"Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television promos to refer to an episode of a sitcom or drama series which deals with a difficult or controversial social issue.[1] The usage of the term peaked in the 1980s.[2][3]
Traditionally, very special episodes contained either a brief message from the cast or a title card reading either "Viewer Discretion Advised" or "Parental Discretion Advised", alerting viewers to the potentially graphic or disturbing nature of the episode and giving them time to decide if they wanted to watch it.[4]
Popular topics covered in very special episodes include abortion, birth control, sex education, racism, sexism, death, narcotics, pregnancy (particularly teenage pregnancy and unintended pregnancy), asthma, hitchhiking, kidnapping, suicide, drunk driving, drug use, sexual abuse, child abuse, child abandonment, sexual assault, violence, cults and HIV/AIDS.[3][5][6][7][8][9]
How a topic is portrayed can vary drastically from show to show, and its portrayal is influenced by a number of factors, including the personal beliefs of those involved in the show, advertising concerns, cultural attitudes, and the show's format, genre, and broadcasting company.[6][7][8] The Atlantic summarizes the core values of a very special episode as thus:
The main characters beloved by viewers would inevitably avoid serious harm. The dangers posed by story lines were more threats than actual occurrences, and on the occasion that bad things did happen, they usually happened to ancillary characters whom audiences cared less about. This selective meting of moral justice kept lessons from becoming too morbid, while still allowing episodes to serve as cautionary tales.[7]
The purpose of a very special episode is generally to raise awareness of an issue and encourage those affected to seek help if necessary. For example, the Diff'rent Strokes episode "The Bicycle Man", in the same year it was released, influenced a child in La Porte, Indiana, to inform his mother of a pedophile in the area, and the LaPorte police department credited the episode for the man's arrest.[10] The Washington Post called the episode "a calm, careful and intelligent treatment of a difficult and potentially traumatizing subject. There seems little possibility that watching this program would do children harm, and considerable likelihood it could do them good."[11]
Comedian Frank Caliendo spoofed this concept with "TV Promos" and "A Very Special Seinfeld" on his 2002 album Make the Voices Stop.[12]
Notably, Larry David, producer and co-creator of Seinfeld, was reportedly strongly opposed to having a very special episode in the series, with the motto of writers and cast being "No hugging, no learning".[13][14][15]
The concept was also spoofed on the 1996 Animaniacs episode "A Very Very Very Very Special Show" where Yakko, Wakko and Dot attempt to teach politically correct lessons in order to win a Humanitarian Animation Award.[16]