Hard Truth Aesop / Live-Action TV

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• The 100 frequently has the moral that sometimes there isn't a genuinely good moral choice. Sometimes the only options available all involve doing something terrible that you'll regret forever.
  Clarke: I tried. I tried to be the good guy.
  Abby: Maybe there are no good guys.
• Adventures in Wonderland
  • "I Am the Walrus" is a Very Special Episode about prejudice which is surprisingly hard-hitting for a children's program. A walrus is moving to Wonderland, and nearly all of the Wonderlanders suffer from a case of Fantastic Racism because of rumors they've heard about walruses. Alice is the first to meet the Walrus and soon learns that the stories are all fake, but her friends won't listen to her and find excuses to exclude and ignore him while being superficially polite. What makes it work is that it's the good guys who are expressing racist views, not a one-shot Villain of the Week. The episode thus drops the Aesops that even ordinarily-kind individuals can be severely prejudiced, and their being nice to you doesn't mean they'll be nice to everyone. It also shows that bigotry isn't always a case of being Obviously Evil: there are plenty of ways to demonstrate prejudice that aren't severe, and sometimes these "light" discriminatory acts are more insidious than overt ones.
  • A more lighthearted example, Played for Laughs, is found in the episode "Objet d'Heart," where the Queen of Hearts takes up sculpting: as Alice concludes in the And Knowing Is Half the Battle segment at the end, just because you enjoy doing something doesn't mean you're good at it.
• Agent Carter: SSR Agent Sousa interrogates a homeless man who he suspects has valuable information, but the man refuses to tell anything to cops. Learning that the man is a war veteran, Sousa gives an emotional testimony about his own crippling war injuries and how society has also left him behind, trying to reach a common ground with the man. However, this fails to move the man, until Agent Thompson simply tries bribing him with a burger and beer. Right away the man spills the beans, and Thompson insolently remarks to Sousa: “Not everyone came back from the war wanting a hug.”
• Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. had one early on in the episode "Girl In The Flower Dress." Basically, Daisy's (then known as Skye) prolific hack-tivist partner and boyfriend Miles hacks into S.H.I.E.L.D. and exposes very delicate information regarding a powered person's whereabouts (which leads to him getting kidnapped by a shadowy organization), and a later mission to retrieve him gets an agent killed. At first, Miles uses the excuse that all information should be free and that he's fighting against secretive government agencies and Skye vouches for him due to her trying to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. herself. But then it's found out that he was paid one million dollars by said shadowy organization to hack S.H.I.E.L.D. for that information. Daisy is crushed by Miles's actions, willingly submits to her punishment, which in turn starts her on the path joining S.H.I.E.L.D. Mind you, this episode premiered during the Edward Snowden revelations and still presents the message that government agencies gather information and keep secrets for a reason, and that hack-tivists are not paragons of virtue and can be used for nefarious purposes.
• While Babylon 5 ended up more idealistic than cynical, it still had a few sprinkled here and there. Stated outright at the end of "Believers," for example:
  Sinclair: Sometimes doing the right thing doesn't change anything.
• Battlestar Galactica: Sometimes you have to Shoot the Dog, you can't always Take a Third Option, and you have to Know When to Fold 'Em.
• Between the Lions
  • The story "The Queen Who Wanted to Touch the Moon" inverts the typical moral about determination. The queen never gives up on trying to touch the moon, and thus falls to her death. There's a difference between giving up and knowing when to turn back.
  • "A Good Sad Book" has the moral that some stories need to have a Downer Ending. There are lessons that simply can't be taught effectively with a happy ending.
• Blackadder: The Christmas episode teaches us that "Being generous doesn't necessarily mean you'll be taken advantage of by freeloaders... but you aren't making it as difficult for them as you should."
• Bridgerton: True Love doesn't always win out over societal expectations; taking the moral high ground sometimes only means that you get hurt and nothing changes.
• Community:
  • The Season 1 episode "Beginner Pottery" is all about learning the uncomfortable lesson that you won't necessarily be the best at whatever you put your mind at in Real Life, but it does also note that with determination and perseverance (along with a fair bit of luck), you can actually improve going forward (as shown by Pierce's Determinator standpoint towards the sailing class) along with taking solace in what you're naturally talented at (as shown with Jeff at the end coming to terms with the fact that he's terrible at pottery, but he was/still is a damn good Amoral Attorney).
