massey

I'm not going to be outraged at anyone shooting back if someone is firing a gun at them, full stop, whether it's a triple homicide suspect or a swat team who kicks in the wrong door and starts plugging away before assessing the situation.

Unsold pilot. Some time between Genesis II and The Questor Tapes, I think.

Well that was the best part. Last I heard of Quaid, though. He may have been playing his real life self

Planets either have nearly infinity Body or the have between 50 and 80.
 
I forget the math on it, but it takes less than 100 Body to blow a planet sized hole through a wall, once you take into account a bunch of doublings.  But that’s in one shot, one attack.  A machine gun will never do it.  You need one big 90D6 attack.

I'll be different here.  The best episode is "Where No Man Has Gone Before".  It's creepy space horror.  The idea that exploring the galaxy is dangerous, not because of alien ships or fickle gods, but because of what we might become as we travel the stars, that's scary.
 
When Gary Mitchell is sitting there in sickbay, eyes all silver, and he recites a poem... that scene just chilled me. 

Here's what I'd do.  It sounds like you're just wanting to learn the combat system for yourself.  Rather than worry about a bunch of optional rules, I'd just set up a few fights with you acting as both player and GM.  Start slow, focusing on one aspect at a time.
 
Fight #1 -- Take a Champions brick (somebody like Ogre) and let yourself fight a group of regular cops.  I don't know what books you have, but if you don't have any stats for Ogre, use a generic super-strong guy.  60 Strength, 18 Dex, 30 Con, 30 PD and ED (all resistant), 4 Speed, 60 Stun, OCV 8, DCV 6, 10" of Running, 20" of Leaping.  Now go rampaging through town.  Every turn two cop cars pull up, with two cops getting out of each one.  The cops shoot at Ogre with their guns (damage is inconsequential -- they're all too weak to hurt him, but it's good for you to practice rolling to-hit).  Set out some figures on a game mat and just learn how the basics of the game work.  Spend a phase or two grabbing cop cars and hurling them through the air.  Use your high leaping movement to bound away off the map and leave the cops behind.  Smash holes in walls and rip trees out of the ground.  Just think of cool things you could do if you were a rampaging super-strong monster, then look up how to do it in the book.  Don't worry about trying to be efficient or effective in combat.  Don't track endurance, or calculate knockback, or even worry about damage if you don't want to (anything Ogre hits will shatter, nothing can hurt Ogre).  Just learn the basics of rolling to hit, and how the Speed chart works.
 
Fight #2 -- Now a local superhero shows up to fight Ogre.  Make sure the guy is a little weaker than you (of course, you're playing both sides, so it doesn't matter who "wins"). Fire Lad has a 20 Dex, 25 Con, 25 PD and ED with his fiery force field, 5 Speed, 40 Stun, OCV 8 and DCV 7, 15" of Flight, and a 10D6 Energy Blast.  He will have a very hard time whittling Ogre down.  Try to play each guy to win.  Look at how damage works now.  Don't track endurance, but maybe look at Knockback, and maybe range penalties.  Ogre should still win this fight -- Fire Lad will have to get close to Ogre to hit him, close enough that Ogre can jump through the air and smack him.  And remember to be creative with how you fight.  If Fire Lad stays too high in the air, Ogre can always smash through a wall and go inside a building.  Or he can throw a manhole cover and then drop down into the sewers.  Or he can climb inside some poor lady's minivan and hide ("No go out there lady, fire guy shoot at Ogre!").
 
Fight #3 -- It's time to add in some other powers besides raw damage.  After Fire Lad's defeat, the Caped Avenger shows up.  He's a dark and mysterious avenger of the night.  26 Dex, 25 Con, 20 PD and ED, 6 Speed, 40 Stun, OCV 10 and DCV 10, 10" of Running and 10" of Leaping.  He's highly skilled in the martial arts (the character has 25 Str and +2 damage classes with martial arts).  He has an Offensive Strike maneuver (a powerful spinning roundhouse kick) that does 5D6 for Str, +4D6 for the Offensive Strike maneuver, +2D6 for extra damage classes, for a total of 11D6.  Doing it increases his DCV by 1, but decreases his OCV by 2 (OCV 8, DCV 11).  It's hard to hit with.  He's also got a Martial Dodge maneuver that increases his DCV by 5, but he can't attack the phase he uses it.  And he has a Nerve Strike maneuver that does 3D6 damage and ignores defenses (it has the same OCV/DCV as the spinning roundhouse).  Finally he has a Martial Strike maneuver, a basic punch that does 9D6 damage, but boosts his DCV and doesn't hurt his OCV (OCV 10, DCV 12).  He'll have a hard time hurting Ogre with the basic punch, so that's why he carries a Utility Belt.  His Utility Belt is a Multipower (don't worry about exactly how this works yet), which lets him use different tricks.  He carries 4 blinding flares, which is an 8D6 Flash vs Sight (which will temporarily blind Ogre).  Once he uses the 4 charges, they're gone.  He has 2 gas pellets, which do 3D6 damage on each of Caped Avenger's phases for a full turn and ignore defenses, but they can be avoided if Ogre holds his breath (they are not Area of Effect -- to hurt Ogre the Caped Avenger has to throw them in his mouth).  The Caped Avenger has enough options available that he should be able to beat Ogre, but it's not a sure thing.
 
