History Main / PlotDemandedManualMode

* ''VideoGame/Portal2'': The opening ride ends with Wheatly performing a "manual override" (via RammingAlwaysWorks) to dock the sleeping compartment. The actual docking port was a few hundred feet below, presumably in working condition.

** In ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'', while doing the 'Riker Maneuver', Commander Riker apparently believes leaving this [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique highly dangerous maneuver]] to his highly qualified bridge crew isn't wise, so he steers the ''Enterprise'' using what looks suspiciously like a computer game joystick.
-->'''Riker:''' Computer, access manual steering column! Transfer helm control to manual!
*** Spoofed in ''Sev Trek: Pus in Boots'' when the joystick is missing because Data is using it to play ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''.

* ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'': While doing the 'Riker Maneuver', Commander Riker apparently believes leaving this [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique highly dangerous maneuver]] to his highly qualified bridge crew isn't wise, so he steers the ''Enterprise'' using what looks suspiciously like a computer game joystick.

** Spoofed in ''Sev Trek: Pus in Boots'' when the joystick is missing because Data is using it to play ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}''.

* In ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'', the Magrathean missiles bearing down on the ''Heart of Gold'' are also jamming Eddie the computer's sensors, meaning he can't take evasive maneuvers. Zaphod calls for manual control (which [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy the book]] describes as a series of control panels sliding out of the wall... along with a bunch of packing material since they've literally never been used before). Subverted in that nobody actually knows ''how'' to fly the ship manually, and there probably wasn't much they could do even if they did (although Trillian manages to evade the missiles temporarily using a technique she picked up "going round Hyde Park Corner on a moped"). Luckily, Arthur comes up with a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]].

* ''Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries'': In ''Exit Strategy'', Murderbot is caught in a LockDown on the wrong side of the door with three hostile [=SecUnits=]. His human friends get the door open manually, and Murderbot (who's used to computer-hacking its way through systems) muses that it had no idea you could do that. [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder "I'm a SecUnit, not an engineer."]]

* ''Series/DarkMatter2015'': In episode 7, most of the crew have been locked in their rooms while the controls have been locked so the ''Raza'' will fly into a sun. Five is able to get to the Bridge, but while she can't access the navigational controls, she can access "non-essential" functions, so she switches the door controls to manual so the trapped crewmembers can open them.

* In ''Contraband Rocket'', a 1956 sci-fi novel by Creator/LeeCorrey, rocket geeks ResurrectTheWreck of an atomic RetroRocket and take a trip to the Moon with it. Various components break down, but they end up using this trope not because the autopilot has stopped working but because the radar has, preventing the computer from getting reliable information.

* ''Series/Halo2022'': In the pilot episode Master Chief and Kwan Ha remove the AI on their Condor to The Chief can pilot it manually. Unfortunately they're immediately disabled by an {{EMP}} pulse, causing their ship to crash to the ground.

* In ''Literature/{{Limbo}}'' by Creator/BernardWolfe, during WorldWarIII, the protagonist steals an aircraft in an impulsive act of desertion. The MasterComputer controlling the aircraft sends the airplane back to the airfield just when the enemy launch a nuclear attack on it. Facing either death from radiation poisoning or execution, he has to take an axe to the controls, thus damaging the autopilot and invoking this trope.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[NoOSHACompliance The nuclear power plant's safety at its finest.]]]]

* ''WesternAnimation/WallE''. Captain [=McCrea=] takes command of the ''Axiom'' by shutting off the mutinous AUTO and driving the ship himself.

* ''Film/AdAstra''. Just as the ''Cepheus'' is landing on Mars a [[{{EMP}} Surge]] knocks out their electronics. The protagonist has to take over from the acting captain who has frozen up under pressure and land the rocket on manual.

