"I will never employ any device with a digital countdown. If I find that such a device is absolutely unavoidable, I will set it to activate when the counter reaches 1:17 and the hero is just putting his plan into operation."
— Evil Overlord List, #15
"I told you the time limit was an hour...but that's just when the cage closes completely. There are injured people out there, and elderly folk who can't stand. Suckling little infants as well! Who will be the first to die? Within 30 minutes people will be sure to start dying somewhere! And within 40...we will be able to hear their screams from here! Within 50...this country will be stained red as a crushed tomato with their blood! And in an hour...no voices will be left to cry out!"
— Donquixote Doflamingo, One Piece
"A deadline has a wonderful way of concentrating the mind."
— Professor Moriarty, Star Trek: The Next Generation ("Ship in a Bottle")
"Flash! Flash, I love you! But we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!"
— Dale Arden, Flash Gordon
"When you realize that an operation is compromised, that your enemies are on the move, you're on the clock. You have to move as fast as you can to contain the damage and harden your defenses before it's too late. Sometimes you make it in time, and sometimes you don't."
— Burn Notice, "Long Way Back"
"We've got exactly 14 minutes to come up with a miracle and say goodbye to this planet, or we'll never leave it."
— Conquest of Space (1955)
"You only have two days' time, for the herbs must be applied for the moon rises full, or it will be too late for Michelle."
— Cornelius, Once Upon a Forest
"You'll never make it. You only got (30) days left for that money."
"24 hours, Dag, 24 hours. 23 hours, 59 minutes. Don't make me stand here and count."
— Thornton Reed, Garth Marenghis Darkplace
"Okay, you've got 30 of my fucking seconds. Thrill me."
— Gay Perry, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
"That thing is ticking away the lives of everybody on this planet."
— Blake's 7, "Countdown"
"When the clock runs out, Ethan Hunt will lose everything and everyone he ever cared about."
— Solomon Lane, Mission: Impossible – Fallout
"The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it."
— Number Five, The Umbrella Academy
Bailey: We've only got eight minutes left.
Sulu: Seven minutes and forty five seconds.
Bailey: He's doing a countdown!
(Three minutes, fifteen seconds later...)
Sulu: Four minutes, thirty seconds.
Scotty: You have an annoying fascination for timepieces, Mister Sulu.
— Star Trek: The Original Series, "The Corbomite Maneuver"
TAG: Next impact in ten, nine...
Captain Tagon: Shut up. The ride's more fun if I'm surprised.
— Schlock Mercenary, "The Longshoreman of the Apocalypse"
Peter: (To Miles) Watch this, he's gonna say "you've got 24 hours."
Kingpin: You've got 24 hours.
Peter: (Winks at Miles)
The calendar of the Theocracy of Muntab counts down, not up. No-one knows why, but it might not be a good idea to hang around and find out.
Felicity Smoak: Do you see a timer?
Quentin: Seven minutes...
Felicity Smoak: Well the good news is...this is going to be a paperweight in three.
— Arrow, "Sacrifice"
"Some people thought we were at war with the Germans. Incorrect. We were at war with the clock."
"Wasting my time could cost lives."
— John Kildare, The Limehouse Golem
"Malekith is going to use the Aether to end the universe... but to do so he has to be on Earth to manipulate the Aether! We just have to distract him for enough time till the Convergence has passed!"
— Jane Foster, Thor: The Dark World
"You have one hour to save her from his cold sharp blade. Get my point?"
— Mestema, The Dungeonmaster
Japanese Ambassador: Each of these knots represents a day. I have given him seven days to recover the Mikado's sword. In seven days, I will pass here again... the same train.
Link Stuart: Suppose he doesn't make it in seven days?
Ambassador: For the disgrace of failure, he will rip his abdomen... kill himself. So will I. We call it hari-kari.
Link Stuart: Suppose he doesn't make it in seven days?
Ambassador: For the disgrace of failure, he will rip his abdomen... kill himself. So will I. We call it hari-kari.
— Red Sun
"Now, you won't turn into a werewolf until your first full moon. That's two days from now. So we have 48 hours to find a solution. But you'll still be able to fight Dracula's hold over you until the final stroke of midnight."
— Carl to Gabriel van Helsing, Van Helsing
Agent K: Arquillian battle rules, kid: first we get an ultimatum, then a warning shot, then we have a galactic standard week to respond.
Agent J: A galactic standard week? How the hell long is that?
K: One hour.
Agent J: A galactic standard week? How the hell long is that?
K: One hour.
Cowley: "Black Friday". That is ironic: "White Africa, Black Friday". (reading from manifesto) "It could have been a clean white Friday if your government had taken us seriously. If they had then London wouldn't be a wasteland today."
Hunter: London?
Kerrigan: Friday's tomorrow.
Hunter: The hell it is! Friday's fifteen minutes away—it's 11:45!
— The Professionals, "Stakeout"
Captain Freeman: It would take the whole crew working around the clock to remove that many panels. Then we'd have to fly though a dangerous debris field with zero protection. All in eleven hours.
Tendi: [Concerned] Are you saying it can't be done?
Captain Freeman: [Already moving] No, I'm saying we have to hurry!
Tendi: [Concerned] Are you saying it can't be done?
Captain Freeman: [Already moving] No, I'm saying we have to hurry!
— Star Trek: Lower Decks, "First First Contact"
