Awesome / The Player

The 2015 Series:

Thus far, each episode has at least one over-the-top stunt that's performed practically.

Pilot

• Alex rescues Mr. Raqiv and his family by leaping off the roof of a hotel, swinging on a cable, breaking through the window, and sliding down a table before knocking the assassin out with a bottle of wine. All without breaking stride.
• The missus stabs the hand of the Raqiv's security head after he reveals his allegiance with the kidnappers with a sharp knife without a second thought.
• Alex assaults an abandoned mall full of heavily armed kidnappers with nothing but a pilfered gun and a dirt bike. It's even more bonkers than it sounds.

Ante Up

• The Las Vegas street shootout. Around six guys, armed to the teeth vs. Alex only has a handgun but he gains the upper hand in an entirely believable way.
• Alex has to go after the escaping villain, who's just jumped out of a plane with the only parachute. What does Alex do? Jump after the guy and catch up to him mid-air. Bonus points for the show actually shooting part of the aerial sequences live rather than entirely on green screen.

L.A. Takedown

• The cartel tries to go after Alex and Cassandra with machine gun-toting mooks on a helicopter. They survive by outrunning fully automatic gunfire and recreating Alex's leap off the roof in the pilot. Cassandra then grabs Alex's sidearm and does enough damage to knock one mook out of commission and for the helicopter to temporarily lose control before the pilots bug out of the scene.
• Cassandra helping out Alex by sniping at Suarez at the back while he's distracted to save a hostage.
• Alex is chased through the Mexican back country on a jeep by cartel men on dune buggies with RPGs. Only his fast reflexes and Cassandra's quick thinking save him.

The Big Blind

• After Alex gives his near empty gun to his friend he's protecting, he goes to take on four armed bounty hunters in an under-renovation hotel. How does he do it? He McGyvers a distraction to get the drop on one, an explosive to take out another, and then sneak attacks the third, before forcing the fourth to flee. If you needed proof that Alex is a Genius Bruiser and Guile Hero, here you go.
• The last bounty hunter gets a Dying Moment of Awesome. Alex chases him down and holds him at gunpoint from behind. The bounty hunter is still fast enough to spin around and shoot Alex (non-fatally) even as he's shot dead.

House Rules

• Trying to protect a college student, Alex gets caught in the middle of a gunfight between the NSA and triads in a train station. With a countdown from Cassandra, he manages to push the student to safety and then leap into a tiny service tunnel just before a train blocks the path. All while dodging gunfire from two sides.
• Mr. Johnson is in a Chinese casino, in full Large Ham mode, pretends to be a drunken loudmouth patron who can't pay what he owes. Security grabs him and takes him to the owner's office to force him to pay. Once inside, the owner can barely let out a "Wait!" before Johnson spins around and knocks and and kills the two security guards, respectively. Then he calmly takes a seat at the owner's desk and presses him for information.
• Will Yun Lee vs Wesley Snipes. The Gambler had been cheating and manipulating the gain for his own profit, despite a warning from Mr. Johnson. So the latter drops by the former's office and they fight. It starts off in the guise of an evenly matched friendly spar between former friends. Then it gets vicious. Capped off by Johnson demolishing the Gambler and suffocating him to death. This is why he's the Pit Boss.

The Norseman

• Alex gets to demonstrate once again that although he can fight, he's really a Badass Bookworm whose strengths come from being a Guile Hero and The Determinator. While hunting down the titular Norseman he's able to: Find the guy in the middle of a crowd; make his tech go buggy to give himself enough time to fill Cal in somewhat on his position as the Player without the House having credible proof that he broke the rules; think ahead to plant a tracker on his niece Danny. Alex is no idiot.
• He isn't an idiot, and he can also fight. When he tracks down the Norseman in the club, he manages to stop the stronger killer from hitting him with an axe, with one hand, while he draws his pistol and shoots the man three times. And after the killer (who was wearing a Bulletproof Vest) throws them both over a balcony, Alex is able to get back on his feet and chase him down.
• The climax. Alex fights the Norseman, but it's a Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh... situation. Yet he still is able to save Danny long enough to win the bet. So Mr. Johnson arrive. Johnson tells Alex and Danny to leave, calmly takes off his suit jacket, and when asked who he is, responds "I'm the Pit Boss. I tidy up." Johnson proceeds to wreck the Immune To Pain Norseman by simply breaking his arms and then choking him to death.

Tell

• Where to begin? Cassandra is near-naked, has been interrogated for some time, and still manages to overpower two FBI agents, steal their guns, and shoot at Nolan and Cal, even though she can't see them through the bulletproof mirrored class.
• Alex once again gets to stretch his Badass Bookworm skills by instantly figuring out who Fuller is and how he fits into Ginny and the clues he has.
• Fuller, the man who makes people disappear, manages to stop Alex from grabbing him with a few clicks of his tablet: He instantly puts Alex on the US Marshalls' most-wanted list.
• Cal gets chased down by the Game's assassins, and has to fight off three trained hitmen. He takes out two in an impressive gunfight before a lucky shot takes him down (nonfatally).
• Alex Kane vs. Mr. Johnson. The Player vs. the Pit Boss It starts with Alex getting the Badass Boast of "It's time I threw you through that window" and attacking Johnson in full Tranquil Fury mode. And Johnson is barely phased in the fight, stopping every one of Alex's attacks while barely hitting back. Alex is good. He is very good. Mr. Johnson is better.