HEROIC TV MOMENTS

There was a time when genre TV was a bit of a joke, a gimmick and not exactly the place to find great scripts and stories. The early nineties came and changed television for all time. Since then, it's quite possible to find great, grand and damned heroic moments in TV that cause the emotions to swell up in the chest. What follows isn't a definitive list, but it is a list of five great heroic moments in genre TV that stir the soul.

5. Hand of God, Battlestar Galactica

The season one Battlestar Galactica episode Hand of God, is an oddity. The series had spent the whole of season one having the fleet flee desperately from the Cylons, so Hand of God comes as a surprise, and an emotional powerhouse, as the Galactica finally decides to stand its ground and punch the bully on the nose. True, they are forced into it out of desperation, but it feels good nonetheless.

The episode is tightly focused on Apollo and Starbuck, and how they deal with the critical mission. The dramatic tension is raised because Starbuck is still suffering from an injury incurred in a previous episode, so she cannot fly and is instead elevated to planning the attack. This means Apollo has to command the mission, without the genius pilot that is Starbuck, and the question is whether he has the necessary spark of genius and outof the box thinking to succeed.

The key point in the episode is the actual attack on the fuel depot, this is done really well, as Starbuck's true plan is kept secret from the audience. You feel the palpable tension when it goes 'wrong', only to experience the emotional turn of events when it's revealed that the decoys the Cylons ignored hold fighters, which are able to launch behind the Cylon fighter squadrons which have made straight for the Galactica. If you throw in the heroic flight through the processing tubes by Apollo, and the feeling of elation when he blows up the key buildings, it is an emotional experience, backed up a brilliant score.

It's also clear that the attack on the Cylon fuel depot is an all or nothing strategy. If they fail, their fuel reserves don't leave them any other options. It also exemplifies the true potential for heroic tales about the military. You have pilots stepping up to command responsibility. Characters dealing with whether they are good enough when everything rests on their shoulders. A father's trust in his son. It really was an excellent, simple, very well executed piece of heroic storytelling. Despite the fact the Galactica crew of go on to greater battles with the Cylons in series two, Hand of God still stands out as the better episode on a raw emotional level.

4. The Best of Both Worlds I & II, Star Trek: The Next Generation

The Best of Both Worlds episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation have earned their rightful place in Star Trek history, by being the episodes that finally showed that Star Trek: The Next Generation was not only delivering quality Star Trek, but that the TV version of the franchise was now delivering more than the movies. This also set in motion the whole idea that TV had evolved, thus kick-starting the 90's and beyond concept of TV shows being 45-minute movies in terms of production values. In many ways, Best of Both Worlds I & II set the bar for what audiences expected from TV science fiction.

Best of Both Worlds I & II is essentially a Commander Riker story, as he has been offered his own command, and he is pondering whether to leave everything he knows and loves on the Enterprise. This is conpounded by the fact that The Borg crises kicks off, and a young female officer, Lt Commander Shelby, is assigned to the Enterprise (due to working on a task force challenged with creating weapons to destroy The Borg). She also has designs on the First Officer position on the Enterprise, which she knows might soon be vacant. As a result, the true heart of the story is Commander Riker having to face sitting in the command chair, after Captain Picard is kidnapped by The Borg, and make all the decisions at one of the most critical times in Federation history.

The action has pace, and the character drama is woven into the action either as it happens or during natural interludes. The first part concerns itself with the Enterprise's conflicts with The Borg Cube as they encounter it in deep space, resulting in a desperate cat and mouse chase as all the Federation's new weapons prove futile, ultimately resulting in The Borg kidnapping Picard to turn him into Locutus of Borg, to lead their battle against the Federation. The episode ends with what is still one of the best cliffhangers in modern television, with Picard striding towards the massive Enterprise view screen, proclaiming the end of the Federation, and Riker giving the order to fire with their latest weapon. It was truly a defining moment in Star Trek history and in genre TV.

