Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context VerySpecialEpisode / LiveActionTV

Go To

1%%%
2%%
3%% This page has been alphabetized. Please add new examples in the correct order.
4%%
5%%%
6A "VerySpecialEpisode" in television parlance is one with a much darker or serious storyline than usual, especially if the series is a situation comedy or a lighthearted drama. But in its broadest sense, the "very special episode" is simply a television program that:
7* For a regularly scheduled program, airs at a time other than its regular timeslot. These can range from simply being reruns or new showings of run-of-the-mill episodes, to shows that feature guest stars or have a different non-"very special episode"-type storyline as a ratings stunt (such as the main cast going on vacation or a special guest star), subsequent parts of multi-part episodes, a MilestoneCelebration. Or it could indeed be a "very special episode" aired at a time where the network believes said episode can reach a larger audience.
8* Is a one-off special that preempts regular programming. Originally, these were special theatrical presentations meant to appeal to high culture, such as a videotaped presentation of ''Theatre/{{Peter Pan|1954}}'', but later evolved into one-time comedy specials (''e.g.'', various Creator/BobHope specials) or cultural events (such as the Academy Awards).
9----
10!!!'''Creators:'''
11* Creator/BobHope:
12** ''Texaco Presents Bob Hope in a Very Special Special: On the Road with Bing'', which differed in format from most of the legendary comedian's specials. Aired shortly after Music/BingCrosby's death in 1977, this was more a celebration of Hope's longtime friendship and partnership with Bing Crosby, with clips from their ''Film/RoadTo'' movies and comments from co-stars Hope and Dorothy Lamour.
13** Specials that were technically "very special" were usually MilestoneCelebration-type shows, to either observe an anniversary in television (1975 and 2000, to mark his 25th and 50th years) or a milestone birthday (75th, 80th and 90th, aired in 1978, 1983 and 1993, respectively).
14
15!!!'''Networks:'''
16* In the fall of 2007, Creator/{{NBC}} launched [[GreenAesop "Green is Universal" to focus on helping the environment]]. To coincide with this campaign, that November the network launched "Green Week", an entire week where every show had an episode focused on environmental issues, and often had Al Gore guest star. NBC continues this practice today, though on fewer programs, and "green" NBC programming nowadays almost always premieres during the week that Earth Day falls on.
17
18!!!'''Specials:'''
19* The UsefulNotes/MacysThanksgivingDayParade is, in broad terms, always a VSE, as it pre-empts most of NBC's daytime programming and is one of the few programs the network can count on to attract the entire family. But some parades were particularly special:
20** In 1963, the parade was held a week after the Kennedy assassination, and as such was a tribute to the late president.
21** The 1990 parade included a tribute to the recently-deceased Creator/JimHenson. The 2003 parade featured a similar tribute to Creator/BobHope.
22** The 2001 parade might be the most special of them all, and not just for the fact that it was held only a couple of months after the World Trade Center attacks, which happened in the parade's location of New York City. Giving the "very special" factor a little extra bit of poignancy, [[MilestoneCelebration that year marked the parade's 75th anniversary]]. Media took special notice to this, and billed it the parade's "coming out" after the tragedy that was still fresh in everyone's minds. Even today it's considered one of the event's proudest moments.
23** The 2005 parade featured a tribute to the city of New Orleans after it (along with many other parts of Louisiana) had been hit by Hurricane Katrina.
24** The 2020 parade, despite being considerably scaled down due to the ongoing UsefulNOtes/COVID19Pandemic, still went on, being one of the few New York City traditions to not be canceled that year.
25
26!!!'''Series:'''
27[[foldercontrol]]
28
29[[folder:#]]
30* ''Series/TwoPointFourChildren'' was better known for {{Anvilicious}} moments rather than a whole episode, but it did sometimes use this trope.
31** One episode concerns Bill's desire to keep David from becoming friendly with a local LowerClassLout, only to learn about how rough the boy has it at home and how his mother is struggling as a single parent.
32** In another, Rona, who has struggled to get pregnant, takes home an abandoned baby she found, and has to learn the lesson that she's not entitled to a child just because she wants one.
33** One of the Christmas specials dealt extensively with the plight of the homeless.
34* This is more-or-less the premise of ''3 Nen B Gumi Series/KinpachiSensei''. It was a {{Long Runner|s}} that ran for several decades about a middle school PsychologistTeacher dealing with various issues such as child abuse, cancer, gay students, and trans students.
35* The WB's ''Series/SeventhHeaven'' was notorious for virtually every episode being "very special". They often involved new friends who [[LongLostUncleAesop were never seen or mentioned again]]. For example, the episode "Cutters" is about a recently-befriended girl who is caught cutting herself and gets PutOnABus at the end of the episode.
36* One of the more famous modern ones is the ''Series/EightSimpleRules'' two-parter entitled "Goodbye," This was a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot, as lead actor Creator/JohnRitter fell ill on set during the second season and later died of an aortic dissection. The show killed off his character Paul Hennessy (implying that he had a heart attack), the episode was broadcast without a laugh track, and the show's opening credits were never seen again. It marked the point in the show where the focus shifted from Paul to his wife Cate, who's now trying to keep the family together.
37* ''Series/TwentyOneJumpStreet'' embodies this trope, as most episodes dealt with hot-button issues among American youths of the 1980s -- gangs, drugs, bullying, child abuse, academic pressure, racial prejudice, suicide, rape, and sexual harassment.
38* A fourth-season episode of ''Series/TwentyFour'' had Jack Bauer hiding out in a gun shop owned by two immigrants, who demonstrated that they were patriotic and wanted to serve for the good of the American people. This episode also featured a PSA by lead actor Creator/KieferSutherland, who highlighted the discrimination faced by Arabs and East Indians living in America during UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror.
39* ''999'', a Creator/{{BBC}} series which usually showed accident reconstructions and gave first-aid advice, had several of these. Most were about road safety, although one was about safe use of fireworks, and another one about suicide and how to spot someone who might be suicidal.
40[[/folder]]
41
42[[folder:A]]
43* ''Series/Adam12'': The third season had a very touching and insightful episode called "Elegy for a Pig," where Officer Pete Malloy (Martin Milner), the elder of the two regular officers, narrates a documentary about his one-time partner, who was killed while staking out a robbery. Malloy's emotional telling shows that when an officer dies, he is more than just a statistic, but rather a comrade, friend, family man and much more. The end credits for that particular episode did not use the usual sequence or theme, but rather [[SilentCredits a black screen with no music]] (the {{vanity plate}}s at the end were kept as usual).
44* ''Series/AdventuresInWonderland'' had two episodes that taught viewers about disabilities: "On a Roll," which features the Mad Hatter's wheelchair-bound cousin Hedda Hatter, played by Christopher Anne Templeton, and "The Sound and the Furry," which features the March Hare's deaf cousin April Hare, played by Marlee Matlin.
45* ''Series/AfterschoolSpecial'', which at one point aired on all three networks (under various titles), frequently explored serious social topics, such as [=AIDS=], bullying, censorship, child abuse (physical and sexual), crime, drunk driving, drugs, date rape, hitchhiking, and mental illness. The idea was for adults and teenagers to watch the episode together and discuss the issues presented.
46* ''Series/AlfredHitchcockPresents'' did a couple of these, within the series format, during its "Alfred Hitchcock Hour" incarnation. The episodes "Hangover" (dealing with alcoholism) and "Memo from Purgatory" (dealing with teen gang violence) ended with Hitch putting aside his usual joking comments and addressing the seriousness of the issues.
47* ''Series/AllInTheFamily'' had numerous episodes that qualified for this trope, although none of them were promoted as such. Several episodes during the 1977-1978 season (the eighth season, and the final one featuring the original foursome together as regulars) had some very adult themes:
48** "Edith's 50th Birthday," where Edith is attacked by a serial rapist. Met with universal critical acclaim, the episode showed -- through Gloria, who recalled her own near-run in with sexual assault more than four years earlier -- that rape was about power and domination, not sex. It all ends with Edith (who, so shaken by the incident, had refused to press charges) slapping Gloria across the face after Gloria calls Edith a selfish coward unworthy of her respect. This helps Edith realize the rapist must be put behind bars for good; what would have been {{Narm}}-inducing ends up being a Crowning Moment of Bittersweet.
49** "Archie and the KKK", where Archie runs into an old buddy, who invites him to the Kweens Kouncil of Krusaders. Archie doesn't get (at first) that said organization is actually the local Ku Klux Klan chapter taking on a very misleading name. Not only does Archie get a chance to reflect on his own viewpoints about people with backgrounds or ethnicities outside his comfort zone, it showed viewers that Archie does have a touch of decency in him and that his views reflected the times in which he grew up, not pure racism. In the end, Archie thwarts a planned cross-burning when he realizes that Mike is the target of the intended act.
50** "Archie's Bitter Pill," where Archie -- after buying the local tavern -- realizes how stressful it is to run a business without an adequate education or help, and turns to speed to help him get through the day. In the end, Mike takes a part time job, while Archie hires a business partner.
51** "Edith's Crisis of Faith," where Edith witnesses the brutal slaying of cross-dresser Beverly [=LaSalle=] during a failed robbery attempt, and is so shaken that she nearly renounces her faith in God.
52** Although it didn't have an adult theme per se, the season finale "The Stivics Move West" was also a very special episode, in that it was the last regular show featuring Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers as regulars. There was a very emotional farewell at the very end, after which a deeply saddened Archie forlornly watches the taxi (with Mike, Gloria and Joey inside) drive out of sight, before he tearfully goes over to his armchair to sit next to an also deeply saddened Edith, the camera fades out, and the audience applauds. Word has it that the foursome had such a difficult time keeping their emotions in check that it took twenty takes to film this scene.
53** Two other episodes fit the broadest definition of "very special episode", in that they depart from the normal format and serve as {{Milestone Celebration}}s. "[[Recap/AllInTheFamilyS5E15TheBestOfAllInTheFamily The Best of All In the Family]]," aired in December 1974, presented highlights, interviews, and mainstream media coverage from the show's first four seasons. It also had an announcement of the show's latest spinoff, ''Series/TheJeffersons'', which would debut a few weeks later. "[[Recap/AllInTheFamilyS9E21AllInTheFamilysTwoHundredthEpisodeCelebration All In the Family's 200th Episode Celebration]]", aired in March 1979, did effectively the same thing as well.
54* ''Series/ArchieBunkersPlace'': The follow-up series to ''All in the Family'' had a number of episodes with Very Special topics, including pregnancy and drug abuse. But none were as special as "Archie Alone", the 1980-1981 season opener which saw Edith die of a stroke (offscreen; Jean Stapleton had resigned her role) and Archie release his pent-up grief, a month after trying to dodge the fact that his beloved "Dingbat" had died before he had a chance to say, "I love you" one last time.
55* A Season 5 episode of ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' entitled "Spectre of the Gun" provided views for both sides of the gun control debate, and gun violence itself is treated far more seriously than in any of its past episodes.
56* In ''Series/AtHomeWithAmySedaris'', Creator/{{Amy|Sedaris}} usually ends the ColdOpen with, "[Subject], tonight on a very special ''At Home With Amy Sedaris''," even if the episode ends up seeming no more "special" than most.
57* The ''Series/AustinAndAlly'' episode "Beauties & Bullies" is dedicated to cyberbullying.
58[[/folder]]
59
60[[folder:B]]
61* There are two episodes of ''Series/BarRescue'' that come to mind:
62** Third season episode "[[Recap/BarRescueS3E24HurricaneJonVsHurricaneSandy Hurricane Jon vs. Hurricane Sandy]]" was about the Bungalow Bar in Rockaway, New York, which was wrecked by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 but ran out of repair funds. Jon Taffer didn't need to do much to fix the staff, it was largely about saving a bar that was previously actually pretty good.
