Father’s Day is this weekend, and for whatever reason, I was inspired to go back and take a look at the Ten Most Heartbreaking Television Episodes of the Last 20 Years. It turned out to be a strangely cathartic experience, if by cathartic you mean: Weeping holes in my soul. Warning: Tho use — some aris might be a good piece to wait until the weekend to read (and watch) in privacy. Note: Due to copyright issues and the Interweb’s hatred of me, I was unable to find some of the clips I would’ve liked — some are of bad quality and some are of fan made, but I trust the savvy television watchers will know to what scenes I’m referring.
10. Lost — “Through the Looking Glass”
Episode Description: Ben confronts Jack, claiming that Naomi is not who she seems. Meanwhile, Sawyer and Juliet try to come up with a plan to rescue the hostages at the beach. Inside the Looking Glass, Charlie and Desmond struggle to find a way to shut off the blocking signal.
9. Quantum Leap — “M.I.A. April 1, 1969”
Episode Description: As an undercover police officer, Sam is caught in a familiar scenario to Al when he must prevent a M.I.A. Naval officer’s wife (who is actually Al’s wife) from marrying another man until he returns from captivity. But the other man keeps showing up and Sam thinks it may just be fate that the two come together.
Episode Description: Tim’s world is rocked when Dawn turns up at the office to say hello. Despite a stern warning from Gareth and wise words from Keith in Accounts, Tim can’t help but get his hopes up again. Meanwhile, David Brent has secured the services of a dating agency and, in between making celebrity appearances in nightclubs for £500 a go, he meets up for drinks with a rather disappointing selection of single women. The office Christmas party kicks off like any other but there are a few surprises in store.
7. Wonder Years — “Independence Day”
Episode Description: In the end, the narrator tells us that Paul went on to study law at Harvard, that Karen has her baby and that he looks like Kevin, that Norma goes on to become a board chairman and that Wayne takes over the family furniture business after Jack passes away two years later. Kevin and Winnie write to each other every week for the eight years after she leaves for France to study art history. When she returns, Kevin is married and has a son. Kevin realizes that nothing turns out how you plan, but that his memories of childhood will be with him forever.
6. “West Wing” — “Two Cathedrals”
Episode Description: On the day of Mrs. Landingham’s funeral, the staff deals with a Haitian presidential crisis and the law suit against the big tobacco companies, and Bartlet must decide about running for reelection.
5. “Friday Night Lights” — “Pilot”
Episode Description: A newcomer coach Eric Taylor finds himself helming a promising high school football team, the Dillon Panthers, that has a real chance to make it to the top.
4. Futurama — “Jurassic Bark”
Episode Description: Fry reads in the newspaper that archaeologists have recreated an old Pizzeria from the 20th Century. He and Bender go to see it and discover that it is in fact Panucci’s Pizza, the pizzeria Fry used to work at in 1999. Fry also discovers that the fossilized remains of his old dog Seymour are on display. Fry campaigns to get Seymour back and eventually does, and Farnsworth says he can use the cloning machine to bring Seymour back to life.
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer — “The Body”
Episode Description: Buffy is devastated when she arrives home and finds her mother dead. The rest of the gang try their best to pull themselves out of their own grief so that they can help Buffy and Dawn to deal with the worst day of their lives.
2. Scrubs — “My Screw Up”
Episode Description: Jordan’s brother and sister return, but Dr. Cox learns that his brother-in-law Ben hasn’t visited a doctor about his cancer in the two years he has been gone traveling the world.
1. “Six Feet Under — “Everyone’s Waiting”
Episode Description: The drama about a Los Angeles funeral home meets its maker after five compelling seasons. Three weeks ago, Nate Fisher Jr.’s death ended speculation about which of the show’s major characters would die. But in the hands of creator Alan Ball, who wrote and directed this episode, you can bet the finale will be anything but anticlimactic. One issue certain to be resolved involves the health of Nate’s unborn child, since tonight, Brenda goes into labor. While the last two seasons have been downbeat, the writing has remained original, the acting terrific. Like Nate, the series will be missed.
The Futurama episode where Fry reminisces on how he and his brother hated each other.
The Tasha Yar death episode on Star Trek TNG
The Just the Ten of Us episode where (I believe a character played by Matthew Perry) was killed either by a drunk driver or he was DUI.
The Hogan Family episode where one Jason Bateman's crew dies of AIDS.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at June 19, 2009 2:08 PM
Couldn't be more spot on. However, for some reason, my Dad always complains that due to water pressure issues or something like that, Charlie didn't have to do what he did to save Desmond. I just kind of suspend disbelief for it.
That Buffy episode was a real shocker. I couldn't believe what I was watching. Sorry everything I'm writing is so cliché, but I really can't think of much right now.
The Futurama episode where Fry reminisces on how he and his brother hated each other.
Yep. That episode had the best ending.
Posted by: twig at June 19, 2009 2:12 PM
goddamn you, dustin! seymour gets me EVERY TIME! (even though his story was retconned and he wasn't as lonely and pathetic as we originally thought, i STILL tear up!)
here's hoping one of the new 26 episodes has a little seymour in it... you hearing me, futurama writers?
Posted by: gp at June 19, 2009 2:13 PM
I love that episode of Lost, but for me the most heartbreaking was when Penny and Desmond reunited. Not tragic, but heartbreaking nonetheless.
And that West Wing episode...chills. Just chills. One of the best TV episodes of all time, hands down. The use of "Brothers in Arms", the rain, the writing, Martin Sheen, just...everything. Beautiful. Dammit. I didn't want to tear up today. God I miss that show.
And I've said it before, that Scrubs episode is one of the best things to ever happen to television.
Haven't seen any of the others, but just for those three...this list is great.
And "Bill Moves On" isn't on this list why? Or is it just too painful?
Posted by: Tori at June 19, 2009 2:20 PM
Dr Who. "The Girl in the Fireplace". Hands down.
Ripped my heart out.
Posted by: Odnon at June 19, 2009 2:22 PM
I agree that buffy has to be on the list, but is that episode more heartbreaking than Passions? Giles' expression upon finding Jenny is equally devestating. It was also so much more unexpected than the mother dying,who after all, had a brain tumor
It has become a mockery of itself now, but I would argue that very early nip/tuck (season 1 or 2) produced some heartbreaking episodes.
Totally endorse the futurama episode.
But, most important omission, where is the WIRE. You could make a top 10 list entirely from the Wire.
Posted by: "luker" the barbarian at June 19, 2009 2:25 PM
You going to look out for me, Sergeant Carver? You promise? You got my back, huh?
Anybody else get a little teary-eyed at the end of The Simpsons episode, "Mother Simpson", when Homer sits on top his car after saying goodbye to his mother? There's something so real about him in that moment, just watching the stars and taking it all in.
Posted by: The Fox at June 19, 2009 2:26 PM
The only problem with the Six Feet Under finale (call it an unintended consequence) was how every d-bag in Hollywood though it would be a good idea to use that "Breathe Me" song in EVERY FUCKING thing.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at June 19, 2009 2:26 PM
In Excelsis Deo from season one of The West Wing always gets me going, though I understand why you would choose Two Cathedrals to represent the series. It's the one where a homeless veteran dies wearing a coat Toby gave to Goodwill. He arranges a funeral for the man and the President scolds him, saying (paraphrase) "What if every homeless veteran comes looking for this kind of treatment now?" and Toby says, " I can only hope." Ugh, it kills me every time.
Posted by: SCannakate at June 19, 2009 2:27 PM
Dr Who. "The Girl in the Fireplace". Hands down.
Ripped my heart out.
Posted by: Odnon at June 19, 2009 2:22 PM
-------------------------------------------------
Excellent call!
That right there could be #1.
Posted by: BarbadoSlim at June 19, 2009 2:29 PM
Nothing makes me tear up like the last episodes of "The Wonder Years" or "Six Feet Under". Phenomenal shows.
Posted by: eat my shorts at June 19, 2009 2:30 PM
One of the saddest moments on West Wing for me was the episode that aired after John Spencer had died. I was completely heartbroken about it, and I knew that that episode would cover it...it wasn't even a great episode, but the dread of the moment when they'd reveal that Leo had died and when it came...god I was just sobbing.
Season 2, episode 1 of Cracker- "To Be A Somebody".
The death of CI Bilborough (Christopher Ecclestone)is brutal and absolutely heartbreaking.
Posted by: clocker at June 19, 2009 2:35 PM
MASH- The first colonel die on the helicopter ride home.
Posted by: dre at June 19, 2009 2:35 PM
the fox
You are absolutely right about that simpsons episode. I didn't even think about it, but you just pointed to one reason why people who think the simpsons is similar to family guy are idiots. The simpsons has had true moments of heart. That episode is one of the best.
Posted by: "luker" the barbarian at June 19, 2009 2:39 PM
I dunno....the Wonder Years where Winnie is at the new school with the new cool kids and then gets into a car accident is pretty good. Kevin running to her house from school only to be told Winnie won't even see him. And then the Bob Seger comes on......
Posted by: Kevin at June 19, 2009 2:39 PM
The ER episode where the firemen get trapped in the building and Carol's boyfriend is ok but his friend is dying and there's nothing they can do for him.
Homicide episode with Vincent D'Onofrio and the subway...sob!
Posted by: Patti at June 19, 2009 2:40 PM
I knew Jurassic Bark would be up here, and rightfully so. I'm not even crazy about dogs, but I have only seen that episode once, and I don't have the heart to watch it again. I cry every time.
People mock the hell out of this (and it's over 20 years old) but James' death in Good Times was devastating.
Posted by: Brie at June 19, 2009 2:40 PM
NYPD Blue. Jimmy Smits dies. SAD.
Posted by: Riles at June 19, 2009 2:48 PM
I consider "Two Cathedrals" much more empowering than heartbreaking.
Posted by: DarthCorleone at June 19, 2009 2:48 PM
"You going to look out for me, Sergeant Carver? You promise? You got my back, huh?"
Ahhh, no, no, no - cannot cry at work! The look on Carter's face. Just about every damn episode of The Wire had a misty moment somewhere, i.e. Griggs sitting with her ex-partner's daughter in the window and saying "Good night, hustlers. Good night, street." And the finale with SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER Bubbles testifying in AA and being invited up to eat with his sister and her son SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER. I actually can't believe The Wire isn't represented here.
Among the mistiest moment for me: in "My So-Called Life" when Claire gets grabbed to read for "Our Town" when Renee is the lead and she gets teary and her voice cracks when she asks Renee-as-lead "Were you happy?"
Also SPOILER when Barbara gets revealed on "Big Love" when she wins Mother of the Year. The look on her face when asked "Are you a polygamist?" and she responds "Yes" kills me every damn time. SPOILER
Posted by: samantha t at June 19, 2009 2:49 PM
"People mock the hell out of this (and it's over 20 years old) but James' death in Good Times was devastating."
Agreed. That show was truly the shit.
Posted by: samantha t at June 19, 2009 2:51 PM
If I had to opick a West Wing episdoe, it'd be "The State Dinner" for the scene here Bartlett is on the phone with the ship about to be destroyed by the hurricane.
I don't even have to watch "Jurassic Bark" to start crying- I just have to think about it. And I'm not even a big dog person, either.
"Two Cathedrals" is TV perfection.
"The Body" was, as previously pointed out, just a jolting experience. I don't know if I've ever felt more uncomfortable watching a show than I felt during the first part of that episode.
The last ten minutes of the UK "Office" may be my favorite ten minutes of any show, ever.
And while I agree that "Friday Night Lights" should be on this list, I think there are better, more heart-breaking episodes to use. Smash's storyline this past season is a great example, as is the scene with Saracen crying in the shower about how everyone he loves leaves him in the end.
Posted by: Abe Froman at June 19, 2009 2:52 PM
I didn't even like Charlie, yet I bawl like a baby the moment he nods his head after showing Desmond his hand. Every damn time. I also cried my eyes out when Desmond and Penny have their Christmas Eve phone conversation in "The Constant."
Posted by: Kolby at June 19, 2009 2:53 PM
Long Term Parking of The Sopranos. Adrianna in the woods . . .
Posted by: Will at June 19, 2009 2:53 PM
Newsradio: "Bill Moves On"
The first episode of the fifth season.
