We were not expecting to gasp or shed a tear watching sitcoms! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most surprising moments on sitcoms that we all needed a minute to collectively recover from. Some of these are pivotal moments, so a spoiler alert is in effect.
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00:00 "Behave yourself or I'm gonna come back and kick your butt."
00:05 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most surprising moments
00:09 on sitcoms that we all needed a minute to collectively recover from.
00:12 Some of these are pivotal moments, so a spoiler alert is in effect.
00:15 We'll only be featuring live-action shows, so even though watching Brian Griffin's
00:19 brush with death was nothing short of shocking, you won't be seeing it on this list.
00:23 "Mom, is Brian gonna be okay?"
00:25 "I don't know, Meg."
00:28 10. Howard's Mom's Death - The Big Bang Theory
00:31 "Your mom having fun in Florida?"
00:33 "She loves it.
00:34 She finally found a place where everyone talks about how sweaty they are."
00:37 This series gave us countless laughs over the years, but those moments included some
00:41 that left us without words.
00:42 One of those happened during the show's eighth season, when Howard's mom passed away.
00:46 She had become a beloved part of the show despite barely making a physical appearance,
00:49 as her yelling banter across the house with her son never failed to make us chuckle.
00:53 "Really?
00:54 Is that what you do when someone knocks?
00:56 Thank you!
00:57 I had no idea!"
00:58 "Hey, buddy, what brings you to my little slice of hell?"
01:05 Carol Ann Sousi, the actress who played her, also died in real life, so we knew her character's
01:09 death was probably inevitable.
01:10 But it still stung just as badly when Howard told his friends the news.
01:14 "That was my aunt.
01:17 Ma took a nap.
01:20 She never woke up."
01:21 9.
01:22 Going to Jail - Seinfeld
01:23 "All right, Beto, out of the car!"
01:24 "I'm about to capture this."
01:25 The finale of this sitcom was as entertaining as it was polarizing.
01:31 No one could deny how fun it was to revisit the oddball characters that had made appearances
01:35 on the show over the years.
01:36 Yet when the verdict came, no one expected Elaine Kramer, George N. Jerry to actually
01:40 get jail time.
01:41 "I can think of nothing more fitting than for the four of you to spend a year removed
01:49 from society."
01:50 After they were found guilty of being criminally indifferent, a hilarious verdict considering
01:54 that's a perfect way to describe a group of friends, we couldn't believe it.
01:58 Seeing the gang we grew to love sitting in a jail cell was definitely a shocking end
02:01 to the series.
02:02 "Haven't we had this conversation before?"
02:03 "You think?"
02:04 "I think we have."
02:05 "Yeah, maybe we have."
02:06 8.
02:07 Jodie's Overdose - Mom
02:08 "He seems terrific, Jodie.
02:09 But he's only been sober a few weeks and you've barely got six months."
02:20 Christy and Bonnie's tales of battling with sobriety amongst a group of others in recovery
02:24 was equal parts side-splitting and enlightening.
02:26 The show didn't shy away from discussing tough topics surrounding drug and alcohol
02:30 use, and Jodie's storyline was a prime example of that.
02:33 "Can I go now?"
02:34 "No one's stopping you, just be smart, okay?"
02:37 "I will."
02:38 Jodie was introduced in season three as Christy sponsored her, and despite her attempts to
02:41 get clean, she ended up overdosing and passed away.
02:44 A lot of the storylines on the show were light-hearted about the dark subject matter with which they
02:48 dealt, but this one showed the absolute darkest side of substance use disorder.
02:52 We hardly knew how to react as we watched Jodie's story play out.
02:56 "Christy, what's happening?"
02:58 "Jodie overdosed."
02:59 "Is she gonna be okay?"
03:04 "She's gone."
03:06 7.
03:07 Cox's Hallucinations - Scrubs
03:09 "With the help of those around you, you'll get through this too."
03:14 This episode pulled the rug out from under viewers in the most gut-wrenching way possible.
