History SacrificialLamb / LiveActionTV

* ''{{Hustle}}'': Did this in the premiere, by shooting the group leader through the head, and then subverted it by revealing it to be FakingTheDead.

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'': "Big" Jim Colosimo at the end of the pilot. [[RunningGag He retired on account of the bullet to his brain.]

* Series/TheBlacklist :Luli Zheng, one of Raymond Reddington's associate, is killed by Anslo Garrick in Episode Nine to cement his [[HeroKiller Hero Killer status.]] Dembe was also set up to be one soon after, but was subverted immediately after in the next episode.

* "Series/TheBlacklist" : Luli Zheng, one of Raymond Reddington's associate, is killed by Anslo Garrick in Episode Nine to cement his [[HeroKiller Hero Killer status.]] Dembe was also set up to be one soon after, but was subverted immediately after in the next episode.

* ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'': "Big" Jim Colosimo at the end of the pilot. [[RunningGag He retired on account of the bullet to his brain.]]

* ''Series/{{Lexx}}'': Giggerota...sort of. She died in the second movie (the first season consisted of four movies), and the first movie seemed to set her up as the TokenEvilTeammate...however, it was fairly obvious that writing her into an ongoing series would have been problematic given her ChronicBackstabbingSyndrome, her complete lack of loyalty to any of the crew, and the fact that none of her goals were aligned with anyone else's in the slightest.

* ''Series/BreakingBad'': Jesse Pinkman was supposed to be killed off in Season 1, but the creator loved his character and Aaron Paul's performance so much that he changed his mind.

** ''Stargate SG-1'' started long before that, offing the entire FiveManBand in the first episode, in order to introduce a FiveManBand with four slightly more interesting characters. (By this we mean the {{Red Shirt}}s guarding the Stargate at the beginning. They look like they'll be important... [[spoiler: then Apophis and the Serpent Guards slaughter all but one, who is taken to, it turns out, be considered as a new host for Amonet. When Amonet turns her down, Apophis says "A shame," brain-fries her to death in the second of the ''two'' instances of fatal Goa'uld hand-thingy brain-fry in the entire run of the franchise, and yells "Send another!" out the door.]]

** And its sister show ''Series/StargateAtlantis'' gave us Colonel Sumner, who was supposed to be the military head of Atlantis... until he's captured by the Wraith, has his life sucked out, and has to be put out of his misery by then-Major Sheppard.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Had a love interest of Sam's be a Sacrificial Lamb in the pilot.

* ''Harper's Island'': Uncle Marty plays this role as portrayer Harry Hamlin was probably the most well-known (and, unfortunately, probably the most talented) actor in the cast, and the character is dead by the end of the first episode.

* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'': SubvertedTrope. For a minute, it looks like Kaylee is going to be a SacrificialLamb, but it turns out that Mal was [[FakingTheDead playing a rather psychotic joke on Simon]] when he told him that she was dead. "I'm a bad man," he admits.

** ''Stargate SG-1'' started long before that, offing the entire FiveManBand in the first episode, in order to introduce a FiveManBand with four slightly more interesting characters.

* {{Series/Defiance}} - 2 important characters are killed in the first season. ''Sukar'' and ''Kenya Rosewater''. ''Sukar'' is introduced as a father figure to ''Irisa'' and his death makes her faith stronger. ''kenya Rosewater'' is shown as the proprietor of the local brothel, and was also ''Nolan's'' lover, and later becomes the ''Stahma's'' lover. In the finale, ''Stahma'' kills off ''Kenya'' to placate ''Stahma's'' husband.

* {{Defiance}} - 2 important characters are killed in the first season. ''Sukar'' and ''Kenya Rosewater''. ''Sukar'' is introduced as a father figure to ''Irisa'' and his death makes her faith stronger. ''kenya Rosewater'' is shown as the proprietor of the local brothel, and was also ''Nolan's'' lover, and later becomes the ''Stahma's'' lover. In the finale, ''Stahma'' kills off ''Kenya'' to placate ''Stahma's'' husband.

* ''TwentyFour'':

* ''BoardwalkEmpire'': "Big" Jim Colosimo at the end of the pilot. [[RunningGag He retired on account of the bullet to his brain.]]
* ''BreakingBad'': Jesse Pinkman was supposed to be killed off in Season 1, but the creator loved his character and Aaron Paul's performance so much that he changed his mind.