Over the summer, Phil Hartman had been murdered by his wife. His character on the show, Bill McNeal, was then felled by an off-screen heart attack.
I remember watching it and seeing the cast choke up. Not the characters, the cast. Apparently, they had to do several retakes of scenes because people were breaking down in tears. I felt their pain.
Posted by: Jim Doggie at June 19, 2009 2:53 PM
And, much as I love the American "The Office", this little clip reminds me of how superior the British version was.
Posted by: samantha t at June 19, 2009 2:54 PM
How about EVERY episode of Six Feet Under.
I can't even watch them on DVD again.
Posted by: OldSchool60 at June 19, 2009 2:56 PM
There was a stripper on the “G-String Divas” series on HBO a couple of years ago. Anyway one of her long time customers bought her some implants, they were about to go on a vacation but the guy died for some unknown reason. It was so said listening to her talk about how great the guy was, whenever she danced she had this cold vacant look in her eyes, her eyes were like so dead.
Posted by: Guess Who! at June 19, 2009 2:59 PM
TK- I just watched the final episode of Firefly last night, for the first time. Definitely sad just because it was the last one. And it just had to introduce a strange new interesting character, too.
oh god, totally agree with the Futurama episode. The ending of that episode is killer - gets me teary-eyed every time.
Saddest scene from a comedic animated series of all time
Posted by: b at June 19, 2009 3:00 PM
"Long Term Parking of The Sopranos. Adrianna in the woods . . ."
I was so profoundly disturbed by that episode that I did actually cry. It was just so fucking bleak and horrifying.
Posted by: samantha t at June 19, 2009 3:02 PM
I was so mad at the West Wing, when they killed Mrs. Landingham off. Finally, a smart, older woman in an important position in a TV show and they kill her off and replace her with Lily Tomlin. Granted, Lily Tomlin is also an older woman, but I can't see her without seeing her as the telephone operator or the little girl in the giant rocking chair, and that's the truth.
Posted by: BWeaves at June 19, 2009 3:02 PM
Fuck, Jay, I just watched that episode last weekend. That moment fucking killed me.
The episode of The Shield where Shane drops a grenade in Lem's lap. Most heartbreaking scene of television I've ever seen.
Posted by: tc at June 19, 2009 3:08 PM
Anything involving dogs KILLS me. I'm tearing up just hearing about that Futurama thing (never saw it) and I refuse to watch the clip or fully read anyone's post about it.
Honestly, the Wonder Years epsisode when Winnie's brother is killed in Viet Nam. Wrenching.
That series was amazing. I miss it.
"Season 2, episode 1 of Cracker- "To Be A Somebody"."
Oh God, Clocker! I have it on DVD (used to have the video). I start to cry when the opening credits roll just in anticipation of what's going to happen. Every time I scream at him: "Don't go in the house". And that scene where Robert Carlyle's character is talking about his father's death and remembering Hillsborough....
Posted by: PaddyDog at June 19, 2009 3:10 PM
A third for "Bill Moves On." Absolutely devastating, especially when Dave is reading the final letter and starts to break up. That was brutal because it was absolutely real, all of them.
One more Buffy, I have to give it to Conversations With Dead People. That episode kills me. But The Body wins this hardcore.
The Girl in the Fireplace is heartbreaking, but Family of Blood destroys me the second Tennant (as John Smith) starts crying because he doesn't want to die and be The Doctor.
[to be said quickly and somewhat quietly] The first season finale of The OC. Shut up.
1. The "Life Goes On" episode (two parter) where Becca's former boyfriend Tyler dies after driving drunk and she and her brother Corky visit the damaged tree he hit and watch the sun go down.
2. "The Wonder Years" series finale (my father and I loved that show--the voiceover made tears come to my eyes more than once).
3. "Growing Pains" episode where Matthew Perry guest stars as Carole's boyfriend and he dies after drunk driving (her sobbing in her parents arms when Mike broke the news to her was sobering to my eight year old self) "He said he was going to get a second chance! He promised he was going to get a second chance!"
4. The "Fresh Prince" episode where Will is so excited to meet the father that abandoned him, and then the deadbeat walks out again. Uncle Phil holds him as he cries and rages and the camera zooms in on the coffee table where you see a figurine of a father holding a son that Will was going to give his dad.
5. "All In The Family" where Edith is assaulted and almost raped and she's too afraid to go to the police, but her daughter convinces her to do it for other women that could have been hurt. This episode was hard to watch because Edith Bunker always reminded me of my frail grandmother and the scene is pretty scary when you're young.
AND THE #1 ALL TIME HEARTBREAKING SCENE......
The Nip/Tuck episode where Sean (one of the main characters) has an affair with a woman who is perfect for him. She is dying of cancer and found out she only has a short time to live. She decides to die with dignity so they go to the seaside hotel where they first made love and she writes goodbye letters to her family, gets into bed, and Sean holds her hand as she slowly swallows enough pills to kill her. The entire time Sean is tearing up and looking at her lovingly and she smiles and tells him goodbye, and over the whole scene Elton John's "Rocketman" is playing. The song fades out as the sun goes down and she stops breathing, Sean still holding her hand. I own the DVD and I sob everytime.
Posted by: scorzi at June 19, 2009 3:13 PM
Oh and for Firefly, the heartbreaking one is The Message. Try to watch the end of that one and not get choked up.
And speaking of things that feature Jonathan Woodward, I guess I have to mention Fred's death on Angel, but I'll probably cry as I type it.
The final four episodes of Six Feet Under were the most emotional moments captured on camera for me. I remember sitting in front of the television sobbing uncontrollably at how heartbreaking the episodes were. Heartbreaking and poignant. It would take me years until I found something as moving as the final episodes of SFU, and that was the TV film "Wit". Watch that one and try not to cry.
The last episode of BBC's Gormenghast kicks the shit out of me emotionally.
Also the last episode of Shooting the Past makes me cry like a slapped child. Every. Damn. Time.
Posted by: Gayle at June 19, 2009 3:16 PM
May I also add, the Sesame Street Christmas special where they pull an O Henry: Bert and Ernie are both broke so unknownst to each other Ernie sells his beloved rubber duckie to get money to buy Bert a box for his paper clip collection and Bert sells his paper clip collection to buy Ernie a dish for his rubber duckie to sit on. I am tearing up just thinking about it right now. In the last scene Mr Hooper who has realized what is going on arrives with Christmas presents for both of them returning rubber duckie to Ernie, and the paper clips to Bert. I swear the emotion on those puppet's faces kills me every single time. The first time I saw it, I was with my sisiter, both of us in our twenties, weeping uncontrollably. My boyfriend at the time came home and thought someone had died.
Posted by: PaddyDog at June 19, 2009 3:16 PM
And though it's not a tv show, my boyfriend and his hardcore born and raised New York buddies always have tears streaming down their faces every time they see the movie "The Champ", when little Ricky Schroeder is over Jon Voight's body at the end crying "Champ? Champ! Champ please get up!" over and over and no one stops him. Brutal!
Posted by: scorzi at June 19, 2009 3:22 PM
Some of these I haven't seen, but I'm totally with you on Jurassic Bark (I literally cannot even watch it... I have to turn it off.), Through the Looking Glass, and The Body.
Luker, I'm going to argue against you on the other ep. It was moving in its own way, but Jenny hadn't been around that long, and don't forget, she helped enable Angel's return to Angelus, however accidentally. Plus, Joyce was Buffy's *mom*, as oppose to the tertiary character that Jenny really was. And it wasn't an evil creature that got her, a vamp or a demon; it was a mundane thing, that anyone can get, any time, and there's no fighting it sometimes (though too, bear in mind that she had gone through the surgery, and it seemed like everything was okay and she was going to be fine). I just don't think it I bawl like a baby every. Single. Time. It doesn't ever get trite upon rewatches. Even the end of the prior episode, "I Was Made To Love You," gets me going. It just visually captures the feel of someone close to you dying; the outside sunshine super bright, and the sounds of children laughing like nothing is wrong magnified, and the not seeing the paramedic's face as he's talking to her, plus the lack of background sound... Seriously, it's one of the most powerful episodes of television I've ever seen committed to film, and definitely the most heartrending.
In addition to the Body and Passions I'd add the Season two finale when Buffy sends Angelus to hell 5 seconds after he reverts back to Angel.
Also agree with previous poster that there are better choices from FNL.
And the MASH episode mentioned above gets bonus points because it not only was gut wrenching but also (if my recollection is right) because it was seen by so many more people than most of this list. It crushed something like 10-20% of the country. I don't think any of the others on this list had that kind of widespread impact.
Posted by: ed newman at June 19, 2009 3:22 PM
Thanks, now I'll think of Seymour all damn day.
The conversation between Penny and Desmond in The Constant is hands down the one for me followed by the scene in Family of Blood when John Smith/The Doctor and Nurse (whats her name?) hold the watch and see what their life would have been like.
See I'm crying right now as I type this.
"stupid, bloody watch..."
Although I did catch the Lost episode the other day where Sawyer tells Jack about his chance meeting with Christian in a Sydney bar. I don't even like Jack and my heart broke for him and all the "coulda, shouldas" left undone between him and his father.
Posted by: Jules at June 19, 2009 3:27 PM
YES! The Wire, when Wallace was murdered. Holy crap, I was a wreck for days afterward. I LOVED Wallace.
Angel, the 100th episode when Cordy comes out of her coma and helps Angel get back on track then we find out she's really dead at the end. Are you effing kidding me with that? Playing with my emotions!
Posted by: Melanie at June 19, 2009 3:28 PM
PaddyDog:
OMG I SOBBED AT THIS EPISODE TOO!
Posted by: scorzi at June 19, 2009 3:28 PM
That Futurama episode with Fry and his dog makes me cry every damn time I watch it. Its like they found a way to animate heartbreak and love and loyalty and OMG THAT DOG WAITED FOR HIM UNTIL HE DIED!!! :'(
Posted by: Tammers at June 19, 2009 3:29 PM
My first thought when I saw the title of the list was "The Body" from Buffy better
be on there. And it is. Thank you!
Mr. Henry and I were watching Carnivale on DVD just after my son was born
and he was still in the hospital but I was home (he's fine now). There was an
episode where the main character came across a woman who was holding on
to her dead baby and could not let go. It nearly killed me.
Posted by: Henry at June 19, 2009 3:30 PM
That episode of Lost was the last one I ever watched. Killing off Charlie was unforgivable.
Posted by: Nikki at June 19, 2009 3:31 PM
Fred's death on Angel and the end of Jurassic Bark are two things I will never be able to watch ever again. Not a fucking chance.
Posted by: James at June 19, 2009 3:32 PM
I actually have to disagree on "Through The Looking Glass." Charlie's death is a foregone conclusion at that point, and although the writers came up with a clever set of twists to make it a bit more surprising, foregone is still foregone.
The real gutpuncher from Lost is the episode right before, "Greatest Hits." That's where Charlie flashes back to the best moments of his life while writing his goodbye letter to Claire, knowing that he's headed out to sea to die and he's gonna do it anyway because it's him or Claire and Aaron, and what the hell kind of choice is that?
Also to add to the list: "Grace Under Pressure," the episode of Hill Street Blues where Sergeant Esterhaus dies and is mourned. Michael Conrad, who played Esterhaus, died some time before. The poem that gets read at his wake always slays me.
I think the body is an amazing episode, perhaps I find passions more disturbing because I haven't yet experienced a loved one dying. That might explain the difference in our opinions.
I just found Passions to be so much darker, and that much heart-wrenching. I recognize that Jenny hadn't been there long, but she was very popular, and I for one, certainly had NO idea that they would kill her off. She also was a good person and did not deserve it. But what really made that episode heart-wrenching was the effect of the death on Giles.
I mean, to take away the only woman Giles would "love" in the most twisted way possible? To see stolid, dependable Giles reduced to an angry, crazed wreck? To see him have to rely on Buffy for emotional support, knowing she was partially responsible for killing Jenny? That, for me, was more heartbreaking than the more sudden death of her mother.
Posted by: "luker" the barbarian at June 19, 2009 3:34 PM
The "Three Stories" episode of House never fails to break my heart. Dr. House is never as vulnerable in that episode's flashbacks, and you see his relationship with Stacie and how he came to be in chronic pain. Kills me.
