# Shows that have one WTF? Episode

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\
**Created:** [April 10, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754 "2021-04-10T15:31:32Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 10

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [April 22, 2021, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/182 "2021-04-22T09:55:36Z")

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Welcome to the SDMB!

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**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/183 "2021-04-24T11:31:31Z")

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> [TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)[Guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/g/Registered)  
> I don’t know if it’s clear where Walton’s Mountain was supposed to be, but probably close enough for earthquakes and supernatural events to have an effect.

**The Waltons** took place on Walton’s Mountain, which was immediately south of Charlottesville, VA on modern Rt 29. It’s in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not quite Appalachia. John Boy’s arduous trek to the University of Virginia was likely caused by the crappy family truck, not the distances involved. Drive through there sometime and you’ll see Waltons-related kitch shops. The real-life equivalent for Mayberry, NC is a bit farther south and west, in Mt. Airy, NC.

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**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/184 "2021-04-24T12:49:08Z")

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> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#):
>
> It’s in the Blue Ridge Mountains, not quite Appalachia.

What’s the difference between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachia?

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**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/185 "2021-04-24T12:59:08Z")

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> Catamount Guest  
> What’s the difference between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachia?

About three counties.

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/186 "2021-04-24T15:00:22Z")

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> [@Catamount](#):
>
> What’s the difference between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachia?

**Horatio** is evidently referring to [the cultural region](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachia) rather than the mountains.

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**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/187 "2021-04-24T20:05:29Z")

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One of the stranger things I saw was when I was randomly changing channels during the daytime, watching over-the-air stations, when I came across a cartoon, already in progress. My first thought was “I didn’t know there were any cartoons this time of day”, so I started watching.

The main characters were a group of sinister types, similar to the weasels in _Who Framed Roger Rabbit_. Except these guys were armed with shotguns, and were conducting a home invasion. They cornered the father in the living room, and blew him away with shotgun blasts. The mother ran into the nursery, scooped up a baby, and attempted to flee. They took her out with a shotgun blast to the back.

Meanwhile, I sat there stunned, trying to figure out why this was being aired. It turned out this was soap opera, and the cartoon was just a young girl’s nightmare. Still, it was pretty intense for daytime TV.

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**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/188 "2021-04-24T22:07:32Z")

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> [@Catamount](#):
>
> What’s the difference between the Blue Ridge Mountains and Appalachia?

Second cousins instead of first.

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**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\
**Post date:** [April 24, 2021, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/189 "2021-04-24T22:28:57Z")

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> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#):
>
> Waltons-related kitch shops.

Waltons-marts?

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**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2021, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/190 "2021-04-25T01:39:31Z")

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You, sir, have won the thread.

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**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\
**Post date:** [April 25, 2021, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/191 "2021-04-25T05:46:18Z")

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there are at least 3 episodes of murder she wrote where no one died …

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**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\
**Post date:** [April 28, 2021, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/192 "2021-04-28T17:33:49Z")

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I’m not even through the whole series yet, but the Don’t Be Ridiculous ep of The Leftovers. This in a series that features an ep where a character goes to Hell. Mark Linn Baker playing himself, and a trampoline scene. Bizarre in all of the good ways.

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**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/193 "2021-04-29T12:04:37Z")

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Columbo had two episodes that were taken from Ed McBain stories (Ed McBain is one of my favorite authors). They were detective stories and different from the standard Columbo shows.  
The episodes are No Time to Die and Undercover.

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**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/194 "2021-04-29T12:09:06Z")

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I remember “No Time to Die” - the wedding episode.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/195 "2021-04-29T16:51:36Z")

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There were at least two episodes where Columbo actually let a murderer get away with it. One was “Forgotten Lady” with Janet Leigh and John Payne; the other was “It’s All in the Game” with Faye Dunaway and Claudia Christian.

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**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/196 "2021-04-29T16:56:43Z")

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> [@terentii](#):
>
> There were at least two episodes where Columbo actually let a murderer get away with it. One was “Forgotten Lady” with Janet Leigh and John Payne; the other was “It’s All in the Game” with Faye Dunaway and Claudia Christian.

You could make an argument for “Old Fashioned Murder”, with Joyce Van Patten.

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/197 "2021-04-29T17:15:40Z")

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He nailed her in the end, though. Just like Ruth Gordon in “Try & Catch Me.” Whether or not he was able to put Mariette Hartley away too was left up in the air.

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/198 "2021-04-29T17:26:42Z")

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> [@terentii](#):
>
> He nailed her in the end, though.

Phrasing!

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**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/199 "2021-04-29T17:28:56Z")

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Dirty minds think alike! 😁

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**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/200 "2021-04-29T18:07:55Z")

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It was a come from behind case!

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**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\
**Post date:** [April 29, 2021, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shows-that-have-one-wtf-episode/939754/201 "2021-04-29T18:15:03Z")

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Are we still doing that? 😁

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