Most shocking character death in a television show?

[Tommy_Carcetti]

By this, I mean totally out-of-the-blue, not-expecting-that-at-all type of death. For many characters, you'll know months in advance that the character is being written out of the show and you can see it coming. But there have been a few that just surprise you.

My choice? Christopher Moltasanti in The Sopranos. I figured he'd be there through the last episode, perhaps to take over Tony's spot. When they had that car accident in the last season, it just threw me for a total loop.

[Deep13]

1. Kutner on House. nt

[foxfeet]

3. I second the nomination.

[Odin2005]

34. Ditto!

[OhioChick]

57. Agreed. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

83. Yep

[Tailormyst]

113. That one totally freaked me out.

I loved his character.

[charlie and algernon]

2. Libby in Lost

[Tommy_Carcetti]

4. I was surprised--and disappointed--when they killed off Eko.

I would have loved for him to have more than a one-season role. All the big Tailies met their end quickly.

[charlie and algernon]

7. yeah, imagine if Jack had Eko on his side now against Locke

that would have been an epic battle of wills between those two. It was disappointing to have his redemption arc be so short. They should have signed him to a longer contract.

[Bucky]

64. Apparently the show's writers had huge plans for Mr. Eko. But the actor just quit the show.

Cuse & Lindeloff have said that one reason Ben Linus got so much air time in seasons 3-4 is because of the vacuum left when Adewale said he wanted his character killed off. He wanted to return to London and pursue different acting gigs there. We've not seen him in anything since. Worst career move ever.

[GreenPartyVoter]

84. Is that what happened? Man, I liked him.

[Jade Fox]

116. I loved Eko...

I was really sorry to see him go.

Yes, the Lost tailies seemed to be introduced only to be mostly killed off.

[XemaSab]

25. "Two for the Road"

is one of the best episodes of the series.

[NJmaverick]

35. In all fairness with the body count on LOST it's a surprise if someone isn't killed

[Xithras]

36. I learned early on not to get attached to LOST characters.

All of the characters I really liked from the first two seasons, with the exception of Sayed, are now dead.

[XemaSab]

43. Um, you are caught up on the show, right?

:hide:

[Xithras]

44. NO

*plugs ears* LALALALALALALA

I have the last two episodes on the DVR. I was going to make tonight a LOST night.

LALALALALA

Avoiding the LOST threads has been tough :)

[wickerwoman]

91. Arzdst in Lost

with Libby and Alex as runners up.

Lost has a lot of arbitrary death going on...

[caitxrawks]

132. i knew alex died from the get-go.

Since I read the Lostpedia and spoilers and stuff.


But it still was very shocking in the manner she died.

[Captain Hilts]

5. Ernest Bishop on "Coronation Street." nt

[HipChick]

87. LOL!

[Captain Hilts]

100. Weren't YOU shocked???

Well, weren't you??

[abq e streeter]

6. Maude Flanders---so tragic and senseless--I always warn friends now at ball games

when they start shooting the t-shirts into the crowd.

[geardaddy]

15. That was my first thought.

:D

[geardaddy]

22. Maude when getting the hot dogs

"And no footlongs, I know those make you uncomfortable."

[abq e streeter]

30. ...

:rofl:

[Lucian]

50. I don't mean to get picky...

but I think they were at the races when Maude got killed.

[abq e streeter]

53. But the potentially fatal consequences of carelessly flung t-shirts

is the same at all sporting events, and this is the message this terrible tragedy must send . If it can happen to good God-fearing Americans like the Flanders', it can happen to anyone. ( Not to even mention how upsetting those foot long hot dogs can be).

[Arugula Latte]

75. Watch out for those dang-diddly flying t-shirts!

[KamaAina]

8. Col. Henry Blake, M*A*S*H

totally unnecessary, since he was on his way back staeside anyway.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

9. I had one until you mentioned that one.

If we're talking most disturbing: on the show Sons of Anarchy they burnt a tattoo off an ex-member's back.

I spent most of that episode hiding in my BFs armpit while he cackled like a fiend.

[driver8]

10. That was the first one that popped into my head, too.

That death really bothered me and seemed like a cheap trick on the viewer.

[SeattleGirl]

39. Even the cast didn't know it was going to happen. n/t

[WCGreen]

73. He walked out over a contract dispute...

They didn't want any chance of him coming back.

[GreenPartyVoter]

81. Yeah, that one broke my heart. I still sniffle when I see that episode.

[JCMach1]

11. Rita in Dexter

[Deep13]

12. Goddammit! I haven't seen that series yet!

We get them on DVD after they're released. :mad:

[JCMach1]

17. This thread should have a possible spoiler warning...

Sorry... :(

[blue_onyx]

33. I agree

I've never been that shocked by a character's death. They set that episode up perfectly.