And "Requiem" from Judging Amy where Maxine's fiancee dies. Maxine's anger at the world is so intense--Tyne Daly is amazing.
Scorzi: Perhaps it's because it's some of the saddest shit ever put on the silver screen. I saw that as a child and was fucking traumatized. Seriously.
Posted by: samantha t at June 19, 2009 3:36 PM
Another highly underrated Wire moment is in Season 2 when Ziggy's dad last seems him being surrounded in jail by those big, hard-looking dudes. What a great character.
Posted by: phaedawg at June 19, 2009 3:37 PM
I didn't watch this show much, but I happened to catch the ER episode when Anthony Edwards' character died. It was the first time I heard the IZ Over the Rainbow song and was pretty damn sad.
Speaking of Fred, for me it is the final episode of Angel when Wesley lies dying in Illyria's arms and she "lies to [him]" by appearing as Fred and then "Fred" comforts him. When Angel goes after the dragon, I don't even care 'cause I'm still crying for Wesley and the real Fred. And Illyria.
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 3:48 PM
The character on My So-Called Life was Rayanne, not Renee; and I totally agree
with you, chokes me up every time.
Posted by: Germaine at June 19, 2009 3:51 PM
Oddly, the part of The Body that REALLY guts me is watching Anya fall apart when Willow freaks out on her for not behaving properly. Anya, who's never really had to deal with death as a human, so desperately wants to know how she should behave and gives that plaintive little speech about how she doesn't really understand why Joyce will never have fruit punch or yawn or brush her hair again. It's just such a human moment that is overflowing with emotion. A great contrast to Buffy, who's struggling to keep herself utterly blank.
COUNTLESS episodes of Homicide: Life on the Streets have punched me in the gut and left me teary-eyed, but none so much as Crosetti. The way Clark Johnson's Meldrick Lewis breaks down weeping as he finally accepts that his partner's death was a suicide and the way he just sags in Bolander's arms just breaks my heart.
Posted by: Hotcha at June 19, 2009 3:52 PM
I am typing without looking, because when I saw the post above this was about angel again, I'm too tempted to see what happens...
Point being, If you could just mark any future posts about angel AFTER 5x11 with a spoiler alert OR Stay away Luker (you crazy person who wants spoiler alerts 5 years after it stopped airing), I would greatly appreciate it.
I realize this is really quite stupid, but I am finishing up Angel now. Yes, I am a diehard buffy fan, but when i originally watched the first season of angel I was like this sucks. I forced myself to get through it, to be rewarded by the rest of the show which is amazing.
I want to be able to keep reading the thread, but can't handle any more revelations. How could they kill Fred? WHY! Why! Why!
Thanks so much.
Posted by: "luker" the barbarian at June 19, 2009 3:57 PM
scorzi, I believe it was Gloria who was almost sexually assaulted, but wouldn't report it. Edith talks to her about how something similar happened to her when she was young; she says that other women may not have been as lucky to get away as they were. She's almost convinced enough to report it but is talked out of it by Archie and Michael. Heavy stuff.
(cough) My family watches a lot of the Deja View channel.
Dr. Mark Greene's death. ER used to be so wonderful.
Posted by: Goldie at June 19, 2009 3:57 PM
Addendum: When Xander saves the world by being there for Willow. It's so hard not to cry.
Posted by: Goldie at June 19, 2009 4:00 PM
Oh Quantum Leap...I'm still not over the last episode of that. And Al was always brilliant when it came to breaking your heart.
I think I cry at every single episode of The Wonder Years, I can't take the nostalgia!
And of course I weep every time I see The Body. God that episode wrecks me. When Anya cries!
This is a v good list, but I'm not watching any of the clips because they will just upset me.
Anything involving the kids in The Wire is pretty poignant. Dukie's entire story arc, above all, and especially in contrast to Bubbles' turnaround, just rips the rug out from under you.
"That was the day y'all bought me ice cream off the truck. You remember, Mike?"
"...I do."
Jesus.
Posted by: Benny at June 19, 2009 4:03 PM
Rayanne (or Raeanne?)! Thanks, Germaine. That show was the last time I found Danes tolerable.
Posted by: samantha t at June 19, 2009 4:04 PM
The episode of House where Amber dies. The look she gets on her face when she figures out that she's alive only because of the bypass machine is heartbreaking (kudos to Anne Dudek), then she dies in Wilson's arms, THEN he goes home and finds the note she left for him. So sad.
Posted by: mak at June 19, 2009 4:04 PM
DS9 episode, I think it was called "Duet".
A Cardassian claims to be a notorious war criminal, but in actuality is just a man consumed with guilt for what one of his own race has done.
That'n made me cry, Paw!
Posted by: eric at June 19, 2009 4:05 PM
I second the season 1 finale of the OC, Courtney
Also, for me there are few times in my life when I cried as hard as when I watched the final episode of Cheers. I don't know if it was the episode itself, or just that my childhood friend was going away but I was inconsolable. I am tearing up now typing about it.
I guess I have had a pretty charmed life.
Posted by: DemonWaterPolo at June 19, 2009 4:10 PM
Greys Anatomy: after Meredith drowns and all attendings are trying to save her, while the others console McDreamy.
Desperate Housewives: when Gaby and Carlos finally get a baby girl addopted, only to have the mom change her mind and take her away from them.
Posted by: Shakibing at June 19, 2009 4:10 PM
kelsy I'd forgotten about that episode of Judging Amy. Tyne Daly was brilliant in it.
I'm trying to think of any other shows but I think my mind doesn't want to go there. Although I'd pitch for the finale of season 2 of Doctor Who when Rose leaves the Doctor and they meet again at Bad Wolf Bay. That makes me cry with a proper lip tremble. I'm a mess.
Have to agree with those that mentioned Dr. Green's death on ER. I cried so hard I never watched the show again.
Posted by: dawn at June 19, 2009 4:13 PM
Good list, I'll add a few.
Season 2 of the X-Files when Scully is in a coma and Mulder stays by her side.
Twin Peaks when Donna sings "Rocking Back Inside My Heart" to James, it all goes to shit for those two ofter that episode.
Sex and the City season 4, the "Support" episode, when Miranda's mother dies.
The Simpsons episode when Homer brings Marge to Barnacle Bay but it's all rundown.
Posted by: Agente Provocatrice at June 19, 2009 4:14 PM
Scorzi, I remember that episode of The Fresh Prince. It was pretty sad, especially when Will says "How come he don't want me, man?"
Definitely Dr. Greene's death on ER. I tried my best, but I started bawling the moment "Somewhere over the Rainbow" came on. Then he asked his daughter Rachel to be good and always be happy.
Another episode of ER was when Shawn Hatosy guest starred, playing this mentally disturbed man. For most of the time, he acts like this hard, arrogant asshole to the doctors, but had no memory of doing so. Turns out he has multiple personalities stemmed from years of abuse from his father. Right in the end, he's strapped to the hospital bed, and right before the doctor can break through to him, he shifts into the personality of this shy, fragile 5 year old boy. It was so sad, it just broke my heart.
Posted by: Brie at June 19, 2009 4:14 PM
There's an early episode of "Six Feet Under" where Claire is talking to Keith and David about her fucked-up boyfriend Gabe, and she's just sobbing. She knows she has to turn him in, and in fact, she *is* doing exactly that, but it's killing her to do it.
That's when I knew for sure the show was great. Anyone who's ever had to allow an addict they loved to face pretty terrible consequences can absolutely relate to that heartbreak.
Posted by: Wednesday at June 19, 2009 4:14 PM
I would actually replace Lost's "Through the Looking Glass" with "Deus Ex Machina" where Boone dies as Locke furiously pounds on the door of the hatch sobbing because his faith in the island, and his purpose there, is failing. It ends with the light coming on in the Hatch and Locke's face illuminated by it and Boone finally succumbing to his injuries from the accident and dying as Shannon weeps.
There are many reasons why that episode could be considered one of the bests. It was the first time we saw Locke in doubt of the island and the way the two scenes were paralleled at the end to create that dramatic effect. It was also punctuated by Michael Giacchino's beautiful score titled "Life and Death" that used to to play over the deaths of main characters (last time it was for Charlotte).
As for Buffy the Vampire Slayer...without a doubt, I think the most heartbreaking episodes is from the finale of season 5 where Buffy sacrifices herself to save Dawn, and consequently, the world and the season premiere of season 6 where they resurrect Buffy, believing they saved her from hell. The most gut wrenching scene is when Buffy returns to the construction sight where she sacrificed herself and stands on the scaffold gazing down, trying to piece together what happened and where she is.
And that's what I think.
Posted by: citizen_cris at June 19, 2009 4:19 PM
Luker --Definitely do not read my post! Sorry, I actually did think of putting a spoiler alert in it, but noticed no one else what using them and, being a relatively new poster (long time lurker), wanted to follow the crowd. Oh, and I also, watched some of the first season of Angel, thought it sucked, and didn't watch again until after Buffy was cancelled and I desperately needed a fix. Who knew it would get awesome in season 2?
Goldie -- Scorzi is correct. Edith was sexually assaulted. In a kitchen (her neighbor's I think) while she was checking on a roast or cookies or some such in the oven. Perhaps we are remembering a different episode and Gloria was assaulted in another?
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 4:19 PM
BSlim!! Tasha Yar's death...wow. That truly was sad, it's been ages since I thought of it.
I might weep.
Posted by: kalafraja at June 19, 2009 4:20 PM
Oh and for Firefly, the heartbreaking one is The Message. Try to watch the end of that one and not get choked up.
OMG, you are not kidding. When they walk out into the snow with the coffin? OMFG. Waterworks!
"Sex and the City season 4, the "Support" episode, when Miranda's mother dies."
That episode is excellent. When Samantha looks at Miranda and mouths "I'm sorry" at the funeral and Carrie takes Miranda's arm as she walks sobbing down the aisle. Good call!
Posted by: samantha t at June 19, 2009 4:26 PM
rezcat, I saw Wesley's name and stopped reading. It is totally not your fault, I'm just super behind the times. Apparently, however, the end of angel is super heartbreaking, so I figured I might as well say something to try and protect my surprise.
I'm glad to hear you say that about ange, I was worried I would have to turn in my whedonite badge for not instantly loving angel
Posted by: "luker" the barbarian at June 19, 2009 4:27 PM
rezcat You are most correct - I meant Gloria the Victim, and after a quick look about, I see you mean Edith's 50th Birthday.
*tips hat*
Posted by: Goldie at June 19, 2009 4:29 PM
Oh god, don't get me started on ER. Greene's death, Lucy's! (I fall to bits when Romano finally shows he is actually human and not a cyborg and refuses to give up massaging her heart or whatever it is), Carter's drugs problem, the episode where Doug saves the kid from drowning but the little girl from Earth 2 dies (and she died in real life you know). So many of those episodes were written to leave you in tears. Every time an old person dies leaving a loving spouse I'm in bits, I'm terrified of watching Up...
I haven't even seen Pratt's death yet on ER. I didn't even like him that much, but I'm sure if I ever do I'll be a mess.
I would totally lose it when Anya cries in "The Body," if I weren't still losing it from when Buffy says "Mom? Mom? Mommy?"
Luker -- meant to bold you name in my previous post --am still learning HTML tags. Apparently that is so taxing for my little bear brain that I can't remember basic punctuation; so, also sorry for the extra commas.
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 4:30 PM
Man, that Buffy episode kills me every time.
I know I've pimped this a couple times here, people are probably sick of hearing it, but the episode Robin Williams did on Homicide is surely deserving of Top 10 status. He and his family are tourists and the wife is killed in a robbery (don't ask me why the fuck they were vacationing in Baltimore). He overhears the cops joking around about stupid tourists or something (it's been a long while since I've seen this, so details are fuzzy), so he tells them off (but it's much better than I make it sound). One cop tries to explain to him why cops joke around about stuff like death, but he's doesn't really buy it. That show convinced me Robin Williams could actually act.
The episode of Roseanne when her father dies. Really excellent, all the way through. Funny and sad.
The MASH episode when Hawkeye falls in love with a local woman, then she leaves because her mother died and the only reason she was there was because of her mother. Also, the episode when Radar leaves was pretty damn heartbreaking, for lots of reasons.
I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting... maybe I'll remember later.
