10. Carson Beckett- Stargate Atlantis
The Stargate franchise wasnt opposed to killing characters, were it not for the fact that we had seen him die several times already then Daniel Jacksons brief departure in the fifth season would be the most shocking in all of Stargate. However as most of us correctly guessed Jackson would be back one day, the most shocking and outrageous death goes a character from SG-1s sister show Atlantis- the loveable Dr. Carson Beckett. This was a death that smacked of the writers confusing shocking the audience with pleasing them. Did the majority of us see Carsons death coming? No, but that doesnt mean that we enjoyed it, quite the opposite in fact. Not long before this happened SG-1 had aired a similar storyline featuring the surprise death of its Doctor, Janet Frasier. Though many of us were sad to see her go, in reality she was only a side character and her death added a sense of tragedy to what was an excellent episode. Yet when it came to Carsons exit, any sense of tragedy was overshadowed by intense fury, this was mindless and senseless. After doing his thing and removing an explosive tumour from a patient, suddenly it explodes and he is gone. Its one of those scenes that we have all watched plenty of times in film and TV- the tense disposal of the bomb, which no one really believes is going to end in death- then boom! In true Stargate fashion Beckett would eventually return to the show (as a clone) but it was never really the same. In fact in the opinion of some was that his death actually took away from the departure of Elizabeth Weir at the end of the season. Stargate Atlantis was still a good show for the rest if its run, but the exit of these two characters led to a distinctly different feel for the remainder of the series and the loss of Beckett in particular left a real bad taste in the mouths of its fans.