10 "Very Special Episodes": Part 4 | More Serious TV Episodes

Heres one for you though i dont know if it counts but theres a few courage the cowardly dog episodes rhat come to mind the hunchback of nowhere Talks about how those people can be different they can still be good people, the wishing tree which expresses thr importance of generosity, the episode with kitty and bunny Shows the horrors of abuse in a relationship and the implied same sex relationship between the two girld, and your not perfect which shows courages struggle with self doubt for not being the ideal image of perfection

nothing tops the hey arnold christmas episode where his neighbor gets reunited with the daughter he had to abandon so she could have a better life away from a warzone 😭

home improvement had that one episode where they thought one of the kids had cancer (I can’t remember which kid)

How could you do a video about Very Special Episodes and not include the granddaddy of them all: "The Bicycle Man" from Diff'rent Strokes?! 😮

There’s an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer called “The Body” where Buffy finds her mother dead in their home from a brain aneurysm. She’s used to dealing with all sorts of supernatural villains and the idea that her mom had passed from something so sudden and uncontrollable leaves her in a state of shock. It’s possibly the darkest episode of the show.

This isn't a series, but Why, Charlie Brown, Why? Was a TV special about childhood cancer. I had leukemia as a child myself and this special helped me understand what I was going through as 5, 6, 7, and 8 year old child.

This is a list of Thomas & Friends media that can be looked into to be confirmed as very special episodes:
1. Shining Time Station: Bully for Mr. Conductor - The topic discussed is bullying and standing up for yourself and others.
2. Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures! : Tiger Trouble - This episode tackled illegal animal hunting.
3. Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go : Blue Engine Blues - This episode handles emotional and mental health by showing it's OK to be sad and the best thing is to talk your problems out.
4. Thomas & Friends: Hector the Horrid! - I'm not sure if this counts, but you can be the judge of that. This episode shows how some can act mean because they are hiding a certain problem or fear from someone.

Is Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue the finale? That's the most special of special episodes.

There's the death of John Ritter's character on 8 Simple Rules after John's real life death.

Here are a couple of possibilities to look into:

1. In at least 1 episode of Double Dragon, substance abuse is addressed when the shadow introduces the drug RPM which the Dragon Warrior Vortex was actually shown using; I don't remember if it picked up from a previous episode or not
2. There was a 2-parter of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that dealt with grief and loss when Buffy's mother Joyce died some time after she had surgery to remove a brain tumor with the "Scooby gang", Spike and Giles grieving in different ways; even Angel made an appearance. What makes it stand out though is that Buffy's sister Dawn tried to bring Joyce back from the dead, but was possibly scolded by Buffy before a knock at the front door is heard. Before the door was answered, Dawn ripped a photo of Joyce in half which undid the successful spell and the Summers sisters have a crying-hug moment right before the episode ends

The episode of Degrassi where Paige is assaulted by a popular football player and makes the decision to pursue charges. And then takes her power back

Has anyone suggested the Heal Thyself episode of MASH and PTSD in medical personnel

The Disney Channel tv series Andy Mack has episodes that cover serious topics and there's an episode of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood where he talked about 9/11 oh yeah and there's an episode of a Disney Channel series called Austin And Ally that deals with cyberbullying and at the end of the episode some of the cast actually talked about irl cyberbullying and how to deal with it and they even talked about themselves being cyberbullied by haters alot of the time and they read hate comments towards them and they showed how they reacted to those kinds of comments which btw was handled very well by them

I'd love to see you list some episodes from Fraggle Rock but what to pick?
In spite of being a silly puppet show for kids it wasn't scared to be dark.
Mokey's Funeral is a nice one, the Fraggles mistakenly believe Mokey has been killed and they have to handle their grief.
There's another where Boober and Red are caught in a cave in and realize they're running out of air and begin making peace with the fact they're going to suffocate.

A Different World tackled AIDS if I remember correctly in the episode “If I Die Before I Wake” (or it had a similar name) alongside SA (forgot the episode name) where Freddie(?) got assaulted during a date with a popular guy.

There’s an episode of Full House that tackles the serious topic of eating disorders.

There is a Star Trek The Next Generation episode that explores overt bias in a future that is supposed to be free from such notions. I can't remember the title, but it is one where Geordi LaForge falls into a pit on a planet that has severe electric storms, so the Enterprise has a very difficult time locating. And he has to also contend with a Romulan soldier who fell in the same pit. The A story is Geordi and this Romulan learning to cooperate and develop limited trust and overcome severe bias. The B story is that Worf is asked to provide a transfusion to a dying Romulan and utterly refuses because of the enmity because his people and the Romulans. So in his case, he cannot overcome the hatred that he feels toward his enemy.

There's an anti-anorexia message in the episode of Sabrina's Secret life named "Food 'Tude". Another episode titled "J'achoo" is pro-vax

Wow, even Sesame Street

On the sitcom Punky Brewster there is an episode called Urban Fear that features an actual serial killer named the Northside Stalker. Punky is terrified that her foster father Henry is going to be murdered like the SEVEN other victims. The serial killer isn't caught by the end of the episode, either.

Great video, love the fact that those serious issues within those shows were discussed about in detail with your assistance, good to go with this one.

Missed this one - had to go back for it!

I think Degrassi Next Generations Time Stands Still was an episode that WENT THERE and also Jimmy aka Drake was shot because of Rick

For animated shows, Adventures in the Book of Virtues “Faith.” Annie has a beloved neighbor who passes away and her friends help her through her grief.

