Talk:Very special episode

message: The term was first used by NBC for Blossom, I don't know why someone removed that, but I put it back. People forget that Blossom dealt with drugs and alcohol (the brother was a recovering drug addict) and teenage sex, and it was a controversial show for NBC at the time (perhaps because of the flowery hats, people's memories are blurry of the show), and the usage originated in that (the term "very special episode" was NEVER used before Blossom). It was there in the article before, someone removed it, I put it back.
:Cite a source that actually makes this claim.  The source listed says that NBC put the "very special episode" label on those episodes, but not that it created the label for Blossom.  Shows before Blossom dealt with all of these issues.  Family Ties, Growing Pains, All in the Family, Diff'rent Strokes -- they all had these episodes.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.122.71.68 (talk) 13:29, 1 September 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Blossom 

message: Spoofs:
*Beavis & Butthead had an episode called 'a very special episode' which spoofed this idea.
*"Family Guy" spoofed the "Diffrent Strokes" episode in which Arnold and Dudley are molested by Mr. Horton. It was only one scene though.
Overlooked "Very Special Episodes"]When did they do this? What episode? I don't remember them ever spoofing it. Bkissin 01:53, 4 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Comment 

message: I would dispute the notion that Buffy ever had episodes that fit into this genre/mould. In fact, creator Joss Whedon is credited as saying "There will never be a Very Special episode of Buffy." The examples listed on the main page weren't advertised using these "very special" themes nor were they handled in the melodramatic or pat way that most "Very Special" episodes do on other series. Episodes of Buffy rarely had a hard and fast message - in fact much of its later episodes played on the fact that there are no moral absolutes... or at least the characters had trouble defining them.
Very Special Episodes are remembered because a lesson is learned. Buffy was never that didactic.
:Here here! The point of Buffy is that the whole thing is made up of Very Special Episodes! I mean, they'll kill off a character in the title sequence! Maianess 02:40, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: You could argue that 'The Body' was a VSE; since that episode did deal with major character death, and how the other characters reacted to that death, rather than just showing someone being stabbed by a demon and being done with it. But you didn't 'learn and grow' from it. --Stevefarrell 10:17, 15 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Very Special Buffy 

message: My memory is a bit fuzzy on this, but I seem to recall a lot of sitcoms/dramas in the '80s having "very special" episodes during Fire Safety Week or Tornado Safety Week. IIRC, both Punky Brewster and Our House had episodes where the house caught fire, and they made a point about having a smoke detector and a plan to escape the building. I'm pretty sure Our House had a similar one about tornadoes as well. Or is my mind just making this up? --Birdhombre 01:43, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Fires and tornadoes 

message: Maybe it's obvious from the very nature of the section, but this page should have a spoiler warning. I'm only up to the end of the fourth season of Buffy, and I stumbled across this page and got a whole bunch of plot blown for me because I didn't realize there were spoiler-y descriptions. I mean, an episode summary has a spoiler warning, and it's pretty darn obvious that it would have spoilers, so I think there should be a warning on this page. Maianess 02:37, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Spoilers? 

message: Was anyone shown any of these VSE in school?  I remember being shown that Different Strokes episode in elementary school.  If their use in school could be documented through references, that would be worth adding. Шизомби 07:15, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  School showings? 

message: here's an interesting thing to think about, do certain star trek episodes qualify as VSEs?  Gene Roddenbery made comments about how his show was like a morality play, and in fact, many of the episodes were quite allegorical.  This trend continued somewhat into The Next Generation until after Roddenbery died, when the series started to become more nuanced in dealing with issues.  in fact, in DS9, there are no real morality plays, no totally good decisions, or totally wrong decisions, and the characters have to deal with the moral and ethical consequences of their actions.  not so in TOS or early TNG, when Kirk's decisions were almost always the right thing to do, no questions asked, and Picard was basically a preacher to the aliens that they encountered that week.--talk to me crimes against humanity18:16, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Star Trek VSEs 

message: The idea seems to have been brought up a while ago, and the list of examples is even longer now. I favor putting in 4 or 5 representative examples, and move the others to a list. If no one objects within the next week or so, I'll put them on a list. JoshuaZ 02:46, 17 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Move examples to list. 

