History ShootTheDog / LiveActionTV

* ''Series/{{Person Of Interest}}'': In Season 2 Episode 9, one of the bad guys says this literally about Bear, the dog mascot of Team Machine.

* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': [[TheLancer John]] kills the [[SerialKiller killer cabbie]] in the first episode to stop [[HeterosexualLifePartners Sherlock]] from [[InsufferableGenius giving into his ego]] and eating a pill that has a 50/50 chance of killing him. [[JustifiedTrope Understandable,]] he ''did'' think [[LivingEmotionalCrutch Sherlock's life was threatened.]]
** Sherlock killing Magnussen in the Series 3 finale, "His Last Vow", definitely qualifies, in a literal example (though more of a case of Shoot the Son of a Bitch). Sherlock blows Magnussen's brains out in front of John, Mycroft, and the police; since neither Sherlock nor John was under direct physical threat from Magnussen at the time, it's considered to be outright murder, [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome and Sherlock is promptly exiled for it]]. However, Magnussen was an AssholeVictim who ruined countless lives with his blackmailing schemes (including high-ranking figures in the government, likely the only reason Sherlock wasn't sent to prison), and was threatening to use his information about John's wife, Mary, to destroy both of their lives as well (and possibly even get them killed). Sherlock killed Magnussen in front of witnesses to protect them from this fate and to ensure that John was not blamed for the crime. And it's possible Sherlock wanted to make sure John was safe from Magnussen and was already pissed about the bonfire thing.

** [[AbusiveParents Lionel]] and ComicBook/LexLuthor have both done this at some point, although in the most iconic cases of both, [[AdaptationalSelfDefense they were protecting someone else]].
** [[CreatorsPet Lana Lang,]] Pete Ross, and [[AntiHero Oliver Queen]] also used this ideology as justification for attacking Lex with lethal intent while under the influence of mind-altering substances. It seemed like this was the case for Kara Kent as well, but that was simply [[spoiler:[[OmnicidalManiac Brainiac]] in disguise]].
* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** Happens at least twice. Both times, it's a member of SG-1 killing someone dear to Daniel and explaining "IDidWhatIHadToDo". The first time, Teal'c killed Daniel's wife Sha're to prevent her Goa'uld from killing Daniel. The second time, O'Neill shot the android Reese to stop her replicator army, even though Daniel believes he had already managed to talk her down so the shooting was unnecessary.

** Has several examples:

** "In the Pale Moonlight": Garak and Sisko hatch a morally ambiguous plot to frame the Dominion for plotting an attack on the Romulan Empire, in order to get them to join in the war effort. This plot was recognized as a fake by a Romulan Senator who was [[spoiler:promptly murdered by Garak]]. Though angry at first, Sisko eventually came to grudgingly accept that it was a necessity. While some fans consider this to be one of the best episodes in the entire series, others interpret Sisko's attitude at the end of the episode as StupidGood; Garak did what Sisko's plan logically led to, but Sisko kept clinging to a vision of himself that was incompatible with what he actually wanted -- Romulan intervention in the war to save Earth and the Federation. Then again, Garak explicitly calls him on this ("That's why you brought me in, remember?") and points out that the self-respect of one Star Fleet officer (plus a few not-so-innocent dogs getting shot) is well worth it as a cost for saving their entire region of the galaxy from the Dominion in the long-run.
* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': A few episodes in the third season display Archer's increasing reliance on the JackBauerInterrogationTechnique. Archer tosses a man into an airlock and then drains the air to torture him for information]]. Another episode had them commit an act of piracy in desperation later in the season. These episodes were produced not too long after 9/11.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': In the second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before", [[NumberTwo Spock]] recommends that Gary Mitchell be killed before his [[AGodAmI growing power]] gets completely out of hand. [[TheCaptain Kirk]] initially rejects the suggestion in favor of merely marooning Mitchell, but [[OhCrap finally realizes]] that he has no choice (and almost gets killed himself because he hesitates the first time he has an opportunity to go through with it).
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': In "Prime Factors" Voyager's crew come across a race of aliens who have the technology to get them home, but who refuse to help them. A faction within their society agrees to covertly give them the technology in exchange for Voyager's library (stories being used as currency). However the transaction is illegal and Janeway refuses on principle. Some of the more militant crewmembers decide otherwise, only to be busted by Security Chief Tuvok, who then proceeds to make the exchange himself.
-->'''Janeway''': I don't even know where to start. I want you to explain to me how you, of all people, could be involved in this.
-->'''Tuvok''': It is quite simple, Captain. You have made it clear on many occasions that your highest goal for the crew is to get them home. But in this instance, your standards would not allow you to violate Sikaran law. Someone had to spare you the ethical dilemma. I was the logical choice, and so I chose to act.

