# Saddest single episodes of TV series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2008, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571 "2008-09-21T19:00:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![NoLAFIN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e9bcb4/32.png) [@NoLAFIN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoLAFIN)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/61 "2008-09-22T15:54:42Z")
> [@Glory](#): > > Jurassic Bark - Futurama. Seconded. I cry everytime I see it (the song at the end… gaaahh:(:(:(). There are quite a few later episodes of Futurama that are melancholy. ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/62 "2008-09-22T16:09:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > First of all, the 80s New Twilight Zone is a terrific show — better in many way than the original. You’re probably thinking about the 2002 revival, which _was_ terrible. > > “The Cold Equations” was from the 80s version. I remember taking a science-fiction unit as part of my freshman English class in high school (1976/77); our text was a smallish (only 300 pages or so) anthology of SF stories. IIRC, none of them were what we today would consider “classics” of SF. A few years later, when I was in college, the 80s TZ version came on – every episode I saw was taken from one of the stories in the anthology, including “The Cold Equations”. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/63 "2008-09-22T16:19:04Z")
[Goodbyeee](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodbyeee...), the final episode of Blackadder. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/64 "2008-09-22T16:21:25Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Luck of the Fryish is sadder. No way. I might get misty at Luck of the Fryrish, but it’s more because you get to see how much the brothers love each other. You also get to find out that Yancy moved on, lived his life, had a son who was a great success, etc. With The Sting, you get to see how much Fry cared about Leela. You also find out that Fry and Leela are both OK. With Jurassic Bark you get to see how much Seymour loves Fry, but there’s no happy ending for Seymour. Fryrish and Sting are like crying at a wedding, Bark is like crying when the bride is run over by a truck. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/65 "2008-09-22T16:22:59Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > "Many suck journeys are possible. Yeah, and we saw them all in Season Three. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/66 "2008-09-22T16:26:07Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > The episode of **Magnum P.I.** in which Magnum’s old war buddy come to him and asks his help in committing suicide. There’s a lot of sad stuff in \*Magnum, P.I. \* I mean, there’s always that vague feeling of “easy slick drama” about it, but when you do the “if these were real people” thing in your head you realize how tragic and screwed up Magnum and TC are, particularly. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/67 "2008-09-22T16:28:37Z")
A couple more Trek nominations: [TNG: The Offspring](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Offspring_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)) Data uses part of his own circuitry to create another Soong-type android, which he intends to raise as his daughter, Lal. Lal, surprisingly, quickly becomes her father’s better at least one: she has honest-to-goodness, no-two-ways-about-it emotions. An admiral decides that Lal is too valuable a resource to leave on the Enterprise; when told that she is about to be separated from her father, Lal panics and breaks down. At the end of the episode she dies, and I’ve always thought we were meant to take it that the emotional upset before she was ready for it is what killed her. [TOS: A Private Little War](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Private_Little_War), aka Gene Roddenberry’s apology for the war in Vietnam & Korea. Returning to a planet he surveyed as a lieutenant, Kirk & Co. discover that, as part of their cold war with the Federation, the Klingons are arming the village-dwelling faction of a planet’s society so they will conquer another faction, the hill people. If this happens, the Klingons will then have a client state on the planet, a foothold that will bring them one sector closer to Earth, Vulcan, and so forth. To keep this from happening–and, not incidentally, to avert genocide on either side–he decides that he must arm the hill people with comparable weapons to the villagers; this will, of course, lead to generations of war. McCoy points out that Kirk’s pacifist friend Tyree will be one of the first people to die in the coming conflict. But he’s wrong–as Tyree’s wife is murdered by the villagers, causing an uncommonly bloody skirmish (for Trek, anyway) in which Tyree beats one of their opponents heads with a rock in for a long, long time; Kirk ultimately has to take the stone away from him. Tyree then tells Kirk that he wants many weapons, as he intends to lead the hill folk in a war against the villagers; thus the natives embark upon a war as pawns, in an issue that has not a damn thing to do with them. In the final scene, Kirk doesn’t ask to be beamed back tothe ship; he asks to be beamed home. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/68 "2008-09-22T16:29:50Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > There’s a lot of sad stuff in \*Magnum, P.I. \* I mean, there’s always that vague feeling of “easy slick drama” about it, but when you do the “if these were real people” thing in your head you realize how tragic and screwed up Magnum and TC are, particularly. How were they screwed up? I’m not contesting; it’s just that I never watched the show with any regularity (the only episode I ever watched from beginning to end was the finale), so I wouldn’t mind more details. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/69 "2008-09-22T17:29:24Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > No way. I might get misty at Luck of the Fryrish, but it’s more because you get to see how much the brothers love each other. You also get to find out that Yancy moved on, lived his life, had a son who was a great success, etc. With The Sting, you get to see how much Fry cared about Leela. You also find out that Fry and Leela are both OK. > > With Jurassic Bark you get to see how much Seymour loves Fry, but there’s no happy ending for Seymour. > > Fryrish and Sting are like crying at a wedding, Bark is like crying when the bride is run over by a truck. You should watch **Bender’s Big Score** if you haven’t yet. There’s a bit with Seymour. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/70 "2008-09-22T17:59:47Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > No way. I might get misty at Luck of the Fryrish, but it’s more because you get to see how much the brothers love each other. You also get to find out that Yancy moved on, lived his life, had a son who was a great success, etc. With The Sting, you get to see how much Fry cared about Leela. You also find out that Fry and Leela are both OK. > > With Jurassic Bark you get to see how much Seymour loves Fry, but there’s no happy ending for Seymour. > > Fryrish and Sting are like crying at a wedding, Bark is like crying when the bride is run over by a truck. I dunno man, I think it’s pretty sad to live to your mid twenties and never know how much your brother loved you. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/71 "2008-09-22T18:16:07Z")
Flower’s death on _Meerkat Manor_ ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/72 "2008-09-22T18:17:26Z")
There’s always that ER episode where one of the doctors dies because his head hurts or something. You know, the bald guy? The nice one, not the angry little pissant. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/73 "2008-09-22T18:18:17Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Dr. Greene dying on _ER_. I just saw it the other day and blubbered like a baby boy. He spends his last hours alive trying to give his daughter happy memories of him. Oh, same here! One of the networks (TNT, maybe?) is showing the old ERs and I caught that one too…devastating! Man, I’ve got to find a new job, soon! ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/74 "2008-09-22T18:47:41Z")
The first episode of [i}Archie Bunker’s Place\*; taking place about a month after Edith died of a stroke. I only saw the thing once, and am not particularly interested in seeing it again. Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad. ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/75 "2008-09-22T18:56:18Z")
_Battlestar Galactica_’s “Exodus Part II”. First Tigh has to kill his wife Ellen for collaborating with the Cylons – beautiful writing, acting, and music. Then at the end, when everyone’s cheering Adama’s victory and the fleet is reunited, Tigh comes limping off a raptor with a cane, a missing eye, the past year of fighting, and the weight of his wife’s death on his conscience. Adama comes over to him, proud and beaming, and says, “You did it, you brought them home, Saul.” And Tigh grits out, “Not all of them,” and then limps away from the celebration. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/76 "2008-09-22T19:05:21Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > How were they screwed up? I’m not contesting; it’s just that I never watched the show with any regularity (the only episode I ever watched from beginning to end was the finale), so I wouldn’t mind more details. Quite a few of the “very special Magnum” episodes deal with the cast’s time in Vietnam; in addition to general PTSD stuff they had spent some time as POWs and Magnum had married a Vietnamese girl only to, uh, have her die in an explosion before he could take her home, but then she didn’t turn out to be dead after all and it was a two parter. There’s a lot of bad stuff going on behind Thomas Magnum’s happy go lucky exterior. It almost makes me want to write fanfic. Slutty slash fanfic. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/77 "2008-09-22T19:43:40Z")
Explaining to Big Bird that Mr. Hooper isn’t coming back. ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/78 "2008-09-22T19:53:13Z")
> [@SkeptiJess](#): > > The first episode of [i}Archie Bunker’s Place\*; taking place about a month after Edith died of a stroke. I only saw the thing once, and am not particularly interested in seeing it again. Sad, sad, sad, sad, sad. Is this the one containing the scene of Archie clutching one of Edith’s slippers and beginning to cry? I have vague memories of that episode, but that particular scene is as clear as day. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/79 "2008-09-22T19:57:37Z")
I’ve never seen _Futurama_, including the Jurrasic Bark ep, but just the descriptions I’ve read make me tear up. Anything with animals hurt or in jeopardy (but not on_Jeopardy!_) gets me every time. StG ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2008, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571/80 "2008-09-22T19:58:33Z")
> [@Jayn\_Newell](#): > > What use is a husband if you can’t cry on his shoulder? (Yeah, I came here for this one too) > > There’s two from Babylon 5 that come to mind: > > Confessions and Lamentations:An entire race is at risk when a 100% fatal disease becomes widespread. Their religious views prevent them from looking for medical treatment, as they feel it’s a punishment for their sins, but one doctor does try to help. A cure is eventually found, but too late–the entire race has already perished. > Rising Star:Ivanova is critically injured and there is no hope to save her. Marcus finds a reference to a machine that can heal her, but only at the cost of the life of another. He rushes back to the station from the battlefield, knocks out the infirmary staff and gives his own life to save hers. > My favourite character death of any series–not only very touching, but I also love her reaction at the beginning of the next episode. Was the first ep. you mentioned the one where Dr. Franklin tried to save the young boy by performing surgery against his parents’ wishes–and then they ended up killing their own son to try to save his soul? I was bothered by that for days. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/saddest-single-episodes-of-tv-series/464571.md?page=5)