[[BronzeAge http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/green-lantern-green-arrow-85.jpg]]
[[caption-width:250:DC attacks youth's greatest problem... [[strike:MARVEL!]] DRUGS!]]
-->''His name is ''Speedy'', him being a drug addict was pretty much a foregone conclusion. It's like walking in on your ward doing a corpse and exclaiming "Necrophilia Lad! How could you?!"''\\
--[[SuperDickery Superdickery.com]]

''Tonight, on a very special article of TV Tropes...''

An episode, often in a sitcom, in which the lead confronts some highly emotional or forbidden issue from everyday life. Drug abuse, teenage sex, bulimia... At the end of the episode, the protagonist is Enlightened, and the [[LongLostUncleAesop guest character]] with the Very Special Problem is never seen or heard from again. Often there is an 800 number to call, should you actually have the Very Special Problem. If the problem involves children in some way (and it almost invariably ''will''), then it may also be promoted as something that "No Parent Should Miss". These often come about when [[OscarBait networks or writers are bucking for awards.]]

The tone will typically be much, ''much'' more serious than other installments of the series.

These episodes were far more common in the 1980s. They've largely fallen out of favor since then due in part to the increasing number of shows, particularly dramas, where issues such as drug/alcohol abuse, violence, sex and death are dealt with on an almost weekly basis. There's a certain variety of shows where essentially ''every'' episode has a special message, such as ''TouchedByAnAngel'', ''JoanOfArcadia'', etc.

Often ends up as an {{Anvilicious}} {{Narm}}, especially if it turns out to be a CluelessAesop. Very ripe target for parody; these days, parodies of [[VerySpecialEpisode Very Special Episodes]] [[DeadHorseTrope are probably more common than]] [[VerySpecialEpisode Very Special Episodes]] themselves. May also be vulnerable to {{Detournement}}.

A related concept is the AfterSchoolSpecial, which handles serious issues in a similar fashion. The major difference between a VerySpecialEpisode and an After School Special is that the latter is a standalone story rather than an installment of an already existing program. See also PublicServiceAnnouncement.

See CompressedVice for when a character is saddled with an issue for just long enough to illustrate the aesop, and LongLostUncleAesop for when a new character is introduced ''solely'' for this purpose and never seen again.
----
!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

