You’ve all seen the promos:
Or
It seems like every other week TV shows have “very special”, “heartwarming”, “unforgettable”, or “touching” episodes. Personally, I’m sick to death of the touching reunions, poignant moments and must-see promos. However, some people out there may love them.
Does anyone remember a “very special” episode of a TV show that they especially liked? Or even one that they really thought sucked cumquats? Enquiring minds want to know.
No, but I do remember one of my favorite quotes from college writing classes. My instructor was talking about the “moment of shit”, that point when a “very special episode” pays off in an “awww…group hug…” moment. Let’s see if my google-fu can come up with the goods…ah, here it is:
http://www.kurtandersen.com/journalism/various/rollstone051790hotmood.html
Probably one of my favorite trade terms, ever.
“Angel” had a very, very strange episode that seemed to be an allegory for female genital mutilation. I can’t recall the details, but there were these women from another dimension with these thingamajigs on the back of their necks which, when removed, would destroy their intelligence and sex drives, and the patriarchal society on their homeworld insisted that all women submit to the procedure.
Yah, it was about as bad as it sounds. Probably the very worst thing Joss Whedon has ever done, actually.
It doesn’t quite qualify as a VSE because it’s too well done for that disparaging term, but the episode of Designing Women “Killing All the Right People.” Written by Diane Tomlinson following the death of her mother from AIDS, one ofthe first network shows dealing with the topic. A young gay friend of the firm approaches the women to design a room for his funeral. Very strong scene from Julia advising a bigoted “friend” that if STDs were the punishment for sin then she, the friend, would be at the free clinic all the time, and a terrific speech from Mary Jo defending condom use among teenagers. I still tear up every time I see it.
A definite VSE from DW is IIRC called “They Shoot Fat People, Don’t They?” which Tomlinson wrote after Delta Burke put on the weight and there was some tension on the set as a result. Suzanne is heartbroken about being called fat behind her back at her high school reunion, until she meets a boy from Ethiopia who lost his entire family to starvation and she speechifies about the absurdity of being upset about having too much to eat.
And believe it or not, Whedon & co. intended for the main otherdimensional babe to be a major recurring character and possible love interest for Angel. Sometimes first-year major storyline alterations can be a good thing!
IMO, the truly brilliant element of ‘Buffy’ and ‘Angel’ was to write ‘very special episodes’ that did NOT condescend to the audience, or provide an easy trite moral, or wrap these up conveniently.
My personal favorite was the one with the goth cult of kids who wanted to become vampires. Dunno the name of the ep, but Buffy’s ex-boyfriend from her previous school comes to Sunnydale, confesses that he knows she’s a slayer and claims to want to help fight vampires. Instead, he arranges with Spike to lure Buffy into a trap in exchange for ‘siring’ him. Buffy later learns that her ex was actually dying of a brain tumor and desperate to stay alive in any state. The end of the ep. has Buffy staking her vamped-ex, Giles giving her fake assurances that ‘the good guys are always good, the bad guys always bad, and they are easily distinguishable by the colors of the cowboy hats they wear’ and Buffy muttering ‘liar’ to him.
No, that distinction goes to “I Fall To Pieces.”
Yes, I think “The Body” was a VSE that sidestepped or outright contradicted all the VSE cliches in dealing with the death of a character. (For contrast, see Family Ties, when Alex’s never-seen-before friend dies in a car accident. Alex is swamped with grief and remorse, until the next episode when everything is back to normal and dead guy is never mentioned again.)
Another good “death” episode on a show was Sesame Street’s treatment of Mr. Hooper’s death.
I always thought that The Cosby Show “jumped the shark” when there was a Very Special Episode featuring Danny Kaye as a dentist. He was so freakin’ creepy that I never got over it - notwithstanding the fact that it was prime-time NBC (the worst of the eighties-moralizers) I was like “don’t leave poor Rudy alone with that guy!”
The guys at WKRP dealing with the aftermath of an infamous Who concert at Riverfront Stadium.
Er, Riverfront Coliseum.
I know that they still do this with dramas, but I am so, so, so glad that it went out of fashion with sitcoms. The 70s and 80s were full of “very special episodes” that made me want to gag. Beadalin brings up a great one from Family Ties. I remember that Growing Pains had a very similar one where the daughter’s never-before-seen boyfriend/love of her life was killed in a drunk driving accident or some such (character played by a young Matthew Perry).
Not to mention the seemingly endless parade of handicapped folks from shows like Diff’rent Strokes and Facts of Life, who were apparently put on earth to show us how gosh darn cheerful and life-affirming a person can be, no matter what the affliction (not that I necessarily disagree with the sentiment, but how damn glurgy could they be?)
What was with the idea that nothing could ever just be funny? Thank God for Seinfeld…I believe the greatest thing he ever did for American pop culture is cure the sitcom of any need to be socially redeeming. Yadda yadda yadda.
My favorite VSE of all time is still the child molester episode of Different Strokes. I wish I were making this up.
Dude, slortar, I was going to bring up the Diff’rent Strokes child molester episode! It remains one of my clearest memories of 80’s TV shows, and not in a good way. At Christmas, my brother and I were discussing VSEs, and our youngest sister didn’t know what they were.
My childhood was filled with these very special episodes; it seemed like there was one every other week on Punky Brewster or Silver Spoons or something. Thank goodness they’ve mostly gone the way of the dodo, or at least gotten less obvious. Or maybe it’s just that I only watch things like Doctor Who now.
Imdb has Perry playing the role in three episodes.
Personally, the only VSE I would be likely to tune in for is The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy.
That one’s a bit tricky, since it’s based on a real event and the staff of a Cincinnati rock-format radio station (who promotes concerts) would be affected by it. It’s not any more “special” than a 9/11-centered episode on Third Watch. It would actually be pretty chickenshit to pretend these real-life events didn’t happen.
e.r. does seem to have these special episodes an awful lot, though, or (more accurately) they advertise each episode as special and unforgettable and heart-warming, blah blah yech blah.
Not a fictional show, but still a gutsy VSE that I feel qualifies…
Craig Ferguson did a VSE of his late night talk show right after his own father died. He turned the entire show into an on-air wake and memorial, bringing out cherished friends and family, and just improvising and talking from the hip about his dad’s life. He ended with an amazing folk music performance. It was the most amazing talk show I’ve ever seen, and had me in genuine tears.
I’ve always wondered if people generally gained anything from these types of shows. They certainly weren’t entertaining (well maybe one was), and I’ve never heard anyone say a VSE was a catalyst for positive change in their lives.
Drew Carey had a good one for the 5th season finale.
The ultimate VSE of any series was still BtVS’ “The Body.”
The Best VSE was the Dinosaurs episode on drugs. It ended with Robbie saying “Kids, don’t do drugs, or we will be forced to do more very special episodes”
Brian
That one was totally hilarious.
Drawn Together had a pretty good satirical episode called “A Very Special Drawn Together After School Special.”