Posted by: Slash at June 19, 2009 4:31 PM
RE: The Gloria/Edith thing:
In the later episodes, Gloria WAS raped or almost raped and did not report it. Edith had gone to her home alone while everyone was next door at a party to check on a cake, and a man posing as a cop came into the house and she escaped by shoving the hot cake in his face. Gloria never reported it, but she convinced Edith to. It was very sad because you see at that moment what a vulnerable old woman her character was, and she was ashamed she had let the man in the house (she felt she brought it on herself.)
Posted by: scorzi at June 19, 2009 4:34 PM
The West Wing season 4 finale, where Bartlet hands over the presidency to the Speaker of the House and Toby realizes babies come with hats.
Posted by: carolyn at June 19, 2009 4:35 PM
I nominate the series finale of T:TSCC.
Posted by: John W at June 19, 2009 4:36 PM
I agree with the Angel series finale, the scene with Fred/Illyria and Wesley had me balling like a baby.
Posted by: John W at June 19, 2009 4:42 PM
Seeing that altered clip from Buffy, with the music over it, just points out how very brilliant the original was for NOT using music. BtVS had a lot of heartbreaking moments, but The Body was unrelentingly heartbreaking for the full hour. There is nothing like losing a parent, and that episode captures it so perfectly. I have to agree with hotcha that Anya's reaction is possibly the most gut-wrenching moment in the whole thing, too.
Also, it is very weird to see comments about "Edith" being sexually assaulted. My name is rare enough that I almost never see it in print meaning someone other than me....
Posted by: Edith at June 19, 2009 4:44 PM
Oh, The Wonder Years! I cried so often while watching that show. Kevin's relationship with his father was so bittersweet.
Posted by: lucy at June 19, 2009 4:45 PM
Luker, I can't believe I didn't bold your name the second time either! I think that the first eps of Angel were too episodic, sort of like with Dollhouse, which finally stopped sucking when they got to Alpha.
Goldie, I'm curious about which episode came first. If Edith learned anything from Gloria's experience or vice versa?
Also, how do any of you get work done? I'm home sick today and posting is taking huge chunks of time.
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 4:46 PM
Gloria was season three, Edith was season eight. I'm like a dog with a boner (typo but keeping it). Rrrr.
The end of Blackadder Goes Forth. Ben Elton just does the pointlessness of war so bloody well.
Posted by: Goldie at June 19, 2009 4:48 PM
'The Doctor Dances' - not because it's tragic, it's not. Because of the hope shown by the war-hardened Doctor. Kills me every time.
"Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once! Everybody lives!!"
Wesley's death in 'Not Fade Away'.
Illyria: You'll be dead within moments.
Wes: I know.
Illyria: Would you like me to lie to you now?
Wes: Yes. Thank you, yes."
Posted by: Tarn at June 19, 2009 4:48 PM
Oh, and Ellsworth's death in Deadwood. Talk about undeserved...
Posted by: Tarn at June 19, 2009 4:53 PM
May I just take some time to thank everyone for NOT mentioning Jimmy Smits' death on NYPD Blue. That was one of the funniest and goddamm longest, most drawn out deaths I have ever wathed. Fifteen minutes in I was screaming "DIE ALREADY".
Posted by: PaddyDog at June 19, 2009 4:57 PM
Okay, how come the HTML tags aren't working now? They were working in the preview box. This is just embarrassing. Guess I'm not done learning.
Goldie, thanks for answering my question before I even asked it!
Also, not trying to be an English teacher Nazi (I've already shown today how much I get incorrect), but since I see this error all the time, it's bawling. "Balling" is something very different.
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 4:57 PM
Another Six Feet Under...the episode where Claire sees her dad and also sees her ex boyfriend that up to that point she didn't know was dead.
When they carried the body back into town with his little dog walking behind the wagon all forlorn. And then Swearingen gets that look on his face. I think he came closer to crying then than even the time he was remembering his mother abandoning him. And now I'm all upset again over the cancellation of Deadwood.
Posted by: PaddyDog at June 19, 2009 5:00 PM
Just watched that clip from The Office Christmas special, and damn. I forgot how brilliant the original incarnation of that show was, and how awesome the Tim/Dawn dynamic was.
Also, for everyone talking about Angel (no spoilers, Luker!), I've said all along that Joss Whedon makes great shows that start off being relatively sucky but get much better. Dollhouse's slow start didn't surprise me at all; I'm just glad Fox is giving it another chance.
Posted by: Edith at June 19, 2009 5:00 PM
Damnit, I just keep thinking of more just after I've posted!
Supernatural: 'What Is and What Should Never Be' - Dean sees what his life would be like if he didn't have to hunt. It's a two-hankie killer. (And anyone who thinks Ackles can't act, needs to watch this one).
Posted by: Tarn at June 19, 2009 5:00 PM
Slash, that was a great episode of Homicide. Robin Williams' son is played by a very young Jake Gyllenhaal and the episode was directed by his father, Stephen. The scene in the box, where the son breaks down and Robin Williams is holding him and tells the detectives they're done answering questions was really well done.
Posted by: Hotcha at June 19, 2009 5:01 PM
Whorish Mouth - I still can't hear that song without tearing up just because of that episode - and I was never even a big fan of the show! I can't believe more people haven't mentioned the death of Mark Green!!!
Posted by: cmr at June 19, 2009 5:03 PM
There are several depressing Buffy episodes (the one where she was in the mental hospital had tears rolling down my cheeks). Same with Scrubs (the last episode-UGH!!!).
Paddydog,
exactly! I'm misting up just thinking about it. And about how I miss that show....
Posted by: Tarn at June 19, 2009 5:03 PM
Whorish Mouth - I still can't hear that song without tearing up just because of that episode - and I was never even a big fan of the show! I can't believe more people haven't mentioned the death of Mark Green!!!
Posted by: cmr at June 19, 2009 5:03 PM
Above, I meant to thank Scorzi for the Edith/Gloria info. Not that I don't also appreciate Goldie's answer to my question. 'Cause I do.
That's it; I'm not posting again until the painkillers wear off.
Tarn, that was just cruel.
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 5:05 PM
As soon as I saw the link for this, I knew that Jurassic Bark would be on here. I cried so much when I saw that episode. I've had dogs my entire life and that episode didn't just tug on my heartstrings - it hired a 300-lb man to Tarzan-swing on them. The worst part about watching that episode - I watched it on my TiVo one morning before work when I still did case management at a juvenile prison. A sad show before going to work in a sad place.
K, kinda heartbreaking X-Files: the episode where the woman keeps reliving a single day (like Groundhog Day), when her boyfriend robs and then blows up a bank, with Mulder and Scully in it.
And yeah, the Wesley death scene in Angel is pretty damn poignant
Posted by: Slash at June 19, 2009 5:12 PM
Got in the way-back machine for this one:
The Brady Bunch (seriously) - the one where Bobby wants to win a trophy because everyone else in the family (even Alice, for the love of chees) has one and he doesn't. He enters an ice cream eating contest and loses. The look on his face in that scene is just so damn sad. Then, he goes home feeling all crappy and dejected and he got a trophy from the other kids for trying harder than anybody. Some would say that's where all the "getting a trophy just for showing up" trouble started in America, but I thought it was sweet then and still do.
Posted by: Slash at June 19, 2009 5:23 PM
The episode of BSG titled "Unfinished Business." It's the one where you discover what went down between Lee and Kara on New Caprica while they beat the shit out of eachother in the ring. When they whisper "I missed you" staggering and holding eachother with blood dripping from their mouths . . . man! it gets me. And gets me a little hot too . . .
Posted by: Amber at June 19, 2009 5:24 PM
I would say Stargate SG1: Heroes (1) and (2),
and Stargate Atlantis: Sunday
But that is mainly because I loved those characters so much...
Posted by: foaly at June 19, 2009 5:33 PM
Deadwood:
The deterioration & later death of the Reverend in S1. Especially the part where Swearengen is watching from the balcony of the Gem, The addled Rev talking nonsense to animals &c...
Posted by: oskar667 at June 19, 2009 5:35 PM
"Everyone's Waiting" is definitely a tearjerker and had me bawling like a little girl, but Nate Jr's funeral episode, "All Alone", ripped my heart right out way more, especially David shoveling dirt on his dead brother and crying, etc. The episode after that, "Static", with Claire visiting his grave a few weeks later and talking to his ghost was also incredibly heartbreaking and sad.
The most recent show I can think of that broke my heart was probably the series finale of Battlestar Galactica.
Posted by: Melissa at June 19, 2009 6:21 PM
Melissa, I completely agree. The series finale of Battlestar Galactica broke my heart too... because I thought it sucked ass and was a complete slap in the face to the fans. I will forever hold a grudge full of fire ants and punches to the kidney against Ron D. Moore for that trite piece of garbage. My apologies if you actually liked it.
Posted by: AbbyNormal at June 19, 2009 6:37 PM
OMG people! The most heartbreaking episode ever was season five of Stargate SG-1 "Meridian"! How could that one not even make the top three? Please! Season seven "Heros" parts I & II comes in a very close second.
Posted by: sg1mouse at June 19, 2009 6:38 PM
What the hell did you do to the Buffy episode? It was brilliant, and what you put together sucked. Get rid of that crap and put up an actual clip from the episode.
Posted by: Sten at June 19, 2009 6:42 PM
The end of Blackadder Goes Forth...
...the end of Luck of the Fryrish...
...and pretty much the last forty minutes of DS9's The Visitor, the best episode of Star Trek ever filmed.
Posted by: BlackMage at June 19, 2009 6:43 PM
What, the BSG miniseries didn't qualify? I swear, when the ships jump away from the non-FTL ships and those left behind react with disbelief, followed by the inevitable stream of missiles and that single, devastating fade to white while the girl's waiting for her parents...
That's when I knew the series wouldn't shy away from emotional impacts, and sure enough it brought more.
Posted by: lordhelmet at June 19, 2009 6:48 PM
rezcat,
what was cruel?
Posted by: tarn at June 19, 2009 6:48 PM
If you're gonna go X-Files, you have to go with the end of "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose."
Posted by: DarthCorleone at June 19, 2009 7:02 PM
X-files, "One Breath", the one where Scully's father dies.
And I'm kind of surprised that nobody has mentioned "Becoming, Part 2" when Buffy has to "kill" Angel immediately after realizing his soul has returned. Nothing against "The Body", which is fantastic, but I'm just sayin'.
And "The Message"
And, yeah, OK, Fred's death. Hm. Sensing a pattern here.
Posted by: Dave at June 19, 2009 7:04 PM
Two additions:
Sesame Street after Mr. Hooper died.
The episode of ST:TNG where Picard's brain is taken over by a probe and he lives a whole other life in his sleep.
Posted by: Treena at June 19, 2009 7:30 PM
"Love's Labour Lost" episode of ER tore my shit up, as did Mark Green's death. Also when Carter and his wife lost the baby. Damn did that show fuck with me. I also have to agree with Jimmy Smit's death on NYPD Blue. More than 20 years ago, for sure, but the final episode of MASH, and a big agreement on Henry's death.
Posted by: slower lower at June 19, 2009 7:34 PM
I would have gone with Buffy's death in
"The Gift". Or maybe Tara's death in
"Seeing Red". Or when Oz left Willow in
"Wild At Heart". Or the end of "I Will
Remember You", the Buffy Angel crossover.
Or the revelation that Buffy was in
Heaven in "After Life". Or Spike's
redemption in "Beneath You".
Maybe Buffy the Vampire Slayer should
just be the most heartbreaking show
in television history?
Posted by: Mace Moneta at June 19, 2009 7:34 PM
geez, tarn, don't be so mean!
Posted by: gp at June 19, 2009 7:43 PM
The season 3 West Wing episode where CJ's secret service agent is shot in the convenience store, which is interspliced with 'war of the roses'. Makes me bawl.
Posted by: JJ McClay at June 19, 2009 7:58 PM
gp,
I guess I'm too tired/wined up, cause I'm not getting it...
night night all.
Posted by: Tarn at June 19, 2009 7:59 PM
Many, many episodes of BSG made me cry, but the one that does it every time is "The Passage." It's not the best episode out there, and to be honest, I couldn't stand Kat, but I bawl straight through the last act of that ep every single time I watch it. Starbuck bringing her the pills, and then Adama promoting her back to CAG, and talking about how he always wanted a daughter, and MAN, I'm getting misty just typing.