63** Sixth season episode "Operation: Puerto Rico" is about El K'rajo in the San Juan, Puerto Rico, suburb of Loíza which was ruined by the one-two punch of Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Finding the entire surrounding neighborhood lay in ruins, he called in some heavy hitters--including entrepreneur Mark Cuban, actor Creator/LuisGuzman, and baseball player Bernie Williams--to practically reconstruct the entire neighborhood. Jon even gave the owners of El K'rajo $12,000 to settle their mortgage and save their home from foreclosure.
64* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' had an interesting subversion of the VSE when a young colonist snuck aboard Galactica to get an abortion. All of the components for an allegory about American attitudes towards abortion were in place: Devout colonists considered it immoral, secular colonists considered it a fundamental right, and the single case was turned into a wedge issue during an election. But the critical difference with real life is that with the human race reduced to less than 50,000 people, the survival of the species became paramount, and abortion was criminalized.
65* ''Series/{{Baywatch}}'' tended to do [[TwoLinesNoWaiting two half-hour plotlines]] within a single hour-long episode, running them simultaneously in the episode's timeline. Sometimes, they didn't match in tone, leading to {{Narm}}y results. One example is an episode in which one of the lifeguards gets skin cancer -- and Hulk Hogan has to win a wrestling match to save a local youth center.
66* {{Discussed|Trope}} in the ''Series/BigWolfOnCampus'' episode "The Sandman Cometh":
67-->''They did four Very Special Episodes in a row... it was an emotional workout.''
68* In''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' they did an episode after actress Carol Ann Susi (Debbie, Howard Wolowitz's mother) died in real life, paying tribute to her character, saluting her at the end.
69* ''Series/BillyTheExterminator'': In one episode of Season 2, Billy and Ricky travel to the Gulf Coast to survey the damage caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
70* ''Series/BlackIsh'' is practically a Very Special Series, with episodes tackling everything from [[ComingOutStory coming out]] to gun control to masturbation to NWordPrivileges, but "Hope," their episode about [[RippedFromTheHeadlines police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement]], is notable in that it was even advertised as such. Given its mostly black cast, many episodes dealt with racial identity and prejudice.
71** "Lemons" is another notable one, where Dre's coworker Lucy is revealed to be a Trump supporter, and Lucy actually explains her logic in doing so.
72* Popularly attributed to ''Series/{{Blossom}}'', which had a lot of Very Special Episodes which were promoted as such. Frequently, episodes employing this trope were introduced by actress Creator/MayimBialik (who played the title character) intoning in a somber manner, "Tonight, on a Very Special ''Blossom''..." followed by teaser scenes dramatically showing the conflict and cutting off before the most dire event reaches its climax. It was enough to be the source of many {{parodi|edtrope}}es:
73** On ''Series/{{Friends}}'', Joey announces, "My family thinks I've got VD!" (the result of a [[PublicServiceAnnouncement PSA poster campaign]] he was in sending the wrong impression). Chandler sardonically replies, "Tonight on a very special ''Series/{{Blossom}}''!"
74** The American ''Series/WhatNotToWear'' had an episode billed as "a Very Special Episode" where the celebrity makeover target was revealed to be Mayim Bialik. She even seemed to dress like a grown-up Blossom gone to seed.
75** On ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'', Dr. Orpheus threatens to "make you believe you ''are'' a very special episode of ''Blossom''."
76* ''Series/{{Bones}}'' did one about a homeless war veteran who died ten days after the Pentagon attack on September 11. Another one was about Booth doing a carnival for children with Neurofibromatosis.
77* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' had a couple of these.
78** Cory and Shawn become completely drunk sharing a small bottle of whiskey, leading to Shawn having a harrowing week of alcoholism solving it by "talking to some guy."
79** Shawn has a friend who is physically abused by her dad, so Shawn and Cory decide to hide her at Cory's house overnight. It ends with the Kids Help Phone Hotline number.
80** Shawn joins a cult disguised as a youth center, and he's so enamored with the companionship there and taken in by the cult leader that he cuts himself off from his usual friends and slowly turns insane -- until Mr. Turner has a motorcycle accident that leaves him in critical condition. It aired not long after the Heaven's Gate suicides, although the cult leader on the show was portrayed somewhat more sympathetically, if a bit nutty.
81** Cory bets Feeny that he can get more students to pass a test if he teaches classes himself for a week. He immediately institutes anarchy in the classroom before realizing that it was a bad idea and deciding to do some actual teaching. He winds up trying to teach about racism and Anne Frank's ''Literature/TheDiaryOfAYoungGirl'' and makes no headway -- except with Shawn, who does better than usual on the test at the end.
82* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' has a few, which still have comedy moments and the typical A/B sitcom story structure, but with a noticeably more serious A plot focused on a Very Special topic:
83** "Moo Moo" sees Sergeant Jeffords stopped by a white police officer outside his own home while out of uniform. The episode discusses various positions on the issue of racial profiling within the police, and shows some of the impact it has on his children.
84** "He Said, She Said" has Amy investigating a sexual assault case with only circumstantial evidence to support the victim's accusation. This eventually leads to her disclosing that she went through a similar situation in the past, making the case very personal for her.
85* One episode of ''Series/TheBrothersGarcia'' has Carlos finding out a girl at school wears a wig. He delightfully plans to tell everyone, only for Sonia to take him to the hospital and show him into the oncology department, revealing that the girl in question has cancer. It was handled rather well and had a pretty touching ending.
86* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
87** Willow's story arc throughout season 6 is frequently derided for being one long Very Special Episode all about the evil of drugs. It's the single biggest reason why many people [[FanonDisContinuity tend to ignore everything after Tabula Rasa.]] If the message wasn't clear enough, we get Rack, Willow's dealer, who's slimier than [[Series/{{Underbelly}} Alphonse Gangitano, Carl Williams, Jason Moran, Tony Mokbel and Mick Gatto put together.]]
88** The fourth season episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E5BeerBad Beer Bad]]" attempted to have a moral lesson about drinking alcohol, mainly to take advantage of the Office of National Drug Control Policy giving shows money for doing anti-drug episodes. However, the show ended up not getting any money, mainly because [[SpaceWhaleAesop the curse on the beer turned people into]] ''[[SpaceWhaleAesop cavemen]]'' and [[SpoofAesop because of this]]:
89--->'''Xander:''' And was there a lesson in all this? Huh? What did we learn about beer?\
90'''Buffy:''' Foamy.\
91'''Xander:''' [[SpoofAesop Good, just as long as that's clear.]]
92** The season 3 episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E18Earshot Earshot]]" dealt with a fringe character planning to commit suicide and included a [[PublicServiceAnnouncement PSA after the episode aired]]. The season 2 episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E19IOnlyHaveEyesForYou I Only Have Eyes For You]]" also ended with a PSA about suicide and a suicide hotline number.
93** The season 3 episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS3E4BeautyAndTheBeasts Beauty and the Beasts]]" dealt with the nature of boyfriends switching between nice and a {{jerk|Ass}}. The SpaceWhaleAesop is stretched to the breaking point in this one, as it portrays the boyfriend as a literal monster, the abused girlfriend as a total basket case, and the onlookers as condescending jerkwads, thereby insulting just about everyone who could conceivably find themselves in such a situation.
94** The season 2 episode "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS2E20GoFish Go Fish]]" has the swim team being given a drug which is constantly referred to as a steroid but ends up turning them into fish.
95[[/folder]]
96
97[[folder:C]]
98* ''Series/CanadasWorstDriver'' bordered on this during the episode of ''Ever'' when Angelina finally agreed to go into a mental health program. The episode ended with Andrew encouraging viewers to contact the Canadian Mental Health Association, stating that "silence is not the cure."
99* The show ''Series/CaliforniaDreams'' did this twice.
100** The first was an episode where team heart and overall Pollyanna Tiffani ends up taking PED's to help her team win at volleyball leading to addiction, a public intervention in the local teen hangout and a code about seeking help and therapy despite neither the addiction nor the volleyball team ever appearing again.
101** The second was near the end of the series where Mark has one drink on Prom night and promptly crashes his car leaving his date hospitalised and him guilty and potentially not graduating. It was anvilicious even by the standards of this trope.
102* ''Series/ChicoAndTheMan'': "Raul Runs Away", which was the show's way of explaining that main character [[TheCharacterDiedWithHim Chico had died]] (off-screen). The episode aired two days short of the one-year anniversary of Freddie Prinze's 1977 suicide, and for viewers and his fellow cast members brought closure to his passing... and the series, as ''Chico'' lasted only a few more episodes.
103* An episode of ''Series/{{Clueless}}'' featured the death of Cher's boyfriend by means of drunk driving complete with a cast PSA at the end.
104* A few episodes of ''Series/ColdCase'' dealt with DomesticAbuse, notably "A Perfect Day," "Churchgoing People," and "The Brush Man." The former was the show's highest-rated episode. Every other episode dealt with some hot-button issue like gender, women's rights, race, mental health, and even gun control.
105* ''Series/{{Community}}'': "Mixology Certification" showed issues with alcoholism, helplessness, adjustment to disability, dealing with adulthood, and questioning one's path in life. It was much heavier than other episodes in tone, although it retained the show's trademark humor.
106%%* ''Series/CriminalMinds'' and ''Series/{{Medium}}'' most notably do these, but without the LongLostUncleAesop factor.
107* Though nearly every episode of ''Series/{{CSI}}'' covers something "Very Special," one stands out: It aired in the wake of Michael Vick's arrest for running a dogfighting ring and focused on dogfighting and how bad it is. It ended with a [[PublicServiceAnnouncement PSA]] from William Peterson (who plays Gil Grissom) and his own dog.
108* ''Series/CSIMiami'' had an episode RippedFromTheHeadlines about a photographer suspected of being a killer; it ended with a PSA featuring photos of still-unidentified real life women, hoping that it would lead to someone identifying them.
109* ''Series/{{CSINY}}'':
110** A whole arc on dealt with Stella's fear that she had contracted [=AIDS=]. It was done in cooperation with [=KnowHIVAIDS.org=], and a PSA aired after each episode.
111** The season 8 opener, "[[Recap/CSINYS08E01 Indelible]]," aired eleven days after the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and dealt with all the main characters' memories of where they were on that fateful day. It included Mac Taylor participating in the dedication of the Brooklyn Wall of Remembrance (much like Creator/GarySinise had done in real life), and family members of the first responders lost that day were part of the crowd. Sinise also did a PSA about the Wall following the episode.
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:D]]
115* Series 3 of Creator/TheBBC children's sitcom ''Series/DanisHouse'' features an episode in which the eponymous heroine becomes addicted to a driving video game, after becoming frustrated at having to rely on public transport and finding she can't afford to have proper driving lessons. There is the possibility that it might be slightly tongue-in-cheek, but the cast play it straight throughout (allowing for moments of humour, obviously).
116* Practically every episode of the ''Franchise/{{Degrassi}}'' franchise is a very special episode. From abortions to suicide to events [[RippedFromTheHeadlines ripped from Canadian headlines]] to rape to lesbianism to abuse to unwanted pregnancies to neglected friends to pedophilia to online stalkers to self-worth to HIV/AIDS to environmental awareness, it's all here. In fact, the "Degrassi Classic" franchise emphasized this in a series of short documentary features co-produced by the Canadian government called "Degrassi Talks," in which cast members talked about disturbing events that happened in their lives.
117* ''Series/DesigningWomen'' had two:
118** "Killing All The Right People" is one of the first television episodes to address the AIDS epidemic and features an impassioned speech advocating condom distribution in public schools;
119** They Shoot Fat People, Don't They?" is about Suzanne feeling upset because she had access to as much food she wanted until she meets a survivor of famine in Ethiopia.
