Best & Worst Death Scenes in SciFi /Fantasy

[Cat_the_Alien]

WARNING!!!

I must preface this thread with a big, giant SPOILER WARNING. This thread has the potential to include spoilers for every scifi/fantasy show or movie that has been aired or is currently on the air. These include, but are not limited to, SG1 s1-10, Atlantis s1-3, BSG s1-3, Star Wars, all Star Trek series, Heroes, Firefly, Serenity or Farscape (just off the top of my head). If you are not completely up to date on the world of scifi, surprises will be ruined, so turn back now. Otherwise, read on at your own peril...

**********************

What are your favorite death scenes? What are your least fav?

Spoiler:

Favorite:

1. Jadzia Dax - Didn't like Terry Farrell's reasons for leaving DS9, but seeing Worf skulk around the station always brings a tear to my eyes.
2. Kara "Starbuck" Thrace - The explosion left me reeling. Adama's reaction made me cry until the end of the episode. Lee and Anders' left me bawling. I'm still not convinced its true.
3. Yoda - Its Yoda. 'Nuff said.
4. Daniel Jackson - Though not technically a death scene in Meridian, no one at the time knew it wasn't permanent.
5. Aeryn Sun - Old Aeryn dying in old Crichton's arms... he wasn't the only person crying. Of course there was no way it would be permanent, but that didn't make it any less sad.
6. Darth Vader - Luuuuuuke, I am your faaaaaather...
7. John Crichton - 2 Crichtons = too good to last. Luckily there was still one Crichton left. The other Crichton's death seemed a little schmultzy, but it still makes it onto my good list.

Least favorite:

1. Wash - His death struck me as being lame and meaningless. It felt like Joss Whedon just needed to cut one character to save some money, and Wash lost the draw.
2. Carson Beckett - ZOMG! Exploding tumors! That's more in the domain of radioactive zombies and flying bathtowels than a show like Atlantis. And the very next episode, everyone was out and about, acting like nothing had happened.
3. Scott Summers/Cyclops - The first and second X-Men movies rocked. The third one... not so much. When Scott Summers died, it seemed random and ill-conceived.
4. Jean Grey - Again, not technically a death scene, but I'll include it on the list. After all, Jean Grey, as we knew her, died. Her death was cheesy, and her "resurrection" was terrible.
5. Trip Tucker - Snore. A lame scene, a lame series.

**********************

Which make your list?

[Commander Ivanova]

Ok, just a few Stargate ones that come to mind.

Spoiler:

Faves: Janet, obviously, the whole of Heroes I and II was fantastically well done and moving.
Also Daniel in Meridian, with mention in dispatches going to Jacob/Selmak, Martouf and Sha're.
Least faves: Nirrti, felt there should've been more fight in her. Kolya, pointless and premature waste of a good character. Carson, ditto.

[kharn the betrayer]

spoilers for SGA,Buffy,Angel,Star Wars, X3

Spoiler:

Best:

Doyle-tragic and very heoric but poor doyle was only in 9 episodes T_T
Buffy's mom-do I need an explanation
Wesley-the scene with illyria was depressing and awsome at the same time (god I went to nea rshock to laugthing a tthe way Illyria killed that sorcerer)
Darth Vader-Classic heroic death
Ms Callender(sp?)-the way Angelus broke into Giles home and laid her out on the bed like that with the rose pettal was just mind wentching...good Angel is a a sadist when he is evil


Worst:
Carson's not only was the premise moronic(exploding tumors) but that cheesy ass explosion that engulfed him was...
Cyclopsk I may hate cyclops as a character but they shouldent have killed him off

[Team SG-1*save the show*]

FROM STARGATE

Spoiler:

best:

janet fraiser- her death was heroic. she died doing her duties during a battle with the goa'uld. she also had a proper funeral. the episodes heroes pt 1 and pt2 were brilliant.
daniel jackson - sad but showed the real character of daniel jackson. putting others first
Netan-beat him at his own game. (he hired a bounty hunter to kill SG-1 but SG-1 then hired the bounty hunter to kill Netan)

Worse:

Carson beckett- exploding tumours!!!? what a stupid way to go. the episode didnt relate to anything in the pegasus galaxy or atlantis. the episode was made specially to kill off carson.
Koyla-he was killed way to easily. should have kept him and got rid of the asurans (replicators).

[Trek_Girl42]

Buffy/Angel/Firefly/Serenity/Star Wars/Deep Space Nine/TNG

Spoiler:

Best:
Joyce Summers: Dear god, once that episode started there was no recovering all through that one, and the next.
The Gentlemen: ya can't go wrong with exploding heads.
Wesley: heartbreaker, Illyria rocked.
Fred: again, tragic heartbreaker.
Wash: blew the stakes through the roof- a death of necessity.
Obi Wan Kenobi: classic
Janet Frasier: the perfect death for her
Doyle: great character arc, which his death completed
Buffy: The Gift death- truly beautiful.
Crow: defining moment for Mal.

