It's time to bring back the Very Special Episode - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 11-21-2018, 08:55 PM

https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/v...cial-episodes/

The cheesy Very Special Episodes that were a staple of 1980s and 1990s sitcoms are desperately needed these days, a time of too little empathy, says Liz Ohanesian. She was thinking of the Very Special Episode while reading about Megyn Kelly's blackface controversy. "I think about these shows because, right now, American adults seem to need the sort of guidance that American kids once got from Very Special Episodes," says Ohansensian. "Megyn Kelly’s defense of blackface made me wonder if she ever saw the episode of Gimme a Break when Nell explained why it’s not OK. I didn’t even know what blackface was when I first saw that episode, but I understood that if you did something to upset the loving, maternal figure of a TV show that much, it must be terrible. Very Special Episodes were commonplace in the ’80s, and even into the ’90s, touching on everything from national news to issues like sexual abuse and racism. But times change, and so do TV audiences. The term 'very special episode,' once used as a marketing tag, became a catchall phrase to denote comedies that clunkily attempted to delve into the socially relevant topics of the day. It’s true that a lot of those Very Special Episodes were terrible. Even some that weren’t have moments that would be cringey by today’s standards." Ohanesian adds: "Maybe, it’s time for a Very Special Comeback. From America’s mass shooting epidemic to racist Halloween costumes, there are a lot of things that people either don’t understand or don’t want to understand—and it seems like social media often helps them remain willfully ignorant. Sometimes you need to sit in front of a bigger screen and take in the message without the option of rage-responding to the character who is speaking."

tlc38tlc38 · 11-21-2018, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC

https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/v...cial-episodes/

The cheesy Very Special Episodes that were a staple of 1980s and 1990s sitcoms are desperately needed these days, a time of too little empathy, says Liz Ohanesian. She was thinking of the Very Special Episode while reading about Megyn Kelly's blackface controversy. "I think about these shows because, right now, American adults seem to need the sort of guidance that American kids once got from Very Special Episodes," says Ohansensian. "Megyn Kelly’s defense of blackface made me wonder if she ever saw the episode of Gimme a Break when Nell explained why it’s not OK. I didn’t even know what blackface was when I first saw that episode, but I understood that if you did something to upset the loving, maternal figure of a TV show that much, it must be terrible. Very Special Episodes were commonplace in the ’80s, and even into the ’90s, touching on everything from national news to issues like sexual abuse and racism. But times change, and so do TV audiences. The term 'very special episode,' once used as a marketing tag, became a catchall phrase to denote comedies that clunkily attempted to delve into the socially relevant topics of the day. It’s true that a lot of those Very Special Episodes were terrible. Even some that weren’t have moments that would be cringey by today’s standards." Ohanesian adds: "Maybe, it’s time for a Very Special Comeback. From America’s mass shooting epidemic to racist Halloween costumes, there are a lot of things that people either don’t understand or don’t want to understand—and it seems like social media often helps them remain willfully ignorant. Sometimes you need to sit in front of a bigger screen and take in the message without the option of rage-responding to the character who is speaking."

“A time of too little empathy”....

Seriously, I think things are too empathized now.

There’s no loser in a race because everyone gets a participation ribbon, that’s just stupid.

There’s way too much empathy now, people need to suck it up and take care of business and not rely on someone or something to do it for them and they surely shouldn’t rely on a TV show to teach them how to live their life.

TMC · 02-23-2019, 05:27 AM

How the "Very Special Episode" has evolved from Diff'rent Strokes to Saved by the Bell to Netflix's One Day at a Time

The phrase "Very Special Episode," with its attempt to bring seriousness to comedy, still draws snickers. "Still," says Manuel Betancourt, "an appetite for something like the Very Special Episode persists, as evidenced by the success of One Day at a Time, which is crammed with heart-to-heart discussions. The challenge for today’s creators has been figuring out how to have drug conversations meaningfully when the curtain on the old way has been pulled back."

11-21-2018, 08:55 PM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,393	It's time to bring back the Very Special Episode https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/v...cial-episodes/ The cheesy Very Special Episodes that were a staple of 1980s and 1990s sitcoms are desperately needed these days, a time of too little empathy, says Liz Ohanesian. She was thinking of the Very Special Episode while reading about Megyn Kelly's blackface controversy. "I think about these shows because, right now, American adults seem to need the sort of guidance that American kids once got from Very Special Episodes," says Ohansensian. "Megyn Kelly’s defense of blackface made me wonder if she ever saw the episode of Gimme a Break when Nell explained why it’s not OK. I didn’t even know what blackface was when I first saw that episode, but I understood that if you did something to upset the loving, maternal figure of a TV show that much, it must be terrible. Very Special Episodes were commonplace in the ’80s, and even into the ’90s, touching on everything from national news to issues like sexual abuse and racism. But times change, and so do TV audiences. The term 'very special episode,' once used as a marketing tag, became a catchall phrase to denote comedies that clunkily attempted to delve into the socially relevant topics of the day. It’s true that a lot of those Very Special Episodes were terrible. Even some that weren’t have moments that would be cringey by today’s standards." Ohanesian adds: "Maybe, it’s time for a Very Special Comeback. From America’s mass shooting epidemic to racist Halloween costumes, there are a lot of things that people either don’t understand or don’t want to understand—and it seems like social media often helps them remain willfully ignorant. Sometimes you need to sit in front of a bigger screen and take in the message without the option of rage-responding to the character who is speaking."

02-23-2019, 05:27 AM	#3
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 126,393	How the "Very Special Episode" has evolved from Diff'rent Strokes to Saved by the Bell to Netflix's One Day at a Time The phrase "Very Special Episode," with its attempt to bring seriousness to comedy, still draws snickers. "Still," says Manuel Betancourt, "an appetite for something like the Very Special Episode persists, as evidenced by the success of One Day at a Time, which is crammed with heart-to-heart discussions. The challenge for today’s creators has been figuring out how to have drug conversations meaningfully when the curtain on the old way has been pulled back."