# Most depressing sitcom episode **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 9, 2019, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578 "2019-12-09T01:57:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/1 "2019-12-09T01:57:34Z")
The recent sad death of Rene Auberjonois reminded me of a very disturbing episode of “Benson” he was involved in called “Scenario”. [As this summary notes,](https://www.paleycenter.org/collection/item/?q=benson&p=3&item=B:05045) it was an episode about a nuclear war drill and it’s one of the most depressing things I’ve ever seen. It also featured internet predecessor ARPANET, so it was arguably the first appearance of the internet on TV. What sitcom episodes were memorably depressing and sad than most dramas? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/2 "2019-12-09T02:12:50Z")
I believe that The Ranch is still supposed to be a comedy, but the episodes about Rooster being missing and then presumed dead were awfully bleak. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/3 "2019-12-09T02:12:59Z")
I know M_A_S\*H is not pure sitcom and more of a drama-comedy mix, but I’d nominate the “Dreams” episode for that. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/4 "2019-12-09T02:18:54Z")
When Edith almost got raped on All in the Family was pretty grim. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/5 "2019-12-09T02:25:38Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I know M_A_S\*H is not pure sitcom and more of a drama-comedy mix, but I’d nominate the “Dreams” episode for that. Father Mulcahey’s dream has stayed with me for years. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/6 "2019-12-09T02:33:05Z")
If Futurama counts, Jurassic Bark. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/7 "2019-12-09T02:34:33Z")
> [@notfrommensa](#): > > When Edith almost got raped on All in the Family was pretty grim. Yeah. That’s the first one I thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/8 "2019-12-09T02:35:07Z")
Final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth. Sad, moving, but also utterly brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/9 "2019-12-09T02:49:02Z")
The series finale of _Dinosaurs_ ended with an ice age setting in and killing everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/10 "2019-12-09T02:59:49Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > If Futurama counts, Jurassic Bark. This is the first one that I thought of. Although the other ones mentioned are right there as well. Hawkeye’s dream has stuck with me since it aired. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/11 "2019-12-09T03:09:19Z")
Nowhere as shocking as some of the others, but the episode of _Cheers_ where Dianne goes off to write her novel, and Sam realizes that she will never come back. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/12 "2019-12-09T03:15:53Z")
Another vote for “Dreams” from MASH. For me, it was Winchester’s dream (followed by the most heartfelt “damn” ever uttered on TV). Another one was the Korean-American baby they tried to get sent to the US. For another one, _The fresh Prince of BelAir_ was light comedy most of the time, but the episode where Will’s father (played by Ben Vereen) came back into Will’s life and then almost immediately left it, left one depressed (IMHO). ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/13 "2019-12-09T03:22:18Z")
There is an episode of _Fraggle Rock_ called “Marooned” that is really quite amazing for a children’s puppet show. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/14 "2019-12-09T03:34:52Z")
Was that Dreams episode an hour long? There were, what, six dreams? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/15 "2019-12-09T03:37:41Z")
Arnold and Dudley in the bike shop comes close. Or any “very special” episode ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/16 "2019-12-09T04:42:18Z")
> [@Personal](#): > > Was that Dreams episode an hour long? There were, what, six dreams? No, only a half-hour and each dream sequence was about 2.5-3 minutes, IIRC. Superbly timed and sequenced. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/17 "2019-12-09T05:00:19Z")
There was a _Family Ties_ episode called " ‘A’ My Name Is Alex " which was “very special” and actually pretty bizarre as I recall. A friend of Alex Keaton (previously never seen or even mentioned, as far as I know) has died and Alex, in his mourning and introspection and existential angst, monologues as he moves from set to set on a darkened minimalist stage, making the whole thing look like a watered-down and somewhat mopey version of a Beckett play. I only saw it the night it first aired back in 1987 and I didn’t know _what_ the fuck was going on. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/18 "2019-12-09T05:01:23Z")
Marshall’s dad dying in How I Met Your Mother. Typically I delete that episode if I my DVR picks it up, but a few weeks back, I wasn’t paying attention and watched it by accident. For those that haven’t watched it (or those that have), it’s a surprise at the end of an otherwise good/normal episode, so I really wasn’t expecting it, like, at all. Then to make it worse, just a day or two ago, I watched the funeral episode. Again, wasn’t really paying attention or I would have deleted it. At least, as a reward for watching those two, I go to watch Oh Honey, which is right after those. That’s one of my favorite episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/19 "2019-12-09T05:18:21Z")
Doogie Howser M.D., “To Live and Die in Brentwood.” His girlfriend Wanda’s mother is killed unexpectedly in a car accident. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2019, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578/20 "2019-12-09T05:30:29Z")
I remember the very solemn ‘All in the Family’ episode when Edith found out about Archie’s stepping out with the barmaid of his bar. Her reaction, and when Gloria called him asking where her mother was, Archie, humiliated and crushed, telling Gloria she ran away from home. Crazy as it was ( in hindsight ) a younger woman with the hots for Archie, I remember as an early teen watching it with my family and the stunned reaction of everybody to that final scene. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-depressing-sitcom-episode/844578.md?page=2)