Worst:
Jadzia Dax: not a bad death, but was very anti-climatic.
Tasha Yar: need I say anything?

And I know I'll think of others for the worst list after.

[Elles]

I think I like this thread.

Spoiler:

Bestiths
Jadzia Dax- Made me want to cry... and I hate crying... but it was well done.
John J. Sheridan- Oh all right... "Look! The sun's coming up!" is a little cheesy... but you've gotta love the guy...
Yoda- That's the way I wanna die. Simply disappearing and knowing that the future is brighter because Luke's with me. No messy body for family to worry about.
Londo/G'Kar- I just like it when prophecies are fulfilled. I like writers who say they will do something... and they actually do it.

Worstith-
Kolya- First off, I like Kolya's character a lot. If I were going to die, I wouldn't want it to ressemble some scene out of one of those old western movies where the winner is the one to get to their gun first... I mean, come on!
Beckett- Exploding tumors? I think that spontaneous combustion would've worked better...

[cshawzye]

From what pops into my head right away (spoilers for Farscape and Stargate)

Spoiler:

Best:
Circhton, Aeryn and Zhaan. - I'm very impressed with the way that Farscape handled death scenes. Now mind you two of the three characters were still on the show after their supposed deaths, but the mere fact that each death had such an emotional impact, even those in which I knew the character wasn't off the show says a lot to me. Zhaan's death also had far-reaching consequences in the story-telling which gave it a lot more impact.

Worst:
Carson Beckett. - Not only did they kill off my favorite character in the series but they did it with exploding tumours?!?! The sentiment of the episode wasn't all that bad. In fact, it's a rather poignant one they were trying to get across. However, it didn't come across the screen at all. Instead of having meaning or developing anything his death just becomes a meaningless failed stunt to "shake things up"

[Ouroboros]

Nothing can compare in the worst category to how they killed off captain Kirk in star trek generations. Here's a beloved character who's been around for literally decades, saved the universe god knows how many times, faced death so many times they're on a first name basis and how does he finally meet his end...

He falls off a bridge.

[Elles]

Spoiler:

Nothing can compare in the worst category to how they killed off captain Kirk in star trek generations. Here's a beloved character who's been around for literally decades, saved the universe god knows how many times, faced death so many times they're on a first name basis and how does he finally meet his end...

He falls off a bridge.

OMMT... I remember feeling especially unsatisfied with that...

[Gwin]

Worst Death Scenes

Spoilers for Alien 3/Stargate

Spoiler:

Hicks and Newt. I was sooo pissed when I watched the beginning of the movie. The whole point of saving Newt in "Aliens", the survival of Hicks, became so pointless. As far as I know at least Michael Biehn didn't want to appear in the next movie, but nevertheless, after all the worries it was something of a WTF-Experience.

Mentioned in nearly every post, but can't be mentioned often enough: Carson
No, no, no, that was wrong on so many levels.

Kolya
Loved the character, but this whole High Noon situation was so....lame.

Best Death Scenes

Farscape/Stargate/Battlestar Galactica

Spoiler:

TalynJohn
I cry every damn time I see it. The hardest part is, that it is impossible to think...well, there is another one. Through Season 3 both (TalynJoh and MoyaJohn) had become independant characters with different stories and different changes. And it was so unfair that the one happy in love with his dream girl, who was freed of Harvey, had to die.
" Don't worry about me... I've never felt better."
*sniff*
He got beautiful last words

Aeryn
This scene is the definition of angst. I sat at the edge of my seat while Aeryn screamed and was sucked down under water while John fought against Harvey. And the horror in his face when he saw what he had done.... *shudders*

Zhaan
Her final speech and with what grace and firmness she met her death...it blew me away. And that she had given her life to bring Aeryn back, giving John and Aeryn the chance for a future, while denieing it to herself and Stark...it made it more than a sacrifice.

Janet Frasier
As someone who can't stand Dr. Lam (who I knew before Janet) I hated to see someone go I really liked (what bits I had seen of her before), letting someone follow I don't like. But it was well done, nothing pointless, no freaky ideas and damn it, now that I'm on my way through the earlier seasons, I bet it'll be harder when I watch Heroes a second time. She is a wonderful character.

Kara Thrace
Some say it was a stupid death, that she deserved the death of a hero, but I loved the way she met her fate. And its weird and I can't explain it, but I would have been annoyed if she had died in a heroic mission/fight/whatever.