* The SilverAge Speedy (later know as Arsenal and later still as Red Arrow) became a Very Special Character for much of his career, starting with a 1971 story in which he became a heroin addict. Despite the Superdickery quote mentioned above, the original story was not especially {{Narm}}ful, but many of the later ones were. One of the most infamous of these stories was the ''[[Comicbook/TeenTitans Teen Titans]]'' 'Drug Awareness issue' mentioned in PietaPlagiarism.
** His drug abuse is still part of his character--when Speedy lectured someone else (Nightwing, this troper recalls) in a very holier-than-thou way in a recent comic, Nightwing sneered that he was [[AdHominem getting advice from a heroin addict]].
** Treads into [[BrokenAesop awkward territory]] when his mentor, Green Arrow, beat the shit out of Speedy for being a filthy junkie. Though Green Arrow learned later in the storyline how wrong he was, he never apologized for his behavior. When Speedy tells him off for this, Green Arrow weeps silently... in pride for his ward becoming a man.
* The ModernAge Speedy got her own [[VerySpecialEpisode Very Special Issue]] where she revealed that not only was she a recovering drug addict... she was also HIV Positive!
**Actually, not that it's any better, but Mia is a former teen prostitute. No mention of her having a drug addiction has ever been made.
* This editor has one Very Special ''Issue'' of the Robin comic book, wherein Tim Drake talks a kid down from jumping off the roof; it fits well in the story, as Robin himself had recently lost pretty much everyone he ever knew. It even came complete with a teen suicide hot line at the end of the issue.
** DC's fond of these in general, much more so than Marvel (though they get their fair share in too). DC is, in fact, ''so'' fond of the Very Special type that they'll go so far as to introduce Very Special ''Characters'', new characters whose entire presence starts out as an excuse to have everything they're in turn to some extent into a Very Special Issue. Examples include the new Speedy (teen prostitution, HIV), and the list goes on.
*** Speedy was originally introduced as an ex-prostitute who had her HIV added later, not someone who was there to have everything turn into a very special issue.
*** If anything, Mia's inclusion was intended for the opposite effect. She did all the heavy work herself in overcoming her initial "Very Special" situation, without Ollie's direct involvement. Judd Winick, however, has a thing for Very Special moments involving AIDS, given how a close friend to him died from complications.
*** Judd Winick also penned a very special issue with GreenLantern Kyle Rayner's homosexual assistant getting beaten up for his sexual orientation. Judd was the one who introduced the character and built up the homosexuality angle prior to this with a less {{Anvilicious}} issue.
*** Kyle Rayner's GreenLantern series wasn't entirely free of this before Judd, with Ron Marz penning an issue on alcoholism and another on hate crimes.
* ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' had a classic issue where Spider-Man saves a stoner from jumping off a building. Fortunately, it wasn't as {{narm}}ful as it could be, mainly the result of subplots about Gwen Stacey and Harry Osborn.
** That entire arc is famous for how the Comics Code Authority handled the whole VerySpecialEpisode aspect about drug abuse - and in the process signed their own death warrant. The CCA wouldn't allow even the ''negative'' portrayal of drug use (never mind the fact that it was the ''Department of Health, Education, and Welfare'' that asked them to make the story), causing Marvel to forgo CCA approval for that story.
*** On top of it, Spider-Man/Power Pack is an (out of continuity, we hope) very special issue in which we find out an upperclassman/college student sexually abused Peter before he had powers.
** Another one-shot had Spidey and Skids, a mutant whose powers surfaced when her father was beating her, deal with child abuse.
** Still another, not nearly so well handled and packed with {{Narm}}, was the infamous [[http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix4/exmoresam.htm Fast Lane]] inserts dealing with pot. So bad that Marvel themselves took broad swipes at them for some time after.
* ''NewMutants'' issue #45 was all about a new kid named Larry who was secretly a mutant. His classmates started teasing him about it (not knowing he really ''was'' a mutant) and stuck a flyer under his door that said "X-Factor [the mutant hunting team] is coming for you!" That freaked him out so badly that he ended up committing suicide. And the whole thing ends with a WeCouldHaveAvoidedAllThis speech from Kitty Pryde about name-calling. Fortunately, it's so well-written that it's not really that [[{{Narm}} Narmy]].
** [[TearJerker No, indeed]].
* This troper read an Archie comic where a friend of his (who I've never seen or heard of before) gets into a drunk driving accident and experiences a spiritual reawakening.
* [[TheSandman Death talks about life]]. It's practically a sex-ed comic book trying to convey what abstinence-only sexual education didn't. At least it's of the Vertigo line which is aimed at mature readers...
* SpiderGirl issue #89, all about May's friend Sandra, who was being abused by her (now ex) boyfriend. Slight subversion in that it was the culmination of a long subplot and the abused character stuck around, but otherwise a textbook example.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

