Top 10 Old TV Shows That Properly Handled Serious Topics
Вставка
- Опубліковано 9 кві 2023
- Break out that old sitcom "dramatic moment" music! For this list, we’ll be looking at TV episodes that weave in serious social issues in a respectable, but entertaining way. Our countdown includes moments from "Punky Brewster", "Maude", "The Jeffersons" and more! Did we miss your favorite “serious” episode? Let us know in the comments below!
Check out these other retro tv themed videos:
Top 10 BEST 80s TV Theme Songs: • Top 10 BEST 80s TV The...
Top 10 '90s References in That '90s Show: • Top 10 '90s References...
Top 10 Most Iconic '90s Commercials: • Top 10 Most Iconic '90...
Challenge friends and family on our multiplayer Trivia!
www.watchmojo.com/play/id/60996
Have Your Idea Become A Video!
wmojo.com/msmojo-suggest
Subscribe for more great content!
wmojo.com/msmojo-subscribe
MsMojo is a leading producer of reference online video content of Top 10 Lists, Origins, Biographies, Commentary and more on Pop Culture, Celebrity, Movies, Music, TV, Film, Video Games, Politics, News, Comics, Superheroes. Your trusted authority on ranking Pop Culture.
#tv #80s #70s #sitcoms #serious #goldengirls #familyties - Розваги
Did we miss your favorite classic "serious" episode? Let us know below, and check out our video of the Top 20 Shocking Sitcom Moments: ua-cam.com/video/YdnHPOp1Ydk/v-deo.html
You should do Alf; they have at least 2 noteworthy episodes
You could do a whole list just from MASH.
There was an episode of Different Strokes where they discover that the rich dad's relative was a slave trader, I was shocked they would talk about that. And if I remember correctly they handled it well, or as well as they probably could at the time. But I don't even think they would air it if it was an episode of a popular sitcom today, trumpublicans would lose their minds!
The Major Dad episode about child abuse
This video ends too abruptly.
Hearing Blanche says AIDS is not a bad persons disease is a moment that impacts every queer person profoundly when they hear it for the first time, I can only imagine what it was like when it aired.
I mean statically to get AIDs you were doing drugs or fornicating
@@geminidreamatl26 Agreed, and Designing Women addressed AIDS two years before this Golden Girls episode - kudos to both for addressing the topic though,
I get chills and tears in my eyes every time i hear her say that😭
@@otisjenkinsjr.3556 That doesn’t make you a bad person.
@@srkh8966 yes. Yes it does.
It means you're reckless and irresponsible.
We gotta do better.
Its so easy to request blood work before sleeping with someone.
I feel for all of those who contracted the virus from mosquitoes, being born, etc....
As for the rest, with the exception of a small percent, people's inability to control themselves spread one of the deadliest diseases ever globally for decades
Lack of self control makes anyone a bad person ......
I assume you didn't count this because it's a kid's show and not a sitcom, but the way Sesame Street handled Mr. Hooper's death is iconic.
Absolutely right!! That was tactfully and extremely well done.
I believe that they actually mentioned it on another list about death.
@@danprine5495 yes, I remember watching that.
They used that Sesame Street episode snippet on old Watchmojo and MsMojo countdowns
Sesame Street also dropped the "everyone thinks Big Bird is lying about Snuffy" once it was pointed out that it would cause kids to not tell adults about things because they wouldn't be believed.
"Aids is not a bad person's disease, Rose, it is not God punishing people for their sins". Those are some powerful words!
Especially coming from an ex-homophobe from the South (and yes, I know a sexually promiscuous one,still). 6:02
I wonder what Pat Robertson thought of that. He's probably wondering why the AC isn't working in Heaven.
Those are some lying words.
@@kevinhutchins4222
Talking about Golden Girls being progressive, I personally REALLY appreciated the episode where Dorothy gets chronic fatigue and experiences medical negligence! I actually have chronic fatigue, and that episode made me cry (and I never cry)! I spent close to 10 years battling the challenges of trying to get diagnosed, and only got diagnosed a few months before covid hit. Unfortunately that episode (along with all of these episodes) is still extremely relevant today!
That was such a good episode. I really loved it when Dorothy confronted the doctor in the restaurant and his wife told him to shut up!
Same. I got diagnosed with ME in 2020. After 7 years of fighting to be heard. I'm still fighting to get the rest diagnosed. The sad thing is that many medical issues are ignored because they don't fit the stereotype of the illness. Heck, ME/CFS isn't even mentioned in medical schools in my country. 99% of all diagnostic criteria are based on men, women usually present differently. Since we don't fit the criteria, we don't get diagnosed. Autism and ADHD are great examples of this disparity.
The Golden Girls have done so much for so many, it's still relevant and hilarious.