120** Possibly a third with "The Strange Case of Clarence and Anita" about the confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the United States Supreme Court and the unprecedented hearings about sexual harassment allegations against Thomas by law professor and former subordinate Anita Hill. Thomas was confirmed on October October 15, 1991 and the episode aired November 4.[[note]] In an ironic bit of HypocriticalHumor, ''DW'' aired on CBS... the one major network that ''didn't'' air the Thomas case live, due to conflicts with their broadcast of the Major League Baseball playoffs; NBC, ABC, and even PBS and C-SPAN aired it live.[[/note]]
121* ''Series/DiffrentStrokes'' had a few:
122** The best known Very Special Episode was "The Bicycle Man," aired during the fifth season. Arnold and Dudley befriend a genial bicycle shop owner (Gordon Jump, best known as Mr. Carlson on ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati''), unaware that he is a pedophile and is buttering them up for a possible sexual encounter. When the two are shown an X-rated "cat and mouse" cartoon, Arnold decides he's had enough and leaves, then lets slip some details about the bicycle shop owner (unaware that Dudley is still there, and has been given a pill). Not to worry: Dudley is saved in the proverbial nick of time, and the bicycle man is off to prison. ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' revealed that this actually happened to Principal Lewis and that his friend, Dudley, was traumatized over it.
123--->'''[[WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy Peter]]''': And everyone learns a valuable lesson.\
124'''Judge''': Mr. Griffin, did you learn ''your'' lesson?\
125'''Peter''': Oh, yeah! Stay the hell away from ''that'' bike shop!
126** In "The Reporter", which aired just weeks after "The Bicycle Man", Arnold joins the school newspaper and writes an article about drugs being sold on school grounds. The school administration thinks Arnold is lying and won't print the story -- until First Lady Nancy Reagan shows up with ample proof and persuasion that such activities had (sadly) become the norm, and not just at Arnold's school. The episode was part of Mrs. Reagan's "Just Say No!" campaign.
127** Other "very special" episodes included Kimberly [[CompressedVice suddenly being bulimic]], the show's resident CousinOliver Sam being abducted, the boys being refused entry into an elite school with a racist admissions agent, the family housekeeper revealing she's epileptic (prompted by Arnold and Sam making fun of a street performer they saw having a seizure), Willis having a health scare due to excessive stress, and several more. The show was the king of very special episodes long before ''Blossom'' came along.
128* ''Series/ADifferentWorld'' had many episodes that ventured into this trope. AIDS, [[UsefulNotes/TheApartheidEra Apartheid]], racism, dating violence, pregnancy scares, interracial dating, gang violence, the L.A. Riots, to name a few all visited the Hillman College campus. ''Series/InLivingColor'' parodied this in the skit "A Different Message."
129* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
130** The old series has a few, particularly "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS17E4NightmareOfEden Nightmare of Eden]]" (DrugsAreBad), "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E5TheGreenDeath The Green Death]]" (GreenAesop) and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E4TheTwoDoctors The Two Doctors]]" ([[TheRightOfASuperiorSpecies Eating meat is evil]]).
131** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E8TheHungryEarth "The Hungry Earth"]] has an {{Anvilicious}} Aesop about dyslexia as a minor subplot. There was a weblink at the end of the original broadcast.
132** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E10VincentAndTheDoctor Vincent and the Doctor]]" is set during Creator/VincentVanGogh's final days and thus touches closely on issues of chronic depression, which the man suffered from in real life. In its original UK airing, the episode closed with a plug for a BBC website about depression and a counselling hotline.
133** "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS38E7CanYouHearMe Can You Hear Me?]]" has a very strong theme of mental ill-health, with a plot revolving around evil {{Emotion Eater}}s feeding on people's nightmares, but also featuring major characters dealing with mundane mental distress, with a heavy message of "talk to someone". It was broadcast at the end of the UK "Children's Mental Health Week."
134* The ''Series/DogWithABlog'' episode "My Parents Posted What?!" is dedicated to internet safety.
135* ''Series/TheDrewCareyShow'' parodied this with "A Very Special Drew," which tried to tackle every Very Special Problem at once. It covered potential [[DeathByChildbirth miscarriage]], raising a child in poverty, [[MoralGuardians irresponsible gun (and alcohol) ownership]], obsessive-compulsive disorder, kleptomania (supplemented by a FreudianExcuse), anorexia, [[{{Angst}} misdirected self-loathing]], loved ones succumbing to [[SoapOperaDisease unknown illnesses]], illiteracy, unexpected death of a loved one, organ donation, [[TheLastDance last-minute marriage]] (failed due to said unexpected death), the LittlestCancerPatient, and coming out of the closet ([[IAmSpartacus Spartacus-style]]). The whole episode was framed around the cast [[OscarBait trying to win an Emmy.]]
136[[/folder]]
137
138[[folder:E]]
139* A season 1 episode of ''Series/EarlyEdition'' dealt with gun violence.
140* ''Series/{{Elementary}}'':
141** In one episode the sub-plot involved Gregson trying to start a relationship with someone who had recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. It's not too thick on the coverage, however. At the end of the airing there was a PSA from his actor about [=MS=].
142** The final season had an episode where Gregson discovered that the old buddy who temporarily replaced him as precinct commander while he was in hospital was a sexual harasser whose abusive behaviour caused a female detective to resign from the force, leading to some heavy-handed discussion of the evils of workplace sexual harassment.
143* ''Series/EqualJustice'': The episode in which an HIV positive man's charged with infecting his girlfriend. At the end, Jo makes a specific point of telling Peter they need a condom before getting busy.
144[[/folder]]
145
146[[folder:F]]
147* ''Series/TheFactsOfLife'':
148** There was an episode where Natalie almost gets raped. It's often confused with a later episode similarly billed as a VSE (but in which she sleeps with her boyfriend voluntarily) or a different VSE in which a boy spreads rumors that Natalie was easy and wrecked her reputation.
149** One episode featured [[LongLostUncleAesop Blair's cousin Geri]], who has cerebral palsy. Blair is forced to admit that she's secretly jealous of her cousin, because Geri is praised for being able to do simple things while she herself rarely receives any recognition from her family despite working extremely hard to impress them. Mrs. Garrett [[WhatTheHellHero calls her out on this]] without moralizing, instead telling her to consider the implications of what she just said. It helps that Geri returned for a few more episodes, which avoids the typical pattern for these episodes.
150** The episode "Breaking Point" has a classmate who won against Blair in the school presidential election end up committing suicide. The rest of the episode has the Mrs. Garrett and the girls discussing the subject and what can be done should one feel that way.
151* ''Film/{{Fame}}'' has a number of these:
152** One particularly notable VSE is "Go Softly Into The Morning," an episode about drunk driving that just so happened to have been brainstormed right around the time Nia Peeples (Nicole) was about to leave the show. The producers got her permission to [[ActorLeavesCharacterDies kill off the character]] as the result of another student's carelessness. They later regretted offing Nicole, and said that they would have loved for her to come back for the GrandFinale.
153** "A Tough Act To Follow" formally killed off Mr. Crandall. It aired not long after his actor, Michael Thoma, died of cancer, so it doubled as a tribute to Thoma.
154** "Help From My Friends" is about Dwight finding a suicide note in a student's vandalized locker and everyone else tracking down the note's author.
155** In "Bottle of Blues," Doris reunites with a past boyfriend of hers who is an alcoholic. He swears that he's stopped drinking, but he shows up late and drunk to a rehearsal, so she's forced to give him up.
156** In "Childhood's End," Coco deals with the death of her grandmother.
157* ''Series/FamilyMatters'' did episodes about the following topics:
158** Marrow donation.
159** Gun and gang violence among youth, complete with PSA from the actors out of character at the end, and a catchphrase [[http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/research/chc/squash-it-campaign/ "Squash it" ]] that was part of a national anti-violence campaign. It's obvious the actors were kind of uncomfortable doing the PSA.
160** Police discrimination -- a cop pulls over and unfairly tickets Eddie because he was a black teenager driving in a white neighborhood.
161** Black History Month -- when Laura suggests that a black history class be put into the curriculum, she gets harassed by the white students, causes racial tension in the student body, and finds a note in her locker telling her to "go back to Africa". Nick@Nite airings [[EditedForSyndication cut the scene right after]] showing her closing her locker and finding the word "Nigger" spray-painted on it.
162** Someone spiking Urkel's drink at a party, with Urkel almost dying as a result.
163** Carl having a heart attack.
164** Urkel saving Carl's life with CPR after he gets electrocuted by a lamp.
165** The most {{Anvilicious}} episode of them all: The one where Eddie is chastised by ''every one of his gym classmates'' for [[VirginShaming still being a virgin]].
166* ''Series/FamilyTies'' had many of these, some of them incredibly {{Anvilicious}} like some other shows, and others actually quite effective. In these episodes:
167** Alex loses a friend to drunk driving.
168** Steven has a heart attack.
169** A friend of the family makes a pass at Mallory.
170** Alex gets addicted to diet pills.
171** LongLostUncleAesop (played by [[http://www.agonybooth.com/agonizer/Family_Ties/Say_Uncle.aspx Tom Hanks]] is an "off the wagon" alcoholic.
172--->'''Uncle Ned:''' (*sob*) I hit Alex...\
173'''Uncle Ned:''' It may not be Miller time, but it is vanilla time! (downs an entire bottle of vanilla extract)\
174'''Uncle Ned:''' C'mon, Alex, are you too good to sit down and have a glass of maraschino cherries with your uncle?
175** The episode where Jennifer becomes a rabid environmentalist and falls into a deep depression over not being able to save the Earth in a half hour.
176** The Keatons' new black neighbors encounter racism.
177* ''Series/TheFlash2014'' had "Trajectory," a MonsterOfTheWeek episode that was essentially an Aesop about steroid use. The episode's titular character, who is also an addict of the speed force steroid she reverse-engineered, [[spoiler:dies and is never mentioned again]]. Aside from having no apparent government involvement, the episode plays out like any VSE from the 1980s.
178* ''Series/{{Frasier}}'' had a few of these, probably the most dramatic being “Rooms With A View,” an incredibly heavy episode where Niles gets emergency open heart surgery. The others struggle to cope with the possibility of losing him, while reliving memories of their own times in the hospital.
179* ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' did this regularly (with three on the fourth season alone):
180** "[[Recap/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAirS1E06MistakenIdentity Mistaken Identity]]": Will and Carlton are pulled over trying to get to a fancy party. After Uncle Phil bails them out and threatens the arresting officer with litigation over it, Will and Carlton debate police racism, with Will thinking they were victims of racial profiling while Carlton says the whole thing was a misunderstanding and the police were just doing their jobs.
181** "Mama's Baby, Carlton's Maybe": Carlton nearly becomes a victim of [[TheBabyTrap paternity fraud]] because he's too afraid to admit he's a virgin.
182** "Just Say Yo": Will, who is having trouble keeping up in school, is given a bottle of speed. Will decides not to take it and puts it away in his locker. Meanwhile, Carlton, who's been having acne issues, finds the speed, thinking it's vitamin E[[note]]which is good for clearing up acne-prone skin[[/note]]. He gets tripping ''high'', [[TheCastShowoff dances wildly]] at the senior prom, and nearly dies. Initially, the family declares Will a hero for rescuing Carlton and admonish Carlton for taking unidentified pills, but when they find out that the speed belongs to Will, they lecture him on endangering his cousin's life and needing drugs to keep up in school.
183** "Blood Is Thicker Than Mud": Will and Carlton pledge to a fraternity, but the frat brothers choose Will over Carlton because they think Carlton is a sell-out to his race because of his rich and privileged background.
184** "You've Got to Be a Football Hero": Will's love interest's new boyfriend challenges him to a drinking contest; he gets drunk and passes out. Rather than say outright that alcohol is evil, the episode decries the stupidity of abusing alcohol for the sake of respect and machismo.
