Stasera, in un articolo molto speciale di TV Tropes ...
Un episodio, spesso on una sitcom, nel quale il protagonista affronta un problema molto emozionale o proibito dalla vita di tutti i giorni. Abuso di droghe, disturbi alimentari, e ancora peggio... ADOLESCENTI CHE FANNO SESSO! Alla fine dell'episodio, il protagonista è Enlightened, e il personaggio ospite con il Problema Molto Speciale non viene mai più rivisto. Spesso c'è un numero da chiamare, nel caso voi (o qualcuno che amiate) abbiate il Problema Molto Speciale. Un altro criterio è che effetti, complicazioni, or tassi di fallimento della Soluzione Molto Speciale dettata dal governo non sono mai menzionati. Se il problema presenta dei bambini (cosa alquanto sicura), allora potrebbe anche essere promosso come qualcosa che "Nessun Genitore Dovrebbe Mancare". Spesso appaiono quando quando gli scrittori o la rete televisiva vuole dei premi, o potrebbe essere causato da Writer on Board.
Il tono sarà tipicamente, molto più serio del resto della serie, anche se con le sitcom ci potrebbe essere ancora una sotto-trama comedica o momenti dove la Laugh Track è necessaria. Se Status Quo Is God ha effetto, there is only a small chance of breaking with this practice, but that's the reason for the common tactic of introducing a new guest character who isn't protected by this consideration, and can therefore have anything bad or good happen to him without changing the status quo.
Or, in other words: O.O.C. Is Serious Business for television shows.
These episodes were far more common in the 1980s, fueled by then-United States president Ronald Reagan's crackdown on drug use in America. They've largely fallen out of favor since then for most shows 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, and then you have the Dramedy genre that regularly mixes comedy with serious issues.
There's a certain variety of shows where essentially every episode has a special message, such as Touched by an Angel, Joan of Arcadia, etc. However, it's not by any means a Dead Horse Trope yet due to Police Procedurals (i.e. Police Stop!, Police, Camera, Action!, Road Wars) and law enforcement dramas like Criminal Minds and Medium.Medical dramas will also do these, but for ethical not medical issues.
It is also a very ripe target for parody; these days, parodies are probably as common as seeing this trope played straight. May also be vulnerable to Détournement.
Compare Public Service Announcement. Too Smart for Strangers (about the danger of child abduction) and Drugs Are Bad (about Just Saying No to them) are two specific kinds of Very Special Episodes that reached their zenith in the 1980s. Descent into Addiction is a special case of the latter trope, in which the episode is all about a character's gradual slide into addictive behaviour. See Compressed Vice for when a character is saddled with an issue for just long enough to illustrate the aesop, and Long-Lost Uncle Aesop for when a new character is introduced solely for this purpose and never seen again. An Author Tract is when the entire work is used as an excuse to preach about a particular real world issue. Green Aesop is when the story focuses on environmental issues, but these aren't as common. Can also double as a Prejudice Aesop.
See Bizarro Episode, Christmas Episode, Christmas Special, Halloween Episode, Sick Episode, Prison Episode, April Fools' Plot and Toilet Training Plot for other specially-themed episodes.