Agreed. Doctors should be your partners when it comes to your healthcare. Having a parent-child relationship with your doctor is unacceptable.
Golden Girls was hella progressive.
@@bigbeauf_____3167 same lol
A lot of shows back then were. In the 90s, everything started going towards the Friends/Seinfeld end of the spectrum, and I don't think that was an improvement. Many 70s and 80s sitcoms aged WAY better than 90s sitcoms.
Preach, for a show from the mid 80's/Early 90's, it still holds many of the same values as we do today.
Yes it was.
My sister and I LOVED that show and watched it every weekend. It's astonishing to me now that we were allowed to watch it because our mom was/is very conservative, but I think Mom (who never watched TV with us) just figured it was a bunch of funny old ladies in Florida (which they were, but so much more).
I loved the later episode when Dorothy’s cross dressing brother died and they put him in his favourite “teddy” for the funeral. It was heart wrenching when Sophia finally realized what was wrong and started crying that her baby was gone!
Nowadays in Florida, couldn’t be buried wearing that…
@@shelzp7272 and rightly so 🤡🖕
@@shelzp7272 Florida is really Effed. Between all of that stuff, you got insurance companies leaving the state, and nobody to pick crops. It’s like trumpet poisoned the water!
Dan Connor silently picking up his jacket to go and pay a visit to Fisher is one of tv's best moments.
Yeah! That was awesome! My dad would have done the same for mum's sister if she let him but she didn't and she died keeping everything to herself.
I have never seen the one , but my dad should have done something to help my aunt, his sister, because the 'husband' was a sexist pig who emotionly abused her, all before she passed away of cancer four years ago
I'm so glad they never showed George Clooney actually physically abusing her. I would never look at him the same
@@SweetCammieEyes1 it actually wasn't George Clooneys character his character was Booker the abusive BF of Jackie was played by Matt Roth and his character was Fisher.
@@jessicamcluhan6982 that's right! I forgot about him. Who did Roth play on Desperate Housewives?
You forgot the Golden Girls episode where Sophia has a friend, an elderly gentleman, who has Alzheimers and Sophia has no idea until his daughter explains it. I thought of that episode so much when having to deal with my beautiful and amazing mom who ended up with severe Dementia and how it robbed her of her dignity!!!
That specific episode always makes me tear up when I watch reruns on cable
@@charliejoson9145 Me too, I still watch the Golden Girls
@@charliejoson9145 same
It’s a very touching episode
It was I worked with residents that had dementia/alzheimers it's crazy the different kinds how they affect people differently it's so very sad
The Designing Women episode "Killing All the Right People"; which featured a young President Fitz playing the character of Kendall Dobbs. Dobbs was a young man infected with AIDS and he asked the design firm to design his funeral; at the same time Mary Jo was on the opposing end of a debate fighting for contraceptives to be handed out at her daughter's school. The speech she gave at that debate was heartbreaking ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I was just about to comment about that. Designing Women was another show that was very progressive and ahead of its' time. Julia Sugarbaker actively confronted her old homophobic client as the rest of the women were talking about setting up arrangements for his funeral. The highlight of that confrontation was hearing her say, "If God gave out sexually transmitted diseases to people as a punishment for sinning, then YOU would be at the free clinic ALL THE TIME!" ❤ I just loved it when she said that because it is so true. She pointed out the hypocrisy in all of the homophobes for telling gay people they're "sinning," but, at the same time... How do they think we ALL got here??? I also loved that she ended her passionate rant by saying "And another thing, my son has an 'A' in chemistry. In fact, he's making all A's in everything including P.E." 😆
This show / episode hit really hard.
I was really hoping to see that one in this list. I think it's a very important episode
I don't remember the speech I will have to look it up.
@rebeccassweetmusic4632 Ironic that Dixie Carter was a staunch republican herself.
Punky Brewster was one of my favorite shows as a child!! I was also a kid who watched the Challenger space shuttle tragedy in real time at school. I never knew one of her episodes centered on kids watching that play out in schools classrooms across the nation and how it affected kids! That makes me love that show more.
I agree. I only, though, got to watch it if it was me and my Mom at home. She would allow me to watch it. But my Dad hated the show. Plus, he felt the show was for little girls and didn't feel comfortable that I enjoyed watching a TV show he felt was mainly for little girls. I didn't get to watch if he was at home.
I remember one touching episode where Punky befriends the new female Custodian, who turns out to be mentally challenged. One day in class, they are having a lesson in classical music, and the kids catch her at the door pretending to play the violin with a spray bottle. They didn't make much of it until Punky's friend, Alan, roasted her for doing so, and upset her.
That was handled great when Punky angrily calls Alan out and their teacher, Mr. Fulton, angrily lashes out at Alan for his behavior. He reminds him that people with mental disabilities are human beings with feelings like everyone else and have him do a report on the Special Olympics, hoping that Alan will learn something.
