A Very Special Episode

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  A Very Special Episode Dinosaurs, “Changing Nature”

  A series finale offered a grim view of its characters’ futures, and our own. Fun for the whole family?

  July 21, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Celebrity Hot Potato, 6/29/84

  The last gasp of a never-popular game show provides a peculiar snapshot of its time.

  June 30, 2011 | 12:01am -

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  A Very Special Episode Leave It To Beaver, “The Last Day Of School”

  Beneath the squeaky-clean surface, Leave It To Beaver was actually… well, pretty squeaky clean. But also interesting.

  June 9, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Announcing the fourth “season” of “A Very Special Episode”

  June 8, 2011 | 4:00pm -

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  A Very Special Episode Family Ties, “‘A’ My Name Is Alex”

  The epitome of the ’80s sitcom “very special episode” finds Alex dealing with the death of a friend. Is it bold, insufferably cheesy, or maybe both?

  May 26, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode South Park, “Cartoon Wars”

  From Jesus v. Santa to Cartman v. Muhammad

  May 12, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Checkmate, "The Paper Killer"

  This largely forgotten detective drama had a lot more to say about its genre than it probably ever knew.

  April 28, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode The Rockford Files, “Sleight Of Hand”

  A missing woman. A tortured detective. All in a week’s work.

  April 14, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Eight Is Enough, “Jeremy”

  One man’s family life became the fodder for a TV show. But real life and fiction quickly diverged.

  March 31, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Lucky Louie, “Kim Moves Out”

  Before Louie, Louis C.K. had the clever idea of reinventing the traditional sitcom as a raw HBO comedy. Why didn’t it work?

  March 17, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode The Dick Van Dyke Show, "The Return Of Happy Spangler"

  A classic comedy's look at classic comedy.

  March 3, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Blue’s Clues, “Occupations”

  When kids’ shows become a world unto themselves, and why that’s how it ought to be.

  February 17, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Taxi, “Vienna Waits”

  When a whirlwind trip with one meaningful night changes nothing.

  February 3, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Freaks And Geeks, “Carded And Discarded”

  A pulled-from-nowhere episode gives a short-lived series some of its best, most bittersweet moments.

  January 20, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode The Tonight Show, 3/6/69

  Brown shoes and tuxedoes. (And booze. And Sam Yorty jokes.)

  January 6, 2011 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Turbo Cooker Plus infomercial

  It’s yours for three, no, two easy payments. Can you afford not to buy it?

  December 16, 2010 | 12:00pm -

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  A Very Special Episode Here's the "A Very Special Episode" schedule for the first half of 2011

  December 15, 2010 | 1:00pm -

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  A Very Special Episode All In The Family, “Gloria Discovers Women’s Lib”

  The hot topic is feminism, and nobody's got the right answers.

  December 2, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Northern Exposure, “Thanksgiving”

  It's not just a holiday in this small Alaska town. It's a thoughtful, funny, feast.

  November 18, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode The Muppet Show, “Steve Martin”

  How did two different ironic takes on show business combine to make something so sweet?

  November 4, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode The Outer Limits, “The Man Who Was Never Born”

  It's only fun until someone gets lasting psychic scars.

  October 21, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Homicide: Life On The Street, “A Doll’s Eyes”

  A dark show delivers one of its darkest hours.

  October 7, 2010 | 12:00pm -

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  A Very Special Episode The Brady Bunch, “Dough Re Mi”

  Just nod and smile and sing along with the Brady family.

  September 23, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Arrested Development, "Good Grief"

  It’s hilarious, so long as you come prepared.

  September 9, 2010 | 12:00pm -

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  A Very Special Episode M*A*S*H, "The Interview"

  War is hell, even on 1970s television. Just ask the characters living through it.

  August 26, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode Wagon Train, “The Gus Morgan Story”

  Peter Falk in living color.

  August 12, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode The Larry Sanders Show, "Out Of The Loop"

  Before it became a motto, this show figured out what it meant to be HBO, not TV.

  July 29, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode The Sopranos, “Bust Out”

  The wheel in the sky keeps on turning. So do the ones down below. 

  July 15, 2010 | 12:00am -

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  A Very Special Episode It's the "A Very Special Episode" Fall Preview issue!

  July 14, 2010 | 9:42am -

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  A Very Special Episode Barney Miller, "Quarantine, Pts. 1 & 2"

  The coffee's awful and everyone's sweaty and testy. It's a great place to be.

  July 1, 2010 | 12:00am -