Back in the '80s and '90s, had a thing for creating "after-school special" type episodes. These episodes dealt with heavy, and occasionally and aired during their normal time slots. The hope of these episodes that families would be watching with one another and would be able to discuss the episode during commercials and after the episode ended.
As one of the most popular sitcoms of this era, was no stranger to the "very special episode" format. In fact, the series got so good at these "special episodes" that they were able to weave difficult real-life issues seamlessly into their plots without turning the whole episode into an after-school special.
Here are ten times taught its viewer that life isn't always predictable.
One of the most heartbreaking episodes of happened during its seventh season. When Jesse's grandfather "Papouli" comes to visit he bonds with Michelle almost instantly. After learning a traditional Greek dance, Michelle convinces Papouli to come to her school to teach her classmates. Unfortunately, Papouli doesn't get to attend because he .
While the entire premise of revolved around the death of a family member, this was the first time Michelle truly experienced grief.
With her loving family behind her, Michelle learned that there is no one way to grieve but that it's always important to continue to keep someone's memory alive.
While had dealt with series topics before "Shape Up" was the first episode to officially earn the "very special episode title." After learning that Kimmy is having a swim party, DJ becomes concerned with her weight and decides to starve herself while also working out excessively.
As the eldest Tanner daughter, DJ not only was a role model for her sisters but also for the world of young viewers who watched the show.
"Shape Up" really aimed to instill in its viewers that starving oneself and exercising excessively was not a way to.
Occasionally, tackled real-life issues in more subtle ways like they did when they explored anxiety. In season 3, San Francisco experiences an earthquake while Danny is at work and the girls are home. The earthquake and Danny's absence create a traumatic experience for Stephanie who refuses to let her dad out of her sight.
Like many parents, Danny doesn't find anything wrong with Stephanie's clingy behavior at first but soon comes to realize something bigger is going on.
He then takes Stephanie to a child therapist who helps her understand her anxiety and how to cope with it.
"Silence is Not So Golden" was 's second and last episode to be classified as a "very special episode." The episode focuses on Stephanie who is paired with a classmate, Charles, for a group project. While working on the project, Stephanie learns that Charles's dad occasionally abuses him but swears she won't say anything.
Stephanie keeps her promise at first but soon realizes that not all secrets are meant to be kept and lets Jesse know what's going on with Charles.
This wasn't the first "very special episode" to deal with child abuse but it was a first for making it an important moment for the series.
Over the years, Jesse became a fan favorite on which made the realization that he all the more important for its viewers. Instead of shaming Jesse, the family encourages Jesse to return to high school to finally earn his diploma.
This was an important episode because adults returning to high school wasn't something that was seen a lot on television.
Jesse's storyline gave real-life people hope that they could return to school and achieve the life milestone they missed out on.
It surprisingly took a long time for to tackle the peer pressure real teenagers face when it came to smoking. During season seven, Stephanie became the subject of this special episode when she is in the girl's bathroom.
Stephanie originally says no but fears her decision will cause her to be outcasted and never be cool. In the end, she sticks to her choices reminding viewers that it's always better to resist peer pressure.
Underage drinking was a hot-button topic on that happened to land two episodes over the show's eight-season run. The first time the show tackled underage drinking was with DJ in season three where she busts her crush and other middle schoolers for drinking in the hallway of a school dance. Then, in season eight DJ once again dealt with underage drinking this time with Kimmy.
Both of these episodes emphasized that underage drinking was a bad idea. This was clear in that
and instead was the moral compass for those around her.
While representations of disabilities and illness have gotten better in recent years, that wasn't the case in the '80s and '90s. That's part of the reason why "The Volunteer" was such a groundbreaking episode of
In the episode, DJ volunteers at a senior citizen home where she befriends Eddy, a patient with Alzheimer's. Over the course of the episode, DJ learns what Alzheimer's is and how it affects someone's life.
A lesson that viewers learned alongside DJ.
Bullying comes in all shapes and forms and knew this. That's why the series in several different episodes over the years.
tackled bullying more head-on during season three when Stephanie and her friends are mean to a Classmate calling him "Duck Face." Later, they tackled bullying again with Michelle who took on a "fight back" stance. At the end of both of these episodes, it was clear that took a very anti-bullying approach and so should its viewers.
The entire premise of revolved around the loss of Pam, the matriarch of the Tanner family. While her absence was felt, it wasn't always dealt with except on rare occasions.
One of the most memorable of these episodes revolves around a mother-daughter slumber party that Stephanie feels weird about attending. It's one of the few episodes where audiences get to see the children process their loss around their mother in an age-appropriate way.