[Trek_Girl42]

Best Death Scenes

Farscape/Stargate/Battlestar Galactica

Spoiler:

TalynJohn
I cry every damn time I see it. The hardest part is, that it is impossible to think...well, there is another one. Through Season 3 both (TalynJoh and MoyaJohn) had become independant characters with different stories and different changes. And it was so unfair that the one happy in love with his dream girl, who was freed of Harvey, had to die.
" Don't worry about me... I've never felt better."
*sniff*
He got beautiful last words

Aeryn
This scene is the definition of angst. I sat at the edge of my seat while Aeryn screamed and was sucked down under water while John fought against Harvey. And the horror in his face when he saw what he had done.... *shudders*

Zhaan
Her final speech and with what grace and firmness she met her death...it blew me away. And that she had given her life to bring Aeryn back, giving John and Aeryn the chance for a future, while denieing it to herself and Stark...it made it more than a sacrifice.

Janet Frasier
As someone who can't stand Dr. Lam (who I knew before Janet) I hated to see someone go I really liked (what bits I had seen of her before), letting someone follow I don't like. But it was well done, nothing pointless, no freaky ideas and damn it, now that I'm on my way through the earlier seasons, I bet it'll be harder when I watch Heroes a second time. She is a wonderful character.

Kara Thrace
Some say it was a stupid death, that she deserved the death of a hero, but I loved the way she met her fate. And its weird and I can't explain it, but I would have been annoyed if she had died in a heroic mission/fight/whatever.

Spoiler:

I absolutly agree on Starbuck's death- I thought that entire episode was wonderfully executed- and we all know this isn't the end of her story.

[the_dark_light]

(Spoilers for both stargates, seaquest, 24, Star Trek, BSG)

Best Deaths:

Spoiler:

George Mason: (24) Knowing he was going to die, he made it mean something
Mr Spock: (Wrath of Khan) The needs of the many
Data: (ST Nemesis) He finally shows what it means to be human
Kat: (BSG)
Daniel Jackson: (SG1) That was a real tearjerker

Worst Deaths:

Spoiler:

Carson Becket: Great character, killed for no reason
Kolya: What a waste! (Terrible ep)
Lt Jim Brody: (Seaquest 2032) Well that was rather bland!

Drifting off remit here, but a few general shows that must be mentioned:

Spoiler:

Dr Mark Green: (er) Come on! It must be mentioned! (Very sad ep)

[firefly827347]

I've not seen all of Farscape and Battlestar Galactica yet so here are some that come to mind.
Spoilers for Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1, Star Wars, X3, Stealth, Serenity

Spoiler:

Best:
Janet Fraiser (SG-1) - It was such a moving way to end the life of a character. Cried for at least half an hour.
Daniel Jackson (SG-1) - His 'death' in Meridian was really well done and the thing at the end with Jack was really sweet.
Yoda (Star Wars) - Really sweet. Makes me tear up every time.
Darth Vader (Star Wars) - Yay. The evil Lord is finally at peace with his son.

Worst:
Wash (Serenity) - I cried buckets at this, and it was a completely pointless death. He was one of my favourite characters and it was a terrible ending to the character.
Carson (SGA) - The slow-mo explosion was a bit too cheesy for the death of such an important character.
Kolya (SGA) - Although I really despised the character, the way he died was rather stupid.
Grodin (SGA) - Again, bit of a sucky death.
Padme (Star Wars) - It was so bad I almost laughed...
Mace Windu (Star Wars) - Not the best way for one of the best Jedi ever to die.
Scott Summers (X3) - For most of the movie I thought he had just disappeared for a while. The way they portrayed his death was stupid, and meaningless IMO.
Professor Xavier (X3) - Died waaay too early in the movie.
Henry (Stealth) - Didn't like the scene.

[Cat_the_Alien]

the_dark_light, funny you should mention the scene you did, in your third spoiler tag. I also thought of that scene when I was thinking of this thread, but I didn't mention it because my post was already rather long.

IMO, one of the best death "scenes" on TV, period. So poignant, makes me cry every time I see it.

[ladyjanus]

Rather thatn best and worst -

The ones that made me most emotional (shock, despair, proud but sorrowful, or even jumping up and down andd sreaming 'What the f---?!')

Cat's death on BSG - proud but sorrowful

Daniel on SG1 - pure sorrow
bsg finale spoiler

Spoiler:

Starbuck - Despair, cursing the gods

Aryn and Crichton - WTF?!!! didin't know at the time it would be all right eventually

which leads into D'Argo - this one just wrecked me. I bawled like a baby

ladyjanus