TV character deaths that we won't forget anytime soon

“Breaking Bad” had many notable deaths, including to the main character Walter White. And yet, no death packed the punch of Gus Fring. No, it’s not surprising the Chicken Man died. It’s how it played out. After being bombed by Walt and Hector Salamanca, we see Gus walk out of Hector’s room. It’s only then that we see the reality, which is half of Gus’s face is missing, and he’s not long for the world.

Chuckles is a very tertiary character on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” And yet, he’s at the center of perhaps the most-famous episode of the show, “Chuckles Bites the Dust.” Chuckles is killed by an elephant when dressed like a peanut, which garners laughs from everybody but Mary. She won’t give into the gallows humor. Unfortunately, all this pent up need for release happens at exactly the wrong time: Chuckles’s funeral.

Even if you have never seen “MASH,” you probably are aware of the death of Colonel Henry Blake. There is an iconic monologue in the show when the plane that Blake was on is shot down that is maybe the indelible moment of one of the iconic sitcoms of all time. There were plenty of laughs on “MASH,” but a show about war couldn’t avoid the harsh realities.

Omar dished out plenty of death himself on "The Wire", including being partially responsible for the death of Stringer Bell. However, Omar’s own death is a truly jarring one. He’s seemingly just making a simple transaction at a store, when a small child, not yet even a teenager, guns him down. Why? Because he’s Omar, and there’s street cred in that.

It’s not so much the actual death of Bobby Ewing, scion of the Ewing family on “Dallas,” that gets him on this list. It’s the fact he didn’t stay dead. Patrick Duffy decided he wouldn’t mind coming back to the primetime soap, but how do you bring a dead man back? Well, you have him show up in a shower and declare everything that had happened in the recent episodes of the show merely a dream sequence. It’s one of the biggest take backs in TV history.

“Mad Men” is somewhat rare for an adored drama in that it’s not terribly violent. It’s not populated by gangsters, mobsters, or criminals. And yet, it gave us a few deaths that pack a much. None does that more than the death of Lane Pryce, who hangs himself in the office after being caught embezzling.

Just because a death is memorable doesn’t mean people are happy about it. For a show filled with death, and zombies, “The Walking Dead” rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way with the death of the beloved Glenn. For starters, there was a cliffhanger about who Negan, the newly introduced big bad, actually killed. Then, it turned out he brutally beat Glenn to death. It all felt cheap, and a lot of longtime fans were turned off for good by this particular death.

Tony Soprano killed a lot of people on "The Sopranos", or at least had them killed. But his own nephew and protégé Christopher? It was not necessarily an easy decision for Tony, one assumes, but in his mind Christopher’s unpredictability and drug issues made him a threat to his empire. When Christopher crashes a car with the two of them inside it’s the last straw for Tony, who decides to suffocate his nephew in the moment.

“Game of Thrones” is defined by brutal deaths (and misplaced Starbucks cups). The first big one, though, was Ned Stark. Sure, maybe the fact he was played by Sean Bean should have been a hint. That being said, in many ways Ned feels like the main character when “Game of Thrones” begins. Then he’s beheaded before the first season is even over.

Is it grim to have a child on this list? We suppose, but at least Kenny has proven quite resilient. The orange parka clad denizen of “South Park” has dies countless deaths, often of a extremely violent variety. Despite constantly seeing his friend die, Stan is still usually stunned enough to exclaim, “Oh my god! They killed Kenny!”

Charlie Sheen was raking in big bucks, and big ratings, on “Two and a Half Men.” Then, his behavior got, shall we say, difficult. Eventually, Chuck Lorre had enough. He decided to write Sheen, and his character with the same first name, off the show. Lorre didn’t exactly do it subtly either. First, it is said that he is killed by a train in Paris. Then, in the series finale it turns out he’s alive and he returns to the house he used to live in with his brother Alan. At this point a helicopter drops a piano on his head. No, seriously.

When the original run of “Roseanne” ended, we got a surprise death in Dan, who we find out had a heart attack and that the final season was all a fantasy of Rosanne’s. Of course, when they got the greenlight for  a reboot they had to retcon that and bring Dan back to life. John Goodman is a big draw, after all. Then, Roseanne Barr got in trouble in real life for making racist remarks on Twitter. Instead of ending the “Roseanne” reboot, they wrote Roseanne off the show, saying she had died from an opiate overdose. The show was rebranded as “The Conners” and it’s still going.

