Very Special Episodes

I've been thinking about yesterday's remarks on soap operas and their progressiveness in addressing certain hot-button social issues well before the primetime programming on their same channels. The critical dismissals of soaps as a sort of lesser form, what Modleski cites as a condemnation of "daytime television for distracting the housewife from her real situation," seemed to have carved out space for their more robust exploration of issues of race, sexuality, and more that were not considered inoffensive primetime fare. But then, what did it look like when primetime did eventually tackle something important? For your consideration: the very special episode.

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VerySpecialEpisode

https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/13/arts/television-radio-reruns-when-episodes-could-still-be-very-special.html


Funny or Die has a web series devoted to the takedown of V.S.E.s, lampooning how their progressive ambitions can be woefully tone-deaf, and their resolutions awkwardly truncated — not entirely unlike "Betty, Girl Engineer". However, where Newcomb and Hirsch argue that "Betty" merely comments on ideological problems without firm conclusions, V.S.E.s seem to go the opposite way. Hotlines, celebrity guests, and P.S.A.s at the close of an episode all point to an external, didactic imperative in these programs. For what it's worth, the results are cringeworthy but hilarious. If soaps understood and confirmed a woman's mode of gendered labor, per Modleski, then these very special episodes may have been attempting to tap into a similar rhythm of reception, but for a nuclear family at the day's end.

This isn't the best example of a V.S.E., but it's certainly close to home:

Full playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRcB4n4CGcy_NWFUygLwfBd3_DbEOlWfq