The opening sequence of Impractical Jokers has remained the same for the most part. The intro warning and sneak peeks into the challenges and punishment have been present from the very first season.
It’s only with the start of Season 3 that the intro got its only significant overhaul, which the show went on to use to date (albeit with some few additions here and there).
Apart from the use of much brighter colors, the biggest change in the new sequence was the addition of titles showing each of the jokers while a famous sound clip of theirs played in the background.
The lines on these sound clips are all pulled from some of the most memorable challenges in Season 1 and Season 2. If you didn’t catch these episodes, I’m afarid you’re missing out on the joke that plays out every time the intros plays.
But fear not, I got you. Let’s go back in time and trace their sources.
Sal: “Prepare for something amazing!”
This line is from Season 2 Episode 9 (Psychotic Not-Line) in the challenge where the jokers are playing hibachi chefs.
In Sal’s turn, he is first challenged by Q to do something ‘amazing’ for the guests and the only thing Sal could come up with is an underwhelming “butterfly”; that is, literally making a tub of butter fly onto the grill.
Joe then pushed things a notch higher by challenging Sal to make a ‘volcano’ since after all he is called Vulcano. It’s from this prompting that Sal utters this famous line before making a huge flame on the grill.
He could however not put out the ‘volcano’ in time which prompted the guests to leave as the other jokers cracked up. Not even Q, our former fire fighter, could come to Sal’s rescue.
Q: “Hey mustache! What’s up?”
This is perhaps Q’s most famous line barring the countless ones from his speech impediment. Q made this line on Season 2 Episode 27 (Cyber Buddies) while playing cashier at Cross Island Fruits grocery store.
Lucky for Q, he got a friendly ‘mustache’ this time round unlike the first time where the gentleman didn’t take the joke too kindly and called him a clown. It’s from that challenge we get the other infamous line: “don’t call me clown”.
If you’re wondering where all this went down, it’s actually in the very first episode of the show – Seaon 1 Episode 1 (Pay It Forward) – in the challenge where the jokers are also playing cashiers but this time at Costco.
Murr: “I want my mommy”
The source for this one is unclear. No aired episode as far as most fans can tell has this line, though we have a pretty good guess where it might have been said.
The most likely source is probably a deleted scene from the challenge where the jokers had to throw temper tantrums to get strangers to buy them a toy.
This was a previously unaired challenge which was eventually shown in Season 2 Episode 2 (The Stoop Sessions). In the challenge, Murr is using an almost similar voice to the one we hear him using in the line.
The other likely source is the first challenge in Season 2 Episode 28 (Trouble Shoot) in which the jokers are shopping at Lot-Less.
In Murr’s turn he pretends that he’s lost his mother and starts calling out “mommy” until a nice lady comes to his rescue.
Sal: “I will never forgive you”
Sal’s second line in the intro is from his punishment in Season 2 Episode 16 (Down in the Dump).
In the punishment, Sal has to find his brand new cellphone from a pile of trash on a garbage barge.
However, while he’s busy rummaging through the trash, the jokers quietly walk out of the barge abandoning him all alone in the now moving barge.
It’s at this point where Sal resorts to yelling this line to the jokers.
Joe: “Larry!”
Joe has been looking for the ever elusive Larry ever since season one.
For this reason, there is more one challenge in season one and two where this line can possibly be from. However, if you listen closely to all the Larry episodes, there is no doubt about the source of sound clip in the intro:
The Larry scene in question is from Season 2 Episode 27 (Cyber Buddies) in the challenge where Joe is working the cashier at Cross Island grocery and is trying to find Lawrence the manager for a price check.
Murr: “Like a Boss!”
Nurr’s original line was changed to this one beginning with Season 8.
This sound clip is from Murr’s punishment in Season 7 Episode 17 (Like A Boss) where he had to keep heckling this line during a meeting at Tumblr.
