Best TV Gunfights?

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The_Shootist

The_Shootist

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I know the topic of movie "Best Gunfight" (ie action and realism) has been beaten to death....but what about TV?

Here's my vote and no surprise the top 2 go to HBO's The Wire.

1) The Wire - season 2 - Brodie and his crew in a streetfight with some corner boys

2) The Wire - season 5 - Omar and his crew have ripped off a Barksdale stash/crackhouse. Unfortunately as they are exiting, the Barksdale gang recovers and all hell breaks loose.

3) CSI- season 7(?) - cops gets ambushed at night in a "stop-and-rob", partner hears the gunfire outside and rushes in only to face a firefight with 4 opponents.

4) K*ville - this is new - but the first few episodes show some promise with decent mayhem (afterall - its set in New Orleans :D)
 
Have about seen'em all. One of the absolute best is a recent movie, "SMOKIN' ACES". Great cast -- somewhat realistic scenarios, and anytime the .50 BMG Barret comes into play in a gun fight, especially being fired by a chick, you know it's gotta be fun. The Wild Bunch would be #2 IMO.
 
Many episodes of Get Smart.

Max, in the middle of a gunfight:
"Chief, could you put a silencer on your gun? I can't hear what 99 is saying."

Funny thing is, Maxwell was a better shot than the A-Team ever was. :D
 
there was a very good gunfight on the season 2 NUMB3RS episode "Guns And Roses", some bad guys are trying to take down an armored car, they have AKs, shorty ARs, etc., but the good guys roll up on them in a van and jump out and engage them with their flat top M4s fitted with optical sights and vertical foregrips. (Diane Farr was using an MP5) A pretty exciting full auto running gun battle in the streets ensue, with the good guys using cars for cover, looks cool, Rob Morrow takes out the last bad guy by aiming for his ankles. Obviously this was inspired by Heat, but I thought this was almost as good.
 
Memory Lane

Thanks,
I suspected some others recalled these and would add others.

Bonanza. I don't recall a gunfight, just situations were handled.
Some good lessons to be learned from the old shows, whether gun fights took place, or not.

Beverly Hillbillies , Granny, now I don't recall them showing, but the sound effects of her getting after someone , always seemed like someone was not doing very well on the other end of her guns...*grin*
 
I'd say every episode of 24. Jack Bauer once took a math test and wrote the word "violence" for every answer. Jack Bauer solves all of his problems with violence.

I like it because it's so over the top intense it's hilarious. Jack kills something like 3 terrorists an hour, empties 38 magazines per season, performs 22 press checks a day, and can operate any weapon known to man (small arms, artillery, even drone aircraft).
 
I really enjoyed Miami Vice. Crockett's Bren 10 was awesome and on at least one raid he carried a Steyr AUG. Most of the early shootouts were done pretty well.

There was a show called 'Police Story', that had revolving characters. Some of it felt real and some gun play popped up.

Hill Street Blues occasionally did it right. They came up with some strange story lines just to hook viewers I guess.

Remember "Simon and Simon", "Mannix", "Hawaii 5-0"? Then there was a period in the 70's and later that cop shows became cute and fun. What the hell was that about. McMillan and Wife, stuff like that.

My fav thou was Powers Booth in a mini series called "Phillip Marlow". I believe it was on HBO. Tough guys and nice guns from my favorite period, hammerless Colts, Lugers, Mausers, long barrel 38's and Thompsons.
 
I cringe every time a .50 Browning is used in a crime on T.V. or film. All I can think is, "You see Senator, how these evil huge rifles are used in crimes."

Having said that, I'll top out the list with Heat, Collateral, and Miami Vice, directed by Michael Mann and trained by Andy McNabb.
 
For one of the most unrealistic gunfight scenes check out the garage gunfight in the movie 'City Heat' starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Renolds.
 
My favorite is Silverado...When Mal (Danny Glover) shoots the bad guy on the roof of the bunkhouse, I thought I saw something, so I did a frame-by-frame...The puff from the 'hit' appears to come from the guy's crotch! Kostner's two-at-once is great, and Kevin Kline's one-on-one with Brian Denehey is well done and believable. My favorite line in the movie was Glover's "I don't wanna kill you, and you don't wanna be dead".
 
Let us stay with the TV - and not thread drift to movies please.

--
Remember "Simon and Simon", "Mannix", "Hawaii 5-0"? Then there was a period in the 70's and later that cop shows became cute and fun. What the hell was that about. McMillan and Wife, stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Times were changing, the typical roles and norms were changing.
i.e. Mannix, had a black secretary, named Peggy, and drove a Barracuda.
This differed from the normal white secretary and driving sensible sedan.

Hill Street Blues showed interaction of Cops, wives, families and others, not just catching BGs, also the strains of marriage , kids, and all.

McMillian & Wife, showed a different perspective of LE than most had thought about. Politics. It also showed a husband and wife, interaction and using each others talents.

Remember , this was "entertainment". NO Internet, Not a lot of what we have now.
Vietnam had been going on for some time, and reports were not Real Time as they are now. That car showed in many neighborhoods to report one was fallen, and everybody watched to see where "that" car would stop.
Hearts would stop, and hands hesitate going to the door, they did not want "that" telegram.

Get home from work, kids did homework, dinner and dishes done, and kids snuggle up, parents snuggle up and be entertained.
They did not nit-pick guns, knives , they had had enough of Green Cars with a Chaplain, and Telegrams, and Body Bags and...

Some good shows on common sense, how to not be a victim, how to not get conned, and so much more. Guns were part of these of shows, still thinking, accessing and figuring out was so much more.

Columbo, did he ever show his gun?

Then shows got stupid.
Two plainclothes cops , Undercover, driving a Red Torino with a white racing strip, driving as they did everywhere, and always a shoot out.
 
I was watching an old episode of The Office last night and Michael was in an improv acting class and in every scene he was in, he pretended to be an FBI agent and burst thru the door with a gun and shot everyone. It was hilarious!
 
I remember an episode of Barnaby Jones where Buddy Ebsen pulls a gun on a perp and says "Don't try it I'm a good shot!"
 
NOBODY SAID FIREFLY!!!!
heart of gold-the battle at the whorehouse.
war stories-when zoe, wash, jane and book go rescue mal! (plus its the first time river shoots a gun!)
serinity- deal gone bad.
our mrs. reynolds- "i swear by my pretty floral bonnet"
the really sad part is i didn't have to pull out the dvds to get episode names and i could go on, and on...
errr...
CSI:
A bullet runs through it- the 2 part episode on season six.
*can't remember episode- shooting scene with grissom, same episode cathrine shoots bad guy and saves grissoms life.
CSI MIAMIE:
Horatio Cane annoys the hell out of me when he talks, but the man has good position when he shoots
episode when their is the armored car hiest "they always do..."
BEST GUN SCENE- when callie goes into her gun locker and says "be still my heart".
NOIR- jap anime. pretty much every episode has a great gun battle.
i need to stop now
 
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