* In ''Film/IRobot'' Spooner deactivates his car's autopilot when the traffic control network puts him between two trucks full of homicidal robots. While it helps him survive the subsequent ambush, no-one believe him afterwards as it [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident looks like he got into an accident]] after driving recklessly by going manual.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:

** In ''Film/{{The Avengers|2012}}'', during the attack, when Nick Fury orders the AirborneAircraftCarrier turned south, the navigator tells him the computers are still rebooting. Fury doesn't have patience for that.

* In ''Film/{{Slipstream|1989}}'', the villain attempts a ShortLivedAerialEscape from an unstoppable android intent on revenge, but the android just smashes his way into the flight cabin, rips out all the controls and starts to choke the pilot to death. At this point his ThouShaltNotKill programming takes over and he decides to SaveTheVillain instead, but the plane is crashing and he's destroyed the controls. Oops! So the android maneuvers the plane by physically pulling on the control cables. [[spoiler:Unsurprisingly, the airplane crashes.]]
* In ''Film/SpyKids'', Carmen and Juni have to use a one-man speed jet to reach Floop's castle, but the autopilot fails mid-flight. When Carmen switches to manual mode, HilarityEnsues when Juni takes over without having fully read read the instruction manual.
* ''Film/StarTrekInsurrection'': While doing the 'Riker Maneuver', Commander Riker apparently believes leaving this [[DangerousForbiddenTechnique highly-dangerous maneuver]] to his highly qualified bridge crew isn't wise, so he steers the ''Enterprise'' using what looks suspiciously like a computer game joystick.

* Inverted in ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'' where the MasterComputer takes control of the Icarus II spacecraft from the astronauts, because it has been programmed to [[ColdEquation prioritise the mission]]. Exposure to sunlight has started a fire in the garden that provides their oxygen, so the computer turns the Icarus II so the heatshield is fully facing the sun, killing the captain who is on the heatshield doing repairs. The astronauts try to re-establish manual control to prevent this, but the captain [[HeroicSacrifice refuses to give his permission]].

* In ''Film/{{Total Recall|1990}}'', Quaid is chased by the bad guys and gets into an {{Automated Automobile|s}} but since he cannot name a valid destination, the robot driver refuses to go anywhere. Cue Quaid ripping the robot from its chair and driving the car himself.

** In "Breakdown", [[MasterComputer Zen]] switches itself off rather than [[ICannotSelfTerminate pilot the Liberator through]] a ForbiddenZone. [[AcePilot Jenna]] has to do the job manually, but it's pointed out by Avon that the Liberator is designed for computer control, so this trope will get them killed if they don't get the computer back on-line, due to cumulative minor errors by the pilot.

** In "Orbit", the VillainOfTheWeek sabotages an autoshuttle carrying Avon and Villa. Avon reprograms it for manual flight but the saboteur is unfazed as it's the kind of move he'd expect Avon to make and [[AllAccordingToPlan he's already made allowance for it]].
** In the final episode, ''Scorpio'' is crashing-landing on a planet so the crew has [[AbandonShip teleport off]], except for Tarrant who insists on GoingDownWithTheShip.

