Alert, Alert!: Disturbing TV Moments

[DollEyes]

 Here is the thread for the Most Disturbing TV Moments, such as the "Red Wedding" from Game Of Thrones, in which a whole wedding party was killed, including Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn and even his pregnant wife at the behest of the Lannisters, who are the Stark's enemies.  As someone who has never read the books, that scene not only freaked me out, at the risk of aging myself, it reminded me of the infamous "Moldavian Massacre" from Dynasty.

 

  Post your picks for the most shocking, horrifying and downright disgusting TV moments here-if you dare.

[Athena]

I've put a spoiler tag on this topic. Disturbing TV moments tend to be A-bomb spoilers. Thank you. Back to your regularly scheduled snark.

[Spartan Girl]

If I had to pick one of the many horrifying scenes on Breaking Bad, it would be Todd gunning down Andrea.  The minute she opened the door to see him standing outside, I screamed, "RUN ANDREA RUN!"  And I kept on screaming right along with Jesse, hoping against hope she'd be spared...oh my God, I seriously can't watch that scene ever again.

 

Second the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones.  Talisa's stabbing was especially brutal.  The Purple Wedding was disturbing as well.  As much as Joffrey's death was long overdue, I did not care for the sight of him gagging and turning purple. 

[Princess Sparkle]

It's disturbing in a different way, but the Law and Order episode "Indifference" is one of the most disturbing hours of television I've ever seen.  It was a first season episode based on the Lisa Steinberg case, and was close enough to the actual events that it was the only time in the show's history that they had a disclaimer above and beyond their normal one.  There is a shot of the mother, and you can clearly tell she's about to burn her child right before the police get there, and it's just one of the most disturbing things I've ever seen.

 

And while it's one of my favorite episodes, The X-Files episode "Home" is one of the most unsettling of the series. I'm shuddering just thinking about it. 

Edited July 8, 2014 by Princess Sparkle

[DittyDotDot]

And while it's one of my favorite episodes, The X-Files episode "Home" is one of the most unsettling of the series. I'm shuddering just thinking about it. 

 

I don't think I've ever actually made it all the way through that episode. Disturbing and unsettling is putting it mildly.

[wallflower75]

The entire "Ozymandias" episode of Breaking Bad.  Don't get me wrong, it's a brilliant episode all across the board, but I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since it aired.

[The Crazed Spruce]

The human mushroom farm from Hannibal. Just as disgusting as it sounds.

[DittyDotDot]

Might I add the human totem on Hannibal, as well. Or the human mosaic, or really just about any of the murder tableaus on Hannibal.

Edited July 13, 2014 by DittyDotDot

[QTBlueMoon]

1st season of Deadwood, when Powers Boothe had Veronica Mars (I know that's not her name, but that's who I saw) and her brother beaten to a pulp, then killed.  Just brutal.

 

Season 5 24 - Edgar's death scene brings a tear to my eye every time.

[Oosala]

This was mentioned a lot in the Scarred for Life thread on TWOP.  The move The Day After.  Nuclear holocaust.  It was absolutely terrifying.  I will never forgot the bright flash of light in that living room when the nuclear bomb detonated.  Also when the little boy had radiation sickness and his mom set him in the sink.  If you saw the movie, you know what happened.  OK, I'm freaking out now.  This one gave me nightmares and I would NEVER watch it again.

[Rick Kitchen]

Second the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones.  Talisa's stabbing was especially brutal.  The Purple Wedding was disturbing as well.  As much as Joffrey's death was long overdue, I did not care for the sight of him gagging and turning purple. 

 

I loved it.  The little shit.

[Ujio]

One of the most disturbing episodes (of all-time) for me is Home from The X-Files.  I still shudder when I think of the scene where Mrs. Peacock was revealed for the first time!  Aaaughghghghghgh!!!

[AltLivia]

Since I just saw it for the first time, Fringe S3 episode Marionette. The macabre bit of puppetry/ballet. And when the villain of the week reanimated the girl only to realize that she didn't have any real brain function. It just made me really ill.