message: Whoever added the years to the VSEs in question had some of them wrong, and I'm wondering what their source is. I corrected a lot of the really wrong years for Good Times, as well as Saved By the Bell. Mike H. That's hot 05:45, 18 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Years

message: I'm telling you, as crazy as it sounds this was a real episode! MrBlondNYC 08:34, 20 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I didn't believe it at first, but I did the internet searches and there are many print sources to back it up. Sigh. Mike H. That's hot 09:05, 20 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Too Close for Comfort

message: I'm not entirely sure if this applies, but one of the recent Simpsons episodes deals with Bart learning about "the birds and the bees" and Lisa falling into a bout of anorexia.  It ends with them still traumatized by their experiences and such.  It felt very out of place with the rest of the series--even moreso than the "Dad thinks you're gay" episode--and seemed to sacrifice all comedy by the very nature of what they were discussing.  But I don't know the name of the episode. Kilyle 09:47, 29 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Simpsons Episode?

message: Might it be better to organize these not by series but by topic?  All the episodes that deal with anorexia would be one topic, all those that deal with character death another, etc.  Besides just being easier to read (or skim) and easier for the reader to compare, the relative relevance of the episodes can be judged against each other and the less relevant examples cut.
I do think that including every instance of character death is overboard--even when it steps outside the normal tone of the series (e.g. for a comedy).  It would seem that major, front-line characters being killed and/or replaced is natural to any story, and need not be considered abnormally preachy.  However, when a character enters the spotlight long enough to die and be mourned, and that character is a minor character, a never-before-seen family member, or an old boyfriend, etc., then that's more of the deliberately Very Special episode, right? Kilyle 09:47, 29 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Organization

message: Wasn't there an episode where Arnold lied and said he knew CPR then someone needed it and he couldn't do it and the person could have died? Does that warrant a mention? MrBlondNYC 08:20, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Diff'rent Strokes episode

message: Why do dramas even count? Very special episodes generally deal with dramatic or serious themes in shows that are otherwise sitcoms, and dramas aren't supposed to be funny anyway. In fact, every episode of a drama could be considered a very special episode. Anthony Rupert 14:47, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Yeah, I was wondering about Degrassi as it's kind of the point of the series (at least the original one; it was created by a teacher) to talk about sensitive issues.  (And though I like it, I have to say that a disproportionate number of bad things happen to the characters.) --Galaxiaad 00:14, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Television dramas?

message: This is a request for comment on the extensive list of examples that is currently being disputed. 05:20, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Request for Comment: List 

message: The section of actual 'very special episodes' is 1000 times more valuable than the much larger list of parodies of the concept.  Article should expand the former and eliminate the latter.  Tempshill 04:58, 12 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text: I don't understand why the long list of parodies has not been addressed. In the effort to eliminate the list of actual VSEs, the fact that the list of parodies now far outweighs the actual examples has been ignored. MrBlondNYC 08:50, 26 April 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  I agree completely, and I'm a bold guy. Don't mean to start any fights, just making something happen. I've wound up hacking about 75% of it out, by deciding on a principle of only listing shows that are "full-on" parodies of VSE, where the VSE motif is a primary element of the entire episode. Unfortunately, that didn't leave much. However, I think the remaining entries are very exemplary and I don't feel that the incredibly numerous one-off jokes that refer to VSE could possibly all be listed anyways, I think this is an effective solution. Feel free to disagree by completely reverting me, if you like (always the proper bold response to boldness). Eaglizard 17:52, 24 June 2007 (UTC)