  • "English as a Second Language" touches on the idea that friendships often form due to random circumstance, and can easily fall apart when circumstances change. The episode's plot is kicked off when Annie realizes that the Study Group probably won't remain friends if they're not all taking a class together, and becomes so terrified of that possibility that she deliberately plans to get their Spanish 102 grade declared invalid so they'll have no choice but to repeat the class. When she gets caught, the episode also teaches the lesson that forgiveness is never guaranteed, and should never be taken for granted.
    Annie: I said I was sorry!
    Jeff: Who cares if you're sorry? We're still screwed! Be sorry about this stuff before you do it! Then don't do it! It's called growing up!
• The Conners: In "Take This Job and Shove It Twice," Darlene is promoted to a lucrative position as public relations spokesperson at Wellman's Plastics. She eventually learns, though, that Wellman's is knowingly polluting the local water supply, and that they've specifically hired her to deny the claim. Darlene eventually sticks to her ethics and quits rather than lie, but the financial and personal losses (including an inability to afford healthcare) are immediate, and while she does find other work, she eventually has to take a job as a cafeteria line worker at her son Mark's college so he can afford tuition. The Aesop is clear: sticking to your morals is a good thing, but it doesn't guarantee any kind of reward or safety, and you have to be ready to accept the consequences of what happens.
• The Cosby Show:
  • From the pilot episode, Cliff confronts Theo over his poor grades, prompting the latter to give a speech about how he's just not as good at school as his parents and Cliff should accept his son's limitations and still love him regardless. Once Theo is done, Cliff tells him "that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life!". He then goes on to deliver the true Aesop: while it's fine to get bad grades if you give a full effort and come up short, doing poorly because you don't study as long and hard as you could is inexcusable.
  • In "Denise's Friend," Cliff and Clair tell their children that they can always be honest with them about their problems, but the kids counter that part of the reason they're reluctant to share is because they worry they'll get angry. At first, Cliff and Clair claim that they'd stay calm in any given situation, but after hearing some potential scenarios—like the underage Theo borrowing Cliff's car or Denise spending the night at a boy's house when his parents aren't home—they confess that they would be furious in those circumstances. This leads to the rarely-heard Aesop that if you do irresponsible things, your parents will get angry at you and likely punish you, because they're human beings.
  • In "The Shower", Veronica, a friend of Denise who's getting married, admits to Denise at her bridal shower that she got pregnant on purpose, as she and her boyfriend Jim reckoned it was the only way they'd get their parents' permission to marry before they had finished college. They had planned to still go to classes and get part-time jobs during Veronica's pregnancy, but everything's gone wrong: they had to drop out to look for work, but they can't get decent jobs without college degrees and they've had to move in with her parents. There are several hard truths to be had here: while you might plan extensively for something, there's never a guarantee that things will go as you anticipated. Pregnancy and preparing for/raising a baby often comes at the expense of your education, social and professional life, even if you do have the support of your family. Deliberately having a child when you know that you can't afford to is irresponsible at best; especially since (as Clair points out after learning the details) Veronica and Jim have made this her parents' problem as well and now, just when they believed they were done with raising their children, they're having to support their adult daughter, son-in-law and grandchild. Finally, Clair tells Denise that she has to learn to care for people without taking on all their problems; while she can show her love and support, Veronica created this situation for herself and she has to deal with it, not Denise.
• Degrassi: The Next Generation frequently has morals that are widely believed by teenagers but are unusual for adults, as well as presenting standard aesops in unconventional ways. This may be a huge part of the show's appeal to teens.
  • Emma is still hurting after being dumped by her boyfriend Sean, so she starts purposely getting him in trouble — from ratting him and his friends out when they steal from a diner, to snitching to the principal that he stole her dad's laptop (an accusation later proved to be correct). While Emma learns that she should just move on and stop trying to make Sean hurt despite his misdeeds, it also has the lesson being that no matter how badly somebody treats you, snitching is way worse.
  • Paige has a completely horrendous experience at Banting University. The next season, she's dropped out and despite working a high intensity fashion industry job, she's a lot happier. In Season 9, Emma drops out of Smithdale due to the same issues Paige was facing. Spinner never goes to college and works a standard 9 to 5 restaurant job and couldn't be more content. The lesson of "College isn't for everyone/you can be successful and happy without going to college" flies in the face of almost every show aimed towards young audiences.