185** "[[Recap/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAirS4E24PapasGotABrandNewExcuse Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse]]": Will's deadbeat dad (played by Ben Vereen) comes back, only to abandon him again. The ending shows Will breaking down over the realization that his real father just doesn't love him.
186** "Bullets Over Bel-Air": Will gets shot at an ATM, and Carlton decides to buy a gun for self-defense, even though he's not trained in using it.
187* ''Series/{{Farscape}}'': The episode "Scratch 'n' Sniff" is an aversion. Set on a deconstructed PleasurePlanet that is actually based on organised crime, drug dealing and sexual exploitation, it was originally planned as a serious and noirish Very Special Episode about sex-trafficking and forced prostitution. However, at some stage, the showrunners decided that it was coming across as heavy-handed, dull and self-righteous, and decided to turn it into a gonzo comedy episode instead.
188* ''Series/FridayNightLights'' had a Very Special Two-Parter about racism that was actually very good and realistic. The racist coach even gets some amount of pity, as he privately admits to struggling with his own prejudices.
189* While never exactly played straight on ''Series/{{Friends}}'', some episodes, particularly those that involved Chandler smoking, definitely felt like this.
190** In one episode in particular, Creator/JonLovitz plays a restaurant manager who smokes a joint before interviewing Monica for a job with his restaurant. His behavior [[MarijuanaIsLSD certainly isn't that of somebody who smoked a marijuana cigarette.]]
191* There were multiple Very Special Episodes for ''Series/FullHouse'' (indicated by the longer version of the opening).
192** "The Last Dance," where [[spoiler:Jesse's grandfather dies]]. Unlike many Very Special Episodes, it wasn't {{narm}}y and was actually handled very nicely.
193** "Silence is Not Golden," where Stephanie's annoying classmate Charles accidentally reveals that his father physically abuses him and makes Stephanie promise not to tell anyone. When he's missing from class after his father claimed he [[CutHimselfShaving "fell down the stairs"]], Stephanie wrestles with that promise before Uncle Jesse convinces her to spill the beans. Charles ends up being put into a foster home. The Aesop was meant to show the importance of reporting child abuse when one sees it. It also gave us a particularly {{Narm}}y line:
194--->''I ran into a door. A door named Dad.''
195** Played with in an episode where DJ's friends offer her a beer; she declines and derides them for stupidity, but a classic ThirdActMisunderstanding leads to no one believing her until her friend Kevin confirms her story for everyone.
196** DJ is invited to a pool party, is insecure about showing up in a swimsuit, and develops an eating disorder. She skips meals for three days before Stephanie catches her feeding her lunch to the dog; she makes her promise not to tell anyone, but sensing a trend, she breaks her promise after DJ passes out at the gym. Naturally, she's cured by a hug at the end of the episode.
197** In "Under the Influence", Kimmy drinks too much at a fraternity party and acts like a total JerkAss, before DJ forcibly takes her keys and drives her home. When Kimmy asks why she would care, DJ reveals that her MissingMom was killed in a drunk driving accident before the start of the series.
198** Stephanie and a friend lie about their age to go joyriding with sixteen-year-old boys, who engage in all sorts of risky maneuvers on the road. DJ thwarts her plan to go again, and they later find out that the other kids were in a serious car accident -- and the only reason they survived with relatively minor injuries was because they were all wearing seat belts.
199** Stephanie and a friend are offered cigarettes in the school bathroom; Stephanie refuses, but only after much deliberation. She's so guilty about the fact that she even considered it that she causes a ThirdActMisunderstanding by calling into a teen radio show (run by Jesse and Joey) and explaining her predicament in a terrible fake accent.
200[[/folder]]
201
202[[folder:G]]
203* ''Series/TheGeorgeLopezShow'' had a lot of these involving [[TVTeen Carmen]]. Every teen sex related thing happened to her, just short of getting an STD or getting pregnant.
204* ''Series/GhostWriter'' had the story arc "What's Up With Alex?", where one of the characters befriends a marijuana user.
205* ''Series/{{Girls}}'' had a very special episode entitled "Close Up," in which Adam's girlfriend Mimi-Rose Howard reveals she had an abortion. The show received praise for how it went about dealing with the topic.
206* ''Series/{{Glee}}'' seems to have given every one of the show's FiveTokenBand ADayInTheLimelight, such as the Very Special [[SassyBlackWoman Zaftig African-American]] Episode, the Very Special Gay Episode and the Very Special Disability Episode. There was also a Very Special Gun Control Episode, a Very Special Drinking Episode, and one about the dangers of abusing amphetamines (although the latter two have become much HarsherInHindsight due to Cory Monteith's death from an overdose combination of alcohol and drugs). Monteith also got a special tribute episode called "The Quarterback" in the wake of his death.
207* ''Series/TheGoldenGirls'' did this periodically, and remarkably ''well''; large amounts of MoodWhiplash occurs. There were episodes touching on common VSE subjects like drug abuse, AIDS, and homelessness, but they also touched on some other issues that were unusual. The show was also notable for foisting Very Special Problems on the characters least likely to have them.
208** [[DeadpanSnarker Dorothy]], usually the strongest character, is the one dealing with a gambling addiction. She's also diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (after a number of doctors initially dismiss it as just age or laziness) -- TruthInTelevision, as this had happened to one of the writers, and Dorothy's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to her doctors seems much like a CharacterFilibuster -- but a completely understandable one.
209** Sex-loving [[EthicalSlut Blanche]] struggles to deal with her brother's homosexuality, menopause, a sexually exploitative professor, and an emotionally abusive boyfriend (who she only dumps after he hurts Dorothy). She also has to deal with the ramifications of her hands-off parenting and how it's affected her children and grandchildren.
210** Sweet, slightly prudish [[TheDitz Rose]] is the one who goes through an AIDS scare, a drug addiction, and the aftermath of a house robbery. The AIDS episode both [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] and [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructs]] the assumption that it would be happening to [[ReallyGetsAround Blanche]] instead. There was also the episode aired during the Cold War, where she becomes afraid of nuclear war, writes to Gorbachev and nearly gets invited to Russia because they think she's a child writing about it.
211** Sophia, the CoolOldLady and MamaBear, dealt with issues afflicting people in her age group. She befriended a man with Alzheimer's, had to talk a sick, old, lonely woman out of suicide, tried to break a (slightly senile) friend out of a substandard nursing home and care for her, dealt with her estrangement from her cross-dressing son Phil [[spoiler:and his untimely death]], and eventually got over her animosity toward her daughter-in-law.
212** If it didn't happen to the main cast, the VSE would center around [[LongLostUncleAesop a new one-time character.]] Examples include Rose's blind sister Lily who had to learn independence, Dorothy helping a hippie with agoraphobia, and one of Dorothy's favorite students almost being deported.
213* The second-to-last episode of ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'', named "Down a Tree," has Amy and Bob inviting Charlie's friend's parents for a visit. They turn out to be a lesbian couple.
214* ''Series/TheGoodPlace'': Played with in that the entire point of the show is to teach ethical lessons, primarily using the [[TheCynic aggressively cynical]] Eleanor as a stand-in for the audience. Most episodes have a specific and [[ShownTheirWork entirely accurate]] lesson on philosophy, woven in with heaps of comedy. There is actually a permanent philosophy advisor on staff, who mentioned in an interview that she is repeatedly shocked by how well philosophy is used in the show. A book her mentor wrote, ''What We Owe to Each Other'', is even one of the key points the show revolves around.
215* ''Series/GoodTimes'':
216** Though it's downplayed, the twelfth episode, "The Checkup", focuses on James and the family's concerns about him having hypertension (high blood pressure), with the episode frequently pointing out many symptoms and potential causes. He angrily refuses to believe it at first, but when he realizes how concerned his family is, he caves in and decides to get a check-up.
217** A similar episode focused on VD, complete with a disclaimer at the beginning. A then-unknown Jay Leno tells JJ that if people weren't ashamed to come to the clinic to get treatment, then VD wouldn't be so rampant. [[TheDiseaseThatShallNotBeNamed It would have helped if they told people how VD was spread and how it could be prevented]]. They didn't even put up a hotline number.
218** A multi-episode arc about Penny being abused by her mother averted the LongLostUncleAesop trope by having Penny remain on the show once the Very Special Issue was resolved [[spoiler: as Willona adopted Penny after her mom abandoned her]].
219* One of the most memorable for a whole British generation was the "Zammo becomes a junkie" storyline on the school soap opera ''Series/GrangeHill''. It averted the usual CompressedVice arc by lasting for months, and climaxed with the whole cast recording an anti-drug pop single called "Just Say No".
220* ''Series/GrowingPains'':
221** Mike and his friends are offered drugs at a party. The episode's coda features Kirk Cameron speaking directly to the viewers about the dangers of drug abuse.
222--->''Boner wanted me to tell you that he didn't go to the bathroom.''
223** An episode against drunk driving guest-starred a young Creator/MatthewPerry, who snatches death from the jaws of recovery.
224[[/folder]]
225
226[[folder:H]]
227* ''Series/HannahMontana''
228** An episode about Oliver having diabetes had to be drastically retooled before being aired, since the original was [[CluelessAesop inaccurate]] and had some offensive jokes about diabetics.
229** "Been Here All Along" revolves around Miley cancelling a father-daughter afternoon so she can spend the day with her boyfriend, Jesse. During the date, Jesse gets a call from his own father, and to Miley's dismay, he spends a very long time talking. After the call is done, Jesse reveals that his father is stationed in Afghanistan. Realizing how foolish she was to blow off a day with her father, she organizes a Hannah Montana concert dedicated to military families. The original airing also featured messages to real-life deployed soldiers from their families.
230* ''Series/HappyDays'':
231** For a lighthearted, wacky comedy, the closest it had to a VSE was the Season 5 episode "Richie Almost Dies", where Richie suffers a severe concussion after a motorcycle accident, rendering him in a coma, and it is initially feared he might die. Two scenes in this Very Special Episode, meant to underscore the serious tone of the episode, are frequently panned as [[{{Narm}} laughable]]: a montage of Richie clips set to a Suzi Quatro's very late-1970s-sounding "Find Strength in Your Friends", and Fonzie's emotional breakdown at the hospital where he begs God to let Richie live.
232** One episode had Fonzie in a motorcycle accident that caused him to temporarily go blind. It centered around him having to cope with losing his sight and him learning how blind people deal with everyday life.
233* ''Series/HeyDude'' had an episode where Melody's brother shows up and is later revealed to have a drinking problem.
234* ''Series/TheHoganFamily''
235** "Bad Timing", the safe sex episode, was perhaps the most notable as it was not only one of the first sitcoms to touch on the topic of safe sex, but also marked the first primetime usage of the word "condom". As such, ContentWarnings aired before the episode and during ads for it, as well as before commercials for birth-control products and safe sex [=PSAs=]. It was also the only official video release of the show, distributed exclusively to teachers and health educators, because [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools it discussed safe sex so well that it was deemed appropriate for school discussions.]]
236** "Movin' On" which wasn't too much of a VSE in that it was mainly to get Creator/SandyDuncan warmed up to her new TV role as the family's aunt. However, it did establish the death of Creator/ValerieHarper's character in a car accident.
237** [[HouseFire "Burned Out"]], a follow-up to "Movin' On", features an accidental fire which severely damages the Hogans' house and forces them to stay with their neighbors, the Pooles. Notably, UsefulNotes/McDonalds helped finance the set damage and aired commercials relating to fire safety during the original airing. Also during the original broadcast, as [[http://allisonswrittenwords.blogspot.ca/2014/10/HoganFamilyBurnedOut.html this review]] proves, a few NBC affiliates ran text scrawls relating to local fire safety and preparedness activities, as the episode premiered during Fire Prevention Week.
