What Were They Thinking?

"What were they thinking?!?"

What Were They Thinking? is a recurring quote that's often said by the Angry Video Game Nerd. He usually says the quote (or a variation thereof) when something very absurd and "idiotic" happens in a game. The quote was first used in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Episodes that use the quote

• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• The Karate Kid: The Nerd says "What the hell were they thinkin' with this piece of shit?"
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
• Back to the Future
• A Nightmare on Elm Street: Used twice.
• Chronologically Confused about Bad Movie and Video Game Sequel Titles
• Bible Games
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
• Atari 5200: "I don't know what they were thinkin'."
• Ghostbusters: Used twice. He says "What the fuck were they fuckin' thinkin'?!" the second time.
• Sega 32X
• The Simpsons
• Atari Porn
• Nintendo Power
• Dragon's Lair
• An Angry Nerd Christmas Carol (Part 2): Used one and a half times. When the Nerd is reviewing Shaq-Fu, he said, "WHAT, WERE THEY SMOKING CRACK UP THEIR ASS?!" Later, an older version of the Nerd said the line while playing the Nintendo Wii.
• ColecoVision: The Nerd says "WHAT THE FUCK WERE THEY THINKING?!" after picking up the ColecoVision's AC adapter.
• The Wizard / Super Mario Bros. 3: "What kinda crack were they smokin'?"
• NES Accessories
• Superman
• Batman (Part 1)
• CD-i Part 1: "I couldn’t even imagine what they were thinking."
• Atari Jaguar (Part 2)
• Metal Gear
• Terminator 2: "I can only imagine what they were thinking."
• Plumbers Don't Wear Ties: The Nerd says "What were they fuckin' thinking?!"
• Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle
• Wayne's World: Not used in the DVD version.
• Deadly Danger Dungeon (Board James): Board James says "What was I thinking to make a board game of Pit Fighter?" and "What was I thinking to make it this hard?!"
• Hydlide
• Action 52
• How the Nerd Stole Christmas
• Spielberg Games: Used twice.
• Bible Games III: The Nerd says "What were they thinking when they came up with this?"
• Schwarzenegger Games
• Ikari Warriors
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure: Followed by "I know... they weren't thinking."
• Tiger Electronic Games: The Nerd says "What were they thinking with this shitload of fuck?"
• Alien 3: The Nerd says "What was I thinking?"
• AVGN Games: The Nerd says "WHAT WAS I THINKING?!" when he finds his Beginner's Trap idea in Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures.
• Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing
• Desert Bus
• Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie
• Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure
• Darkwing Duck: Not fully used. He said "Fuck they thinkin'..."
• Video Games (Board James): Board James says the line.
• Mega Man Games: Used twice. First, Bugs Bunny says the line, then the Nerd says it before he smashes himself through the window.
• Sega Activator Interactor Menacer
• Wrestling Games
• Lightspan Adventures
• Amiga CD32
• Video Game Magazines
• Pepsiman
• Life of Black Tiger with Gilbert Gottfried: The Nerd says "What were you thinking?!" to Fred Fucks.
• The Immortal: The Nerd says "What art thou thinking?!"
• Spawn Games
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: The Nerd says "What were they FUCKIN' thinking?!"
• Raid 2020: Used at the very end. The Nerd also says "What was Color Dreams thinking?"
• The Incredible Crash Dummies
• Countdown Vampires
• The Legend of Kage
• Taito Legends: The Nerd says "I think I asked this earlier, but what were they smoking?"
• Shrek: Fairy Tale Freakdown: The Nerd says "What are you thinking?!" twice.
• The Rocketeer
• Freddy & Jason
• LJN Sports and Marvel Games: The Angry Angry Video Game Nerd Nerd says "What were you thinking?!"
• LJN Wrestling and Other Games: The Angry Angry Video Game Nerd Nerd says "What was he thinking?"
• The Last Ninja: The Nerd says, "What the hell were they thinking with this garbage?"
• Purr Pals: The Nerd says "What were they thinking, drinking, smoking— How did it get made?!"
• Indiana Jones: Crystal Skull + More
• Beating Jekyll and Hyde