History Quotes / ProtagonistCenteredMorality

->'''Tom Servo''': Jonah, I don't understand who to root for. Those officers bumped into ''him''.\\

-->---'''Creator/JaneAusten''', ''Literature/LoveAndFreindship''

-->-- '''[[http://www.eruditorumpress.com/blog/outside-the-government-reset/ Dr. Phil Sandifer]]''' on ''{{Series/Torchwood}}'', "Reset"

'''Max:''' Out the window, Sam. There's nothing but strangers out there.\\

-->'''Sam:''' ''(holding a time bomb)'' Max, where should I put this so it doesn't hurt anyone we know or care about?\\

-- ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxHitTheRoad''

-- ''[[VideoGame/SamAndMaxHitTheRoad]]''

-->--'''''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation''''' on ''VideoGame/WatchDogs''

-->--'''''Website/TheAgonyBooth''''' on ''Film/TheSpecialist''

-->-- '''[[http://www.philipsandifer.com/2013/11/outside-government-reset.html Dr. Phil Sandifer]]''' on ''{{Series/Torchwood}}'', "Reset"

->Janeway really has nobody to blame but herself for Seven’s rogue behaviour in this episode...she was the one who insisted they try and re-assert her humanity. Now that [[HumanityIsInsane isn’t quite working out]] and she is an embarrassment so she sends her crew out to stop her by any force necessary. The message here seems to be [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop act like us or we will destroy you]]. Janeway ''the Furher'' is back in business.
-->--'''[[http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/voyager-season-four.html Joe Ford]]''' on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', "The Raven"

->The ultimate hypocrisy at the heart of the Doctor, which [[{{Deconstruction}} is fun to poke a stick at,]] is that he’s so nasty about soldiers and about people who carry guns, yet look at him -- always in the middle of the fight, usually taking command, and I’m not so impressed at his refusal to pick up a gun when he’s inclined, occasionally, to [[AMillionIsAStatistic blow up entire planets!]]
-->--'''Creator/StevenMoffat''' on ''Series/DoctorWho'', [[{{Recap/DoctorWhoS34E3RobotOfSherwood}} "Robot of Sherwood"]]

->Archer’s position is very stereotypically ''Star Trek''. It’s a philosophy that argues humanity are fundamentally brilliant, and so should behave in a manner that befits being so fundamentally brilliant. It’s a philosophy that comes dangerously close to evoking Creator/GeneRoddenberry’s simplistic utopianism, indicating that mankind is wired with a fundamental decency that is [[AmericaSavesTheDay almost unique in the entire cosmos]].

->'''Janeway:''' A long time ago, I made a decision that stranded this crew in the Delta Quadrant. I don't regret that decision.\\
'''Chuck:''' ''(as Janeway)'' [[ForgottenFallenFriend Carey, Hagan, Jonas, and a few others]] might, but they're not here to complain.
-->--'''{{Webite/SFDebris}}''' on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', "Endgame"

->He was a hacker who did any work for hire and stole money from bank accounts, but then accidentally targeted someone powerful who killed his six-year-old niece, which gave him a little Spider-Man moment and he declared that from this day forth he would use his powers to--! ...continue working for hire and stealing money from bank accounts. But also ''fight crime!'' ...In-between. If he can be arsed. Not stealing-money crime, or property-damage crime, or murdering-policemen crime; just, you know, [[AndTheRest all the bad crimes]], the ones committed by people ''other'' than himself.
-->--'''''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation''''' on ''VideoGame/WatchDogs''

->Did you ever read Rick Veitch’s ''[[Comicbook/TheQuestion Question]]'' mini that was part of Superstorm? It had a lot of flaws, but there was this great bit where all Metropolis drug deals and stuff took place in bathrooms, since Superman is [[LogicalWeakness too good a guy to ever look]]. It’s like moral lead. ''This'' is not that Superman.
-->--'''Chris Sims''' and '''David Uzumeri''' [[http://comicsalliance.com/comicsalliance-reviews-superman-returns-2006-part-one/ on]] ''Film/SupermanReturns''

->Ray testifies against Ned and gets him thrown out of the CIA, before [[TakeThisJobAndShoveIt resigning himself]]... it would seem he’s been making a living by taking [[HiredGuns gun-for-hire]] jobs over the web. You know, because that’s totally different from killing people for the government. He’ll [[HandWave grumble out an explanation]] for this later, but it’s still dumb.
-->--'''''Website/TheAgonyBooth''''' on ''Film/TheSpecialist''