*The fourth wall destroying quote above comes from the recent [[LostEpisode lost episode]] of ''Gap'', which also served as a TakeThatCritics to all the people who protested against the many many (mostly) implied instances of teenage drug use and alcoholism.
* Popularly attributed to ''{{Blossom}}'', which had a lot of Very Special Episodes, promoted as such.
** A trait that was lampshaded when ThePowerpuffGirls had their own episode (about stealing) entitled "A Very Special Blossom" (the Blossom in this case being the leader of the Powerpuffs). Thankfully, the cartoon carried off this plot with its usual mixture of cuteness, sharp wit and kick-assery.
** Parodied on {{Friends}} when Joey (who has just been chosen to appear on a poster warning against sexually transmitted diseases) walks into the flat and says 'I've got VD." Chandler sardonically replies 'tonight on a very special Blossom!'
* Perhaps the most notorious show for very special episodes was the WB's ''SeventhHeaven'' where for a while, virtually every episode was "very special."
* ''DiffrentStrokes'' had a few. The best known is probably the one in which a pedophile bike shop owner attempts to molest Arnold and Dudley. Tragically, the actor playing Dudley ''was'' sexually abused in RealLife.
** The traumatic part of it for me when I was a kid was that it was Gordon Jump, the sweet, clueless station manager of ''{{WKRP In Cincinnati}}''. Mr. Carlson, how could you?!
** Another Very Special Episode had Nancy Reagan coming on to do her "Just Say No!" schtick. Apparently, the cast didn't exactly get her tired message - especially Dana Plato.
* The episode of ''FamilyTies'' in which Alex loses a friend to drunk driving.
** The episode in which Alex gets addicted to diet pills.
** The episode in which LongLostUncleAesop is an "off the wagon" alcoholic.
-->"...and now (*sob*) I've hit Alex..."
-->"It may not be Miller time, but...it's vanilla time!! C'mon Alex, join me in a glass of maraschino cherry juice!"
** 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.
* An episode of ''FamilyMatters'' involving marrow donation.
** An episode of ''FamilyMatters'' involving both gun and gang violence among youth, complete with PSA from the actors out of character at the end, and a catchphrase ("Squash it.")
** Yet another that deals with police discrimination, where a cop pulls over and unfairly tickets Carl's son because he was a black teenager driving in a white neighborhood.
** And then there was the episode that dealt with black history month, where upon Laura suggesting that a black history class be put into the curriculum, somebody posts a IF YOU LOVE BLACK HISTORY SO MUCH WHY DON'T YOU GO BACK TO AFRICA note on her locker.
* ''Step By Step'' toyed with this territory on occasion. Most memorable in this troper's memory is an episode where J.T. learns he has dyslexia. Throughout the episode, his parents and siblings take note of his poor grades and blame them on his study habits and work ethic. The lesson begins to hit home after Cody has J.T. read a chapter out of a schoolbook and has him report on the contents:
-->'''Cody''': So what'd it say?
-->'''J.T.''': I dunno...it didn't make any sense.
-->'''Cody''': Come on, man, stop fooling around.
-->'''J.T.''': I'm not fooling around!
**Once the seriousness is established, the episode scores a CrowningMomentOfFunny when J.T. comes back from the doctor, exclaiming happily(?!) that he has dyslexia:
--->Carol: Oh, thank god, I knew you couldn't be that stupid!
**''TheCosbyShow'' had a similar episode, where Theo was revealed to be dyslexic. As he's headed to take the test for it, his father helpfully coaches "I hope you fail with flying colors!"
* ''PunkyBrewster'' had a special two-part episode. Part One had to do with Punky learning CPR, then in Part Two, her friend suffocated inside an old fridge, which allowed Punky to put her CPR skills to the test. A choma-keyed text imposed atop a still of Punky's CPR class, along with a stern announcer, told us "CPR should only be performed by certified people" (of which Punky was not, incidentally).
** Another has her stepdad Henry becoming addicted to medication. Typically for a [=VSE=], the problem is resolved in a single episode and [[StatusQuoIsGod never mentioned again]].
* An early example is the "Maude Has An Abortion" episode of ''{{Maude}}''.
** It wasn't done as a Very Special Episode, though, since it did not moralize. It simply shocked America. In fact, it might have given birth to the Very Special Episode by the massive ratings it received.
* The ending PSA about the Very Special Problem was parodied in an episode of ''{{Dinosaurs}}''. Robbie and his friend, Spike, find a plant in the woods and become addicted to it; at the end of the episode, Robbie urged viewers "Don't do drugs -- and help stop preachy sitcom episodes like this one."
** And the finale itself was a Very Special Episode about pollution, and played it completely straight by having it lead directly to the dinosaurs' extinction.
* An episode of ''HomeImprovement'' was billed as an episode where Randy might have cancer. Turned out he didn't and the whole thing was a false alarm. He did wind up with ''hypothyroidism,'' a thyroid condition that effectively requires a pill a day for the rest of his life.