Entertainment Weekly ranked it as the number 1 most shocking TV death too.

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20366760,00.html

[nickinSTL]

69. Rita's dead?

huh. I've only seen through the 3rd season.

[Kat45]

70. That's the one I thought of too.

That was a total shock!

[Blue_In_AK]

71. Yes, that was HORRIBLE!

[Pisces]

86. +1

[TommyO]

89. This one works for me, big-time!

I was just down in Florida visiting my cousin and his wife, her daughter, son-in-law, my mother and myself all berated her because she didn't see any Dexter. It's now in her Netflix queue.

[sui generis]

109. yeah didn't see that coming

kind of wish they hadn't . . .

[Lance_Boyle]

13. Kenny, for the first couple of shows.

After that it was sort of expected.

[Seneca]

14. Dolores Landingham - The West Wing

I would say Henry Blake for all time most shocking, but this one for the '00's decade. Killed by a drunk driver off-camera during the closing minutes of the second season finale.

[Dr Morbius]

16. Yes. I was surprised at the death of Mrs. Landingham.

And like most of the West Wing, it was handled extremely well.

I have a different one. It wasn't a character killed off on a TV show, it was a character from a TV show killed off in a movie. Hoban "Wash" Washburne from Firefly was killed off in the movie Serenity... and it was a stunner.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

18. Sharon Lawrence, NYPD Blue

A real shocker, absolutely unexpected, and when Dennis Franz is holding her and telling her she's going to be OK she nods her head and says "Take care of the baby."

[Mad_Dem_X]

20. Yes. That one really upset me.

Totally unexpected.

[one_voice]

61. OMG...

I frickin' cried like a baby. Totally unexpected.

[GreenPartyVoter]

82. I had forgotten about that one.

[Rocknrule]

19. Chef on South Park stands out to me

[AllenVanAllen]

21. James Evens Sr. from "Good Times"

DAMN! DAMN DAMN!

[flvegan]

23. Kate Todd from NCIS.

I did NOT see her getting killed like that.

[Iggo]

38. Oh yeah!

[baldguy]

66. +1

[NJmaverick]

24. The woman on LA Law who fell down an elevator shaft

totally didn't see that coming

[Auggie]

27. Diana Muldaur n/t

[Iggo]

37. Yeah. That one gets my vote, too.

[XemaSab]

26. Maddy on Twin Peaks

:o

[Fire Walk With Me]

28. Twiki on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.

What a waste...

[qnr]

68. I came across a fossil of a Twiki ancestor on the beach (pic):

[Fire Walk With Me]

115. Biddi Biddi Biddi...

:cry:

[jobycom]

29. I guess others expected it, but Warrick on CSI.

I hadn't read all the stories about his contract, and really didn't follow the series, but happened to catch the show where he died, so it shocked me.

Next to that was Joe Coffee on Hill Street Blues, if anyone remembers that show.

[one_voice]

62. Yeah, it kinda sucked when Warrick died..

I loved Hill Street Blues!

[Call Me Wesley]

31. Ginny Weedon from 'Picket Fences.' (nt)

[City of Mills]

32. Combo from Breaking Bad

It caught me off guard...

Warning: graphic and disturbing - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5X7qJs8uRI

[BlueIris]

58. I thought Jane's death was pretty shocking, too.

And equally disturbing.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

40. From "The Wire" (SPOILER):

Omar's death. I accidentally found out about it a few days before I saw the episode, but I wouldn't have expected it to happen in the first place. So when I finally watched the episode, the extremely sudden and random way in which he dies really threw me for a loop.

Also, Lem's death in "The Shield" was unexpected.

[one_voice]

63. I didn't expect Omar to die, but what...

bothered me more was that he was killed by a little kill. I know Omar was a "bad guy" but I kinda liked him, and they way they killed him was kinda punk like..he deserved better. He should have gone out in a blaze of glory.

I was kinda shocked when Lem got it.

Damn, I watch too much tv.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

72. Actually, there was a reason behind that kid being involved.

In Season 3, Bunk witnesses Kenard (the kid) reenacting Omar's actions during the shootout with the Barksdale crew.

[one_voice]

76. Oh, ok...

I must have missed the connection. That makes sense. Not sure how I missed how it tied in, I watched every episode. Guess it's time to re watch.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

80. I also missed it and found out about it afterwards.

Part of what makes the show rewatchable, I think.

[Jade Fox]

117. Wallace from The Wire season one....

Cruel, pointless killing.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

118. I was sad about that, too.

[SoxFan]

41. Mrs. Huffnagle in "St. Elsewhere"

Naturally, I laughed my ass off at the method of her untimely demise...

[Orrex]

103. I didnt' think that anyone else saw or remember that.

Weren't her arms sticking out the sides?

