And I Must Scream/Toys


 * Bionicle has the Eldritch Abomination Tren Krom, who had his body sealed to an island and was rendered completely immobile. Furthermore, he was so hideous that anyone who looked at him ran the risk of going insane. Then, he went and tricked Lewa into switching bodies with him, leaving poor Lewa stranded on an isolated island in a monstrous, tentacled body, unable to move around, not being able to speak except via telepathy, and with no hope of rescue since his friends think he's still with them, if acting a bit strangely. It got reversed in the end, and after a while, Tren Krom was finally granted his freedom. And then murdered off screen instantly.
 * In a meta-example, the Bionicle franchise itself is in a state like this. There have been no toys, comics, books, movies or games made since mid-'10, but LEGO agreed to let the storyline go on 'till the end of '11, in the form of online story serials. Those have been on a hiatus for months, and the writer doesn't really have the spare time to interact with the fans. Bionicle can only be seen as being "alive" if you're very technical, but there really isn't anything that would suggest that this is the case when viewed from the outside.