** In fact, most of the emotional turmoil the characters experienced were, indeed, that he ''might have'' cancer, or several other things, and that they simply didn't know. The stress of waiting to find out was the linchpin of the drama.
*** Well, that and the parents thought that not telling Randy was the best option. Which then backfired when he did his own research and understandably freaked out.
****Yeah, withholding important and easily-researched information from the most intelligent and book-smart of their children really isn't the smartest move they could have made.
****In their defense, this was their own '''''child''''' who might have cancer; If it were one of your children, you'd spaz out like a squirrel on sugar too.
** ''HomeImprovement'' was a rare show that actually handled these kinds of episodes very nicely. For example, in another Very Special Episode, Brad smoked pot. Parents behaved in the typical matter, but the episode lacked the soap box feeling most episodes of that nature had. Nobody died when Brad smoked, nobody even got injured, no out of proportion hallucinations that pot doesn't actually have, and even Jill came out later in the episode, admitting she experimented with it. Basically, they said DrugsAreBad, but they didn't [[{{Anvilicious}} put an anvil on the drugs]].
* And who could forget the episode of ''AllInTheFamily'' when that serial rapist tried to attack Edith? Quite a few of you, apparently.
** This was actually a continuation of a storyline which involved the sexual assault (they never use the word "rape" in any of the episodes) of Gloria by a college classmate. The writers decided for Edith to be the potential victim to show that rape was about power, not sex, as the actress playing Gloria, Sally Struthers, [[YourMileageMayVary who was quite attractive at the time]], was often accused of "asking for it" (even by Archie, Mike, '''''and''''' Edith herself!). It all ends with Edith, after Gloria calls her a coward and unworthy of her respect, slapping Gloria before breaking down in sobs and finally agreeing to prosecute the attacker. What should be {{Narm}}-inducing ends up being a {{Crowning Moment of Bittersweet}}.
* The episode of ''SavedByTheBell'' in which Jessie becomes addicted to caffeine pills, leading to the infamous "[[{{Narm}} I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so... so scared!"]] scene (may be seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bflYjF90t7c here]]).
** Also the very special episode where Zack's duck Becky is killed by an oil spill.
* This is mentioned in an episode of ''UglyBetty''
* While the episode "The Body" in ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is a favorite to some fans, it does fit the Very Special Episode concept, where the death that Buffy must cope with is an everyday-life event that is pointedly not connected to the usual supernatural forces of the show.
** However, unlike most Very Special Episodes, it didn't come out of nowhere: there had been a continuing arc about Joyce having a brain tumor and having it removed, but she ended up dying of a brain aneurysm. Still, not a normal plotline for ''BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', but still a TearJerker nonetheless.
** 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 [[DisContinuity tend to ignore everything after Tabula Rasa.]]
** As well, the fourth season episode "Beer Bad" attempted to have a moral lesson about drinking alcohol, mainly to take advantange 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 beer turned people into]] ''[[SpaceWhaleAesop cavemen]]'' and because of this:
--->'''Xander:''' And was there a lesson in all this? huh? What did we learn about beer?\\
'''Buffy:''' Foamy.\\
'''Xander:''' Good, just as long as that's clear.
*** Being still able to remember his college days, this troper protests that drinking alcohol DOES turn people into cavemen. The show should have gotten the money.
* One episode of ''TheSopranos'' focusing on the soccer coach of Tony's daughter being a child molester played with the trope, in that given their general treatment of women, Tony and his crew come across as somewhat hypocritical in condemning his behavior--particularly in later seasons, the difference between the way Tony and his crew treat women and the way the coach did is that Tony and his crew wait until they're eighteen. Moreover, rather than the black and white morality of the usual VerySpecialEpisode, the show is typically morally ambiguous, as Tony wants to kill the coach, feeling that [[ARealManIsAKiller he would be less of a man were he to rely upon the legal system to seek justice]]--and that even if he did, what the legal system would do could hardly be called justice. In the end, however, Tony gets ''very'' relaxed on both medication and alcohol, [[spoiler:and seems quite content with the idea that "I din' hur' nobody"]].
*''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 from the show as he privately admits to struggling with his own prejudices.
* A fourth-season episode of ''[[TwentyFour 24]]'' had Jack Bauer hiding out in a gun shop owned by two foreign 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 Kiefer Sutherland, who highlighted the discrimination faced by Arab and East Indian residents living in America, a situation caused by 9/11 and the War on Terror.
* Literally, EVERY EPISODE of the ''DegrassiJuniorHigh / DegrassiHigh / DegrassiTheNextGeneration'' 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. 7th Heaven doesn't have s#$@ on this.
