History CombatPragmatist / LiveActionTV

** Of course, the most pragmatic thing Starbuck ends up doing in that fight is [[spoiler: swallowing her pride and luring Scar into an ambush so that someone else can take the kill and get the glory]].

** Being a CombatPragmatist could have saved the Old Commonwealth, and Dylan's NumberTwo Gaheris Rhade (a Nietzschean and Telemachus's ancestor) suggests destroying the entire Nietzschean armada by blowing up the system's star. Dylan refuses to destroy an inhabited system, and this proves to Gaheris that the Commonwealth doesn't deserve to survive. Dylan learns a few dirty tricks since then.

** One of the Nietzschean's [[PlanetOfHats hats]], Nietzschean crew members Tyr Anasazi and later Telemachus Rhade are usually the first ones to suggest retreating and/or [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder selling out their allies]] when a situation appears hopeless. It might seem odd considering their ProudWarriorRace status but meshes quite well with their SocialDarwinism, especially considering that their definition of "fittest" is "lives longest and sires the most children".

* ''Series/TheAddamsFamily'': Uncle Fester's idea of defending the family's honor is to shoot the offender in the back with a blunderbuss. Gomez and Morticia call him out for being a DirtyCoward, but Fester invokes this trope by calling it the safest option.

** Methos is the oldest Immortal. He's so old that he doesn't remember how old he is. He remembers the first civilization, and he was already old then. There's only one way to become the oldest Immortal: Be very good to your friends, have no mercy for your enemies, and always, ''always'', know which is which. This was explicitly referenced a few times; many of his friends hail from eras of formal combat and take HonorBeforeReason ''very'' seriously, but he was ancient before honor was even invented. If the fight's going against him, Methos is not above feigning helplessness (such as pretending to slip) and then, when his opponent moves in for the kill, drawing a hidden dagger and stabbing him.

** Major Kira. As has been noted elsewhere, fair tactics do not keep one alive in the Bajoran Rebellion. Therefore, Kira doesn't use them. ''Deep Space Nine'' didn't shy away from calling the Bajoran Resistance fighters ''terrorists''. [[SocietyMarchesOn Terrorism is generally referred to as perfectly legitimate tactics, and not just in the back story.]] Of course, they are defending their own planet so the only people they were terrorising were the invading Cardassians, and the word 'insurgency' hadn't come into vogue by then.

* ''Series/BurnNotice'': Michael Westen. As he explains in the Season 3 episode, "Friends and Family", "Spies are not trained to fight fair. Spies are trained to win." He always explains via voice-over what he's doing and why he's doing it. For example, in a car chase, he explains that small-caliber weapons can't penetrate the engine block, so it's best to aim for the windshield, or try to ricochet bullets up from the ground, as it's really hard to drive when you've got bullets coming at you ''from under your car''.

** In the very first episode Michael explains that punching people is a great way to damage your hands and that it's better to use the hard surfaces around you instead. He then slams a mook's head into a nearby urinal.

%% This list is alphabetized. Please put examples in the correct position.

*** He asks Tyrion why killing 10,000 men in battle is more noble than murdering a dozen by violating SacredHospitality. Of course, he conveniently discounts the fact that said 10,000 were cowardly slaughtered too. What makes him a chessmaster here instead of an idiot that violated every principle of diplomacy and SacredHospitality in the worst way possible, however, is that he didn't take any active role in the matter — he simply made some assurances to an already traitorous, ambitious, selfish ally of Robb Stark's, giving the betrayal a guaranteed reward if actually carried out; the actual betrayal, its nature, and all of the extreme diplomatic and cultural taboos involved were not Tywin's idea or something he had a direct hand in.

** Watch Sandor when he fights Polliver's men. He spends almost as much time punching his enemies in the face as he does tearing them apart with his sword — to say nothing of the man whose crotch he rips out. It speaks volumes of how little he thinks of honorable knightly standards.

* ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight'': Grant Stanley- AKA Kamen Rider Camo- is an underground martial artist who is not above attaching wrenches to his fists to win a fight. Karma hits him hard when he is vented (killed, but not really) by Kamen Rider Torque and his massive arsenal of guns.
** Kamen Rider Torque is the only Rider with an arsenal of guns; he never fights without using them and it is rarely a fair fight. He is only defeated by Kamen Rider Strike- whose vicious and close-range fighting style and powerful contract beast (and pension for dodging bullets) rendered Torque's guns useless. It is demonstrated quite clearly that Torque cannot fight at all without his weapons.

** In "Victoria Cross", Murdoch himself comes upon a killer approaching Julia and her patient (an eyewitness to his earlier robbery and murder), and grabs the guy's arm from behind without further ado--no flashing the badge or issuing a verbal order to stop.