And Punky goes to her friend and makes her realize that, despite her limitations, that she is still an amazing person that can do what she sets her mind to. And then she decides to learn to play the Violin and impresses Punky's class at the end by performing for them. And she gave an amazing performance.
The Bicycle Man episode was HUGE. They made us discuss it in school, and set off the "good touch, bad touch" conversation.
Janet Jackson, in the 70s, playing “Penny”, the child abused character by her mother in the welfare project apartments on Good Times were a great few episodes. Great acting, and a powerful theme.
The Mary Tyler Moore show was very progressive at the time. In fact Mary was very trailblazing on her own show and on the Dick Van Dyke show. A huge inspiration!
she did let Lou bully her about religion in the first episode though
The monologue Archie gives when breaking down about Edith’s death brings me to tears almost every time I watch it.
It’s like he realizes how much he loved Edith but never told her often enough!
The “Killing All the Right People” episode from Designing Women should have at least gotten an honorable mention.
Thats a great episode. I cant even think about it without tearing up.
The subplot with Mary Jo also had some relevance. A school debating how to teach about sex to children. Mary Jo, to be blunt, is realistic.
Played by a pre-fame Tony Goldwyn.
What happened in that episode?
@@miaya.micronis Goldwyn played a guy with AIDS who asks the ladies to decorate for his funeral, after he dies. Julia confronts another client who says he's getting what he deserves. There's a clip of the scene here on UA-cam, it is hilarious.
I think Full House - "The Volunteer" and "Silence is not Golden" did a very good job of handling the issues of a loved one suffering from Alzheimer's and child abuse, respectively..
Just so you know, Punky, Sally Ride was the third woman in space. Valentina Tereshkova and Svetlana Savitskaya were first and second.
They did few eips shows on real life issues
*First American woman.
Was Sally Ride at least the first American woman in space?
The episode where DJ struggles with her weight and insecurities about her body was also done really well
This is why old shows should still have a place. Some life lessons are worth repeating
It's amazing how well these serious topics were handled, even back in the day. I remember seeing "The Counsler" from Mr. Belvedere when I was little and didn't know what exactly they were talking about. Boy does it hit different now.
Can you try do the "top 10 Golden Girls tackled serious"? The show was way ahead of their time.
Here is a 4 year old MsMojo video:
Top 10 Times The Golden Girls Were Ahead Of Their Time
That show really was
And Roseanne.
All in the Family could have had a Top 20 list.
There's also the 1983 episode of Sesame Street where Mr. Hooper dies and the rest of the cast tries to explain it to Big Bird. Pretty dark subject for a kids show.
Maud not being villainsed for not wanting to have a baby in her old age is extremely progressive for its time. It's simply her decision at the end of the day.
She was 60 ! It could have killed her back than! It could now
She shouldn’t be villianized at all, no one should for ending an unwanted pregnancy. Biggest reason for her was she was 60 years old, if she continued it would’ve killed her. Ending an unwanted pregnancy, for whatever reason, is no one’s business but the person who ended the pregnancy. It’s their decision and no one else’s.
As it should be. At any age.
@@lifewithlee6298 The character was 47 at the time.
@Shell 47 or 17. Your body, your choice.
I can't believe this is anyone else's decision.
That woman at the beginning telling Bea Arthur that abortion is no longer a dirty word like it was when she was a child, if she only knew! That got a bittersweet “ha!” out of me.
We've regressed before 1970s
@@hayleyferguson3346 That’s how human civilization progresses through time, two steps forward, one step back. Although sometimes, like in the dark ages, it’s two steps forward, four steps back. If De Santis gets into the White House with a GOP congress in 2025, we’ll definitely enter a new dark age for civil rights.
It should be a dirty word. It means murder.
@@toddnolastname4485 Todd, when you the one who is stuck with only horrible choices, then have an opinion. Better not masturbate or have nocturnal emissions...you are wasting future people.
@Todd no last name Todd, don't ever have an abortion. It will cause you undo distress.
As a matter of fact, NEVER have sex. NEVER worry. Peace.
Gen X kids grew up with the best television. I look at what came before and what came after, and there's just no comparison. These TV moments, especially the ones from _All In The Family, The Jeffersons, Good Times,_ and _Maude,_ still break my heart. Norman Lear is a living legend.
Many of these series came from him or one of his companies.
Siansonea I am actually a Younger Gen Xer that only remembers the ATIF, The Jeffersons, Good Times and Maude when they all brand new reruns in the 1980's. With that said, I agree 100% on your comments.
I agree there's amazing TV, but I don't think it's OK to be dismissive of today's TV. There's excellent shows out there that deal with issues. I will say that a lot of them aren't on network TV though. Abbott Elementary has been doing a really good job, the reboot of One Day At a Time was AMAZING at being funny while regularly dealing with issues, plus there's so many more I could cite.