** More like "Shoot the Werewolf" in "Heart". Madison is a sweet, engaging {{Girl of the Week}} but also a danger to herself and everyone around her. She asks Sam (who's slightly in love) to do it as he's the only one she trusts, and she's [[ICannotSelfTerminate unable to do it herself]]. Dean offers to do it but instead we [[SoundOnlyDeath hear a shot offscreen]] and end on Dean looking miserable and flinching.

** A season five episode features a [[RealityWarper reality-warping]] child named Jesse, whom Castiel quickly determines is an AntiChrist Lucifer can manipulate into destroying the entire angelic Host. [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Castiel's]] reaction to such a dangerous potential threat is to grab the nearest knife and move to [[WouldHurtAChild take Jesse out]] before his power can grow any further.

** Jack Harkness has taken up this role quite a few times, starting with [[spoiler:giving a child to [[FairFolk evil fairies]] to keep them from murdering innocents in "Small Worlds"]] and going up to [[spoiler:sacrificing his own grandson in order to save millions of other children in ''Children of Earth'']].

* ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'': Has an episode in the third season where Archer [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique tosses a man into an airlock and then drains the air to torture him for information]]. Another episode had them commit an act of piracy in desperation later in the season.

** Then in Season 5/Episode 5, [[spoiler:Todd shoots the boy on the dirt bike.]]

** And in another episode he [[GoodIsNotSoft murders]] a group of [[WhatAnIdiot idiots]] that ''captured'' [[TrueCompanions the rest of his team.]]

** This does create some MoralDissonance because only two episodes previously, Buffy's fight with the Knights of Byzantium explicitly resulted in nearly a dozen deaths, including one knight killed when Buffy ''threw an axe into his chest.'' This, however, happened in battle with well-armed and armored warriors, not to a currently-helpless, badly-injured person.

** [[spoiler:Jesse is forced to kill Gail in order to prevent Walter's execution.]] When he tries to talk about his reaction to the incident at [[spoiler:rehab]], he even states that he was forced to put down a dog.

** Sherlock killing Magnussen in the Series 3 finale, "His Last Vow", definitely qualifies, in a literal example (though more of a case of Shoot the Son of a Bitch). Sherlock blows Magnussen's brains out in front of John, Mycroft, and the police; since neither Sherlock nor John was under direct physical threat from Magnussen at the time, it's considered to be outright murder, [[RealityEnsues and Sherlock is promptly exiled for it]]. However, Magnussen was an AssholeVictim who ruined countless lives with his blackmailing schemes (including high-ranking figures in the government, likely the only reason Sherlock wasn't sent to prison), and was threatening to use his information about John's wife, Mary, to destroy both of their lives as well (and possibly even get them killed). Sherlock killed Magnussen in front of witnesses to protect them from this fate and to ensure that John was not blamed for the crime. And it's possible Sherlock wanted to make sure John was safe from Magnussen and was already pissed about the bonfire thing.

* ''Series/TheWire'': Done straight in Season Three where Cheese shoots his dog and the police mistake it as code and question him if he killed any of the murders that have been happening.

** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS37E7Kerblam "Kerblam!"]]: [[spoiler:The Kerblam! computer system, in an attempt to keep BombThrowingAnarchist Charlie, who has been hacking it, from sending out packages with explosive bubble wrap to kill thousands of innocent customers, kills Charlie's crush Kira with one of the bombs to try and make him see what kind of pain he would be inflicting on others. It doesn't work, but it ''does'' make Charlie snap enough for him to be unmasked and stopped by the Doctor and company.]]

** [[AbusiveParents Lionel]] and ComicBook/LexLuthor have both done this at some point, although in the most iconic cases of both, [[TheDogShotFirst they were protecting someone else]].

* ''Series/{{Merlin}}'': In the new BBC series, [[PragmaticHero Merlin]] is forced to [[spoiler: poison Morgana, who he has been lying to about her magic and hiding his own from, because she is the vessel for a curse that has caused all of Camelot to fall into a sleep they cannot awaken from. Admittedly, his hand was forced by Kilgharrah the dragon and Morgause only made things worse, but up until that point, he had viewed Morgana as a great friend and there was even a little bit of romance between them. He also betrayed the location of a Druid camp that he'd led Morgana to in hopes that she would learn more about her magic because Uther was hunting down innocent people and killing them to find her. This also kickstarted Mordred's hatred of Merlin.]]

