Some message board recently picked up on that insane "very special" episode of "Too Close for Comfort" I blogged about a couple years ago where Monroe gets raped, so I've suddenly been getting new comments on the post. One of them, below, was a bit more shocking than the others, claiming that there had been a similarly controversial episode of "Different Strokes" back in the day in which Mr. Drummond got caught peeping in on his daughter, Kimberly, taking a shower. (No wonder Dana Plato was so fucked up.) A cursory glance of the show's episode guide makes me think this commenter has come up with a brilliantly crafted parody -- I could see starting a blog of "lost" episodes of our favorite TV sitcoms (remember the "One Day at a Time" where Ms. Romano became a call girl to raise funds for Barbara's braces?). But since I never watched it -- and my coworkers ALL remember the "Dudley gets molested in the bike shop episode" -- I'm not entirely convinced a desperate sitcom (it had been canceled by NBC and picked up by ABC) wouldn't try anything for ratings, so thought I'd throw it out there to my fellow children of the '70s/'80s to weigh in!
(Click to enlarge)UPDATE: A pal who watched the show religiously says he thinks this is definitely a joke:
"I REALLY don't think that happened. I definitely followed that show after Dixie had left (remember Sam's abduction?) and it seems way too outlandish a turn for a beloved character to take, especially given that Kimberly was his birth daughter (it'd be a lot more understandable if she were merely adopted...KIDDING!). But if it turns out to be true, let me know! Now I'm interested."
Still chime in if you know/remember anything. And PLEASE submit your own "very special episode" idea from YOUR favorite sitcom of yesterday in the comments. Would love to hear your ideas!
4 comments:
Here’s another example of highly inappropriate TV from our youth that you may remember: the episode in “Taxi” where Judd Hirsch’s character, Alex, is simultaneously making out and talking with this younger woman he’s recently met until they realize to their horror that he’s her uncle. Grotesque.
don't know if these examples count but here goes...
Roseanne: when her sister Jackie gets beaten up by her boyfriend...
Growing pains: the sister's boyfriend dies the next day of an accident from "internal injuries", that one was about DUI, I think. Who played that BF ?
I remember being crushed and depressed after those ones...
Matthew Perry played the boyfriend.
@uniformboy: Oddly, the most serious Roseanne episodes were the funniest ones. The one you mentioned had the GREAT jail house scene, and the one where Roseanne's dad died had the hilarious Jackie/Auntie Barbara phone call.
The Growing Pains boyfriend was Matthew Perry, wasn't it? And Michael J. Fox had a super serious "very special episode" where a friend died too, right? Didn't The Hogan Family even get in on the act?
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