->'''Cause not only will America go into your country and kill all your people, but what’s worse, I think, is they’ll come back twenty years later and make a movie about how killing your people made their soldiers feel sad. Oh boo hoo hoo. Americans making a movie about what Vietnam did to the soldiers is like a serial killer telling you what stopping suddenly for hitchhikers did to his clutch.''
-->--'''Creator/FrankieBoyle''' as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZwuTI-V8SI part of a sketch]] on Scottish independence

-->---'''Creator/JaneAusten''', ''Literature/LoveAndFriendship''

-->--'''[[http://docohobigfinish.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/voyager-season-four.html Doc Oho]]''' on ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'', "The Raven"

->He was a hacker who did any work for hire and stole money from bank accounts, but then accidentally targeted someone powerful who killed his six-year-old niece, which gave him a little ComicBook/SpiderMan moment and he declared that from this day forth he would use his powers to--! ...[[IgnoredEpiphany continue working for hire and stealing money from bank accounts]]. But also ''fight crime!'' ...In-between. If he can be arsed. Not stealing-money crime, or property-damage crime, or murdering-policemen crime; just, you know, [[AndTheRest all the bad crimes]], the ones committed by people ''other'' than himself.

->Janeway really has nobody to blame but herself for Seven’s rogue behaviour in this episode...she was the one who insisted they try and re-assert her humanity. Now that [[GrewBeyondTheirProgramming isn’t quite working out]] and she is an embarrassment she sends her crew out to stop her by any force necessary. The message here seems to be [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop act like us or we will destroy you]]. Janeway ''the Furher'' is back in business.

->Janeway really has nobody to blame but herself for Seven’s rogue behaviour in this episode...she was the one who insisted they try and re-assert her humanity. Now that [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill isn’t quite working out]] and she is an embarrassment she sends her crew out to stop her by any force necessary. The message here seems to be [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop act like us or we will destroy you]]. Janeway ''the Furher'' is back in business.

-->--'''Douglas Trumble''' [[http://www.supermanhomepage.com/tv/tv.php?topic=reviews/smallville8-ep10 on]] ''Smallville'' ("Bride")

->The ultimate hypocrisy at the heart of the Doctor, which [[{{Deconstruction}} is fun to poke a stick at,]] is that he’s so nasty about soldiers and about people who carry guns, yet look at him -- always in the middle of the fight, usually taking command, and I’m not so impressed at his refusal to pick up a gun when he’s inclined, occasionally, to [[AMillionIsAStatistic blow up entire planets!]] ...I like that he’s the ultimate autocratic liberal -- you know, the fascist liberal. It’s what I love about the RobinHood thing because it reminds us that the Doctor never stops being a nobleman. He’s a high-born nobleman, used to wealth and privilege, who decided to come down among us lot and help out. He thinks he’s one of the guys, but never stops assuming he’s in charge and that people will make him tea. You love the Doctor but you do think, ‘You’re a bit of an arse and you really, really, do think everybody’s here to [[YouGetMeCoffee carry stuff for you.]]’ That’s true throughout the Doctors, however ‘[[BourgeoisBohemian men of the people]]’ they pretend to be. They’re really wonderful men trying to help everybody but the Doctor does, like Robin Hood, expect to be in charge. He doesn’t really tolerate being second in command. He’s helping out the people, so long as he can be the boss person with the best bow and arrow -- and one day that will come back to haunt him.

->Is it acceptable to [[TheNeedsOfTheMany kill people to save more people?]] The answer, of course, is that it depends on whether it’s the hero doing it or the villain....This is the sort of stuff Lawrence Miles was savaging back in ''[[Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures Interference]]'', pointing out that television ethics are really just aesthetics.

->Janeway really has nobody to blame but herself for Seven’s rogue behaviour in this episode...she was the one who insisted they try and re-assert her humanity. Now that [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill isn’t quite working out]] and she is an embarrassment she sends her crew out to stop her by any force necessary. The message here seems to be [[WithUsOrAgainstUs act like us or we will destroy you]]. Janeway ''the Furher'' is back in business. Janeway’s other contradiction seems to be that she will try to negotiate with alien species for passage through their space but as soon as those relations break down she [[GunboatDiplomacy throws respect out the window]] and uses force to bully her way through. She’s an odd one, for sure. Sometimes I really admire her flawed behaviour (to err is human after all) and at others I think she is the work of writers who cannot consistently give her any kind of consistent characterisation. ‘You’ve left me choice!’ she barks ‘I don’t have time for this…target their weapons array!’ What a ''nutter''.