* ''Series/ComeBackMrsNoah''. When the Britannia Seven first starts to launch by accident, the crew try to turn on the autopilot but the computer just [[RuleOfFunny produces a jug of coffee]]. So the crew are talked through the manual procedure which involves pushing BillionsOfButtons that they inevitably mess up (there's only one of them trained to pilot the ship, and he was seated down the back and didn't hear most of the lecture).
* ''Series/DoctorWho''. In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E6Praxeus "Praxeus"]], the Doctor notes that the autopilot on the alien shuttle they need to launch to save the world may be faulty. They then have to run back into the TARDIS when the engines ignite, only to realise that one of them has stayed behind. He's not a main character so it looks like he'll perform a HeroicSacrifice, but the Doctor manages to materialise the TARDIS around him just as the shuttle explodes.
* In the premiere of ''Series/{{Farscape}}'', [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep Pilot]] is too busy trying to hold ''Moya'' together to concentrate on John Crichton's SpaceshipSlingshotStunt, so D'Argo demands to be given "maneuverability" [[EnemyMine so he and Aeryn Sun can operate the controls together]].
* ''Series/ForAllMankind''. Molly Cobb is [[DramaticSpaceDrifting cast adrift in space]] and the situation is changing too fast for the simple computers of the era to come up with a solution. Gordo Steven back in MissionControl has to talk his wife Tracy through a manual procedure to navigate the Apollo spacecraft close enough to locate her.
* ''Series/Halo2022''. In the pilot episode Master Chief and Kwan Ha remove the AI on their Condor to The Chief can pilot it manually. Unfortunately they're immediately disabled by an {{EMP}} pulse, causing their ship to crash to the ground.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Caretaker", a much larger spaceship is hammering Voyager. So Chakotay sets his even smaller vessel on a [[RammingAlwaysWorks collision course]], but his guidance system is disabled so he has to pilot it manually. He has Voyager put a transporter lock on him to beam him out at the last second.
* By ''Series/UltramanDecker'', the [[Series/UltramanTriggerNewGenerationTiga GUTS Falcon and Nursedessei]] have become fully automated. However, episode 1 shows a Spheresaurus neutralize both vehicles with an {{EMP}}, forcing the Nursedessei to return to manual operation and the GUTS Falcon to be modified for a pilot to operate it from the cockpit block, as it used to be operated by VR equipment instead.

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/{{Limbo}}'' by Creator/BernardWolfe. During World War Three the protagonist steals an aircraft in an impulsive act of desertion. The MasterComputer controlling the aircraft sends the airplane back to the airfield just when the enemy launch a nuclear attack on it. Facing either death from radiation poisoning or execution, he has to take an axe to the controls, thus damaging the autopilot and invoking this trope.
* In the sci-fi novel ''[[Literature/TheNightsDawnTrilogy The Neutronium Alchemist]]'', the intelligence agents pursuing Dr Alkad Mzu have to switch to manual driving when the electronic-warfare abilities of the Possessed glitch their AutomatedAutomobiles.
* ''Spaceship Medic'' by Creator/HarryHarrison. A solar flare is heading towards a damaged spacecraft, and the only defense from the radiation is to evacuate everyone to the engine room, then turn the spaceship so the heavily shielded part is facing towards the solar flare. Unfortunately [[YouAreInCommandNow the officers who know how to program the ship to do this are dead]], and the control circuits are nowhere near the engine room, so someone has to remain exposed to the radiation to operate them. The pilot works out an improvised radiation shield by putting himself in a spacesuit, then flooding the room with water, but then the spacesuit starts running out of oxygen before the flare has passed.
* In the graphic novel of ''Literature/TheStainlessSteelRat for President'', the title character and his family have stolen a spaceship only to be hit by a missile as they're returning to the planet.
-->'''James [=diGriz=]:''' The auto-guidance has had it and the motors are shot. [[ComingInHot We're out of control and burning up!]]\\
'''Jim [=diGriz=]:''' You're not trying hard enough son. This rustbucket is so old it actually has ''wings''. We can ''glide'' down.\\
'''James [=diGriz=]:''' Manual aerodymanic re-entry? That hasn't been done for ''centuries!''
* In the ActionPrologue of ''Literature/StarshipTroopers'', the Roughnecks' shuttle is late to lift off because they're waiting to extract wounded; this causes them to miss the carefully preplanned and calculated rendezvous.[[note]]It is repeatedly stated that a shuttle docking with a ship is an extremely complicated maneuver requiring lots of calculations and planning; it's as bad as an actual shuttle launch.[[/note]] Captain Deladrier instead takes manual control of her corvette ''Rodger Young'' and plots a flight course to dock her ship and the shuttle. [[AcePilot On the fly. No calculations. By sight, instinct, and a steady hand.]]
[[/folder]]

* In ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy1978'', the Magrathean missiles bearing down on the ''Heart of Gold'' are also jamming Eddie the computer's sensors, meaning he can't take evasive manoeuvres. Zaphod calls for manual control (which [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy the book]] describes as a series of control panels sliding out of the wall ... along with a bunch of packing material since they've literally never been used before). Subverted in that nobody actually knows ''how'' to fly the ship manually, and there probably wasn't much they could do even if they did (although Trillian manages to evade the missiles temporarily using a technique she picked up "going round Hyde Park Corner on a moped"). Luckily, Arthur comes up with a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]].

