WarGames Quotes


General Beringer: [on the Gold Phone with the President] Mr. President, we have forty-eight nuclear subs closing in on the United States, and a hundred thousand troops massing in East Germany. We're monitoring their bombers that are on alert... [an airman shows Beringer a report]
General Beringer: Well that's a load of shit! [into the phone]
General Beringer: Oh, no, no, sir. Not you. Yes, sir. We'll be in touch as soon as the information changes. [hands the phone to Major Daves]
Major Daves: Intelligence reports rumors of a new Soviet bomber with stealth capabilities. It can project a false radar image 600 miles away from the real aircraft.
General Beringer: Christ! Now they've got us chasing shadows...

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General Beringer: Gentlemen, I wouldn't trust this overgrown pile of microchips any further than I can throw it.

TV Show: WarGames

General Beringer: Goddammit, I'd piss on a spark plug if I thought it'd do any good!

TV Show: WarGames

General Beringer: We've had men in those silos since before any of you guys were watching "Howdy Doody"! Now I myself sleep pretty well knowing those boys are down there.

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Malvin: I can't believe it, Jim. That girl's standing over there listening and you're telling him about our back doors?
Jim Sting: [yelling] Mister Potato Head! Mister Potato Head! Back doors are not secrets!
Malvin: Yeah, but Jim, you're giving away all our best tricks!
Jim Sting: They're not tricks.

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Colonel Joe Conley: This is Crystal Palace. Are you still on? [no response]
Colonel Joe Conley: This is Crystal Palace. Are you still on? Is anyone there?
Colonel Chase: That's affirmative, sir.
Airman Dougherty: Yeah, we're here! Jesus H. Christ! We're still here!

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Richter: [looking at a report] There's just been a very serious penetration into our WOPR Execution Order file.
Lyle Watson: What the hell's he saying?
Arthur Cabot: Let's have it in English.
General Beringer: I'll give it to you in English - somebody broke into Mr. McKittrick's well-known system and stole the codes that'll launch our missiles. That right, Mr. McKittrick?
John McKittrick: There's no cause for alarm. The system won't accept the launch code unless we're at DEFCON 1. I can have those codes changed in less than an hour.
Lyle Watson: Well, who did this?
John McKittrick: I think the kid's got to be working with somebody on the outside.
General Beringer: I don't know what they're up to, but I sure as hell don't want our bombers on the ground when it happens. Take us to DEFCON 3 and get SAC on the line... [looks around for Major Daves]
General Beringer: ... where are you?
Major Daves: Uh, sir.
General Beringer: Oh, uh, and get me a report on those subs. I want to know what those bastards are up to.

TV Show: WarGames

Radar Analyst Kirkland: BMEWS has continuous radar tracking on inbounds. Confidence is high. I repeat, confidence *is* high.

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Radar Analyst Kirkland: Inbounds presently MIRV-ing. We now have approximately twenty-four possible targets in track.
Colonel Joe Conley: Sir, new time to impact: eight minutes.
Major Dawes: [hands Beringer a telephone] Sir, SAC is launching the bombers. General Powers is on the line.
General Beringer: [into the telephone] Beringer. [pause]
General Beringer: Goddamn it! We didn't get a launch detection from our satellite! [pause]
General Beringer: No, no. Radar picked 'em up already out of the atmosphere. That's the first we heard of it. [Beringer gives phone back to his aide, Major Dawes]
General Beringer: [to Colonel Conley] Get the ICBMs in the bullpen warmed up and ready to fly.
General Beringer: [to Major Dawes] Get me the President on the horn.

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FBI Agent George Wigan: He does fit the profile perfectly. He's intelligent, but an under-achiever; alienated from his parents; has few friends. Classic case for recruitment by the Soviets.
Lyle Watson: Now what does this say about the state of our country, hmm? [General Beringer rolls his eyes]
Lyle Watson: I mean have you gotten any insight as to why a, a bright boy like this would jeopardize the lives of millions?
FBI Agent George Wigan: No sir. He says he does this sort of thing for fun.
John McKittrick: What?
Arthur Cabot: Dammit, John, I want some answers and I want them *now*!

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Major Lem: [D.S.P. registers a massive launch from Soviet ICBM fields] We have a launch detection. We have a Soviet launch detection.
Colonel Joe Conley: BMEWS confirms a massive attack.
Major Lem: Missile Warning - no malfunction.
Radar Analyst Kirkland: Confidence is high. I repeat, confidence is high.
Female Airman First Class: Cobra Dane, is this an exercise?
Colonel Joe Conley: Negative, this is not an exercise.
Female Airman First Class: [to Beringer] General, D.S.P. is tracking three hundred inbound Soviet ICBMs.
General Beringer: [points at the C.C.P.D.S. screen] Tell me this is another one of your simulations, Mr. McKittrick.
McKittrick: It's not, Jack.
General Beringer: Alright. Flush the bombers, get the subs in launch mode. We are at DEFCON 1.
Major Lem: [buzzer sounds] DEFCON 1.