@@mixueer Abbott is probably one of the only handful of contemporary new shows here in 2023 on network/free over the air that is really good. Well said. The problem is that almost all of the remaining really good “scripted” contemporary new entertainment shows is either on basic cable or the streaming channels.
@@americangiant1003 yeah, network TV is dying for sure.
As someone who was also deeply affected by the Challenger tragedy at a similar age as Punky, I appreciate your inclusion of that episode. However, it's the CPR episode that's often the first one I remember. Punky and Margot reviving Cherry after she gets stuck in a refrigerator while George and Allen (who was too busy goofing off to learn the CPR lesson at school) look on in terror is burned into my brain forever.
It was a great special episode but wasn't handling a political topic like abortion or gay rights.
@@johnsmi213 not sure I understand the point of your comment since the video wasn't about political topics, just "serious" ones. 🤔
For me, the episode about the refrigerator is the most memorable from the entire show. I was also about the same age as Punky and I remember seeing a lot of "very special episodes" of the programs I watched and looking back I think that was a really effective way to get messages across to kids. I remember watching the program Life Goes On and that dealt with a lot of topics since the son had a disability and the daughter dated a guy who had AIDS. They did a lot to educate and change people's minds about things people were still uncomfortable with at the time.
@@AmyEugene Life goes on was an amazing show! So was second Noah.
I watched it on TV af school too. Probably about the same age as Punky.
The Maude episode talking about abortion is like today😮
I know. Amazing
Thee one where Gloria suffered a miscarriage was a good one. I cried the whole way through. I’ve lost three myself.
I was looking for someone else’s to mention this kne
I remember that episode, I used to watch reruns as a kid
I am a year younger than Soleil Moon Fry (Punky Brewster) and also watched the Challenger explode live in our classroom. I still remember it to this day. I’m not sure I truly comprehended what I had seen at the time. I can’t imagine how teachers must have felt when it happened. They had to process their own horror while trying to protect us from what we’d seen.
That was me with 9/11
Yup. I was in the 4th grade. We'd been following it very closely. I remember watching the broadcast, but I don't remember exactly what happened the rest of that day. ie, I don't remember if school was ended early or exactly how it was talked about in the following school days. And it still makes me want to cry.
@@Terahnee and I was 4 😂
@@Terahnee I’m the same. In my memory, the tv was just switched off and we continued the day as though nothing had happened. I think we were all too young to understand. It’s only in retrospect that I realise the horror of what we witnessed.
I was the same age. Even here in Canada, I still remember our class getting an announcement over the PA and our teacher talking with us about it.
No Designing Women episodes, that is surprising
When dealing with HIV/AIDS, Mental Health (Bernice), Racism, Sexism, Single Parenthood and Female Assault (Mary Jo was mugged), the whole list could have been all Designing Women episodes especially the episodes before 1990/1991
Exactly. Before 1991, Designing Women was a great show that also dealt with serious issues of the time. That changed in 1991, when the show's creators mostly started using it for a political platform, promoting Liberal values while bashing Conservatives and Conservative values. That started with the Controversy over the Senate Hearings to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, and they made a whole "special" hour episode where Mary Jo and Alison were at odds with Alison wholeheartedly supporting Thomas while Mary Jo is very Anti-Thomas and angry that the Senate has confirmed him despite the evidence against him that he had a history of harassing women, mainly Dr. Anita Hill.
I didn't really understand it, at first. And didn't get what all the hoopala was about. Then both my parents explained what it was about. And they believed that Dr. Hill told the truth, that Thomas should have NEVER been confirmed as a Justice of the Supreme Court.
Don't get me wrong. I consider myself a left-leaning Liberal. But I don't like it when TV show writers and producers start to use their shows for a political platform.
@@trevorbarnhill3399 Well, YOU may not like such a trend for TV shows, and perhaps movies, would be making them into political and social platforms for certain issues of the time to be dealt with, but I DON'T think that other people would have such a problem and it only would depend on what side is any person on. Other than that, very good comment, by the way.
There’s a really good cousin Geri episode of the Facts of Life where Jeri gets asked out on a date by a stud and Blair thinks he’s doing it because he feels sorry for her and then freaks out when she doesn’t get back until the next day. She assumes he took advantage of her because she felt grateful to him. Jeri said that she doesn’t have to feel grateful he asked her out, he should feel grateful she went. And then she tells Blair she’s gone on plenty of “overnight dates.” Won’t be the first, won’t be the last.
I was surprised that the Family Ties episode in which Alex has to deal with the death of a friend in a car accident that he would have been in if he hadn't been so selfish to him wasn't on the list.