238** In season 3, not long after Valerie died, David's friend Rich gets drunk during a house party, forcing David to lock him in a closet overnight and remind him that his mother had died in a car accident.
239** One of the last episodes, entitled "Best Of Friends, Worst Of Times", deals with David finding out that Rich has contracted AIDS. The majority of the episode deals with David coming to terms with this, and later getting Rich to help him with a documentary he and his other friend Burt are doing at the hospital. The last few minutes of the episode show David making a speech about AIDS at an assembly, dispelling various misconceptions about the disease and giving facts about how it can be prevented. Then he breaks the news of Rich's death, which had happened the night before.
240* ''Series/HomeImprovement'' was a rare example of a show that handled these things nicely, if only because people behaved more realistically than usual.
241** Randy had a cancer scare, which caused his family to worry incredibly about him and the uncertainty before the diagnosis. It turned out to be a false alarm, but he did wind up with hypothyroidism, a condition that effectively requires a pill a day for the rest of his life.
242** In one episode, Brad's secret pot stash is discovered (in a clever place, outdoors hidden under a chair -- too bad his dad invented TimTaylorTechnology and crashed right through it on another one of his escapades). It notably averts tropes like MarijuanaIsLSD, and Brad's parents are much more understanding of what pot does and why he would smoke it, with Jill even admitting to having experimented with it when she was younger. Interestingly, the pot was also showed in plant form as a green herb in a plastic bag (Al mistook it for oregano); this was unusual, as most [=VSEs=] don't like to show the substance itself (if anything, they'll only show a joint).
243* In season 5 of ''Series/{{House}}'' [[spoiler: Kuttner]] commits suicide, though this wasn't a typical Very Special Suicide Episode: it's possible to interpret the overall Aesop as "sometimes people just commit suicide, and you couldn't possibly have seen it coming so you could do anything to stop it, so there's no point beating yourself up about it." The behind-the-scenes reason for the suicide was that [[ActorLeavesCharacterDies the actor decided to leave the show]], and the lack of foreshadowing was because it was ''almost'' as big a surprise to the writers as it was to the audience.
244* Creator/TylerPerry's ''Series/HouseOfPayne'' loved this trope, tackling drug addiction, cancer scares, [=STDs=], TeenPregnancy, postpartum depression, gun violence, domestic violence, sexual abuse and the occasional [[InnocentSwearing innocent]] [[SwearWordPlot swearing]]. Some episodes ended with an actor telling viewers that they can get help for the Very Special Problem through an 800 number or a website.
245[[/folder]]
246
247[[folder:J]]
248* ''Series/JackAndBobby'' had an episode where Jack's ex-best friend (and LongLostUncleAesop) Matt commits suicide. Through flashbacks in Jack's memory, the reason for Matt's suicide was revealed to be that he was gay and in love with Jack. After confessing his feelings to Jack, the two eventually parted ways. Later, when Jack talks to Matt's parents, he finds out that Matt had tried to come out to his mother, but she had rejected him. At the end of the episode, there is a hotline number on the screen for LGBT teens who are depressed or suicidal.
249* In ''Series/TheJamieFoxxShow'' episode "Too Much Soul Food" [[TheDanza Jaimie King]] drags his uncle Junior to the doctor for a routine physical. Jaime then has to tell his aunt, and the other employees at the hotel that Junior had to stay in the hospital pending additional tests to make sure whether or not he has cancer. Junior is adamant that he's perfectly healthy, insisting that the doctors have no idea what they are talking about, and after a tearful debate with his wife, Junior accepts that he was too stubborn to admit he was scared, and tells her that he will try and fight the cancer. The tests come back negative, and Junior promises that he will take better care of himself, both for his and his wife's sake.
250* ''Series/TheJeffersons'':
251** One episode dealt with gang violence and how it affects youth.
252** One episode features a blatantly racist Klansman who moves into the building. He uses racial epithets and plans to kick every black tenant out of the building. He then has a heart attack and George and Tom save him, but when he realizes who saved his life, he tells his son, "You should've let me die." The episode is saved from falling into {{Narm}} territory by injecting humor about the Klan's ridiculousness, including one scene where a [[PoorCommunicationKills miscommunication]] leads Tom to think they're just planning to evict a couple of thieves -- and crash their Klan meeting looking to help.
253[[/folder]]
254
255[[folder:K]]
256* ''Series/KaizokuSentaiGokaiger'' had one when the heroes meet a woman who is [[FantasticRacism extremely prejudiced against aliens]] in an obvious allegory for xenophobia. She ends up falling in love with and eventually marrying the [[DefectorFromDecadence reformed]] Zangyack alien Jerashid.
257* ''Series/KamenRiderDouble'': One episode ramps up the FantasticDrug aspects of the villains' [[TransformationTrinket Gaia Memories]]. It deals with a bunch of teenage runaways sharing a single memory in a way that's very reminiscent of sharing needles. The "actual" memory user says that the power gives them a high and they've been using it to cope with stress. In another episode, [[spoiler:Isaka[=/=]Weather Dopant]] dies from overuse of the Gaia Memories, which is presented very much as an allegory for drug overdose.
258* ''Series/KyleXY'' had one about teenage drinking and another about tolerating gays. FictionIsntFair is in full force here.
259[[/folder]]
260
261[[folder:L]]
262* ''Series/LaverneAndShirley'' had an episode on the topic of bereavement in which Laverne falls in love with a firefighter who is subsequently killed on the job.
263* ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' is a show about sex crimes and child abuse, two rather hot-button issues. Creator/USANetwork even aired a marathon of the show as part of a campaign against domestic violence and sexual assault. But the show's own Very Special Episode turned out to be about teenage binge drinking. Complete with a title card [=PSA=] at the end about the prevalence of underaged drinking. And the {{Narm}} did flow like a mighty stream.
264* ''Series/LeaveItToBeaver'', even in the 1960s, got in on the act:
265** In one episode, Beaver learns that his family's gardener is an alcoholic. Bizarrely, he gets drunk from eating a rum cake, which is ''possible'', but only if the thing has been soaking in alcohol for months.
266** One VSE dealt with the topic of divorce.
267* ''Series/{{Life on Mars|2006}}'' has one about the evils of FootballHooligans. While it was notably well-done, Sam's impassioned speech was met with quite a bit of giggling in other countries, perhaps because the viewers weren't familiar with the Hillsborough Disaster, a football match stampede which killed 96 fans -- many of whom were mistaken for hooligans and thrown back into the crowd when they tried to escape onto the field.
268* ''Series/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' in almost ''every'' episode. Walnut Grove had a never-ending line of suffering citizens needing help from the Ingalls.
269** The three-hour special "[[Recap/LittleHouseOnThePrairieS6E9SpecialTheLittleHouseYears The Little House Years]]" is an example of the broadest definition of a Very Special Episode, as it was a celebration of the show's success. Much of the episode is compiled from seven of the series' best-loved and acclaimed episodes to that point in the show's run, ranging from highly dramatic and tragic to comedic. Additionally, "The Little House Years" movie aired on a Thursday night (and supposedly independently of the regular series, although the movie is canon with the show), whereas regular episodes aired on Mondays.
270* ''Series/LivAndMaddie'': The episode "Roll Model-A-Rooney" deals with gender equality and gender-related stereotypes.
271* One episode of ''Series/LizzieMcGuire'' deals with anorexia; Miranda "contracts an eating disorder" when she skips lunch ''once'' and [[CantGetAwayWithNuthin almost faints]]. Surprisingly for a Disney Channel tween sitcom, the episode handles the reasoning behind why people develop eating disorders in a mature way; instead of blaming it on poor body image, the episode has Miranda realize that her eating disorder is due to severe anxiety.
272* Every episode of ''Series/LouGrant''. The show often deals with such issues as nuclear proliferation, mental illness, gay rights, child abuse and chemical pollution.
273[[/folder]]
274
275[[folder:M]]
276* ''Series/{{MASH}}'' had a Very Special Episode billed as a light-hearted send-off for Henry Blake, as he left Korea and flew home. In the last 30 seconds, it utterly destroyed this convention for comedies by [[spoiler:having his plane shot down and killing him off]]. It largely worked because [[spoiler:people always die senselessly in war]].
277* From around the third or fourth season onwards, every other episode of ''Series/{{MacGyver|1985}}'' was a Very Special Episode.
278** One [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]] episode involves black rhino poaching in Africa. It starts out with a warning for the squeamish that they would show a "realistic" depiction of a rhino involving blood (it wasn't too convincing). Then, after the regular plot (just StrictlyFormula ''Series/MacGyver1985''), Richard Dean Anderson gives an out of character speech for nearly a minute about the dwindling population of the black rhino. Most people were just [[{{Narm}} laughing hysterically at it]].
279* An early example is the "Maude Has An Abortion" episode of ''Series/{{Maude}}''. It was so early that although it didn't moralize, it still codified the VSE -- it was so shocking and received such ratings that it produced a winning formula.
280* Subverted with ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''. Not long after the Oklahoma City bombing, a series of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2-CiRa5VUU promos]] started airing for a special entitled ''Talkin' It Out'', with the Rangers explaining that the scary situations they get into are all just pretend, and that there are much scarier events in the real world. However, this turned out to be a case of NeverTrustATrailer; ''Talkin' It Out'' was actually a standalone Creator/FoxKids special and the Rangers only appeared at the very beginning to discuss what we were about to see. The remainder of the special involved [[Series/AmericasMostWanted John Walsh]] interviewing children about the then-recent bombing and how it affected them. Since it was a one-off special, preempted ''WesternAnimation/WhereOnEarthIsCarmenSandiego'', and aired commercial free, it is a VSE in a broad sense.
281* ''Series/MisterRogersNeighborhood'' touched upon many topics of this kind:
282** On June 7, 1968, as a response to Robert Kennedy's assassination two days before, a special episode using the cast of the show aired explaining what assassination was and teaching kids positive ways to control their anger.
283** Episode 1065 had a scene promoting desegregation in which Officer Clemmons, an African-American police officer, puts his feet in the same pool as Fred to prove that people of different races can get along as well as those who are the same race.
284** Episode 1101 focused on the death of Fred's goldfish.
285** Episode 1478 featured a scene in which a young boy named Jeff Erlanger visited Fred to discuss disabilities and show off his wheelchair. On a similar note, several other episodes of the show featured a girl on crutches named Chrissy Thompson, whose appearance always meant that Fred would teach the audience about how even though some people may have disabilities, they're just the same as ordinary people.
286** The "Conflict" series was made to help kids cope with the topic of war.
287* In season 8, ''Series/ModernFamily'' had one with the female characters, as well as Manny and Luke, attending a Women's March in the wake of the [=#MeToo=] movement and the Trump administration's poor treatment of women. This episode was poorly received by fans and critics alike and is the show's lowest-rated episode on IMDB because it focuses more on Manny and Luke [[DontShootTheMessage trying to flirt with female protestors]] and the comedic B-plot with Phil and Jay trying to build a parking lot rather than the challenges the women faced and why they were participating in the march.
288* ''Series/{{Monk}}'': Parodied in "Mr. Monk and the Naked Man" which explains his prejudice towards nudists. He even has a silly FreudianExcuse.
289* ''Series/MrBelvedere'' has [=VSEs=] in which:
290** One of Wesley's classmates contracts HIV.
291** Alzheimer's disease is tackled, and Wesley has to deal with the failing memory of an old lady he visits in a nursing home.
292** Wesley is molested [[note]] Technically, given a creepy shoulder rub, cause it's the 80's and they couldn't show people touching kids' danglers. [[/note]] by a summer camp counselor.
293** Heather is nearly raped by her prom date -- and the way it's filmed, we're left wondering if she really ''was'' raped before she finally confides to Mr. Belvedere that [[DateRapeAverted she was able to fight him off]].