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Stephen Falken: Are either of you paleontologists? I'm in desperate need of a paleontologist.
Jennifer: No, we're high school students.
Stephen Falken: Pity.

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Stephen Falken: I loved it when you nuked Las Vegas. Suitably biblical ending to the place, don't you think?

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Stephen Falken: Now, children, come on over here. I'm going to tell you a bedtime story. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin. Once upon a time, there lived a magnificent race of animals that dominated the world through age after age. They ran, they swam, and they fought and they flew, until suddenly, quite recently, they disappeared. Nature just gave up and started again. We weren't even apes then. We were just these smart little rodents hiding in the rocks. And when we go, nature will start over. With the bees, probably. Nature knows when to give up, David.

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Stephen Falken: The whole point was to find a way to practice nuclear war without destroying ourselves. To get the computers to learn from mistakes we couldn't afford to make. Except, I never could get Joshua to learn the most important lesson.
David Lightman: What's that?
Stephen Falken: Futility. That there's a time when you should just give up.
Jennifer: What kind of a lesson is that?
Stephen Falken: Did you ever play tic-tac-toe?
Jennifer: Yeah, of course.
Stephen Falken: But you don't anymore.
Jennifer: No.
Stephen Falken: Why?
Jennifer: Because it's a boring game. It's always a tie.
Stephen Falken: Exactly. There's no way to win. The game itself is pointless! But back at the war room, they believe you can win a nuclear war. That there can be "acceptable losses."

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Stephen Falken: What you see on these screens up here is a fantasy; a computer enhanced hallucination!

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Airman Basic Galdutti: [with checklist] Initiate internal power.
Technical Sergeant Lambert: [flipping switches on] Generators on...
Technical Sergeant Lambert: [punching two buttons simultaneously] and functioning.
Technical Sergeant Lambert: [flipping switches off on second rack] External power...
Technical Sergeant Lambert: [punching two buttons simultaneously] disconnected.
Airman Basic Galdutti: Seal off ventilation shafts.
Technical Sergeant Lambert: [more buttons] Shaft lock...
Technical Sergeant Lambert: [two buttons at once] sealed.

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Computer Voice: Skybird, this is Dropkick with a red dash alpha message in two parts. Break. Break. Red dash alpha.
Captain Jerry Lawson: [grabs red binder] Stand by to copy message.
Computer Voice: Red dash alpha.
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: [grabs his red binder] Standing by.
Computer Voice: Romeo. Oscar. November. Charlie. Tango. Tango. Lima. Alpha. Authentication: two, two; zero, zero; four, zero; Delta, Lima.
Captain Jerry Lawson: I have a valid message. Stand by to authenticate.
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: I agree with authentication also, sir. [they move to the red lock box, unlock it, remove cards from box, return to stations, snap open the card cases, and compare the card text to the message]
Captain Jerry Lawson: Enter launch code.
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: Entering launch code. [Phelps enters DLG2209TVX]
Captain Jerry Lawson: Launch order confirmed.
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: Holy shit. Target selection complete. Time on target sequence complete. Yield selection complete.
Computer Voice: Begin countdown. T minus 60.
Captain Jerry Lawson: All right, let's do it. Insert launch key.
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: Stand by. Launch key inserted.
Captain Jerry Lawson: Roger. On my mark, rotate launch key to "set". Three, two, one, mark.
Computer Voice: T minus 50.
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: Roger, at "set". [Phelps moves to next panel, pauses and looks over at Lawson]
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: Sir.
Computer Voice: T minus 40.
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: Oh, uh, enable missiles.
1st Lieutenant Steve Phelps: [flipping switch covers and switches] Number one enabled. Two, ena

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Staff Sergeant Schneider: So what, do you think you kids own this place?
David Lightman: Oh, I was, uh, I was- I was just looking around.
Staff Sergeant Schneider: You know you're not supposed to leave the group, don't you?
David Lightman: Yes.
Staff Sergeant Schneider: So why don't you get back there! [the Staff Sergeant shoves David roughly towards the departing tour group]
David Lightman: OK. Excuse me.
Staff Sergeant Schneider: Go on.
David Lightman: Thank you very much, sir.

TV Show: WarGames