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"Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television promos to refer to an episode of a sitcom or drama series that deals with a serious or controversial social issue.〔Tropiano, Michael and Stephanie Tropiano. ''The Prime Time Closet''. Hal Leonard, 2002. 232. ISBN 1-55783-557-8.〕 The usage of the term peaked in the 1980s.〔Nussbaum, Emily. (2003-04-13). "(When episodes could still be very special )", ''The New York Times''. Retrieved on 13 January 2009.〕〔(Ben Silverman."A very special episode of... When sitcoms get serious", MSN TV. Retrieved on 13 January 2009 ) (Internet Archive)〕 ==Usage== The "very special episode" is occasionally billed as "an episode your family can't afford to miss," again dramatizing the importance of the episode by insinuating that the issues presented in the program represent mandatory viewing for the responsible parent and child. Often the "very special episode" concept concerns a moral issue. The term was generally used in reference to sitcoms as a way of highlighting that the normally lighthearted show would be dealing with a more serious topic. During these episodes, the laugh track was absent, or, in the alternative, the live studio audience present during the taping of the show rarely responded with laughter. Sometimes, as with the 1990s NBC sitcom ''Blossom'', the network wanted to find a way to warn viewers that the upcoming episode will be about a serious issue without directly putting a "parental advisory" message. Television websites such as Television Without Pity and jumptheshark.com deride the phrase. In an episode of ''Friends'', Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) mocked the ubiquitous NBC commercials that popularized the phrase ("A very special ''Blossom''"); Perry himself had appeared in "a very special episode" of ''Growing Pains'' earlier in his career, playing Carol Seaver (Tracey Gold)'s teenage boyfriend who dies of injuries sustained in a car accident after a night of underage drinking. ''Diff'rent Strokes'' featured some very special episodes that involved child molestation, child pornography, pedophilia, hitchhiking, kidnapping, epileptic seizure, bullies, racism, bulimia, drunk driving and drug abuse. The sitcom ''Seinfeld'', famously "about nothing," was also diametrically opposed to very special episodes. The on-set motto among writers and cast was reportedly "No hugging, no learning." One writer commented, "There will never be an advertisement for 'a very special episode' of ''Seinfeld'', for its humor is of a more practical and parodic nature."〔McWilliams, Amy. "Genre Expectation and Narrative Innovation in ''Seinfeld''." In ''Seinfeld: Master of Its Domain: Revisiting Television's Greatest Sitcom.'' David Lavery with Sara Lewis Dunne, eds. New York: Continuum, 2006. P. 82. ISBN 0-8264-1803-1.〕 In fact, in one scene during the episode "The Secret Code", Kramer tells Jerry, "Well, at least you learned something." Jerry replies, "No, I didn't." The award-winning PBS animated children's program ''Arthur'' has had many very special episodes, which covered such subjects as divorce, the loss of a pet, cancer, dyslexia, asthma, head lice, and a two-part episode that was made in response to the September 11 attacks. The long running ''Sesame Street'' also tends to cover serious subjects. The most famous of those discussed the death of Mr. Hooper in an episode aired November 24, 1983 which just happened to be Thanksgiving Day in the United States. In addition, ''Sesame Street'' covered such issues as: 9/11 when Elmo visited a fire station; a hospital stay, with Big Bird as the patient; and a hurricane visiting ''Sesame Street'', with massive damage to Big Bird's nest. The Fox series ''Family Guy'' sparked some controversy when the episode "Screams of Silence: The Story of Brenda Q" aired, as it treats spousal abuse and domestic violence in a serious nature, which is unusual for the series. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Very special episode」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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