History ShipSinking / LiveActionTV

** Doctor/Master is a bit of a YoYoPlotPoint. At first TheReveal was going to be that they were brothers and so he was the Doctor's FriendlyEnemy. One of the actors dying meant that the reveal never happened, leaving the reason for the Doctor's affection for him ambiguous. Since EvilIsSexy, fans speculated. "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin The Deadly Assassin]]" attempted to sink it hard by re-envisioning the Master as a sexless rotting corpse powered by hatred and willpower, and the new Doctor feels nothing but disgust for him and mentions several times he wants him dead for real. Then, when the Master was brought back in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E6TheKeeperOfTraken The Keeper of Traken]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS18E7Logopolis Logopolis]]" by a much more gay-friendly regime, the FoeRomanceSubtext is obvious, due in part to him being played in a more {{Camp}} style, partly due to him getting a handsome new body and partly due to Creator/TomBaker clearly playing his part of the relationship like a contemptuous ex-girlfriend. The HoYay is even stronger throughout the Davison era but scales back a little by the [=McCoy=] era due to the Master being played in a more cold, calculating style. Then the new series, [[RunningTheAsylum run by people who openly shipped the pairing back in the day]], goes about as close to stating it as possible, as well as [[{{Jossed}} Jossing]] the idea that they're brothers (and having the Doctor mock people who think this). Then in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater Dark Water]]" [[spoiler:a {{Gender Flip}}ped Master refers to the Doctor as her 'boyfriend' and kissed him.]]

** In the first episode, after playing up the Ted/Robin romance, they revealed that Robin would be the [[HonoraryUncle honorary aunt]] of Ted's children, thus killing any future relationship before it begins. This ship was finally sunk in the episode "Symphony of Illumination" (Season 7), where it is revealed that Robin cannot be the mother of Ted's children. [[spoiler:Subverted; the finale reveals that the mother died six years before Ted tells the story to his children. After that, Ted [[MaybeEverAfter considers to move on and relink his relationship with Robin.]]]]
** The much disliked finale sunk both [[spoiler:Barney/Robin]]. They divorce three years after their wedding because she travels a lot for her work and never got back together. The alternate ending subverts this, keeping them together.

* ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'': Claire and Topher ia ship at the beginning of Season 2, when Claire enters his room and forces herself onto him. He protests, she works out her emotional issues due to [[spoiler:being a doll and being too afraid to give up the body to whoever had it before]], and then she admits she hates the smell of him.

* The producers of ''Series/{{Passions}}'' decided to pair Luis with Fancy and then they decided to Sheridan with Luis' lackluster brother Antonio. Needless to say, Sheridan and Luis fans were NOT happy .

** FanPreferredCouple Merlin/Arthur supporters knew it was never going to happen, but even after Arthur falls in love with Gwen, there's still hope for a unspoken unrequited love story from the side of his servant, right? Enter Merlin, Arthur/Gwen ShipperOnDeck. He ships it more than the couple does. Whenever a threat to the pairing emerges, he becomes rabid fan-girl in the throes of DieForOurShip.

** Due several changes that contradicted the books, Jaime/Brienne is slowly sinking in Season 6. Though the two are still in good terms, Jaime is [[BrotherSisterIncest still in love with Cersei]] despite seeing her flaws and is completely oblivious about her affair with Lancel whereas Brienne is shipped with Tormund after their small encounter at Castle Black in "Book of the Stranger". However, Jaime/Brienne is back with a vengeance as of the Season 7 finale, in which [[spoiler: Jaime finally gets sick of Cersei's callousness, ditching her to ride North and help fight the White Walkers]]. In Season 8 [[spoiler: Brienne is the one who convinces everyone to give Jaime a chance, vouching for his honor. Then he makes her lifelong dream of becoming a knight come true by knighting her himself, with both of them gazing intently into each other's eyes the whole time]]. After the Battle of Winterfell, [[spoiler:Jaime and Brienne slept together which may seem to look like a happy ending for them....except that, Jaime has to leave her because of Cersei, leaving Brienne heartbroken. The ship eventually sunk in "The Bells" when Jaime and Cersei died together when the Red Keep collapses on them and the series finale, Brienne becomes a member of the Kingsguard]].