->''Enterprise'' continues to define itself as post-9/11 ''Star Trek'', reacting quickly and subtly to the shifting political climate. Breaking the Ice treats the idea of the senior staff monitoring correspondence rather casually – suggesting that it’s perfectly understandable for members of the senior staff to read mail marked as private or confidential. While this is something that makes a lot of sense for a military operation, but it’s hard to imagine Picard casually sifting through letters to his senior staff or Sisko prying into letters sent to Kira.\\\
The show seems quite sympathetic to Archer and Trip in this situation, despite the obvious invasion of privacy and violation of trust. When Trip feels guilty about prying, he offers some rationalisations suggesting he felt obligated to poke around in T’Pol’s business. ''“All they had to do was send it through regular channels, mark it personal, and we’d have left it alone. But no, they had to encrypt it, force me to start snooping.”'' [[DesignatedHero It’s a tough job, protecting the safety of the ship.]]
-->--'''[[http://them0vieblog.com/2015/01/09/star-trek-enterprise-breaking-the-ice-review/ Darren Mooney]]''' on ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', "Breaking the Ice"

->There is, of course, a massive irony here that Enterprise never bothers to address. Archer is horrified that Ryan would take a prisoner from the hostile alien pirates who have been attacking his freighter. “What gives you the right to take prisoners?” Archer demands, what seems like [[AndThatsTerrible a particularly absurd question.]] Ryan’s decision to torture the prisoner is unconscionable, and his decision to launch a direct attack is foolhardy; but taking a hostage to defend his ship against a bunch of rampaging pirates is a perfectly justifiable act.\\\
In Silent Enemy, Archer faces a similar crisis as his ship comes under siege from an unknown adversary. When democracy doesn’t work, Archer responds with force – he even tries to stun some intruders that have boarded the ship...Archer has spent a significant portion of the first season complaining that he doesn’t need to listen to the Vulcans. In Fight or Flight, he engaged the ship in combat with a superior enemy [[TooDumbToLive in order to prove a moral point]] -- he was lucky to escape. In Strange New World, his decision to send away teams down to a planet without doing a proper survey first led his Chief Engineer to almost murder his Science Officer. In Breaking the Ice, he rather reluctantly accepted the assistance of the Vulcans during a major crisis.\\\
So you would imagine that Archer would feel some measure of empathy and sympathy for Ryan. After all, Archer hasn’t completely gotten over the chip on his own shoulder. However, Fortunate Son never makes the connection explicit, never underscores what this story means in the larger context of Archer’s character arc. As such, Fortunate Son makes Archer seem like a racist hypocrite. He takes it upon himself to impose his own standards of human morality on Ryan, but with no acknowledgement that [[KnowNothingKnowItAll he may not be the best person to judge such things.]]
-->--'''[[http://them0vieblog.com/2015/01/13/star-trek-enterprise-fortunate-son-review/ Darren Mooney]]''' on ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'', "Fortunate Son"

----

-->--'''Creator/FrankieBoyle''' as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZwuTI-V8SI part of a sketch]] on Scottish Independence

----

In Silent Enemy, Archer faces a similar crisis as his ship comes under siege from an unknown adversary. When democracy doesn’t work, Archer responds with force – he even tries to stun some intruders that have boarded the ship...Archer has spent a significant portion of the first season complaining that he doesn’t need to listen to the Vulcans. In Fight or Flight, he engaged the ship in combat with a superior enemy [[TooDumbToLive in order to prove a moral point]] -- he was lucky to escape. In Strange New World, his decision to send away teams down to a planet without doing a proper survey first led his Chief Engineer to almost murder his Science Officer. In Breaking the Ice, [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled he rather reluctantly accepted the assistance]] of the Vulcans during a major crisis.\\\

->There is, of course, a massive irony here that Enterprise never bothers to address. Archer is horrified that Ryan would take a prisoner from the hostile alien pirates who have been attacking his freighter. “What gives you the right to take prisoners?” Archer demands, what seems like a particularly absurd question. Ryan’s decision to torture the prisoner is unconscionable, and his decision to launch a direct attack is foolhardy; but taking a hostage to defend his ship against a bunch of rampaging pirates is a perfectly justifiable act.\\\

->Is it acceptable to [[TheNeedsOfTheMany kill people to save more people?]] The answer, of course, is that it depends on whether it’s the hero doing it or the villain....This is the sort of stuff Lawrence Miles was savaging back in ''[[Literature/TheEightDoctorAdventures Interference]]'', pointing out that television ethics are really just aesthetics.

->Is it acceptable to [[TheNeedsOfTheMany kill people to save more people?]] The answer, of course, is that it depends on whether it’s the hero doing it or the villain.

