Just thought of one...Renee Roberts (Alf Roberts first wife) in Corrie.
Not necessarily the saddest death, but definitely one of the most shocking (to me anyway).
Don't forget, this was back in the late 70s before the days of Internet and spoilers and storylines appearing in magazines and newspapers six months before they actually happened, so nobody actually knew if something big was going to happen in a programme (especially a soap) back then.
I was quite young when it was shown (about 7 or 8) and I can still remember what happened now. Alf was giving Renee a driving lesson and they stopped so they could swap seats. Alf got out of the car, but before Renee could get out a lorry appeared from nowhere and hit the car and she died.
Seems very tame now compared to some of the deaths you get to see on TV nowadays (especially in the soaps ), but back then it was very shocking.
Any real person dying in real life like Tommy Cooper, John Thaw, etc. is sad, but I would not cry buckets or even feel remotely sad, about some fictitious character in some soap opera or play, they are just names in a script and not real people although listening to people discussing TV programmes one begin to think they could actually be real.
We actually had a guy at work who came in one morning some years ago now and said it was so very sad that Derek* ( *I cannot remember the exact name now) had been admitted to a mental hospital and was so ill, he gave all sorts of other details about Derek's relations, etc. and he looked so worried and concerned.
The way he spoke I thought it was a work colleague in the large company I worked for so I questioned him further as to who it was — it appeared his concern was all about some damn character in Eastenders or maybe it was Coronation Street. Shakes head in disbelief.
And then started singing 'Que Sera Sera'.....I'll stop typing now, don't want to burst into tears in the office!
It says something that even the recollection of Nana's death can make you (and me!) well up.
I also agree with Butch Dingle's death, and the end of Blackadder, but that was more of a kick in the gut moment rather than pulling at the heart strings.
I agree with Pratt in er and for me the show didn't survive it either the last season sucked.
I'm a wuss so loadsa deaths are sad for me but most recently has to be Sambuca in waterloo road hers was bad.
Oh and Dan Hunter in Hollyoaks I loved him and debbie together
Colonel Henry Blake (happened off camera) in the Abyssinia, Henry episode of M*A*S*H.
At the end of the episode Radar goes into the OR and announces "I just got a message. The colonel's plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. Spun in. No survivors".
I believe the deaths are so very sad in Midsommer Murders, all these people in those lovely picturesque villages are now dead and all tragically murdered, I weep tears over that as I see them die and sometimes it is more than one a week. Such a good job though they have such a good policeman there like Barnaby who can discover who the murderers are. Causton and the surrounding area that Barnaby covers is not a good place to live;)
Any real person dying in real life like Tommy Cooper, John Thaw, etc. is sad, but I would not cry buckets or even feel remotely sad, about some fictitious character in some soap opera or play, they are just names in a script and not real people although listening to people discussing TV programmes one begin to think they could actually be real.
To be fair (to people like me who've contributed to this thread) people often get sad and cry at deaths, or sad scenes in general on television/film because we can relate them to our own lives, and our own loved ones, and imagine how we'd feel if that were us in that situation.
I'm unapologetic about getting upset in those situations, it just shows I'm human and empathetic (though it can be embarrassing if it happens at the cinema).
God, I watched 'Up' for the first time the other week and was crying my eyes out within the first 15 minutes, lol
When Rex died in Desperate Housewives and Bree got the phone call. She finished polishing her cutlery then just broke down
I thought that was very well done.
One that has always stuck with me is Paul from 8 Simple Rules. I thought the way they handled John Ritter's real death was very raw.
Also Brendan Fraser's character in Scrubs (I forget the name, was it Ben?). I thought the episode where he died and the aftermath was very well done, also the blonde patient who Dr Cox had a break down over (again can't remember the name). That was back when Scrubs was the best, they managed to mix heart break with comedy so well.
One that has always stuck with me is Paul from 8 Simple Rules. I thought the way they handled John Ritter's real death was very raw.
Also Brendan Fraser's character in Scrubs (I forget the name, was it Ben?). I thought the episode where he died and the aftermath was very well done, also the blonde patient who Dr Cox had a break down over (again can't remember the name). That was back when Scrubs was the best, they managed to mix heart break with comedy so well.
