TV's Most Powerful Moments

[soren7550]

So yeah, got the idea from this Yahoo article [http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/tv-most-memorable-moments-911-oj-katrina-nielsen-121010226.html]. And I don't agree with several items on this list (I do agree with the September 11th attacks placing first though). Also, I find it stupid that they based this list off of the opinions of a little over a thousand people.

If you don't care for the article itself, here's their list:
1. September 11th tragedy (2001)
2. Hurricane Katrina (2005)
3. O.J. Simpson verdict (1995)
4. The Challenger space shuttle disaster (1986)
5. Death of Osama bin Laden (2011)
6. O.J. Simpson white Bronco chase (1994)
7. Earthquake in Japan (2011)
8. Columbine High School shooting (1999)
9. BP oil spill (2010)
10. Princess Diana's funeral (1997)
11. Death of Whitney Houston (2012)
12. Capture and execution of Saddam Hussein (2006)
13. Barack Obama's acceptance speech (2008)
14. The Royal Wedding (2011)
15. Assassination of John F. Kennedy (1963)
16. Oklahoma City bombing (1995)
17. Bush/Gore election results (2000)
18. L.A. riots (1992)
19. Casey Anthony verdict (2011)
20. Funeral of John F. Kennedy (1963)

So Escapist, I ask you: what do you think is/are TV's most powerful moments?

 

[Rawne1980]

IRA bombing of Manchester (1996).

Spoiler

That was what was left of Manchester city centre after it went off.

It won't mean much to many people but it was building up to when I was due for my first tour of Northern Ireland when I was in the army so that kind of set the scene with what I was to expect.

Also still pisses me off to this day about certain places in the world cheering the IRA on (not mentioning any countries though, that's an argument for another day). But there was 212 casualties that day that some moronic pricks were cheering on.

 

[Mr Cwtchy]

"According to a survey of 1,077 American adults"

Yeah, not surprising 9/11 came up first, and the vast majority of the rest relate to America too.

Some of these I can agree with, albeit not the order. Obama's acceptance speech for instance, considering the monumental achievement in electing a black man as President.

Others are just asinine, like this OJ Simpson bloke who is apparently important enough to be on there twice.

 

[SeeIn2D]

The Reagan Address

Spoiler

Moon Landing

Spoiler

Vietnam Broadcasted

Spoiler

Fall of the Berlin Wall

Spoiler

Fall of Berlin (WWII)

Spoiler

This list really does suck though. How the fuck can you not have the moon landing on the list? And how can OJ Simpson be on there not just once but twice. That's really shocking. But being American I know how Americacentric people can be and they probably would put OJ Simpson above the moon landing or the fall of Berlin -_-

 

[Dags90]

The looks seems to be fairly biased towards current events, which isn't surprising considering it's just a poll of average Americans. Pretty much nobody will remember Casey Anthony in 20 years except people who watch too much Court TV.

 

[CODE-D]

Seems to be focused on the tragic side of things...


Ha, I remember not going to school sept 11(faking sick) asking my grandma what she was watching. She said something about terrorists, I saw a plane fly into a building on tv, was like whatever...and went off to go watch hey arnold.

 

[Jonluw]

"According to a survey of 1,077 American adults"

Yeah, not surprising 9/11 came up first, and the vast majority of the rest relate to America too.

Some of these I can agree with, albeit not the order. Obama's acceptance speech for instance, considering the monumental achievement in electing a black man as President.

Others are just asinine, like this OJ Simpson bloke who is apparently important enough to be on there twice.

This.
The title should say "American TV's most powerful moments"

I'm just pissy because Utøya wasn't included.
But I guess you guys didn't get a lot of tv footage from that whole ordeal.

 

[Casual Shinji]

I'm sure this won't derail into an "overrated tragedy" thread.

Also, no Moon landing?

 

[soren7550]

Like for god's sake how can you include Hurricane Katrina and not the tsunami that hit Japan? I mean Hurricane Katrina was certainly awful and certainly one of the worst natural disasters in American history, but jesus christ, the tsunami destroyed a good portion of the entire Japanese nation, as well as plunged them into serious economic troubles. Additionally they have a fuck load of nuclear problems which are better currently then they were 6 months ago but their still problems... nuclear problems.

Wasn't that the one caused by that massive earthquake that hit Japan? If so, then it is up there (#7). Or are they one in the same?

The title should say "American TV's most powerful moments"

Hey, I didn't pick the events. I just reposted what was in the article, and asked what people though (which is pretty much what the people who conducted the search did). Unless you mean Yahoo should of called it that.