* ''EastEnders'': Reg Cox, who was actually dead before the show even opened. The first scene is them booting in his door to see where he's been all this time.
* ''{{ER}}'': Was supposed to start like this, with Julianna Margulies's character committing suicide in the pilot, but test-market audiences liked her so much that they decided to keep her in the show (she had overdosed on pills, so they just had her pull through instead of dying).
* ''{{Firefly}}'': SubvertedTrope. For a minute, it looks like Kaylee is going to be a SacrificialLamb, but it turns out that Mal was [[FakingTheDead playing a rather psychotic joke on Simon]] when he told him that she was dead. "I'm a bad man," he admits.

** Charlie Andrews also counts. She is killed off in the episode she is introduced, then Hiro goes back in time to save her only her to reveal a dangerous deformity is already killing her. Then Hiro goes back in time again and manages to get rid of said deformity only for her to get sent back to the 1940s. (Though the fact that her actress was a main cast member on [[{{Glee}} another show]] contributed to the last one.)
* ''HillStreetBlues'':

* ''MiamiVice'': The show's characters were introduced in the pilot. One of them was Lt Rodriguez, who commanded the unit. Rodriguez was played by Gregory Sierra, who was a well-known actor from ''Barney Miller'' and his character appeared to be a part of the show's regular cast. Then he was killed in the fourth episode. It was Edward James Olmos who joined the regular cast as Lt Castillo, Rodriguez' replacement.
* ''{{Misfits}}'':

* ''RobinHood'': Killed off outlaw Roy four episodes in. Somewhat diluted by the fact that after that episode, he was never mentioned again.

* ''{{Shark}}'': In the first episode somebody got fired. The only real character to die on the show wasn't until the end of the first season.
* ''TheShield'': Began with Detective Terry Crowley being assigned to an LA police department's Strike Team to secretly investigate rumours of corruption and brutality. The episode ended with the show's protagonist, Vic Mackey, finding out and blowing the back of Terry's skull off. In a break with Lamb tradition, Crowley's death came back to haunt Mackey several times in the following seven years, and the character appeared in flashbacks.

* ''TheVampireDiaries'': Vicki Donovan is introduced in the pilot and then killed off in the seventh episode of the show.

* ''Harper's Island'': Uncle Marty plays this role as apparently his actor was one of the biggest names in the cast (he's killed in the first episode).

* ''TwentyFour'' has Jack Bauer's original boss, Richard Walsh. At the end of the second episode he dies getting Jack a keycard that can help discover who TheMole is. He's barely ever mentioned again by the halfway point of season 1 and is utterly forgotten after that, but he does appear in a few of the show's ExpandedUniverse comics and novels set before season 1.

* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': This ''Buffy'' SpinOff plays a similar trick in its pilot episode, in which Angel is tasked with saving the life of a beautiful young woman. Unfortunately, she is killed by that episode's villain before they can become romantically entangled.

* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': The special double-length pilot episode introduces Jesse, best friend of Xander, the show's PluckyComicRelief. It seems that Xander and Jesse will be a regular pairing throughout the show, mirroring the Buffy and Willow friendship. Then Jesse is turned into a vampire and Xander is forced to kill him. But that's okay, because he's [[ForgottenFallenFriend never mentioned again]].

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'': A bit longer lasting than most, but Simone Deveaux basically fits this trope.

** SubvertedTrope, where a pair of cops just happen to walk in on the wrong group of nervous drug dealers and are anticlimactically shot. The aftermath is played with appropriate drama, sending the message that, as in real life, no one is completely safe. But just as the plot of the episode has been resolved and it would be fairly easy to let it set at that, Furillo receives word that they're alive, but in critical condition...

* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': The original script for the pilot established Jack as the leader... only to kill him at the halfway point and force Kate into the role. Network executives [[ExecutiveVeto shot down the idea]].

* ''MI5'': Had Lisa Faulkner, who was sacrificed in the ''second'' episode, but shocking nonetheless.

* ''{{Misfits}}'': The opening episode features a sixth member of the community service group called Gary. However, he misses out on the storm that gives everyone superpowers and in the same episode gets hacked apart with an axe.

* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'': Maggie in episode 4. Unlike other examples, she did get mentioned in episode 11.