Fight #4 -- If the Caped Avenger falls, then Ultra Guy shows up.  Use Ogre's stats, but he has a Dex of 26, a 6 Speed, an OCV and DCV of 9, and 20" of Flight, as well as a 12D6 Energy Blast and 10" of Knockback Resistance (i.e., he doesn't get knocked backward).  In addition, he has N-Ray vision so he can see through walls.  Ultra Guy should whoop Ogre's butt.  But Ogre has a secret (that he doesn't know -- Ogre is dumb).  This whole rampage was set up by Bald Scientist Man.  Bald Scientist Man is hiding in a nearby dumpster (no game stats needed), and after one turn of combat, he peeks out and fires his Green Kelvarite Ray at Ogre (no game stats needed).  Ogre becomes charged with Green Kelvarite Energy.  Ultra Guy has a Vulnerability to Green Kelvarite, and takes x2 damage from it.  If Ogre can last this long (remember, he doesn't know it's coming, so he shouldn't be dodging around waiting for it to happen), then he'll do double damage every time he punches Ultra Guy.
 
Above all, have fun with it.  That's why we play this game.  And don't worry if you forget something (like skipping somebody's action or forgetting to see if the damage they take exceeds their Con score).  Even very experienced groups forget things virtually every session.  Each of these scenarios gives you a little something to fiddle with and figure out.  You can make it as complex as you want (I always liked knocking people back through buildings), or as simple as you need.  Welcome to the game.

Planets either have nearly infinity Body or the have between 50 and 80.
 
I forget the math on it, but it takes less than 100 Body to blow a planet sized hole through a wall, once you take into account a bunch of doublings.  But that’s in one shot, one attack.  A machine gun will never do it.  You need one big 90D6 attack.

Sure, but I don’t complain when Dr Who does something distinctly British.

That was the first time I walked out of a movie theater feeling cheated. The other times were Phantom Menace and The Force Awakens..

But they apparently had the courtesy to have learned English by the time those Japanese movies played in North America.
 

Gaspers....movies made in 40's thru 60's in the US for US consumption with little or no real view toward being seen outside the US would present the US in the leading roles?  Oh my how horrendous.
 
I mean when you look at British film in the same era it is the British that always saves the world, Doctor Who included   Though recently the Brits have been infected with the same "arrghhh I'm evil" syndrome that is being pushed. 
 
I watch South Korean films and TV and guess what?  The same.  In fact pretty much every nation on the planet that makes films or TV shows does the same.  Today China is making the 50's/60's US look like amateurs in Yea Our Team'ism's.
 
But that doesn't really mean anything. 
Either you like a show or not.  There is a lot out there to see. 
 
 

A lot of us grew up with Star Trek Original Series and the Pertwee/Tom Baker Dr Who. Those who came later had Next Generation or DS9 Trek. I feel sorry for those who had Voyager or Enterprise.

I'll be different here.  The best episode is "Where No Man Has Gone Before".  It's creepy space horror.  The idea that exploring the galaxy is dangerous, not because of alien ships or fickle gods, but because of what we might become as we travel the stars, that's scary.
 
When Gary Mitchell is sitting there in sickbay, eyes all silver, and he recites a poem... that scene just chilled me. 

Here's what I'd do.  It sounds like you're just wanting to learn the combat system for yourself.  Rather than worry about a bunch of optional rules, I'd just set up a few fights with you acting as both player and GM.  Start slow, focusing on one aspect at a time.
 