The second part continues in the same vein, with Riker defining himself as a great leader as he must out think the genius of his previous Captain to stop The Borg. The Enterprise gives chase, trying to capture the Cube. In the meantime, the Federation battle the Cube at Wolf 359. The battle of Wolf 359 is cleverly done as, due to budget restraints, you don't actually see the battle, you hear about it over comms, with an Admiral gravely saying 'the battle does not go well Enterprise'. You then get to see the haunting graveyard of ships, as the Enterprise reaches Wolf 359 as it prepares to meet The Borg Cube in orbit above Earth. Ultimately, Riker proves he is a great leader, and worthy of the Captain's chair, but he has the right to choose to remain first officer of the USS Enterprise if he wishes.

3. The Message, Firefly

The Firefly episode, The Message, fully deserves its place in this list, while still being an entry that is different to the others. The Message, like the Firefly series itself, isn't about anything remotely big scale. It is about the relatively unassuming crew of a trading vessel, trying to make a living on the fringe, effectively criminals, but they are criminals with honour and morals. It is this sense of morals, heart and a belief you should stand by your friends and those that fight beside you that defines the heroism in Firefly, and The Message is a perfect example of that.

The plot of The Message is unique to Firefly, as few shows have characters with such emotional depth, never mind having them established in the first season. Basically, Mal and Zoe are sent a package, and it's a body. The body of Tracy, a young soldier that they looked after during the civil war, a war Mal and Zoe fought on the losing side of. This war, the central character's part in it and the lingering results, issues of independence and choice, form a central part of the series. In true Firefly style, The Message is a story about Mal and Zoe living up to their obligation to take his body home. As their old army saying goes: When you can't run anymore, you crawl, and when you can't do that, you find someone to carry you.

It obviously turns out to be not as simple as that, as forces are in pursuit of Tracy, who isn't really dead, but is in fact a mule. He's had his innards scooped out and replaced with improved, genetically modified human parts, and Tracy has betrayed his masters in an attempt to earn money to get his family of the rock they are living on. In a mad plan to avoid those who paid him to move the body parts, when his side deal goes wrong, he mailed himself to Mal and Zoe as a dead man. A chase results, full of complex character relationships, but Tracy still dies, shot by Mal, after thinking Mal was going to betray him, and he has to be taken home dead. This in itself is sad, as Tracy dies because of the very character traits that meant he needed protecting in the war , which made him such an endearing person to the audience.

Ultimately, The Message is a simple story outlining what human beings are willing to do for each other due to the bonds of war, loyalty, honour and friendship. In the final moments of the episode when Serenity arrives at Tracy's home colony, the snow coming down, and Mal and Zoe carrying the coffin down the cargo ramp, Tracy's message playing again, along with the haunting music, you can't help but hold back the tears. As a piece of heroic television, based purely on the emotions and relationships between great characters, The Message is pure brilliance. A work of art, and the question: "What are we now, Mal? What are we now?" lingers in the brain.

2. Doomsday, Doctor Who

It was inevitable that an episode of the new Doctor Who series would end up on this list; it only came down to whether it was going to be The Parting of the Ways or Doomsday. Ultimately, Doomsday triumphs because of the scale, pace and intensity of the heroic experience. Doomsday is, without a doubt, one of the single, best and well executed pieces of heroic pulp television ever to hit the airwaves.

Doomsday is set-up in Army of Ghosts, which leaves The Doctor, Rose and the Earth in general, not only facing a mass invasion of the Cybermen from an alternate Earth, but a force of four Daleks with something called the Genesis Ark after they came out of a mysterious sphere, a void ship for travelling the darkness between the dimensions. In short, if this was an article about the best TV cliffhangers, Army of Ghosts would be in it.

