History ArmorPiercingQuestion / LiveActionTV

* Parodied in ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'' guest starring Christoph Woltz with a game show sketch called "What Have I Become?". He asks the contestants the titular question and they all FreakOut in different ways. Finally one contestant asks him the same and he guess crazy.

'''Kira:''' Yeah, Damar, ''what kind of people'' give those orders?[[note]]For those unfamiliar with the backstory of the series, the Cardassians -- of which Damar is one -- had occupied Bajor, Kira's homeworld, committing the exact sorts of atrocities that Damar is complaining about here. And Damar had personally killed Tora Ziyal, a half-Cardassian girl who was almost like a sister to Kira, because Ziyal had sided with the Federation over the Cardassians.[[/note]]

** In the pilot episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E01E02Emissary Emissary]]", the Prophets have one for Sisko: "Why do you exist here?"[[labelnote:Further explanation]]In other words, if time is linear, then why is Sisko stuck on a moment in his past--the death of his wife Jennifer? It jolts Sisko into realizing that he's never moved on from the grief of her loss.[[/labelnote]]

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E22TackingIntoTheWind Tacking into the Wind]] ", Worf discovers [[UriahGambit Gowron is setting Martok up to fail in battle to either get him killed or disgraced]], making the war with the Dominion even tougher. Worf's attempts to resolve the problem fail, and he seeks advice from Ezri. She points out that Gowron is "a symptom of a larger problem": [[InherentInTheSystem the Klingon Empire itself being corrupt]]. Worf initially disagrees, but Ezri asks him to name the last Chancellor he respected or one who wasn't involved in some corruption. Her conclusion is what really gives Worf something to think about.

'''Kira:''' Yeah, Damar, ''what kind of people'' give those orders?[[note]]For those unfamiliar with the backstory of the series, the Cardassians--of which Damar is one--had occupied Bajor, Kira's homeworld, committing the exact sorts of atrocities that Damar is complaining about here. And Damar had personally killed Tora Ziyal, a half-Cardassian girl who was almost like a sister to Kira, because Ziyal had sided with the Federation over the Cardassians.[[/note]]

** In the classic James Newcomer episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E9TheMeasureOfAMan The Measure of a Man]]", Picard is forced to defend Data's rights when Commander Bruce Maddox claims he is not sentient and is Starfleet's property, giving Maddox the right to disassemble Data against his will to study and replicate him. Picard questions the [[UnfortunateImplications real implications of Maddox's work]] that eventually leaves Maddox shaken and silent.
--->'''Picard:''' A single Data, and forgive me, Commander, is a curiosity: a wonder, even. But thousands of Datas, isn't that becoming a race?'' And won't we be judged by how we treat that race?'' Now tell me, Commander, what is Data?\\

'''Picard:''' ''What is he??''\\

-->'''Inquisitor''': In a human, this behaviour might be considered ''stubborn''.\\
'''Kryten''': But I am ''not'' human. And ''neither'' are you. And it is not our place to judge them... I wonder why you ''do?''\\
'''Inquisitor''': [[VillainousBreakdown ENOUGH!]]

* ''Series/{{The Sandman|2022}}'', "[[Recap/TheSandman2022S01E06TheSoundOfHerWings The Sound of Her Wings]]": When Dream expresses his distaste for slavery and suggests Hob find a different line of work, Hob gets defensive, as Dream said he could live his life however he chose. Dream's response is thus:

* On ''Series/SexAndTheCity'' after catching Carrie with her married ex-boyfriend in the middle of a hotel, Charlotte shuts up Carrie trying to justify her excuses and pity party for her affair by finally forcing Carrie to think about how this will effect Big's wife Natasha if/when she finds out.
-->'''Charlotte''': This isn't a joke Carrie. They took vows, vows he broke. I'm getting married in three weeks, what if somebody did this to ''me''!?!\\
'''Carrie''':...I would kill them.\\
'''Charlotte''': [[WhatTheHellHero How could you do this?]]
* In the historical drama miniseries ''Series/SpeerUndEr'' about Nazi Germany's chief architect Albert Speer, there's a scene where Speer is questioned after the war by a group of Allied officers. After Speer basically casts himself as an AntiVillain and OnlySaneEmployee, he gets reminded that this possibly makes him worse than the outright fanatics. An officer points out that Speer fully understood that the people he worked for were murderers and thugs, yet knowingly applied his skills to prolong the war. He then asks Speer ''"How can you explain that to me? How can you justify it? How can you bear to live with yourself?"''

