GagBase Logo Explore

Dad Wakes Up Immediately When You Turn Off The TV Meme

This is a two-panel relatable humor meme. The text at the top reads '*Turns TV off' followed by 'Dad:'. The left panel shows the closed green cartoon eyelids of Squidward Tentacles from SpongeBob SquarePants, implying the dad is asleep while the TV is playing. The right panel reveals extremely bloodshot, wide-open eyes under the same lids, conveying that the dad was fully alert despite appearing asleep, and immediately reacts to the TV being turned off. The joke plays on the common widely observed stereotype that fathers often fall asleep in front of the television, but instantly wake up and protest that they were still watching as soon as someone turns the TV off.
Make

Text content

*Turns TV off
Dad:

Overview

This is a two-panel relatable humor meme. The text at the top reads '*Turns TV off' followed by 'Dad:'. The left panel shows the closed green cartoon eyelids of Squidward Tentacles from SpongeBob SquarePants, implying the dad is asleep while the TV is playing. The right panel reveals extremely bloodshot, wide-open eyes under the same lids, conveying that the dad was fully alert despite appearing asleep, and immediately reacts to the TV being turned off. The joke plays on the common widely observed stereotype that fathers often fall asleep in front of the television, but instantly wake up and protest that they were still watching as soon as someone turns the TV off.

Origin notes

This meme repurposes a well-known reaction screenshot of Squidward Tentacles from the Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. The specific version referenced was sourced from an RSS feed of the X.com (formerly Twitter) account @meme.jpg, which shares popular viral memes. This Squidward eye reaction format is commonly adapted for relatable scenarios where someone appears asleep or unengaged but is actually fully aware of their surroundings.

Similar memes

The meme features a two-part layout: the top section contains bold black text reading 'ME OPENING MY MOTHER'S PHONE', and the bottom section is an animated screenshot of a pink character with bulging red eyes, wavy antennae, and an agape mouth screaming. The character has a horrified expression, and the subtitle 'My eyes!' is displayed in yellow text at the bottom of the image. The humor stems from the exaggerated reaction, implying that opening the mother's phone reveals something shocking or overwhelming, leading to the comedic overreaction.

Happens everytime

The meme features a two-part …

This is a two-panel comparison meme using edited versions of the SpongeBob SquarePants character. The top panel has text on the left reading 'Wake up at 6.00 am after 7 hours of sleep', paired on the right with a disheveled, haggard, heavily wrinkled version of SpongeBob with bloodshot, droopy eyes, appearing extremely exhausted and unwell. The bottom panel has text on the left reading 'Wake up at 11.00 am after 5 hours of sleep', paired on the right with a polished, handsome, human-like version of SpongeBob with clear blue eyes, smooth skin, and a calm, well-rested expression. The meme jokes about the common counterintuitive real-life experience where people often feel far more rested waking up later after less sleep, compared to waking up early after getting a longer amount of sleep.

SpongeBob Sleep Quality Contrast Meme

This is a two-panel compariso…

This meme is split into two parts: the top section has repeated text reading "dad is typing..." three times, followed by the line "Dad :", below which is a still frame of Tom the cat from the animated series *Tom and Jerry*. Tom is grinning widely, looking happy, and holding his hand up in a thumbs up gesture. The joke plays on the common relatable experience of waiting a long time for a father to finish typing a message over chat, only to receive a short, low-effort positive reaction like a thumbs up instead of the long message you expected.

Dad spends long typing only to send a thumbs up

This meme is split into two p…

This is a two-panel contrast meme featuring the character Spongebob Squarepants to humorously illustrate the effects of staying up all night. The top panel shows a cheerful, energetic, standard version of Spongebob pointing confidently, paired with the text '6 am after pulling off an all nighter' to represent the temporary false high people often feel immediately after an all-nighter. The bottom panel shows a heavily edited, haggard, worn-out version of Spongebob with deep wrinkles, heavy eye bags, stubble, a runny nose, and a dazed, miserable expression, paired with the text '11 am' to depict the sudden, severe energy crash that hits a few hours after the initial high wears off. The meme is highly relatable to anyone who has pulled an all-nighter for work, school, or leisure.

