Times where an antagonist rejects the heroes' attempt to reason with them in Live-Action TV series.
- Adam Ruins Everything: This happens at the end of "Adam Ruins a Sitcom", when Adam discusses how the titular sitcom can be improved by not relying on racist and sexist stereotypes.Adam: Look, the jokes we choose to tell and the characters we write don't just reflect our cultural values. They have the power to influence them, too. So what do you want the audience to see when they watch your show? Tired, old, reductive clichés, or themselves as they really are?
Showrunner: Nah, just cancel it. - In the Angel episode "Not Fade Away":Angel: People who don't care about anything will never understand the people who do.
Hamilton: Yeah, but we won't care. - In the Babylon 5 episode "Comes the Inquisitor". After a lengthy questioning/torture/ Secret Test of Character by the eponymous inquisitor, his interviewee Delenn decides to feed him some of his own medicine and deconstruct his cruel and nihilistic performance. It doesn't come out too well (or perhaps it does come out too well, it's just that he is not inclined to allow it to pass).Delenn: You are a creature who has received pain and given pain, and taken too much joy in its application. You have aspired to dreams and been disappointed because you are not strong enough, or worthy enough, or righteous enough, so you lash out at anyone who believes they can make a difference, because it reminds you of your own failure. You have to prove they're just as bad, just as flawed as you are. Am I close, Mr. Sebastian?
Inquisitor [hits his Magitek cane on the floor, electrocuting Delenn]: Bang! - Doctor Who:
- The Doctor's attempt to reason with Omega is pretty much stonewalled in "The Three Doctors":The Doctor: Look, if you cannot reverse the energy drain, the fabric of the entire universe could be torn apart.
Omega: What if it is? It will make an interesting spectacle. - Done by Davros in "Genesis of the Daleks":The Doctor: Davros, if you had created a virus in your laboratory, something contagious and infectious that killed on contact, a virus that would destroy all other forms of life; would you allow its use?
Davros: It is an interesting conjecture.
The Doctor: Would you do it?
Davros: The only living thing... The microscopic organism... reigning supreme... A fascinating idea.
The Doctor: But would you do it?
Davros: Yes; yes. To hold in my hand, a capsule that contained such power. To know that life and death on such a scale was my choice. To know that the tiny pressure on my thumb, enough to break the glass, would end everything. Yes! I would do it! That power would set me up above the gods! And through the Daleks, I shall have that power! - Done by Count Scarlioni in "City of Death".Doctor: Count, do you realize what would happen if you try to go back to a time before history began?
Scarlioni: Yes, yes I do. And I don't care one jot. - A good example can be found, appropriately enough, in the page quote for Kirk Summation, with The Master's reply to the Doctor's:The Doctor: You want dominion over the living, but all you do is kill.
The Master: Life is wasted on the living! - In the audio play "The Heavenly Paradigm", The Master plans to use the Paradigm to change the entire Universe to his benefit. Tandeeka urges him to let the Heavenly Paradigm change his own personal timeline instead, as instead of a psychotic Evil Genius he could become The Paragon.Tandeeka: You could be the most wonderful man in the Universe!The Master: (kills her) I already am, my dear. I already am.
- "The Poison Sky" has a heroic example when Colonel Mace snaps at the Doctor that he's stopped listening to the latter's insults due to his discomfort with soldiers. He then proceeds to lead UNIT in curb-stomping the Sontarans. At the same time, the Doctor has a point due to the presence of the Sontaran mothership, which could have wiped them out from space. Notably, while the Doctor never congratulates Mace on the bullets thing (though this being the Doctor he wouldn't) he flat-out congratulates Mace for the use of the Valiant.
- In "Thin Ice", the Twelfth Doctor gives a speech to Lord Sutcliffe about how the measure of a society isn't its industry, but the value it places on the lives of all its people, privileged or otherwise.Sutcliffe: What a beautiful speech. The...rhythm and... and vocabulary, quite outstanding. It's enough to move anyone with an ounce of compassion. [long pause] So it's really not your day, is it?
