# What was the most shocking turn on series TV? \[LOTS OF OPEN SPOILERS -- edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 7, 2014, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586 "2014-12-07T17:48:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/121 "2023-12-06T14:33:45Z")
On Scrubs: The episode “One in Three”, which starts out by saying that, with the exception of a few departments, one in three patients that enters a hospital won’t leave alive. Three patients are featured…and they all die. On Doctor Who: The Doctor-Donna is revealed. At that point, I thought the Sontarans (one of their planets had been stolen) were going to attack the Dalek fleet, enabling the Doctor to save the day but only with the help of a villain. The real solution was so much better. But most of all (other than anything already mentioned)… On Buffy the Vampire Slayer: When Buffy asks the apparent assassin who just attacked her who she is. “I am Kendra, the Vampire Slayer!” I can still remember looking at my husband. We simultaneously said, “Huh? Oh!” ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/122 "2023-12-06T15:22:48Z")
On WCW television —the 1996 Bash at the Beach where Hulk Hogan is revealed to be the third member of the Outsiders(Scott Hall and Kevin Nash) and turns heel on the crowd----cutting a promo renaming the group New World Order (NWO). It was shocking because Hogan had been a face(good guy) since he won the WWF title in 1984 for the first time. Turning bad reinvigorated Hogan’s career and WCW became the hot promotion over WWF for a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/123 "2023-12-06T15:47:57Z")
Thinking back as long as I have watched TV, the biggest were likely: **Locke is revealed to be in a wheelchair - LOST** **Bent-Neck lady, which I won’t reveal the twist aspect - Haunting Of Hill House** **The Red Wedding on Game of Thrones(though I had read the book and kind of knew)** **Mr. Robot’s ending, which I will not reveal, but loved. - Mr. Robot** ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/124 "2023-12-06T16:30:03Z")
I just saw an episode of ER very late in the series where John Carter returns and it is revealed he is getting chemo or dialysis. Alone, and looking very sad. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/125 "2023-12-06T19:11:01Z")
> [@digs](#): > > The same actress (Diana Mulder?) played the slightly-annoying-but-moreso-if-you-liked-Gates-McFadden-who-she-was-filling-in-for doctor on ST:TNG. Diana Muldaur also played two different roles on The Original Series. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/126 "2023-12-06T20:40:40Z")
The finale of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER could be summed up as _‘and that, kids, is the story of how I met your mother, who, as you know, is now dead.’_ (Or, to quote said kid: “No, this is a story about how you’re totally in love with Aunt Robin — and you’re thinking about asking her out, and you want to know if we’re okay with it.”) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/127 "2023-12-06T22:26:01Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > The finale of HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER could be summed up as _‘and that, kids, is the story of how I met your mother, who, as you know, is now dead.’_ I never watched that show, and I’m glad. Wasn’t it even worse? Umpty-years of the show, and the mother shows up in the last episode, never seen before? ---
**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 6, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/128 "2023-12-06T22:33:35Z")
No, the mother showed up in several episodes of the last season - that’s kind of why people are mad about her fate - because the show was able to introduce a new character in thd last season who was appealing and fit in well with the rest of the characters ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/129 "2023-12-06T22:39:17Z")
Thanks! I was going by what I read. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/130 "2023-12-06T23:09:20Z")
“Your Mother died on the way back to her home planet” ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/131 "2023-12-06T23:29:20Z")
> [@digs](#): > > The same actress (Diana Mulder?) played the slightly-annoying-but-moreso-if-you-liked-Gates-McFadden-who-she-was-filling-in-for doctor on ST:TNG. > > I kept hoping they’d pull a TurboLift™ malfunction… Even funnier would have been a scene where Dr. Pulaski is waiting for a turbolift, it arrives, and Pulaski starts to get in- then checks herself, looks at the interior of the lift as if to reassure herself that all is well, then gets in. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2023, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/132 "2023-12-06T23:48:41Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > The _Newhart_ finale For the most shockingly _hilarious_ surprise, yes! ---
**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 7, 2023, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/133 "2023-12-07T00:10:48Z")
No problem- it’s an understandable error I just checked IMDB and she showed up in 14 episodes (more than I thought) (and is credited in a few more that she wasn’t actually shown in). Here’s a scene from the episode that’s entirely about her [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8Bw5Z0rBteY/maxresdefault.jpg "How I Met Your Mother - La Vie en Rose (Tracy's Version)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Bw5Z0rBteY) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/134 "2023-12-07T15:32:15Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I have to mildly disagree with you there. The callous manner in which Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, and George reacted to her death was meant to change how the viewers felt about the characters and drive home what truly awful people they really were. “Oh, you are the guy who ordered those wedding invitations. How did it all work out?” George: “No complaints.” ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/135 "2023-12-07T16:16:45Z")
Babylon 5: “Kosh,you know what’s at stake. If you’re going to do anything, you must do it now!” ---
**Author:** ![Scoobysnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Scoobysnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoobysnax)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/136 "2023-12-07T17:03:03Z")
Pretty sure that that was the series finale. That episode brought back a lot of the original cast but did it in a way that didn’t have them all on screen together. Dr. Carter had kidney failure and Dr. Benton was the one who performed the surgery to give him a new kidney. Dr. Ross and Nurse Hathaway are together and somehow are involved in getting him the kidney. However, they don’t know who it is for. Just “some doctor”. I only remember because it was the first episode that I had watched in years. I quit after all of the Dr. Romano drama that is referenced above. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@salinqmind1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind1)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/137 "2023-12-07T17:49:18Z")
I just watched the series finale - again - this morning. Carter got his kidney a couple episodes before that. Benton didn’t perform the surgery, though - he invited himself into the operating room to make sure all went well. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/138 "2023-12-07T18:15:49Z")
In the TV series Alias, it is revealed after a season or two that the “good guys” have been working for the bad guys all along. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/139 "2023-12-07T18:17:48Z")
> [@SurrenderDorothy](#): > > I love threads like this, where I get halfway through and think it’s weird that nobody has mentioned the same ones that always get mentioned (in this case, the end of the first season of The Good Place and the bent-neck lady in The Haunting of Hill House)… and then realize most of the thread was from 2014 Plot twist! Or when you see your own username and think, “I don’t remember posting that…”, then realize you did so nine years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2023, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586/140 "2023-12-07T18:41:57Z")
“Holy gee! That’s Paul. They blew him up in his car!” (From the _All In The Family_ episode that begins with Archie discovering a swastika spray-painted on his door.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-most-shocking-turn-on-series-tv-lots-of-open-spoilers-edited-title/706586.md?page=8)