Titus/Tear Jerker

While Titus (the short-lived FOX sitcom based on Norman Rockwell is Bleeding) was mostly a Black Comedy making fun of the things that would be considered tear-jerking and dramatic (i.e., alcoholism, suicide, murder, family dysfunction, failure, terrorism, dealing with death, unrequited love, divorce, etc), this show did have its fair share of tear-jerking moments:
- "The Last Noelle": Titus reading the letter he ripped up that Noelle sent to him ("Dear Christopher: I love you too much, that's the problem. Be mine forever, and I promise I'll never hurt you. Love, Noelle.") is just chilling not just because Titus was involved in an abusive relationship with a woman who used her sex appeal to reel him back whenever she drove him away with her violence, but because Noelle could have been damaged herself, but was too evil to realize her motivations.
- "The Visit": After trapping his mom in a closet (and with Dave, Ken, and Tommy ready to attack), Erin comes in to tell Titus that she got a call from the police about Titus's mom -- she killed herself four hours ago in Missouri, meaning that she was never in California trying to sabotage Titus and Erin's plans to adopt Amy. After the utterly silent scene of Titus checking the closet and finding no one there, it cuts to the Neutral Space, in which Titus ends the episode with this speech:

"Being a parent is a life sentence. From the day that child is born to the day you die -- and then some. Mom, there's nothing to forgive. You gave me life. Everyone else thinks I'm crazy. Good job, Mom."

- The flashbacks of Titus as a child spending time with his mom in the mental hospital on "Insanity Genetic," particularly the one in which 5-year-old Titus tries to say goodbye to his mom, but she's so catatonic from mental illness, all she can do is rock back and forth, just staring.
- The end of "Mom's Not Nuts," in which Titus tries to ignore the ringing phone (after his Mom drugs Titus, Erin, Tommy, and Dave with her medication and chases after Ken with a broken wine bottle) in the Neutral Space, then decides to answer it, showing that Titus still loves his mother, despite her severe mental illness.

Back to Titus