  • Jane is being harassed by the new Degrassi football team since she's the only female player. The coach (who is also the principal) is turning a blind eye. She does the "right thing" — she tells another adult about the harassment but bullying worsens and she's actually assaulted in the hallway. It isn't until she makes a stand for herself (along with a handful of teammates behind her) that bullying goes away. This episode makes the case it's better to stand up against bullies yourself and that telling an adult could make the bullying intensify.
  • In the episode "Eye of the Tiger", Spinner comes clean and finally confesses that he was responsible for driving Rick over the edge and shooting Jimmy. Jimmy then calls him cowardly and only saying this to make himself feel better, and never should have told anyone about it. Then he loses all his friends. Then he gets expelled. By contrast, Alex, who was also heavily involved in the paint and feather incident but never came clean, spending time happily around Jimmy who was left unaware. The explicit moral of that storyline was basically that sometimes doing the right thing doesn't come with consequence, not to mention the truth doesn't always set you free.
• Doctor Who:
  • "Planet of the Spiders". The desire for knowledge is a form of greed; even seemingly benevolent actions can become unhealthy obsessions. The events of the serial happened due to the Doctor's insatiable desire for scientific knowledge.
  • The episode "Rosa" drops a very painful Aesop about the reality of racism. The Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, and Graham find themselves in Montgomery, Alabama, 1955—right when Rosa Parks is about to famously refuse to give up her seat to a white passenger and kicking off the Montgomery Bus Boycotts. The TARDIS crew discovers that someone named Krasko is trying to alter history for the worse by making small changes that will prevent Parks from taking the bus on the day. The Doctor naturally thinks that Krasko is some kind of genius time traveler who intends to cause a massive ripple effect that will destabilize reality itself...but the truth is far worse: Krasko is just an incredibly racist Jerkass who doesn't think Black people should have civil rights. He's perfectly willing to throw history into chaos because his hatred of Black people is simply that ingrained. This leads to the Aesop that yes, there are individuals in this world who really are that racist and despise the existence of anyone who isn't of the same race. There's no reasoning with, arguing the point, or changing that kind of person's views, and the best the TARDIS gang can do is banish him to a point even further in the past so he doesn't have the capacity to make any more changes. Harsh? Yes. Sadly true? Also yes.
• The Expanse: Season 5 outright states just because someone is unfairly treated, abused, ignored, and picked on by a much stronger party, does not necessarily mean they are good or innocent. The citizens of the Asteroid Belt receive nothing but hatred at worst and apathy at best from the Inner Planets, but they often use this abuse to justify horrific cruelties — which they show every sign of actively enjoying.
• In-universe example: Martin states one in the appropriately titled Frasier episode "Bully for Martin." He essentially says that "You should put up with any amount of unreasonable and even disrespectful crap from your supervisor because it's respectful to the chain of command." Naturally, Frasier disagrees.
  • In another episode, Frasier and Martin argue about Frasier's experience being bullied as a kid and Martin's lack of sympathy for his son. Martin points out that Frasier wore an ascot and carried a briefcase to school every day and really brought it on himself. A furious Frasier accuses Martin of suggesting that he somehow deserved what happened to him, and Martin counters that while Frasier shouldn't have been bullied (because no one deserves to be), he knew how the other kids were going to respond to the way he dressed and spoke and he did it anyway, and so he has to accept some responsibility for what happened to him. It's rare to hear the typical Be Yourself Aesop paired with the codicil "If you choose to be yourself, be ready for some people to dislike you."
  • "The Maris Counselor" explicitly spells this out in a line of dialogue. Which, naturally, was unwittingly delivered in front of a couple's therapy group.
    Frasier: Sometimes you just have to accept that a relationship is just BAD! Doomed! And no amount of discussion can save it!
  • One episode shows the negative elements of the What You Are in the Dark trope for a Hard Truth Aesop. Donny, Daphne's ex-fiance, is suing her and Niles after the fallout of Daphne running out on the wedding. Frasier is called to testify and knows that he'll be questioned as to whether or not he knew about Niles's feelings for Daphne before they eloped. He's thus faced with a terrible decision: if he tells the truth, he'll destroy his brother and sister-in-law, but if he lies, he'll be not only committing perjury but deliberately choosing to break the law. Martin argues that he should protect Niles because they're family, but Frasier counters that Martin himself taught him that "Ethics are what we do when no one is looking!" The problem is ultimately resolved when Frasier doesn't have to testify after all, but the message is still clear: while sticking to your morals is easy in theory, it's extremely hard in practice—especially when the people you love are involved—and doing the right thing for the right reasons can still be extremely damaging.