294* Parodied like so many other things in ''Series/MrShow'', where they outright admit from the start that they're just doing it to get an award and improve their ratings. Then the "very special" event is Creator/DavidCross coming out as bald.
295* ''Series/TheMuppets2015'' has "A Tail of Two Piggies", which deals with body positivity. When Miss Piggy's tail sticks out of her dress at a ''WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}}'' screening, she becomes a laughingstock, and sets out to prove that pig tails are beautiful... by planning to show it off on her talk show ''Up Late with Miss Piggy''. Naturally, due to network objections she isn't allowed to do so. [[spoiler:[[LoopholeAbuse But there's no rule saying that other animals can't show their pig tails on network TV]].]]
296* ''Series/MySoCalledLife'' does this with the {{Anvilicious}} episode "So-Called Angels" that deals with the issues of teen runaways and homelessness. Complete with a PSA at the end and Juliana Hatfield as a magic homeless angel strumming her guitar.
297* Occasionally parodied on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''. One example comes after the showing (and riffing) of the road safety short ''Film/LastClearChance''. Immediately afterwards, "Trooper" Tom Servo gives a heavy-handed rant on the dangers of steam irons, sandwiches, and lint filters.
298[[/folder]]
299
300[[folder:N-O]]
301* In ''Series/TheNeighborhood'', Gemma suffers from a pregnancy loss and the series takes a much more dramatic turn than usual.
302* The episode of ''Series/OneTreeHill'' where Lucas' estranged friend Jimmy decides to [[AxesAtSchool shoot up the school]] ("With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept"). You'd think it would address the gun control debate, but it really focused on Jimmy's relationship with his friends, which left it somewhat less impactful.
303[[/folder]]
304
305[[folder:P]]
306* Although ''Series/PartyOfFive'' was a drama show, there were two episodes in particular where the show's opening credit sequence was not shown and had a noticeably more serious plot than the rest of the season.
307** A season 2 episode revolves around Julia discovering that she is [[TeenPregnancy pregnant]] and debating whether or not to keep the baby. Charlie wants her to get an abortion because she's 16 and too young to be a mother; Claudia is morally opposed to abortion and insists that she keep the baby. It's resolved when [[spoiler:Julia has a miscarriage at the end of the episode, although it did develop her relationship with her father Justin]].
308** Season 3's "The Intervention" was the culmination of a storyline in which Bailey became an alcoholic. The family members try to have an intervention for Bailey and are forced to lure him to the house under false pretences. The episode is considered one of the most powerful in the show's run, in particular a scene in which Bailey gives the family a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and criticizes their handling of other issues, including Julia's pregnancy. It also drops a huge bombshell that their deceased father was also an alcoholic.
309* ''Series/PoliceCameraAction'' has done some exceptionally well-done examples that notably avert the LongLostUncleAesop factor.
310** "Don't Look Back In Anger" is an exploration of the history of roads and traffic, including the breathalyser's usage. [[MissingEpisode ITV4 sadly hasn't aired it much these days, presumably due to rights issues]].
311** "Learning The Hard Way" was a ClipShow of sorts, but it was also a VerySpecialEpisode looking at world-class rally drivers. [[MissingEpisode Again, never aired since]].
312** "Crash Test Racers" was a ToneShift; it had no [[TheTeaser Cold Open]], and it was more about TalkingHeads, SceneryPorn, and medical and archive footage.
313** "Highway of Tomorrow" focused on road technology of the future, and [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on the {{Zeerust}} of it.
314** "Drink Driving Special": Gethin Jones [[TheNthDoctor suddenly replaced Alastair Stewart]] as this episode was ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. It was DarkerAndEdgier than other episodes in the series.
315** "Young, Legal, But Lethal" concerned young drivers causing danger with their poor driving habits.
316** "Fast and Furious": The title was a reference to [[Film/TheFastandTheFurious the films]], and the episode was pretty heavy viewing about street racing. It was criticised for having ''too much'' American footage.
317** "Dangerous, Distracted and Dumb" was a heavy episode about the dangers of driving while distracted.
318** "When Lorries Become Lethal": ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
319* ''Series/TheProfessionals''. "Klansmen" sees Bodie attacked by a gang of black men, then racially abusing the black doctor and nurses who are trying to save his life. He apologizes at the end, saying they'll never hear that language from him again. This being ''The Professionals'', he then goes off on a date with the pretty black nurse. Ironically, the episode is now banned in Britain because of its racist content.
320* ''Series/PromisedLand1996''. Middle daughter Dinah is assaulted while walking home from her hospital job. Aside from the traumatic ordeal, she suffers SurvivorGuilt after learning that another girl was raped that same night, likely because her attacker was frustrated by his failed attempt on her.
321* ''Series/PunkyBrewster'':
322** A special two-part episode had Punky learning CPR, which she gets to put to the test on a friend who suffocates inside an old fridge. A chroma-keyed text imposed over a still of Punky's CPR class, along with a stern announcer, [[OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope reminded us that]] "CPR should only be performed by certified people" (which [[CPRCleanPrettyReliable Punky was not]]). The plot was in fact submitted by a [[ContestWinnerCameo kid who had won a contest]].
323** Henry's dad becomes addicted to medication. Typically for a VSE, the problem is resolved in a single episode and [[StatusQuoIsGod never mentioned again]].
324** The second season finale (and also the last episode to be broadcast on Creator/{{NBC}}) showed Punky's dreams of becoming an astronaut crushed after witnessing the real-life Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (which is referred to as an explosion throughout, since the Rogers Commission was still knee-deep in their investigation when the episode aired). Her teacher then arranges a meeting with Buzz Aldrin, who encourages Punky not to give up on her dreams.
325** "The Reading Game" deals with illiteracy; Cherie's cousin Paula can't read, and has been hiding it, despite being in seventh grade. However, she learns the importance of reading when she is left alone with her younger brother Bobby, he ends up drinking fabric softener, and she can't read the warning label when instructed to by the 911 operator. Only when Punky and Cherie return do they use reading and solve the problem.
326[[/folder]]
327
328[[folder:Q]]
329* ''Series/QuantumLeap'' had many of these throughout its run, with Sam having to tackle things like racism, teen pregnancy, and handicaps.
330* Has there ever been an episode of ''Series/QuincyME'' without the title character fighting evil bureaucrats to cure the disease of the week? It gets so tiresome that even his sidekick complains that he's tilting at windmills. It's easier to list the episodes that have ''less'' of a VSE bent, including:
331** "Dead Last", where a jockey is killed by a horse -- or is he?
332** "To Kill in Plain Sight", where Quincy and Monahan race to stop a political assassination -- not very connected to Quincy's day job, but in no way a VSE.
333** "Next Stop, Nowhere", which was a VSE but quite ridiculous, since it was half Quincy solving a murder in LA's punk scene and half Quincy [[TheQuincyPunk warning about the moral scourge of punk rock]].
334[[/folder]]
335
336[[folder:R]]
337* ''Series/RaisingDad'' has an episode where Sarah decides she wants a nose job. In a twist, it's the other characters who learn a lesson; Stuart and Emily discover that a perfectly nice-looking girl like Sarah can have a bad self-image and that constant teasing can push her over the edge, and Emily is horrified when she finds out exactly what happens during plastic surgery. The episode is resolved by Sarah learning a DoubleAesop when a popular girl she wanted to be like talks about all the surgery she still wants to get.
338* ''Series/RavensHome'' has two of these:
339** One episode where middle schoolers Booker's friends try to coerce him into vaping.
340** Another episode deals with Booker being racially profiled by a police officer, ending with a discussion between him and his granddad Victor about how there are still plenty of bad cops who racially profile people based on race. The following episode deals with the fallout from it.
341* ''Series/ReadyOrNot1993'', a Canadian series for tweens that aired in the 1990s, had many episodes of this type:
342** "Black or White or Maybe Grey" and "White Girls Can't Jump" dealt with racism.
343** "Busy's Curse" was about Busy getting her [[FirstPeriodPanic first period]].
344** "Model Perfect" was about body image and eating disorders.
345** "Monkey See, Monkey Do" had a plotline about domestic abuse.
346** "Double Talk" addressed [[SlutShaming slut-shaming]].
347** "Crossing the Line" dealt with sexual assault.
348* Subverted on ''Series/{{Roseanne}}'' whose SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} was the episode dealing with marijuana. Dan and Roseanne find a bag of weed and think it's David's, and threaten to throw him out if they catch him with drugs again, but it turns out to be ''theirs''. Back when Roseanne was pregnant with Becky, she and Dan agreed to kick the stoner habit and be responsible parents, only he never had the heart to throw it away. The rest of the episode shows them smoking it with Jackie and acting blown out of their minds. Even the episodes that really did have serious themes like domestic violence, racism, infidelity, and Dan's heart attack weren't as out-of-place as these episodes tend to be, since they kept the dark humor that the show was famous for.
349* ''Series/{{Roundhouse}}'', an early 90's Nickelodeon SketchComedy, has the following [=VSEs=]:
350** In "The Feminizer", the mother believes she'll get more respect at work if she becomes a feminist.
351** In "Paper Hat Head", the son drops out of school to pursue his budding skateboarding career.
352** In "A Single Spot", the family endures several natural disasters after moving to Hollywood.
353** In "Thing a Thong", the family [[GreenAesop tries to help the environment]].
354** In "Step-Family Feud", the son fakes his own parents' divorce.
355** The "Cruds and the Gimps" was perhaps the most compelling VSE; the son gets caught up in gang violence at school. It turns out [[spoiler:to be AllJustADream, but since the gangs still exist in the real world, the show's SigningOffCatchPhrase "reprise the theme song and roll the credits" doesn't work this time. The son wanders off confused]], and we're left with a text reminder that "gang violence is no joke" and SilentCredits.
356[[/folder]]
357
358[[folder:S]]
359* ''Series/SabrinaTheTeenageWitch'' often parodied this. One episode had Sabrina developing an addiction that she had to get over cold turkey. [[ICantBelieveItsNotHeroin Said addiction was to pancakes, which to witches is as addictive as any real drugs.]]
360* The ''Doctor Who'' SpinOff series ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'' had two consecutive stories in its final season:
361** In "The Curse of Clyde Langer", one of the characters becomes homeless after an alien artifact rouses a specifically-targeted HatePlague against him.
362** "The Man Who Never Was" uses a story about aliens to make heavy-handed points about human trafficking and the abuse of workers by outsourced manufacturers in the tech industry.
363* ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' had several, in which:
364** Jessie becomes addicted to caffeine pills, leading to the infamous "[[Narm/LiveActionTV I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so... so scared!"]] scene, which you can see [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c here]].
365** One where an oil company starts drilling on school grounds, and a spill kills the animals in the pond.
366** Gang meets their favorite actor and finds out that he smokes pot.
367** They drink and drive during homecoming and wreck the car, with Slater breaking his arm.
368* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': The light-hearted show rarely does anything issue-oriented, but Patrick's ComingOutStory tackles how difficult it can be to come out, even when you are surrounded by support and have a loving family. The show explores this in a comic narrative typical of the show and features a silly b-plot with Moira at a soap convention, but it is still the closest the show has come to actual drama.
369* ''Series/TheSecretLifeOfTheAmericanTeenager'' is practically a Very Special Series (not surprisingly, it was created by Brenda Hampton -- who also created ''7th Heaven'' and it features much of that show's former writers), to the point where every episode ends with a message telling teens to talk to their parents about sex and avoiding teen pregnancy (later replaced with a sexual abuse help hotline message). However, some episodes are very centered on a specific issue, including:
370** One episode has everyone get a fake ID to go to the teen wedding. This was followed by an episode about illegal underage marriage.
371** Two episodes dealt with ([[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion almost]]) abortion.
372** One episode deals with STD testing.
373** One episode saw Ricky encounter his on-parole birth father, who used to sexually abuse him.
