

  • Plot Allergy: One storyline has Sherman being told that he's allergic to meat after he eats a human and then develops a rash. As it turns out, he's not allergic to meat - he's actually allergic to polyester.
  • Produce Pelting: When Fillmore does a musical performance of his poetry, Thornton throws an olive at him because it's the only vegetable he had.
  • Product Placement: Real brands are mentioned rather frequently. This strip, part of a story arc about the characters appearing on Underwater MTV, pokes fun at the concept of Product Placement.

    Spike: Okay, guys, a big part of reality TV shows is product placement. THEY sponsor us. So mention THAT (gestures towards the can of Coca-Cola on the coffee table in front of Sherman and Megan) every now and then. Got it?

    Sherman: Got it.

    (They start filming)

    Sherman: Megan, I'm so glad we bought this coffee table...

    Spike: CUT! No, you idiot! Mention what's ON the table!

    Sherman: We're sponsored by dust?

  • Pun:
    • After "Shark Week" airs footage of Sherman picking his nose, Hawthorne and Fillmore engage in making puns to make fun of Sherman.

    Sherman: Hey, guys, how's it going?

    Fillmore: That's a NOSEY question.

    Hawthorne: Yeah. PICK another topic.

    Hawthorne: AAUUGH! BOOGER FIN!!

    • One strip has Ernest going on a website that sells slightly-used pets called "Fleabay".
    • While in Africa, Sherman and Megan meet another shark who promptly tells them a bunch of Blatant Lies. After he swims off...

    Megan: Bull shark.

    Sherman: I'd say.

  • Rhymes on a Dime: When Fillmore returns home from Poetry Camp, we get this...

    Sherman: Did you have fun?

    Fillmore: Yes.

    Hawthorne: Did they make you run?

    Fillmore: No.

    Sherman: Did you play in the sun?

    Fillmore: KNOCK IT OFF!!

  • Ridiculously Long Phone Hold: There's a storyline where Sherman is on hold for days.
  • Ripped from the Headlines: The strip ran a three-week story arc where the gang visits the Gulf of Mexico to aid their fellow animals in the Oil Distaster.
  • Road Trip Plot: The characters often go on road trips.
  • Running Gag: Sherman wearing a rainbow wig for no reason whatsoever.
    • Sherman fighting the giant squid.
  • Scrabble Babble: While hiding in Hawthorne's crab hole during a typhoon, Sherman and Fillmore try to get their minds off the rising tension by playing Scrabble. Fillmore puts down the word "BLSTRCHTX" - which according to him is the noise that Sherman makes when he snores.
  • Serious Business: One storyline has Megan become addicted to Sudoku and treating it as such. Sherman makes the mistake of telling her that it's "just Sudoku."
  • Sewer Gator: A strip had Sherman and Megan lost in New York while on vacation. They get directions from an alligator in the sewer and comment that New York gets a bad rap since the alligator was very polite.
    • An earlier storyline had an alligator named Vinny from the sewers of New York visit the lagoon via a large pipe.
  • Shout-Out: A pageful.
  • Shown Their Work: Many facts about marine life gets thrown in. For example, in one arc Filmore deals with a box jellyfish by cooking it in a casserole and isn't poisoned upon eating it since sea turtles are natural predators of the jellyfish and immune to the effects of the venom.
  • Souvenir Land:
    • One series of strips has Sherman and Megan taking Herman to "Walrus World". Sherman dons a walrus hat a la the Goofy hats they sell at the Disney Theme Parks, one of the rides there is called "Walruses of the Caribbean", and when Sherman asks mascot "Wally the Walrus" if they can get a picture of him with Herman, Wally responds that it'll cost twenty bucks. Sherman punches him, resulting in them getting chased by security.
    • Hawthorne has also opened a couple as two of his get-rich-quick schemes. For example, one series of strips has him opening "Crabbyland". Its slogan? "The crabbiest place on Earth." Rides include a roller coaster called "The Crazy Crustacean", bumper cars, and a ride called "The Ride of Terror" that promises that riders will see things that will shock, horrify and revolt them - and then proceeds to take them right into Hawthorne's bachelor pad.
    • Before that, he opened a theme park called "Six Crabs Underwater Adventure" (the name being a reference to the Six Flags parks), where according to him family is first. Rides include the "Crazy Crustacean Cage" and "The Cookie Heaver" (you have to sign a waiver before you ride it), the prize for winning the Ring Toss is the old pop bottle that you have to get the ring to land on, the concession stand only serves things that crabs like to eat, and the gift shop sells Hawthorne plushes (just pull the string and it says one of Hawthorne's "famous homespun sayings"... with age-appropriate substitutes for the profanities). There's even a "costumed character" mascot in the form of a large crab.
    • One strip has Sherman and Ernest going to "Six Flags Underwater".
    • Yet another storyline has Hawthorne building a theme park based on Atlantis (he apparently stole the idea from a place in Dubainote ). He has Kahuna summon Triton - the son of Poseidon - and Sherman (who winds up eating a few customers) to work there. Unlike the previous "Hawthorne builds a theme park" storylines, we don't see any of the park's rides (assuming that there even ARE any). He winds up closing it down due to brutal online reviews... one of which is from Hawthorne's MOTHER.
  • Sphere Eyes
  • Spoof Aesop:
    • The conclusion to a storyline about Sherman and Hawthorne finding a suitcase full of money and as a result becoming rich has them discovering that all the money is counterfeit when the ink washes right off. Sherman then comments that his life as a rich shark didn't feel any different than it did before, then that there's probably a lesson in all this. Hawthorne agrees - "USE BETTER INK!"
    • The conclusion to a storyline in which Sergeant Hardcase of the Internet Fish Police comes after Ernest for downloading unauthorized music has Ernest tell Sherman that Hardcase finally gave up on him. Sherman then says that he hopes Ernest learned a valuable lesson about downloading unauthorized music from the internet. Ernest confirms that he has - when you do it, download them to someone else's computer first.