  • While Niles and Daphne finally getting together is largely a happy outcome, the overall arc still has a rather harsh Aesop. Daphne is so stressed out from all of the dramatic changes in her life that she starts eating sweets and pastries non-stop, to the point where she hides food around the apartment so she can sneak snacks whenever she wants. Niles is the only one oblivious to the situation, which is initially viewed as romantic. But as Frasier later points out, the fact that Niles didn't notice that Daphne gained sixty pounds and was clearly under a huge amount of pressure is bad—someone changing their appearance or behavior dramatically is a warning sign of bigger issues, and ignoring those warning signs in the name of love means that you're not willing to face reality.
  • Speaking of Niles and Daphne, one episode after they get together sees Daphne becoming insecure when she learns that one of Niles' psychiatry patients has fallen for him. Niles explains that it's just the phenomenon of transference (someone confusing feelings of trust with feelings of love), but Daphne is still suspicious and ends up reading the woman's case file, a major breach of privacy. When Niles takes her to task for this, incredulously wondering how she could possibly think he'd be unfaithful, Daphne angrily replies that she was the "other woman" for years, as Niles loved her throughout his marriages to Maris and Mel; as a result she has a hard time trusting that he won't find somebody else to obsess over now that they're finally together. The Aesops are thus "What was romantic while dating can be a problem when you're in a serious relationship" and "Don't expect people to forget the bad or questionable things you've done just because you're dating them."
• Freaks and Geeks could deliver one on occasion:
  • In the episode "I'm With The Band", the underlying message is that sometimes your biggest dream in life is nothing more than a pie in the sky fantasy.
  • "Chokin' And Tokin'" has the underlying message that, sometimes, people bully you because they personally feel burned by a nasty thing you might have done to them previously. Granted, Alan's reason for bullying the geeks was pretty petty, but the point still remains.
  • The entire Nick/Lindsey arc has the underlying message that, sometimes, simply being "nice" doesn't cut it when you're interested in somebody.
• The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air:
  • As "Papa's Got a Brand New Excuse" details: sometimes, estranged family members just don't have any interest in being in your life no matter how much you'd like them to be—it hurts, but at least none of it is ever your fault.
  • In "Home Is Where the Heart Attack Is," Uncle Phil is put on a strict diet and exercise program, but he pays Will to sneak him fast food from various restaurants rather than stick to the plan...and then has a heart attack. While most of the family rushes to Phil's side in the hospital, Carlton pretends everything is fine because he can't bear the thought of his father suffering; as he tearfully puts it, he sees Phil as Superman. The Aesop: Most children will have to see their parents age, get sick, and eventually die, and there's sadly nothing that can be done to prevent it, so the best thing they can do is accept the situation and be there as needed for them, which Carlton eventually does.
• The George Lopez Show gives the moral that sometimes bullying can get so bad, you have to run away from the situation. Carmen was called a whore at her first high school due to her ex-boyfriend telling everyone that they had sex. George and Angie get the leader of the bullies suspended, and get the ex-boyfriend to tell the truth. However, the episode ends with Carmen still getting bullied (and groped), and George and Angie making the conclusion that Carmen can never get her reputation back, and that she must leave the school and transfer to a new one for her own safety. Unfortunately, all of this is Truth in Television.
• The Gilded Age: George Russell is absolutely devoted to his wife and children, but he's also a robber baron who's perfectly willing to take advantage of his associates, brutally crush unions and benefit from the exploitation of his workers. Ruthless businessman or industrialists aren't (usually) cackling villains that can easily be written off as monsters; they're human and they can dote upon their families or be charming and friendly with their peers, while also being indifferent at best and downright horrendous at worst towards the people who generate their immense wealth.
• The Golden Girls: In "Sophia's Choice," Sophia learns that her friend Lillian has been transported to Sunny Pastures, the worst nursing home in the city. She conspires to save Lillian, who turns out to be genuinely senile and in need of more care than one person—and especially someone who isn't a medical professional—can give. The girls find another nursing home for her, with Blanche selflessly giving up a bonus she received at work so they can afford it. Despite the seemingly-happy resolution, though, Dorothy wonders why she doesn't feel any better, and Blanche sadly remarks that while they were able to help Lillian, there are many other elderly people who are suffering just as much (if not more) than she is, and pure luck is the only reason that Lillian turned out OK. This leads to the double-Aesops of "Love and the best of intentions can't replace expertise and skill" and "Helping one person isn't the same thing as systemic change." This is Truth in Television and a rare Downer Ending for the show.
