6. NCIS - Mike Franks
I'm pretty sure I'm one of only a few people my age who watch this show, but I've always had a special place in my heart for "NCIS," it being one of the few procedurals I still like. That's why when gruff old-timer Mike Franks bit the dust, I was saddened. While main character Leroy Jethro Gibbs seems to keep it all together in front of his team, there was a time when he himself was still a "probie," and that's where Mike Franks came in. Franks enlisted Gibbs into NCIS and taught him much of what he knew before he left. Essentially, Franks was to Gibbs as what Gibbs is to smart-mouthed Tony. History repeats itself. Franks showed up to help the NCIS team occasionally, usually with cases that had a hand with in the past. He even lost a finger fighting some bad guys who were trying to kill him to get to Gibbs. Still, Franks was a tough old guy, and that's how he went out in the end. Popping up in the penultimate episode of season 8, Franks came to visit Gibbs and offer his own perspective on the hunt for serial killer Jonas Cobb. It's also hinted that something is wrong with Franks when he keeps coughing, and we later find out he had terminal lung cancer. Wanting to end things on his own terms, Franks dies fighting Cobb when he sees Cobb staking out Gibbs' house, and even manages to injure Cobb before succumbing to his wounds. I actually don't mind the way Franks died; it makes sense for his character to go out fighting. I also understand that the team needed to experience some personal loss before catching Cobb. The issue is that there was no need to kill him in the first place. Franks could have been severely injured and that would have continued the plot in the same way. Also, Muse Watson, the actor who plays Franks, has continued to appear on the show after his character died. Now, Franks is a personification of Gibbs' conscience and inner monologue during tough times. You know what's better than a personified conscience? Gibbs talking to the living person! Who knows, maybe I'm just still in mourning.