There’s nothing like a surprise death to give a drama a bit of pop, especially in the social media era. If you have an actor who wants to leave a show, so much the better. Josh Charles was looking for a little change of pace after years on “The Good Wife,” and so they turned his exit into a massive event. Will was shot and killed by his own client in the courtroom during the fifth season, though he did return in a couple of dream sequences.

We don’t talk about “House of Cards” as much these days as we did once upon a time, for multiple reasons. However, there is one moment that still resonates, and it doesn’t involve an over-the-top Southern accent. Zoe’s death comes out of the blue and is swift and brutal, as Kate Mara’s character is pushed in front of a subway train.

“Downton Abbey” was a show about rich people and loves lost and found, but even the landed gentry of old-timey England couldn’t avoid tragedy. Especially when an actor wants to leave a show, like, right now. Dan Stevens may be best known as the star of FX’s “Legion” now, but he was once Matthew Crawley on “Downton Abbey” until his character died somewhat uneventfully in a car accident. Fans did not appreciate it.

A few characters have died on “The Simpsons” over the years. Heck, Scratchy dies all the time, although he is a cartoon cat to be fair. The most-famous death of the bunch, though, has to be Maude Flanders’s. That’s in part because it felt pretty cheap. Voice actor Maggie Roswell left the show, and so her character of Maude was killed by being accidentally shot by a t-shirt cannon that Homer egged on, causing her to fall from the rafters to the ground below.

“Seinfeld” was not exactly an uplifting show, even as a comedy, giving it’s “No hugging, no learning” policy. Perhaps its most-pointed moment came when it decided to kill off George’s fiancé Susan. She dies licking poison envelopes that George had picked out to save money. He also seems kind of relieved that he doesn’t have to marry her. “Seinfeld” could get dark, but this was its darkest moment.

Rosalind Shays was the main antagonist on “L.A. Law” written so broad that had she had a mustache she would have twirled it. Her death, given that fact, was fitting. The ruthless attorney turns from a conversation she’s having to get into the elevator, only for there to be no elevator there. Yes, Rosalind Shays fell down an elevator shaft to her death.

Reed Diamond, who played Crowley, was listed as a main cast member on “The Shield.” In the first episode, he’s the new guy on Vic Mackey’s team. However, he’s also an informant, and Mackey is not a clean cop. Vic then decides to shoot Terry, killing him. It was all a ruse, and somebody we thought would be a main character died in the first episode.

People by and large hated how “Dexter” ended, but many people enjoyed the season where Dexter faces off with The Trinity Killer, played by John Lithgow. While Dexter does manage to kill Trinity, he isn’t able to do it quite in time. It turns out that, before his death, Trinity managed to kill Dexter’s wife Rita.

You probably know Tracy better as “The Mother” from “How I Met Your Mother.” For the bulk of the show, she is merely talked about, and isn’t a regular fixture until the ninth and final season, where she’s played by Cristin Milioti. Of course, in the end we realize that the story being told to the children is about how Ted had met their now-dead mother, as Tracy dies in the series finale. Oh, and then it turns out that all Ted wanted was for his kids to sign off on him going after Robin. It’s a little bit of a dud ending.

Marissa, played by Mischa Barton, had all sorts of adventures on “The O.C.” This includes a tumultuous love affair with Ryan Atwood, Ben McKenzie’s character. Ryan and Marissa are on their way to the airport so that she can take off to Greece, but her drunken ex Kevin drivers them off the road, causing the car to flip several times. Ryan survives, but Marissa does not.

Justice for Barb! Many people have died in “Stranger Things,” but the first death that really hit us was Barb, best friend of Nancy. She is left alone when Nancy decides to stay at a party with Steve, leaving Barb to be eaten by the Demogorgon. Barb was not around long, but her loss was still felt.

Josiah Bartlet’s executive secretary Mrs. Landingham has the respect of just about everybody on "The West Wing". Even the President calls her “Mrs. Landingham,” and considers her something of a confidante and sounding board. As such, when she is killed by a drunk driver in the second season it throws him into disarray. Other secretaries will come and go, but they don’t get the same respect as “Mrs. Landingham.”

Barry, Bill Hader’s character in “Barry,” is tired of being a hitman for hire. He wants to put his killing behind him, become an actor, and spend time with his new girlfriend Sally. Unfortunately, his acting teacher, Gene Cousineau, is dating a police detective named Janice Moss. She doesn’t care if Barry wants to turn over a new leaf. He’s a killer, and he has to pay for his crimes. Pushed into a corner, Barry reverts to what he has done his entire adult life. He shoots Janice and hides her body away, trying to get back on with his life. Further notable deaths were to follow, unsurprisingly.