What has been the most disturbing thing you've seen on television?

I think for me it was the cow eyeball disection on 321 Contact (a PBS science television show for kids).

Adjust for age accordingly.

I'm sure the Challenger explosion will be an easy choice for a lot of the older members here.

No contest: when the ATF/Black Ops burned alive the Branch-Davidians in Waco....watching in horror as no one, not even any of the children, made it out alive.


There are hotter flames awaiting those responsible.

The six o' clock news.

It always seems that when I think "I've seen it all; the world can't get any sicker", there's some idiot on the news proving that he can sink lower than anyone else has before.

I've got to stop watching TV. It only depresses me.

William Hung on American Idol 3.

I'm scarred for life :(

Blues Clues. <shudder>

It's a toss between Barney and Sponge Bob Square Pants.

Hmmm ....

Seems like I was 'out of theme' with my previous answer ... Everybody else seems to be picking childrens shows. I suppose, in order to maintain the theme, I revise my answer.

*adopts my best 'Bobby Bouchier' voice*

My mama says that the Teletubbies are the Devil !

Aside from various disasters (the World Trade Center, the Challenger, Chernobel, the Tsunami and so on), I would have to say it was watching Evil Kineval try to jump into the "jaws of death". This had a big tank of doped-up sharks". It happened at the time that the movie Jaws came out and Evil tried to capitalize on the whole thing. They showed all these teaser events and billed the whole thing "Evil Kineval's death defiers".

When they were not showing such stupid crap as a guy being blowned out of a cannon they had Telly Savalis and Susan St James warning everyone not to try what was being showned at home. It was beyond retarded.

Finally they were ready for the big jump, after 3 hours of B.S. and then they announced the Evil hurt himself during a practice jump and they sent everyone home.

I am so glad I did not pay to see that bull**** because if I did I would be pissed as hell. In fact I was disapointed that the crowd there did not stage a riot and throw that ******* into the tank. Of course none of the drugged sharks would do anything to him anyway. :mad:


Oh yea, a couple of BS fights I saw...


Mike Tyson vs Evandor Holyfield (don't watch when eating)

Jerry Coony vs. George Forman (the geezers at Ceasers). (yaawwwn)

they kept showing commercials of this kid with huge face eating tumors on discovery health last week. that was pretty damn disturbing

I can't believe that Watership Down (animated kids film with bunnies - surley you know it!!) only got a 'U' rating. I bought it a while back because I could remember really liking it as a kid. There is so much violence in that film. I guess it's because it's a cartoon about bunny rabbits.

they kept showing commercials of this kid with huge face eating tumors on discovery health last week. that was pretty damn disturbing
I saw a guy with a huge face eating tumor in person about 6 months ago. Some homeless guy in El Cajon. Freaky.

If you think cutting up a cow's eye is gross, what about a dead person? There was a series on tv in England a couple of weeks ago that showed dissections for education. It was quite interesting in parts (not that I watched it all!) but it was the cutting up that got me. I was ok when they were showing how the muscles work etc, but I had to turn it off when the guy got a circular saw out to open the skull...

Even worse, the main doctor, Gunther von Hagens, looks just like the evil guy off Raiders of the Lost Ark!!! He even has the right hat. I kept expecting him to melt or something...

http://www.ananova.com/images/web/36231.jpg

http://us.ent4.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/raiders_of_the_lost_ark/_group_photos/paul_freeman2.jpg

There was also a program called "the Boy whos Skin Fell Off", I didn't see it all, but it was about a guy who had a very rare disease, and he was going to die from it. He was really funny though, and I think they knew he would have died by the time they showed it, so he was narrating it from beyond the grave, making jokes about it, so it was really poignant, but it wasn't a sad tale about this poor guy, it was saying how great he was. I sort of wish I'd watched it all, it was supposed to be really moving.

Lastly, there was a film about Bumfights, a video made by some dumb kid who goes around paying homeless people to fight and do stupid stuff like get tattoos, which of course they do because they need the money. It was horrible. The kid was such an arrogant bastard, I couldn't believe he got away with it. He made millions from it too, it was just sick. There was a message at the end saying he was still making the videos, now featuring the mentally ill. :mad:

If you think cutting up a cow's eye is gross, what about a dead person? There was a series on tv in England a couple of weeks ago that showed dissections for education. It was quite interesting in parts (not that I watched it all!) but it was the cutting up that got me. I was ok when they were showing how the muscles work etc, but I had to turn it off when the guy got a circular saw out to open the skull...
I've seen all that stuff in real life, it wasn't particularly pleasant. And yeah, I'm not suggesting that a cow eyeball is the grossest thing ever on tv, but relative to the age of the person and the stuff that was being shown by the networks at the time it was fairly provocative.

Of course with the recent fad over reality tv, nothing's shocking anymore.

BTW: I love your sig image. What's the origin?