 

[SeeIn2D]

Like for god's sake how can you include Hurricane Katrina and not the tsunami that hit Japan? I mean Hurricane Katrina was certainly awful and certainly one of the worst natural disasters in American history, but jesus christ, the tsunami destroyed a good portion of the entire Japanese nation, as well as plunged them into serious economic troubles. Additionally they have a fuck load of nuclear problems which are better currently then they were 6 months ago but their still problems... nuclear problems.

Wasn't that the one caused by that massive earthquake that hit Japan? If so, then it is up there (#7). Or are they one in the same?

Oh damn I completely missed it because I'm dumb and blind lol. But my point still stands that the list is stupid...

 

[Jonluw]

The title should say "American TV's most powerful moments"

Hey, I didn't pick the events. I just reposted what was in the article, and asked what people though (which is pretty much what the people who conducted the search did). Unless you mean Yahoo should of called it that.

I mean Yahoo should have called it that.
They did only survey American viewers after all.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

9/11 Did have a huge effect on the world, and having it broadcast live as the towers fell, first one, then the other, was horrific. I'd say it deserves the top spot for being probably the most real and somber thing to have shown on live TV.

But the rest of the list is virtually all crap. Death of Whitney Houston, Casey Anthony, O.J. Simpson... Twice. Even as a Brit I'll say the Royal Wedding shouldn't be on there, the Queens coronation from 1953 which was televised maybe, but the standard Royal wedding. Just no.

I'd say the Moon landing needs to be up there, as number 2 if not 1, apart from that nothing else immediately springs to mind.

 

[Total LOLige]

Not the type of thread I was expecting, I was expecting clips of Fry's dog Seymour.

I found this to be pretty powerful.

But for my serious vote, I vote the Moon landing.

 

[Popadoo]

When I entered this thread I was going to say the MLP:FiM Season 2 Finale but with all the real-life disasters going around I'd just feel bad.
OT: Probably the London Riots. Scared the shit out of me, seeing how some people will go and how powerful they can be in numbers.
Why the fuck aren't out police force allowed to do shit, lest they be accused of brutality? They should have brought out the fire-hoses and sent those fuckers flying.

 

[Hal10k]

So O.J. Simpson, Casey Anthony, and Whitney Houston are among the most moving moments on television.

Putting a man on the goddamn moon is not.

I'm increasingly reminded of why I stopped watching television.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

I thought this would be about fictional TV shows, I was severely disappointed. I would put Fry's dog Seymour, the Korra suicide scene as more powerful moments than most news stories. Mainly because when I'm watching the news all I can really do is go "oh, well that's sad" since you don't know any of the people who are getting killed or anything. In a TV show, or a cartoon or even a comedy you care for the characters and seeing something bad, happy or tragic happening to them is worse.

I dunno, just my opinion.

 

[XMark]

So O.J. Simpson, Casey Anthony, and Whitney Houston are among the most moving moments on television.

Putting a man on the goddamn moon is not.

I'm increasingly reminded of why I stopped watching television.

I'll bet most of the people polled weren't alive when the moon landings happened.

EDIT: oh what the heck? There's some 1963 events on the list! I retract my statement.

 

[ToastiestZombie]

So O.J. Simpson, Casey Anthony, and Whitney Houston are among the most moving moments on television.

Putting a man on the goddamn moon is not.

I'm increasingly reminded of why I stopped watching television.

I'll bet most of the people polled weren't alive when the moon landings happened.

EDIT: oh what the heck? There's some 1963 events on the list! I retract my statement.

That just makes me sad really, the fact that noone really cares about space travel anymore. A royal wedding is more powerful than the first step mankind had to something better, just makes me depressed.

 

[snappydog]

I was also expecting fictional, I was gonna say David Tennant's Tenth Doctor regenerating :S
As for the news stories people seem to be picking as most powerful, I'm English so I don't get a lot of the American stories. I remember watching a bit of Anders Breivik's trial, the Raoul Moat stuff a while back... oh, and there was a story about a fire in a football ground in which several people actually died on screen, that kind of hit me.

 

[Gizmo1990]

Seems to be focused on the tragic side of things...


Ha, I remember not going to school sept 11(faking sick) asking my grandma what she was watching. She said something about terrorists, I saw a plane fly into a building on tv, was like whatever...and went off to go watch hey arnold.

I did something similer when Princess Diana died. I was 7 and in the UK every TV channel had the news and nothing else on saying what had happened. I was just pissed of because they were all saying the smae thing over and over and I throught it was stupid and more importantly they cancalled Batme TAS. I was so pissed off!