Fight #1 -- Take a Champions brick (somebody like Ogre) and let yourself fight a group of regular cops.  I don't know what books you have, but if you don't have any stats for Ogre, use a generic super-strong guy.  60 Strength, 18 Dex, 30 Con, 30 PD and ED (all resistant), 4 Speed, 60 Stun, OCV 8, DCV 6, 10" of Running, 20" of Leaping.  Now go rampaging through town.  Every turn two cop cars pull up, with two cops getting out of each one.  The cops shoot at Ogre with their guns (damage is inconsequential -- they're all too weak to hurt him, but it's good for you to practice rolling to-hit).  Set out some figures on a game mat and just learn how the basics of the game work.  Spend a phase or two grabbing cop cars and hurling them through the air.  Use your high leaping movement to bound away off the map and leave the cops behind.  Smash holes in walls and rip trees out of the ground.  Just think of cool things you could do if you were a rampaging super-strong monster, then look up how to do it in the book.  Don't worry about trying to be efficient or effective in combat.  Don't track endurance, or calculate knockback, or even worry about damage if you don't want to (anything Ogre hits will shatter, nothing can hurt Ogre).  Just learn the basics of rolling to hit, and how the Speed chart works.
 
Fight #2 -- Now a local superhero shows up to fight Ogre.  Make sure the guy is a little weaker than you (of course, you're playing both sides, so it doesn't matter who "wins"). Fire Lad has a 20 Dex, 25 Con, 25 PD and ED with his fiery force field, 5 Speed, 40 Stun, OCV 8 and DCV 7, 15" of Flight, and a 10D6 Energy Blast.  He will have a very hard time whittling Ogre down.  Try to play each guy to win.  Look at how damage works now.  Don't track endurance, but maybe look at Knockback, and maybe range penalties.  Ogre should still win this fight -- Fire Lad will have to get close to Ogre to hit him, close enough that Ogre can jump through the air and smack him.  And remember to be creative with how you fight.  If Fire Lad stays too high in the air, Ogre can always smash through a wall and go inside a building.  Or he can throw a manhole cover and then drop down into the sewers.  Or he can climb inside some poor lady's minivan and hide ("No go out there lady, fire guy shoot at Ogre!").
 
Fight #3 -- It's time to add in some other powers besides raw damage.  After Fire Lad's defeat, the Caped Avenger shows up.  He's a dark and mysterious avenger of the night.  26 Dex, 25 Con, 20 PD and ED, 6 Speed, 40 Stun, OCV 10 and DCV 10, 10" of Running and 10" of Leaping.  He's highly skilled in the martial arts (the character has 25 Str and +2 damage classes with martial arts).  He has an Offensive Strike maneuver (a powerful spinning roundhouse kick) that does 5D6 for Str, +4D6 for the Offensive Strike maneuver, +2D6 for extra damage classes, for a total of 11D6.  Doing it increases his DCV by 1, but decreases his OCV by 2 (OCV 8, DCV 11).  It's hard to hit with.  He's also got a Martial Dodge maneuver that increases his DCV by 5, but he can't attack the phase he uses it.  And he has a Nerve Strike maneuver that does 3D6 damage and ignores defenses (it has the same OCV/DCV as the spinning roundhouse).  Finally he has a Martial Strike maneuver, a basic punch that does 9D6 damage, but boosts his DCV and doesn't hurt his OCV (OCV 10, DCV 12).  He'll have a hard time hurting Ogre with the basic punch, so that's why he carries a Utility Belt.  His Utility Belt is a Multipower (don't worry about exactly how this works yet), which lets him use different tricks.  He carries 4 blinding flares, which is an 8D6 Flash vs Sight (which will temporarily blind Ogre).  Once he uses the 4 charges, they're gone.  He has 2 gas pellets, which do 3D6 damage on each of Caped Avenger's phases for a full turn and ignore defenses, but they can be avoided if Ogre holds his breath (they are not Area of Effect -- to hurt Ogre the Caped Avenger has to throw them in his mouth).  The Caped Avenger has enough options available that he should be able to beat Ogre, but it's not a sure thing.
 
Fight #4 -- If the Caped Avenger falls, then Ultra Guy shows up.  Use Ogre's stats, but he has a Dex of 26, a 6 Speed, an OCV and DCV of 9, and 20" of Flight, as well as a 12D6 Energy Blast and 10" of Knockback Resistance (i.e., he doesn't get knocked backward).  In addition, he has N-Ray vision so he can see through walls.  Ultra Guy should whoop Ogre's butt.  But Ogre has a secret (that he doesn't know -- Ogre is dumb).  This whole rampage was set up by Bald Scientist Man.  Bald Scientist Man is hiding in a nearby dumpster (no game stats needed), and after one turn of combat, he peeks out and fires his Green Kelvarite Ray at Ogre (no game stats needed).  Ogre becomes charged with Green Kelvarite Energy.  Ultra Guy has a Vulnerability to Green Kelvarite, and takes x2 damage from it.  If Ogre can last this long (remember, he doesn't know it's coming, so he shouldn't be dodging around waiting for it to happen), then he'll do double damage every time he punches Ultra Guy.
 