 

And sure, let's go with The X Files Home is high-ranking on the disturbing scale, but a few other episodes got me. Terrible with titles, though, so here goes. In the end of an episode you see Krycek oozing black oil from his face, just panicked as all get out. And you realize he's locked in a room at the end of a dark hall. In a silo.

 

S4 Paper Hearts was brilliant but disturbing. Mulder dreams of Samantha and, just as he's about to rescue her, she disappears from his arms and a sign lights up, reading "bye - bye."

 

Another episode, s6 I'm sure, where Mulder's brain is (as a result of alien debris or weird genetics or both) working faster than his body can contend with. Thus he's in an asylum, combative and strange. He attacks Skinner but passes him a note  scrawled on the tag from his hospital gown. Reading "help me". So on some level he understands what's happening to him, and can't stop it.  That gives me serious shivers.

Edited July 18, 2014 by ScullyInApt42

[spaceytraci1208]

I loved it. The little shit.

Ditto...I giggled

[JayKay]

"Home" was the first episode of The X-Files I ever saw. And then for years whenever I heard the theme song start, I'd rush to change the channel and a few times turned the tv off completely if I didn't make it in time. Still ranks high as disturbing.

[Sandman87]

There was an episode of Lassie...I don't know which one because I was only about 3 or 4 at the time...where a little boy was trapped in a water tank of some sort and water started flooding in. Instant crying and wetting myself. After that I couldn't watch Lassie again.

[RubyWoo72]

First or second episode of Tyrant, where Jamal manually checks to verify his future daughter-in-law's uh, purity. He's a no-good MF.

[Kanako]

I still clearly remember the moment Sylvia got raped by a masked man on Little House on the Prairie.  I was 9.  It was the first time the program (which had been my favorite show for several years at that time) dealt head on with the topic of something so violent and sexual, and it shook me and my (little innocent) world.  It was not a graphic rape scene, but it was so disturbing (to me -- back then, at least) that it traumatized me for months.

[BatmanBeatles]

There was this episode of The X-Files where a guy could regenerate limbs. The scene where he opens his mouth and another head emerges made me scream out loud.

[GreekGeek]

I avoid a lot of the horror series, because I really don't want to see most of the things on them. But there have been a few moments that have stuck with me:

 

"Guy Walks into an Advertising Agency" on Mad Men. 

 

Any vomiting scene on ER.

 

Do news broadcasts count? Remember that story about the chimp who went berserk and attacked his owner's friend? There was a "one year later" story about her. I won't go into detail; suffice it to say that he mutilated her horribly.

 

A couple of Twilight Zone episodes, notably "The Lonely" and "The Midnight Sun."

 

Max Gail getting possessed by an alien in "The Aliens are Coming." I don't remember much except his eyes turning weird.

 

I avoided Little House on the Prairie because I couldn't handle the "Mary Goes Blind" plotline. That show had some disturbing stuff for a "wholesome family show."

 

A lot of American Gothic, most notably an episode titled "Meet the Beetles."

 

 

 

 

[Ujio]

Actually, speaking of Little House on the Prairie, the scene of Alice Garvey banging on the windows while she's engulfed in flames was quite disturbing...  Still gives me the heebie-jeebies...

 

I have another one.  The original Alfred Hitchcock Presents -- The Final Escape episode.  I literally screamed at the last scene.  My heart races just thinking about it.

[DollEyes]

  Another disturbing and heartbreaking TV moment was Matt Bomer's performance in the last 45 minutes of The Normal Heart, the HBO movie based on the play about how the rise of AIDS in the 1980s affected a group of gay men in New York City. It was horrfying to see how AIDS would reduce Felix, (Bomer's character) to a thin, weak and dying shadow of his gorgeous, smart and strong former self, especially during the shower scene when he's naked, covered in lesions and can barely stand. If Bomer doesn't win an Emmy for his performance, then there's no justice in the TV world, as far as I'm concerned. 

 

 

I've put a spoiler tag on this topic. Disturbing TV moments tend to be A-bomb spoilers. Thank you. Back to your regularly scheduled snark. 