* ''Series/StargateSG1'': This TV series had the character of Major Charles Kowalski infected with a Goa'uld parasite in the pilot episode, and killed off in the episode immediately following it. This was done ''after'' he had played a significant role in the original movie on which the show was based. Furthermore, the real use of the character is to have a situation where the defector, Teal'c, gets to prove his worth and loyalty to the Earth authorities.

* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'': Kirk's BFF Gary Mitchell in the second pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before".

** A few episodes later we also have Kim's friend Janet who gets suffocated to death in a hospital bed. Despite the fact that she was Kim's best friend, she's never brought up after that. Still, her death did mark one of the first real shockers in the show and is considered a real GrowingTheBeard moment.

* The special double-length pilot episode of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' introduces Jesse, best friend of Xander, the show's PluckyComicRelief. It seems that Xander and Jesse will be a regular pairing throughout the show, mirroring the Buffy and Willow friendship. Then Jesse is turned into a vampire and Xander is forced to kill him. But that's okay, because he's [[ForgottenFallenFriend never mentioned again]].
** JossWhedon actually planned to bring Jesse back as a ghost or form of the First Evil talking to Xander in the final season, but [[RealLifeWritesThePlot real-life problems prevented it]]. (This happened a few other times: He also had to have the late Cassie speak for the also-late Tara in one episode because Tara's actress thought having the First appear as Tara was too cruel, and then had to completely scrap an episode idea to bring Tara BackFromTheDead because the actress wasn't available... among others.)
* The ''Buffy'' SpinOff ''Series/{{Angel}}'' plays a similar trick in its pilot episode, in which Angel is tasked with saving the life of a beautiful young woman. Unfortunately, she is killed by that episode's villain before they can become romantically entangled.

* ''Series/{{CSI}}'' began with a NaiveNewcomer character who basically served to introduce the various members of the show's cast. With that out of the way, she caught two in the back of the head, turning into the second victim and confirming her status as the NewMeat.
* When the ''Series/DoctorWho'' SpinOff ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' was being developed, the crew went further than usual by casting a well-respected actress as the Sacrificial Lamb and involving her character, Suzie, heavily in pre-publicity (including a special feature in the RadioTimes), to increase the shock when she bought it. The show then got more mileage from both character and casting by bringing Suzie BackFromTheDead temporarily for a later episode.
* ''MI5'' had Lisa Faulkner, who was sacrificed in the ''second'' episode, but shocking nonetheless.

* ''TheShield'' began with Detective Terry Crowley being assigned to an LA police department's Strike Team to secretly investigate rumours of corruption and brutality. The episode ended with the show's protagonist, Vic Mackey, finding out and blowing the back of Terry's skull off. In a break with Lamb tradition, Crowley's death came back to haunt Mackey several times in the following seven years, and the character appeared in flashbacks.
* The original script for the ''Series/{{Lost}}'' pilot established Jack as the leader... only to kill him at the halfway point and force Kate into the role. Network executives [[ExecutiveVeto shot down the idea]].
** Played straight with the abrupt death of Ilana.
* The TV series ''Series/StargateSG1'' had the character of Major Charles Kowalski infected with a Goa'uld parasite in the pilot episode, and killed off in the episode immediately following it. This was done ''after'' he had played a significant role in the original movie on which the show was based. Furthermore, the real use of the character is to have a situation where the defector, Teal'c, gets to prove his worth and loyalty to the Earth authorities.

