Very Special Episode - Parodies of Very Special Episodes

Parodies of Very Special Episodes

The "very special episode" motif has been featured widely in comedy, and a number of shows have devoted an entire episode to parodies of them:

• Animaniacs – "A Very Very Very Very Special Show", had the Warners trying to get a humanitarian animation award by dealing with issues such as environmentalism, sexism, smoking, violence, and healthy eating. However, as soon as the award was presented to a different cartoon, they instantly went against everything they had been talking about (i.e. eating cheesecake, hitting a man with a mallet, etc.).
• Clone High – every episode of the show starts with the phrase "Tonight, on a very special Clone High..."
• Drawn Together – A Very Special Drawn Together Afterschool Special parodies very special episodes in general. To help Xandir prepare to tell his parents he's gay, the other housemates agree to role-play, but they let the exercise get way out of hand and end up enacting an outlandish scenario involving prostitution, murder, adultery, and even disposing of a dead body in a swamp.
• The Drew Carey Show, in its fifth season, did a spoof titled "A Very Special Drew", in which numerous examples of Very Special motifs were used. The premise of the show was that the cast, upset about never getting an Emmy Award, decided to throw together a show so schmaltzy they had to win the prize. In the course of a half-hour, every possible issue, from eating disorders to homelessness to illiteracy to kleptomania, is addressed, while one famous character passes into a coma and dies (but is alive again at the end of the episode).
• Everybody Hates Chris – Rochelle's father (Jimmie Walker) comes to visit and dies at the dinner table. Besides the casting of Walker, this episode contains direct references to the "very special" Good Times episode "The Big Move". Rochelle is curiously upbeat while the rest of the family mourns.
• Mr. Show – An episode described as a Very Special Episode opens with David Cross, in a parody of coming out, revealing that although he plays David Cross, a bald character, he, David Cross (the actor), is in truth bald, pulling a bald wig off of his head to reveal his bald head. The cast then cynically checks their ratings and the remainder of the show follows regular format. Cross states on the DVD commentary that this was a parody of Ellen's "Puppy Episode".
• Powerpuff Girls – An episode entitled "A Very Special Blossom" has Blossom stealing a set of golf clubs, wanting to give Professor Utonium a happy Father's Day. She frames Mojo Jojo for the theft, and is eventually confronted. She flees, and her sisters chase her, tackling her to the ground, forcing her to admit she stole them to make the Professor happy.
• Strangers with Candy – Inspired by public-service film The Trip Back, each episode parodies after-school-special style stories, including peer pressure, tattling, racism, and drug use, and the protagonist always ends up making the wrong decision in the end.
• The Simpsons – In the 9th season episode "Bart Star," Joe Namath addresses the camera at the end of the show, in a manner parodying many Very Special Episodes, to "talk seriously about the problem of vapor lock," which he says is the "third most common cause of engine stalling."
• Family Guy - The end of "Seahorse Seashell Party" featured Stewie Griffin presenting a Very Special Episode about drug use. He goes on to point out that drugs are no laughing matter and to find out more about drugs to visit your local library as there is probably a guy behind there who sells drugs.