A "Very Special" Blog

“Very special episode”. This became a cliché in the early 90’s because a program called “Blossom” called almost every episode, “very special”. The show, starring Mayim Bialik, was about a teenage girl coming to grips with adolescence. Of course they had episodes about dating, sex, and even physical abuse. This show is famous for the way it overused the “very special” description; it was a joke on “Friends” and even became an SNL sketch.

However, Blossom was not the first program to use this phrase. They’re the ones who turned it into a cliché. This was a very predominant expression in the 80’s when a program wanted to alert its viewers that an episode a little more hard hitting than usual was coming. The episode would be funny, but deal with a serious issue in a serious way. Very often the show would begin or end with a cast member or two explaining this to the audience, and advising any parents who may be watching to make sure they were aware of what was what about to happen, and be ready for questions. Some of these worked, and others kind of failed. I wanted to look at a selection of these and see which fell into what category.

By the way, I am very aware that the 70’s had more than its fair share of these but I am a child of the 80’s, so we will move on. Besides, I could do a whole article on Normal Lear.

Now back to the 80’s. Way before Blossom would beat that phrase to death, three other shows did. These shows were "Diff’rent Strokes", "Facts of Life", and "Family Ties". Putting "Family Ties" aside for a moment, let’s talk about the first two. For those who may not know, "Facts of Life" was a spin-off from "Different Strokes", so it stands to reason they would follow the same general format. Every episode was an ethics lesson, except for an occasional light episode they would do for fun.

"Diff’rent Strokes" did many of these involving subjects such as kidnapping, epileptic seizures, bigotry, bullies, drunk driving and what has to be one of the most infamous “very special” episodes ever, on pedophilia. This episode guest starred Gordon Jump as a bicycle shop owner who tried to sexually molest Arnold. Thankfully he is caught in the end, but when I learned of this episode I was amazed. I honestly don’t think you’d be able to do an episode like that today, and this was thirty years ago. The kidnapping episode was one I always remembered, it was smart even if the solution is a bit dated today. 

 

“Facts of Life” lived up to the course set by its parent show. One episode had Natalie get’s assaulted on campus, in another Blaire finds out grandfather was a Klansman! This show dealt with cerebral palsy by having an actress who actually had the affliction on the show. This was years before “Life Goes On”. I could spend pages on the “very special” episode these two shows did, and in fact that is why I was never a real fan of either since the preaching started to get to be too much.

“Family Ties” was not in the same league as those two, but they did have their fair share of powerful episodes. Marllory was hit on in one by a family member who crosses the line, Alex got addicted to Speed. Another had Tom Hanks playing Elyse’s brother, and he is an alcoholic. The end of this episode is powerful; Tom Hanks even backhands Michael J. Fox across the room in a  scene that ends with Hank’s character calling AA. On the other end of that spectrum is the famous “A My Name is Alex “episode. A friend of Alex’s is killed off screen and the episode is about Alex coping with that. The whole second half is Alex talking to the camera on a dark set. Michael J. Fox did some fine acting, but the episode just seems seems odd. At the time this was highly regarded, now it seems kind of silly. 

Other subjects were covered by other shows. Alzheimer’s Disease was a big one in the 80’s. I remember “Head of the Class” did one, and to its credit "Mr. Belvedere" had an episode which ended very sad when we actually see Wesley go back to the lady he had been spending time with, and she was totally out of it. For a silly show  “Mr. Belvedere” actually did a few of these kind of episodes including one where young Wesley meets a camp counselor who is a little to affectionate. This episode ended with a message from Christopher Hewitt rather than the usual silly way the show’s ended with Mr.Belveder writing in his journal. The finest acting had to be on an episode of “Fresh Prince of Bell Air.” The episode about Will finally running into the father who abandoned him was powerful. It ended with the father taking off on him, again, and Will Smith does a great piece of acting. No surprise he made it huge as a movie star.

“Golden Girls” did AIDS, drug abuse, and homelessness in what has to be one of the most moving episodes ever. The show has the girls chasing across town for a lost winning lottery ticket, only to wind up in a homeless shelter. This actually starts as a silly, campy episode, making that 180 it takes totally unexpected. In the end the girls find the ticket, but after spending the night in the shelter they realize how lucky they are, and give the ticket to the shelter. Very moving. 

In the late 80’s “A Different World” carried the very special episode torch. They touched on all kinds of issues, especially related to race. One of the more controversial was one they did on what had to be one of the most taboo subjects of the time, AIDS. Bill Cosby introduced the episode which guest starred Whoopi Goldberg. As part of class assignment each student had to read a report on where they would be in the future, and one student conceded she would be dead from having AIDS. A very powerful episode, talking about the truth of AIDS and why it’s smart to practice safe sex.

