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Very special episode

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For a one-off television program, see Television special.

"Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television commercials to refer to an episode of a situation comedy or television drama that deals with a serious or controversial social issue.[1] The usage of the term peaked in the 1990s.[2][3]

Usage

The "very special episode" is occasionally billed as "an episode your family can't afford to miss", again dramatizing the importance of the episode by insinuating the issues presented represent mandatory viewing for the responsible parent and child. Often the "very special episode" concerns a moral issue.

The term was generally used in reference to sitcoms as a way of highlighting that the normally light hearted show would be dealing with a more serious topic.

Sometimes, as in the NBC sitcom Blossom, the network wanted to find a way to warn viewers that the upcoming episode will be about a serious issue without directly putting a "parental advisory" message.[4]

Television websites such as Television Without Pity and jumptheshark.com deride the phrase. In an episode of Friends, Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) mocked the ubiquitous NBC commercials that popularized the phrase ("A very special Blossom"); Perry himself appeared in "a very special episode" of Growing Pains earlier in his career, playing Carol Seaver's teenage boyfriend who dies of injuries sustained in a car accident after a night of underage drinking.

Diff'rent Strokes featured some very special episodes that involved child molesting, pedophilia, hitchhiking, kidnapping, epileptic seizure, bigotry, bullies, racism, bulimia, drunk driving and drug abuse.

The concept of the very special episode was parodied in Clone High, as every episode of that series is referred to as "a very special episode."

The popular sitcom Seinfeld, famously "about nothing," was also diametrically opposed to very special episodes. The on-set motto among writers and cast was reportedly "No hugging, no learning." One writer commented, "There will never be an advertisement for 'a very special episode' of Seinfeld, for its humor is of a more practical and parodic nature."[5] In fact, by the end of one episode, Kramer tells Jerry, "Well, at least you learned something." Jerry replies, "No, I didn't."

The award-winning PBS children's program Arthur (TV series), has had many very special episodes, which covered such subjects as divorce, the loss of a pet, cancer, dyslexia, asthma, head lice, and one episode that was made in response to the September 11 attacks.

Parodies of very special episodes

The "very special episode" motif has been featured widely in comedy, and a number of shows have devoted an entire episode to parodies of them:

  • Animaniacs – "A Very Very Very Very Special Show", had the Warners trying to get a humanitarian animation award by dealing with issues such as environmentalism, sexism, smoking, violence, and healthy eating. However, as soon as the award was presented to a different cartoon, they instantly went against everything they had been talking about (i.e. eating cheesecake, hitting a man with a mallet, etc).
  • Clone High – every episode of the show starts with the phrase "Tonight, on a very special Clone High..."
  • Drawn Together – A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special parodies very special episodes in general. To help Xandir prepare to tell his parents he's gay, the other housemates agree to role-play, but they let the exercise get way out of hand and end up enacting an outlandish scenario involving prostitution, murder, adultery, and even disposing of a dead body in a swamp.
  • The Drew Carey Show, in its fifth season, did a spoof titled "A Very Special Drew", in which numerous examples of Very Special motifs were used. The premise of the show was that the cast, upset about never getting an Emmy Award, decided to throw together a show so schmaltzy they had to win the prize. In the course of a half-hour, every possible issue, from eating disorders to homelessness to illiteracy to kleptomania, is addressed, while one famous character passes into a coma and dies (but is alive again at the end of the episode).[6]
  • Everybody Hates Chris – Rochelle's father (Jimmie Walker) comes to visit and dies at the dinner table. Besides the casting of Walker, this episode contains direct references to the "very special" Good Times episode "The Big Move". Rochelle is curiously upbeat while the rest of the family mourns.
  • Mr. Show – An episode described as a Very Special Episode opens with David Cross, in a parody of coming out, revealing that although he plays David Cross, a bald character, he, David Cross (the actor), is in truth bald, pulling a bald wig off of his head to reveal his bald head. The cast then cynically checks their ratings and the remainder of the show follows regular format. Cross states on the DVD commentary that this was a parody of Ellen's 'Puppy Episode'.
  • Powerpuff Girls – An episode entitled "A Very Special Blossom" has Blossom stealing a set of golf clubs, wanting to give Professor Utonium a happy Father's Day. She frames Mojo Jojo for the theft, and is eventually confronted. She flees, and her sisters chase her, tackling her to the ground, forcing her to admit she stole them to make the Professor happy.
  • Strangers with Candy – Inspired by public-service film The Trip Back, each episode parodies after-school-special style stories, including peer pressure, tattling, racism, and drug use, and the protagonist always ends up making the wrong decision in the end.
  • The Simpsons – In the 9th season episode "Bart Star," Joe Namath addresses the camera at the end of the show, in a manner parodying many Very Special Episodes, to "talk seriously about the problem of vapor lock," which he says is the "third most common cause of engine stalling."

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Tropiano, Michael and Stephanie Tropiano. The Prime Time Closet. Hal Leonard, 2002. 232. ISBN 1-55783-557-8.
  2. ^ Nussbaum, Emily. (2003-04-13). "When episodes could still be very special", The New York Times. Retrieved on 13 January 2009.
  3. ^ Ben Silverman."A very special episode of... When sitcoms get serious", MSN TV. Retrieved on 13 January 2009
  4. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnQH4CYO8a4
  5. ^ McWilliams, Amy. "Genre Expectation and Narrative Innovation in Seinfeld." In Seinfeld: Master of Its Domain: Revisiting Television's Greatest Sitcom. David Lavery with Sara Lewis Dunne, eds. New York: Continuum, 2006. P. 82. ISBN 0-8264-1803-1.
  6. ^ Chandler, Chip (2000-05-16). "Chandler: Season finales to spring into television lineup". Amarillo Globe-News. Retrieved 13 January 2009.
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