* In the ''WesternAnimation/CodenameKidsNextDoor'' movie ''WesternAnimation/OperationZERO'', Numbuh One plans to drop the Moon Base on Grandfather, but the battle to get control of the base destroys the targeting system, so he has to aim the base manually.

* ''Film/{{Star Trek|2009}}'':

* ''Film/StarWarsANewHope'': Luke has to turn off his targeting computer and use the Force to destroy the Death Star. Technically he doesn't HAVE to, but Obi-Wan suggests it and the pilot who'd previously tried the computer assisted shot failed (the shots didn't go into the exhaust port all the way) implying it wouldn't work.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''. In [[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS7E16Masks "Masks"]] a sentient alien artifact is [[RealityWarper slowly changing]] the ''Enterprise''. The targeting system goes off-line as a result, so Worf and Geordi attempt to manually program a photon torpedo to destroy it, until the interior of the torpedo is revealed to be crawling with snakes created by the artifact.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In the climax of "Future's End", Captain Janeway has to crawl into a photon torpedo tube and launch it manually because most of ''Voyager''[='s=] computer systems have been knocked out. She ends up being [[MissingBackblast scorched by the exhaust gasses]], though not seriously as the Doctor was on hand to treat her.

* The second ''Superman/Spider-Man Team-Up'' offers an example. The regulating computer for Dr. Doom's reactor has been damaged in the final battle with the heroes, and without it, the reactor will melt down. Superman's the only one who can hold the reactor's core, so he dives underground and leaves Spider-Man to deal with the damaged computer. Fortunately, Spidey figures out which lever to throw (and in what direction, thanks to his patented Spidey-Sense) just in time to avert the cataclysm.

* ''Film/Alien40thAnniversaryShorts''. In "Harvest", the EscapePod can only take two people [[ColdEquation and there are three survivors]], so Mari manually overrides the command so it will launch. [[spoiler:However it's then revealed that Mari has placed two alien eggs on board to impregnate the two survivors, and she's actually doing this so the escape pod will launch regardless of its biocontainment protocols.]]

* In ''Film/{{Passengers|2016}}'', Jim has to go outside the starship and open the fusion reactor's outer vent door because the electronics failures across the ship disabled the internal controls. To make things worse, the door closes the second he takes his hand off the lever, requiring him to stay out there in the plasma stream while Aurora opens the inner door.
* ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe''. Bond and Anya are trying to escape the CollapsingLair as it sinks beneath the ocean. Fortunately, Bond noticed an EscapePod earlier, but when he pushes the button to open the door, it won't open. He then sees a handwheel [[NoOshaCompliance that he has to turn first, while water is pouring in on them.]]
* ''Film/SpaceCowboys''

* ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact''. The magnetic locks holding the deflector dish have to be disabled manually because the Borg are blocking the computer commands to do so. This means walking outside the hull in spacesuits and battling the Borg drones who are reconfiguring the dish.
* ''Film/{{Unbroken}}''. After the bomb doors fail to close due to flak damage, a member of the B-24 Liberator crew has to walk out onto the catwalk across the open bomb bay (while enemy fighters are attacking) and try to close them. However the hydraulics turn out to be damaged, making even the manual crank useless.
* In ''Film/TheAndromedaStrain'', Dr. Mark Hall has to run the gauntlet of the central core's self-defense safeguards to reach a point where the SelfDestructMechanism can be deactivated.