Barney Miller also covered many serious topics. The recurring characters of Marty and his boyfriend Driscoll covered the treatment of homosexuals, for example. My favorite episode of the series, "The Harris Incident" is still relevant today. Harris while out on a call is holding a suspect at gunpoint when two cops who don't know him come along and fire when they see a black man holding a gun. Naturally, Harris is angry, and when Barney tells him the incident has to be handled by the book, Harris screams at him, "You mean the book written by the MAN!!!!"
Star Trek: the Next Generation handled some serious issues, albeit through allegories, but it still stands
Measure of a Man was one of the greatest episodes ever.
The date rape episode of A Different World should have been on this list.
Totally agree
Yes, It should
Another good episode from A Different World was the racial discrimination ep that landed Dewayne and Ron in jail
Also the student with AIDS (Whoopi Goldberg I think was a guest that week) and the time Whitley was racially discriminated against.
I agree those are very good episodes in a very good and important show, but werent those in the 90s?
The Punky Brewster episode dealing the Challenger disaster was my favorite episode. They handled the issue with respect and didn't dumb it down to us kids watching it in the 80's.
It obviously aired out of sequence. The 5 Part episode, "Changes" that preceded it, was the true season 2 finale. It. too, had serious stuff in it, but it all ended happily. The '70's, 80's and first part of the '90's were the era of the comedy-drama, Sit-Dram, or Dramedy series. And that's what I consider most of the series' in this video to be as opposed to true sitcoms
Classic tv shows handled all sorts of issues with respect. I may not have the right words to describe it, but it’s rather wholesome and genuine handling issues that were brought up in society.
The Golden Girls, The Facts of Life, and especially All in the Family are one of my all time Tv shows, and continue to get better with age. Also The Jeffersons or anything Norman Lear created.
watch The Mary Tyler Moore show, I'm sure it will get added to your list
I don't recall the title of the episode of "Good Times", but it references the character of Penny's being abused by her mother
The Penny episodes of Good Times were brutal.
@@tjackson6284 Yeah, they certainly were
Chips fields acting was so good, I can’t even look at her. Just like Danny glover!
@@chocolatecapricorn9418 Ikr
I was shocked when I'd found out that was her, because I remembered her as the character she'd played in the TV series adaptation of Spiderman with Nicolas Hammond as Peter Parker
The episode was called " the Evans get involved".😊
The Bicycle Man missed a golden opportunity to teach kids not to leave their friends behind in a potentially dangerous situation. Arnold felt uncomfortable in the man's house but leaves Dudley there by himself?
There’s an American dad episode where Stan like ( you just left him there 😅
To be fair, while Arnold realizes how strange Mr. Morton, was, he had no idea that he was a pedophile. Also, Arnold wasn't aware what a pedophile was. And Arnold tried to get Dudley to leave, but he wouldn't go. It was Arnold who went to his Dad and explained what happened that he truly realized the gravity of the situation. And it was the conversation that Arnold had with his father and the police officer that Arnold had more of a clear understanding of child molestation.
You can't blame Arnold for that.He didn't know what else to do.
"Family Ties" dealt with quite a few serious subjects. In my opinion, they always handled it well.
My parents showed my brother and I Family Ties during quarantine and I've been obsessed ever since
Like the one where Alex's friend dies and he's having a hard time coping. I cried a lot.
@@meganhash7840 On a lighter note, I hope you see the episode where he meets his college girlfriend Ellen. The chemistry between them had teenage me thinking "Wow!". Ellen was played by Tracy Pollan who has been Michael J. Fox's real life wife for many years.
@@annbsirius1703 They were so cute! I think they brought out the best in each other. I get why she had to leave the show but I wish they were endgame
@AnnB Sirius Honestly that's the episode (or should I say episodes since it's a two parter? Idk) i would've put on this list
Oh Punky! I was there, too. It got to us all.
7:00 I remember this episode of Mr Belvedere. It came out 3 months before I was "assaulted" by a school administrator in 1988 when I was 10. Unfortunately, I told no one. Shame, anxiety and fear paralyzed me. Boys aren't supposed to get assaulted that way. In hindsight I wished I had spoken up, but I no longer beat myself up over it. It took 29 years to get over it and the damage it later caused, but... I made it. 😊
So powerful moments on TV that we will never forget. Maude choice is as relevant as today
No one can deny, even to this day, how uncomfortable but important that Diff'rent Strokes two-part episode was.
Even classic TV shows were very progressive at the time addressing real world topics. And I love it.
Jeri Jewel is still alive and going strong.. Got to see her a couple years ago at a fundraiser... She still has it! CP has NOT held her back and she still looks beautiful..
