# Disturbing/upsetting moments in TV shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 24, 2002, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761 "2002-12-24T20:30:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![sWitchazel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@sWitchazel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sWitchazel)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/121 "2003-01-15T22:18:06Z")
Around Christmas most years, my mother reminds me of the time at age four when I came into her room crying my eyes out during one of the season’s shows. Why? “They won’t let Rudolph PLAY!” The Abominable Snowman was pretty scary, too, even after all his teeth were yanked. ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/122 "2003-01-15T23:05:23Z")
The whole concept of a _“Twilight Zone”_ is rather disturbing to me. I just need to hear the music **dah dah dah dah** and I start freaking out. One thing that really upset me was the last episode of _Spin City_ with Michael J. Fox. Especially when he came out in front of the audience and hugged all his costars I was bawling my eyes out. ---
**Author:** ![cmburns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@cmburns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmburns)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/123 "2003-01-15T23:06:07Z")
The torture scene in last week’s “24”. Not as bad as the similar scene in “Scarface”, but pretty disturbing for a prime-time network broadcast. ---
**Author:** ![Spurious\_George](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Spurious\_George](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spurious_George)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/124 "2003-01-15T23:27:00Z")
Totally, **cmburns**! I just watched that _24_ yesterday, and was rather grossed out. I can handle a lot of things in my TV shows, but torture scenes, even if you can’t exactly see what’s happening, always set me on edge. _Alias_ has also had a lot of fairly graphic torture scenes, which yank me right out of my enjoyment of the show, and make me wonder if there’s a sadist on the writing staff. ---
**Author:** ![king\_of\_spain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7cd45c/32.png) [@king\_of\_spain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/king_of_spain)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/125 "2003-01-15T23:58:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HelloKitty \* > \*\*No, he’s still around, right now he’s on the **West Wing** playing the Chief of Staff. I believe he just turned 61 the other day. > > [John Amos](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Amos,%20John%20(I)) \*\* Since I seem to be the designated West Wing pedant for this thread - the Chief of Staff is Leo McGarry, played by John Spencer (and he’s a regular, in every episode and the opening credits). John Amos plays Admiral Percy Fitzwallace aka “Fitz,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and he only shows up once in a while. Too much information, I’m sure, but I figured you’d be sort of confused if you turned on TWW looking for John Amos and saw the other characters calling John Spencer the Chief of Staff. ---
**Author:** ![leechbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@leechbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leechbabe)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/126 "2003-01-16T01:52:37Z")
I’ve stopped watching **Alias** because I couldn’t stand the graphic torture scenes. Season 5 final episode **Buffy** where she dies to save Dawn (and the world) really got to me. I just kept thinking of Dawn loosing a mother and a sister all in the one year and how that would feel. When Gandalf dies in Moria in the **FOTR** movie - especially later when we see the hobbits outside crying. More **Lord of the Rings - Two Towers** (book version) with Shelob - every time I read that I have nightmares for at least two weeks after. I’ve learnt just to skip those chapters. I am NOT looking forward to **ROTK** movie because I just don’t know if I will be able to watch those scenes on the screen. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Clawman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@The\_Clawman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Clawman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/127 "2003-01-16T12:36:44Z")
I freaked out when a nipper at the episode of **The Waltons** where Elizabeth is tormented by a poltergeist. Especially the bit where the stone just floated in through her bedroom window. ---
**Author:** ![Zen\_Postman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/4da419/32.png) [@Zen\_Postman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zen_Postman)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/128 "2003-01-16T14:39:43Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve got a very vague memory of a show from the late 70’s/early 80’s. For some reason, I think it was little house on the prairie, but that can’t possibly be right, given the subject matter. There was a little girl (around 10? 12?) alone in a field, attacked (maybe raped?) by a guy wearing a hideous clown mask. Actually it was Little House on the Prairie. In a two part episode, Albert, the Ingall’s adopted son, got chummy with a teen-age neighbor girl , despite her father’s objections. Charles wears down her father with pontification and the road to romance clears. The girl gets chased around a barn by the masked Richard Jaeckel, who had evil intentions on the innocent and unsuspecting lass. She climbs a ladder to escape, the ladder breaks, she dies and a cast change is narrowly averted. Apparently I watched far too much TV when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![gonzoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@gonzoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzoron)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761/129 "2003-01-16T16:16:23Z")
Yowsa! It really WAS Little House??? Thanks for dredging it up… 😉 shudder… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disturbing-upsetting-moments-in-tv-shows/144761.md?page=6)