Favorite "Very Special Episode" from TV comedies???

Mr. Belvedere-Wesley gets molested by a camp counselor.

Dudley got fingered

Natalie finally gives it up for her boyfriend, Snake... on a very, very special episode of.. The Facts of Life.

The nice smart pretty popular Eastland girl offs herself on the Facts of Life.

Actually, most of the episodes were Very Special.

Tootie gets scouted by a pimp in NYC and Tootie is lured into doing a photo shoot for a child pornographer (the episode was called "Pretty Babies")

Actually, OP, the first one that leapt to mind was also from Family Ties, but a different episode. One where a lady died (the kids' aunt, or neighbor maybe) and the typically shallow, self-involved Mallory has a heart-wrenching scene as she tries to process it. Justine Bateman blew me away.

"Laverne & Shirley" had a bunch of these in the 70s:

- Laverne's hot firefighter boyfriend dies in the line of duty right before he was going to propose to her

- L&S befriend Mrs. Babish's mentally challenged daughter. I think they have her join their old street gang and she eventually starts dating Lenny or Squiggy

- Shirley's brother comes to visit and is revealed to be an alcoholic

R3 my favorite thing about that episode was David Letterman's reaction to it. There had been a lot of promotion of it and parents were told they should watch with their kids. After watching he discovered Natalie was 21 and they'd been dating a year. Letterman was completely incredulous that anyone would think a 21 year having sex with her long term boyfriend was a big deal.

[quote]Letterman was completely incredulous that anyone would think a 21 year having sex with her long term boyfriend was a big deal.

Big deal. I had to have an IUD removed when I was still in high school. But I still got plenty of use out of it.

Coach - there was one ep where a guy on the team turned out to be gay. There was another one about steroids.

When the Bradys visit Hawaii, and encounter old Mr. Hanalei.

I mostly fucking hate Very Special Episodes. They're usually so heavy-handed and unfunny (Carlton on "Fresh Prince" confusing speed for Vitamin E and overdosing/almost dying, the president of the Church Ladies League on "Mama's Family" being illiterate, etc.).

But if I did have to pick a rare good one, it would be the "All in the Family" episode where drag queen Beverly LaSalle is murdered and Edith loses her faith.

Rose gets molested by her dentist

I liked the time on the Merv Griffin show where he came out.

The critically hyped and much beloved "'A' My Name is Alex" where Alex is dealing with the tragic death of his best friend- whom we had never seen or heard of before that episode. (And this was in the fifth season.)

Completely overhyped.

R15 was "Family Ties" as well.

Sorry.

r12 The episode wherein Edith is raped certainly qualifies for this category.

The episode of "Growing Pains" when Mike goes to a party where people are doing COCAINE!!

At the end of the episode, we are back at the party, and the actors are look at the audience and freeze. Then Kirk Cameron comes out and addresses us about the dangers of drugs and apparently 80s fashion.

VICI gets a computer virus. Shocking, yet very moving episode.

[quote] The nice smart pretty popular Eastland girl offs herself on the Facts of Life.

That episode had my all-time favorite Mrs. Garrett line, delivered in Charlotte Rae's signature tremulo: "Girls, if you ever feel you've come to the end of your rope, make a knot and hang on!"

The molester episode of Different Strokes owns this thread.

"Growing Pains" -- Carol's boyfriend (Matthew Perry) dies for some reason having to do with something

"Little House on the Prairie" -- epic two-parter where Albert and another boy accidentally set fire to the School for the Blind with their not-quite-extinguished cigarettes, resulting in the deaths of Alice Garvey and Mary's baby, who it turns out makes an excellent and convenient battering ram

"Blossom" -- The homelier brother has some sort of addiction to something. Actually, all "Blossom" episodes were VSEs.

"Golden Girls" -- Dorothy must struggle with the devastating and not-at-all-imaginary-nor-psychosomatic condition of chronic fatigue syndrome, at which her (male, sexist) doctors scoff

"Diff'rent Strokes" -- Mr. Carlson from WKRP tries to molest Arnold and his friend Dudley

How was Degrassi a comedy? Almost every episode was a "very special episode."

The original Degrassi movie finale. OMG Kaitlin said FUCK!

And it was sponsored by KOTEX!

Monroe gets raped on Too Close For Comfort

[quote]"Little House on the Prairie" -- epic two-parter where Albert and another boy accidentally set fire to the School for the Blind with their not-quite-extinguished cigarettes, resulting in the deaths of Alice Garvey and Mary's baby, who it turns out makes an excellent and convenient battering ram

"Little House..." was a comedy?

