They say time heals all wounds, but I gotta tell you, a decade on I am still carrying the battle scars from watching Melissa Rafter's death on Packed To The Rafters.
If you, on the other hand, were one of the few who missed this golden era of TV, allow me to set the scene.
After getting stuck at work, Melissa hops in the car to meet her hubby, Ben, for a romantic evening at a hotel.
She buckles up, flicks on the radio and Coldplay’s "Fix You" — the most depressing song ever written — begins to play.
Mel dials her voicemail inbox and a message from Ben begins to play.
He ends the call by saying, "Even though you made me spoil the surprise, I love you too."
It's dark, the headlights from passing cars are disorienting and as Mel glances down to end the call, it happens.
She runs straight through a stop sign without pausing and is t-boned by an oncoming car from the other direction.
But oh god, the torment doesn't end there. In slow succession, we see all of the Rafter family receive the news.
And Ben, our poor Benny Boy, hears the knock on his hotel room and eagerly opens it — expecting to see his wife.
The whole family then join Ben at the hospital, as he goes to say his final goodbye to Mel — and it all plays out in a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, slow-motion scene.
Fucking hell, Packed To The Rafters. You really did us dirty with this episode. I'm not sure I'm a big enough person to forgive you yet.