Some show’s just surprise you with these kinds of episodes. “Punky Brewster” was a silly kid’s show, except they’d throw in these heavy shows’s one in awhile. One episode was about Punky being afraid that Henry was going to be the victim of a serial killer! Of course there was no jeopardy in this episode, so they did another episode where they put a character in serious jeopardy. Brandon, the dog, is actually hit by a car and almost dies. Punky says goodbye to him when he miraculously comes back to life. That wasn't a person in jeopardy, so it stood to reason an episode with an actual human life in danger was next. Sure enough, we got it. I think anyone who saw this show remembers the episode where friend Cherie is locked in the refrigerator and Punky had to save her.  It was a powerful scene, with Punky giving her CPR  (sure, the grandmother was a trained nurse, but we accepted things easier back then). The best part was there was plenty of blame to go around. Cherie was an idiot for getting in the thing, Henry was irresponsible not taking the door off, and Alan was a douche who couldn't help because he was a jerk in class. When you realize how close Cheri was to dying, it makes the episode very scary.

Of course, the only way to top is that for a series to actually kill a character. "Family Matters" had Eddie beaten up pretty badly by a gang he had tried to stop from trashing Rachel's Diner, that image of Eddie appearing all bruised and bloody was deffinately shocking. In another episode of “Fresh Prince” we came even closer when the episode had Will literally being shot. I think that this was pretty daring since he was the main character. The only bad thing about this episode is that it’s so powerful, that when we go back to the typical silliness in the next episode it feels awkward. Of course he survived, what show would kill off a character to make a point? 

 “Growing Pains” wins the award. This episode’s ending is definitely unexpected. Carol had been dating a boy named Sandy, played by Matthew Perry, for a few episodes. In this episode we find out Sandy is in the hospital after getting into an accident drunk driving. When Carol confesses what happened to her parents, we figure that is the emotional scene of the episode. We see Sandy, banged up and just fine, and we had our hug and forgive moment so what’s left? They wouldn't actually kill this character off would they? Yep. I still get goose bumps at the ending of this episode. When Carol and her parents get home Mike informs him that Sandy actually just died while they were en route from the hospital. Apparently he had been bleeding internally that whole time. This time we don’t get any speeches or lectures, the family simply embraces each other and the scene fades to black. That is how you handle a “very special episode”.

There is the other side of the coin. Some series that try this can’t get it right. The script is to weak or the subject not explored well, and the episode fails. “Growing Pains” did an infamous episode where Mike goes to a party and is offered cocaine. This wasn’t bad, but I don’t think it was particularly powerful either. The worst part of this episode is the hammy ending where Kirk Cameron speaks to the camera. I always felt when I saw someone making fun of shows that did these kind of speeches that they had this scene in mind. I don’t mind a simple bit of caution, but Kirk Cameron’s speech is a little pushy (much like the “Dinosaur’s” episode parodies which if you haven’t seen I urge you to check it out). 

“Saved by the Bell” did an episode called Jesse’s Song about Jesse being addicted to caffeine pills. The episode is more silly than powerful and is usually mocked and made fun of. “Full House” had an episode where Stephanie finds a classmate is being abused at home. This episode tried hard, but too much happens off screen (and to characters we don’t know) to make a real impact. "Who's The Boss?" tried to tackled kidnapping when we find out Tony's friend had actually kidnapped her daughter and they were on the lam. Again, since we didn't know the characters and they didn't spend any time beyond the episode establishing a friendship between the mother and Tony it was hard to be really invested. "Home Improvement" tried to deal with serious subjects, but always had the “happy ending” cop out. I don’t think there was one show that didn’t do that. Finally, I can’t end this without mentioning “Designing Women”. This preachy show tackled all kinds of things including AIDS, but I always felt like the characters were lecturing and was turned off by the episodes feminist slant. With all due respect to the great Dixie Carter, her character drove me crazy with her attitude.

By the 90’s these kinds of shows started to fade. Some people thank Seinfeld for that, or maybe sitcoms just started being different. When was the last time they made shows like they did in the 80’s? Anyway, I just wanted to go over some of these notable stories. Some worked, and some didn’t. However I always liked how sitcom’s realized they had a responsibility to inform and educate. Some did once a season, others made it the point of the series, but good or bad these episodes are usually the most remembered by fans. Which do you remember?

There is another kind of these that I didn’t touch on. At another time I want to talk about when real life events are so severe that sitcom’s do an episode about it.