    Fillmore: (currently being arrested by Hardcase) I'm too delicate for prison.

  • Stating the Simple Solution: This strip has Hawthorne and Sherman asking Kahuna to turn them into a dog and a human respectively so that they can win $1,000 in a dog show. Kahuna's response is "Why not just ask Kahuna for $1,000?"

    Hawthorne: This way seems less complicated.

  • Stuff Blowing Up: The opening of Hawthorne's power plant. All he has to do is throw the switch and the entire power plant explodes.

    Hawthorne: I should've sold tickets to this event.

  • Suck E. Cheese's: This strip has Fillmore telling Sherman that, since the lagoon doesn't have any decent restaurants, he had to take his date to a place called "Fred E. Flounder's".

    Sherman: Ooh! I love that place! I got Megan's wedding ring from their claw machine.

    Megan: (off-panel) WHAT?!

  • Sweet Seal: Played with in one storyline where Fillmore meets a pair of sea lions named Barry and Larry. They act friendly towards Fillmore and Hawthorne, but act hostile towards Sherman and Megan.
    • Again played with in a storyline where a group of seals hold a convention in the lagoon. They're friendly, but a rowdy bunch of party animals.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Sherman and Fillmore meet a manatee and ask him what he's doing so far from home...

    Manatee: Well, definitely not setting up an organized crime location operation in your lagoon. No sirree. Not me.

    (The manatee swims off)

    Sherman: Wonder what else he's not doing?

  • Take That!:

    Ernest: It's a huge whirling cesspool where all kinds of trash ends up.

    Ernest: Without all the slapping.

    • From the same storyline, Sherman and Ernest encounter the Sargasso Sea Monster, and Ernest asks him how he can stand being around garbage all day. The Sargasso Sea Monster replies that he used to work at the Enquirer, to which Sherman says, "Say no more."
    • This strip takes a slam at telemarketers.
    • The conclusion to a series in which Thornton has insomnia has Fillmore finally getting him to fall asleep by showing him the 2000 Presidential Debates.
    • After Ernest finds a way to watch people through their computer screens, Sherman comments that it's like Big Brother. Ernest then responds, "Except with a bigger audience."

    Sherman: But there's just two of us.

    Ernest: Exactly.

    • In one strip, Sherman and Ernest find an ancient scroll and discuss what it could be. Ernest says that it answer a question like the key to happiness or the meaning of life. Sherman then adds, "Or what's REALLY in Spam."

    Ernest: Some things you don't want to know.

    • From the same storyline, the scroll predicts that "A bespectacled one shall gain all the power and riches and must be stopped." Sherman says that it's gotta be Bill Gates, whereas Ernest says that he was thinking Harry Potter.
    • After Ernest creates a hair creme that Hawthorne decides to mass-produce, they discover that it causes anyone that uses it to gain a bald spot. Fortunately, Hawthorne is able to get it recalled - he's just having trouble with one celebrity who bought a bunch of it.