• The Good Place:
  • Being a good person is difficult and often thankless, especially in a rough world where most individuals don't have much control over the circumstances of their lives. But you should still be one regardless.
  • Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Eleanor's parents undoubtedly were rotten excuses for parents, but Eleanor didn't have to become terrible like them.
  • Good actions done for Secretly Selfish reasons are ultimately hollow.
  • You can't save everyone. Sometimes, a person is too prideful and self-absorbed to see their own faults and accept becoming a better person.
• Growing Pains has one that comes as quite a surprise. Plenty of shows do episodes about not idolizing celebrities, so it comes as no surprise to see an episode in which Ben walks in on his favorite singer having an affair. However, most such episodes end on the note of the celebrity being a Broken Pedestal... instead, this episode continues with Jason explaining to Ben that the morality of a celebrity is not what causes us to enjoy their art, so it should not be a consideration in whether or not we continue to do so. They end up going to the singer's concert anyway.
• Homicide: Life on the Street: "Colors" has Bayliss's beloved cousin Jim kill a Turkish exchange student in perceived self-defense. While Bayliss does his best to help him through the investigation, Pembleton does his damnedest to get Jim convicted. After Jim is ultimately acquitted during his trial, Bayliss confronts Pembleton, who outlines to Bayliss his reasons for pushing so hard for Jim's conviction: because an Innocent Bigot is just as bad and is in fact even more dangerous than an out-and-out racist.
  Detective Tim Bayliss: You still believe that my cousin killed that boy because he was an Arab?
  Detective Frank Pembleton: Hikmet was not an Arab. Turks are not Arabs...
  Bayliss: My cousin could not consciously kill someone.
  Pembleton: I don't think it was premeditated. I think it was inherent. Jim's racism is so much a part of him, that he didn't have a chance to think about what he was doing. Jim is worse than a Klansman. 'Cause at least in their white sheets, they are recognizable. Your cousin's brand of bigotry is much more frightening because, like still water, it runs deep. He doesn't even see it himself.
  Bayliss: You're wrong, dead wrong.
  Pembleton: The only one "dead wrong" is Hikmet Gersel. Did you see what happened when the verdict was announced? They applauded. Those law-abiding citizens, those good people applauded the death of a child. Let me ask you something, Tim - and then you tell me whether or not it was racially motivated - if that boy had been American, if that boy had been white - do you think anyone would have cheered?
• House is rife with these. Common ones are "Everybody lies", "Nobody ever changes", "You can't always get what you want."^note But if you try, sometimes, you get what you neeeeeed."
• A recurring theme in How I Met Your Mother is that the perfect person is out there, and settling for anything less is a mistake. Ted refuses to even give a relationship a try because he thinks relationships should be easy, and you should love everything about your partner. As it turns out, the intention behind this was to deliver a very harsh message: The series finale reveals that after Ted meets The Mother, who is the perfect woman for him in every way possible, she dies a few years into their marriage. Even if you are lucky enough to meet your soulmate, things may still not work out perfectly after that. The series then ends with Ted deciding to give his relationship with Robin another try since, despite their differences, they both know that they could be happy together.
• Malcolm in the Middle:
  • In "Malcolm's Job," Malcolm is written-up by his mother for not following a silly rule at his new job (the Lucky Aide grocery store where his mom Lois also works). He later discovers Lois smoking on a break (after supposedly quitting) and he's furious with her hypocrisy and yet promises to keep the secret from the family. Later, an accident (regarding the same silly rule) happens to Malcolm and Lois writes him up again, despite her asking him to keep her smoking a secret (the write-up is later revoked). He's again furious and confronts her and threatens to spill the smoking secret. Lois calmly tells him that he won't because she is his mother. She also tells him while the treatment is unfair, she is his mother and will always be no matter how old he gets and he doesn't get to ever challenge her authority. This also runs concurrent with the mindless Lucky Aide job and Lois and Malcolm's superiors plot with Malcolm learning there's only so much anyone can do to challenge authority figures and the rules they put in place, no matter how silly and unfair they may seem and to get used to it when he gets older.