* ''Chindi'' by Creator/JackMcDevitt. When the power gets knocked out on the ''Wendy'' and the doors seal automatically, Tor tries to open the door manually [[TaughtByTelevision like he's seen in the sims]], only the ArtificialGravity has been shut down as well, so when he tries pushing on the handle he just floats up into the air because he can't get leverage. It's further complicated in that he's a civilian passenger so even the simple manual instructions are something he has to talked through. For instance Literature/PriscillaHutchins points out that the manual release levers [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome don't all work the same way]]--some pull up while others have to be pulled outwards.
* In ''Exit Strategy'', [[Literature/TheMurderbotDiaries Murderbot]] is caught in a LockDown on the wrong side of the door with three hostile [=SecUnits=]. His human friends get the door open manually, and Murderbot (who's used to computer-hacking its way through systems) muses that it had no idea you could do that. [[ImADoctorNotAPlaceholder "I'm a SecUnit, not an engineer."]]

* ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}''. In episode 2, a three-man team have to manually open the sluice gate to drain the water tanks underneath the Chernobyl plant. It's regarded as a suicide mission because the water is contaminated by radiation, which also kills their flashlights meaning they have to do the task in total darkness.
* ''Series/DarkMatter''. In episode 7, most of the crew have been locked in their rooms while the controls have been locked so the ''Raza'' will fly into a sun. Five is able to get to the Bridge, but while she can't access the navigational controls, she can access "non-essential" functions, so she switches the door controls to manual so the trapped crewmembers can open them.
* ''Series/DoctorWho''
** In "Death to the Daleks", the TARDIS lands on the planet Exxilon only to find itself drained of power, forcing the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith to crank open the doors manually.
** In "The End of The World", the restore switch for the space station's computer systems is at the other end of a platform blocked by giant rotating fans. The Doctor protests the rising heat will burn the wooden Jabe, but she insists on staying to hold down the switch that slows the fans. The Doctor makes it nearly to the end before Jabe catches fire and burns. He closes his eyes and concentrates, making it past the last fan and throwing the reset switch.
* In the ''Series/TheIncredibleHulk1977'' episode "747", Hulk foils a group of jewel thieves aboard an airliner, and in the struggle, a bullet damages a hydraulic hose that controls the flight surfaces. As the plane arrives at its destination, the controls have lost so much pressure that they can't be operated by a normal person, ensuring that the plane will crash. A teenage boy, [[ChekhovsGunman whose father is a pilot and was reading a manual]], manages to convince Hulk before he turns back into Banner to take control of the plane, and with his strength, the plane manages to land safely.
* In a Creator/LennyHenry spoof of ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Doctor can't get the TARDIS to start, so has to resort to the [[TechnoBabble dimorphic inertia system]]. His Companion promptly hands him a [[RuleOfFunny crank-start handle]].
* In the ''Series/SevenDays'' episode "Lifeboat", Frank has to manually prevent a reactor meltdown. He gets a lethal radiation dose, but, luckily, one of the alien devices Project Backstep has is intended to treat such cases.

** ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In "Mirror, Mirror", the transporter is locked down, requiring someone to stay behind and operate the system manually. Scotty volunteers to stay, but Kirk [[TheMenFirst orders him onto the platform]]. Fortunately, Mirror!Spock arrives and restores normal transporter control, explaining that he was simply delaying the departure until he arrived.
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': In the first episode after the saucer & drive sections of the ''Enterprise'' are separated, Picard tells Riker to do the redocking manually -- which is still fairly computer-aided, it's just a question of giving individual orders/instructions rather than pressing the "dock" button. This is a downplayed version as Picard was just testing Riker's skills.
** ''Series/DeepSpaceNine''. In "Babel", Odo has to release the docking clamps manually to jettison a spaceship that's about to explode. The situation is made even more difficult because a virus has knocked out everyone [[EnemyMine except Quark]], and Odo is unfamiliar with the procedure.
** ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. In "Learning Curve", the manual overrides don't open the doors if they don't have power, [[NoOshaCompliance which is the entire purpose of a manual override]].
* In ''Series/StrangerThings'' episode "The Mind Flayer", the lab went into emergency shut down, [[TrappedWithMonsterPlot locking the heroes in with the demodogs]]. Bob had to reach the basement to override the security codes with a manual input that would open gates for the group to escape.
* In the season 2 finale of ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'', [[spoiler:a torpedo impacts the ''Enterprise'' but fails to detonate. Admiral Cornwell goes down to the impact site to try to disarm the warhead, but there is nothing that can be done. When Captain Pike goes there, she tells him that someone has to close the bulkhead to prevent the rest of the ship from going up when the torpedo detonates, but the impact has damaged the automated controls. So one of them has to stay behind and close the bulkhead manually. She orders Pike to go back to the bridge, since the ship needs her captain. After closing the bulkhead, the Admiral [[FaceDeathWithDignity faces the torpedo and calmly waits for it to explode with her hands behind her back]]]].
* The season 3 opener in ''Series/TheOrville'' has Ensign Charly Burke recount how she survived the destruction of her ship during [[spoiler:the Battle for Earth]]. Her and her best friend Amanda ran to an escape pod, but the damage jammed the doors. There was a momentary disagreement over which of them would close the door manually from the outside with Amanda eventually doing it, giving her life so Charly would live.
* In ''Series/StargateUniverse'', when the expedition ends up aboard the ''Destiny'', which has been flying through space for millions of years, they find the ship in a state of disrepair, with many systems failing or not working and with damage from meteor strikes. One such damage is to a shuttle which is causing the air to slowly leak out of the ship. The solution is to close the doors, but the outer control are jammed. There are controls inside the shuttle, but anyone who uses them will be committing suicide. [[spoiler:Senator Alan Armstrong, who's suffering from internal bleeding without adequate medical help, goes to the shuttle and closes the doors after saying goodbye to his daughter. She's forced to watch her father suffocate, but he ensures that she and the rest of the expedition survive]].

* The ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' level "Long Night Of Solace" revolves around Spartans Jorge-052 and [[PlayerCharacter Noble Six]] boarding a Covenant Corvette in order to plant a makeshift slip space "bomb" on board and use it to destroy the titular Supercarrier. After initiating the docking procedure to the carrier, [[spoiler: Jorge tells Six that the timer on the bomb is fried, meaning one of them would have to set it off manually. The level's final cutscene consists of Six watching helplessly while in free fall as the corvette and the midsection of the carrier, with Jorge still aboard, is teleported into oblivion.]]

* The original ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' finale (before ''Unlimited'') saw Batman ColonyDrop the League's orbital station, the Watchtower, onto the bad guys' main base on Earth. Because the Watchtower wasn't actually designed for this thing, he was forced to stay behind after everyone else evacuated to manually guide the descent until he passed out from the heat [[spoiler:and was pried out of his seat in the last second by Superman]].
* In the ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' episode "[[Recap/JusticeLeagueS1E6And7TheEnemyBelow The Enemy Below]]", the controls on the DoomsdayDevice are destroyed, so Batman goes inside for a manual reset while John provides a defensive field for him.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "King Size Homer", Homer makes himself obese so he could work from home. His job is to release gas from the plant's boiler to avoid buildup that would lead to a catastrophic meltdown, which he does from a computer workstation set up in his house. When he slacks off and gas starts to build up, he has to run to the plant and release the valve manually. [[spoiler:He barely makes it when the tank blows, but fortunately, his fat body blocks the hole in the tank.]]

