FAVORITE TV SCENE(S)
It began here. I found it here. I liked it so...here it is. Like it says on the tin. Favorite scenes from television.
I'm using the Denis McGrath model here. Two scenes. One of them, a "commit moment" as he calls it. The moment where you are no longer trying a show on, you're paying for it at the counter and wearing it home.
Except I'm specifically using the commit and the non-commit. I do this for a reason. A lot of my favorite scenes are usually so strong to me because they build on years of character development. It's a part of what has drawn me to writing for television. They have their power because I know these people. They've come to my house over and over again for season after season. That will be the first scene.
I guarantee you, ask me tomorrow and I'll have two different favorite scenes.
My favorite character in this show, right from the beginning, was always Giles (librarian, trainer of vampire slayers and portrayed by Tony "No Pants" Head). The coolest parts of his character emerged so very rarely, but it was always in there. This man is a badass. He trains goddamn vampire slayers for fuck's sake, he has to be a badass. Generally, though, we see the somewhat stuttery, proper librarian. Second season, stuff started coming out. His past associations with black magic users like Ethan Rayne. His punk youth in the late seventies, early eighties.
To those who know their comics, it seems that Rupert Giles was once very much like John Constantine (and not the crappy Keanu Reeves version) of the Hellblazer comics.
For the most part, he's more father figure and researcher. He got a little more hip after he lost his job due to the high school exploding. It really hit me, though, at the end of Season Five, when he found Ben, the largely innocent (though not completely, but c'mon, he was in a tough spot) host to the evil god Glorificus. He lay damaged, but he'll live. And as long as he lives, Glorificus can wreak untold havoc on Earth.
The only way to make the world safe from "Glory" is to deny her that portal. Giles explains to him that Buffy is a hero. She won't take a human life. He reaches down with one hand and holds the struggling Ben's mouth and nose shut, ever so calmly.
"She's not like us."
The second, the "commit" one, builds on nothing (save perhaps the episode it is a part of, but let's not pick nits). It is what it is in the here and now (or the there and then).
Some series get you in the first hour. Firefly. The West Wing. This. And if for some bizarre reason you haven't gotten around to this in the last five years, I feel no pity for you in spoiling the pilot here.
That's the whole series right there. The beginning and the end and the promise of an amazing ride. It's everything you need to know in one determined flash.
ZOMGWTFBBQ! My favorite scenes involve the good guys killin' folks.
Contenders for these scenes during the 15 minutes or so I was thinking about it were:
I'm using the Denis McGrath model here. Two scenes. One of them, a "commit moment" as he calls it. The moment where you are no longer trying a show on, you're paying for it at the counter and wearing it home.
Except I'm specifically using the commit and the non-commit. I do this for a reason. A lot of my favorite scenes are usually so strong to me because they build on years of character development. It's a part of what has drawn me to writing for television. They have their power because I know these people. They've come to my house over and over again for season after season. That will be the first scene.
I guarantee you, ask me tomorrow and I'll have two different favorite scenes.
My favorite character in this show, right from the beginning, was always Giles (librarian, trainer of vampire slayers and portrayed by Tony "No Pants" Head). The coolest parts of his character emerged so very rarely, but it was always in there. This man is a badass. He trains goddamn vampire slayers for fuck's sake, he has to be a badass. Generally, though, we see the somewhat stuttery, proper librarian. Second season, stuff started coming out. His past associations with black magic users like Ethan Rayne. His punk youth in the late seventies, early eighties.
To those who know their comics, it seems that Rupert Giles was once very much like John Constantine (and not the crappy Keanu Reeves version) of the Hellblazer comics.
For the most part, he's more father figure and researcher. He got a little more hip after he lost his job due to the high school exploding. It really hit me, though, at the end of Season Five, when he found Ben, the largely innocent (though not completely, but c'mon, he was in a tough spot) host to the evil god Glorificus. He lay damaged, but he'll live. And as long as he lives, Glorificus can wreak untold havoc on Earth.
The only way to make the world safe from "Glory" is to deny her that portal. Giles explains to him that Buffy is a hero. She won't take a human life. He reaches down with one hand and holds the struggling Ben's mouth and nose shut, ever so calmly.
"She's not like us."
The second, the "commit" one, builds on nothing (save perhaps the episode it is a part of, but let's not pick nits). It is what it is in the here and now (or the there and then).
Some series get you in the first hour. Firefly. The West Wing. This. And if for some bizarre reason you haven't gotten around to this in the last five years, I feel no pity for you in spoiling the pilot here.