I watched all of these shows growing up and loved each and every too!! Growing up in an abusive home that I thought was normal, watching these shows I knew that it wasn't and it kept me grounded and taught me HOW to parent my 3 children.. They are all grown and gone but we are EXTREMELY close and they tell me, ask me ANYTHING!! Unfortunately some of those things I wish they didn't 🤣🤣
She was awesome in Deadwood. I loved watching the outtakes-she was one of the most beloved actors on the show!
Mr. Belvedere was low-key one of the best TV shows ever.
Fat Albert Has Some Episodes That Handled Serious Issues better than most adult animations
One serious moment on Mary Tyler Moore was when Mary couldn't sleep and started taking sleeping pills. When Lou found out, he wasn't happy and told her to stop taking them. She tried but ended up taking them. She told Lou she didn't take them but he figured out she was not truthful. The whole episode just felt so real. I remember feeling uncomfortable the whole time watching it. I just wonder if back in those days if that was a real issue that was happening too much with the general public. I don't know.
The episode from "Gimme A Break" where the Chief shot and killed a robbery suspect should have gotten an honorable mention.
WKRP in Cincinnati did a great show about the real life deadly incident at a Who concert in Cincinnati where people were killed by a stampede.
I remember when that Diff’rent Strokes episode came on. They did such a great job.
I never saw the episode in original broadcast but I offer a hearty hail to the Punky Brewster showrunners for facing the Challenger shuttle disaster! It was a stunning, shocking moment. I am glad (it seems) the production and acting sides could hit a note that conveyed both the ache our nation felt yet include hope as a phoenix from its ashes!
I think that Family Ties deal with several very strong issues, not only alcoholism but also sexual harassment and drugs.
Like the episode where Mallory gets sexually harassed by one of her father's coworkers/friends?
@@Bayougirl78 Exactly
When Alex was addicted to pills and when Steven found out, he told Alex his own addiction to pills.
Say Uncle was a great episode, but to me the best example of Family Ties handling serious topics well was the "A, My name is Alex" arc
Me too
I remember all these episodes growing up! All great episodes.
Different Strokes had a couple of other serious episodes. The Hitchhikers, where Kimberly and Arnold get kidnapped when hitchhiking, and there was another kidnapping episode, where Sam is kidnapped from a public place.
that was their favorite serious topic wasn't it?
Kimberly's becomes an addict of starving herself to stay skinny. Willis and Arnold not passing the test to go Philip's boarding school because it was racially biased.
I remember several of these episodes. Mojo has never brought a tear to my eye before this list. The Golden Girls episode, as well as the Growing Pains episode, both had a great effect on me growing up. This, to me, is your best list yet.
This list could have been filled entirely with "Golden Girls" episodes.
Golden Girls will always be timeless and progressive...one of the best.
I remember seeing all of these shows when they premiered. They were indeed groundbreaking for the 1970s and 1980s.
So why it didn't send a message
They'd be groundbreaking now.
The sad thing is most of these episodes would be accused of being "woke garbage" if they were to air today
Whether it's subtle or in-your-face, some individuals would rather be mindlessly entertained than have to deal with real issues reflected in their entertainment.
@@fromthehaven94 lol, in today's world, subtle or not, morons will still complain about something being "woke," just look at the idiots who say the Mario movie is "woke"
@@octaviocontreras2239 Depends on who is talking about it.
If the Golden Girls aired today, in exactly the same way as it did back in the 80's, Fox News would have weekly segments bashing it as "woke", "too liberal", "how progressive is too progressive", etc. 100% guaranteed.
Family Matters and Fresh Prince dealt with black issues all the time, yet conservatives who probably grew up with those shows would cry woke if a show talked about those same issues today. Just look at conservatives bashing season 8 of Brooklyn 99 all because it talked tackled racism and corruption in police departments.
I remember watching something on the All In The Family episode. David Dukes said he could practically HEAR the audience growl at him from their seats. He claimed that he received many death threats for years after.
Blanche and her brother are what inspired me to come out to my mother.
❤
nice😊👍
Yup
Amazing 😍
That's cool! I hope your mother accepted you and if not I hope she eventually learned to accept you you're wonderful just the way you are
Thanks for the reminder that these episodes exist! YAY! Great video 👍😊
Dan Connor solidified his place as a Ride Or Die man when he grabbed his jacket and left the house after finding out Fisher beat Jackie
I love the Golden girls so much , that show was so ahead of its time.
So do I
Me too and watching it reminds me of watching it with my grandmother who has passed away now
I remember all of these shows from when I was a kid. Call me old, but I miss the sitcom.
I hope that MsMojo does a vid like this but from the 80's and 90's. There was some REALLY great ones from both decades, that I remember.
