When Kenny Died For Real On "South Park"
Anyone with even a passing familiarity with “South Park” knows the show’s oldest running gag is that Kenny dies in every episode, only to reappear without explanation at the beginning of the next one. But in the fifth season, Trey Parker and Matt Stone decided to play for keeps. Instead of suffering a gory, slapsticky, hilarious death, Kenny dies in the hospital, from terminal muscular dystrophy. His tragic death and funeral were treated with unexpected pathos, bringing tears to the eyes of viewers. The only thing less expected was that, when the show returned for its sixth season, Kenny remained dead, retroactively adding further gravity to his final episode. (Later, though, Kenny literally fades back into existence without any context or explanation at the end of the sixth season. His sudden reappearance goes unremarked upon by the other characters, as is tradition.)