Spongebob All Nighter Energy Crash Meme

This is a two-panel contrast …

A two-panel meme using animated stills of Tom from Tom and Jerry. The top panel, labeled 'Dads watching TV:', shows Tom lying relaxed with half-closed eyes, mouth slightly open, appearing sleepy. The bottom panel, labeled 'Dads when you change the channel:', shows Tom with narrowed yellow eyes, ears perked up, and a more alert, slightly annoyed expression, humorously contrasting the calm and reactive states of dads regarding TV channel changes.

Dads' TV Channel Reaction Meme

A two-panel meme using animat…

A three-panel meme featuring a close-up of a person's face with progressively emotional expressions. The first panel shows a neutral expression with the text 'Mom calls you by full name' above it. The second panel shows the person with eyes closed and a hand near their face, accompanied by the text 'We need to talk'. The third panel displays red, teary eyes with a distressed look, with the text 'It's just about the Cousin that died' above, conveying a shift from initial concern to sadness upon receiving bad news.

Mom Calls by Full Name Then Bad News About Cousin Meme

A three-panel meme featuring …

This meme features text at the top that reads 'when your mum starts washing the dishes she told you to do' above a screenshot of Squidward from the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. Squidward has wide, guilty eyes, crosses his arms tensely over his chest, and looks visibly ashamed and anxious, perfectly capturing the relatable feeling of guilt people experience when they fail to complete a household chore their parent assigned them, and the parent ends up doing the chore themselves.

Guilty Squidward When Mom Does The Dishes You Were Told To Do

This meme features text at th…

A four-panel meme depicting the sudden disruption of peace by a neighbor's barking dog. Top-left panel: Bold text reads 'SLEEPING PEACEFULLY'. Top-right panel: Close-up of a green, possibly amphibian or alien-like character with closed eyes, appearing calm and resting. Bottom-left panel: Bold text reads 'SUDDENLY, THE NEIGHBOUR'S DOG STARTS BARKING'. Bottom-right panel: Extreme close-up of wide, bloodshot eyes with a tongue protruding, conveying intense shock, annoyance, or surprise.

Sleeping Peacefully Until Neighbor's Dog Barks

A four-panel meme depicting t…

This is a two-panel relatable reaction meme. The top overlaid text states 'When you flush the toilet and the water starts rising up.'. The left panel shows SpongeBob SquarePants with wide, focused, tense eyes and a tight nervous smile, representing the split second of initial concern when you first see the toilet water level climb. The right panel shows SpongeBob's eyes widened further apart with a strained, frozen, panicked smile, capturing the growing dread and helpless panic when you realize the toilet is clogged and about to overflow, a common relatable household mishap.

SpongeBob Reaction to Rising Toilet Water After Flush

This is a two-panel relatable…

This meme uses relatable humor about parental hypocrisy. The text at the top first shows a dad scolding his child for shouting at their video game, calling the game stupid. The next line introduces the dad's behavior when he watches a football game, paired with an image of Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. screaming loudly with his mouth wide open and arms outstretched, to illustrate that the dad gets equally or more emotional over sports, making his criticism of the child's gaming hypocritical.

Suddenly it's not "just a game" anymore

This meme uses relatable humo…

The meme is formatted with a line of text above a cartoon screenshot. The top text sets up a relatable scenario: encountering something so deeply messed up and disturbing that a person feels the need to erase their entire brain's memory to get rid of the recollection. The image below shows Squidward Tentacles from the animated show *SpongeBob SquarePants* with a horrified, stunned, traumatized expression: his eyes are wide and distressed, his mouth hangs open in shock, perfectly embodying the reaction described in the text.

Squidward Reaction to Seeing Disturbing Content That Requires Erasing Your Memory

The meme is formatted with a …

A meme featuring a screenshot of Homer Simpson from the animated television show 'The Simpsons' lying in bed, appearing wide-eyed and anxious. The top text reads 'I won't think about it anymore,' while the bottom text 'me all night:' humorously captures the relatable scenario of intending to stop overthinking a topic but being unable to sleep due to persistent, intrusive thoughts.

When You Say You Won't Think About It But Can't Sleep

A meme featuring a screenshot…