Yahoo News 12 saddest sitcom deaths that we'll never get over
When you need a quick pick-me-up, it's likely that you'll turn to your favourite sitcoms – you can choose any episode and not worry about things like continuity.
Start the wrong episode though, and you could be facing tears of heartbreak instead of joy. Sitcoms haven't been afraid to kill off characters over the years, and when they do, they don't tend to do it with a quip and a giggle. To help you avoid such emotional trauma, here are 11 of the saddest sitcom deaths ever.
Naturally, there be spoilers here.
1. Maude Flanders – The Simpsons
You can't exactly say Maude was ever a major character on The Simpsons, yet it's the impact of the shocking, fairly brutal death on Ned Flanders that makes it devastating.
After the incident with the T-shirt cannon, we spend the rest of the episode with a grieving Ned and his boys as the otherwise permanently optimistic character is shaken and questions his faith. It's such an unexpected turn of events for the show and that what makes it hurt so much.
2. Wilson – Friday Night Dinner
Five series in and you thought you knew exactly what you were getting with a Friday Night Dinner episode and that's what makes it work. Until they decide to throw a curveball and kill off Jim's beloved dog Wilson in the finale.
Mark Heap's harrowing performance is what sells it as Jim struggles to believe it before wailing "don't leave me" over Wilson's body. Castaway's "Wilsonnnnn" scene has got nothing on this.
3. Ben – Scrubs
We were going to go with 'My Old Lady' as Scrubs let you know in its fourth episode that it would make you cry from time to time, but the sucker punch at the end of 'My Screw Up' wins out. We know somebody died at Sacred Heart Hospital and that Dr Cox blames JD for it, only for the episode's ending to reveal it's Dr Cox's brother-in-law Ben that's died.
"Where do you think we are?" JD asks him before we pan to the funeral. We know where we are – drowning in our own tears.
4. Marvin Eriksen Sr – How I Met Your Mother
The reason that the death of Marshall's father, Marvin Eriksen Sr, in How I Met Your Mother hits so hard is that the show wasn't afraid to show its effects on the characters afterwards.
After his shock heart attack in 'Bad News', we saw how Marshall dealt with his father's death, funeral and moving on with his life, timed with the news that he was going to be a father himself ("I'm not ready for this").
Special praise to Jason Segel who wasn't told about the plot twist until they shot the scene, giving it an authenticity that few other sitcom deaths can match.
5. Everyone – Blackadder Goes Forth
Even if you've never seen Blackadder, you'll probably know of the brilliant and powerful end to Blackadder Goes Forth. Having failed to get himself sent home on insanity grounds, Blackadder builds up the courage to lead his team over the top – and to their certain deaths.
"Good luck, everyone," he tells them before they meet their end in slow motion and no man's land turns into a field of poppies as a fitting tribute to those who died in the war. You'll need a lot of pluck not to be a emotional mess at the end of it.
6. Seymour – Futurama
We're not sure we'll ever fully process Seymour's death in Futurama, AKA the saddest moment EVER in animation. During 'Jurassic Bark', Fry finds a fossilised version of his pet dog Seymour from the 20th century and looks to have him brought back to life, until Fry stops the process as he thinks Seymour would have found a new owner and forgot about him. WRONG.
Cut to a montage that outdoes Up as we see Seymour faithfully waiting for Fry as the years pass before he lies down and closes his eyes. We can't. We just can't.
7. Henry Blake – MASH
Lt Colonel Henry Blake might have been killed off-screen in MASH, but the impact was huge. Audiences just weren't used to death being discussed in scripted television (imagine what they'd think of Game of Thrones now...) and the unflinching manner it's done in is perfect.
Henry's closest friend Radar O'Reilly enters the operating room and struggles through the news that Henry's plane was shot down and "there were no survivors". Groundbreaking, as well as heartbreaking.
8. Gerard – Peep Show
Gerard's death in the first episode of Peep Show series eight came as a shock to both fans and the lead characters who, at first, barely believe it happens.
Mark and Jeremy being Mark and Jeremy though, they don't exactly show much sympathy about it and mainly just use it for dark jokes like "that is so Gerard" when they learn he died from flu.
Still, the close-up style of the show does hint at the cracks beneath the surface and Gerard's final line is touching and funny: "I just wanted to say hi, but I'll just say bye."
9. Mr Heckles – Friends
The death of Mr Heckles in Friends wasn't a surprise given it was in the episode's title 'The One Where Heckles Dies' and he does die shortly into the episode.
However, this didn't stop it from being tearjerking as Chandler discovers Mr Heckles's yearbook and realises he wasn't always a grumpy old man and actually had a lot in common with Chandler. The episode ends with Chandler paying his own tribute to his former neighbour by saying, "Goodbye Mr Heckles, we'll try to keep it down," as he takes a final look around the empty room. Awww.
10. Kenny – South Park
Of course, Kenny McCormick has been killed off a lot in South Park, but season five episode 'Kenny Dies' subverts the show's usual ludicrous deaths of Kenny and treats it with complete gravitas.
The result is effective and moving as Stan finds himself incapable of visiting his terminally ill friend, only to find Kenny has already passed away when he comes to say goodbye. Even Cartman cries, and that's when you know it's serious.
11. Paul Johnson – Black-ish
As if the ongoing storyline concerning the breakdown of Bow and Dre's marriage weren't enough, Black-ish decided fans needed more emotional turmoil. Dre gets a phonecall in the middle of the night from a sobbing Bow that her father has died, which does at least leads to a rebirth of their marriage.
The joy of that coupled with the ACTUAL TEARS that Tracee Ellis Ross's heartbreaking performance induced left us praying that Black-ish will put the 'com' back into sitcom next season. If only because our tissue budget is now out of control.
12. Nana – The Royle Family
Comeback specials aren't even safe from a sitcom death as The Royle Family fans found out with 'The Queen of Sheba'. The episode saw the birth of Denise and Dave's second child with the baby girl being called Norma after Nana, which is emotional enough.
But then Nana dies shortly after meeting the latest addition to the family, and the episode ends with Nana's wake and Jim puts her ashes on top of the TV as a tribute. It's a poignant death that has only become even more heartbreaking since actress Liz Smith's death in 2016.
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