Posted by: fyrefly at June 19, 2009 8:02 PM
Oh god, Jurassic Bark absolutely wrings my insides. I've only seen the full episode once, I just don't want to watch it again.
Posted by: dsbs at June 19, 2009 8:04 PM
tarn, I believe rezcat is referring to the fact that he or she had just pleaded with everyone not to give spoilers for Angel because he or she had not finished watching the series and then shortly after the request, you posted a ginormous spoiler.
I have to second "Love's Labour Lost" on ER, my godtopus, but that episode ripped my damn heart out! And I know it's OLD and most of you probably never watched it (and for that you should be commended!), on Knott's Landing when Laura died and cold, aloof Greg (William Devane) watches her video and cries, "Why'd you go and leave me, Red?" - ugh. My 15-year-old self lost it! Just wailed!!!
oh, we're just messing with you a bit. don't go to bed. stay up late, drinking with us! we'll be nice, i promise. and we'll play 'light as a feather'. do stay.
Posted by: gp at June 19, 2009 8:07 PM
Yeah... Luck of the Fryrish and Jurassic Bark are fantastic, but let's not forget the ending of Parasites Lost. And I'm seconding the Simpsons love, but the one that always makes me cry (in addition to homer's mom) is the one where they explain why there aren't any baby pictures of Maggie in Season six.
Posted by: Octothorp at June 19, 2009 8:23 PM
I cried at this season's finale of Scrubs. It was sweet, and perfect, and to be able to remember all those characters and moments was just so...god, it was a finale made for a fan.
Also, this last season finale of Lost was heartbreaking. Locke, Juliet, Sayid. Their *situations* were all so sad and miserable. I loved it.
The Gilmore Girls episode when Lorelai and Luke break up and call off the wedding. BROKE. MY. HEART.
Another great My So-Called-Life moment (SPOILER). The Christmas episode, with Julianna Hatfield as a homeless girl, when the mother finally asks her, "How did you die?"
I have the season set and I'm almost afraid to watch that episode again in case it doesn't hold up.
Posted by: Joseph Finn at June 19, 2009 8:47 PM
I can't even watch the clip from The Wonder Years, it's just too much for me to take.
The saddest moment in Lost for me is "There's No Place Like Home" when Sun watches the freighter explode with Jin on it. In my opinion, "Greatest Hits" is overall the saddest episode, but Sun's heartbreaking scream when she thinks her husband has died is devestating.
I also stopped watching ER after Dr. Greene died. I heard that they had Alexis Bledel come back for the finale as Rachel Greene and I considered watching it, but I didn't think I could take it. I also cried when he told her to be always be happy.
My FNL pick would be the state episode from season three "Underdogs." This would be a hard choice for me because Coach Taylor's voiceover from the pilot, and his half time speech from the season one state episode, and Matt crying when Coach confronts him for drinking, Tim realizing his father stole the camera...they're all amazing. But this episode had me tearing up from beginning to end. I especially loved Tyra's college essay and Tim leaving his cleats on the field at the end of the episode signifying he gave it his all and left it all on the field. Why don't these people get every Emmy available???
Posted by: Austin asking for trouble at June 19, 2009 8:47 PM
Austin, I'm with you on Jin's scream. I almost turned the channel when they did the recap. Jin and Sun, for me, are the best couple on the show and I can't wait for the new, final season where..well, who knows if they'll find each other again?
Posted by: Joseph Finn at June 19, 2009 8:52 PM
Futurama has had a few episodes that made me tear up. Jurassic Bark is probably the most tragic, but the most heart-warming are the already mentioned "Luck of the Fryish" episode and "Time Keeps On Slipping." That's the one when Fry and Leela did get together but then didn't.
I also second "Clyde Bruckman" from the X-Files.
Posted by: Jackseppelin at June 19, 2009 8:54 PM
I agree with most of this but I think the episode of Angel where he can be human for a day with Buffy but has to take it all away so no one but him remembers..it breaks my heart.
I agree that the episode where Jin "dies" is one of the saddest from Lost.
Posted by: Michelle at June 19, 2009 8:55 PM
"I also second "Clyde Bruckman" from the X-Files."
Besides the ending, the whole episode is tragic; that's just about the worst psychic ability I can think of. Talk about your Cassandra syndromes.
Posted by: Joseph Finn at June 19, 2009 9:06 PM
I can't watch Jurassic Bark again, it's just so sad and depressing, makes me feel like crap; I can't believe a half an hour cartoon could move me so much.
On an equally heartbreaking but not as depressing note, many Scrubs episodes are heartbreaking, but I agree that My Screw Up is one of the best (My Lunch comes in second place).
Also, even though the series isn't too heartbreaking, I love the finale of Arrested Development and the scene in the second season (I think) when GOB sings Everything I Do I Do it for You to Michael...I wish I had an older brother.
Also, you can't get more heartbreaking than The Wire (specially the fourth season) and Six Feet Under (the whole series).
Posted by: Radlum at June 19, 2009 9:20 PM
Wow. I'm 0-for-10.
I don't mean I've never seen these episodes. I mean I've never watched more than five minutes of any of these shows.
Guess I should just stick to the movie, music and book reviews.
Thanks, I can find my way out.
Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at June 19, 2009 9:24 PM
I didn't remember the name of the Chantilly Lace episode of X-Files. After looking into it I see that this has also been mentioned several times. Truly a great episode. Loved the mention of autoerotic asphyxiation.
I've never been so emotionally devastated by a television show as I was by "Jurassic Bark". My husband watched me as I wept, and luckily I've managed to avoid watching it ever again. I can only equate that kind of heartbreak to losing a loved one, it ripped my guts out and forced them back in to me.
I'm blanking on the name of the episode,. but the one with whassername from MadTV and the rabies, where Cox simply loses it and you see just how damn much he really cares. Or hell, Ben's baptism and Cox's conversation with his sister about their father.
Oooh, both are on YouTube:
I could probably make a whole top ten list just for heartbreaking Buffy and Angel episodes alone but The Body does top the list.
Of other Buffy episodes Becoming part 2 always gets me, Passions of course, Buffy's speech in Prophecy Girl and Wild at Heart with Oz leaving.
For Angel it's A Hole in the World, I will remember you, and Hero as I was a big Doyle fan.
One show not listed here is Torchwood. I have to say that Tosh's "Because you're breaking my heart" in Exit Wounds reduces me to tears everytime.
I'm pretty sure I was very weepy during the MI-5 episode where Ros fakes death as well.
Posted by: Chelsea at June 19, 2009 9:41 PM
Chelsea, let's consider Doctor Who moments:
Eccleston breaking down in grief facing the last Dalek in the underground complex, admitting his pain of his race being gone.
The reactions of Captain Jack and Sarah Jane at hearing the Daleks in the series 4 finale.
The end of Family Bood.
Poor, poor Donna Noble's fate.
Posted by: Joseph Finn at June 19, 2009 9:52 PM
JJ McClay, yes! I forgot about that episode with CJ and her adorable secret service agent. That was one of my favorite storylines in all of the West Wing, and the reason I will watch even 5 minutes of NCIS for Mark Harmon.
And reading this thread I feel like I'm one of the only people who gave up on Buffy and Angel. I always feel like Whedon's shows go waaaay downhill after about 3 seasons.
"The Body" was devastating--I don't think I've ever seen a more realistic portrayal of death on a TV show before. I'd have to say "Becoming Part 2" chokes me up more, though...I can't even listen to "Full of Grace" without starting to tear up.
Definitely echo people's calls on Doctor Who. Also Supernatural--what about, say, the finales of seasons 2 and 3?
And how come nobody's mentioned Farscape? That one's got so many heartbreaking episodes, I'm not even sure which one I'd pick. I know I teared up plenty at "Infinite Possibilities Part II: Icarus Abides" and "Dog With Two Bones," at least.
Thank you for Six Feet Under. I cry at the drop of a hat while watching TV shows and movies but I could not shed a tear over that one until about the fourth or fifth time I saw it. It just killed me. So does the one with Ben's funeral on Scrubs.
Posted by: Az at June 19, 2009 10:03 PM
Aw hell, I tear up in half of "Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars." Dago, the wormhole's awe and then "this is your sandbox."
Hell, I forgot a Buffy moment. Tara. Aw jeez, Tara.
Posted by: Joseph Finn at June 19, 2009 10:04 PM
Waited for the Vicodin to wear off before posting again. Yeah, Tarn, I was referring to how shortly after I'd apparently almost spoiled "Not Fade Away" for Luker, you quoted the exact same scene I had mentioned. I hear you like to kill puppies and Muppets in your spare time -- so I'm sure it wasn't an accident.
Between all of us, we've managed to come up with a more-than-top-ten list of Whedonverse heartbreaking moments. And Doctor Who is not far behind.
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 10:16 PM
This is a young crowd. Only one mention of NYPD Blue (Jimmy Smits' death, or "Lost Israel")? Only a couple of Homicide references? No St. Elsewhere or Hill Street Blues at all? At least Edith and Mr. Hooper got mentions.
Posted by: Louise at June 19, 2009 10:24 PM
Louise, it's only to 1989, so Elsewhere and HSB are off limits. Otherwise, I could have a raft of Belko and Dr. Craig moments.
Posted by: Joseph Finn at June 19, 2009 10:27 PM
Many great Joss Whedon moments have been listed here but my top 3 are these: Firefly: When Simon joins River on the stake she's been tied to by villagers who think shes a witch. His devotion to his sister just kills me. Buffy: when Xander talks Willow down from her post Tara shooting rage. I cannot keep myself from crying during his speech no matter how hard I try. Another Buffy moment: The last season when Dawn is feeling bad about not being a slayer and Xander tells her that she's special because she is normal. That being brave means more when you don't have any special powers. Such a beautiful moment in a show that's full of them!
Posted by: dani at June 19, 2009 10:29 PM
If we're talking Lost, I really can't handle Through the Looking Glass, mainly cause in the real world, Charlie wouldn't have died, cause the water wouldn't have risen that high. I know, I know. . . I'm another one of those dorks. However, I see your Through the Looking Glass, and raise you The Constant. When Penny finally picks up the phone. . . OH GOD, I break down.
Posted by: Rowen at June 19, 2009 10:53 PM
Maybe Buffy the Vampire Slayer should
just be the most heartbreaking show
in television history?
Posted by: Mace Moneta at June 19, 2009 7:34 PM
------------------------
To sum up:
1. "The Body": Anya's "fruit punch mouth" monologue. --Hotcha
2. " Passions? Giles' expression upon finding Jenny is equally devestating." --Luker
3. "I have to give it to Conversations With Dead People. That episode kills me. --Courtney"
4. "I guess I have to mention Fred's death on Angel, but I'll probably cry as I type it.
Posted by: Sean at June 19, 2009 3:09 PM"
5. "I Was Made To Love You," gets me going. It just visually captures the feel of someone close to you dying..
Posted by: Anna von Beaverplatz at June 19, 2009 3:22 PM"
6 & 7. "the finale of season 5 where Buffy sacrifices herself to save Dawn, and consequently, the world and the season premiere of season 6 .. when Buffy returns to the construction sight where she sacrificed herself and stands on the scaffold gazing down, trying to piece together what happened and where she is.
Posted by: citizen_cris at June 19, 2009 4:19 PM"
8 - 12. maybe Tara's death in
"Seeing Red". Or when Oz left Willow in
"Wild At Heart". Or the end of "I Will
Remember You", the Buffy Angel crossover.
Or the revelation that Buffy was in
Heaven in "After Life". Or Spike's
redemption in "Beneath You".--Mace Monetta
13. "Becoming part 2 always gets me" --Chelsea
I cried for all of them,even, AvB, April the Robot. Whedon really is a bastard.
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 11:00 PM
"You know, I know about farming..."
Posted by: Trevor at June 19, 2009 11:02 PM
Plus, what dani said.
Posted by: rezcat at June 19, 2009 11:03 PM
I absolutely can't watch the epidsode of Scrubs "My Screw Up" without losing it. I just remember my husband coming in and finding me a mess after that episode aired.
Posted by: legib at June 19, 2009 11:05 PM
Angel "A Hole In The World". Nothing has ever made me cry like that did.