* * ''ComicBook/ThePhoenixSaga'' goes crazy with this trope. The incident that turns Jean into the Phoenix is caused by the Sentinels damaging the space shuttle that the X-Men used to get to the space station she and a few other X-Men were trapped on. Making matters worse, they have no functioning pressure suits, there's a hole in the shuttle and there's a deadly solar flare heading their way. Jean is forced to perform a HeroicSacrifice to save everyone.

* ''Series/{{Arrow}}''. In "City of Blood", the characters have to [[BreakOutTheMuseumPiece use a beached Japanese submarine from the Second World War]]. To blast it free they have to fire the torpedoes, only to find they're [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiten Kaiten]] manually-piloted torpedoes meant for suicide attacks. Fortunately someone who doesn't have PlotArmor is already dying of radiation poisoning, and volunteers to make a HeroicSacrifice.

* In ''Series/TheOrville'' episode "[[Recap/TheOrvilleSeason3E09Domino Domino]]", a superweapon is about to fire, [[spoiler:wiping out all Kaylon in a 10,000-lightyear radius. Charly, who was the one to build the weapon in the first place (along with Isaac) tries to stop it from firing, but the multiple failsafes placed by the Moclans mean she has to constantly overcome them up until the end. She tells the others to flee and stays behind to work the controls. Her last thoughts are about her fallen best friend (and possible lover) Amanda, who also fell victim to this trope. Fortunately, Charly's sacrifice impresses the Kaylon enough to stop their genocide of all organics and agree to an offer of a provisional alliance with the Union with the possibility of a permanent membership in the future]].
* ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine''
** In the pilot episode, Chief O'Brien has to work with an alien MasterComputer that--being unfamiliar with the legendary Starfleet engineers--shuts down his CrazyEnoughToWork procedure because it's too dangerous. O'Brien tells his team to do it manually, then informs the computer that they're going to have a talk...
** In "The Siege", Kira and Dax have to [[BreakOutTheMuseumPiece bring out of mothballs]] a fighter built by the Bajoran Resistance which doesn't have any sensors, requiring them to navigate it and aim the weapons using just their eyes.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks''
** In the finale of Season 2, Commander Ransom manually pilots the ''Cerritos'' through a dangerous debris field with Ensigns Mariner and Sh'Reyan calling out debris in the ship's path to him (the ship wasn't actually damaged in any way, but the natural EMP properties of the debris would fry their systems if they left the power on). Additionally, Ensign Boimler has to swim down into the depths of Cetacean Ops to free the last panel on the outside of the ship, [[spoiler:nearly dying in the process.]]

* In ''Radio/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', the Magrathean missiles bearing down on the ''Heart of Gold'' are also jamming Eddie the computer's sensors, meaning he can't take evasive manoeuvres. Zaphod calls for manual control (which [[Literature/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy the book]] describes as a series of control panels sliding out of the wall ... along with a bunch of packing material since they've literally never been used before). Subverted in that nobody actually knows ''how'' to fly the ship manually, and there probably wasn't much they could do even if they did (although Trillian manages to evade the missiles temporarily using a technique she picked up "going round Hyde Park Corner on a moped"). Luckily, Arthur comes up with a [[TakeAThirdOption third option]].

* Furing the climax of ''Film/ThunderbirdsAreGo'', the pilot of the Zero-X volunteers to stay in the cockpit and steer the damaged ship while the other crew members retreat into the escape pod. Downplayed in the pilot doesn't ''have'' to manually steer the craft, but it's just that he can do a better job at keeping the Zero-X steady than the automatic pilot.

* In ''Film/{{Slipstream|1989}}'', the villain attempts a ShortLivedAerialEscape from an unstoppable android intent on revenge, but the android just smashes his way into the flight cabin, rips out all the controls and starts to choke the pilot to death. At this point his ThouShaltNotKill programming takes over and he decides to SaveTheVillain instead, but the plane is crashing and he's destroyed the controls. Oops! So the android maneuvers the plane by physically pulling on the control cables. [[spoiler:SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome and the airplane crashes.]]