* Exception: ''{{Seinfeld}}'' is known for having never had a Very Special Episode, and just never being that sentimental in general.
** In fact, the rules the writers set for Seinfeld are "No hugging, no learning".
*** One could argue that the popularity of ''Seinfeld'' led to other shows imitating the conceited superficial narcissism of its characters, spelling the death of the VSE in sitcoms.
*** The third season episode "The Pez Dispenser" *did* include a never before seen Special Guest Character who was struggling with drug addiction, and was never seen again after the successful intervention got him into rehab. Of course, the intervention itself took place offscreen, the buildup was played for laughs, and the whole storyline was a secondary plot.
* From around the third or fourth season onwards, every other episode of {{MacGyver}} was a Very Special Episode.
** One [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]] episode involved 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 looking), then after the regular plot (basically just StrictlyFormula {{MacGyver}}), 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 laughing hysterically at it.
* ''Boy Meets World'' had a couple of these, including one in which Cory and Shawn become completely drunk sharing a small bottle of whiskey, leading to Shawn having a harrowing week of alchoholism before it being solved by 'talking to some guy.' (I kid, I kid, I love that episode.)
* ''TheDrewCareyShow'' parodied this with "A Very Special Drew." The episode covered potential [[DeathByChildbirth miscarrige]], 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]]).
* ''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.
* SesameStreet's VerySpecialEpisode dealing with the [[NeverSayDie death of Mr. Harold Hooper]], which was ENTIRELY [[JustifiedTrope justified]] as [[RealLifeWritesThePlot the man who played him also died]]. Not a shred of {{Narm}} this time, this VerySpecialEpisode headed straight into TearJerker territory.
**There was also an episode about [[http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Episode_3140 racism]]. No, seriously.
**They also made an episode dealing with Mr. Snuffleupagus's parents getting divorced, but the test screening showed that the kids didn't get the right messages from it (such as them becoming ''more'' worried about their parents getting divorced), so it was scrapped and never aired.
*Anyone else remember the episode of ''MrBelvedere'' where one of Wesley's classmates contracts HIV?
* During a [=AIDS/HIV=] awareness month on American television, StarTrekEnterprise aired an episode in which T'pol, the catsuited Vulcan first officer, entered an unprotected mindmeld with a rogue hippie Vulcan (played as an {{Anvilicious}} sexual metaphor), a scene which veered into MindRape territory, and as a result, T'pol contracted a rare Vulcan neurological disease that... oh forget it, she got Vulcan Space [=AIDS=]. Not that this disease [[ResetButton was ever brought up again]] after that episode.
** It was, twice. First, T'pol mentions to her fiance that she is "ill", in an attempt to get him to forget about marrying her. Later, she explains to T'pau that she won't meld because she has Vulcan Space [=AIDS=], and doesn't want to spread it. T'pau explains that she can cure it.
***Not to mention the extremely anvillicious episode where Phlox tries to get information about the disease from Vulcan medical authorities, who essentially refuse because of the strength of their prejudice against mind melds. Quite the most illogical behaviour I've ever seen from Vulcans, notwithstanding the later multi-part Retcon explaining why something is rotten in the state of Vulcan.
*** Regardless of the political corruption on Vulcan, it still doesn't explain why a telepathic race would avoid the sharing of minds like the...err...plague?
**** Well, if you have literally contagious insanity...
* ''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.
** This troper recalls seeing an episode that takes it to a further extreme, for their message against gangs, they have a young girl killed, magically resurrected by an angel (special effect glow and all), and then 'blessed' with holy wisdom and the ability to talk to her angel, with the actors talking to the screen more often than to each other.
* ''KyleXY'' had one about tolerating gays. See FictionIsNotFair.
* ''Jack & Bobby'' had an episode where Jack's ex-best friend Matt (who was only in this one episode) committed suicide. Through flashbacks in Jack's memory, the reason for Matt's suicide was revealed to be that Matt 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.
* In a notable subversion, the TV show ''{{Titus}}'' framed every episode as a VerySpecialEpisode, most notably because of the subject matter (drugs, suicide, abuse, cheating, and insensitivity to others were ''common'' in the series). However, because they then took to the other extreme of the VSE, the subject matter was always presented as humorous and without redeeming qualities (people very rarely learned a lesson that was really worth learning). And it ''worked''.