 

  Sorry. The only reason I didn't spoiler-tag the title was because IMO, if if it's been broadcast, it's not a spoiler. I'm not trying to be sarcastic by any means, but it seems like everything's a spoiler these days,  whether it's been shown or not. 

 

Second the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones Talisa's stabbing was especially brutal. The Purple Wedding was disturbing as well. As much as Joffrey's death was long overdue, I did not care for the sight of him gagging and turning purple.

 

  I loved it. The little shit.

 

Ditto...I giggled

 

 I sang the chorus from Chicago's "Cell Block Tango": "He had it comin'/ He had it comin'/ He only had himself to blame...."

[BatmanBeatles]

Might I add the human totem on Hannibal, as well. Or the human mosaic, or really just about any of the murder tableaus on Hannibal.

Which is why I will never watch this show. Ever.

[TaraS1]

My answer to this will always and forever be when Sharon Gless's character on Nip/Tuck killed a man by literally stuffing him like a teddy bear.  Few things on TV have ever disturbed me to the point where it stuck with me for a long, long time afterwards, but that did. 

[BatmanBeatles]

The theme music for Unsolved Mysteries put fear in my heart.

[RubyWoo72]

The theme music for Unsolved Mysteries put fear in my heart.

I thought I was weird for this. (And I probably *am* weird, but this ain't the reason. Yay!) As a teenager in the 80's, I still couldn't watch that show before bed. The music was spooky as all getout, to me. And then Robert Stack's great but serious voice on top of that? Nope. Couldn't do it.

[BatmanBeatles]

Yeah, his voice doesn't help. It's the oposite of Morgan Freeman's.

[RubyWoo72]

The little harp/piano/guitar chord to introduce segments on Cold Case Files used to creep me out, too. There were only 3 notes, but still.

[cpcathy]

In Search Of's theme music and Leonard Nimoy's voice always kind of freaked me out. Not sure why reruns in the 70's were always paired on my local station with The Muppet Show!

[BatmanBeatles]

The Yip-Yip aliens from Sesame Street scared me when i was a kid.

[Kanako]

Another disturbing TV moment from childhood: The Twilight Zone's episode "It's a Good Life" -- the jack-in-the-box scene (even though it was just a silhouette). 

 

Speaking of themes/opening sequences, the distorted face of a guy that appears early into the opening sequence of The X-Files used to scare the cr@p out of me.  I'd always avert my eyes (or fast forward the opening sequence) just to avoid it.

[RubyWoo72]

Does anyone remember the Tales from the Darkside theme? ::shiver::

[Aquarius]

Does anyone remember the Tales from the Darkside theme? ::shiver::

 

. . . a place that is just as real, but not as brightly lit . . . Ack!

[BatmanBeatles]

 

Speaking of themes/opening sequences, the distorted face of a guy that appears early into the opening sequence of The X-Files used to scare the cr@p out of me.

It's not good to watch this alone in the dark.

[spaceytraci1208]

Does anyone remember the Tales from the Darkside theme? ::shiver::

Terrifying, and absolutely perfect for the show. Still makes me uneasy. For some reason the theme song from The Hitchhiker used to creep me out too...

 

On a more current note, the season 6 finale of Sons of Anarchy left me unable to sleep well that night. Gemma gotta die...

Edited July 25, 2014 by spaceytraci1208

[BatmanBeatles]

Growing up in the 80's and 90's, all claymation scared me.

[TheGreenKnight]

I know the Sons of Anarchy season 6 finale and the Red Wedding on Game of Thrones were both moments that stick out in my mind. I'm not even a real follower of those shows, I just happened to see them while someone else was watching and they were very sick/disturbing. Especially Sons of Anarchy, for whatever reason. I remember wondering how anyone can root for these characters when they're all murderers?

Edited July 26, 2014 by TheGreenKnight

[bref]

St. Elsewhere. Sometime during my formative years. Mark Harmon's character is having sex with some random he picked up, at a beach house if I remember correctly (WHY do these details stay in my mind, WHYYYYYY). She is astride him, he has his eyes closed, she opens her mouth and removes a razor blade that she had concealed there and slashes his face with it. I never watched that show again, and i LOVED that show.

