There was no dearth of shocking moments on television set in the early aughts .
There are funny TV scenes, and there are emotional TV scenes, but the best of the best are the ones that are just absolutely unforgettable.
Here are some moments from ’00s TV (reality and scripted) that left us collecting our jaws from the ground:
1.WhenTyra Bankschallenged models to portray races that were not their own onAmerica’s Next Top Model.
This actually happened not once, but twice: in cycle 4, where some white models posed as Black women; and incycle 13, when the models' skin was darkened with makeup to make them appear biracial.
2.When eliminatedSurvivorcontestant Susan Hawk verbally eviscerated Season 1 finalists Richard Hatch and Kelly Wiglesworth, immortalized as the “snakes and rats” speech. (I mean, what a way to help kickoff reality TV.)
“But Kelly, go back to a couple of times Jeff said to you, ‘What goes around, comes around.’ It’s here. You will not get my vote. My vote will go to Richard,” she continued. “And I hope that is the one vote that makes you lose the money. If it’s not, so be it. I’ll shake your hand, and I’ll go on from here. But if I were to ever pass you along in life again and you were laying there dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water. I would let the vultures take you and do whatever they want with you, with no ill regrets.”
" I plead to the panel tonight to think a little flake about the island that we have been on . This island is reasonably much full of only two things : Snake and rats . And in the end of Mother Nature , we have Richard the serpent , who wittingly went after prey , and Kelly , who deform into the rat that lam around like the betrayer do on this island , trying to run from the snake . I experience we owe it to the island ’s strong drink that we have learned to come to know to allow it be in the end the direction that Mother Nature designate it to be . For the snake to eat the rat . "
3.When Darva Conger truly married a stranger on live TV during the two-hour live spectacle that wasWho Wants to Marry a Multi-Millionairebecause he was supposedly very rich.
The beauty pageant-style competition (complete with a swimwear segment) was slammed as sexist and antiquated, but that didn’t stop Darva from going through with her nuptials with Rick Rockwell, which were annulled two months later.
4.When Dan Scott fromOne Tree Hillwas moments from his long-awaited heart transplant, and A DOG ATE HIS HEART.
“It’s the undisputed champion of out-of-context TV scenes,” Mike Schur toldthe Ringer. “Why is there a dog in the waiting room? Why, when the heart comes tumbling out onto the floor, does literally nobody move? And why, in the name of all that is holy, does [Chad Michael Murray] look at [Paul Johansson] with a look on his face that seems to say, ‘Itoldyou so’?”
5.When Kanye West said “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” on live TV during a Hurricane Katrina telethon.
“I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a Black family, it says they’re looting. If you see a white family, it says they’re looking for food,” he said, later adding, “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” as Mike Myers stands stunned next to him.
6.When Lorenzo Lamas went the extra mile to point out a contestant’s flaws onAre You Hot?by using a laser pointer.
The whole premise of the show was to rate someone based on their “face, body, and sex appeal,” but taking a laser pointer to a stranger’s body is just next level.
7.When Tom Cruise’s seemingly innocuous appearance onThe Oprah Winfrey Showturned into an enthusiastic proclamation of love.
“Something’s happened to you,” Winfrey asked the giddy actor, to which he proclaimed, “I’m in love.” When she asked if he’s ever felt this way before, he responds with the jump and more laughter. “He’s gone. You’re gone,” she says in response.
8.When the highly-anticipated finale ofThe Sopranosconfused the hell out of every viewer at home and left them talking about it for decades.
Writer, producer, and director David Chase revealed he’s surprised that so many people remained invested in the series, tellingthe Hollywood Reporter, “I didn’t think thatSopranoswould live on at all even after doing it and even after it got all these accolades because I thought, ‘In a couple of years, the references won’t work, nobody will know what we’re talking about, the phones will be different, TVs will be different.’ That part of it is true — the technology is different — but apparently, what it’s about still resonates with people. So, I’m just delighted to see that. To think that you’re really reaching a generation 20 years later is astounding.”
9.When Manny’s teen pregnancy and subsequent decision to have an abortion onDegrassi: The Next Generationwas considered so scandalous the episode wasbanned in the United States.
There were petitions to see the episode, which wouldn’t air in the United States until nearly three years later, when actor Cassie Steele chose it as one of her favorite episodes that would air in a marathon block. “It made me really proud to be part of something like that,” said Steele, who got letters from girls around the globe who related to the subject, perthe Fader. “It was a really touching and fulfilling experience.”
10.When Corey Clark got disqualified fromAmerican Idol, only to later allege he was having a months-long affair with Paula Abdul while filming.
Clark claimed to have “explicit” and “incriminating” evidence of their alleged affair in 2003, some of which came to light in a2013 defamation lawsuit.
11.When8 Simple Rulesdealt with John Ritter’s character’s death as the cast mourned the actor in real life.
“We, as a cast, we really felt like, if it was going to go ahead, we wanted to tell it as a true story, like a family that lost their dad,” on-screen wifeKatey Sagal toldTODAYof the cast’s decision on how to move forward with the series. “And that didn’t feel horrible to us. What would have felt horrible to us was just like, I don’t know, replacing him or brushing it off.”
“ John was the nerve center of that show , ” she tally . “ It was n’t even about the show . It ’s really not about the show . It was about misplace this incredible somebody and way too early . ”
12.When Bret Michaels called one of the women competing for his heart onRock of Lovea “buzzkill” for not performing on stage at a strip club.
In a later conversation with her, he seems understanding but says in a confessional, “I’m not asking her to do anything she doesn’t want to do, but right now, if I’m being honest, she’s being a little bit of a buzzkill.”
13.When a buildup of flirtation and chemistry between Meredith Grey and McDreamy came crashing down when his wife walked through the hospital doors at the end of the first season ofGrey’s Anatomy.
Let’s be honest, for those watching the show, there was a collective gasp that could be heard around the country.
14.WhenMegan Wants a Millionaire— star of the show, Megan Hauserman, seen below — was canceled after one of the contestants, Ryan Alexander Jenkins, became the prime suspect in a murder investigation of his wife, Jasmine Fiore.
Because of how far he made it in the show’s run, they had no choice but to stop airing the remainder of the season after Episode 3, withVH1 explaining, “Given the unfortunate circumstances, VH1 has postponed any future airings. This is a tragic situation, and our thoughts go out to the victim’s family.”
15.And last but most certainly not least, whenGame of Thronesgave us “The Red Wedding,” which was one of the most jarring and talked about moments in modern TV.
The viscerally violent moment may have been known to those who read the books, but how it was depicted gave the episode staying power, with people talking about it for MONTHS after it aired.
CW / Viayoutube.com