OK, I'll be serious. There's the Learning Channel and Discovery Channel where they've shown autopsies and stuff. On Nip/Tuck they show some plastic surgery. On the Animal Channel they show some gross surgeries. On Court TV, they show some forensic evidence stuff and serial murder stuff that is gross. I think all that and the news is why I quit watching TV a while back. Those were the only channels that I found interesting. Hmmmmmmm......

There was this medical channel where they showed a knee replacement surgery. The surgeons cut it all open, carved and replaced the knee joints. They showed everything. I don't know why but it really shook me up. Without a knee the leg just flaps all around like jelly. Fascinating stuff though.

The most disturbing thing I've seen on TV... Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer.

For me, it's those "Real TV" and "World's Wildest Police Chases." Anytime they show a car getting freaking smashed and the dead bodies flying out, just grosses me out.

Televangelists are also pretty grotesque.

Fear factor does it for me.....I couldnt imagine eating some of that disgusting stuff they do....just for money...NO WAY!!!

Maybe 15 years ago, I was watching a hockey game. A couple of players ran into the goalie knocking him over. The goalie then hops up on his knees, flips off his mask, and blood is literally spraying from his throat onto the ice. One of the players that hit him skated over his neck, severing the goalie's jugular. It was like the Crazy 88 scene in Kill Bill, but it was real. Hard to believe the goalie actually survived that. A couple of people in the stands died of heart attacks from seeing it.

I've seen all that stuff in real life, it wasn't particularly pleasant. And yeah, I'm not suggesting that a cow eyeball is the grossest thing ever on tv, but relative to the age of the person and the stuff that was being shown by the networks at the time it was fairly provocative.

Of course with the recent fad over reality tv, nothing's shocking anymore.

BTW: I love your sig image. What's the origin?

Uuugh I could watch it in real life- that would be too much for me. I wish I hadn't mentioned surgery now, the things the body is made of...!

My sig pic is the inside album art of 'Music for the Jilted Generation' by The Prodigy (which rocks- their newer stuff just doesn't compare). The front cover is excellent too:

http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000026XSY.02.LZZZZZZZ.jpg

Fear factor does it for me.....I couldnt imagine eating some of that disgusting stuff they do....just for money...NO WAY!!!

Yeah we have 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here' in Britain where they make the celebs eat fish eyes, grubs, cover them in insects and give them tasks... ewww :P

Televangelists are also pretty grotesque

I second this notion.

Televangelists are the Devil !

I just thought of another disturbing thing I saw on tv......Im a huge nascar fan and was watching the race that took Dale Earnhardt .....that was so unreal to me....I have seen lots of wrecks before and after that one and that one just didnt look bad to me at all.....But when I found he died.....that crushed me!!

I second this notion.

Televangelists are the Devil !
Hey cool! We finally agree on something. :)

No contest: when the ATF/Black Ops burned alive the Branch-Davidians in Waco....watching in horror as no one, not even any of the children, made it out alive.


There are hotter flames awaiting those responsible.

Definitly. The public execution of entire families is hard to top.

No contest: when the ATF/Black Ops burned alive the Branch-Davidians in Waco....watching in horror as no one, not even any of the children, made it out alive.


There are hotter flames awaiting those responsible.


I worked for the Dept. of Health at that time and I data entered death certificates. I entered ALL of those children and even David Koresh's certificate. It made me sick.

I would have to agree with the local news. It is really depressing when you hear about all the sick people out in the world today!!

about two weeks ago i watched an episode of ripley's believe it or not (my parents love that show) and there was a man with no face.

NO FACE!

it was the creepiest thing i've ever seen. he had no eyes or nose, just a curled up mouth. :(

I saw that no -face guy too. That was nasty! What really bothered me was that his wife let those people come around and film him, and than broadcast it. Maybe they got paid or something, but personally, if it were me, there's no way I would put a face like that on the tube.

I think Ripleys' likes to show people with no faces, because they had another guy from the Ukraine who had his face mauled completely off by a bear. It was heartbreaking. I was just wondering how he eats??????

The WORST that I ever saw (and will never forget) was a Kurdish woman who survived one of Sadaams' chemical attacks. She lost her face as well. Her husband told the story. The army fired artillery shells loaded with some kind of a horrible chemical agent. When it hit, there was a huge cloud that covered the entire area. Her face started itching so bad she couldn't stand it. When she started scratching, her flesh just fell off in chunks. I felt so sorry for her, and him, and everyone else. She has never left her house since the attack. They were some of the lucky ones because most of the people in their village died. There was video of mothers lying dead in the streets holding their babies. There were kids of all ages, and men and women of all ages. It was horrible. I really hope that Sadaam gets what's coming to him. But, even if he does, these peoples lives will never be the same.
It just makes me sick about humanity in general to see things like this. I guess there are millions and millions of people who just have no regard for life whatsoever.