03:18 After Dr. Cox lashes out at J.D. following the death of a patient from cardiac arrest,
03:23 they reconcile before heading out to Jack's first birthday party.
03:26 In this same episode, Dr. Cox's close friend and former brother-in-law Ben also makes his
03:30 first appearance in two years.
03:32 "So you still doing the whole kooky guy who brings his camera everywhere thing?"
03:35 "Til the day I die."
03:38 When they arrive at the party, Dr. Cox realizes that they're actually attending Ben's funeral,
03:42 as he was the one who died from cardiac arrest earlier.
03:44 At this moment, it's revealed that Dr. Cox had hallucinated most of the events from the
03:48 episode, and he's finally forced to deal with this tragic loss.
03:51 "Where do you think we are?"
03:55 "Winter.
03:56 Your name is the splinter inside me."
04:01 6.
04:02 Charles' Abuse - Full House
04:03 "Look who's black in the aisles.
04:05 Let's see, two Jennifers and a Stephanie.
04:08 Three people, one brain, no personality."
04:11 The Tanners were a wholesome family that was full of love for one another, but that doesn't
04:15 mean that every family is that way.
04:16 In a season six episode, Stephanie learned that her classmate Charles was being abused
04:20 by his father, and she was beside herself when he didn't come to school one day.
04:24 "My dad never hits me.
04:26 Does yours hit you?"
04:27 "No, just forget it.
04:28 Let's do the assignment.
04:29 But you said you always think of a funny movie.
04:30 Do you get hit a lot?"
04:31 "Look, I didn't mean anything by it.
04:34 Just forget it, okay?
04:35 Let's do the assignment."
04:36 "Okay."
04:37 It was a lesson to all kids that, like the title of the episode suggests, silence is
04:46 not golden.
04:47 She eventually spoke up and Uncle Jesse was able to help, and the entire family learned
04:50 a valuable lesson about doing the right thing.
04:52 "Sweetheart, please believe me.
04:54 You did the right thing."
04:55 "Then why do I feel so lousy?"
04:58 "It's a lousy situation, kid."
05:02 5.
05:03 Eddie Winslow with racist officers - Family Matters
05:05 "Edward, this is your second speeding ticket this year, and it's only February."
05:10 "Late February?
05:11 That wasn't really speeding, Dad.
05:15 That cop was just trying to fill his quota."
05:17 Even though this episode originally aired in the early '90s, the issues tackled within
05:21 it are as relevant today as ever.
05:22 Eddie tells his family about a racial profiling incident with the police.
05:25 He was pulled over for a small traffic violation, but the cop ended up putting him on the ground
05:29 in handcuffs.
05:30 "I asked what the problem was, and one of them told me to shut up.
05:33 Then he made me get out of the car and lie face down.
05:36 Then he cuffed me."
05:37 "That's unusual procedure."
05:39 Although Carl is initially skeptical, he discovers that it's true when he confronts the cops.
05:43 It was a sad and harrowing moment, and it reminded viewers of the challenges faced then
05:47 and now by BIPOC communities.
05:49 "Oh, so what are you saying?
05:51 That black kids aren't allowed in white neighborhoods?"
05:53 "Come on.
05:54 They wouldn't be there unless they were looking for trouble.
05:58 And you better talk to your kid.
05:59 It gave me a lot of lip."
06:01 Number 4.
06:02 Will's Dad Leaves The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
06:04 "When did you get so tall?"
06:06 "Mostly during the 80s."
06:08 Throughout the series, we learn a lot about Will's life and family.
06:11 But it isn't until this episode in the fourth season that we're introduced to Will's estranged
06:15 father, Lou.
06:16 After abandoning Will and his mother when Will was a kid, he reappears unexpectedly
06:20 in an attempt to reconnect by offering to take a trip with Will.
06:23 "Yeah, Uncle Phil, he owns his own trucking company now."
06:25 "Well, one truck, but I am my own boss.
06:29 I'm making a little money."
06:30 "Really?"