Posted by: Dampiera at June 19, 2009 11:51 PM
What about that episode of ER where the maternity ward is full so they have to keep the woman in labor in the ER? Everything that can go wrong does and they end up saving the baby only to have the mother bleed out on the table. I cried like a baby.
Posted by: Fan22 at June 19, 2009 11:55 PM
I'm with the critic who wrote: There are two kinds of people; those who think Joss Whedon is a genius and those that are mistaken.
Having lost my parents at about the same age as Buffy, I consider The Body the most realistic depiction of the immediate hours after such an event as has ever been done in any medium.
Posted by: tdraicer at June 20, 2009 12:02 AM
I'd have to agree with The Body from Buffy.
I always go to pieces when she's on the phone with 911, and she says "She's cold." And there's a horrible pause and the operator asks, "The body is cold?" And Buffy responds, "No, my mother!"
I can't believe not a single episode of Dead Like Me was chosen. Half of them are heartbreaking, but I think the pilot, Forget Me Not (where George has to make an Alzheimer's patient acknowledge her own death), and Last Call (where JD gets hit by a car) are tear-jerkers.
'Twilight' from NCIS always breaks my heart as well.
Posted by: L G at June 20, 2009 12:04 AM
Ooooo... and that House ep where Amber dies. OMG was THAT ever hard to watch!
Posted by: Dampiera at June 20, 2009 12:05 AM
Oh, @ rezcat, I was actually just referring to the very end of "I Was Made..." that leads into "The Body". When I said it "visually captures", I meant the whole episode of "The Body". Bad spacing on my part.
Don't get me wrong: I always cry at most of the episodes that everyone's listed. "The Prom", when they give her the umbrella? Quivering chin and all. When the Mayor finds out Faith is probably dead? I think the Mayor was my favorite villain precisely because Joss actually managed to take this evil character and actually make him sympathetic, in a way. Oz leaving Willow; Tara; Anya both in The Body and the last couple s7 eps; Xander talking Willow off the cliff; Buffy killing Angel in s2, just after he regains his soul; and yes, Passions. There are so many heart-wrenching moments, it really is hard to pick just one. I think luker may have been correct in surmising that the difference in what each person chooses as most devastating lies in what you've experienced, and what resonates the most.
I do agree with BWeaves and whoever else said that the clip from The Body was not well done enough to do the episode justice. Why wouldn't they just have edited the actual scenes together, and left the soundtrack (or lack thereof) alone? It was so much more moving without.
Also, I'm super glad I didn't watch the Six Feet Under clip until I got home form work, because it had me bawling like a child. I stopped watching the show somewhere in the 3rd season, I think, but I did catch bits of some of the last few episodes. I had no idea what was going on, but I thought that ending was quite a fitting tribute.
OH HAI THE WIRE!!!!!!!!!!!! "String, where the fuck is wallace?!" Death of wallace should for sure be on this list
- convo between mcnulty and bodie about the game being rigged and then bodies death. very sad scene.
- season 2 is very sad def frank visiting ziggy in jail and all the guilt he carries for getting him involved with the greek.
season 3 after randys house burns down and his foster mother is in ICU - carver goes to see him in the hospital and walks away as randy is shouting are you going to take care of me - or something like that.. very heart breaking.
Posted by: eden at June 20, 2009 12:25 AM
Good calls on Buffy and Doctor Who.
I think I cried after most of the episodes of season 5 of Buffy (I still consider it one of the greatest seasons of television ever). I'd also add for Buffy "The Gift" (sorry if someone else mentioned it, I had to quit 3/4 of the way through the list) ... Buffy's speech to Dawn at the end always kills me. I can't even listen to the instrumental song on the Once More With Feeling soundtrack without tearing up.
And as corny as it was, Xander's "I love you" healing of Willow in "Grave" was pretty killer as well.
As for Doctor Who, I have to go with Father's Day as the toughest. I'd also suggest "Journey's End" was pretty heartbreaking. I really didn't realize how much I'd come to love Donna, who really started off as a shrew, until "Turn Left" and then the end of "Journey's End".
And how about "Captain Jack Harkness" from season 1 of Torchwood, where Jack goes back in time and meet the real Captain Jack Harkness. The final scene between the two was as touching as it was shocking (at least, it was a shock to see it on American television).
Posted by: Cris at June 20, 2009 12:29 AM
So, I'm probably showing some age here but when I was in college we used to watch "thirtysomething"(reruns) and the episode where Gary dies always killed me and always seemed to come around at the worst possible moments as well. Lifetime channel. The shame of it.
Posted by: carlcarlson at June 20, 2009 12:30 AM
wait! gary DIED on thirtysomething?
goddamnit! why don't you people use spoiler warnings?!?!
Posted by: gp at June 20, 2009 12:39 AM
I got teary-eyed just looking at this list. The Body has to be the most difficult to watch episode of anything (in a good way) I have ever seen. The lack of music, the unforgivingly optimistic moment where Buffy imagines it was all okay only to have it end abruptly with reality, the entire thing is just created to make it uncomfortably raw.
And DAMN Futurama has to be the saddest 'funny' cartoon ever made. Jurassic Bark is definitely the saddest, but there are so many episodes (the bee sting, luck of the fryish, The Devil's hands) where it's so much more emotionally charged than any other.
(oh, and Scrubs and the 0ffice, loved those on the list too, I think that Scrubs episode is one of the best episodes ever created.)
Great list!
Posted by: Raine at June 20, 2009 12:39 AM
The only time the Simpsons ever got me was Homer & Maggie's episode. The coda was so sweet but so out of the blue- using photo's of Maggie to change "Don't Forget, You're Here Forever" to "Do It For Her". That's my working life to a T.
Posted by: RPTGoatboy at June 20, 2009 1:08 AM
Hmm, I'd have to agree with Figgy about this last season's finale being the biggest 'Lost' tearjerker. I mean, Juliet's death(?) was so cruel and so heartbreaking, especially after witnessing all season long the apparent quasi-marital bliss she and Sawyer had achieved. Additionally, finding out that Locke really is nothing more than a big lump of fertilizer and that all his struggle amounted to nothing more than the moving of a pawn by some ominous entity struck a resounding note...there really is no coming back from the dead, not even in this place of seemingly endless wonderment.
Posted by: Pancho Ramone at June 20, 2009 1:11 AM
Thank you Kyra for Farscape. "Dog with Two Bones" was and will always be one of my favorites.
I can't watch Jurassic Bark at all without breaking down. I volunteer with animal rescue and have six rescue dogs and it just kills me watching it.
As for the Whedonverse..."The Body" is a great episode as is "Becoming Part 2". The one that really gets me though is Angel, "I will remember you" The end of that when he has traded in being human and with buffy to fight and she is crying that the minute they have is not enough time and she won't forget...man, kills me. Even worse is the fact that in the episode before that they killed off doyle and it was heartbreaking enough.
as for Scrubs, who has a good pulse on knowing how to get you when they want to, I loved my screw up but for some reason the one that gets me, is "my old lady". The one where the old woman refuse dialysis and J.D. tries to talk her into living. It is a powerful scene of her comforting him. and shen she shows up in the finale, asking him if he took that picnic, I just start balling.
That is my two cents.
Posted by: AdamX74 at June 20, 2009 1:12 AM
TV episodes never really get to me like that, but the one that did was the last episode of Happy Days.
Where Fonzie gets Richie the plane tickets to leave for California and leave Wisconsin for good. It got me when Fonzie, the tough guy, choked on the words when he said he loved Richie.
Posted by: alek at June 20, 2009 1:50 AM
Supernatural, All Hell Breaks Loose Part I, where Dean clutches Sam's dead body to him and screams his name. Or Part II, where Dean monologues over Sam's corpse.
Posted by: Sophy at June 20, 2009 2:16 AM
If no one's mentioned it yet, the separation of Rose Tyler and The Doctor in the last episode of season two of Doctor Who. The meeting on the beach at Bad Wolf Bay is one of the saddest moments I've ever seen on television.
The episode where Chad Lowe dies of AIDS on Life Goes On. I LOVED Becca and Jesse.
Posted by: sadie7 at June 20, 2009 3:02 AM
I meant almost died. Sorry, big difference there.
He died but was brought back to life by the paramedics.
Posted by: sadie7 at June 20, 2009 3:16 AM
I haven't made it as far as "The Body" yet, and I'm still at the start of Angel.
But the most heartbreaking scenes for me were:
-The end of Becoming pt2 when Buffy has to kill Angel after he gets his soul back.. gets me every time.
-I also thought the end of Amends was really sad when Angel wants to die and Buffys telling him to keep fighting and then it snows.
-And of course, I Will Remember You, the end of that broke my heart when Buffy keeps saying she won't forget and then only Angel remembers the time they spent together and its like Buffy hasn't changed.
I'd also like to add The End Of The World from Roswell s2, where Liz has to break up with Max to save the world even though they both still love each other. And she can't even tell him why.
Last but not least, the Dr Who scene where Rose and the Doctor are on Bad Wolf beach and he disappears before he can tell her he loves her.
Posted by: emmy at June 20, 2009 5:23 AM
Pretty incredible to see how television has touched people...even if a lot of it is from Buffy, it really says something.
Best diversion I've ever read.
--from an anti-Whedonite
Posted by: Jim Doggie at June 20, 2009 5:57 AM
Completely agreed with the above poster!
--from a pro-Whedonite
Posted by: Cally at June 20, 2009 6:12 AM
Fan22, that episode you described is called "Love's Labour Lost" mentioned above. I saw it when I was pregnant, which probably multipled the tear jerk factor by a multiple of 10,000. I had forgotten about Gary's death on thirtysomething. Yes, I admit I watched that show. All the episodes where Nancy was struggling with ovarian cancer were rough, too. This show just barely makes it time limit wise. It went off the air in 1991. I watched way too much TV in my 20s.
Posted by: slower lower at June 20, 2009 7:52 AM
The Body is definetely the most heartbreaking episode of Buffy, I cried the whole time during the video lol !
But Fred's death in Angel is also a heartbreaking moment, I am still recovering for it... in fact, I'm not sure I will ever be over it :S
Posted by: Mylene at June 20, 2009 8:45 AM
Top picks on Six Feet Under, Futurama and Scrubs.
I'd like to add an episode of the brilliant australian drama Love My Way
---- SPOILERS ----
in which the daughter Lou dies of sudden heart failure. The family's cries of anguish at her deathbed in the hospital is excruciating. I cry, no, I wail and howl at that scene.
Posted by: piedlourde at June 20, 2009 8:58 AM
my memory is hazy and it may be more than twenty years ago BUT there were many moments in China Beach that were heartbreaking; also as a Twin Peaks fan, i think there were many moving moments in that show (even though it was very uneven at times)
Posted by: splinter at June 20, 2009 9:29 AM
Whoever mentioned 'Exit Wounds' - hell, yes. Tosh's video farewell was heartbreaking!
Lainey,
I just checked back and it wasn't rezcat who didn't want spoiling, it was Luker. Who probably stopped reading just in case, as I don't see any more of his/her posts.
Rezcat,
spoiler rules can stretch five years? I did not know that. Oh wait - that would be because it's absurd!
It wasn't deliberate, because I hadn't seen that post. But come on, the thread is discussing heartbreaking episodes, and we're supposed to spoiler-mark or not mention one of them because one person hasn't seen a five-year-old show? Not to mention, this just isn't a 'spoiler warning' kind of site.
I haven't seen The Wire, and now I know several major plot points thanks to this thread. But I'm not complaining. If it bothered me, I would have simply stopped reading.
I hear you like to kill puppies and Muppets in your spare time -- so I'm sure it wasn't an accident.
Wait, how does a newbie know that about me? It usually takes years for people to see through to the serial killer underneath my carefully-honed mild exterior!
Seriously though - you may have meant that as humour, but actually it's implications are rather insulting, and I take exception to it.
Posted by: Tarn at June 20, 2009 9:55 AM
I know most of you are going to shriek in protest, but I've never in my entire life seen an episode of Buffy, Angel, Firefly or any of those sci-fi series. They don't interest me.
Posted by: scorzi at June 20, 2009 11:02 AM
WHY? WHY DID I LOOK? STUPID! STUPID!
WHYYYYYYYYYYYYY?
Fuck.
Posted by: Cletus at June 20, 2009 11:09 AM
scorzi, you are not alone.
