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| Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to
remember Nate Fisher (Peter Krause). The
narcissistic idealist recently succumbed to a brain hemorrhage on "Six Feet Under," thus shocking viewers of the beloved
HBO drama. But don't mourn for Nate. Not only did his death allow him to
escape the show's increasingly ridiculous plot developments and the
insane, hysterical family members that dominated his life, but Nate now
joins the impressive pantheon of other TV deaths that have stunned viewers
over the years. So, instead of flowers and dopey poems, we celebrate
Nate's passing with this list of TV's most surprising deaths. Amen. |
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Name: Det. Terry Crowley (Reed
Diamond)
Location of Death: "The Shield"
Date of Death:
2002
Cause of Death: Gunshot wound, by fellow detective
Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis)
Breakdown: Crowley was introduced in the pilot episode
(in fact, Diamond was listed as a main cast member in the opening
credits to set up the surprise) as a new addition to Mackey's brutal
LAPD Strike Team. However, Mackey and his crew find out that he's
been planted by bosses to spy on their shaky methods. During a drug
raid, Mackey cold-heartedly opens fire on this newbie, squashing the
brass's bug and paving the way for one of TV's most morally
questionable protagonists. Rarely has a show introduced itself with
such a gut punch. | |
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Name: Doyle (Glenn Quinn)
Location of Death: "Angel"
Date of Death:
1999
Cause of Death: Electrocution, from trying to
dismantle a death machine that could only be found on shows like
this
Breakdown: "Angel" was the grim spin-off of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and during
the show's first season, it only had three main characters: Angel
(David Boreanaz), the
vampire-turned-cosmic-detective/champion; Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), his
vain assistant, and Doyle, a witty half-demon whose visions help
Angel save victims suffering in Los Angeles. Fans immediately loved
Doyle, whose wit and good nature interjected some warmth and humor
into an often bleak and dark show. But this didn't stop creator Joss Whedon from pulling
the rug out and offing Doyle nine episodes into the series, thus
killing 33 percent of his cast. Doyle's self-sacrifice saved the
world, but it upset viewers so much that many never returned to
"Angel." Bummer for them, because it was just getting great. Over
the course of five seasons, nearly everyone on the show died ...
L.A. ain't a pretty place. Sadly, Quinn himself died young, just
three years after his TV demise. | |
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Name: Rosalind Shays (Diana
Muldaur)
Location of Death: "L.A. Law"
Date of Death:
1991
Cause of Death: Fell down an elevator shaft.
Seriously.
Breakdown: Question: How do you
satisfy the viewers' deep desire to see an evil character
destroyed? Answer: If you're David E. Kelley, you think up one of
the most shocking, cold and, yeah, funny ways of killing them off
ever seen on television. Thus, the horrible, selfish lawyer Rosalind
Shays is standing in a hallway, talking to a co-worker... and,
whoooooaaaa, she's suddenly plummeting down an elevator shaft.
America cheers. Bye. Thanks for playing.
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Name: Det. Bobby Simone (Jimmy Smits)
Location of Death:
"NYPD Blue"
Date of Death: 1998
Cause
of Death: Heart failure
Breakdown: It wasn't surprising that
Bobby died. It seemed he was stuck in that hospital bed with a bad ticker,
awaiting a transplant, forever. It was the slow, raw, detailed journey
toward death that made this so painful to watch and so memorable. Through
it also, Smits turned in a powerful yet subtle performance while the
characters around him fell apart. That this happened to the moral center
of the show -- to the guy who had put up with Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) for a partner, the man who
lost his wife to breast cancer only to fall in love again and get sick
himself ... well, no one said life wasn't cruel. And the final irony? The
man with the best heart on the show died of cardiac arrest.
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