06:31 "Yeah."
06:32 "Why didn't you send any back to the wife and child you abandoned?"
06:33 Unsurprisingly to Uncle Phil, Lou ends up bailing and disappointing Will yet again.
06:38 Who could forget the emotional exchange between Will and Uncle Phil as Will deals with his
06:42 father's abandonment while realizing he already has a true father figure in his life?
06:48 "How come you don't want me, man?"
06:52 Number 3.
06:53 Mac Comes Out to His Dad
06:54 It's always sunny in Philadelphia.
06:55 "You said you wanted to tell your dad you were away.
07:00 So now do it."
07:01 This sitcom isn't particularly well-known for its emotional moments, which made this
07:05 one that much more heartbreaking.
07:06 In season 12, Mac finally admits to his friends and de facto family that he's gay, but doesn't
07:11 come out to his father until the following season.
07:13 "No, I think I'm out now.
07:15 Yeah, I'm gay.
07:18 It actually feels pretty good.
07:22 See you guys."
07:23 Mac performs a surprisingly breathtaking dance for his dad that leaves the fictional and
07:26 real-life audience speechless.
07:28 Mac's dad leaves mid-performance, but Frank stays and proclaims that he understands, showing
07:32 that Mac does have a loving paternal figure in his life who accepts him after all.
07:36 Let's just say Frank isn't the only one left in tears by the end of this beautiful
07:39 scene.
07:40 "I get it.
07:41 I get it."
07:48 Number 2.
07:49 It's Actually the Bad Place
07:50 The Good Place
07:51 "Your life on Earth has ended, and you are now in the next phase of your existence in
07:55 the universe."
07:56 "Cool."
08:00 While this show had plenty of twists and turns throughout its unconventional premise, setting,
08:04 and characters, no moment truly left us shocked until this one.
08:07 At the end of the first season, the gang tries to decide who should be sent to the Bad Place,
08:10 and as they're all bickering, Eleanor has a revelation.
08:13 "And then it hit me.
08:16 They're never gonna call a train to take us to the Bad Place.
08:20 They can't.
08:21 Because we're already here."
08:23 They've all been in the Bad Place all along, and this has been a twisted way to torture
08:26 them since the beginning.
08:27 It was a season finale we won't soon forget, complete with a jarring plot twist no one
08:31 saw coming.
08:32 "Sorry.
08:33 So she's right."
08:34 "Yeah, she figured it out."
08:36 Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
08:40 Mateo's Deportation - Superstore
08:42 The Cloud Nine family's efforts are for naught when Mateo is captured by ICE.
09:00 Marshall's Dad's Death - How I Met Your Mother
09:02 Lily shocks Marshall when she breaks the heartbreaking news to him.
09:19 Ross and Rachel break up.
09:21 Friends.
09:22 The friends weren't the only ones left speechless when this couple called it quits.
09:29 Scott's Tots - The Office
09:38 Michael Scott's presumptuous promise fell flat in cringeworthy fashion.
09:58 Grey and Beau separate.
10:00 Black-ish.
10:01 This beloved couple took a break after a tumultuous series of episodes.
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10:34 Plane Crash - M*A*S*H
10:42 M*A*S*H dished out moments of sorrow in equal parts with humorous ones.
10:45 The infamous finale left us with our jaws on the floor when Hawkeye revealed the truth
10:48 about the chicken and the baby.
11:00 But it was the season three finale that left us utterly devastated and completely speechless
11:04 when Colonel Henry Blake was discharged and headed home.
11:07 The most emotional moment comes at the end of the episode when everyone learns that Blake's
11:10 plane has been shot down.
11:12 The sudden passing of this beloved character stuns the audience and characters alike as
11:15 it shows the tragic reality of war.
11:17 It was truly a game-changing moment in television that no one saw coming.
11:32 Which of these sitcom moments shocked you to your core?
11:34 Let us know in the comments.
11:38 Did you enjoy this video?
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11:45 See you next time!
11:47 [music]