You...*sniff*...are not alone.
Posted by: Jim Doggie at June 20, 2009 11:50 AM
Oh man, Courtney, I watched the season finale of the OC right before Christmas, when I was hopped up on cough medicine, and came very close to bawling. I blame 'Hallelujah'. There's almost no context in which that song isn't sad.
My saddest Buffy episode has to be "Passion". Giles' face when he finds the body sets me up, but it's Buffy and Willow's contrasting reactions that kill me. Buffy just kinda dies inside, while Willow absolutely flips out on the outside, and between the two of them I'm crushed every time I watch it. The final scene of "The Gift" is a close second. For some reason, the Body doesn't hit me as hard - I think perhaps it's too real, and my brain just shuts down and won't process.
Posted by: Shay at June 20, 2009 11:57 AM
Missing from your list:
The Wire's finale
China Beach's finale
Posted by: mary at June 20, 2009 1:09 PM
A-HA! I have not watched one of the episodes listed, because I never watched any of those series!
I've had a happy life!
-Ralphie
Posted by: ralphie at June 20, 2009 1:13 PM
I have to delurk to say that I second figgy's nomination of Leo's death on the West Wing in Election Night parts 1 and 2. Knowing that John Spencer had died of a heart attack in real life made it even more chilling and heartbreaking to watch on the show.
And all the Buffy episodes mentioned are very sad indeed, but I have to admit that one that still destroys me every time is "The Prom" where Buffy's crying on Willow's shoulder after Angel breaks up with her. The whole "It feels like I can't breathe" moment is so spot-on how it feels to have your heart broken as a teenager, when the damage feels life-shattering and irreparable.
Posted by: Pitseleh at June 20, 2009 1:18 PM
Just wanted to add another one, I can't remember what the episode is called though.
In 8 Simple Rules, the episode where the dad dies. It's just really sad because John Ritter (who played the dad) actually died and they incorporated it into the show so the actors are reeling from a real death of someone close to them.. it's so sad.
Posted by: emmy at June 20, 2009 3:14 PM
Oh, and I agree with Pitseleh about The Prom episode of Buffy where she's like "At the moment I'm just trying to keep from dying" and I think a lot of teenagers who've been in love could relate to that feeling.
Posted by: emmy at June 20, 2009 3:17 PM
I also stopped watching ER after Dr. Greene died. I heard that they had Alexis Bledel come back for the finale as Rachel Greene and I considered watching it, but I didn't think I could take it.
Austin Alexis Bledel was in the finale of ER, but not as Rachel Greene. The actress who played her before (well from bring a teenager, not the original one) came back.
And I'm with the person who mentioned Mr Hooper's death on Sesame Street. Oh my god. When Big Bird just doesn't get it? :(
i have never even watched six feet under but i just watched that clip and sobbed.
Posted by: the chaplain at June 20, 2009 4:01 PM
"I know most of you are going to shriek in protest, but I've never in my entire life seen an episode of Buffy, Angel, Firefly or any of those sci-fi series. They don't interest me."
I was right there with you. I never
watched Buffy until June of 2008, when
I got the complete series after my 52nd
birthday. I was kind of bored, and even
though I wasn't interested in the show,
I figured I'd just watch a few episodes.
Ten days later, I had finished all 144
episodes. A month later I watched it
again. By the end of the year, I had
watched the entire series six times.
It's completely inexplicable to me that
such an incredible show exists and I
didn't know. I now know that it has won
over 130 awards and nominations, but
still it somehow remained off my radar.
When you first start watching, it may
seem light and silly. By the second
season, it becomes consuming. There
should probably be a warning label on
the DVD set.
It has my vote for the best series in
television history, and at my age that
covers a lot. Watch it. :)
Posted by: Mace Moneta at June 20, 2009 4:15 PM
This whole diversion had my crying at my desk for a good half hour or so. I'll try not to just reiterate what everyone else has said, but "The Body" was just such a powerful episode it's hard not to go on and on about it.
Another one that no one has mentioned is the BSG episode near the end of the series when Galactica has been pushed to her limits and Adama realizes that his beloved ship won't be able to fly anymore. Seeing the camera pan through the empty halls and Adama and Sol toasting their glasses to her was heartbreaking. I cried more for the death of that ship than I have for a lot of television characters.
I also have to mention Avatar: The Last Airbender. Even as a children's series there were so many poignant episodes that had me tearing up.
Posted by: Penelope at June 20, 2009 4:20 PM
I forgot to add "Not Pictured" the second season finale of Veronica Mars. When Veronica thought her dad had died when Cassidy blew up Woody's plane...I knew there was no way they would actually kill Keith Mars. But, it was still so sad and emotionally draining to watch because you knew there was no way Veronica could survive if the one good thing in her life, her father, was gone. I felt just so bad for her!
Also I think "Donut Run" was sad because I liked Duncan and never got what was so appealing about Logan. And I'm all for the bad boys, but he was so...meh. I think it was the scientology thing.
Posted by: Austin asking for trouble at June 20, 2009 7:18 PM
I'm sitting here bawling at so many of these... Anya's speech in The Body gets me every blasted time, no matter how many times I watch it. Another Buffy moment that gets me is in Once More With Feeling when she reveals they pulled her out of heaven.
Scrubs is another with way, way too many excellent, heart-wrenching moments it's hard to pick just one or two or dozen. Carla's mom dying; J.D.'s dad (John Ritter again) dying and his brother and Cox trying to band together to help him at the end; Laverne; I can't tell you how many episodes I've watched through tears at the end.
Posted by: kellyo at June 20, 2009 7:51 PM
Everyone would have their own Top 10 list; some of mine are already on here:
SPOILER ALERT for those watching "Buffy" and/or "Angel" for the first time.
"The Body" from BtVS for all the reasons already cited (and also including that the first scene goes on for many minutes without a break, letting SMG really play the scene for one of the finest acting moments of her career- the other being the last few moments of "I Will Remember You").
"You're Welcome" from Angel, in which not only does Cordelia die (after Whedon plays with us for for 45 minutes) but we get a reprise of Doyle's death through looking at the video tape he made as an ad for Angel Investigations ("Is that it? Am I done?") Arrrrrrrrggggghhhhhhhh!
Joss Whedon really *is* a bastard.
I'd add:
Northern Exposure: "The Body In Question" when the town of Cicely adopts and dignifies an unknown man who freezes to death in the town park. The funeral is elegaic- what's heartbreaking about this episode is the wonder of human compassion.
Posted by: cunamara at June 20, 2009 11:32 PM
Tarn,
I did not mean offense. Not sure what you think the implications of the comment would be, though. Surely, a non-joking, serious "accusation" that included Muppet killing would suggest negative implications only about the "accuser" --namely, that I would have to be batshit insane, what with the "victims" being pieces of felt and foam. Perhaps it was a poor joke. I do apologize.
Posted by: rezcat at June 21, 2009 12:00 AM
Oh, geez, I think The Body is soooo sad. It's also very brilliant. Unbelievable!
And, yeah, I agree Buffy is, without a doubt, the best television series of all time. It has the perfect blend of drama, horror, comedy, and action.
Angel (the spin-off of Buffy) is amazing as well.
Episodes like Prophecy Girl, Passion, Becoming Part 2, The Body, The Gift, Fool for Love (the final scene just so touching), etc are just indescribable. Yes, I'm a guy but I admit that you aren't a man if you haven't at least been a bit teary-eyed watching BtVS.
Posted by: Justin at June 21, 2009 12:52 AM
thirtysomething
I so vividly remember sitting there and waiting for the news of whether Nancy's cancer was gone or was going to kill her -- would she receive her death sentence or not?
And the sucker punch of the episode was not, after all, that we would receive word of Nancy's impending death at all -- no. No -- I watched, unsuspecting, at first, and then with a quickly growing sense of horror as I realised that Gary Shepherd would be the sacrificial lamb taking Nancy's place... and almost as soon as that realisation had taken shape in my mind, Gary rounded the corner on his infernal, environmentally friendly, ubiquitous goddamned bicycle -- and met his inexorable fate, his doom, his death.
It literally sucked the breath out of me for several seconds and then I burst into heaving sobs in front of my television. I was in my very early 20s, and maybe I'll get laughed out of the virtual room for admitting this, but that damned episode just threw me for a fucking loop -- for several hours, maybe even a day or two. I was married to my first husband at the time, and he could NOT conceal his scorn; how someone could be SO affected by a television show... well, PSHAW. How VERY bourgeois.
Needless to say -- since I described him as my FIRST husband... Yeah. Well. (My SECOND husband is about to be my second EX-husband, so... the common denominator is not looking like she's got much to recommend her as a WIFE, either, but that's a story for another day...)
Anyway. I only made it halfway through the comments before feeling compelled to post this one, so maybe someone else wrote about this episode... but I have a feeling no one did. It was looking like people were writing either about the very recent or the very classic; seemed as if thirtysomething probably was forgotten..
--Spoiler alert--
The hospital scene where Judith dies. The reaction from Joan (Amber Tamblyn) gets me every time.
Posted by: Daniel at June 21, 2009 8:07 AM
BULLSHIT LIST!!
NO BSG? You gotta be kidding me!
Does any else remember the six episode arc that started with the second season
finale and continued into the first four episodes of season three? Lay Down
Your Burdens 1&2, Occupation, Precipice, Exodus 1&2? HUMANITY GETS THE
EVER-LOVING SHIT KICKED OUT OF OUT IT! Everything is destroyed! Roslin
loses the election to Baltar! Athena betrays the Colonials and is locked up again!
Half of Adama's family leave him! Gina kills herself after having sex with Baltar!
The Cylons find them! They're put in camps, executed in large groups! Kara is
kidnapped and locked up with Leoben who mindfucks her every which way,
and she kills him over and over and over and over and over and over again!
SHE LOSES HER FUCKING MIND! And Lee gets fat! And marries Dee! And Tigh
has his eye ripped out of his face! And Ellen is forced to fuck Cavil and, if the
bruises on her face were any indication, MORE THAN ONCE. And she sells out
the Resistance to save her husband and he POISONS HER AND THEN CRIES
OVER HER DEAD BODY! And Cally becomes even more trashy and gets knocked
up and says mean things to Boomer! And then even though they are saved by
badass Adama, they lose massive numbers and Hera is taken by the Cylons!
Right after Athena is told Hera is still alive and totally shoots the Three and
runs away from the people who have her daughter because she didn't believe
the Colonials would do that because Adama is an honorable man! Only they
totally did! And just when Kara gets home to her father, she finds out her
DAUGHTER IS SOMEONE ELSE'S. Did you see her face?! OMG.
And I'm sure I forgot something. Bear McCreary's score always kills me.
Posted by: Mary at June 21, 2009 9:06 AM
Others that may or may not have been mentioned:
ER: Loves Labor Lost
The last two episodes of Babylon 5. Plus the episode where Brad Dourif plays a priest and he dies while being given his last rites by another priest.
ST:TNG: "The Inner Light" and the episode with Data building another android that he refers to as his "daughter".
Firefly: "The Mission"
Of course, all the series mentioned in this column had so many other heart-breaking moments/episodes, including countless other Buffy and Angel moments.
Posted by: closeencounter at June 21, 2009 12:58 PM
I got through this whole list and a lot of it is actually making me tear up just reading about it. I second the ommission of Bill's Funeral on NewsRadio (that was just crushing) and I also want to add the My Old Lady episode of Scrubs. I cry every time, sometimes I cry just hearing "Hallelujah".
Posted by: Probablymisseshisoldglasses at June 21, 2009 1:33 PM
I'll second "The Inner Light" from TNG. Stewart's performance was unforgettable, the best single performance he's ever done.
My most recent sad TV moment was in the final episodes of Avatar - when Zuko became reuinited with Uncle Iroh, and those final moments when the characters sat together in Iroh's tea shop - probably for the last time, before their lives move on. I grew to love these characters over the course of the series, and now their story was over.
Posted by: road waffle at June 21, 2009 2:41 PM
The episode of "thirtysomething" where Gary dies on the same day Nancy finds out her cancer is gone should have made the list. That episode, particularly Michael's reaction, is absolutely devastating because, like it frequently does, death comes without warning and wrecks everyone in its wake.