* ''Series/SquidGame''

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'':
** "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E19TomorrowIsYesterday Tomorrow Is Yesterday]]" has the Enterprise sent back to the 60's and accidentally cause an Air Force jet to crash. They beam the pilot on board, then debate whether or not to return him to his time. [=McCoy=] argues for taking him back to their time while Kirk argues for returning him to his time. Kirk's argument is mostly about how he doesn't fit in with their time and technology. [=McCoy=] counters that he can be trained. Kirk's response: "Can he be trained to forget his family?"
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E26ErrandOfMercy Errand of Mercy]]", an impending Federation-Klingon war is interrupted when the Organians run out of patience with their visitors' violence and [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens reveal their true nature]]. Both Kirk and Kor protest, until Ayelborne cuts to the heart of the issue:
--->'''Kirk:''' You have no right to dictate to our Federation...\\
'''Kor:''' ...or our Empire!\\
'''Kirk:''' ...how to handle their interstellar relations! We have the right...\\
'''Ayelborne:''' To wage war, Captain? To kill millions of innocent people? To destroy life on a planetary scale? Is ''that'' what you're defending?

'''Picard:''' You see he's met two of your three criteria for sentience [intelligence and self-awareness], so what if he meets the third, consciousness, ''in even the smallest degree?'' What is he then? I don't know, do you? (to Riker, who'd been forced to argue for Maddox's side) Do you? (to the judge) ''Do you?'' Are you prepared to condemn him and all who come after him to ''servitude and slavery?''

[Picard is at a loss for words and turns away]\\
'''Data:''' I see, it is precisely because I am not human.\\
'''Picard:''' [shaken] That will be all, Mr. Data.

'''Riker:''' What about at warp 7? (''pause'') At warp 8? At warp 9? What's the matter, Data? What happened to those millions of calculations per second?
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS6E21RightfulHeir Rightful Heir]]", Gowron disputes whether the Klingon claiming to be Kahless returned is the real thing. The apparent Kahless recounts an age-old anecdote about a man who, out of foolish pride, defied a storm and died for it. Gorwon, rather than conceding the point, promptly asks "Kahless" - whose historical counterpart supposedly saw the man die - ''what the defiant Klingon's name was''. As he's actually a clone programmed with knowledge of the anecdote, not a true witness, "Kahless" doesn't know.
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS3E23Sarek Sarek]]," Picard has the unfortunate task of confronting Sarek with the fact that he has Bendii Syndrome (Vulcan Alzheimer's) and is no longer up to the job of being a mediator. As proof of this, he points out the fact that Sarek was crying during a concert. Sarek argues that it was only one tear, but as Picard points out...

* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'':
** In the pilot episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E01E02Emissary Emissary]]", the Prophets have one for Sisko: "Why do you exist here?"[[labelnote:Further explanation]]In other words, if time is linear, then why is Sisko stuck on a moment in his past--the death of his wife Jennifer? It jolts Sisko into realizing that he's never moved on from the grief of her loss.[[/labelnote]]
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E21TheMaquis The Maquis Part 2]]" Quark schools Sakonna, a Vulcan Maquis officer, in logic, pointing out that their attacks on the Cardassian settlers in the demilitarized zone would make it harder to achieve peace in that area.
--->''"Don't you get it? Attacking the Cardassians now will only escalate the conflict, and make peace more expensive in the long run. Now, I ask you... is that logical?"
** The show clearly channeled a bit of ''TNG's'' "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS2E9TheMeasureOfAMan The Measure of a Man]]" when they had Captain Sisko dismantle a KangarooCourt that tried to frame [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Worf]] in "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E18RulesOfEngagement Rules of Engagement]]".
--->'''Sisko:''' No. You are an expert on the Klingon Empire. So, tell me, Advocate. Isn't it possible that there were no civilians on the transport Worf destroyed? Isn't it possible that the ship he saw was sending out false sensor images and that this whole affair was staged so that the only Klingon officer in Starfleet would be accused of a massacre and the Federation would be forced to stop escorting the convoys? Tell me, Advocate, [[PunctuatedForEmphasis isn't. It. Possible?]]
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E22TackingIntoTheWind Tacking into the Wind]] ", Worf discovers [[UriahGambit Gowron is setting Martok up to fail in battle to either get him killed or disgraced]], making the war with the Dominion even tougher. Worf's attempts to resolve the problem fail, and he seeks advice from Ezri. She points out that Gowron is "a symptom of a larger problem": [[InherentInTheSystem the Klingon Empire itself being corrupt]]. Worf initially disagrees, but Ezri asks him to name the last Chancellor he respected or one who wasn't involved in some corruption. Her conclusion is what really gives Worf something to think about.
--->'''Ezri:''' Worf, you are the most honorable and decent man I have ever met. And if ''you're'' willing to accept men like Gowron, then what hope is there for the Empire?
*** The same episode sees Kira trying to help Damar's new resistance movement against the Dominion. Damar is dealt a nasty blow, though, when he learns the Dominion hunted down and killed his wife and son.
---->'''Damar:''' What kind of state tolerates the murder of innocent women and children? What kind of people give those orders?\\
'''Kira:''' Yeah, Damar, ''what kind of people'' give those orders?[[note]]For those unfamiliar with the backstory of the series, the Cardassians--of which Damar is one--had occupied Bajor, Kira's homeworld, committing the exact sorts of atrocities that Damar is complaining about here. And Damar had personally killed Tora Ziyal, a half-Cardassian girl who was almost like a sister to Kira, because Ziyal had sided with the Federation over the Cardassians.[[/note]]
*** This particular question shakes up Damar so much that Kira considers apologizing, but Garak[[note]]Another Cardassian[[/note]] talks her down, saying that Damar's romanticized view of the old Cardassia desperately needed a reality check. Later, [[spoiler:Damar rescues Kira and Odo from an old-guard Cardassian, killing the latter, completing an important bit of CharacterDevelopment in the process. To quote Damar: "He was my friend. But his Cardassia's dead... and it won't be coming back."]]
* ''Series/StarTrekPicard'':
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E01Remembrance Remembrance]]", a reporter [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Fvh4d1QUfY at one point]] presses Picard with this question:
--->"What was it that you lost faith in, Admiral? You've never spoken about your departure from Starfleet. Didn't you, in fact, [[ResignInProtest resign your commission in protest]]? Tell us, Admiral, why did you really quit Starfleet?"
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E08BrokenPieces Broken Pieces]]":
*** When Raffi challenges Picard on how well he really knows Soji, he's unable to respond.
---->'''Raffi''': What is Soji really like? Hmm? Do you know? Does she?\\
''(Picard is silent)''\\
'''Raffi''': Yeah, that's what I thought.
*** When [[spoiler:Seven of Nine as a Borg Queen]] is done leading the xBs to overpower the Romulans, Elnor asks her if she plans to assimilate him. She replies that [[spoiler:"Annika"]] still has work to do and disbands the Collective.
*** Soji demands to know if Jurati considers her to be a real person. We don't get to see Jurati's answer.
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekPicardS1E09EtInArcadiaEgoPart1 Et in Arcadia Ego, Part 1]]", a captive Narek complains about how he's being treated because he's thirsty and has no access to water. Saga inquires, "How do Romulans treat their prisoners?" He scoffs, "Let's change the subject."

