The real ending of Brazil does fit the bill...
Most Painfully brilliant moments in SF...
- Thread starter Distorted Humor
- Start date
There is without a doubt that this is the most brilliantly painful moment in all of SciFi.
http://youtu.be/EsZpdUUdd3I
http://youtu.be/EsZpdUUdd3I
I'd like to see that version....
I think Lapis was talking about the linked scene from "City on the Edge of Forever".
That wasn't exactly part of the ending. The "creator" told him she was a replicant pretty early on actually, after he had done the "Void-Comp" test on her.
Voigt-Kampff.
In ST XI, the utter contempt in Spock's voice when he says "Live long and prosper" to the Vulcan Science Council.
If there's a painfully brilliant scene in Blade Runner, for me it's Zhora's death.
Blade Runner is a mixed bag, but I won't go as far to say it's overrated. For one thing, it was truly groundbreaking at the time. Although that's not an apology for it's shortcoming, because frankly each cut of Blade Runner has flaws, I believe part of the reputation it has is because of its place in history. Nevertheless, I really like it. I was blown away in 1982 and I still like it today.
I'd watch the shit out of a TOS "Inner Light."
SetHarth said:
Yeah, but a "Void Compensation Test" as a means to test humanity does have a ring to it.
If you stare long into the void-compensation, it stares long into you.
^Yeah, but one can only talk so much about the collected works of Joss Whedon.
And yet...
Wash's death was effective the first time around in making me seriously fear for the safety of everyone else, particularly since they all got wounded at some point in the final battle. But after I saw that everyone else survived, it just pissed me off that Wash was the chosen one to go all the way dead. Wash was my favorite. If it had been Simon or Zoe or even Jayne or Kaylee, I probably wouldn't mind. But killing Wash feels less appropriate to the story and more like the arbitrary hand of a bloodthirsty writer.
I'm 50-50 about Penny's death in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog. It's such perfect tragic irony that the accidental death of the woman he loves is what fulfills his super-villain ambitions. Extra salt in the wound because her last words were, "Captain Hammer will save us." And yet, I still shake my head and wonder why Joss is so incapable of writing a happy ending, particularly for such a fluffy musical comedy.
On the other hand, the deaths of both Cordelia & Fred were perfectly handled, but excruciatingly painful. Fred's death still brings a tear to my eye even after all these years. The bit where Drusilla turns Darla back into a vampire is pretty brutal too.
On a slightly less fatal note, I would also mention Rose getting stranded in the parallel universe on Doctor Who. (However, that moment hasn't held up for me quite as well, particularly once they brought Rose back in Season 4.)
Nearly all of the last few episodes of Torchwood: Children of Earth is painfully brilliant. It's rare that I'm that emotionally engaged in a show, particularly when the actions of nearly every character are precision engineered to piss me off. First you learn what the 456 want the children for. Then you realize that the British government is going to give the children to them. Then your heart breaks when you discover what Jack has to sacrifice to defeat them. It goes
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I get you. I've never understood the alleged brilliance of this movie--or 2001: A Space Odyssey for that matter--and yet those 2 consistently top the lists of Top 10 sci-fi films.
Actually, in one of his interviews or commentaries on the Criterion DVD, Terry Gilliam says that he didn't mind that the happy ending version has been broadcast on TV. He likes the idea that people can see it and understand what he's talking about when he talks about how vehemently he fought against it for the original American theatrical release. That's part of why the 90 minute happy ending version is included on the 3rd disc of the Criterion DVD.
And yet...
Wash's death was effective the first time around in making me seriously fear for the safety of everyone else, particularly since they all got wounded at some point in the final battle. But after I saw that everyone else survived, it just pissed me off that Wash was the chosen one to go all the way dead. Wash was my favorite. If it had been Simon or Zoe or even Jayne or Kaylee, I probably wouldn't mind. But killing Wash feels less appropriate to the story and more like the arbitrary hand of a bloodthirsty writer.
I'm 50-50 about Penny's death in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog. It's such perfect tragic irony that the accidental death of the woman he loves is what fulfills his super-villain ambitions. Extra salt in the wound because her last words were, "Captain Hammer will save us." And yet, I still shake my head and wonder why Joss is so incapable of writing a happy ending, particularly for such a fluffy musical comedy.
On the other hand, the deaths of both Cordelia & Fred were perfectly handled, but excruciatingly painful. Fred's death still brings a tear to my eye even after all these years. The bit where Drusilla turns Darla back into a vampire is pretty brutal too.
On a slightly less fatal note, I would also mention Rose getting stranded in the parallel universe on Doctor Who. (However, that moment hasn't held up for me quite as well, particularly once they brought Rose back in Season 4.)
Nearly all of the last few episodes of Torchwood: Children of Earth is painfully brilliant. It's rare that I'm that emotionally engaged in a show, particularly when the actions of nearly every character are precision engineered to piss me off. First you learn what the 456 want the children for. Then you realize that the British government is going to give the children to them. Then your heart breaks when you discover what Jack has to sacrifice to defeat them. It goes
, , , .I get you. I've never understood the alleged brilliance of this movie--or 2001: A Space Odyssey for that matter--and yet those 2 consistently top the lists of Top 10 sci-fi films.
The happy-ending version was broadcast on TV, TG couldn't stop that... I know because I saw it and nearly had a coronary.
Actually, in one of his interviews or commentaries on the Criterion DVD, Terry Gilliam says that he didn't mind that the happy ending version has been broadcast on TV. He likes the idea that people can see it and understand what he's talking about when he talks about how vehemently he fought against it for the original American theatrical release. That's part of why the 90 minute happy ending version is included on the 3rd disc of the Criterion DVD.
My short list that's in no particular order:
Farscape: The goodbye scene at the end of "Dog with Two Bones."
Battlestar Galactica: Boomer shoots William Adama in KLG Pt. 2
Babylon 5: The entirety of "Sleeping in Light."
Doctor Who: The Doctor flies the Tardis into the explosion in "The Big Bang."
Contact: Dr. Arroway goes on her journey across the universe.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: You discover you're actually Darth Revan.
Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead: Ender finds out he was responsible for the mass murder of the buggers, AND later finds peace in safeguarding their legacy.
Farscape: The goodbye scene at the end of "Dog with Two Bones."
Battlestar Galactica: Boomer shoots William Adama in KLG Pt. 2
Babylon 5: The entirety of "Sleeping in Light."
Doctor Who: The Doctor flies the Tardis into the explosion in "The Big Bang."
Contact: Dr. Arroway goes on her journey across the universe.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: You discover you're actually Darth Revan.
Ender's Game/Speaker for the Dead: Ender finds out he was responsible for the mass murder of the buggers, AND later finds peace in safeguarding their legacy.
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