Above all, have fun with it.  That's why we play this game.  And don't worry if you forget something (like skipping somebody's action or forgetting to see if the damage they take exceeds their Con score).  Even very experienced groups forget things virtually every session.  Each of these scenarios gives you a little something to fiddle with and figure out.  You can make it as complex as you want (I always liked knocking people back through buildings), or as simple as you need.  Welcome to the game.

Here's what I'd do.  It sounds like you're just wanting to learn the combat system for yourself.  Rather than worry about a bunch of optional rules, I'd just set up a few fights with you acting as both player and GM.  Start slow, focusing on one aspect at a time.
 
Fight #1 -- Take a Champions brick (somebody like Ogre) and let yourself fight a group of regular cops.  I don't know what books you have, but if you don't have any stats for Ogre, use a generic super-strong guy.  60 Strength, 18 Dex, 30 Con, 30 PD and ED (all resistant), 4 Speed, 60 Stun, OCV 8, DCV 6, 10" of Running, 20" of Leaping.  Now go rampaging through town.  Every turn two cop cars pull up, with two cops getting out of each one.  The cops shoot at Ogre with their guns (damage is inconsequential -- they're all too weak to hurt him, but it's good for you to practice rolling to-hit).  Set out some figures on a game mat and just learn how the basics of the game work.  Spend a phase or two grabbing cop cars and hurling them through the air.  Use your high leaping movement to bound away off the map and leave the cops behind.  Smash holes in walls and rip trees out of the ground.  Just think of cool things you could do if you were a rampaging super-strong monster, then look up how to do it in the book.  Don't worry about trying to be efficient or effective in combat.  Don't track endurance, or calculate knockback, or even worry about damage if you don't want to (anything Ogre hits will shatter, nothing can hurt Ogre).  Just learn the basics of rolling to hit, and how the Speed chart works.
 
Fight #2 -- Now a local superhero shows up to fight Ogre.  Make sure the guy is a little weaker than you (of course, you're playing both sides, so it doesn't matter who "wins"). Fire Lad has a 20 Dex, 25 Con, 25 PD and ED with his fiery force field, 5 Speed, 40 Stun, OCV 8 and DCV 7, 15" of Flight, and a 10D6 Energy Blast.  He will have a very hard time whittling Ogre down.  Try to play each guy to win.  Look at how damage works now.  Don't track endurance, but maybe look at Knockback, and maybe range penalties.  Ogre should still win this fight -- Fire Lad will have to get close to Ogre to hit him, close enough that Ogre can jump through the air and smack him.  And remember to be creative with how you fight.  If Fire Lad stays too high in the air, Ogre can always smash through a wall and go inside a building.  Or he can throw a manhole cover and then drop down into the sewers.  Or he can climb inside some poor lady's minivan and hide ("No go out there lady, fire guy shoot at Ogre!").
 
Fight #3 -- It's time to add in some other powers besides raw damage.  After Fire Lad's defeat, the Caped Avenger shows up.  He's a dark and mysterious avenger of the night.  26 Dex, 25 Con, 20 PD and ED, 6 Speed, 40 Stun, OCV 10 and DCV 10, 10" of Running and 10" of Leaping.  He's highly skilled in the martial arts (the character has 25 Str and +2 damage classes with martial arts).  He has an Offensive Strike maneuver (a powerful spinning roundhouse kick) that does 5D6 for Str, +4D6 for the Offensive Strike maneuver, +2D6 for extra damage classes, for a total of 11D6.  Doing it increases his DCV by 1, but decreases his OCV by 2 (OCV 8, DCV 11).  It's hard to hit with.  He's also got a Martial Dodge maneuver that increases his DCV by 5, but he can't attack the phase he uses it.  And he has a Nerve Strike maneuver that does 3D6 damage and ignores defenses (it has the same OCV/DCV as the spinning roundhouse).  Finally he has a Martial Strike maneuver, a basic punch that does 9D6 damage, but boosts his DCV and doesn't hurt his OCV (OCV 10, DCV 12).  He'll have a hard time hurting Ogre with the basic punch, so that's why he carries a Utility Belt.  His Utility Belt is a Multipower (don't worry about exactly how this works yet), which lets him use different tricks.  He carries 4 blinding flares, which is an 8D6 Flash vs Sight (which will temporarily blind Ogre).  Once he uses the 4 charges, they're gone.  He has 2 gas pellets, which do 3D6 damage on each of Caped Avenger's phases for a full turn and ignore defenses, but they can be avoided if Ogre holds his breath (they are not Area of Effect -- to hurt Ogre the Caped Avenger has to throw them in his mouth).  The Caped Avenger has enough options available that he should be able to beat Ogre, but it's not a sure thing.
 