Did that really happen r25?

Or is this going to turn into Alexis fisting Crystal?

It happened, r27. it was very odd.

It might have been hot if Henry did it.

On "Gimme A Break" when the Chief shoots a perp and has to deal with the ramifications of killing someone.

The "Alf" Christmas episode.

"Fresh Prince" when Carlton can't believe they were pulled over just because they were black.

And of course "Leave It To beaver" when Beav's friend who's parents are divorced comes for a visit but he goes home early because his mom has the "weepies".

I remember that episode. Monroe was raped by two fat women.

I liked the Family Ties were Alex goes out with his friends without permission and Meredith Baxter Birney goes to the bar and drags his ass on home. It was fun to see Elise be a dragon.

"Suddenly Susan" had a good episode after the death of David Strickland.

The Dick Van Dyke Show- 1) Laura couldn't stop herself from opening packages not addressed to her, ends up trying to hide that she opened a self deflating life raft. 2) the aliens are body snatching the Petries and their friends using walnuts.

The Andy Griffith Show. 1) Any episode with Ernest T. Bass. 2) Barney runs into his old girlfriend , Thelma, after she has married another man.

Gilligan's Island. 1) the girls put on a talent show. Mary Ann falls off the stage hitting her head and, as a result, thinks she's Ginger, proceeds to dress like Ginger and act like her.

The Jetsons. 1) Judy wins a songwriting contest and wins a date with Jet Screamer

Sorry, I just realised I read the topic wrong...thought it was your favourite episodes of old shows

There was also a "Little House on the Prairie" episode where Albert gets addicted to morphine (which he steals from the doctor while making deliveries for him), and Charles has to help him through withdrawal. It made quite an impression on me as a kid; I remember it was the first show I'd seen where they actually show someone throwing up...

On MASH when Radar gets hurt while on leave and he has to learn to stop idolizing people and Hawkeye has to come to grips with his alcoholism.

Welcome Back Kotter when Freddie gets addicted to pills. "Gimme drugs, gimme drugs."

When Rerun bootlegs the Doobie Brothers on What's Happening!?

Penny is burned by the iron.

[quote]"Family Ties" - Elise's alcoholic brother, Tom Hanks, drinks vanilla extract & bitch slaps Alex

I thought he drank Maraschino cherries? Either way, Hanks was MAJORLY hyped in the press for that episode, in part because I think he was already filming for SPLASH and they were trying to build him up as a great actor with impressive range.

Diff'rent Strokes- Kimberly eats a lot of food and has bulimia.

The Who concert episode of "WKRP" was pretty good, if maudlin. I liked that Mr. Carlson didn't realize it had happened, though, that made for a really good metaphor.

Kimberly and Arnold are kidnapped and held captive.

Good Times - Janet gets ironed Punky Brewster - Moon Frye drops ludes in the tree house 90210 - Emily Valentine date rapes Jason Priestly

Family Matters: Laura's friend gets shot and Laura tries to buy a gun. Laura's locker gets spray painted with the N-word during Black history month. Urkel teaches everyone to do the Urkel dance and then accidentally gets drunk and almost dies.

Kelly's mom hosts the mother daughter fashion show drunk and makes a complete fool of herself. Brenda and Mrs. Walsh show concern.

Roseanne - when her dad dies and Jackie has to call Auntie Barbara. HE'S FINE...HE SENDS HIS LOVE!

Roseanne beats DJ.

Kelly's eating disorder causes her to pass out on the Oeach Lit bathroom floor. Brenda, Donna and Aundrea show concern.

Peach Pit.

Nancy Reagan just says "No" on "Diff'rent Strokes."

The first episode of "The Hogan Family" (after changing from "Valerie") where Valerie Harper, the main character and mother of there, has been killed in a fire in their house and the rest of the family with Aunt Sandy Duncan's help has to process their pain. Jason Bateman cried.

[quote]has been killed in a fire in their house

Was it a grease fire?

How could Datalounge forget Maude's abortion?

When Carrie gets broken up with on a post-it note.

Do you ever clap at the end of each these "very special episodes" because it hit close to home with you?

I do.

The Diff'rent Strokes episode (actually a two-parter, I think) where Sam is abducted by a man whose young son had recently died. He brings Sam home as a replacement son, and his freaky wife treats him as her own. It was REALLY bizarre.

Also the Golden Girls episode with the Cuban boxer who really wants to be a violinist, but gets accepted to the Juilliard's acting school at the end. Jesus that episode is horrible.