  • Spoofed in the episode "Lois Strikes Back" where four girls play a mean prank on Reese and the school does nothing to punish them for it, so Lois takes matters into her own hands and gets revenge on the girls. Malcolm attempts to deliver the Aesop that two wrongs don't make a right and Lois seems to accept this, only for her to sneak out the window to complete her campaign against the last girl.
• Similar to the Degrassi example above, Modern Family demonstrates that the traditional college route doesn't work for everyone. Alex easily gets into CalTech and graduates top of her class but her siblings, who are much less academically gifted, have to follow other paths. Hayley gets expelled from college within weeks and spends several years bouncing between jobs, until she gets her foot in the door of an industry she wants to work in by working as a fashion designer's assistant and eventually finds a job that she enjoys and pays well with a Fictional Counterpart of goop. Meanwhile Luke can't even get into college so he works for a year, then goes to community college for two years, gets an associates degree and transfers to a four year college in the Grand Finale. Their paths are shown to be harder that Alex's and require them to live with their parents well into their twenties, and in Hayley's case even after getting married and having kids of her own, but they eventually get where they wanted to go.
• My Name Is Earl: Earl was roped into marrying Joy when she was eight months pregnant despite the fact they had just met, and then her second child turned out to be from another man. A flashback episode showed that he did nearly leave her because of her infidelity but his own father, also hoping to keep Earl from moving back in, coerced him to go back to her. The reason was that despite all of Earl's flaws he was halfway decent at supporting a family and those kids didn't deserve to be abandoned like that. So Earl found himself raising two kids that weren't his with a wife that cheated on him, but he understood his father's lesson and considered that part of his life the one decent thing he did before he found karma. It's revealed in the final episode that Dodge is Earl's actual son, as Earl had drunk sex with Joy 8 months before they got married, at a Halloween party with him wearing a mask. As such, Earl's efforts in raising him initially weren't entirely in vain, but because this was an unresolved cliffhanger ending we'll never know how Earl and Dodge's relationship goes from there.
• A subplot throughout Murder One was associate Arnold Spivak's quest to first chair a major case. Arnold is a brilliant lawyer but has zero charisma and is incredibly socially awkward, so he cannot connect with juries or bring in clients. Eventually, he decides to give up and focus on research and motions, the stuff he's actually good at. The message is that some people just aren't suited for certain things no matter how much they want it or how hard they try.
• The Orville is a Spiritual Adaptation of Star Trek and tends towards optimism...most of the time. However, a strong moral stance won't necessarily win the day.
  • "About a Girl" — Just because a culture's laws are backwards and cruel and you put up a good fight, doesn't mean you'll win said fight.
  • "Deflectors" — Being different, in many places, is a crime. Being an utterly bigoted asshole is not a crime, unfortunately. And Being Good Sucks.
  • "Sanctuary" — Realpolitik often means having to capitulate to another nation's demands, even if those demands are to let them abuse their own people. Also, political compromise deals mean no one gets what they want (but still can be unfortunately necessary).
• One Piece (2023); In "Eat At Baratie", Koby learns about the Warlord System, wherein the World Government contracted with seven powerful pirates to gain their services when called upon in exchange for turning a blind eye to their more villainous acts. When he protests to Vice Admiral Garb about how unfair it is to try and enforce one form of justice when the Government promotes another, Garp sits him down and explains yes, Life Isn't Fair and the World Government does some dodgy stuff- he's even struggled with it himself as he regularly turns down offers to become Fleet Admiral (the highest rank in the Marines below Commander-In-Chief) because he would have to get stuck in with the corruption at the top and would lose his autonomy. However, he tells Koby that like their methods or not, the Marines are all that stand between order and a world of anarchy ruled by murderous pirates, and that's something Koby's got to decide if he's okay with or not.
• Parks and Recreation: During the episode Bowling for Votes, Leslie, who is running for city council, watches a focus group and hears one of the members say he doesn't like her. Despite going out her way to impress him, he doesn't relent on not liking her, even calling her a bitch when she gets angry with him. This leads to her boyfriend Ben explaining the Aesop, that being that there will always be people who don't like you, so don't get to obsessed with one person not liking you or proving that one person wrong, especially if it doesn't really effect you otherwise.
• Penn & Teller are often prone to opposing mainstream Aesops in Bullshit! Perhaps an especially memorable case is Holier Than Thou, wherein they had some memorably harsh criticisms of such popularly revered figures as Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama, but especially Mother Teresa. They've also argued that polyamorous couples can successfully raise children and that teen sex isn't that big a deal.
