In the '80s and '90s, TV was full of "very special episodes" of your favorite TV dramas and sitcoms that addressed heavier subject matter than usual.
These episodes were meant to help teach the audience something important, or get them to reflect on a serious subject.
Though they aren't called "very special episodes" today, they definitely still exist and can be standout episodes in a series.
Some of the most profound episodes in television have come from Black sitcoms and dramas. Here are just a few of the ones that stood out to me:
1. Two of the earliest took place on Diff'rent Strokes. One 1983 episode showed a neighborhood bike shop owner who was also a pedophile that began grooming Arnold and his friend.
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Arnold's coming forward happened just in time to keep his friend safe while also communicating why it's important to be honest with parents about your whereabouts, and the people you spend time with. It was a critically acclaimed episode that was ahead of its time.
2. The other episode of the series deals with the dangers of hitchhiking, when Arnold and Kimberly hitch a ride home from to a birthday party, unaware of the driver's plans to harm Kimberly.
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In "The Hitchhikers," Arnold once again escapes in the knick of time to avoid any harm to himself and save Kimberly, but poignantly demonstrates how close to danger they were.
3. A Different World tackled a lot of issues that mattered to Black teens and young adults, like censoring in music, particularly rap and hip-hop, in Season 2's "Radio Free Hillman."
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4. A Different World's "A World Alike" episode explores the limitations that young people are faced with in trying to live a life that represents their beliefs. As the school tries to divest from apartheid-entangled entities in support of South Africa, Kim learns the company also funds a crucial scholarship of hers.
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5. And in Season 4's "If I Should Die Before I Wake," Hillman's speech students are challenged to look at their future, during which guest star Tisha Campbell's character revealed she was living with HIV.
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In the exploration of HIV and attitudes around it, they also touch on AIDS at a time where the two weren't widely accepted as being connected.
6. A Different World also addressed colorism in Season 5's "Mammy Dearest" when Whitley includes mammy imagery in a presentation about the historical depictions of Black women, which upsets Kim who has always been linked to the stereotype because of her features.
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Kim explains why Whitley's not affected by the imagery in the same way that she is and pointed out that skin color-based discrimination is not only externally projected on the Black community.
7. Family Matters explored some of the tensions around modernizing education that we're still dealing with today when Laura and Steve advocate for a class about different cultures and races.
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In “Fight the Good Fight," the two realize how many stereotypical ideas their peers hold about their families by how fierce the backlash to their innocent idea is.
8. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air also had a number of episodes dealing with heavy subjects. Carlton experiences racism firsthand for the first time in Season 1's "Mistaken Identity."
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He and Will are driving Uncle Phil's Mercedes-Benz to Palm Springs when they're pulled over and believed to be two car thieves cops were after.
9. In another episode, Will's friend gives him speed when he's having trouble juggling work, school, sports, and dating.
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He doesn't take the pills in "Just Say Yo," but leaves it in his locker, where Carlton mistakes the pills for vitamins and takes them before prom.
10. There's also a heart-wrenching episode, "Bullets Over Bel-Air," where Carlton and Will are robbed at an ATM at gunpoint, and Will is shot.
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Carlton is devastated by how helpless he felt in that moment and buys a gun, thinking it's the answer until Will emotionally pleads with him to get rid of it.
11. That's So Raven had an episode, "True Colors," where Chelsea and Raven go out for the same job at the mall, and while Chelsea doesn't manage tasks as well as Raven, she gets the job.
12. Degrassi: The Next Generation explored tokenism when Liberty goes all in on Greek Week, just to find out she's being chosen by the prestigious sorority of her choice to "fill a quota."
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Finding out by learning the other Black pledge was let go because "they only need one" was eye-opening and a great way to explore Liberty's identity that hadn't been given much attention previously.
13. Black-ish tackles the heartbreaking deaths of Black teenagers at the hands of police in "Hope."
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With each member of the Johnson family having a different perspective on police brutality and the realities of growing up Black, the emotional highs of the episode speak to how heavily this subject weighs on all members of the Black community.
14. Pose's handling of Candy Ferocity's death in "Never Knew Love Like This Before" addressed the heartbreaking issue of violence against trans women of color.
It is with a heavy heart that we tell this very real story. People ask, "Why Candy?" Well it's because it's happening to so many trans women of color like her, and these women are the center of our show. I hope your mourning pushes you to show up for other Candy girls. #PoseFX
Angelica Ross talked about learning her character's fate in the emotional episode, in Entertainment Weekly.
Ross shared, "It's one of those things that I feel like as soon as I heard the information, and was devastated and wanted to first ask, 'Why? Why me? Why Candy?' It was just such an echo of the same sentiment to any Black trans woman that’s been passing week after week. Why them?"
15. Lastly, a recent episode of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder looks at how certain medical conditions can be judged or interpreted by families, when Oscar and Trudy learn that BeBe is being diagnosed with autism.
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Oscar objects to the idea his son is "stupid," to which he learns that autism isn't linked to a lack of ability or intelligence, but a need for different forms of support to thrive. It also explains that autism is a spectrum, which means it doesn't look the same between one child and another.
Did these episodes feel impactful to you? Which ones are missing from this list? Discuss in the comments.
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