** The series finale torpedoed two ships: Jon/Daenerys and Jon/Sansa. [[spoiler:Jon reluctantly kills Daenerys to stop her mad quest for world domination after she went mad and burnt King's Landing to the ground. As a result, he's forced into exile in the far North, and Sansa is crowned Queen of the North without Jon and the rest of the siblings on her side during her coronation]].
* As a political satire, ''Series/TheThickOfIt'' isn't exactly famous for exploring personal relationships, yet the tensions between Nicola Murray and Malcolm Tucker in Series 3 led to shipping by many fans. In series 4, however, Nicola Murray goes from a minister to Opposition Leader, where she is awful. The ship-sinking happens when Malcolm's irritation with Nicola messing up (yet still ultimately appreciating her work as a minister) is replaced with utter contempt and hatred for her incompetence dooming the entire party, and culminates in him [[spoiler: orchestrating her political downfall.]] It is VERY clear that the love/hate relationship between the two is now just hate.

** Joy and Fabian seemed to be doomed to be the titanic. No matter how much Joy tried, Fabian kept rejecting her advances as he loved Nina. Then Joy went kind of crazy to get his attention and temporarily became the most hated person in the house. In season three, when Nina was finally out of the way, she still got rejected and Fabian didn't even attempt to sugar coat it. So, basically, if you shipped Joy and Fabian, there was really no chance to set sail. Which is alright, with the addition of Joy and Jerome's pairing, which is wildly popular and has managed to stay afloat.
** The ultimate fate of the after-mentioned Fabian/Nina ship due to a major case of RealLifeWritesThePlot two episodes within Season 3.

** Several longer-term relationships of the main gang have been sunk. Phoebe/David was temporarily sunk early on, when he went to Minsk and permanently sunk at the end of the series when she picked Mike over him. The hated Ross/Emily ended with their messy divorce.
** Richard/Monica was sunk very thoroughly bit by bit: Started in the Season 2 finale when they split up over wanting/not wanting children but as they still loved each other there was some wriggle room. Sunk a bit more in Season 3 when she got over him, dated several other guys including her SecondLove who she considered marrying. Further sunk in Season 5 when [[{{FanPreferredCouple}} Monica and Chandler]] fell for each other and Monica flat out said she felt nothing for Richard and loved Chandler more than anyone else ever before. Sent to the bottom of the ocean in Season 6 when Richard returned and asked Monica to marry him, (devastating Chandler), only for Monica to turn around and stage her own proposal to Chandler.

** Pretty much any Ward ship was nuked from orbit but special mention goes to Ward/Simmons for Ward becoming awful enough to merit Simmons facing him down and promising to personally end his life if she ever sees him again. This from the woman who spent her post-mission time ensuring that he didn't bleed to death, or develop lasting injury from combat ops. [[spoiler: She attempted to make good on her promise by attempting to kill him with a splinter bomb.]]
** Fitz/Ward along with Simmons, Skye, and May but especially because of the lasting impact [[spoiler: dropping Fitz and Simmons into the ocean in a supply crate had on Fitz' health. Causing lasting brain trauma and a severe panic attack once Fitz sees him again]]
** [[spoiler:With Coulson {{Killed Off For Real}} at the end of Season 5]], both Coulson/May and Coulson/Daisy are officially sunk. Even when he is effectively resurrected as an LMD, he and may do not resume their relationship, as while he may be Coulson, he is not ''her'' Coulson.

* ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy2019'': Allison and Luther had a childhood crush on each other, and when they get back in touch as adults (at the beginning of the show) they still have UnresolvedSexualTension. In the first season it's given more romantic treatment, but it was unpopular with fans due to the NotBloodSiblings aspect. It season two it was given less screen time. In season 3 the ship was definitively sunk in a very dark NearRapeExperience scene: Allison turns to Luther for SexForSolace; he asks AmIJustAToyToYou; he tries to leave; she uses her CompellingVoice to make him stay, but then changes her mind and lets him go at the last minute. In an [[https://decider.com/2022/06/26/umbrella-academy-season-3-episode-5-tom-hopper-emmy-raver-lampman-interview/ interview]] Luther's actor Creator/TomHopper said of the sinking:

** In the third episode, "[[Recap/StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsS2E03TomorrowAndTomorrowAndTomorrow Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow]]", La'an ends up falling in love with an alternate timeline James T. Kirk, who ends up dying in their adventures. She harbors a crush on the main timeline Kirk and ultimately finds the courage to tell him her feelings. However, he has to turn her down -- [[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan He's with a woman named Carol and she's pregnant with his kid]].
** Ever since the first season, Spock and Nurse Chapel have had awkward feelings for each other that they ultimately act on in "[[Recap/StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsS2E05Charades Charades]]". The ship is damaged in "[[Recap/StarTrekStrangeNewWorldsS2E07ThoseOldScientists Those Old Scientists]]" thanks to a time-traveling [[WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks Ensign Boimler]] but it is fully sank here. In song form, no less!

* In the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' fandom's early years, many fans like to ship Freddie and Cara, the protagonists of ''Literature/{{VampireBreath}}'' together due to many finding their interactions to be very cute and funny. This ship was quickly sunk when [[Series/{{Goosebumps}} the TV episode]] [[RelatedInTheAdaptation made them brother and sister]].

* In the ''Literature/Goosebumps'' fandom's early years, many fans like to ship Freddie and Cara, the protagonists of ''Literature/VampireBreath'' together due to many finding their interactions to be very cute and funny. This ship was quickly sunk when [[Series/Goosebumps the TV episode]] [[RelatedInTheAdaptation made them brother and sister]].

* ''Series/StrangerThings'' Season 3 is cruel enough to sink five major pairings, though there is enough implications that least 2/5 of the pairings can be restored.
** [[spoiler: Steve and Robin get a bittersweet one as despite her chemistry with Steve, Robin [[SorryImGay reveals]] she’s a closet lesbian for another girl who was ironically was attracted to Steve during high school, but Robin keeps her feeling hidden because [[ValuesDissonance it’s still 80s]]. Kudos to Steve he takes the hit well despite receiving similar heartbreak from Nancy the previous seasons and he accepts her sexual orientation easily, and to be fair Robin’s last scene implies she still cares greatly for him]].
** [[spoiler: Jonathan and Nancy pseudo-break up when the former moves out of Hawkins with his mother, brother and Eleven. Though it’s made clear during their farewell Jonathan and Nancy still adore each other, Nancy even suggesting he could live in her house but Jonathan reminds her that he won’t be going far and she can always call him which implies a long distance relationship]].
** [[spoiler: Similarly Mike and Eleven break up when she leaves with Byers, though arguably most of season concerned their relationship falling apart (thanks in no small part to Hopper being a BoyfriendBlockingDad for Eleven). To be fair the claims that Mike is a bad influence on Eleven are somewhat valid, and much of Eleven’s CharacterDevelopment is her becoming emotionally independent without Mike which is why Eleven “dumping his ass” is treated as a empowering moment for her. However the last episode shows she still cares greatly for Mike]].
** [[spoiler: Billy and Karen (though they had a mutual attraction in Season 2) get sunk early in Season 3, as Karen stays loyal to her ineffectual husband Ted while Billy gets possessed by an EldritchAbomination. It’s also explained Billy’s [[LikesOlderWomen attraction]] to Karen stems from his MissingMom, ''also he dies''.]]
** [[spoiler: But by far the most heartbreaking is between Hopper and Joyce as they spent the last two seasons with {{UST}} from their high school sweethearts days and were in the verge an actual RelationshipUpgrade... but then Hopper fell victim to Joyce’s CartwrightCurse and seemly died during the FinalBattle leaving Joyce to look after Eleven. Of course the [[NeverFoundTheBody ambiguous nature]] of Hopper’s death and the creators being tight-lipped implies a potential reunion isn’t completely impossible]].
* ''Series/DarkMatter'': One and Two end in a spectacular fashion: [[spoiler: he was killed off by the real Jace Corso.]]

* In ''Series/{{Westworld}}'':

-->'''Tom Hopper:''' The fact that they went through that--in a way does kind of bring closure to it, because I think it says... that it shouldn't ''really be'', y'know? It's not right. And it felt wrong as it happened--on multiple levels. That's not really what they both want. It's like a weird sort of security blanket they have, which comes out in a weird, abusive manner, from both sides.