• Scrubs:
  • In one episode most of the cast is brought before an ethics committee to determine their culpability in the death of a patient. That day they seemed to be diverted from their jobs into wacky adventures until the patient suffered complete organ failure with only the interns around to help. They all got off the hook because of a mistake made in his lab work-up done by a one-off character, meaning no one would have had the right information to save him. When the cast go to a bar to celebrate Dr. Cox berates them for their behavior, as even though they weren't punished they were still guilty of neglecting their jobs. JD notes in the epilogue that they should take that failure to heart so that it doesn't happen again.
  • JD was having trouble dealing with a smart new intern Denise who had horrible bedside manner and was really apathetic to her patients, but because of that hard-nosed attitude (ordering an invasive test) she was better able to diagnose and treat them. JD apologized to her knowing now she was doing her job, which she got offended over because she believed that as her attending physician it was his job to "fix" her of those bad behaviors. He lays it out to her that you never really get over your own personality flaws, no matter how much Character Development, and it's just something you have to work on one day at a time. And, being an adult, that was on her now.
  • Played for Laughs but with a touch of truth when Turk is being sued by a patient who felt his shoulder surgery wasn't effective enough. Dr. Cox brought Turk aside and outlines the reality of medicine is that there will be Ungrateful Bastards and those who instigate a Frivolous Lawsuit just to get some quick money without caring about how it affects the doctor emotionally or financially. When Cox talked to Carla afterwards she worryingly asks if he ruined Turk's innocence and a Gilligan Cut reveals he went as far as explaining the rabbit hat trick.
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine has a lot of rather family-unfriendly deconstructions of Gene Roddenberry's ideals, often spotlighting cases where the Villain Has a Point.
  • Odo, shining beacon of justice that he is, nevertheless often learns the value of letting Quark get away with some of his shady deals in order to apprehend the truly dangerous criminals with whom he does business.
  • "In The Pale Moonlight" has sometimes you need to lie, bribe, cut shady deals, and even commit murder for the sake of the greater good.
  • Odo bluntly states an inherent problem with democracy: giving people the freedom to choose runs the risk of them making the wrong choice.
• Star Trek: The Next Generation
  • The episode "Q Who" has Q confront Picard, who asserted that they had nothing to learn from him. Q went on to teleport the Enterprise into deep space where they encounter the Borg, an extremely alien and highly advanced race that looks to assimilate all cultures into themselves. As the Borg adapt to all their weaponry and technology, Picard is reduced to begging Q to save them and he does when the lesson is learned. It's a tough aesop about the futility of stubborn pride as Picard has to outright beg Q to save the day, and the reality warper remarks that most people would have died before admitting they needed help. Sometimes you have to give up and ask others to bail you out, and foolishly clinging to your ego when lives are in danger is incredibly foolish. The episode ends with them knowing the Borg are not far away, and Picard wonders if Q did them a service in letting them get their asses kicked in order to be better prepared for what is coming.
  • The episode "Force of Nature" is a Green Aesop where a rogue scientist and Ignored Expert sacrifices herself to prove that warp drive was causing accumulative damage to subspace and continuing use of warp drive would only make things worse, as they create a subspace rift by overloading their engines. After witnessing the potential horror firsthand and reporting back to the Federation, Picard gets a note saying that until further notice all Federation ships will be restricted to a top speed of Warp 6, which they consider to be ignoring the underlying problem.^note  Subsequent material suggests new nacelle designs rendered the problem moot Radical actions are rarely done as the first measure, and you might just get superficial acknowledgement with no actual change until things get worse.
  • The episode "Thine Own Self" has two for Deanna Troi, one of which mimics the legendary Kobayashi Maru. Troi is taking the officer's test and keeps failing the final section, which involves finding a way to save the ship from an antimatter explosion. The first Hard Truth comes when Riker tells her that, after three failures, he isn't going to allow her to try the test any more—being a Determinator is useless when you keep making the same mistakes, and sometimes simply wanting something very badly isn't enough to replace genuine ability or skill. The second comes when Troi figures out that the only way to pass the test is to sacrifice a crew member (in this case, Geordi) in the name of saving the rest of the ship. As Riker explains it, being in a leadership position means that you occasionally have to make extremely difficult decisions—often under intense pressure—and, no matter how hard you try, there are times when you cannot save everyone, and the best you can do is minimize your losses and maximize how many people are helped.