Terry Crowley has been assigned to tough cop Vic Mackey's Strike Team. Vic knows something's up, so when they go on a raid (crooked, but achieving a just goal), after they've taken down their target, killing him in a shower, Terry walks up to Vic. "Good job," and all that. Vic turns around and shoots him dead. Right in the face. A fellow officer.
That's the whole series right there. The beginning and the end and the promise of an amazing ride. It's everything you need to know in one determined flash.
ZOMGWTFBBQ! My favorite scenes involve the good guys killin' folks.
Contenders for these scenes during the 15 minutes or so I was thinking about it were:
- The Wire: "Old Cases" - The "fuck" scene
- Homicide: Life on the Street: "Crosetti" - Pembleton salutes Crosetti's funeral procession in dress blues
- The West Wing: "Two Cathedrals" - Bartlet's ranting at God in Latin
- Doctor Who: "Doomsday" - The Doctor's farewell to Rose
- Rescue Me: "Guts" - Tommy tells the psychiatrist about the little girl and the cat
- Firefly: "The Train Job" - Convincing the thugs to take the money back
- Homicide: The Movie (still TV) - Gee sees Adena Watson skipping through the squad room
- Deep Space Nine: "In The Pale Moonlight" - Sisko confesses to the station computer then erases it
- M*A*S*H: "Abysinnia, Henry" - Radar reports Col. Blake's death
- Veronica Mars: "Ain't No Magic Mountain High Enough" - V extracts the copy machine confession
6 Comments:
You've got House, BSG and Lost in your tv list, my three favorite shows- any moments from them that sold it for you?
None of htem had a moment that "sold" it for me, the whole package was pretty solid in those cases that I was on board from the pilots (the whole of the pilots).
Scenes from each of those series that stick with me though...
-Locke at the end of Walkabout, walking away from his wheelchair to go help out.
-Galactica and Pegasus find each other
-Rose and Bernard's reunion
-The Baltar in Caprica Six's head scenes from Downloaded (all of 'em)
Honestly, though, House didn't get me to really commit to it until "Three Stories." While I love the character, the formula sometimes where's me down and that was hte episode that said they're ready to throw the formula out whenever it suits them.
A House scene? From Three Stories when he's addressing the students and Eric realizes he's talking about himself.
I totally throw myself into my television, so once I'm hooked, I'm hooked good.
Locke's the highlight of LOST for me, but I was pretty much sold the moment in the pilot episode where the guy gets sucked into the engine- because, I'm a sucker for that stuff, but I just though the sound editing and everything as that was occuring then was sucking me into the story.
And of course the wheelchair reveal was a great floored moment for me too.
Rose and Bernard's episode kills me.
With Battlestar, I was excited about the mini-series and the skin-job reveal on that was big, but it's been so long...
When Thrace slugs Tigh, right then and there they were my favorite relationship. Slugging a superior officer carries a lot with it in my head, but it got pushed aside, which it's not a big thing, there's so much else going on... but I definitely kinda fall back to Tigh and Kara as my favorite characters. And I like how their development, is a little bit set back from some of the main story stuff, but all of it is great.
Lately every moment of Baltar = love. Finishing up season one and then into season two it was just getting more and more insane, and Callis plays it so awe-inspiring-ly (if that's a word) so I love every Mental-Six/Baltar moment.
And the big Sharon reveal+Adama peril scene killed me.
House caught me just with that character combination of snark and ego and wit, but Three Stories is a great episode.
There is however, one scene I think of with House and unfortunately it's a non-existant scene that only appeared in the draft of the season 1 finale- where just after Cuddy tells House Stacy's coming back, he heads off to the bar and gets WASTED and picks a fight with this huge truck driver. And he gets his ass beat. It's horrible to read, but great cause he's all "I've got six vicodin in me, you're gonna have to hit me harder than that!" - I don't wish bad things on House, but I am completely enthralled at the horrible stuff he does to himself, so I just want to see it. I always kinda hope it'll show up again some day.
Two of my favourite scenes ever. Great choices.
I'm also a huge fan of Giles "the badass" and The Shield had the greatest pilot ever.
Thanks for playing.
(oh, and you're a huge cheater...I said ONE scene!!)
You totally stole my scene. I love that Giles moment. I use that episode in my class all the time when I teach the hero's journey. That ep identifies what a true hero is. Even Giles says so. "She's a hero, you see." And that explains the difference between a hero and the rest of us in that nice little scary moment.
Of course DMc raised the bar with the 'commit' post - but I played along with the original question, with several Buffy references as well:
http://uninflectedimages.blogspot.com/2006/10/sea-was-angry-that-day-my-friends.html#links
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