** Part of the effectiveness is a knowledge of what to make fun of. At no point do they say "Alcoholics are funny," when they staged an intervention to get Papa Titus to start drinking again. ItMakesSenseInContext- [[WeWantOurJerkBack They thought he was nicer when he was drunk, their mistake.]]) Also, they never say "You can make fun of sexual abuse," but they do say [[GallowsHumor "Laughing is a way to deal with your problems."]]
* ''TopGear'' does regular [=VSEs=] to raise money for {{Children in Need}}, usually by aping the style of a different show, previous examples have included ''[[TopOfThePops Top Gear of the Pops]]'', ''Top Ground Gear Force'' and a crossover with [[LifeOnMars Ashes to Ashes]]
*''TheWestWing'' had one immediately after 9/11--''explicitly'' declared [[CanonDiscontinuity not a part of the series continuity]] by the actors right before the episode--where they dealt with a potential terror attack on the White House and debunked a lot of the myths floating around in the weeks after the attacks.
** ...and reinforced the myth that terrorists entered the US from Canada (across a non-existent [[YouFailGeographyForever Ontario/Vermont]] border, btw).
*Parodied like so many other things in ''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 David Cross coming out as bald.
*This troper saw an episode of ''LizzieMaguire'' where Miranda became obsessed with losing weight.
* Who can forget ''OneTreeHill'' where Lucas' estranged friend Jimmy decides to shoot up the school?
** Oh dear ''GOD'', yes. This troper would have appreciated it if they'd at least made some token effort to point towards the whole gun control vs. right to bear arms issue, but no, it ultimately seemed to come down to "Lonely kids are crazy psychopaths who will kill you [[spoiler:and themselves]]." I suppose the gun with which he initiated the shooting just appeared out of thin air, or something...
* Subverted on ''{{Roseanne}}''. The show's CrowningMomentOfFunny was the episode dealing with marijuana. Dan and Rosie thought the blunt they found was David's and threatened to throw him out if they caught him with drugs again, but it turns out to be one of ''theirs'' that Dan didn't have the heart to throw out when they were pregnant with Becky and wanted to clean up their lives to be responsible parents. The rest of the episode shows them smoking it 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, due to the show's honest look at working-class families.
* An episode of ''GrowingPains'' involved Mike and his friends being offered drugs at a party. The episode's coda featured Kirk Cameron speaking directly to the viewers about the dangers of drug abuse.
** IIRC, it also had one against drunk driving.
*** Yes, the one where [[HeyItsThatGuy Chandler from]] ''{{Friends}}'' snatches death from the jaws of recovery.
* ''TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' had this a bit regularly, ranging from questioning racial profiling (where Will argues the sole reason they were pulled over after trying to get to a fancy party was that they were driving a Mercedes, whereas Carlton argues the cops were just doing their job) to gun violence (an arc had Will recovering from a gunshot wound, and made Carlton briefly DarkerAndEdgier).
* ''{{House}}'' with season 5's [[spoiler: Kutner suicide]].
* There were multiple Very Special Episodes for ''{{Full House}}'' (indicated by the longer version of the opening). One episode was the episode where [[spoiler:Jesse's grandfather dies]], and unlike many Very Special Episodes for TV shows, it wasn't {{narm}}y and was actually handled very nicely, if not a {{Tear Jerker}}.
* Subverted by a recent episode of the American ''WhatNotToWear''. Billed as ''A Very Special Episode, the celebrity makeover target was revealed to be Mayim Bialik, the actress who used to play ''{{Blossom}}''. And in fact she did seem to dress like a grown up Blossom gone to seed. As is common with many guests of the show, SheCleansUpNicely.
* ''TheProfessionals''. "Klansmen" sees Bodie attacked by a gang of blacks, 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. Of course, (this being ''The Professionals'') he then goes off on a date with the pretty black nurse. Ironically the episode is now banned in Britain [[CompletelyMissingThePoint because of its racist content]].
* ''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.
* ''LittleHouseOnThePrairie'' in almost ''every'' episode. Walnut Grove had a never-ending line of suffering citizens needing help from the Ingalls.
* ''[[{{MASH}} M*A*S*H]]'' had the infamous one where Henry Blake goes home, where the show utterly destroyed the convention for comedies [[spoiler:never letting any main character die. Also, pretty much torpedoed the idea of meaningful deaths in war.]]
**[[BrokenBase Some fans think]] every other episode of ''M*A*S*H'' became this after Alan Alda was given scripting privileges.
* ''ADifferentWorld'' had an episode on date rape co-starring Tiamak.
* Every {{Smallville}} episode that guest starred Christopher Reeves ended with him and Tom Welling telling people to donate to the ''Christopher Reeves Treatment For Spinal Injury Foundation''.
* ''{{Glee}}'' seems to give every one of the show's FiveTokenBand ADayInTheLimelight. So far we've had the Very Special [[SassyBlackWoman Zaftig African-American]] Episode, the Very Special Gay Episode and the Very Special Disability Episode, and a seemingly complete lack of awareness of the UnfortunateImplications of giving the PrettyWhiteKidsWithProblems the solos by default.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Music ]]