374** A season 4 episode dealt with LGBTQ issues, in particular Ricky's mother coming out as a lesbian and Grace dressing like a stereotypical ButchLesbian and pretending to be gay just to get attention.
375* ''Series/SesameStreet''
376** The groundbreaking 1983 episode where Big Bird learns of Mr. Hooper's death and has to understand that his friend is never coming back. Notable for averting NeverSayDie on a show for very young children, it was lauded by the Daytime Emmys as "very special" even by the usual standards of the trope.
377** The show dealt with the topic of death again for a primetime PBS special called ''When Families Grieve'' during TheNewTens.
378** Season 20 (November 1988-May 1989), had a central story arc involving Maria's pregnancy and how Big Bird and the other citizens of Sesame Street are coping with it. Notable moments include Big Bird and Maria visiting a maternity clinic in Episode 2558, Maria going into labor in Episode 2614, and the introduction of Gabby (now know as "Gabi") who became a regular in the later seasons.
379** A 1993 episode dealing with racism has Gina and Savion receiving a racist call (which isn't heard from the callers side) at Hooper's Store and explaining to Telly that there are "really stupid people" who hate to see people of different races being friends, which Telly has trouble understanding.
380** A week-long StoryArc from 2001 deals with a hurricane blowing though Sesame Street and destroying Big Bird's nest. The arc was re-aired in 2004, 2005, and 2012 after several high-profile hurricanes (although they were compressed into a single episode for 2012).
381** An episode made in response to the 9/11 terrorist attack in ''Sesame Street''[='=]s hometown of New York has Elmo becoming traumatized after a fire at Hooper's Store. The adults then arrange a meeting with some RealLife firefighters, who remind Elmo that there is nothing to worry about. The firefighters dedicated their appearance to a fellow comrade who died on that day.
382** A DirectToVideo project has Rosita dealing with her father being confined to a wheelchair due to a war injury. It was done as part of the show's "Talk, Listen, Connect" initiative for kids with deployed parents.
383** The show tried dealing with divorce twice, but it's a particularly tricky subject to explain to young children. The first saw an episode produced where Snuffy deals with his parents' divorce; after negative test screenings, it [[MissingEpisode was never aired]], though it did reappear at other events.[[note]] The episode was screened at "The Museum of the Moving Image in New York" as part of the "Lost And Found" event honoring Sesame Street's 50th Anniversary in 2019. Footage of the episode was also shown for the ABC Special celebrating the show's 50th Anniversary [[/note]] The second did air years later, and it involved Abby Cadabby revealing that her parents were divorced; the fact that she still gets to see them both and was on good terms with them softened the blow. Abby's mother later began dating another man, giving Abby a step-brother.
384** ''Lead Away'' was an educational kit for adults dealing with the dangers of lead poisoning and keeping lead away from children. One memorable segment involves "The Lead Police", a group of Anything Muppets who sing about lead poisoning InTheStyleOf Music/ThePolice.
385** One educational kit was created specifically for kids with incarcerated parents.
386** A primetime special, ''Families Stand Together'', directly addresses parents on how to raise their families during tough economic times. It was available in full on the show's website for a few years, but it seems to have been removed since then. A trailer is still available on Website/YouTube, and can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9FbZaxa6Jc here.]]
387** The episode aired on Halloween 2013, while not featuring any specific "very special" topics, fits this trope because [[RealitySubtext it was made in response to the passing of longtime Muppeteer Jerry Nelson]]. It revolved around his most famous character, the Count, missing out on an award ceremony where he will be rewarded for his counting. The other cast members impersonate him to stall the awards committee, but they fail, and his award is forfeited to a handheld calculator in Beijing. Then the Count texts the cast and reminds them that it's more important to count friends than prizes, and how honored he was for them to care about him even in his absence. Then the Count himself swoops in aided by his bats and counts everyone on the street, thanks to some of Nelson's pre-existing audio.
388** One episode had Elmo befriending an autistic character and learning about autism. Said character, Julia, appeared in a few episodes after her debut, unlike many examples of this trope.
389** Karli is a young Muppet who is a foster child due to her mother struggling with substance abuse.
390** Fitting the broad definition of this trope were the MilestoneCelebration episodes, including those marking the show's 10th (1979), 20th (1989), 25th (1994), 30th (1999), 35th (2004) and 50th (2019) anniversaries. The latter episode, which aired on PBS and HBO, united many of the longtime[[note]] (Gordon, Susan, Luis, Maria, Bob, Linda and Gina)[[/note]] and current[[note]] (Miles, Nina and Alan)[[/note]] human cast members and brought back many of the stalwart and long-ago dropped Muppet characters; even Kermit the Frog dropped by. Several of the specials from 1989 onward made reference to the much-celebrated "Goodbye, Mr. Hooper" episode.
391* ''Series/{{Sisters}}'' was practically a Very Special Series. It showed nearly every issue present in shows of TheNineties, and often [[ExaggeratedTrope multiple issues in a single episode]].
392* ''Series/SisterSister'' had a few episodes that dealt with a serious issue:
393** "Smoking in the Girls' Room" had Tia and Tamera develop a smoking habit after a friend talked them into it, but after they decide that [[SmokingIsNotCool they don't want to deal with the consequences that smoking has]], the girls decide to give up the habit altogether.
394** The episode "Show Me the Money" has Tia discover that a male employee who started working in the coffee shop the same day as she did earns more money than she does, but decides not to do anything about it. Eventually she decides that it's not fair for her and her male coworker to earn different wages despite doing the same job, and goes to confront her boss who tells her what he is doing is not only unfair, but illegal, and after she threatens to lead a boycott of the coffee shop, he institute a pay raise for all female employees and rehires her (unknown to Tia, [[TwinSwitch Tamara put on her work uniform]] and tried to confront the boss earlier, but got her fired instead).
395** Then there's "Model Tia" where the girls meet a guy online who claims to be a photographer and would make Tia a star, though through usual TwinSwitch shenanigans it's Tamera who meets him alone instead, and finds out he's an internet predator. Luckily, her sister saves her just in time.
396* Every ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' episode with guest star Creator/ChristopherReeve ended with him and Tom Welling telling people to donate to the Christopher Reeve Treatment For Spinal Injury Foundation.
397* ''Seven Swordsmen'' a Chinese {{Wuxia}} series, has an episode that reveals why Swordsman Mu is so interested in learning to read -- his entire family was killed by their illiteracy when they were tricked into putting up anti-government banners for a festival.
398* ''Series/SmartGuy'':
399** In season two's "Strangers on the Net", T.J. and one of the friends who is his own age, Karen, meet a guy named [=Marky412=] in an internet chat room for kids. When they meet him at a burger restaurant to purchase some bootlegged games that he's selling, they find out he's a 30-something man. Mark invites them to his house to test a surfing game he's "developing," only to give away the fact that he's had other kids play it at his house... having taken photos of kids who he convinced to take off their clothes to play the game. A shocked T.J., who got Karen out before anything bad happened, later tells Floyd about it. While not explicitly mentioned, when it cuts to after the police interview T.J. about Mark, it is later revealed that Mark had a prior arrest for child molestation, and violated the terms of his parole in talking to T.J. and Karen.
400** In season three's "Get a Job," Yvette and her friend Nina get jobs at a clothing store. Their new boss, Ms. Hendra, asks Nina (who is white) to follow black people around the store to make sure they don't steal items. After Yvette catches Nina reluctantly doing the task, Yvette sets up hidden cameras around the store and hires her brother's friends Mackey (white) and Mo (black) to walk around the store with Mackey playing the shoplifter (putting the stuff back later in the tape) while Ms. Hendra follows Mo around to demonstrate that shoplifters can be of any race and mentions a Truth in Television that the average shoplifter is a middle-aged Caucasian females (particularly those who carry large bags, this fact is often taught in the merchandise industry). In response, Ms. Hendra effectively fires Yvette for disagreeing with her stance. Later on Yvette has the founder and president of the store chain, who is black, come in and pretend to browse in the store, only to notice Ms. Hendra following him; once he reveals who he is and what Yvette told him about her methods, he takes her back into her office.
401** "Never Too Young" has T.J. being pressured into drinking alcohol by Rich and Kevin, two former classmates from when he was in the fourth grade at a birthday party of another classmate. He wakes up the next morning with a hangover, which Floyd doesn't realize – and even after Yvette tells him that a parent of one of the partygoers heard that some kids drank, he dismisses it, believing T.J. is smart enough to not drink while underage. Floyd stumbles upon T.J. holding a bottle of Peppermint Schnapps in the garage, which Rich and Kevin pressured him to drink. Floyd grounds T.J. "forever," but Yvette's conversation with him makes him realize he overreacted and that even T.J. isn't immune to peer pressure or making bad choices. Later, Floyd sits down with T.J. to talk about why he drank at the party, and that there should be honesty between T.J. and Floyd about issues like this.
402* ''Series/TheSopranos'' handled this without the usual BlackAndWhiteMorality; when Tony discovers his daughter's soccer coach is a child molester, he tries to solve the problem in this vein and fails because (a) Tony and his crew don't treat adult women much better, and (b) he thinks ARealManIsAKiller and doesn't think the justice system would solve the problem even if he deigned to go to them. So he gets ''very'' relaxed on medication and alcohol and [[spoiler: seems quite content with the idea that "I din' hur' nobody"]].
403** The season 4 episode "Christopher" is considered one of the series worst episode precisely because of this trope. The plot deals with the character's reactions to Native American protests of Columbus Day, which they, as Italian-Americans, take very personally. Written as a response to real world criticisms of the show by Italian-American groups, the episode lacked the usual subtlety and polish that the show usually displayed. Various characters would stop and recite a monologue about the ills that their group had suffered, completely disrupting any narrative, turning the episode into one long message about the tribulations of various ethnic groups.
404* During an [=AIDS/HIV=] awareness month on American television, ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise'' aired an episode in which T'pol, the catsuited Vulcan first officer, enters an unprotected mindmeld with a rogue hippie Vulcan (played as an {{Anvilicious}} sexual metaphor). After a scene which veers into MindRape territory, she contracts a rare Vulcan neurological disease that...oh hell, she got Vulcan Space [=AIDS=].
405* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''
406** "The Outcast" tackles the subject of homosexuality through metaphor (the subjet was apparently still too spicy for prime-time television) by way of a PersecutionFlip. A member of a OneGenderRace brings down the wrath of her society when she tries to identify as female and enter into a heterosexual relationship with Riker. Viewed by today's lens, the Aesop is muddled by the fact that gender identity is now itself a part of the greater LGBT movement.
407** "Angel One" was meant to be a commentary about sexism by showing a [[LadyLand female-dominated society]] where women tended to be bigger and stronger than men. Again, Riker falls in love with the woman, and it turns into a CluelessAesop by just making the strong women look bad.
408* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' had several also, typically veering into {{Anvilicious}} territory.
409** "Let That Be Your Last Battlefield" is particularly notable, given [[TheSixties when it aired]]. It showed a race of HumanAliens, half of whose body was black and the other half white. It illustrated the inherent absurdity of racism by showing a conflict between aliens whose left half was white and whose right half was black, and aliens whose left half was black and whose right half was white. They were all stunned that Kirk and Spock couldn't tell right away that the other is inherently inferior. The conflict culminated in an [[TheGreatOffscreenWar offscreen war]] that wiped out both races altogether.
410* ''Series/StepByStep'' wandered into this territory on occasion, most memorably in an episode where J.T. learns he has dyslexia. His poor grades are originally blamed on his study habits and work ethic, but then Cody discovers that he can't make sense of the things he reads. J.T. further assumes that dyslexia will give him a free ride, before Cody teaches him he'd have to work harder now. It does, however, give us the following line on J.T.'s diagnosis:
411-->'''Carol:''' Oh, thank God, I knew you couldn't be that stupid!
