Bizarre/Tasteless Sitcom Episodes

[EricMontreal22]

In another thread someone mentioned the 80s sitcom Too Close for Comfort. I youtubed the show and came upon this bizarre episode "dealing" with male rape by females (I'm sure a few soap writers grew up with this episode). It's so bizarre--they don't seem to know whether to treat it seriously or seriously... Can others think of similarly bizarre/tasteless episodes, that seemed to be well intentioned?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGdJF4nW6Go&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvJCHAXjdv8&feature=related

[DRW50]

There's even a short film about this episode.

http://www.wasmonroeraped.com/

Many would probably say the Different Strokes episode with Gordon Jump.

I was traumatized for a while by that Facts of Life episode where Natalie was almost raped while wearing a Charlie Chaplin outfit.

[ReddFoxx]

That was pretty off the wall. It does demonstrate that a lot of people in society think male rape is just so hilarious or not serious at all, which it's a bad attitude that has never really been rooted out.

[ER Tosh]

Lol as soon as I saw the headline of the post I knew what episode you would be talking about.

[ER Tosh]

But really what were they thinking? It seems like they were going to have a Norman Lear-like episode dealing with a "edgy" issue but it is written like the ep is a normal wacky sitcom and that gives it a strange, bizarre, feel.

[All My Shadows]

The episode of Maude that deals with Walter's drinking problem. They kept alternating between playing it for laughs and playing it seriously, and I think at one point, he even slaps Maude, and it's like...was that supposed to be funny? And then you have Bill Macy hamming it up the entire run of the show episode.

[EricMontreal22]

Of course it gets a whole other surrealistic element with the fact that Monroe always seemed to be, essentially, gay (and not simply because of who played him), the fact that male on male rape is still more common than female on male (though that doesn't excuse taking it less seriously, by any means), etc, etc. Throughout the episode, they don't even seem to know if they should call it rape or just vaguely a kidnapping/attack.

I have to think that with a fairly sophisticated cast on the show, particularly Nancy and Ted, they thought they were doing something edgy and important--otherwise I don't know how they even agreed to do the episode.

Diff'rent Strokes had two iffy episodes, didn't it? I remember the molestation one, as well as the white runaway kid being abducted and his life threatened--not sure which one you're refering to Carl.

[All My Shadows]

Sam was kidnapped by a strange group of hicks/hillbillies. For some reason, I keep thinking one of the kidnappers was played by someone fairly well-known, but I can't remember. That was a weird one too, but I think they kept trying to pin the blame for his running away on Arnold.

The Facts of Life episode where Tootie has a nervous breakdown because Mrs. Garrett won't let her go meet Jermaine Jackson is RIGHT. UP. THERE. with any bizarre episode of any show ever.

Oh, and Family Guy is built on being tasteless, and I usually love it (well, the 1999-2002 eps at least), but the worst was definitely when Brian and Stewie were locked in a bank vault for an entire episode. It was bizarre enough as it was, but then Brian basically gave Stewie a rimjob, and I was just done.

[EricMontreal22]

Yeah I wouldn't count Family Guy, just because that's a part of its mantra (the bizarre and tasteless), but I'm glad I missed that episode...

I found this list at crack.com which, of course, includes the One Day at a Time episode--as well as the Punky Brewster Indian Graveyard episode that we've talked about before on ehre (and terrified me)--and it mentions both Diff'rent Strokes episodes.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19401_5-inexplicably-horrifying-episodes-classic-comedies.html

http://www.cracked.com/article_19401_5-inexplicably-horrifying-episodes-classic-comedies_p2.html

[All My Shadows]

Holy CRAP that Punky episode looks scary and ridiculous all at the same time. Jeez. So glad that was never reran on any of the stations here when I was kid.

That All in the Family episode is actually one of my favorites, and I didn't really find it bizarre. Jean Stapleton did the damn thing, and the rest of the cast brought it.

ANOTHER episode that I thought of was from Love Sidney, where Tony Randall and Swoosie Kurtz have a birthday party for Swoosie's daughter, and they decide that the best entertainment they can get for the party is Sherrill Milnes performing opera in a clown suit. Just as bad as it sounds.

[EricMontreal22]

The whole Punky is online--and yes it's terrifying lol and the kinda thing they should have never put on what's basically a kid's show.

I agree about All in the Family--many critics pick that as a favorite episode.

I've always wanted to see Love, Sydney, if only for its infamous early gay on tv aspect--and yes that sounds terrible.

[ReddFoxx]

Until I saw the screen caps from that ep of Diff'rent Strokes, I didn't remember seeing it, but I did watch it when the show aired on BET a few years ago.

A bizarre episode I just remember was the episode of The Cosby Show where Cliff and the other men were pregnant and Cliff gave birth to a submarine sandwich and bottle of orange soda. I don't know what the writers were thinking with that one.

[EricMontreal22]

Cosby Show did a few dream episodes it seemed--there was another one featuring the Muppets--I think both had to do with Cliff eating too much before bed... I remember as a kid my mom found the pregnant men episode beyond stupid and left the room when it was on, and as an 7 or 8 year old I had no idea why.

[Mr. Vixen]

I always thought the pregnant men episode was rather dumb, but kind of funny. Especially the "births".

[DRW50]

The DS episode I was referring to was the molestation episode.

I've never seen that episode of Punky. I must say that show was often very depressing - the Challenger episode and the one where she has to leave are very depressing.

There was a MTM episode that upset me a lot at the time and I have never bothered to watch since, where Mary is essentially stalked, for a period of weeks, by a bad date. This is supposed to be funny. The punch line is that she sees him at a restaurant and yells at him or hits him, only to learn that he is no longer interested in her and it was a coincidence.

There's also a mildly disturbing One Day at a Time episode where Ann works with someone they think is a drug addict and then she has a seizure or something and they learn she has epilepsy.