[Old Troop]

42. MacLean Stevenson on MASH

[Xithras]

45. Can't remember his name, but there was this guy in a red shirt on Star Trek once...

Totally didn't see it coming.



;)

[Dr Morbius]

47. Lots of characters died on Star Trek only to be revived.

Chekov was killed in Spectre of the Gun, Scotty bought it in The Changeling, and so on.

[Mendocino]

48. That would be Ensign Ricky.

[demtenjeep]

46. Leo from West Wing...so sad because it was REAL

Robert (rob lowe) on Brothers and sisters

[AngryOldDem]

128. Agreed, but the "tribute" show (his funeral) was one of the worst episodes of TWW ever.

It boiled down to C.J. and Danny and Donna and Josh strategizing on how to hook up, with Any Gardner trying to play matchmaker to Josh. Even the scene where they were sitting around telling good old Leo stories seemed contrived and an afterthought. The opening scene with everybody who ever had any kind of role on the show was off-putting too, for some reason. True, I've heard that John Spencer didn't like the limelight to be on him, but still -- he and Leo McGarry deserved **much** better than that episode.

And as for Lowe on B&S -- that smashup pretty much worked as an allegory for how craptastic this show has gotten. He wanted out -- and I don't blame him -- and he specifically asked for the character to be killed off.

[Mendocino]

49. Kenny in South Park.

[bigwillq]

54. Over and over and over again

:rofl:

[Dr. Strange]

77. You bastard!

[Lucian]

51. Wesley from Angel.

I actually got upset when they killed him off.

[Steerpike]

99. I thought it made sense...

They do bring him back as a recurring character. (as a ghost)

[REP]

52. Bill McNeal, News Radio

[Lil Missy]

55. Edith Bunker

[GreenPartyVoter]

85. Yeah, that one made me sad. :^(

[BlueIris]

56. Carson Beckett on "Stargate: Atlantis."

Yes, I know the death wasn't exactly for keepsies, but when I first saw the episode, "Sunday," I just went, "Wuh?"

Runner up: Jack Bristow on "Alias."

[smoochpooch]

59. Jack Bauer's wife in season one of 24. n/t

[BlueIris]

119. Oooh, good one. nt

[cherokeeprogressive]

60. Gary from thirtysomething

Bicyclist who hated cars... died in a car accident.

[Lorien]

135. That's the first one that came to my mind too

the way they portrayed the whole thing was painfully realistic. Just out of nowhere his friends get a call...One minute everything is normal, the next the world turns upside down.

[Bucky]

65. Alex from LOST. I thought one of the rules of TV is you don't kill the kids.

Oh wait, I forgot. Charles Widmore changed the rules.

[XemaSab]

88. Word

:(

[Tommy_Carcetti]

112. Ben had a little something to say about that this past episode. nt

[XemaSab]

121. Bullets speak louder then words

:D

[baldguy]

67. Wesley Crusher

[sakabatou]

124. But he never was killed...

I think.

[woo me with science]

74. Darrin Stephens

Especially shocking that Samantha was bold enough to pass off her boy toy as Darrin after she murdered the real one, and that everyone was too scared of her to alert the police, so they just played along...

[Lindsey]

79. No Question- Rita from Dexter. OMG- I so didn't see that coming.

I really was, well, shocked. What an incredible show...can't wait until the new season. I still get shocked when the characters of LOST die. I'm only on the first show of the 3rd season but I'm going to go ahead and watch the final two episodes of this unbelievable program. It's on now.

[csziggy]

94. Now there is a spin I never considered!

I should watch the series again with that in mind - it would make is so much more fun.

[liberaltrucker]

78. Col Henry Blake-M*A*S*H

Most useless death of a character in the
history of TV. IMHO.

:wtf: was CBS thinking?

[Captain Hilts]

101. That was a shocker. And well done. War is dangerous, even when not in battle. nt

[Writer]

90. Miss Landingham on the West Wing.

Didn't see that coming.

[Seneca]

122. Post #14

I remember the trailers... advising us not to miss it. You would never forget it, etc. etc.

I cynically dismissed the hype, even as I loved the show.

But it lived up to the hype. I hadn't felt a punch to the gut like that since Henry Blake went down in the Sea of Japan back in '75. Mrs. Landingham was the perfect maternal foil for President Bartlet. Salty and sweet, in the right combination. No B.S. with her!

[begin_within]

92. Spoiler regarding "Upstairs, Downstairs"

Don't read it if you haven't watched "Upstairs, Downstairs" yet and intend to. Select the line below to read.

James Bellamy commits suicide by shooting himself following the Wall Street crash of 1929, where he lost not only his own investments but also the nest egg of Rose, the head houseparlourmaid.