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' had a love interest of Sam's be a Sacrificial Lamb in the pilot.
* Andy Renko (played by Charles Haid), one of ''HillStreetBlues'' ' major characters, wasn't originally even supposed to make it to episode two. The plan was that at the shootout at the end of the pilot, Renko would be killed, and only his partner Hill (played by Michael Warren) would survive, to try to adjust to a new partner (Jake Mitchell, who had been in the same show with Warren before, ''Paris''). However, in test screenings, the camaraderie between Warren and Haid was universally felt to be a special strength of the show, so Haid got a contract as a regular (and an "[[AndStarring And X as Y]]" credit), and Mitchell had to settle for a single guest appearance.
* ''{{Hustle}}'' did this in the premiere, by shooting the group leader through the head, and then subverted it by revealing it to be FakingTheDead.
* ''{{Firefly}}'' subverts this -- for a minute, it looks like Kaylee is going to be a SacrificialLamb, but it turns out that Mal was [[FakingTheDead playing a rather psychotic joke on Simon]] when he told him that she was dead. "I'm a bad man," he admits.
* Jesse Pinkman was supposed to be killed off in Season 1 of ''BreakingBad'', but the creator loved his character and Aaron Paul's performance so much that he changed his mind.
* ''{{ER}}'' was supposed to start like this, with Julianna Margulies's character committing suicide in the pilot, but test-market audiences liked her so much that they decided to keep her in the show (she had overdosed on pills, so they just had her pull through instead of dying).
* On the first episode of ''{{Shark}}'' somebody got fired. The only real character to die on the show wasn't until the end of the first season.
* In ''Regenesis'', Hira Khan is killed three episodes in.
* A bit longer lasting than most, but Simone Deveaux of ''Series/{{Heroes}}'' basically fits this trope.
** Charlie Andrews also counts. She is killed off in the episode she is introduced, then Hiro goes back in time to save her only her to reveal a dangerous deformity is already killing her. Then Hiro goes back in time again and manages to get rid of said deformity only for her to get sent back to the 1940s. (Though the fact that her actress was a main cast member on [[{{Glee}} another show]] contributed to the last one.)
* Kirk's BFF Gary Mitchell in the second ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' pilot "Where No Man Has Gone Before".

* In ''The Phone'' pilot, the first team was introduced and competed against the second team per a normal RealityTV show until about maybe half an hour (tops) into it when they don't complete the given task and are subsequently eliminated and DROWNED.
* Subverted in ''HillStreetBlues'', where a pair of cops just happen to walk in on the wrong group of nervous drug dealers and are anticlimactically shot. The aftermath is played with appropriate drama, sending the message that, as in real life, no one is completely safe. But just as the plot of the episode has been resolved and it would be fairly easy to let it set at that, Furillo receives word that they're alive, but in critical condition...
* Uncle Marty plays this role in ''Harper's Island,'' as apparently his actor was one of the biggest names in the cast (he's killed in the first episode).
* Reg Cox in ''EastEnders'', who was actually dead before the show even opened. The first scene is them booting in his door to see where he's been all this time.
* Failed Brit daytime soap ''The Royal Today'' began with three nurses fresh from college doing their first hospital shift. The blonde one got stabbed by a crazy in episode one and bled to death, but then what did you think was gonna happen?
* ''RobinHood'' killed off outlaw Roy four episodes in. Somewhat diluted by the fact that after that episode, he was never mentioned again.
* In ''Series/TheAdventuresOfSinbad'', Mustapha figured prominently into the first episode only to die in the second. He wasn't billed in the intro, though, so it was obvious from the beginning. And of course once he was dead he was basically forgotten.
* ''MiamiVice'': The show's characters were introduced in the pilot. One of them was Lt Rodriguez, who commanded the unit. Rodriguez was played by Gregory Sierra, who was a well-known actor from ''Barney Miller'' and his character appeared to be a part of the show's regular cast. Then he was killed in the fourth episode. It was Edward James Olmos who joined the regular cast as Lt Castillo, Rodriguez' replacement.
* ''Series/{{Oz}}'': While the pilot introduces the show's characters, the central figure of this episode is Dino Ortolani (played by Jon Seda) who appears to be a main character. But the pilot climaxes with his murder.
* The opening episode of ''{{Misfits}}'' features a sixth member of the community service group called Gary. However, he misses out on the storm that gives everyone superpowers and in the same episode gets hacked apart with an axe.
** Then in series two, in a deconstruction of the SixthRanger trope, a character called Ollie was introduced. The promo and opening scenes of the episodes framed him as a new main character. He became part of the community service group, was given a backstory and power (teleportation). Then 15 minutes into the episode he is shot and killed by the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Villain of the Week]].
** Gary manages to do this ''again'' in series 3 - in the AlternateRealityEpisode he is shown to have survived... only to be killed by a Nazi officer testing out his new superpowers.
* Vicki Donovan in ''TheVampireDiaries'' is introduced in the pilot and then killed off in the seventh episode of the show.
* "Big" Jim Colosimo on ''BoardwalkEmpire'', at the end of the pilot. [[RunningGag He retired on account of the bullet to his brain.]]