Edith's 50th birthday was hands down the most uncomfortable thing I have ever watched
A program that really did good about dealing with alcoholism was Laverne & Shirley. In real life, Cindy's father was alcoholic. She did great playing someone who was dealing with this topic. Plus, they had an interesting episode about Squiggy dating a girl who was taking advantage of him. Your list is wonderful though. I especially feel the episode about the home invasion on "All In the Family" was very realistic. TY for sharing this. God Bless You & stay safe.
Growing pains also had a few other episodes that dealt with real life situations. Episode where Mike and Eddie and Boner go to a house party where there’s cocaine, another episode is where Mike gets a job and his boss is a racist and another episode of growing pains at the end series were Luke is afraid of Jason Sever, because Luke has had a bad experience with his dad being an alcoholic Luke catches Jason one night drinking and was afraid so dumps all the liquor out in the house.
I loved that show, it was so good at tackling issusses as these
My mother made me keep that unfortunate secret about my dad. Both of my parents were monsters.
I'm very sorry that happened 😢I hope you told someone n they both were put in jail
Well I hope you're okay now, friend
I am better.@@EdnaK728
The thing I liked about these sitcoms is that they didn't make the characters who were minorities into caricatures. They're just normal every day people who are just a little different.
BRAVO!!!!!! This is one of Your Best!!!!!!!🤩🥰
how did Barney Miller not get at least an honorable mention?
Gotta love those "VERY SPECIAL EPISODES." 🥰
The 80:s and early 90:s tv show Macgyver deserves a spot on this list as well, since it handled several serious issues during it`s run, especially in season 5 and 6, like kidnapping, alcoholism bad company in school, de-forestation, eco conservation among others, and when one of the lead characters on the show, Pete Thornton, played by the late Dana Elcar was diagosned with character in real life, it was added into the show, so his character on screen was also diagnosed with it.
Bailey got me through the biggest move of my life, a bunch of loss and heartbreak as well. I thank you for that!
Happy Days did a courtroom ep with a real prejudice jerk that Fonzie put in his place. It was brilliant!
i still watch golden girls ...its so good!
I remember the episode of Good Times when they found out the neighbors daughter was being abused..she had an iron mark on her back.. pretty sure Janet Jackson played that role
Yep, that was Janet Jackson. The character's name was Penny. I still remember the scene where she got home late, and her abusive mom was calmly ironing clothes, acting like a total sociopath, knowing that she was about to burn her daughter with that iron for pissing her off. So chilling.
@@Bayougirl78 Penny's biological mom should have gone to prison and people like her or him. Prison is full of sociopaths both inmates and officers, too.
I never thought I would see Shrieff Woody and Stuart Little in a show together
The sad thing about 'bicycle man' is that the kid who played Willis has since talked about how he was actually abused in real life by his publicist during the time that he was on the different strokes show and didn't have anyone to help him with the situation like the characters on the show did so he was left feeling a lot of shame over it for years
All In The Family - when Archie had to get a blood transfusion, when a swastika was painted on the Bunker's front door, when Archie accidentally befriended a drag performer, another episode when she was murdered, when Edith was almost raped, when Archie had to figure out who to keep and who to lay off (and his prejudices influenced him to make a poor decision), when Archie met with his brother and we learned he was abused as a kid, when Gloria had a miscarriage, when Archie could not understand why he did not get ahead, but someone he perceived as "less than" him became a success, and finally, when a plumber and his helper came and had a knife. The story was told by 3 viewpoints. Archie described the knife almost like a machete, Mike didn't see one (I think) , and Edith, representing the truth, pulled out a tiny little Swiss army pocket knife.
Mr. Belvedere AIDS episode w Wesley's friend & The Contract w Kevin about drinking & driving were AMAZING stories
That laugh track on the aids one was mind blowing!
@@bestnameeverf IKR!!! I love at the end when Mr. Belvedere is writing in his journal & smiles at the end as he's putting on the Yankee hat
It’s funny how these 70s and 80s sitcoms talked about these subjects so early in life. Nowadays whenever sitcoms bring up these subjects, there’s “controversies” and people get so uncomfortable about it. If it didn’t matter then why the hell are people so sensitive about it now?
Yeah, if you bring up some of these same topics now, all of a sudden it's "WOKE!! LIBRUL!!". They act like these issues are new, when we've actually been discussing them for many decades now.
Tom Hanks is beyond a phenomenal actor! From comedy to drama, he can nail any role. Truly an amazing person.
Very very great list I like it a lot very very great job mis mojo one of my absolute favorite list ever 💗 you should do a part 2 of this great list please 😊
I wish that all the shows from the 70s, 80s and some 90s sitcoms would return to networks because generation x and all politicians could use a restart on how to handle serious topics with young children of future generations. I feel bad for my generation already. I don't want to be angry with older generations because we'll disagree on things. I hate that we as a nation refuse to coexist with those of opposing views.
Barney Miller handles racial diversity incredibly well.