"Slap her, Willona!"

Natalie was assaulted in an alley coming home from a Halloween party. She then learned self-defense.

Hi-ya!

(Audience applause)

Edna Babishes retarded daughter episode on Laverne and Shirley.

All In the Family-Gloria gets raped at a construction site. A cop convinces her not to report it because in court they would call her a slut.

Wasn't there an episode of 90210 where Brenda got breast cancer?

When Fonzie nearly gets married, only to find out his fiancee is the Lone Stripper.

[quote]Natalie was assaulted in an alley coming home from a Halloween party. She then learned self-defense.

Even more strangely, Natalie was almost sexually assaulted while in costume as Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp character.

Gloria was never raped. Someone ran after her but she was never raped.

Has anyone actually seen the infamous "Hold me David,I'm scared" episode of ODAAT? What was that about?

R64 I don't Natalie could convincingly pull off a "little" anything!

Damn, damn, damn!!!!!

Family Matters-Urkel gets drunk.

Full House- Stephanie and cigarettes.

There was an episode of Full House about a kid getting beat up by his dad.

Barbara Cooper acts like she's the school slut, and nearly gets raped by her boyfriend. After Ann Romano saves the day by kicking the boyfriend's ass (literally), Julie breaks down and cries in her mother's arms.

Seinfeld..."The Old Man"

The very special episode of Batman where he must decide between Robin and Catwoman.

Full House - the girls walk in on Uncle Joey and Uncle Jesse sucking each other off, and this leads to a very thoughtful discussion on bisexuality.

Yes, Barbara took aspirins and told all her classmates it was the pill!

R13 that was more of a campy part of the episode, honesty. GG played that for straight laughs. Remember, this was season 6, when new writers came on and more or less did away with the. VSEs and went for the broader comedy.

My favorite GG VSE! However is probably the Dorothy gambling one. Maybe it's Rose's line about living with The Temptations that. Makes it all worth it.

R76 posts and no one has yet mentioned the heartbreaking episode when that lech crushed my dreams of being a ballet dancer! I managed to bring gravitas to an otherwise silly irrelevant show. I was trained in the the-a-tre, remember!??!

All In The Family: a hate group paints a swastika on the Bunker's door, prompting a radical, JDL-type to visit and offer his protection. After a debate over whether or not violence is the answer to fighting hate, the radical leaves--and is immediately blown to bits by a car-bomb.

It was the first "very special episode" I remember seeing; I was quite confused by the episode's silent ending.

On Golden Girls when Blanche's brother comes out.

On the Jeffersons when Weezie learns that her childhood home is being demolished and she goes back for one last time and reminisces about how far they've come.

That Christmas episode of "My So-called Life" had me sobbing uncontrollably by the end.

That [italic]Punky Brewster[/italic] episode where Henry is a pill-popper. The two scenes that stand out:

—Meshach Taylor played the delivery man, and Henry used the fake name "Bernice" over the phone to order the pills! Coincidentally, Alice Ghostley had already appeared once as Punky's fifth grade teacher in another episode.

—Henry almost slaps Punky when she takes his pill bottle.

R52, I thought Valerie died in a car crash. There was a fire on an episode right around that time where Jason Bateman's character got upset and cried.

You guys are forgetting the very special episode of PUNKY BREWSTER where Cherie gets locked in an old refrigerator and Punk and Margaux had to give her CPR.

Punky Brewster - Cherie gets trapped inside a refrigerator playing hide and go seek

How could Datalounge have forgotten about the most special of very special episodes?

Shit, wrong link.

My parents and I watched the Edith/rapist episode of "All in the Family" when it first aired and we were cheering and jumping in our seats just like the studio audience when Edith made her escape. I look for that episode to turn up on Antenna TV just to remember that experience with my folks. They were lots of fun to watch "All My Children" with too. Billy Clyde, Opal and Phoebe forever!

Other fave VSE is Fisher Beats Jacike/Dan Beats Fisher on "Roseanne".

That episode on the 70s Show where Eric lets Joseph Gordon-levitt suck his cock and cum in his mouth in the car. Very sensitive treatment of coming to grips with a fluid sexuality. (At least that's how I remember it.)

The [italic]Good Times[/italic] episode where Florida attacks a gang member to stop them from indoctrinating Michael.

[quote] "Growing Pains" -- Carol's boyfriend (Matthew Perry) dies for some reason having to do with something

Death would be preferable to having a sanctimonious, fat-shaming douchebag for a brother-in-law.