* During one particual moral conflict (of which he had no shortage in the {{''Series/Gotham''}}) Jim Gordon faces his most difficult choice. Having disarmed Theo Galavan he prepares to arrest him again, when he realises that this man who already instigated a reign of terror once is too powerful and dangerous to live which prompts him to start considering the possibility of taking the law in his own hands. And as a fateful answer to his dilemma the Penguin suddenly appears and starts voicing all those questions that were slowly creeping in his mind all this time, about how men like him are beyond the law and about how he will condemn the citizenry to even more casualties including most likely his loved ones if he expects Galavan to be punished by the law. And Jim makes his choice and this choice involves not only saying DoWithHimAsYouWill but actually pulling the trigger that cut both Theo's life and his torture short.

* During his biggest moral conflict (of which he has no shortage) in {{Series/Gotham}} Jim Gordon faces his most difficult choice. Having disarmed Theo Galavan he prepares to arrest him again, when he realises that this man who already instigated a reign of terror once is too powerful and dangerous to live which prompts him to start considering the possibility of taking the law in his own hands. And as a fateful answer to his dilemma the Penguin suddenly appears and starts voicing all those questions that were slowly creeping in his mind all this time, about how men like him are beyond the law and about how he will condemn the citizenry to even more casualties including most likely his loved ones. And Jim makes his choice and this choice involves not only saying DoWithHimAsYouWill but actually pulling the trigger that cut both Theo's life and his torture short.

* ''Series/{{Charmed}}'':

** In the pilot, he shoots Dobson (a federal agent) in the face without hesitation because Dobson was threatening [[BunnyEarsLawyer River.]]
** In ''The Train Job'', he kicks the KingMook into Serenity's engines -- shredding the man into a mist of blood -- because he threatened to hunt them down over a deal gone bad.
** In ''The Message'', he shoots Tracy for trying to take [[TheHeart Kaylee]] hostage, when a simple explanation of the situation would have solved everything. But would Tracy have listened?
** The culmination of Mal's "Shoot the Dog for the crew" mentality is shown in ''Ariel'' where he fully intends to [[ThrownOutTheAirlock space]] ''one of his own crew'' for trying to sell out two others to the Alliance for reward money.

%%* ''Series/AshesToAshes'': Season 2 sees Gene Hunt shoot the dog.

** Sherlock killing Magnussen in the Series 3 finale, "His Last Vow", definitely qualifies, in a literal example (though more of a case of Shoot the Son of a Bitch). Sherlock blows Magnussen's brains out in front of John, Mycroft, and the police; since neither Sherlock nor John was under direct physical threat from Magnussen at the time, it's considered to be outright murder, [[RealityEnsues and Sherlock is promptly exiled for it]]. However, Magnussen was an AssholeVictim who ruined countless lives with his blackmailing schemes, and was threatening to use his information about John's wife, Mary, to destroy both of their lives as well (and possibly even get them killed). Sherlock killed Magnussen in front of witnesses to protect them from this fate and to ensure that John was not blamed for the crime. And it's possible Sherlock wanted to make sure John was safe from Magnussen and was already pissed about the bonfire thing.

* ''Series/{{The 100}}'' Season 2 is built around taking Clarke, originally an ActualPacifist and AllLovingHero, and putting her in situations where she has to ShootTheDog. These include [[spoiler:executing her LoveInterest to secure an alliance with the Grounders, allowing hundreds of her allies to die to avoid blowing a double agent's cover, and ultimately committing full-on genocide against Mount Weather]], all in the name of protecting her people. By the season finale, she's shot the dog so much that she can no longer see herself as a good person, and instead views herself as someone who [[NecessarilyEvil commits evil so that others don't have to]].

*** In [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]], [[spoiler:Eleven meets the former self who actually shot this particular dog, as well as Ten, and together [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome they manage to avert the trope by forcing Gallifrey to disappear intact, rather than destroying it.]]]]
** However, the Ninth Doctor [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming gloriously subverts]] this trope in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E13ThePartingOfTheWays "The Parting of the Ways"]]. Poised with a weapon capable of destroying the Dalek Emperor's fleet — along with all of Earth — he cannot pull the trigger. It's all the more satisfying (though [[{{Tearjerker}} heartbreaking]]) given his actions in "Dalek".

* The opening scene of the first episode of ''Series/HouseOfCards'' shows congressman Frank Underwood putting an off-camera dog out of its misery after its been hit by a car by choking it to death. He does this while [[BreakingTheFourthWall monologuing]] about doing what's necessary to end suffering.

** It especially became a character trait in his ninth and tenth incarnations. Instances include, in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E7Dalek "Dalek"]] sealing his companion in a bunker with a Dalek in order to prevent the Dalek from escaping, and drowning the ''children'' of a GiantSpider [[HiveQueen Empress]] in [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride "The Runaway Bride"]] rather than letting them devour the Earth.

* ''Series/AshesToAshes'': Season 2 sees Gene Hunt shoot the dog.