Some episodes for the next live action dive in this playlist:

The 9/11 episode, Sesame Street
The child predator, Smart Guy
Miranda's eating disorder, Lizzie McGuire
The other episode involving racism, That's So Raven (the one where a female employee was talking rudely about black people, only for her boss - a black man who founded the store she works for - to appear).
Divorce, Mr Rogers' Neighbourhood
Shawn drinks alcohol, Boy Meets World
Will and Carlton get wrongfully arrested, Fresh Prince of Bel Air

Full house had another episode of Stephine's classmate that was beating by his own father and he bullies Stephine but he said what really happened to him and she told her uncle about it at the end the abusive father is in jail and the boy went to froster home that really hurt me where a abusive parent takes his or her problems out of a child and the child becomes the bully because of it until they told what happen to them and how to solve it by telling others.

That one segment reminded me that Sesame Street did specials for sensitive subjects like death deployment divorce and incarceration…they screwed it up with promo materials but they also introduced Julie who is autistic

Would the show m.a.s.h count.....I think there was some special episodes

I think there's an episode of The fresh Prince of Bel-Air were one of the characters gets engaged to a white person and one of the family members is against it, and start this racial discrimination stuff
Also there's an episode of Full House or Stephanie ends up forced into peer pressure about a beer or was it a cigarette.

I remember an episode of 8 Simple Rules where the father character died in an accident. This sudden accident happened because the actor died during filming, so not only were the characters mourning, so were the actors. It was really moving.

R.I.P John Amos

There is a Golden Girls episode where Dorothy makes friends with a woman who turns out to be racist. There is also one where Dorothy tutors a boy that turns out to be an undocumented immigrant.

I'm still watching so maybe you've already listed it, but how about that Golden Girls episode when Sophia's son dies? He's dressed as a female since he was a child, which plays a part in how she bottles her emotions initially. At the end with his wife and the girls, she finally comes to terms, breaking down like we've never seen her do. Such a beautiful, emotional episode

I just found your channel and I’m enjoying your videos, because I haven’t made it to the last video in this list yet I don’t know if it made your lists or not but just in case it didn’t I think “Girl Meets Rileytown” from Girl Meets World would fit perfectly on this list or similar ones in the future. Keep up the good work!

An episode of "Mama's Family", entitled "Reading thr Riot Act" shows Thelma helping out a difficult acquaintance who doesn't know how to read.

So I’m pretty sure this like…skirts the line of a comedy show, but after watching these, the one episode that keeps coming to mind for me is from 21 Jump Street, A Big Disease with a Little Name. Hanson goes under cover to protect a kid at school that has AIDS. Everyone threatens him, freaks out if they even get near him, the whole nine yards you know? This kid got a shit hand dealt to him when he needed a blood transfusion before that kind of thing was checked. He almost ends his life at the end of the episode because of ignorant people, but thankfully, Hanson steps in and holds him, something friends and family haven’t done since they found out.

Again, I wouldn’t see 21 Jump Street as a comedy show, but that episode (and one other one actually, Two For the Road) stood out to me, simply because I can’t fathom the pain people had to endure, not from AIDS, but from being labeled gross or diseased and having everyone just…pretty much hate you.

Man, never saw it back in the day, but that Punky Brewster episode with the kid in the fridge reminds me of the movie Ladybug, Ladybug. Only that poor boy wasn’t as lucky.

What about the episode of "Punky Brewster" where Punky wants to be an astronaut and is excited to watch the launch of Challenger.

Punky dealing with the confusion of the tragedy (a real life tragedy) and having to learn about how bad things happen sometimes.

There’s an episode in Andi Mack (3x06) where they discuss gun violence and I personally think that’s a good one as well.

The Full House episode you mentioned is interesting because I think it's one of the few times that Michelle has really dealt with grief.

Remember that the show's main premise began with the loss of her mom, Pam and while we see DJ and Stephanie deal with this in various ways (which helps them better cope), Michelle, who was just a baby, doesn't , save for an episode or two. That makes the Last Dance just that much more powerful.

Never heard of city guys

"The very real danger of abandoned refrigerators"... Lol ?

💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

The Sesame Street episode was crap in how it handled death and explaining it to a child. Instead of simply telling Big Bird all things are finite like a show episode, or a meal, or a song and elaborating that so too is someone’s life, they just shrug and say “Just because” when pressed why. How is it The Wrath of Khan could do a better job with handling the hard reality of death with the simple comment “He’s not really dead, so long as we remember him.”?

The Boy Meets World episode is a genius bit of writing because it starts off with Corey’s misconception which broaches issues like the expectations of losing one’s virginity, objectification, and the dynamic of a relationship and perceived milestones. Corey has barely gotten that far with Topanga and his friend (who’s always been a bit of ladies man) is supposedly already past his cherry causing Corey to feel like he’s “falling behind”. Before even thinking of talking to Topanga about what their relationship is at or where it’s going, he tries to “catch up” at the expense of objectifying her. The fact that it turns out something greater is going on with Shawn and Claire takes the episode into a whole different profound subject for youth to cope with and face.

Does anyone know if they covered The episode of Archie Bunkers Place when Edith died?

ugh hate the dinosaurs lol

the dangers of abandoned refrigerators lol

I thought the That's So Raven episode airing on Martin Luther King Day that year was very fitting and helped to show more and more how much racism and everything associated with it still can't be ignored

The one where James evens died should have been alot higher than that

Blossom get on of there unharmed Holds her face with a towel and then has a briuse on her face I guess unharmed means different to different people 😕