What follows in Doomsday is a series of conflicts, along with the conclusion of a number of major stories, all perfectly paced in 45-minutes of heroic TV that leaves you completely breathless. Rose has a series of really dramatic conversations with the Daleks. The Daleks and the Cybermen face-off in a great piece of trash talk. Rose's mother finally gets together with Rose's 'father' from the alternate dimension, which is perfectly done as they are ideal for each other, each representing the person they wanted from their own dimensions but got let down. The Doctor does his usual grand plan which seems to come from nowhere, but is in truth hinted at from the beginning (back in Army of Ghosts), this time via a pair of 3D glasses (only in Doctor Who). It ends with the rift between dimensions being closed, pulling the Dalek and Cybermen armies into the void, and The Doctor and Rose being separated forever in different dimensions. It is one of the most perfectly implemented episodes of the new Doctor Who.

A heroic tale is more often than not about sacrifice, and this comes into play in the epilogue, in which The Doctor and Rose have one final conversation across the dimensions, with The Doctor burning up a supernova so he can use the final and rapidly closing rift. The music is haunting, the script is brilliant, and as usual it is deftly done, with the emotion coming from largely what The Doctor doesn't say. To quote The Doctor himself: "Fantastic!

1. The Gift, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

The TV series Buffy: The Vampire Slayer lives and breathes on its heroic moments, as that is the bread and butter of the series. It's the single, most successful, best written superhero series ever to hit the television screen. It's about standing up to be counted when no one else will, and accepting the sacrifices that it demands. It would be all too easy to fill a list of heroic TV moments with episodes from Buffy: The Vampire Slayer: the time Buffy has to face her prophesied death at the age of 16, but sets off to save the world anyway; the time she had to kill the man she loved to save the world, thrusting a sword through his chest; the heroic battle with Faith, another slayer, who she had hoped would be a kindred soul, but ended up an enemy, etc. These are just the dramatic conclusions to seasons; each season is full of great, heroic episodes.

Season Five of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer follows the well established format of making each season a story in itself, with a beginning, middle and an end. While this went slightly off the rails with season four, it's back with a vengeance in season five, and s probably one of the strongest in terms of theme and emotional impact. The ingenious idea used in season five is the appearance of Dawn, Buffy's sister, who appears in the series as if she has always been there, to the extent the whole back story of the series is re-written to accommodate her presence. It turns out she is a magical key, given human form as Buffy's sister so that Buffy will protect her above all else. Buffy also becomes disenchanted with her position as the Slayer, feeling that she is becoming hard, distant and emotionally detached, when this is combined with Buffy having to grow up because her mother dies, you have an emotionally intense season.

All this comes together in The Gift, with Buffy facing the fact that the only way to stop the end of the world might be to kill her sister, which she refuses to do. She has also been told that, as the Slayer, 'death is her gift', which depresses her even more. As she says, if these are the choices she has to make in the world, she's ready to not be a part of it. You also get the visceral excitement and emotional roller coaster of Glory, the enemy of the season, getting a good kicking using various plans and items that have been acquired over the season (neatly building to season six in the case of Willow's power). It is just completely satisfying, and you're a sad man in every way if it doesn't have you holding back the tears at numerous points.

Ultimately, The Gift works because when Buffy jumps into the vortex it doesn't feel wrong, contrived, cheap or hollow, it feels heroic, sad, dramatic on a mythical level and above all else perfectly right. This is the mark of how strong The Gift is, as not only does it pull off the hero's sacrifice well, it makes it the logical, emotional and right outcome. You want her to jump to save her sister because you know it is the right thing to do, and more importantly the right thing for her. That is a work of genius, by any measure.

The End Credits

One of the blessings of the modern age is we live in a time of great TV. The format is no longer the old, disposable and lightweight format. This is especially true of genre TV. It's the new levels of talent in the genre, across the board that allows for the shows to deliver on these moments of great drama and heroics. At one point the province of only the cinema, they are now available on the small screen, with some shows delivering them on almost weekly basis. If you're a person who likes stories in which heroes stand up to be counted, succeed and fail in great ways, and accept the sacrifices of the role they perform, then TV is where it is at. Or at least it can be.

Ian O'Rourke, as well as being the man behind Fandomlife.net, is also a fan of anything that engages his imagination, be it a book, comic, TV show, theme park, an IT Project or business change.