The [italic]Diff'rent Strokes[/italic] child molester episode actually ended with a scene where Willis said he couldn't believe Mr. Horton, the guy at the bike shop, was gay, and the cop told him there is no correlation between homosexuality and pedophilia.

Happy Days: Richie buys a motorcycle and crashes and almost dies. the Fonz breaks down bedside.

Home Improvement: One of the boys has a cancer scare.

Family Ties: Alex gets hooked on pills to study for exams.

Laverne and Shirley: Laverne has a pregnancy scare.

The episode where Fronzie fucks Richie after he wakes up and they agree not to talk about it. (At least that's how I remember it.)

They were very tender.

The very, very special last episode of [italic]Small Wonder[/italic] where Ted came out of the closet and admitted he only built VICI to give Joan another child without having to fuck her again, which is good considering how Jamie turned out.

That "special" three-way msbc episode involving Ari Melber, Sam Stein,m Ezra Klein and lots of body fluids.

Designing Women - the one where they stop hiding Suzanne behind furniture and admit she's fat.

MASH - the one where Henry Blake dies

Punky Brewster- the episode dealing with The Challenger explosion. I remember Punky coming home from school and crying when she told Henry that it blew up.

I was about Punky's age and it really resonated with me.

Do the SNL cold starts after 9/11 and Sandy Hook count?

They count to me. I cried like a baby when those kids sang 'Silent Night' on the SNL opening after Sandy Hook. It was a good tribute.

Facts Of Life- an episode dealing with teenage prostitution. Personally, I thought it was done in poor taste. When they convinced the girl to stop, some would be client came by and asked "Is she having a going out of business sale?"

5 Inexplicably Horrifying Episodes of Classic Comedies

The very special episode of Life Goes On programme in which Patti has Corkey sterilized because he's touching himself.

Designing Women, Suzanne thought she needed a girlfriend, and remembered someone she liked from the pageant circuit, and got in touch with her. The woman turned out to be a lesbian who had come out since Suzanne last knew her. The rest of them immediate pick up on that, and then tell Suzanne who's mortified. All ends well when Suzanne stops being homophobic and decides she does want to be friends with the woman. She's supposed to be Suzanne's best buddy, but we never see or hear about the lesbo again. That's what made it a classic "very special episode," the scary/distasteful gay character is bum rushed in and out so fast it makes your head spin.

They also made an AIDS episode with another one episode gay "friend," dying of AIDS. I think he died during the episode, making for a tidy disposal. Includes the corny exchange; senile Bernice being told "you're not all there." With Bernice's response to the homophobe, "Neither are you!" pointing to her heart. I know I saw that exact joke parodied on some show.

r103, Tony Goldwyn played that character. And he was hot, then, too.

When Bea Arthur learned 'The Urkel'

Eight is Enough episode where David introduces the joys of sounding to Tommy and Nicholas.

Why didn't Tootie tell Mrs. Garrett about the teenage hooker?

The one on "Growing Pains" where Jason and Maggie Seaver forced Luke to undergo a circumcision because Mike and Ben were cut as babies. Luke ran away after the operation and nearly bled to death until he was found by Jason and Principal Dewitt who in reality were just cruising in the park when they found Luke with his now exposed glans.

It's Sunday in the time of Corona, and there's a very special episode of Benson playing now, in which Benson schools the local police on the beautiful art of breakdancing in public spaces. The fashion alone makes this a VSE.

Little House On The Prairie- Sylvia and the Clown Rapist

Tootie the notorious blabbermouth should have said something about the teenage prostitution ring. Cindy Brady would have.

The link at r101 is very funny.

[quote] Eventually Arnold tells Mr. Drummond about what's been happening, and the police arrive at the bike shop just in time to find a drugged up, half-naked Dudley sprawled out and Mr. Horton doing a few warm-up stretches in preparation for some vigorous child abuse.

WHO'S THE BOSS. The episode where Tony tells Jonathan that he could contract HIV through oral sex. Of course, Jonathan never listens because he loves being spit-roasted bareback.

These are a barrel of laughs!

[quote] Fisher beats Jackie, Dan beats up Fisher & then eats a bucket of chicken

I didn't realize Fisher ever abused Jackie (Roseanne), but, apparently, he did. I prefer OP's synopsis to IMDb's.

"Very Special Episodes" are, by nature, missteps. I pretty much dislike all VSEs. Even Roseanne fucked up the VSE involving a family member coming out as gay. Of course it has to be Bev (Estelle Parsons with very, very irritating voice). Can't be Jackie or Darlene, the two that actually ping.