TV's Most Unexpected Twists and Turns

In modern American society, our favorite TV shows offer us an escape from the news and grind of the day and a convenient, comfortable social touchstone. After all, how many Friday morning work conversations include at least a passing reference to the previous evening's installment of The Office?

Sometimes, though, our friendly program turns on a dime, whether through the departure of a star, a shameless ratings grab, or sheer creativity, and leave us grasping for purchase as we try to regain our entertainment equilibrium. The best plot twists are unexpected and can leave us uncomfortable, breathless, or anticipatory, but they almost always change the course of our favorite shows, and they generally set a standard that future "twisters" must strive to top.

With all of that in mind, here is a list of five historically great television plot twists.

5) "Biney?": Dexter finds his brother

From the outset of this series, it was clear that Dexter had the potential to provide some great plot twists. A serial killer working as a CSI in Miami, investigating other serial killers ... sick, simple, yet brilliant premise.

So, early on, we learned that Dexter had some demons from the past hunting him down, and we soon found out that a sophisticated serial killer whom Dex was tracking during his day job was, in turn, playing a game of cat-and-mouse with our protagonist. Heck, we even knew that Dexter's prey/predator was his sister's new dreamboat beau.

As the plot of Season One played out, and Dexter was led through important scenes from his childhood by Rudy, AKA "The Ice Truck Killer" (or ITK), a great sense of foreboding developed. Even though it seemed likely that something dramatic was about to happen, when Dex walked through his memory to the steps of his childhood home, the shock was palpable when he uttered, "I have a brother ...". The realization that the sibling in question was Rudy (Deb's boyfriend and the ITK) was as disturbing as anything seen on screen since Fergus counted to eleven with the aid of his "girlfriend" in The Crying Game.

http://tv.yahoo.com/dexter/show/born-free/episode/111950/recap
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104036/combined

4) Diane Leaves Cheers

When Diane Chambers decided to leave Boston and Sam Malone in order to write a book after Cheers' fifth season in 1987, she effectively ended the greatest love-hate romantic relationship that the small screen has ever seen. Many viewers thought that Sam and Diane's fire and ice were too integral a part of the show for the series to continue cranking out its magic, but the addition of Kirstie Alley to the cast the following year, the development of other characters, and Sam's struggles to find another meaningful relationship kept Cheers at the top of the ratings for another six years. Diane eventually came back (for the series finale), but it could be argued that Shelley Long never really did.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Chambers

3) "We were on a break!": Ross cheats on Rachel (Friends)

After a fight with Rachel ends with her telling him that they need to "take a break", Ross found himself at a party with his Friends. After trying to drink away his worries, Ross spent the night with a local copy store clerk and then spent the next morning scheming to hide the awful truth from Rachel, to no avail. While not a completely unusual set of circumstances as far as sitcoms go, this season-three development nonetheless punctuated the tumultuous relationship between Ross and Rachel and set the tone for much of what transpired during the final seven seasons of the show.

http://www.tv.com/Friends/The+One+Where+Ross+and+Rachel+Take+a+Break+%281%29/episode/407/summary.html

2) Who Shot J.R.? (Dallas)

In the Spring of 1980, America's revolutionary Presidential Primaries were pushed to the back of our collective consciousness when J.R. Ewing was gunned down late on the night of March 21 in his office. Dallas' most hated oil man had made many enemies over the years, and speculation ran wild as to who finally snapped and meted out some Texas justice. All summer long, "Who Shot J.R.?" conversations and memorabilia covered the landscape as we held our breaths waiting for the answer.

CBS was able to milk the suspense for all it was worth due to a delayed Fall schedule thanks to a writer's strike. By the time we could exhale, Ronald Reagan had trounced Jimmy Carter in the general election, and we could focus all of our attention on the big reveal. Besides learning who shot J.R., we just had to know if he would live and how the show would change.

In the end, J.R. survived, and J.R.'s estranged mistress/sister-in-law, Kristin, was revealed as the culprit. The perp was able to blackmail the oil tycoon into not pressing charges, and life on the ranch and in the boardroom pretty much went back to normal.

As a show changer, this plot twist was somewhat disappointing. In terms of changing the television landscape and setting marketing and cliffhanger standards for future generations, this story line was revolutionary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_shot_J.R.%3F

1) Bobby in The Shower (Dallas)

Five years after his brother's brush with death, Bobby Ewing was unceremoniously run down in a car by his sister-in-law as the eighth season came to a close. The following year, life went on without Bobby, with J.R. becoming more ruthless than ever; Bobby's wife, Pam, coming apart at the seams; and the rest of the family grieving for their lost brother/son/father.

Then, one morning at the end of Dallas' ninth season, Pam awoke cold and lonely as usual, but there was a twist. Hearing running water coming from her bathroom, and knowing that she had, once again, spent the night alone, Pam cautiously pushed open the door that would rock Dallas and television in general. Smiling back at her from the shower, wet but alive was Bobby!

As Season 10 unfolded, we learned that Bobby's death, and everything that ensued, had just been a terrible dream on Pam's part. Must have been the clams she had for dinner the night before. As contrived as this storyline seems, and though the hype never quite matched the J.R. ruckus of 1980, this twist nonetheless set a precedent that still presides in television today. Thanks to Bobby in the shower, Roseanne could win the lottery, ER could perpetrate any number of preposterous character deaths, and the X-Files could generate some plausibility in our minds. Now that is powerful TV.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Ewing

Sources:

Yahoo TV - http://tv.yahoo.com/
Internet Movie Data Base - http://www.imdb.com/
Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/
TV.com - http://www.tv.com/