Yeah he was called Ben, the one Dr Cox lost his mind over was Jill Tracy who he thought was just after attention but then she died, and he used her organs to save 3 people but they ended up dying of rabies, it was loosely based on a true story.
Joyce Summers (Buffy's Mum), one of the saddest hours of a television series, however the 2nd best episode of the whole series, beaten by the outstanding Hush.
For a film, Susan Sarandon's character in Stepmom.
I agree with Nana in the Royle Family. It's when Jim cries that it gets me
I must be in a minority of one, I thought the maudlin sentimentality jarred with the usal fart gags and low end humour, it really was very out of place, as for Jim crying......... C'mon.... he hated the old bag o' bones.
Not denying the great performances from Smith and Johnson though.
Matthew's death in a 1970s production of Anne Of Green Gables is my " bit of sand in me eye " moment.
Comments
(David Attenborough's "Life in the Freezer")
Not necessarily the saddest death, but definitely one of the most shocking (to me anyway).
Don't forget, this was back in the late 70s before the days of Internet and spoilers and storylines appearing in magazines and newspapers six months before they actually happened, so nobody actually knew if something big was going to happen in a programme (especially a soap) back then.
I was quite young when it was shown (about 7 or 8) and I can still remember what happened now. Alf was giving Renee a driving lesson and they stopped so they could swap seats. Alf got out of the car, but before Renee could get out a lorry appeared from nowhere and hit the car and she died.
Seems very tame now compared to some of the deaths you get to see on TV nowadays (especially in the soaps
We actually had a guy at work who came in one morning some years ago now and said it was so very sad that Derek* ( *I cannot remember the exact name now) had been admitted to a mental hospital and was so ill, he gave all sorts of other details about Derek's relations, etc. and he looked so worried and concerned.
The way he spoke I thought it was a work colleague in the large company I worked for so I questioned him further as to who it was — it appeared his concern was all about some damn character in Eastenders or maybe it was Coronation Street. Shakes head in disbelief.
It says something that even the recollection of Nana's death can make you (and me!) well up.
I also agree with Butch Dingle's death, and the end of Blackadder, but that was more of a kick in the gut moment rather than pulling at the heart strings.
I'm a wuss so loadsa deaths are sad for me but most recently has to be Sambuca in waterloo road hers was bad.
Oh and Dan Hunter in Hollyoaks I loved him and debbie together
At the end of the episode Radar goes into the OR and announces "I just got a message. The colonel's plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. Spun in. No survivors".
Also Wellard in Eastenders(Bianca breaking down) and Ednas dog in Emmerdale
The way he waited for years on him!
And Nana from The Royle Family, made me well up
To be fair (to people like me who've contributed to this thread) people often get sad and cry at deaths, or sad scenes in general on television/film because we can relate them to our own lives, and our own loved ones, and imagine how we'd feel if that were us in that situation.
I'm unapologetic about getting upset in those situations, it just shows I'm human and empathetic (though it can be embarrassing if it happens at the cinema).
God, I watched 'Up' for the first time the other week and was crying my eyes out within the first 15 minutes, lol
Can't bear Katherine Heigl these days, since she disappeared up her own backside, but back then she was amazing in that scene.
Probably because it was a portrayal of a real death.
I thought that was very well done.
One that has always stuck with me is Paul from 8 Simple Rules. I thought the way they handled John Ritter's real death was very raw.
Also Brendan Fraser's character in Scrubs (I forget the name, was it Ben?). I thought the episode where he died and the aftermath was very well done, also the blonde patient who Dr Cox had a break down over (again can't remember the name). That was back when Scrubs was the best, they managed to mix heart break with comedy so well.
Yeah he was called Ben, the one Dr Cox lost his mind over was Jill Tracy who he thought was just after attention but then she died, and he used her organs to save 3 people but they ended up dying of rabies, it was loosely based on a true story.
For a film, Susan Sarandon's character in Stepmom.
buffys mum - buffy
miss landingham - west wing
(not really a death but) doctor who - david tennant version
I must be in a minority of one, I thought the maudlin sentimentality jarred with the usal fart gags and low end humour, it really was very out of place, as for Jim crying......... C'mon.... he hated the old bag o' bones.
Not denying the great performances from Smith and Johnson though.
Matthew's death in a 1970s production of Anne Of Green Gables is my " bit of sand in me eye " moment.