The 2-parter, "Quarantine," was ahead of its time in portraying a gay couple, 2 gay officers, and dealing with homophobia. The show also showed compassion for mental illness through actor Kenneth Tigar, who may have been Jesus Christ, a werewolf, and a demon-possessed man.
The opening about keeping it classic as everything would be from before 1990 was a little bit of a sting... Lol 🤣🤣 I'm officially an adult I guess. These shows were so good at what they did and how they handled the situations they did!!! Amazing!
Grandma Walton (Ellen Corby) was on a series as a regular after a stroke, before Jeri on THE FACTS OF LIFE. Both were good though.
The three that stuck out in my mind, possibly bc I wasn’t watching the other shows and/or missed the “Special Eps” which in those days meant you missed it permanently:
But anyway, I particularly remember the “drunk uncle” issue on Family Ties, not just bc it was acted so well by Tom Hanks😢 - tho it was - but also bc I had a huge crush on Michael J. Fox so I never missed an episode & cared vicariously about what happened to him.
I definitely definitely recall the episode when Edith was assaulted. The only problem is that I would have been too young to watch or even understand the episode when it ran during the ‘70s so I must of seen that when it was rerun at whatever point OR I guess, since I don’t know the specific point when this occurred, if it was at the very end of the show (‘78-‘79) I could have figured out what was happening. I just don’t know which it was. Altho since it remains so vivid in my head, I feel as if I must have seen it when it first ran. It was AWFUL but acted so very well & it didn’t require graphic scenes of violence to make its point. It’s AT LEAST 40+ yrs later and still in my head…
I “sort of” remember the Maude issue but tbh, what I TRULY remember is the big furor when Murphy Brown got pregnant, went in the OTHER direction (so you’d think the radical right would be happy) but instead we had Dan Quayle talking about MB as if she was a real life person, and saying how awful it was, a single woman brazenly raising a child alone when clearly children thrive best in two parent homes.
It’s odd. I just looked up MB to see why the show wasn’t on the list and it was bc it went over the ‘90 mark for eight yrs. For some reason, I thought it was on tv earlier than that. But I LOVED that show. So sorry digression.
These issues really were handled well.
I love the "Very Special" episodes!
I think another honourable mention could be MASH. Among a number of other subjects, it too handled homosexuality (and the prejudices against it) with some grace. I really like the series, though I do admit it fails in some areas, notably with sexual harassment and infidelity. It treats both of those like a joke most of the time, and it has aged rather horribly in that regard. For every occasional step forward it makes in those areas, it's quick to revert to making a joke of it all. I mean, considering its setting and time period it's probably fairly on-point with both the sexual harassment and infidelity as being things that happened, but the show generally failed to penalize the doers, except when it was good for a joke. So yeah, it was a show ahead of its time, except for that one admittedly significant stumbling point.
The real absurdity was the premise of a middle class family affording a butler in Mr. Belvedere. I looked it up, and it's apparently based on a novel published in the late 40's and set during WW II, where Belvedere is an aspiring novelist that was hired on to help out around the house while the mother was working because all the men are off to war, and it would leave him time to write, so everyone wins. That's a bit more plausible.
The MASH episode that got me the most was when the woman smothered her baby to avoid detection by the enemy. Hawkeye’s realization was heartbreaking. I also like the fact that there was no laugh track in the surgical setting. There were some real zingers but producers decided it was an inappropriate place for laughter.
@@downhomesunset I think the audio tracks I listen to don't have the laugh track, so that's a detail I didn't notice. It's a good policy, yes.
It's cool to see how progressive these older TV shows were about serious topics years before they became the center of our modern world.
The Family Matters episode where Eddie gets racially profiled should have at least gotten an honorable mention.
Yes, definitely should get an honorable mention. Great episode. Also, the episode where Laura was bullied and threatened with a gun.
Also, Fresh Prince when Carlton overdosed on drugs and also when Will got shot. I feel that could've got an honorable mention as well.
When did those come out? The list was pre-1990 episodes
@@brandimize4902 so ?
@@lexkanyima2195 so? If the list is for shows BEFORE the 90s it wouldn't make sense to include an episode from the 90s. They can (and most likely will) make a separate list for that.
I was briefly Punky Brewsters bodyguard. Actually I was the actress Soleil Moon Fryes bodyguard back in the 1990's when she made a small movie in Louisiana called The Miracle at St. Tammany.
Okay, I'm a South Louisiana girl, born and raised, and I've never heard of that movie. I will have to look it up :)
That must’ve been a great experience.
this is great list
Beautiful Arthur was really something, wasn't she? ❤
different strokes also handled the topic of rape and kidnapping well
The boy don't get rap he almost did the giy touch him the cops came in time before it went that far
@@peteryanes3413 wouldn’t happen in real life. No Knights in shining armour are going to rescue you!