text:  BTW, I also think that more examples or an expanded example section are needed, but the problem is (I think) with the focus: to begin with, editors should decide if they agree that "being billed as a VSE" is in fact a requirement for actually being one (I think it is). In that case, there needs to be a bit of research on when the term first appeared (be nice to know the actual first use of it, but good luck with that :) and some more focus on the earliest examples of it, perhaps demonstrating more clearly exactly why they were so lame if possible. As I recall, the term first appeared in conjuction with either "Facts of Life", "Gimme a Break" or that damned show with Arnold saying "watchoo talkin bout Willis" (which name I've apparently blocked from memory). At the very least, those were the shows where it gained prominence, IIRC, and should probably be (somewhat) the focii of this article. I definitely think there's too much side-discussion about shows that are similar to the VSE concept, but really weren't. For instance, the All In The Family and Maude stuff was never billed in that particular fashion, I don't think; rather, the marketing was more subtle, allowing the built-in controversy of the shows to work for them.  In contrast, the previously mentioned sitcoms beat us over the head with the VSE tagline. Anyways, enough of my commentary. Have fun, ya'll. Eaglizard 18:13, 24 June 2007 (UTC)
replies: text:  Can we put the long list back, it was actually quite helpful! McDanger 12:34, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  More examples, less commentary and parodies 

message: Is anything in this article actually referenced?  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.247.120.178 (talk) 16:06, 28 December 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  References 

message: I can remember from when I was a kid that there was an Episode of the film-spinoff Clueless about drink driving, where, as far as I can remember, a character was introduced at the start of the episode, only to be killed in a drink-driving accident. The episode ended with the cast talking directly at the screen about the dangers of drink driving! Anyone else remember this episode? Gdkh (talk) 00:34, 24 April 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Clueless (TV Spinoff) VSE 

message: (S11E15) Summary: "When a participant in a TV reality show is murdered, McCoy goes after the producers and network executives for deliberately fomenting hostility among the participants to boost the ratings. All too appropriately, the outcome of the case hinges on a videotape made by a hidden camera." http://www.tv.com/law-and-order/swept-away---a-very-special-episode/episode/26443/summary.html
This is not a parody, and it cannot be a VSE because the whole franchise regularly treats of VSE-like issues. But the L&O episode revolves around an episode of a show in the fictitious universe that accidently becomes a VSE, and a terrible example of the dangers of TV as an institution. Elegantly self-referential. Shannock9 (talk) 00:40, 23 July 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Law & Order "Swept Away - A Very Special Episode" 

message: Is South Park episode Tonsil Trouble a Very Special Episode parody? -- 88.192.72.86 (talk) 17:47, 17 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tonsil Trouble 

message: Almost the entire article is about how shows opposed the concept or made fun of it, while there are almost no examples given of actual "very special episodes". -- Imladros (talk) 22:03, 23 January 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Only about parodies 

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thread_title:  External links modified 

message: The Family Guy episode treating the subject of domestic violence was not trailed as a Very Special Episode. Whereas Seahorse Seashell Party specifically features Stewie breaking the fourth wall to say that this was a Very Special Episode about drugs; but really just as the set-up for another gag. Nuttyskin (talk) 08:42, 20 April 2018 (UTC)
thread_title:  Family Guy 

message: This section is chock full of references supporting that these episodes deal with serious issues, but few of them actually say they were advertised as a "very special episode". I find that misleading, and would suggest that the entire section be rebuilt with just episodes that aired under the VSE banner. Even if it's only a handful of examples remaining, that gets the point across without misleading readers as to which examples were considered VSE at the time. The other may be highly virtuous, but are technically irrelevant to the titular terminology being discussed. UpdateNerd (talk) 09:33, 13 October 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: I've been noticing the list continue to be rebuilt following a Request for Comment from 15 years ago. I agree that examples should focus solely on those that are advertised as such (and relevant parodies of the trope a la Clone High). If it gets longer, then we may want to consider spinning that section out as its own List-class article: List of very special episodes.Bkissin (talk) 19:26, 13 October 2020 (UTC)
replies: text: , , I concur with both of you. But for the time being, I removed all unsourced examples (although I have actually seen all of those episodes, none of them were indeed advertised as very special episodes). Erpert blah, blah, blah... 17:21, 8 April 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  Notable examples