First, let me define the term. I regard a Very Special Episode as one in which the characters have an object or moral lesson forced upon them, usually by tragedy, but perhaps by the presence of a one-shot character. I wouldn’t count, for instance, the bar on Cheers burning down as a VSE, because there was no moral. But if another sitcom had a fire that was started by a kid smoking or playing with matches, that’s a classic VSE episode.
However, these things are not absolute. If, for instance, a fire/car accident/other tragedy episode was a jarring contrast to a show’s normally irreverent tone, that would qualify. So don’t feel obligated to stick to my criteria.
Now, the reason I’m bringing this up is because I just now referenced That '70s Show, in another thread, as a show that’s never had a VSE. Stuff does happen to these people, but stuff like Kelso finding out that his one-night-stand is pregnant is not overdramatized or made the focus on one single episode. The storyline I spoiler-boxed has been playing out over the entire last season, not compressed into a problem/decision/group hug mini-drama.
Seinfeld goes without saying, of course, because it was Larry David who first brought the VSE Syndrome into public scrutiny. Some might say that every episode of My So-Called Life was a VSE, but I say they only had one (the Christmas episode, blaughhh), because although they dealt with numerous Serious Issues, they were either not resolved, or resolved through decidedly unformulaic means. I don’t believe Frasier ever had a VSE, but I haven’t seen every episode.
I suppose with (im?)proper encouragement, there’s not much I couldn’t be coerced into.
Insomniac
Sanford & Son
Sabado Gigante
Two and a Half Men
American Chopper
The Apprentice
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Antiques Roadshow
SpongeBob SquarePants
The Munsters
Dr. Gene Scott (Ok, I guess all of those are very special episodes)
On the contrary–they had a very special episode actually entitled “A Very Special Episode,” in which Beavis feeds a wounded baby bird by chewing up worms and spiitting them into its mouth. It was very touching.
While the **The Body ** was indeed an extremely special episode, I don’t believe that it qualifies as a **VSE ** as is outlined in the OP.
A **VSE ** isn’t a major plot point or a theme episode or a one-off, it’s an episode specifically designed to showcase a moral idea, like drugs, guns control, drunk driving, etc.
Joyce’s death was the culmination of a plot that started early in season five and was also very important to the plot that followed. It may have even contributed heavily to Buffy’s decision to sacrifice herself in The Gift. When Joyce went in to the operation to have her tumor removed, she made Buffy promise to take care of Dawn and keep her safe. Not that Buffy wouldn’t have anyway, but I always felt that this direct specific promise and subsequent loss of her mother coupled with the potential loss of her sister was to much to bare, leading to Buffy’s decision to commit suicide/sacrifice herself to save Dawn.
Someone even wrote and entire thesis on the concept of Buffy and the VSE:
The closest BtVS ever came to a VSE was “Wrecked”, which played like a ham-fisted 1980s after-school special. But it only *played * that way, I don’t think it was intended to teach viewers that visiting magic crackhouses was wrong.
I can’t think of a VSE of Babylon 5 or Moonlighting, but soeone may be able to refresh my memory.
Since we’ve mentioned Buffy, I don’t think Angel has ever had a VSE. Maybe that first season episode about the demon Nazis but other than that, I can’t think of one…