Edited July 27, 2014 by bref

[BatmanBeatles]

The ad for The Strain make me want to retch.

[BatmanBeatles]

This teaser for American Horror Story

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shIZH4GnQT0

 

Don't watch this alone in the dark or if you have a weak heart or bladder.

[truthaboutluv]

Just found this thread and hands down for me is the episode of Hannibal where Hannibal got the guy to cut up his face and feed his skin to Will's dogs. That show is a complete mind-fuck but after sitting through every other episode, I thought nothing could phase me. I was wrong.

Edited September 5, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[Sandman87]

If you're looking for a reliable way to be traumatized by TV on a regular basis, you don't need to look any farther than Animal Cops, or any similar show. I learned pretty quickly to change the channel whenever one of those is on.

[Guest]

I just got around to watching the season 2 premiere of Sleepy Hollow.  Note that I have never found anything about this show creepy or disturbing...until now.

Headless walks in, he's taking of his jacket.  He comes back into frame, no shirt and he's ripped. And he has no head.  And then he looks at Ichabod's wife and he has no head.  In all the times the Headless Horseman has supposed to be menacing, he hasn't been.  Now he's doing something completely mundane and normal and its the creepiest thing I've ever seen on this show.  And it's not because I fear for Ichabod's wife.  I just find it creepy as hell that the Headless Horseman does normal stuff.  Its a thousand times creepier than him popping out of the shadows to menace the heroes.  That and they are using an actor that probably does a lot of work on the covers of romance novels as the body of the Headless Horseman.

[psychoticstate]

I have another one.  The original Alfred Hitchcock Presents -- The Final Escape episode.  I literally screamed at the last scene.  My heart races just thinking about it.

 

 

I never saw the original but I did see the remake in the mid-80s and I still remember this episode.  It freaked me out so much I think it's why I have no desire to be buried.  Ever. 

 

In Search Of's theme music and Leonard Nimoy's voice always kind of freaked me out.

 

 

Glad I'm not alone in this.  I was freaked out by it too.

 

Portions of Season 1 and 2 of American Horror Story scared the bejeebus out of me.  Wouldn't watch the show live - - would only watch it off the DVR when it was bright and sunny out.

 

Still traumatized by what happened to Opie on Sons of Anarchy.  Damn you, Kurt Sutter.

[BatmanBeatles]

RIP Ma Petite. We hardly knew ye.

[Beezel]

Regarding AHS Freakshow, I would vote

Twisty's mouth. Loved the reveals about the character, but still, never going to unseen that. 

[Bruinsfan]

Growing up in the 80's and 90's, all claymation scared me.

Can't imagine why...

[DowntonStabby]

This was mentioned a lot in the Scarred for Life thread on TWOP. The move The Day After. Nuclear holocaust. It was absolutely terrifying. I will never forgot the bright flash of light in that living room when the nuclear bomb detonated. Also when the little boy had radiation sickness and his mom set him in the sink. If you saw the movie, you know what happened. OK, I'm freaking out now. This one gave me nightmares and I would NEVER watch it again.

Ah, yes, The Day After. I was too young to watch it (like, 2!) when it initially aired, but I caught it many years later on cable (can't remember which channel--perhaps the History Channel?), and holy fuck! Disturbing as hell!

Also, that Six Feet Under episode in which David is driving the van at gunpoint throughout the episode and, at some point while this was going on, forced to smoke crack cocaine. And piled on top of why I found this disturbing was feeling the character's mental anguish through my TV.

[Guest]

Growing up in the 80's and 90's, all claymation scared me.

 

I don't whether to thank you or curse you for reminding me about Celebrity Deathmatch.  Equal parts disturbing moments and funny as hell.  I thank you for the snark and curse you for the amount of my day I'm probably going to waste watching the old matches.

 

[bmoore4026]

I have quite a few, but one that sticks out in my  head is the beating/stabbing scene from A Cry for Help: The Tracey Thurman Story, a TV movie starring Nancy McKeon.

 

Does anyone else know what I'm talking about?

Edited November 27, 2014 by bmoore4026