Spurgeon Tanner quotes from Deep Impact (1998)

Sometimes I see flashes of light. You know like colours. I fall asleep and I dream. But there's a part of me that's always awake. And I can see myself dreaming. I'm just seeing things differently, Fish.

Spurgeon Tanner

Well, that's good.

Fish. Why the hell do they call you "Fish"?

Spurgeon Tanner

Spurgeon, sturgeon, fish. Took me about 15 minutes of my first day at the Naval Academy.

Your kids go there?

Spurgeon Tanner

Yeah, they did. They did. And they're good men, both of them. I don't see as much of them as I used to when Mary was alive.

You don't have to talk about it. It's O.K.

Spurgeon Tanner

No, it's O.K. It's O.K. You're a married man; you know what it's like. Every marriage has it's good years and bad years. We ended on a great year. Well, lets get started. Moby Dick, chapter one. "Call me Ishmael. Several years, never mind how long precisely, having little or no money in my purse... grim about the mouth." "Whenever it is a damp, drizzly November in my soul, whenever I find myself knocking people's hats off, then I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can."

Spurgeon Tanner

Could I bother everyone for a minute? Let's take a look at the big one. Now the outgassing has created a vent a half a mile wide and at least two miles deep. Comet gets closer to to the sun, sun melts the ice, ice turns to steam, we get a big hole, O.K.? So, how many nukes we have left in the back?

We have four.

Spurgeon Tanner

If we get the remaining bombs in that vent, there shouldn't be anything left in that comet bigger than a suitcase. We can't do anything about the little one, but it just might give them a chance. Without the arming codes, we're going to have to wait to set the bomb timers until we get closer to Earth to raise Houston.

We may not have enough life support left to get back into the cargo bay for the nukes, much less go down with the comet.

We sure as hell don't have enough propellant left in the Messiah to manuever with. How do we set the nukes inside the comet and get out before they blow?

We don't.

Look on the bright side. We'll all have high schools named after us.

It's a pleasure serving with you , Commander.

Spurgeon Tanner

The honor is all mine, Andy.