    Sherman: (talking on the telephone) It's Fabio.

    Hawthorne: I'm not here.

  • Talking Animal
  • Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Megan's pearl necklace.
  • Third-Person Person: Hawthorne when he becomes "the Bounty Hunter". This is Lampshaded by Fillmore.

    Fillmore: Let me be the first turtle to leave this conversation.

  • Through a Face Full of Fur: This strip has Fillmore blushing. The red doesn't mix well with his natural green color.

    Hawthorne: What's he all brown about?

  • Toilet Humor:
    • When Sherman, Megan and Herman go on a cruise, we get this.

    Megan: There are all kinds of things happening on the ship today. Hula lessons on the sun deck, aerobics on the sports deck, a band on the promenade deck...

    Sherman: Let's go to the movie on the lido deck.

    Megan: We can't bring the baby. Can you take him to the nursery?

    Sherman: Sure. Where is it?

    Megan: Poop deck.

    Sherman: Figures.

    • This strip also has it, but it's a bit more subtle.

    Sherman: I guess we now know what a tiger does in the woods.

    • When Sherman finds a crate full of Doggie Treats and starts munching on them, he actually starts ACTING like a dog. One strip has him noticing a piece of coral that looks like a fire hydrant, prompting Fillmore to leave.
  • Totally Radical: In one storyline where Hawthorne starts up an advertising agency, Wonder Bread enlists his help in an ad campaign. They're looking for a more youthful image. Hawthorne comes up with this.

    Hawthorne: And Snoop Wheaty Wheat.

  • Trademark Favorite Food:
    • Sherman is a Big Eater in general, but he especially loves Twinkies.
    • Fillmore, being a sea turtle, likes to eat jellyfish.
    • Thornton loves smoothies. Just loves 'em.
  • Unusual Euphemism: Subverted in one strip where Sherman and Ernest are hosting a radio show.

    Sherman: Call us with your stories of the wildest place you ever made COOKIES!

    Ernest: Is that a euphemism?

    Sherman: It's a round thing... preferably with chocolate chips.

  • Viva Las Vegas!: Sherman and Ernest find a tunnel that leads to a fountain there. Sherman decides to do a little gambling.

    Ernest: Okay, Sherman, you've got a 5... and the dealer is showing a 17. What would a champion Blackjack player do here?

    Ernest: And don't you dare say "Go Fish" again.

    Sherman: UNO!

  • Voluntary Shapeshifting: Sherman and Ernest occasionally have Kahuna transform them into different species when going on vacation together.
  • Weirdness Magnet: The entire lagoon; it's been attacked by swarms of obscure sea-life, a James Bond villain once tried to blow it up, not to mention that the Loch Ness Monster has used it as a vacation site once or twice. At one point, Filmore, in the face of another attack, asks what drives most of these things to "head their way."
  • We Need a Distraction: While they're breaking Hawthorne out of jail, Fillmore tells Sherman to distract the guard. This is how Sherman does it.

    Sherman: (to the guard) So, uh... nice night for a jailbreak, huh?

  • What Measure Is a Non-Cute?: Discussed in this strip, where Hawthorne and other "ugly" sea animals discuss why they don't get the same amount of love that "cute" animals like penguins and dolphins do, and decide to form a club.
  • Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Sherman is afraid of sea snakes... especially if he owes them money.
  • Write What You Know: One storyline has Sherman write a comic strip based on his own experiences, as per Hawthorne's suggestion. He calls it "Norman's Lagoon", and the characters include a shark named Norman, a crab named Crawford, a nerdy sea turtle named Gillmore. Hawthorne ends up cancelling the strip because he doesn't think folks want to read a comic strip about fish every day, so Sherman reinvents it as a comic strip about inter-office politics and corporate America featuring characters named "Shermbert", "Crabbert", and "Turtlebert".
    • One storyline has Fillmore writing a story about a young turtle "who finds his inner strength through a series of adventures." Sherman says that turtles don't do that - "They talk all pompous and stuck-uppity."

    Fillmore: (enraged) THAT'S JUST ME!

  • Yet Another Christmas Carol: Hawthorne goes through this after opening a fruitcake factory and forcing his employees to work on Christmas Day.
  • You Dirty Rat!: Sherman encounters one at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Said rat apparently thinks that he owns it and threatens Sherman with a spork.