* Soul Asylum's MusicVideo for ''Runaway Train'' was interspersed with photos of missing children and ended with a phone number to call if the viewer had seen any of them. In an unfortunate twist, it was eventually revealed that some of the now-adults shown in the video didn't ''want'' to be found.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]

* Parodied in ''[[SamAndMaxFreelancePolice Sam & Max]] Season 2: Night of the Raving Dead''. The pair film a "Very Special Episode" of ''[[ShowWithinAShow Midtown Cowboys]]'' in which they confront their landlord about his addiction... but the episode is really a massive product-placement ad, because who ''wouldn't'' be addicted to the great taste of Old Gutsmack brand Malt Liquor?
** And then they replace the liquor with cigarettes containing garlic, causing a German vampire who is a big fan of the show to smoke them.
*** You can also replace the liquor with a brand of water that you find in the castle, leading to some hilarious ad-libs.

[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Comic ]]

* ''{{CTRL ALT DEL}}''. One word: [[http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comic.php?d=20080602 Miscarriage]]. This set off a slew of mockery and debate, including biting parody from [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/108-Webcomics Zero Punctuation]] and [[http://www.vgcats.com/cadaprilfools/ VG Cats]].

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[[folder: Western Animation ]]

* ''StaticShock'' had many Very Special Episodes, including "Sons of the Fathers" (focusing on racism), "Frozen Out" (focusing on homelessness), "Jimmy" (focusing on school violence), and "Where the Rubber Meets The Road" (focusing on dyslexia).
* Mercilessly spoofed in ''DrawnTogether'', in an episode appropriately named "A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special". Started as a roleplay by the housemates to help Xandir decide how to inform his parents of his homosexuality, the effort quickly derailed, which resulted in nearly all of them getting killed by the end of the episode.
** Also lampshaded in an earlier episode: ("Hi, I'm Toot Brownstein... In this episode, we awkwardly dealt with eating disorders.")
* In the ''{{Gargoyles}}'' episode "Deadly Force", the dangers of playing with a loaded gun are looked at, including a description of the path the bullet took inside the victim's body. The message may have been too graphic, however. It's usually omitted from reruns on the Disney Channel [[NightmareFuel for being too violent]].
** Still more {{Anvilicious}} was the episode concerning illiteracy - though the gargoyles came from the Middle Ages, where the ability to read was very uncommon, it's still a little hard to credit a plot where the villain wants to throw away the personal diary of Merlin, and is stopped by heroes, who then deliver a speech about how stories are treasures.
*** It's worth noting that the attempted destruction of the above diary is largely due to momentary frustration. The character involved is himself based on an historical figure whose real history has been largely tossed aside due to a certain play.
** However, ''Gargoyles'' bucked the trend by showing aftereffects in later episodes. After "Deadly Force", Elisa spent a few episodes on crutches and was later shown carefully locking up her gun instead of leaving it out. The author character introduced as part of the literacy episode has made some appearances since. Broadway, the BigEater gargoyle who got into reading has become quite the fan of {{Shakespeare}}. Just look at that moment when he describes the Eyrie Tower Castle's kitchen, and then his eyes ''really'' light up when he describes the library. He was also the one who accidentally shot Elisa with her gun, and he gets ''very'' angry when he [[BerserkButton encounters criminals using guns]].
*** Deadly Force also places the blame partly on Elisa (who didn't lock up her gun), [[CharacterDevelopment and forces Broadway to mature as a character]]. He was initially a fan of violent cop shows and movies, but after this experience grew to prefer investigative work. His hatred of guns in this particular episode is tied directly to his personal guilt, rather than guns being wrong inherently.
* An ABC special called ''CartoonAllstarsToTheRescue'' where cartoon characters from ''LooneyTunes'' to ''TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' try to teach a child called Mikey about the dangers of marijuana. Ludicrously. the point that breaks Mikey, other than his addiction forcing him to steal from his little sister and his family worrying about him, is that marijuana [[SpaceWhaleAesop will turn him into a green-skinned zombie]]; it's quite obvious where Mikey's priorities are, and it's made even worse when you consider most marijuana users aren't, y'know, zombies. Stupidest of all is that cartoon characters who really have no business knowing about drugs are the ones preaching to Mikey, such as Huey, Dewey and Louie of ''DuckTales'', ''AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' and, of all people, ''the MuppetBabies''. And seeing BugsBunny talking about a joint is really quite a childhood-killer.