* In ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', [[ArcWords "Will you join us?"]] - pierces through ''Cameron's'' literal armor, which is saying something. This prompts, amongst other things, an [[OhCrap Oh Shit Moment]] for her, with John even bewilderedly pointing out ''she's'' upset, not him.\\
\\
Funnily enough, the same question actually gives her the same reaction ''twice''. First in the future hearing it from Jesse, then again in the present from Ellison.

* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': In "Ice Queen", the ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' [[PoorlyDisguisedPilot Backdoor Pilot]], Harm is arrested as the prime suspect for the murder of Lieutenant Singer and as he’s being handcuffed Gibbs asks a question he wasn’t prepared for:

** In the pilot episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E01E02Emissary Emissary]]", the Prophets have one for Sisko: "Why do you exist here?"[[labelnote:Further explanation]]In other words, if time is linear, then why is Sisko stuck on a moment in his past--the death of his wife Jennifer?[[/labelnote]]
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS02E21TheMaquis The Maquis Part 2]]" Quark schools Sakonna, a Vulcan Maquis officer, in logic, pointing out that their attacks on the Cardsassian settlers in the demilitarized zone would make it harder to achieve peace in that area.

'''Kira:''' Yeah, Damar, ''what kind of people'' give those orders?[[note]]For those unfamiliar with the backstory of the series, the Cardassians--of which Damar is one--had occupied Bajor, Kira's homeworld, committing the exact sorts of atrocities that Damar is complaining about here.[[/note]]
*** This particular question shakes up Damar so much that Kira considers apologizing, but Garak talks her down, saying that Damar's romanticized view of the old Cardassia desperately needed a reality check. Later, [[spoiler:Damar rescues Kira and Odo from an old-guard Cardassian, killing the latter, completing an important bit of CharacterDevelopment in the process. To quote Damar: "He was my friend. But his Cardassia's dead... and it won't be coming back."]]

** [[Recap/DoctorWho2022CENThePowerOfTheDoctor "The Power of The Doctor"]]: The Doctor gives one of the more damning ones in the entire series to the Master as he proudly shows her [[spoiler: the ruins of Galifrey from his rampage]]:

-->'''Barney:''' No! You're lame. You're just some lame suburban dad.

-->''Cherry:''' What kind of best friends don't tell each other ''everything?''\\

'''Riker:''' How about at warp 7? (''pause'') At warp 8? At warp 9? What's the matter, Data? What happened to those millions of calculations per second?