# Best "nick of time" moments in movies and TV. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 11, 2007, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576 "2007-06-11T16:33:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/21 "2007-06-11T18:35:37Z")
> [@](#): > > No heterosexual male should need saving from Sophie Marceau! One last screw would have killed him, though. Just remembered - the rescuer’s first name was Valentin, not Vladimir. My error. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/22 "2007-06-11T20:06:41Z")
“Mr. Scott, we need warp speed in two minutes or we’re all dead.” Nothin’ beats that. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/23 "2007-06-11T20:40:35Z")
Brody shooting the oxygen tank and blowing up the shark in **Jaws**. Spider-man stopping the elevated train just as it reaches (and hangs slightly over) the end of the track in **Spider-man 2**. In **Batman Begins** : “I’m not going to kill you, but I don’t have to save you,” as Batman exits the train just before it crashes. **The Fifth Element** : They’ve activated the four stones, but Dallas has to tell Leeloo he _ **lurves** _ her before she can save the world. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/24 "2007-06-11T21:14:33Z")
Forest Gump carrying Lt. Dan out of the jungle in Nam with napalm flames nipping at his heels. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/25 "2007-06-11T21:35:46Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 5) stopping the car/truck/stagecoach/airliner just before it would plummet off a cliff [/QUOTE] Favorite riff on this: in an episode of _The Adventures of Superman_, Supes arrives seconds after Jimmy Olsen’s car went over the edge. The bad news is, Jimmy had jumped from the car and was dangling from the edge. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/26 "2007-06-11T21:41:07Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] “Mr. Scott, we need warp speed in two minutes or we’re all dead.” Nothin’ beats that. [/QUOTE] Naw, Scotty always overestimated the time it took to make repairs, just so he could look like a hero. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/27 "2007-06-11T21:49:41Z")
I’ve always loved the scene in **Armageddon** when they’re on the asteroid, and after their drilling equipment gets caught by the anti-gravity of space and goes flying away and they think they’re doomed, the second driller (from the backup shuttle which crashed about 50 miles away) arrives to complete the job. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/28 "2007-06-11T22:35:28Z")
Atom bomb timer counting down: 006, 005, 004 … and stops when it reaches 007. Cavalry charge in _Road To Rio_ \<\< Well, we didn’t make it. Pretty exciting though, wasn’t it \>\> ---
**Author:** ![MMI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/53a042/32.png) [@MMI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MMI)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2007, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/29 "2007-06-11T23:24:40Z")
In Babylon 5, after the desperate battle between loyalist and rebel Earth Alliance ships, the jumpgates open with a new fleet of loyalist ships, ensuing despair only countered by the arrival of Delenn with a Mimbari fleet just in the nick of time ---
**Author:** ![BrassyPhrase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea666f/32.png) [@BrassyPhrase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrassyPhrase)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/30 "2007-06-12T00:51:27Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Cavalry charge in _Road To Rio_ \<\< Well, we didn’t make it. Pretty exciting though, wasn’t it \>\> [/QUOTE] I always thought that was a funny bit. ---
**Author:** ![DiggitCamara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@DiggitCamara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiggitCamara)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/31 "2007-06-12T00:55:45Z")
[QUOTE=fusoya] (snip) loved the scene in **Armageddon** (snip) [/QUOTE] … an excellent example of an oxymoron… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/32 "2007-06-12T01:06:47Z")
Not saving the world or anything, but I loved the scene in Broadcast News where Joan Cusack finished editing a story as it was supposed to be airing on the newscast, and she went on a mad dash to get it to the control room, at one point sliding underneath an open file drawer. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/33 "2007-06-12T01:23:22Z")
To expand on what **MMI** said; in Babylon 5 _Severed Dreams_, when the second wave of Earthforce ships are demanding the station’s surrender, and Delennn shows up with several Minbari ships. Delenn: “This is Ambassor Delenn of the Minbari, Babylon 5 is under our protection. Withdraw or be destroyed !” Attack Fleet Officer: “Negative ! We have authority here ! Do not force us to engage your ship!” Delenn: “Why not? Only one Human captain has ever survived battle with a Minbari fleet. He is _behind_ me! You are _in front of me_ ! If you value your lives, _be somewhere else_ !” [QUOTE=Terminus Est] Naw, Scotty always overestimated the time it took to make repairs, just so he could look like a hero. [/QUOTE] There’s a scene in a Star Trek novel where Geordie LaForge tells a junior engineer to always double your estimates, because the Captain will always cut it in half and when you meet his deadline, the Captain’s happy and everyone thinks you’re a genius ! Then Picard calls up, Geordie gives an estimate and Picard immediately demands it be done in half the time. “See !” ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/34 "2007-06-12T01:24:42Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] Atom bomb timer counting down: 006, 005, 004 … and stops when it reaches 007. [/QUOTE] 😕 I’m guessing that’s from a James Bond film, but was it more like: 010, 009, 008, and then stopping at 007? Otherwise it makes no sense. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/35 "2007-06-12T02:28:51Z")
[QUOTE=Tangent] 😕 I’m guessing that’s from a James Bond film, but was it more like: 010, 009, 008, and then stopping at 007? Otherwise it makes no sense. [/QUOTE] It’s from [Goldfinger](http://imdb.com/title/tt0058150/goofs): > [@](#): > > Continuity: The bomb is disarmed with 007 seconds left on the placed timer with big white numbers. Then, Bond says “Three more ticks and Mr. Goldfinger would’ve hit the jackpot.” Originally, the timer would’ve stopped at 003, and the line would make sense, but later it was decided to stop it at 007 instead for a good old Bond joke, and apparently never forgot to delete that line in editing. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/36 "2007-06-12T02:49:33Z")
Ahh, ok. Thanks for the explanation. ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/37 "2007-06-12T03:06:21Z")
[QUOTE=Gangster Octopus] Well the first one that came to my mind was from the _The Untouchables_ when they are trying to intercept the Capone’s bookkeeper and the shooting causes a woman to lose her baby carriage as it goes down a long staircase. kevin Costenr is trying to shoot the bad guys and save the baby, which he can’t do, but here comes Andy Garcia sliding across the floor just in _the nick of time_ to save the baby and shoot the bad guy. [/QUOTE] Or, _Battleship Potemkin_, when the baby may or may not be saved by that glasses guy. Probably not. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/38 "2007-06-12T03:59:40Z")
Nick of time entrances are Superman’s signature piece, of course–not merely because he’s a hero, but because he’s typically solving problems no one else has a prayer of doing anything about. The three best moments in Superman Returns are his plucking the crippled 747 out of mid-air; catching the Daily Planet globe moments before it would have turned Perry White into street pizza; and rescuing the White/Lane family from sinking ship. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/39 "2007-06-12T06:30:26Z")
I’m not sure this counts, since it was planned, but I’ve always loved the moment in RoTJ when R2 shoots the light saber over to Luke on the plank, who proceeds to kick ass. Then there are the monkeys and elephants who go charging into action to save Freedonia in _Duck Soup_. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2007, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576/40 "2007-06-12T11:28:14Z")
[QUOTE=Terminus Est] Naw, Scotty always overestimated the time it took to make repairs, just so he could look like a hero. [/QUOTE] Except Scotty did not effect the repairs this time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-nick-of-time-moments-in-movies-and-tv/407576.md?page=1)