- The Doctor's attempt to reason with Omega is pretty much stonewalled in "The Three Doctors":
- Game of Thrones: Jaime gives two of these to Catelyn when she tries to give him a "The Reason You Suck" Speech. First when she calls him out for being the "Kingslayer", he retorts that Aerys was a terrible king and the oaths he took were contradictory. Then, when she confronts him for being a man without honour, he points out Ned wasn't entirely honourable by fathering an illegitimate son out of wedlock and then explains she failed to uphold the Tully words because of her resentment of her husband's illegitimate son, Jon Snow.
- JAG: In "Scimitar", Lt. Dumai tells off Lt. Austin for her attitude towards Iraqi gender attitudes:Lt. Dumai: Your country is like a child who has learned nothing yet thinks it knows everything. Let your civilization survive its first thousand years; then perhaps we'll begin to listen.
- In the season 2 finale of Once Upon a Time Regina admits her plan was to use a bean to transport herself and Henry back to the Enchanted Forest, while leaving behind a trigger to kill everyone else. Prince Charming starts to get righteously indignant, only for Regina to blow him off, pointing out (1) their plan was to use the bean to travel back to the Enchanted Forest and leave her behind anyway, and (2) they have much more pressing matters. Namely someone else has both and is planning on using the trigger to kill everyone.
- Star Trek: The Borg have a tendency to do this, deeming pretty much anything that opposes them and their philosophy "irrelevant" out of hand. Though they never got to tell it to Kirk, ironically.
- Kirk is irrelevant. You will be assimilated.
- Q does perhaps the pithiest version of this ever in "Q Who", when Riker takes him to task for throwing them to the Borg: "Oh, please."
- Q's parting words are an even better example.Picard: I understand what you've done here, Q. But I think the lesson could have been learned without the loss of 18 members of my crew.
Q: (darkly) If you can't take a little bloody nose, maybe you ought to go back home and crawl under your bed. It's not safe out here. It's wondrous, with treasures to satiate desires both subtle and gross. But it's not for the timid.
- Q's parting words are an even better example.
- The episode "The Enemy" manages to give an heroic example. In keeping with the theme of the episode, a subtle Perspective Flip shows us what a Trek episode looks like from the opposite side of the viewscreen when Commander Tomalak is about to do exactly what Kirk or Picard would do in his place by violating the Neutral Zone to save some wounded crewmen. This forces Picard into the role of the unreasonable alien who seems more interested in protecting his territory than saving lives. Tomalak attempts a Kirk Summation calling him out on his behavior, but Picard harshly shuts it down.Tomalak: Territories? You would measure territories against a man's life?
Picard: Commander, I am singularly impressed by your concern for a life. Do not risk any more lives by leaving the Neutral Zone. Picard out. - In the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Waltz", Sisko spends much of the episode trying to crush Dukat's will, but eventually Dukat bites back hard.
- The Walking Dead (2010): In a last, desperate attempt to prevent war between his people and the Governor's, Rick gives a moving speech on how violence isn't necessary, and the two groups can live together peacefully. The Governor responds with just one word.Rick: Now you put down your weapons, walk through those gates... you're one of us. We let go of all of it, and nobody dies. Everyone who's alive right now. Everyone's who's made it this far. We've all done the worst kinds of things just to stay alive. But we can still come back. We're not too far gone. We get to come back. I know... we all can change.
The Governor: Liar. - The finale of Watchmen (2019) sees Lady Trieu attempt to read a speech about the various crimes by Cyclops before killing its leadership. One of said leaders, Jane Crawford, just tells her to Get It Over With and kill them already, which Trieu happily obliges.
- The X-Files: The Cigarette-Smoking Man gets to do this twice:
- In season 3 he does it in a Grand Inquisitor Scene that provides several Shout Outs to Dostoevsky:CSM: Men can never be free, because they are weak, corrupt, worthless and restless...Anyone who can appease a man's conscience can take his freedom away from him.
- In season 7, he gives a more personal one to Mulder:
- In season 3 he does it in a Grand Inquisitor Scene that provides several Shout Outs to Dostoevsky:
