" History is written by the victors. "
—Winston Churchill.
That’s what my friend Roland said… in fact, come to think of it, that explains his nickname.
.
(Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner, Warren Zevon)
Which is why the original Thompson included an integral muzzle compensator (WW2 stripped-down models didn’t bother).
Except in the TNG episode “Cause and Effect,” where it did not work - and it was tried multiple times, each time with the same result.
Until they finally tried the other bizarre plan that might…just…work. And that one did.
I absolutely love that movie.
But did they think forensic medicine was so bad that they couldn’t tell a strangulation from a bimp on the head from falling off a train? Well, apparently is was, at least in the world of the film, because even Keyes and his gut didn’t see it.
I don’t know. Epsilon Nine continued to transmit pictures of space after it had been absorbed by V’Ger. And the Romulan warbird transmitted pictures of its own self destruction in Balance of Terror.
I don’t think Neff strangled Dietrichson. As you point out, a garrote would have left clear ligature marks, and he couldn’t have done it with his hands alone unless they were face to face.
It’s much more likely that Neff simply twisted Dietrichson’s head until his neck snapped. That would definitely do the trick, and Phyllis could enjoy the show without all of the gore (e.g., bulging eyes, lolling tongue) that accompanies strangulation.
in the ’ Silly, weird, perhaps unanswerable questions about movies and TV’ thread there’s been superhero talk, which got me thinking of a question / observation for this thread: since superheroes have been so ubiquitous in popular culture for so long, why have there not really been any real-life superheroes? Or have there been? I did a search in this thread for the word ‘superhero’ and though there have been related mentions, it doesn’t look like this specific question has been asked.
You may say “because super powers aren’t real” but Batman has shown us that you don’t need super powers (as long as you are highly trained in combat arts; also, happening to be a billionaire who can afford to have lots of crime-fighting gadgets secretly made is a plus).
I’d say to qualify as a real-world superhero, one would need something like, but maybe not all, of these qualifications:
- A desire or obsession to fight crime outside of the normal channels of law enforcement
- Some sort of identifiable costume or uniform
- A secret identity (probably the most optional)
- Gadgets or abilities that give them an edge over bad guys as well as conventional law enforcement
The closest real-world parallel I could think of was Curtis Sliwa and the Guardian Angels in the 70s. They definitely had the costume part down, with the red jackets and berets:
Because in the real world, people trying to do what Batman does would be beaten up, killed, or arrested themselves.
Of course, but you’d think over the years more dumbasses would have tried it here and there, possibly getting some publicity for a brief window of time before their short crime-fighting career either ended in disaster or imprisonment.
And because irl anyone super-competent enough to be a masked hero would find more realistic outlets for their talents and desire to make a difference. AIUI, this was lampshaded in “Kick-Ass”, in that Hit Girl’s dad was a former cop who’d been framed.
There are quite a few “real-life superheroes” who have tried to fight crime while wearing a silly costume. Apparently the police are generally not very receptive to their “help”.
Imagine for a moment that there was a guy who decided to use a secret identity to fight crime outside the normal law-enforcement channels; would he, perhaps, go by Deep Throat?
Regarding the idea of a “real-life superhero,” years ago I heard this story on This American Life about a woman who set out to become one.
Like “Captain Freedom” on Hill Street Blues.
Or worse, reversing the polarity of the neutron flow.
Hand me a silicon rod, would you.
Somebody is in the handicap stall because all the other stalls are taken and that’s right when an actual handicap person needs to use it and they start angrily knocking on the stall because they somehow know whoever is using it isn’t handicapped.
That one is probably pretty subjective. I am not handicapped, and I don’t think I have ever even seen a wheelchair in a public restroom. On the other hand, chair-bound people probably endure that a lot.
Curb Your Enthusiasm used a marginally more plausible version of that situation, where Larry was already on his way out of the handicapped stall when an angry man in a wheelchair spotted him.