Forever in viewers’ hearts. Whether it’s drama, comedy or one thing in between, TV present writers have by no means been afraid to shock audiences with a memorable character dying.
Back in March 1975, M*A*S*H turned a TV dying pioneer when Lieutenant Colonel Henry Blake (McLean Stevenson) died within the season 3 finale. The character was headed residence after being honorably discharged from the military, however earlier than he might make it, he was killed by enemy hearth.
The dying was so sudden that collection producers Gene Reynolds and Larry Gelbart obtained greater than 1,000 letters from irate followers. CBS, the community that broadcast the present, and twentieth Century Fox, which produced it, have been additionally displeased with the M*A*S*H bosses for offing a fan favourite.
“Naturally, CBS did not want us to ‘kill’ the Henry Blake character,” Gelbart recalled in his 1998 ebook, Laughing Matters. “They were most upset about that, and so was sentimental, dear old Twentieth Century-Fox. Killing a character in a half-hour show had never been done before.”
Some Twenty first-century reveals, nevertheless, make M*A*S*H‘s shock dying look tame. Lost, which ran from 2004 to 2010, turned recognized for its stunning twists earlier than the primary season was even completed. In the April 2005 episode “Do No Harm,” viewers have been devastated when Boone (Ian Somerhalder) died after a airplane fell on him within the jungle.
Though viewers members have been startled to search out {that a} major character might meet their finish so early in a present’s run, govt producer Carlton Cuse mentioned that he and present cocreator Damon Lindelof at all times knew Boone wouldn’t make it far.
“It was a narrative imperative that we kill Boone,” Cuse instructed Entertainment Weekly after the episode aired. “It sets in motion a chain of events leading to the season finale.”
Boone’s dying was solely the primary of many Lost exits to shock viewers. Fans later mentioned goodbye to Boone’s stepsister, Shannon (Maggie Grace), in addition to Libby (Cynthia Watros), Ana Lucia (Michelle Rodriguez), Mr. Eko (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), Charlie (Dominic Monaghan), Michael (Harold Perrineau), Juliet (Elizabeth Mitchell) and many extra.
Even Lindelof wasn’t unaffected by some of his present’s extra tragic moments. “Charlie is the [death] that got me. It got me,” the World War Z cowriter instructed E! News in September 2014. “When we actually got in the editing room and saw for the first time Dom underwater pressing his hand up against the glass, resigned to it, I just started sobbing.” So did Lost viewers all over the place.
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Keep scrolling for a glance again at some of probably the most stunning deaths in TV historical past — and keep in mind, spoilers forward!
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