* ''CaptainPlanet'' is pretty much one big Very Special Show, telling children to not cause pollution (despite rarely going into ''why'' people polluted in the first place). However, it had many particular episodes that focused on more down to earth problems that children, teenagers and young adults may face. One of these was a drug episode "Mind Pollution" where Linka's cousin gets addicted to a designer drug called "Bliss" created by Verminous Skumm (who appeared to specialize in "pollution of the body" in the show, so to speak). Another episode was about AIDS, involving Skumm spreading lies about a young AIDS sufferer such as the virus could be contracted just through casual contact. The former episode is at least somewhat notable for breaking the NeverSayDie rule by having Linka's cousin die from overdosing on the drug... Then again, the fact he leapt through a glass window and sliced his arms, causing him to ''bleed profusely on the floor'' might've had something to do with it too.
**Don't forget, Hydroelectric Dams are EVIL. This troper (whose Dad worked in one) remembers one in Africa that somehow blocks all the water in a river so none of the animals can take a drink.
** Then there was the episode where Wheeler in a dream discovered an island inhabited by greedy, foolish humanoid mice who refuse to stop having large families. Initially clueless American boy Wheeler is against government mandated population control, but he learns his lesson when the humanoid mice overpopulate to the point that their island destroys itself. He wakes up praising the Planeteers from countries where the government controls family size, enlightened at last. Really.
** And the one about gangs, where we learn Wheeler grew up on the streets of a gritty inner-city slum-- wait, what? The kid's about as hard as a pound of wet meat loaf! He's pure whitebread Suburbanite through and through! Who are they trying to bullshit?
* Parodied in "A Very Very Very Very Special Cartoon'' ''{{Animaniacs}}'' in which the Warners attempt to win the Humanitarian Award by shoehorning every social issue they can think of into their next cartoon.
** The complete list (more or less. [[{{Yarrunmace}} This troper]] couldn't stand watching [[TastesLikeDiabetes all of the cartoon]]) is saving the whales, car engine pollution, reading educational books (about Ghandi), planting trees, walking instead of driving, anti-smoking, nursing orphaned owls, not littering, helping for no reason, non-fattening foods, no gratuitous violence, the goodness of being a vegetarian (TruthInTelevision), respecting women for their minds rather than [[MostCommonSuperPower their...well, you know]]. In other words, it's absolutely nothing like a normal episode.
** Then, when the award goes to [[YetAnotherBabyPanda "A Panda Called Pookie"]], they spend the last minute of the show going back to normal, involving committing acts of gratuitous violence, eating fattening cheesecake, wasting gas, chopping down trees, wasting time, and admiring HelloNurse for [[MostCommonSuperPower ...well, you know]].
* Let's not even mention practically every cartoon made by {{Filmation}} studios.
* Oddly enough, ''PinkyAndTheBrain'' had one about cigarette smoking. It was not very {{Narm}}-y, but it was kind of weird to have a Very Special Episode in a show about two lab mice trying to conquer the world. Even weirder was the fact that ''[[CloudCuckooLander Pinky]]'' was the voice of reason (well, as reasonable as he could get, anyway).
**Nonetheless, the episode's humor and style did not suffer.
* ''CloneHigh'' made fun of the concept by having its episode-end eyecatches for the next ep promote every episode as "a very special ''Clone High''".
** And every single episode is transformed into a humongous squiggly ball of {{Narm}}. ''Deliberately''.
* ''BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' did an anti-drug episode, though due to the show's sci-fi setting the popular genre convention that [[{{ILoveNuclearPower}} Radiation gives you superpowers]] is used as a metaphor for it.
* ''TinyToons'' had the requisite Very Special Episode, but, being ''Tiny Toons'', they [[LampshadeHanging hung lampshades on everything in sight]]. One Beer sees Buster coercing Hamton and Plucky into a cold one and admitting it's radically out of character for him in the same breath. They proceed to get entirely sloshed on 1/3 a beer each, become smelly, slurring hobos, steal a cop car, joyride it off a cliff into a graveyard, and die. At the end of the episode, it pulls back to the studio as they pull off their "angel" costumes, mention that a very important lesson has been taught, and hope they can be funny again in the next episode. However, it's preceded by an {{Anvilicious}} short about smoking that seems to be less about the actual health hazards posed and more about how to harass people you think are doing something objectionable into giving in to your nagging. See One Beer [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO1x7PjB3A4 here]].
* Given a nod in the ''BigWolfOnCampus'' episode ''The Sandman Cometh'': "They did four Very Special Episodes in a row... it was an emotional workout."
* "Disney's {{Doug}}" played it straight on the episode when Patti Mayonnaise and friends dealt with Bulimia.
* ''{{Teen Titans}}'' had an episode centered around [[FantasticRacism racism]].
* An ''{{Arthur}}'' episode titled ''The Great MacGrady'' has the kids finding out lunchlady Mrs. MacGrady has been diagnosed with cancer.


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