Most unceremonious deaths in Film and TV

Which death scenes of a beloved character in any film or TV series felt rather underwhelming and leaving you feeling like they deserved much better?

My picks

Luke Skywalker: The Last Jedi (2018)
The Fourth Doctor: Logopolis (1981)
Maude Flanders: Alone Again Natura-diddily (2001)
Sarah Connor: Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)
The Dream Warriors: A Nightmare On Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988)
Boba Fett: Return Of The Jedi (1983)

I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best. The only one I think might have been better was Pertwee's in Spiders. I'd agree with Sarah Connor in T3. I never really thought of Boba Fett as a major character - I don't think he says a single line in Return of the Jedi. I haven't seen any of the others.

Anyway, my pics:

Kirk: Star Trek Generations (1994)
Data: Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
Wash: Serenity (2005)
Lynda: NuWho - Bad Wolf (2005)

Colin Baker in Time and the Rani.
Blofeld in Spectre. I like the film and Waltz is an excellent actor, but the character doesn't make much of an impression and then he 'appears' to die when a lab blows up. Ho-hum.
In the Connery / Lazenby films Blowers just seemed to dominate the screen more.

I thought there was None worse than Newt in Alien 3.

But then John Connor in Terminator: Dark Fate managed to do one worse.

Tara, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (just imagine that happening today though)
Cordelia, Angel
Professor Arturo, Sliders
Seventh Doctor, Doctor Who TV Movie

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best. The only one I think might have been better was Pertwee's in Spiders. I'd agree with Sarah Connor in T3. I never really thought of Boba Fett as a major character - I don't think he says a single line in Return of the Jedi. I haven't seen any of the others.

Anyway, my pics:

Kirk: Star Trek Generations (1994)
Data: Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
Wash: Serenity (2005)
Lynda: NuWho - Bad Wolf (2005)

I agree about Kirk. I still can't believe that's how they killed off one of the most iconic characters in the history of television.

burrunjor wrote:

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best. The only one I think might have been better was Pertwee's in Spiders. I'd agree with Sarah Connor in T3. I never really thought of Boba Fett as a major character - I don't think he says a single line in Return of the Jedi. I haven't seen any of the others.

Anyway, my pics:

Kirk: Star Trek Generations (1994)
Data: Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
Wash: Serenity (2005)
Lynda: NuWho - Bad Wolf (2005)

I agree about Kirk. I still can't believe that's how they killed off one of the most iconic characters in the history of television.

Did you read the novels where he got better?

Zarius wrote:

burrunjor wrote:

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best. The only one I think might have been better was Pertwee's in Spiders. I'd agree with Sarah Connor in T3. I never really thought of Boba Fett as a major character - I don't think he says a single line in Return of the Jedi. I haven't seen any of the others.

Anyway, my pics:

Kirk: Star Trek Generations (1994)
Data: Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
Wash: Serenity (2005)
Lynda: NuWho - Bad Wolf (2005)

I agree about Kirk. I still can't believe that's how they killed off one of the most iconic characters in the history of television.

Did you read the novels where he got better?

Yes but sadly they are not canon.

As for Tara I don't agree that it was underwhelming. I was sad to see such a likable character go, but it set off Willow's rampage and unlike Missy who got a kiss from a pussified Doctor after zapping lovely Ingrid, Warren certainly got his just deserts LOL.

Cordelia I'm torn on as the way she was treated in series 4, both in front of and behind the camera was appalling, but I did love You're Welcome.

burrunjor wrote:Yes but sadly they are not canon.

Yeah, just as the Trek '09 prequel Countdown (with Data alive and as a Captain) no longer is.

Cordelia I'm torn on as the way she was treated in series 4, both in front of and behind the camera was appalling, but I did love You're Welcome.

Yeah, that's what I generally getting at, Cordelia's treatment in that season was horrible, You're Welcome probably should have been where Angel ended too, since it didn't have too long to go afterwards, much as I love the finale.

As for Tara, I think it might have been better if she had been killed shortly after being vegetated in season five, I think you could have gotten the same results with Willow in season six had they done that, with Willow getting into darker corners of magic trying to bring Tara back, which could have still revived Buffy. Her turn to the dark side wasn't the best written.

burrunjor wrote:

Zarius wrote:

burrunjor wrote:

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best. The only one I think might have been better was Pertwee's in Spiders. I'd agree with Sarah Connor in T3. I never really thought of Boba Fett as a major character - I don't think he says a single line in Return of the Jedi. I haven't seen any of the others.

Anyway, my pics:

Kirk: Star Trek Generations (1994)
Data: Star Trek Nemesis (2002)
Wash: Serenity (2005)
Lynda: NuWho - Bad Wolf (2005)

I agree about Kirk. I still can't believe that's how they killed off one of the most iconic characters in the history of television.

Did you read the novels where he got better?

Yes but sadly they are not canon.

I haven't (didn't know such a thing existed), but I might now. Do they take place after Generations and somehow bring him back, or just ignore it entirely?

The only thing I refuse to count as canon is those awful reboot movies - which I think screwed up the character of Kirk just as badly as new who did with the Doctor.

Fendelman wrote:I haven't (didn't know such a thing existed), but I might now. Do they take place after Generations and somehow bring him back, or just ignore it entirely?

They take place right after.

It runs:

Ashes of Eden
The Return
The Avenger
Spectre
Dark Victory
Preserver
Captain's Peril
Captain's Blood
Captain's Glory

The deaths of Griffiths, Bates and Stratton in Attack of the Cybermen.