Posted by: Neil Adams at June 21, 2009 4:35 PM
I'll second a few of the sci-fi episodes mentioned, since that's my favorite genre of television.
1. Star Trek: TNG - "The Inner Light"
2. Star Trek: DS9 - "The Visitor"
3. Babylon 5 - "Sleeping in Light"
I was very glad to see the Futurama and Six Feet Under episodes on the original list. I don't know if that West Wing episode really qualifies as "heartbreaking," but the ending may be the best six minutes of television ever made.
Posted by: Dave at June 21, 2009 10:13 PM
I can't even watch the Seymour clip from Futurama. Guts me every time. Every.mother.fucking.time.
Posted by: villain's minion at June 21, 2009 11:20 PM
rezcat - nice compilation of everyone's saddest Buffyverse moments.
LG - completely agree on Dead Like Me. There are so many to choose from but I'd certainly put the one with Mason's reaction to the gay man finding his partner's body on the list, and "Always" with Rube when Rosie dies. Dead Like Me is another show that could have a top ten list to itself.
On the Bryan Fuller vein, I'd add Wonderfalls when Jaye unwillingly lets Eric re-marry Heidi.
Anna von Beaverplatz - The mayor has remained my favourite villain as well for the same reasons.
AdamX74 - Actually Doyle dies in the next episode after "I Will Remember You", but I agree on both counts.
Pitselah and emmy - thirded on Buffy's "The Prom".
Posted by: Chelsea at June 21, 2009 11:37 PM
Top moment in Lost heartbreak? How can you guys forget LIBBY randomly getting gunned down!!!?? Just when poor Hurley was finally finding love (and himself). She dies because of all things, he forgot to bring along some key items on what was supposed to be the perfect date? Then when she's dying slowly and painfully and he stands over her, struggling to find the last words to say, after Jack gives her morphine to ease her death? Good LORD! That was gut wrenching stuff!!
other thoughts on Lost moments:
- I agree that the build to Charlie's death in "Greatest Hits" is far sadder than when it actually happens. I wouldn't go as far as to say his death was anti-climactic, but by that point we have braced ourselves for it. For me, the biggest choke ups in Lost are:
* Early second season when after meeting Desmond during his stadium run, Jack finding out that somehow, someway, he did manage to prevent his future ex wife's paralysis, keeping his promise and maybe his sanity. Hate on Matthew Fox and Jack Shepard if you want, but the cathartic release of emotion in that scene is intense as can be.
* Mid first season when Jin finds out Sun had been hiding that she could speak English, and they get into an enormous fight, after which Jin turns his back on her, causing Sun to cry out in frustration, and in English, -a language he still doesn't understand- "I WAS GOING TO LEAVE YOU!!" Goosebumps man...goosebumps.
As far as Buffy, I am not discounting the how powerful The Body was as an episode, but I tend to feel more strongly about "Becoming Part II" because it was the apex of an entire season and story arc. There was so much emotional buildup to it, and the last thing the viewer would expect would be that the season would end so grimly. The Body was a mid season curveball, and a good one at that, but the emotional high point of that season was when Buffy herself died.
Love the inclusion of the Brendan Frasier Scrubs episode, although I agree that the season 7 finale rivals anything the show has ever done.
Posted by: CF at June 22, 2009 1:34 AM
Oh yeah, and how about "The Sopranos", when A.J. attempts suicide, leaving Tony to dive into the pool to drag him out before cradling his sobbing and hysterical son repeating over and over again "my baby...my baby..."
Posted by: CF at June 22, 2009 1:48 AM
...the hell?
Obviously, the burning question is where, indeed, is The Wire? (in no particular order)
1. When Carver fails to look out for the kid (I apologize infinitely, but I can't remember the name.)
2. Omar...and the turnout that is.
Even if you wanted to cut it down to a specific moment, my heart breaks every time when Omar is talking, really to himself, when he is in the streets. How he tells Marlo is a punk and even though he is seriously injured and has all the odds against him, he still is in the streets everyday...yet nothing happens. And his last words, which pretty much sound like his voice is breaking:
"Ya'll put it in his ear. Marlo Stanfield is not a man for this town...Ya dig?!"
3. When McNulty is compelled to drop the 22-dead-body case, kicking his desk in hatred.
4. Butchie...and the turnout that is.
5. The redemption of Bubbles.
6. Bodie!...and the turnout that is.
7. Wallace...and the turnout that is.
8. Stringer Bell and Avon Barksdale, reminiscing about their young days, and you, the audience member, know what is coming.
9. Frank Sobatka...and the turnout that is.
10. When Dukie is talking about the summer day when he and Michael got beaten up by the Terrace Boys...and how Michael can't remember it.
(Sorry for putting that "...and the turnout that is." I just don't wanna ruin anything for anybody.)
AND THE SHIELD!!!
How could you guys forget Lem?! I mean, granted, I dunno if you guys ever reviewed The Shield, but dammit, the episode "Of Mice And Lem" has to be one of the most disheartening things I have ever watched.
I demand The Wire, at the very least.
Posted by: Riley at June 22, 2009 5:26 AM
And....Jurassic Bark just played on Comedy Central. Dammit if I didn't cry again.
Great. I hadn't looked at this site all weekend and I just cried at work watching the clip from The Wonder Years. Thanks a lot. Now everyone thinks I'm insane.
Posted by: K at June 22, 2009 7:07 AM
rezcat,
yeah, maybe it just came across wrong. But muppets notwithstanding, it felt harsh. Never mind.
I don't think anybody has mentioned the X-files episode, 'Beyond the Sea'. The one about the death of Scully's father, featuring Brad Dourif as a condemned killer/psychic.
That episode killed me. Especially at the end, when Scully doesn't go back to see Dourif's character before he dies, though he promised to tell her what her Dad was trying to say to her in her visions. She didn't need to, because she knew what he was saying to her - because he was her Dad.
I found myself watching that ep again, not long after losing my own Dad, and I absolutely howled.
Posted by: Tarn at June 22, 2009 8:00 AM
Great list...for once I'm VERY GLAD I can't watch the videos at work. The finale of SFU destroyed me...just wrecked me. Especially when David is in the park, years after Keith was killed, and sees him playing football...I just kept saying, "He came for him! He came to get him!" Beautiful. But, so so many episodes of SFU were heartbreaking. It debuted just before my own father died, and was pretty cathartic for me.
Thanks, slower lower, for mentioning "Loves Labors Lost." That was the episode that stopped me from watching ER ever again....devastating.....
Great call on Quantum Leap....that episode was much sadder than the finale, which has be pissed off to this day!
Haven't read all the comments, but did anyone mention "Advances, None Miraculous" and "The Whores Can Come" from "Deadwood" when Bullock's son dies?
im going to just say that there are so many moments in homicide: life on the streets that it is practically impossible to count them.
same with the sopranos.
Posted by: bree at June 22, 2009 11:24 AM
"The Message" was THE most heart breaking episode in history, from Firefly.
"When you can't run, you crawl and when you can't do that..."
"You find someone to carry you."
Looking at how the show ended up, that episode ended up being so much more than it started out as. it wasn't just a plot filler, it was the begining of the end. Filming that episode is when they found out they were canceled. But Joss never gave up. He found someone to carry us. Thanks Universal.
Also, Fred dieing in Angel season Five, SOOOOO unbelieveably heart breaking.
But for Angel, there might be a tie between the episode where Fred dies and the one where Doyle dies. We were all just starting to really love his character. We still do. RIP Glenn Quinn.
Posted by: Sara at June 22, 2009 11:45 AM
"The Body" on Buffy was hard to take, especially since it seemed her mother came through the brain surgery just fine. But "Becoming Part 2" had me bawling. What really bothered me was how Xander was supposed to tell Buffy to hold back on killing Angelus as long as she could, because Willow was working on a way to bring Angel back, and instead, because he's a petty, jealous man-child, tells Buffy to kick his ass. A lot of heartache could have been avoided if only Xander had told the truth.
Then, to have Angel come back, only to have to kill him anyway to save the world, and then to have her mother tell her that if she leaves, not to come back--Buffy seemed so utterly alone after what has to be the worst experience of practically anyone's life that it broke my heart.
I think the little "Grr! Argh!" monster at the end of that episode says instead, in a plaintive voice, "I need a hug." Damn straight.
Posted by: DeadBessie at June 22, 2009 1:03 PM
Angel Spoiler:
And when they whole Illyria things starts with Fred and all the guys are in a circle and Spike says, "Not this girl. Not this day." That kills me!
And Buffy The Prom gets me every darn time.
As does Angel You're Welcome.
And Veronica Mars Not Pictured--that one really gets me every darn time.
But I'd forgotten about The Wonder Years finale...I had it on VHS for a long time and wore it out!
Posted by: thetnpreacherswife at June 22, 2009 4:54 PM
A list like this, and no Sports Night?
The two most heartbreaking moments are the episode when Danny makes his on-air apology, and the one when Isaac returns from the stroke. Both of them get me every time I see them.
Posted by: Jimbob Jones at June 22, 2009 6:14 PM
For me, the most heartbreaking is when Buffy reveals at the end of Once More With Feeling that she was ripped from heaven by the Scooby's spell. The look on everyone's face kills me.
Posted by: Dixy at June 23, 2009 6:45 AM
"Haven't read all the comments, but did anyone mention "Advances, None Miraculous" and "The Whores Can Come" from "Deadwood" when Bullock's son dies?"
Both total mist-makers. The mother (also amazing in "Breaking Bad") is incredible. I can't even imagine how angry I'd be about the whole thing as a mother - only to be stranded alone out there. Gah. I look at that situation and think "Now THAT'S when shit was dangerous for children."
Posted by: samantha t at June 23, 2009 10:07 AM
am I the only person who did not care for the series finale of Six Feet Under? does it get more cliche than a montage of "the future" serving as background for that cheesy mixtape made by Claire's irrelevant sorry excuse for a boyfriend while she "drives away to a new life"? that was the final nail in the coffin in one pathetic last season.
Posted by: lori at June 23, 2009 4:36 PM
Buffy Anne Summers
1981 - 2001
Beloved sister
Devoted friend
She saved the world
A lot
Posted by: Kevin at June 23, 2009 6:35 PM
Hm...The Body was definitely a tear jerker, I agree that the loss of your mother, after everything that went on, the remission, the surgery, but somehow I wasn't shocked that she died. But I agree about Passions, that was pretty devastating, but did we all forget Becoming Part 2? Who didn't ball like a little baby after that. The look on Buffy's face?!
Oh I'm getting all misty just thinking about it...
There should be a list for Buffy episodes alone!
Posted by: Karla at June 24, 2009 3:44 PM
I have to say:
Great clip choice with The Office.
The finale of The Wonder years, also great! They put me in the mood for the following:
I agree with the fox, the last part of "Mother Simpson"...HOmer in the car. Damn! It's the same that when I saw "Here comes Garfield" and Odie is going to be killed the next morning.....:S
I also agree with the episode of Megan in Nip/Tuck. Her suicide was so damn emotional.
Is it just me that cries a little bit seeing "leave it to beaver" when Veronica Mars is dreaming about Lily and they say goodbye?
About Six Feet Under. Sorry, Lori, I guess whe did enjoy that finale...I would choose also the episode "ecotone"...David dreaming with Nate on the beach...man!!!
And, with a little bit of shame, I have to agree with the death of Miranda's mother in SaTC..and THe O.C. Finale when we could hear "life is a song".
Finally, the episode of Third Watch in which Kim is with the two men trapped in "Demolition Derby" (1x10).
Oh dear LORD, that episode of Scrubs! Scrubs is always that show that lulls me into a false sense of security with its playful soundtrack and improvised janitor dialogue, and then turns around and socks me in the stomach so hard that I just cough my heart out onto my tear-stained couch. Needless to say, it's always very messy.
The other episode that devastated me was when Dr. Cox lost three patients because of rabies and went into a serious depression.
I hate it when Dr. Cox cries. I just can't handle it.
Posted by: DontStopNow at June 30, 2009 3:02 PM
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The Futurama episode where Fry reminisces on how he and his brother hated each other.
The Tasha Yar death episode on Star Trek TNG
The Just the Ten of Us episode where (I believe a character played by Matthew Perry) was killed either by a drunk driver or he was DUI.
The Hogan Family episode where one Jason Bateman's crew dies of AIDS.