Fight #4 -- If the Caped Avenger falls, then Ultra Guy shows up.  Use Ogre's stats, but he has a Dex of 26, a 6 Speed, an OCV and DCV of 9, and 20" of Flight, as well as a 12D6 Energy Blast and 10" of Knockback Resistance (i.e., he doesn't get knocked backward).  In addition, he has N-Ray vision so he can see through walls.  Ultra Guy should whoop Ogre's butt.  But Ogre has a secret (that he doesn't know -- Ogre is dumb).  This whole rampage was set up by Bald Scientist Man.  Bald Scientist Man is hiding in a nearby dumpster (no game stats needed), and after one turn of combat, he peeks out and fires his Green Kelvarite Ray at Ogre (no game stats needed).  Ogre becomes charged with Green Kelvarite Energy.  Ultra Guy has a Vulnerability to Green Kelvarite, and takes x2 damage from it.  If Ogre can last this long (remember, he doesn't know it's coming, so he shouldn't be dodging around waiting for it to happen), then he'll do double damage every time he punches Ultra Guy.
 
Above all, have fun with it.  That's why we play this game.  And don't worry if you forget something (like skipping somebody's action or forgetting to see if the damage they take exceeds their Con score).  Even very experienced groups forget things virtually every session.  Each of these scenarios gives you a little something to fiddle with and figure out.  You can make it as complex as you want (I always liked knocking people back through buildings), or as simple as you need.  Welcome to the game.

I'll be different here.  The best episode is "Where No Man Has Gone Before".  It's creepy space horror.  The idea that exploring the galaxy is dangerous, not because of alien ships or fickle gods, but because of what we might become as we travel the stars, that's scary.
 
When Gary Mitchell is sitting there in sickbay, eyes all silver, and he recites a poem... that scene just chilled me. 

I'll be different here.  The best episode is "Where No Man Has Gone Before".  It's creepy space horror.  The idea that exploring the galaxy is dangerous, not because of alien ships or fickle gods, but because of what we might become as we travel the stars, that's scary.
 
When Gary Mitchell is sitting there in sickbay, eyes all silver, and he recites a poem... that scene just chilled me. 

It was actually a pretty powerful statement for a 1960's scifi show and pretty memorable for people that grew up in that era. 
It wasn't "the one with the alien American/Chinese nuclear war".  It was the cautionary tale one where an advance world had reduced itself via Nuclear/Biological/Chemical war into to a primitive agrarian society fighting an endless war with "nomad barbarians".  A war where the participants no longer even remember the actual cause or even speak or read their original language.   The idea of the total destruction of the world by way of Nuclear/Biological/Chemical warfare was a very very real threat in the 50's, 60's and 70's and an ever present cloud in the back of everyone's mind back then. Making an episode that highlighted what most everyday people worked hard to forget was a pretty edgy thing.  Which is probably why it isn't on the "best episode" lists of the older fans who'd rather not be reminded and I guess isn't seen as much of anything by younger scifi fans that didn't experience that era's mindset.  But that is a good thing, that lack of understanding.  The world still has issues, but those issues are not as immediately apocalyptic as they were.  
 
 

I'm partial to The Trouble With Tribbles myself.

My four choices are:
Balance of Terror
The Doomsday Machine
Assignment: Earth
For the World Is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky
 
I can't really say why, but when I pull out the Blu-rays, I seem to always watch these. 

City on the Edge of Forever.  Any number of Sci-Fi greats wrote whole novels about time travel, but Harlan Ellison set the standards for the dangers of changing history for an entire generation.  
    I personally think every time travel story after that point from Quantum Leap to the Terminator owe a little something to it.

Balance of Terror

Uh oh, now you done did it . . . . 

Also stay away from Martial maneuvers until you’re more comfortable with the Standard Maneuvers. That being said, I would encourage you to play mock battles when not gaming and go-let’s try this! I still do that.

Marvin the Martian uses a Illudium Q-36 Space Modulator.
 
Probably explains why his voice sounds so funny.