Reluctant Hero
A character does a heroic thing but doesn't want anyone to know about it. Of course, the news always gets out and they become instantly famous.
The Patty Duke Show
Appearances
- The Patty Duke Show: Season 2, episode 35, "My Cousin the Heroine" (1965). Cathy rescues a boy from drowning but doesn't want anyone to know.
- It's a Living: Season 2, episode 3, "Of Mace and Men" (1981). Dot takes down a mugger with pepper spray, and everyone congratulates her and calls her a hero, but she feels terrible for hurting the mugger and doesn't want anyone to celebrate.
- Newhart: Season 3, episode 12, "Local Hero" (1985). George rescues some kids who accidentally drove their snowmobile into a frozen lake, but he doesn't want anyone to know because he thinks fame would ruin his life like it did to a guy named Biff Davis who found a potato that looked like Clint Eastwood.
- The Office (US): Season 3, episode 18, "The Negotiation" (2007). After Pam tells Roy that she and Jim kissed on Casino Night, he becomes enraged, storms into the office, and tries to take a swing at Jim, but Dwight jumps in and pepper sprays Roy before he can. Everyone in the office hails Dwight as a hero, but he won't accept it because he doesn't want to be praised or awarded for doing the right thing. Even when Jim wants to give him a gift or buy him a drink to thank him, he refuses, so when Jim accidentally sees Dwight making out with Angela in her cubicle, he promises never to tell as his gift to Dwight.
- Peep Show: Season 6, episode 6, "Das Boot" (2009). At Elena and Gail's engagement picnic, Jeremy goes on a boat ride with Gail, and when she tells him she can't swim, he starts thinking about pushing her into the lake. Moments later, she stands up and falls out of the boat. In a panic, Jeremy pulls her out of the water. Later, at their party, Elena makes a toast to Jeremy and hails him as a hero, but Jeremy can't enjoy the adulation because he thinks it was his thoughts that killed her.