* The characters on ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' are frequently up against AlwaysChaoticEvil monsters and creatures that are much more powerful than they are, and have no time to worry about what's "fair". In fact, very few fighters on the show would ever concern themselves with any sort of honorable standards of battle -- surprise attacks are quite common, and many a minor villain has been taken out by a stab through the back. In an episode of season six, Dean simply tricks the villain into killing herself by ingesting a substance he knows is toxic to her and then getting her angry enough to bite him. Since said villain is [[spoiler:''Eve'' the Mother of Monsters, older than the angels and powerful enough to suppress Castiel's angelic abilities]], there's just no way to take her out in straight combat.

* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'': Merlin is enough of a MagicKnight to give lower enemies a fair fight with a sword...but why would he do that when he could just use his magic to hit you with your own weapon, trip you up, drop tree branches on you, or disarm you and let his MasterSwordsman best friend KingArthur clobber you? He even cheats for Arthur in a few occasions, breaking the saddle girth on mounted knights and disarming Arthur's opponents even if it looks like Arthur could handle them, just in case.

* Frank Castle in ''Series/ThePunisher'' is a massive combat pragmatist, just like his comic-book counterpart. When combined with his insane durability, it allows him to rip his opponents to shreds.

*** He asks Tyrion why killing 10,000 men in battle is more noble than murdering a dozen by violating SacredHospitality. Off course, he conveniently discounts the fact that said 10,000 were cowardly slaughtered too. What makes him a chessmaster here instead of an idiot that violated every principle of diplomacy and SacredHospitality in the worst way possible, however, is that he didn't take any active role in the matter — he simply made some assurances to an already traitorous, ambitious, selfish ally of Robb Stark's, giving the betrayal a guaranteed reward if actually carried out; the actual betrayal, its nature, and all of the extreme diplomatic and cultural taboos involved were not Tywin's idea or something he had a direct hand in.

** Arya Stark becomes a fierce killing machine through copious application of this trope. Being a petite teenage girl, she knows she can't take on a grown man with years of combat experience in a fair fight, so she instead relies on sneak attacks, magic, and "the woman's weapon" (poison) to take down her foes before they even know they're a target. After watching her family (including her pregnant sister-in-law) get murdered in the aforementioned violation of Sacred Hospitality, she doesn't give two shits about honor. In "The Mountain and the Viper", Arya declares that anyone who shuns a method of killing as dishonorable will never be a great killer.

* ''Series/TheAvengers'': A producer's write-up on John Steed, to guide writers of episodes, specifically stated that "he fights like a cad and uses every dirty trick in the book..."

-->'''Odo:''' 'You'd shoot a man in the back?'\\

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': [[TheKirk Captain Kirk]], despite fighting dirty whenever possible, is still seen as one of the most honorable men in the galaxy.

'''Tuvok:''' [[PreasskickingOneLiner Your logic... is flawed.]] ''([[BlindedByTheLight shines a light in Mobar's eyes]] and stuns him)''

* ''Series/{{Agent Carter}}'': Lead character Agent Peggy Carter has no problem bashing an opponent with the nearest heavy object until they stay down and takes ruthless advantage of her opponents' preconceived notions of the feminine to get what she needs. Her roommate also shows shades of combat pragmatism if you count mental warfare as she is more than willing to burst into tears and play on Agent Thompson's chivalry and love for his grandmother in order to give Peggy time to escape.

* [[MeaningfulName Kanis]], who uses his pack of dogs to tire and injure his opponents before he kills them.

* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'': Methos. If the fight's going against him, Methos is not above feigning helplessness (such as pretending to slip) and then, when his opponent moves in for the kill, drawing a hidden dagger and stabbing him.
** Methos is the oldest Immortal. He's so old that he doesn't remember how old he is. He remembers the first civilization, and he was already old then. There's only one way to become the oldest Immortal: Be very good to your friends, have no mercy for your enemies, and always, ''always'', know which is which. This was explicitly referenced a few times; many of his friends hail from eras of formal combat and take HonorBeforeReason ''very'' seriously, but he was ancient before honor was even invented.

* ''Series/{{Batman}}'': If you take out the wacky sound effect frames and just look at how Batman fights in the 60s TV show, you'll see that he gets fairly brutal. At one point, he rips a lead pipe off a wall and beats a {{mook}} with it.

* ''Series/{{Banshee}}'': After spending 15 years in prison, Lucas does not fight fair. During his fight with Sanchez he bites his opponent to get out of a choke hold. Later he breaks the guy's finger and then snaps his wrist.