[MiddleFingerMom]

93. A little death of a little character...

.
...in Susan Sarandon's and Burt Lancaster's "Atlantic City".
.
The loser BIL who had stolen the cocaine from the mob. After a long
and really UNUSUAL chase scene, the hit man was lying down on the
ground holding him and slowly, emotionlessly slid his knife easily
into his heart and held him like that 'til he died.
.
For whatever reason (or number of reasons), it was ESPECIALLY
disturbing for me.
.
.
FANTASTIC movie, BTW!!!
.

[csziggy]

95. Ianto Jones - who would have thought they would have killed Capt. Jack's love?

Torchwood really pulled out the stops when they fought that batch of aliens.

[Decoy of Fenris]

97. Agreed. Never saw that'n coming. n/t

[dmr]

98. Kaitlin Todd on NCIS - when the snipper shot her in the head.

That one really shook me up, and I still haven't forgiven the producers for springing that shocker on me.
x(

[csziggy]

114. I only saw that one in syndication

Same for CIS when Warrick was killed. CIS and NCIS are two shows I don't always see in first run - they are on all day on Spike so since I am home with the TV on I tend to 'save' them to watch in between news coverage daytimes.

But you are right - even in syndication, I did not see that coming. And since I had not followed NCIS at all, I had missed all the lead up. That got me hooked on watching it during the day so I could watch the seasons that lead up to that show.

[Decoy of Fenris]

96. David Tennant (The Doctor) in Dr. Who.

It was less shocking that he died, we all saw it coming. However, it was beyond shocking -HOW- he died. I actually went into a shock-state, jaw open, staring at the screen before just whispering "No", followed by howling and screaming at the writers for their audacity.

[peekaloo]

102. Chuckles the Clown!

a little song a little dance a little seltzer down your pants....:cry: :rofl:

[peekaloo]

104. Laverne on 'Scrubs'.

although she 'reappeared" as LaVernagain (JD's name for her).

"She done googled yo ass."

[BoWanZi]

105. The lawyer on Chicago Hope. I liked him, favorite character

snd then bam, he was killed.

[Aristus]

106. Randy "Doc" Matsuda from "Tour Of Duty".

Anyone remember this show?

I should have known it would happen; it was in the middle of a firefight with the NVA.

[Nailzberg]

123. I used to love that show. But don't recall that episode.

[MissMillie]

107. Gary on "thirtysomething"

Everyone was focused on Nancy's uterine cancer.

[sui generis]

110. oh yeah!

that was a shocker -

[Lorien]

136. Yep, that's the first one I thought of too

no warning-just gone in a senseless accident. Happens far too often. :-(

[Lydia Leftcoast]

108. In an early episode of Season 5 of MI-5/Spooks (SPOILER warning)

That series kills off main characters at an alarming rate, but Colin was strictly an in-house computer geek, so when he was killed by bad guys on one of his few ventures away from The Grid, it was really sad and shocking.

[Sabriel]

134. And don't forget...(spoiler)

Adam Carter. I assumed he'd get out in time.

[sui generis]

111. Buffy's mom

Also, Willow's girlfriend.

[MrCoffee]

133. Joyce gets my vote...totally out of the blue at the end of a throwaway ep

and then we got gutpunched with "The Body", which I still think is the best single episode of television drama ever created.

[BlueIris]

120. Tara on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

I was actually spoiled for it before the episode aired, but what shocked me was the way they chose to do it. Really graphic, unnecessarily so, in fact, and rumor has it the actress who played her was so pissed about how it went down that she refused to return in a guest spot the following season.

Runner up: Jenny Calender on BTVS. That one I wasn't spoiled for, and it practically put me in an early grave.

[WinkyDink]

125. D.A. Claire in "L&O", and the young D.A. murdered in...."L&O."

[warrior1]

126. Xena: Warrior Princess

Head was cut off and they strung her up in a tree naked. The fans went ballistic

[Lorien]

137. ??? when did that happen?

I only saw a couple of seasons of it, but is that how the series ended?

[NewJeffCT]

127. Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, end of Season 5

Death was her gift...

[mwb970]

129. A key character on "Damages".

I was so shocked I haven't been able to finish the rest of Season 1. Blew me away. I'm not saying who because I suspect many have not yet discovered this outstanding show. (I get it on DVD from the library.)

[Q3JR4]

130. I think any of these would work:

http://www.cracked.com/article_18488_the-5-worst-deaths-written-great-characters-and-why.html

Q3JR4.

[caitxrawks]

131. i was pretty shocked when jin and sun died.

I haven't reached that episode yet (I'm only on episode 4 of season 6), but HOLY CRAP when I found out (and about Sayid, but it wasn't as surprising) I had this sick feeling in my stomach. I never would've guessed. Maybe there's clues leading to it but if there are I haven't seen those episodes yet.

[Alexander]

138. Everyone in "Blake's 7"

What a depressing end to such a great show.