->''"It was so dark when I entered the Coach that I could not distinguish the Number of my Fellow-travellers; I could only perceive that they were Many...'What an illiterate villain must that Man be! (thought I to myself) What a total want of delicate refinement must he have, who can thus shock our senses by such a brutal Noise! He must, I am certain, be capable of every bad action! There is no crime too black for such a Character!' Thus reasoned I within myself, and doubtless such were the reflections of my fellow travelers."''
-->---'''Creator/JaneAusten''', ''Literature/LoveAndFreindship''

->''"The ultimate hypocrisy at the heart of the Doctor, which is fun to [[{{Deconstruction}} poke a stick at,]] is that he’s so nasty about soldiers and about people who carry guns, yet look at him -- always in the middle of the fight, usually taking command, and I’m not so impressed at his refusal to pick up a gun when he’s inclined, occasionally, to [[AMillionIsAStatistic blow up entire planets!]] ...I like that he’s the ultimate autocratic liberal -- you know, the fascist liberal. It’s what I love about the RobinHood thing because it reminds us that the Doctor never stops being a nobleman. He’s a high-born nobleman, used to wealth and privilege, who decided to come down among us lot and help out. He thinks he’s one of the guys, but never stops assuming he’s in charge and that people will make him tea. You love the Doctor but you do think, ‘You’re a bit of an arse and you really, really, do think everybody’s here to [[YouGetMeCoffee carry stuff for you.]]’ That’s true throughout the Doctors, however ‘[[TheManIsStickingItToTheMan men of the people]]’ they pretend to be. They’re really wonderful men trying to help everybody but the Doctor does, like Robin Hood, expect to be in charge. He doesn’t really tolerate being second in command. He’s helping out the people, so long as he can be the boss person with the best bow and arrow -- and one day that will come back to haunt him.”''

->''"Is it acceptable to [[TheNeedsOfTheMany kill people to save more people?]] The answer, of course, is that it depends on whether [[MoralDissonance it’s the hero doing it or the villain.]]"''
-->-- '''[[http://www.philipsandifer.com/2013/11/outside-government-reset.html Phil Sandifer]]''' on "[[Series/{{Torchwood}} Reset]]"

->'''Janeway:''' A long time ago, I made a decision that stranded this crew in the Delta Quadrant. I don't regret that decision.
->'''Chuck:''' ''(as Janeway)'' [[ForgottenFallenFriend Carey, Hagan, Jonas, and a few others]] might, but they're not here to complain.
-->--{{Webite/SFDebris}} on ''Star Trek: Voyager'', "Endgame"

->''"Janeway really has nobody to blame but herself for Seven’s rogue behaviour in this episode...she was the one who insisted they try and re-assert her humanity. Now that [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill isn’t quite working out]] and she is an embarrassment she sends her crew out to stop her by any force necessary. The message here seems to be [[WithUsOrAgainstUs act like us or we will destroy you]]. Janeway ''the Furher'' is back in business. Janeway’s other contradiction seems to be that she will try to negotiate with alien species for passage through their space but as soon as those relations break down she [[GunboatDiplomacy throws respect out the window]] and uses force to bully her way through. She’s an odd one, for sure. Sometimes I really admire her flawed behaviour (to err is human after all) and at others I think she is the work of writers who cannot consistently give her any kind of consistent characterisation. ‘You’ve left me choice!’ she barks ‘I don’t have time for this…target their weapons array!’ What a ''nutter''."''

->''"He was a hacker who did any work for hire and stole money from bank accounts, but then accidentally targeted someone powerful who killed his six-year-old niece, which gave him a little ComicBook/SpiderMan moment and he declared that from this day forth he would use his powers to--! ...[[IgnoredEpiphany continue working for hire and stealing money from bank accounts]]. But also ''fight crime!'' ...In-between. If he can be arsed. Not stealing-money crime, or property-damage crime, or murdering-policemen crime; just, you know, [[AndTheRest all the bad crimes]], the ones committed by people ''other'' than himself."''

->''"Did you ever read Rick Veitch’s ''[[Comicbook/TheQuestion Question]]'' mini that was part of Superstorm? It had a lot of flaws, but there was this great bit where all Metropolis drug deals and stuff took place in bathrooms, since Superman is [[LogicalWeakness too good a guy to ever look]]. It’s like moral lead. ''This'' is not that Superman."''

->''"Ray testifies against Ned and gets him thrown out of the CIA, before [[TakeThisJobAndShoveIt resigning himself]]... it would seem he’s been making a living by taking [[HiredGuns gun-for-hire]] jobs over the web. You know, because that’s totally different from killing people for the government. He’ll [[HandWave grumble out an explanation]] for this later, but it’s still dumb."''