• Star Trek: Voyager: One episode has Voyager assist in the prison transport of dangerous criminals to a new sector, some of whom are on death row. A particularly nasty Serial Killer is beaten up by the guards and while in sickbay for his injuries the Doctor discovers that his Lack of Empathy was an actual genetic defect in his brain, a medical condition that was treatable and this brutal monster suddenly has a My God, What Have I Done? reaction to his own life. After proving his change of heart, the Voyager crew helped him to get a second chance using the legal system to make an appeal by apologizing to the family of his victims. His appeal fails and his death sentence upheld, because apologies can't bring back the people they killed. This hits Seven of Nine the hardest, as she was discovering her own guilt as part of the Borg.
• On one episode of Step by Step, college-age Dana moves into her own apartment and goes too wild with her first party, getting drunk and making a fool of herself. When she wakes up hung over the next morning, her mother comes to visit and they have a talk about Dana's behavior. You'd think this would be where Carol advised Dana to use better judgment and give her some tips on how to let loose without going overboard, but clearly, the previous night meant the adult Dana wasn't ready to live on her own. So Dana happily agrees to move back home, having learned her lesson.
• Taxi:
  • Latka's dreams of becoming a wealthy cookie baron like his hero Famous Amos are crushed when he learns that the secret ingredient in his grandmother's extremely popular recipe is coca leaves. While undergoing cookie withdrawal, he hallucinates the real Wally Amos (playing himself) descending into his living room to give an unorthodox inspirational speech:
    Famous Amos: I came by because I wanted to say that success, fame, fortune... all that stuff. It's truly over-rated. I wanted to tell you that the really important things in life are the simple things: the sunset, the smelling of a flower. I'd like to tell you all of those things, Latka, but I can't. 'Cause it's a crock... Hey, man, success is wonderful. Cash is out of sight. Do whatever you can to be successful, because it's great. And if it happens overnight, it's even better! Hey, your cookies went down the tubes? Big deal. Try cupcakes... jelly rolls... aluminum siding... What's the difference, man? Just get rich.
  • In the episode "Crime and Punishment": when Louie is caught stealing parts from the cab company to sell, he frames his assistant Jeff, convincing him to accept the blame with the promise that Louie will get him his job back. When Jeff is arrested for the crime, Louie is forced by Alex to tell the truth but his boss, Mr. Ratledge, doesn't believe his confession and thinks he's just covering for Jeff. Mr. Ratledge then agrees to rehire Jeff, dropping all charges against him and then also invites Louie to his golf game. At the end of the episode, Louie sits musing to Alex that he stole, lied and betrayed a friend but not only does he face no consequences, his boss now thinks more highly of him than ever. He can only come to the conclusion: "Let's face it, Rieger, crime pays."
• Ted Lasso has one in each of the first two seasons:
  • Season 1: "Losing has repercussions." The title character initially embraces the mentality that trying your best is the most important thing in the world of sports, and that winning isn't everything. But while that attitude may have served him well in the world of collegiate sports (where his players were all young amateurs), it proves to be disastrous when he's placed in charge of a team of adult professionals—since their careers and livelihoods depend on winning. Particularly since the English Premier League uses a promotion/relegation system where teams can be outright kicked out of the Premier League if they lose too many games.
  • Season Two: Positive thinking can't fix all of your personal issues and there are times when you need to be a little selfish and vent some of your negative emotions so you can be mentally healthier.
• Two and a Half Men has an odd example of this in "Damn You, Eggs Benedict": Alan tries his hand at dating two women, while Jake drinks beer for the first time. What follows is the former getting tased by one of the women he's been seeing and the latter throwing up every half hour from being so wasted. At the end of the episode, Charlie lectures the two on how they think drinking and womanizing is an easy feat just from looking at him, but not realizing how much effort it took to get there. Granted, any moral watchdog could misinterpet Charlie's words as advocating alcoholism and casual sex, but what what actually serves is an time-honored aesop about despite imititation being the sincerest form of flattery, it's also a shortcut to get oneself into trouble.
• You Can't Do That on Television, the show that popularized the Adults Are Useless trope in children's television, was conceived when Roger Price realized that damn near every family-friendly show on at the time depicted situations where there were always kind, reliable adults for kids to fall back on for help and advice. He wanted to teach kids that adults can be unreliable or even downright cruel and you need to be able to get along on your own in the world.

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