9. The Lone Gunmen- The X-Files
Victims of both the X Files losing its identity in its later years and a failed spin off which had turned the network against them, The Lone Gunmen were unceremoniously killed off in an episode titled Jump the Shark. The name of this episode may as well have been, Screw the Fans because that is exactly what it felt like, The Gunmen were extremely popular characters and a massive part of the X Files legacy. They, like Deep Throat, The Smoking Man and of course Mulder and Scully, had become a fixture of modern pop culture and for them to be discarded in this way was a disgrace. Though most of us would have preferred that the Gunmen lived, it wasnt so much that they were killed but the manner in which they were. Yes the argument can be made that they went out as heroes, but do you know what feeling the episode generated more than any other? Boredom! For such entertaining characters to go out in an otherwise completely forgettable episode is a real kick in the teeth. To make matters worse this episode came in the ninth and final season of the show, and with one lead gone, the other appearing part time and two failed spin offs behind it, The X-Files really was circling the drain by this point. Having fulfilled his contractual obligations at the end of the previous season, David Duchovny appeared in no episodes except for the finale. This meant that Fox Mulder missed out on the last hurrah of his sidekicks, and that is another testament to how wrong the whole thing was. The Gunmen were Mulders' support crew. When everyone else, even Scully didnt believe, they were there backing him all the way so for them to die without Mulder there to pay tribute to them was spitting in the face of their very purpose on the show. We loved The Gunmen but without Mulder it was never really the same. The Network hated the characters and the fans paid the price.