** [[spoiler: Similarly Mike and Eleven break up when she leaves with Byers, though arguably most of season concerned their relationship falling apart (thanks in no small part to Hopper being a OverprotectiveDad for Eleven). To be fair the claims that Mike is a bad influence on Eleven are somewhat valid, and much of Eleven’s CharacterDevelopment is her becoming emotionally independent without Mike which is why Eleven “dumping his ass” is treated as a empowering moment for her. However the last episode shows she still cares greatly for Mike]].

* ''Series/{{Heroes}}'':
** TheReveal of Peter and Claire being related came almost immediately after the Peter/Claire ship was reaching full-steam.
** During the finale of Season 4, Hiro's girlfriend Charlie who was sent back in time is revealed to have grown old, married and had a family. Even Hiro himself admitted that the relationship was wonderful while it lasted, but otherwise done.
* On ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Finchel (Finn/Rachel), once one of the most popular ships in the fandom, was instantly sunk by the sudden death of Cory Monteith, who played Finn Hudson, from a drug overdose. Lea Michele, who played Rachel and was dating Monteith at the time, and producer Ryan Murphy both agreed to also kill Finn off in the show, and the entire cast honored Monteith and Finn's character in a special memorial episode. In the episode, Rachel also laments that she had always planned on marrying Finn and having kids with him, but now she would never get the opportunity to, verifying that Finchel was indeed planned as canon before Monteith's demise.

** The Franchise/{{Buffyverse}} as a whole has a weird relationship with Buffy/Angel in that it keeps pulling out things to get in the way and make it seem more likely that they will never end up together, but still maintains that the two of them have a frankly invincible mutual attraction when in close proximity to each other. First, they have sex and Angel turns evil. Then Buffy kills evil!Angel and sends him to hell, just as he's transformed back into good!Angel. Then he comes back but can't stay with her because he feels like she'd be wasting her life with him, and so leaves town. Then, on ''Angel'', the two come to a very serious (almost physical) confrontation over what to do about Faith when she escapes to LA, seriously hurting any kind of lingering friendship. Angel arrives in Sunnydale with tension between him and Riley. Buffy and Angel make up, only for their to be a [[RomanticFalseLead immediate reaffirmation of the Buffy/Riley relationship]]. Over the next few years they barely interact and are paired off with other love interests. Despite all this, Joss teases the possibility of future Buffy/Angel in the Season 7 finale with a funny cookie metaphor. And in the GrandFinale of the Season Eight comics, [[spoiler:they are both endowed with superpowers by the universe so that they can have crazy, flying sex in order to create a new, "better" universe, which they then abandon to save their friends, but which comes back after them with a vengeance, [[DerailingLoveInterests possesses Angel, and makes him murder Giles right in front of Buffy's eyes]]. Un-possessed Angel was being rehabilitated by Faith, and Buffy couldn't even bring herself to look at him.]] Later on in Season 10 Buffy [[spoiler: enters a serious relationship with Spike]] while Angel is sidelined with IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy and accepts them as friends. [[CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds This might have ''finally'' sunk the ship for good]], but who can really tell with these two.

*** The comic also showed Buffy [[UnrequitedLoveSwitcheroo having feelings for Xander]]. Turns out he's dating Dawn, though.
*** Buffy/Satsu in the season 8 comics (despite the mixed signals), since Buffy [[ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies doesn't want anyone to get hurt because of her]] and is [[NoBisexuals firmly stated be straight]]. She also starts having feelings for Xander. She eventually decides that the reason why she was interested in either of them was because [[SituationalSexuality there were few options available]], as she hadn't had much social contact with anyone other than her [[TrueCompanions friends/family]] and the [[ActionGirl other slayers]] for a long time.

** Willow/Xander sinks after Willow finally chooses Oz (who she previously cheated on with Xander). Cordelia refuses to forgive Xander for the cheating, so Xander/Cordy is also out. Willow/Oz got sunk when Oz gets PutOnABus and when Willow chose Tara over him when TheBusCameBack.
** [[DerailingLoveInterests Buffy/Riley]] when she catches him essentially seeing vampire prostitutes in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E10IntoTheWoods Into the Woods]]", followed by him giving her an ultimatum and then literally leaving the show when she didn't agree to it, followed by him [[TheBusCameBack showing up again in]] "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS6E15AsYouWere As You Were]]" with a ''wife''. Then again, considering who [[TheScrappy Riley]] is, this was seen more as a good thing than not.