412%% * ''Series/StrangersWithCandy'', in every episode, takes the Very Special Episode, and viciously subverts, parodies, mocks, moons, and otherwise brutalizes it with the kind of glee generally only reserved for children on Christmas morning.
413%% * ''Series/SuddenlySusan'' had a unique one that dealt with the death of David Strickland.
414* ''Series/{{Superstore}}'': "Hair Care Products" revolves around antiblack racism, with [[ADayInTheLimelight Garrett]] and the other Black employees teaching their coworkers about the microaggressions they face every day. The white employees keep comically stumbling over the subject matter, especially Jonah, who keeps inadvertently speaking over the Black employees.
415* ''Series/SydneyToTheMax'' had a special episode in Season 1 about Woman's Rights and allowing women to be more inclusive. There's also a Season 2 episode about the women's menstrual cycle and how to deal with it. A Season 3 episode deals with microaggressions.
416[[/folder]]
417
418[[folder:T]]
419* In spite of its usually wacky humor, ''Series/{{Taxi}}'' was full of serious topics:
420** The very first episode ("Like Father, Like Daughter") dealt with ParentalAbandonment and single parenthood.
421** The sub-plot of "Bobby's Acting Career" involved animal abuse.
422** "Blind Date" dealt with obesity and how society usually sees it.
423** "Men Are Such Beasts" featured Tony's girlfriend, Denise, as a drug addict.
424** In "Elaine's Strange Triangle", the cabbies find out that her new boyfriend is actually [[spoiler:bisexual]] and attracted to [[spoiler:Tony]].
425** "Jim and the Kid" featured Iggy taking care of a runaway boy.
426** "Alex Goes Off The Wagon" dealt with his gambling addiction
427** "Alex's Old Buddy" involved the death of Buddy, Alex's dog.
428* "The Good Wound" from ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' obliquely dealt with spousal abuse.
429* During the first run of ''Series/That70sShow'' on Fox, promos for the episode "Happy Jack" promised that it would be a very special episode. Since this was the episode where Donna caught Eric masturbating and everybody treated him like he was a diseased pervert, the promos were both a {{subver|tedTrope}}sion and a {{parod|iedTrope}}y of this trope.
430* ''Series/ThatsSoRaven''
431** One on unhealthy eating, where the school dinners start getting supplied by a fast food company. Raven has a vision of the students getting fat from eating too much of it, and gives a speech on eating healthy diets.
432** "There Goes the Bride" is borderline, since it has a DownerEnding where Devon moves away for good.
433** Another episode is about racism and is based on Smart Guy’s “Getting a Job”. Raven applies for a job at a clothing store, and despite clearly being in her element, she doesn’t doesn’t get the job, and has a vision of the manager flat out stating she doesn’t hire African-Americans. Raven then goes undercover to expose the racism. Meanwhile, Cory has a dream that teaches him how important black history is after he complained about having to write an essay on it.
434** "Five Finger Discount" features Cory dealing with peer pressure and being bullied into shoplifting.
435** A later episode focuses on smoking, where Cory's old girlfriend reveals to him that she smokes because her friends do it, even though she does not enjoy it.
436* ''Series/ThisOldHouse'' on PBS has had a few mid-season projects that fell into this category. The series spent a few episodes visiting New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and the Jersey Shore post Sandy. One three-episode project focused on the ground-up construction of new homes for U.S. war veterans. By far the most special full-length season remembered by fans was in 1999, when Master Carpenter Tom Silva and his family lost their home to a fire and the show helped them rebuild.
437* ''Series/{{Titus}}'': In a notable subversion, the show framed ''every'' episode as a Very Special Episode. Drugs, suicide, abuse, infidelity, domestic violence, and insensitivity to others were all common in the series. It took great delight in playing those things for BlackComedy. The closest to a tradition VSE are:
438** "The Smell of Success", in which Titus turns to alcohol after his hot-rod business goes under and his father refuses to give him money to keep the shop afloat.
439** "The Last Noelle", in which Titus goes to the funeral of his first girlfriend -- an abusive, manipulative woman named Noelle -- and discovers that the only reason he ever liked her -- and dated many women who were either unfaithful or mentally deranged -- was because he was secretly attracted to women who acted like his mom.
440** "The Protector", in which Amy gets in trouble for beating up a boy who sexually harasses her, then confronts the man who sexually molested her as a child, with Titus thinking that she's lying to cover up her assault on his son -- until Erin finds a poem about the rose tattoo Amy saw on the man's penis when she was a child.
441* ''Series/TodaysSpecial'':
442** "Butterflies" deals with death. Muffy makes a new friend in a butterfly named Hazel, but Hazel is old for a butterfly and is dying. Muffy must learn to accept it, and the episode ends with a funeral for Hazel.
443** "Hello Friend" deals with disabilities. Jodie brings her friend Levi to work. Levi has cerebral palsy and can't walk or talk, so he communicates with [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blissymbols Blissymbols]]. During an emergency, he figures out how to get a message out to Sam and save the day, proving that people with disabilities are just as smart as everyone else.
444** "Phil's Visit" deals with alcoholism. Sam's old friend Phil visits, but he has a drinking problem and has smuggled alcohol into the store. For a children's show, the episode shows very realistic consequences of drinking. While drunk, he loses his temper with Muffy, destroys Jodie's display, blames Muffy for it, and has damaged his friendship with Sam. He does eventually realize his mistake, apologizes, and leaves the store with resolve to work on his drinking problem.
445[[/folder]]
446
447[[folder:U-V]]
448* ''Series/UltramanX'' had one about why we should take care of refugees.
449* ''Series/VeronicaMars'' had an episode about child soldiers in Africa, concluding with a PSA for an organization devoted to helping former child soldiers.
450[[/folder]]
451
452[[folder:W]]
453* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger'' takes these to their extreme. There are several episodes about racism, one about AIDS, and an episode about sexism where they even had a normally tolerant character act out of character just to hammer the point home. Perhaps the most {{anvilicious}} is an episode where a young girl killed by gang crossfire is resurrected by an angel and then "blessed" with the ability to talk to the angel.
454* ''Series/AWalkInYourShoes'' was a Creator/{{Noggin}} original series that showcased two different people switching lives for a day. Some of the special episodes, mostly in Season 3, tackled difficult topics like homelessness, teen pregnancy, and even living with HIV/AIDS.
455* ''Series/WandaVision'' [[PlayingWithATrope plays with]] the trope in episode 5, and {{Lampshades}} the fact; the episode title is “On a Very Special Episode...”. In fact, it’s more or less PlayedForHorror, as Wanda’s reality takes the form of a heavy-handed 1980s sitcom and delivers the message that death is sad but irreversible, and that grief is normal and should be dealt with in a healthy way. All the while, Wanda struggles to ignore the fact that she [[spoiler:seemingly]] resurrected her dead lover, Vision, and that [[spoiler:[[MindRape psychically enslaving]] thousands of people to act as the supporting cast of]] a sitcom about your home life is not a healthy way to deal with your grief.
456* ''Series/WaterlooRoad'' does a few of these, complete with the phone number to call at the end of the show, but the acting is generally good enough to get away with it. The first season's VerySpecialEpisode about homophobic bullying was nominated for an award by a major gay rights organisation.
457* ''Series/TheWayansBros'', was a wacky sitcom the revolved around brothers [[TheDanza Marlon and Shawn Williams]] though some episodes came close to this trope.
458** "Unspoken Token" centers around Shawn wanting to get a "real job" beyond his newsstand, and is hired by a software company based in the same building where his newsstand is. Shawn finds the job boring since he just sits behind a desk, doing rudimentary tasks. When Shawn goes into the office after-hours to solve a programming problem, Marlon, who decided to tag along, discovers a memo from Shawn's boss stating that [[TokenMinority having hired the one minority employee needed to fulfill the Affirmative Action quota,]] the company now qualifies for the chance to apply for government contracts. One ''Series/GoodTimes'' themed DreamSequence later, the episode ends with Shawn confronting his boss by telling him that it's a shame that there are plenty of talented people who are denied an opportunity to showcase their abilities because people like him insists on maintaining discriminatory hiring practices. To top it off, Shawn quits his job just as a representative, who happens to be African American, arrives to decide whether or not the company should be awarded a government contract.
459** In the episode "Gots' to have a [=J.O.B.=]," Marlon, who at this point in the series was a struggling actor, got a role in a series of malt liquor commercials. The first commercial was innocuous enough, with Marlon and several others sitting in a stoop, and singing about how much they loved their malt liquor. The second commercial, Marlon's friends as well as Shawn and pops' ostracized him on account of [[UncleTomfoolery how offensive it was.]] Marlon thinks it's no big deal since this is just him "paying his dues," but comes to his senses when a young boy recognizes him and says that when he grows up all he wants to do is just sit around and drink malt liquor. When Marlon tells his producer he won't do the live commercial during a basketball game on account of how the ad campaign spreads negative stereotypes, the producers tells Marlon to [[AnOfferYouCantRefuse either film the commercial or he'll get sued for breach of contract]]. During the commercial, Marlon and Shawn [[OffTheRails hijack the shoot,]] and expose the producer for the racist he really is, and the episode ends with Marlon being told that the company is facing a boycott over its ad campaign.
460* In light of the withdrawl of US troops from Afghanistan, ''Series/UnitedStatesOfAl'' told the story through its characters. Made even more real by the fact that a few people involved in the show ended up stuck in the country.
461* ''Series/WelcomeBackKotter'': As close as it got when Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington, the athlete of the Sweathogs, begins taking painkillers to heal a basketball injury, tells his friends they're just "vitamins", and nearly gets Horshack hooked as well. At least one critic, Tom Hill, decried the episode for throwing away the opportunity to become a VSE, making it simply another one of Gabe Kaplan's throwaway jokes about his relatives.
462* ''Series/TheWestWing'': "Isaac and Ishmael" explored racism against Arabs and South Asians after the attacks in the city, similar to ''Series/TwentyFour'' and produced only a few weeks after the actual September 11th attacks. A staff member has the same name as a terrorist, and Leo and the Secret Service interrogate the heck out of him. When it turns out he's innocent, he gives Leo a big TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. The episode also gives a discussion about terrorism in general, framed as a group of schoolchildren touring the White House when it gets locked down and the main cast has to entertain them while stuck in the White House's kitchen.
463* ''Series/WhoseLineIsItAnyway'' {{parodied|trope}} it. When Ryan portrays Drew as being lower on the evolutionary scale than apes (as a joke), Drew fires back by calling Ryan a "freak" -- over and over again. After a while, though, he apologizes to Ryan and is obviously feeling sincerely guilty. Noticing the extremely unusual (for ''Whose Line'') mood shift, Wayne chimes in with a sarcastically somber voice, saying "A very special ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?''".
464* ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati'': The 1980 RippedFromTheHeadlines episode "In Concert" centers around the real-life events surrounding concert-goers being trampled to death at a rock concert headlined by Music/TheWho at Riverfront Stadium (set in the fictional [=WKRP=]'s town of Cincinnati). In the show's fictional universe, station employees gleefully promote the concert and talk about what a great time they plan to have at the show, but on the morning after the concert, the staff is wrought with guilt upon learning of the incident -- in which several of the victims were under the age of 18 -- and resolve to call for action to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again. Even Les, the otherwise grossly incompetent news director who doesn't know a news story from a wristwatch, has a shining moment here, knowing that something needs to be done to prevent future similar tragedies. The episode ends with employees leaving to go to a candlelight vigil for those who were killed.
465[[/folder]]
466
467[[folder:Z]]
468* ''Series/{{Zoom}}'': The 1999-2005 revival has not one, but two Very Special Zoom Chat segments related to the events of 9/11 and UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror. They were entitled "America's Kids Respond" and "America's Kids Remember".
469[[/folder]]
470

Top