They died, along with their subplot.

Natasha and Grigory in Revelation.

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best.

The sequence itself is touching and the way he goes out saving the entire universe should have been awesome. Yet due to the dreary and rather alienating nature of the story beforehand and the dodgy way his fall is shot (Hard to believe that this was Peter Grimwade.) makes it an rather anti-climactic end to his 7 year tenure in my opinion.

Indrid Mercury wrote:

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best.

The sequence itself is touching and the way he goes out saving the entire universe should have been awesome. Yet due to the dreary and rather alienating  nature of the story beforehand and the dodgy way his fall is shot (Hard to believe that this was Peter Grimwade.) makes it an rather anti-climactic end to his 7 year tenure in my opinion.

For me the problem with Logopolis as an end to the Fourth Doctor's era, is it seems to instantly undo a huge chunk of his world-saving work in one go. It feels a little less like a respectful tribute/send-off in that regard.

Anne Lewis in RoboCop 3. The only real problem I had with movie was her death scene. It should have happened at the end of the movie rather than thirty odd minutes into it. The sequels really didn't treat her character with any kind of respect which saddens me because she was so good in the original.

Tanmann wrote:

Indrid Mercury wrote:

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best.

The sequence itself is touching and the way he goes out saving the entire universe should have been awesome. Yet due to the dreary and rather alienating  nature of the story beforehand and the dodgy way his fall is shot (Hard to believe that this was Peter Grimwade.) makes it an rather anti-climactic end to his 7 year tenure in my opinion.

For me the problem with Logopolis as an end to the Fourth Doctor's era, is it seems to instantly undo a huge chunk of his world-saving work in one go. It feels a little less like a respectful tribute/send-off in that regard.

Agreed. Also how it was swept under the rug in subsequent episodes bothered me (And this is coming from someone who likes 80's Who).

Indrid Mercury wrote:

Tanmann wrote:

Indrid Mercury wrote:

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best.

The sequence itself is touching and the way he goes out saving the entire universe should have been awesome. Yet due to the dreary and rather alienating  nature of the story beforehand and the dodgy way his fall is shot (Hard to believe that this was Peter Grimwade.) makes it an rather anti-climactic end to his 7 year tenure in my opinion.

For me the problem with Logopolis as an end to the Fourth Doctor's era, is it seems to instantly undo a huge chunk of his world-saving work in one go. It feels a little less like a respectful tribute/send-off in that regard.

Agreed. Also how it was swept under the rug in subsequent episodes bothered me (And this is coming from someone who likes 80's Who).

I love JNT era Who and even I think Logopolis is a boring sack of pretentious bollocks written by someone who should have become a maths teacher instead.

You guys don't know good Who when you see it. Logopolis rules.    

The only reason Image of the Fendahl (and maybe Snakedance) has supplanted Logopolis as my favorite story is because I've seen it so many times now, I don't watch it as often as I used to. (It's not like I was counting, but in all seriousness I'd estimate I've watched Logopolis somewhere between three and four hundred times.)

Kirk is the one that stands out a mile for me as well.
That movie was going so well until the original cast members show up.
They should've just let things be, after The Undiscovered Country.

Re. Logopolis, make a note of this everybody.... I agree with Maxil.

Indrid Mercury wrote:

Tanmann wrote:

Indrid Mercury wrote:

Fendelman wrote:I thought the fourth doctor's regeneration scene in Logopolis was one of the best.

The sequence itself is touching and the way he goes out saving the entire universe should have been awesome. Yet due to the dreary and rather alienating  nature of the story beforehand and the dodgy way his fall is shot (Hard to believe that this was Peter Grimwade.) makes it an rather anti-climactic end to his 7 year tenure in my opinion.

For me the problem with Logopolis as an end to the Fourth Doctor's era, is it seems to instantly undo a huge chunk of his world-saving work in one go. It feels a little less like a respectful tribute/send-off in that regard.

Agreed. Also how it was swept under the rug in subsequent episodes bothered me (And this is coming from someone who likes 80's Who).

Indeed.

For me that was a real sign the show had lost its heart at that point.

The way Adric's death got quickly dismissed in Time-Flight was another.

I almost put Adric. I'm probably one of the few guys that actually liked Adric's character and wished he had stayed on. (Tegan on the other hand ...) But, I thought he did get a well done death scene in Earthshock, and I didn't see a reason to dwell on it in Time-Flight unless they really were going to bring him back. (And who wants to watch an entire episode of Doctor Who about people sitting around and feeling sad? - that's the sort of dreck they put in New Who.)

I don't think they should've dwelt on it, but they definitely should've handled it better and not as dismissively as they did. It would've been easy enough I thought if the whole basis for the Doctor's arrival at Heathrow was Tegan insisting she wanted to go home, because she was upset and wasn't sure she wanted this dangerous life anymore. But then they get caught up in events.

That would've been enough I think, and it seems very short-sighted that they didn't link the two.

Fendelman wrote:s I'd estimate I've watched Logopolis somewhere between three and four hundred times

I've seen Remembrance and Fenric close to that many times. Those stories just never get stale.

I've seen Remembrance quite a few times (tens, but not hundreds). Fenric, I've probably only seen somewhere in the 5-10 times range. I used to not like it, but then changed my mind about it only recently in the past two years.