Top 10 Sitcom Storylines That Wouldn't Work Today
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Date: 2023-11-20
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Comments and reviews: 30
CRAZYCHRIS291
Some of these handled taboo topics very well and others not so much but they all covered things that need to be addressed rather then hidden away and treated like they are shameful another good episode that could have made this list is the Boy Meets World Episode Dangerous Secret from season four in which Shawn is helping a classmate who is being abused by her father and while at first he doesnt handle it properly, by just trying to hide her rather then get help in the end with Corys help he does end up doing the right thing by going to the police.
I can however understand his side of things hes only sixteen and is from a family full of criminals so its highly likely that hes been taught and/or told from a young age not to talk to or trust the cops, plus at this point he has had his own personal run-ins with the police that have soured him on trusting in their authority or willingness to help.
Then theres the fact that his family life is pretty screwed up, what with his parents being in and out all the time, like they were in this episode which is why he was able to hide Claire at the trailer in the first place. While he was definitely doing what he thought was right Cory was able to get him to see reason.
The best thing about this episode is that at the end Rider Strong did a PSA about how to handle Child Abuse the right way, which given that he actually was 16 at the time is impressively mature for someone so young.
I think it is important for shows to have episodes like these so that we as viewers can be entertained while also learning valuable life lessons in an easily accessible way that we are actually more likely to pay attention to and absorb sometimes without even realizing what we are taking in until much later.
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Some of these handled taboo topics very well and others not so much but they all covered things that need to be addressed rather then hidden away and treated like they are shameful another good episode that could have made this list is the Boy Meets World Episode Dangerous Secret from season four in which Shawn is helping a classmate who is being abused by her father and while at first he doesnt handle it properly, by just trying to hide her rather then get help in the end with Corys help he does end up doing the right thing by going to the police.
I can however understand his side of things hes only sixteen and is from a family full of criminals so its highly likely that hes been taught and/or told from a young age not to talk to or trust the cops, plus at this point he has had his own personal run-ins with the police that have soured him on trusting in their authority or willingness to help.
Then theres the fact that his family life is pretty screwed up, what with his parents being in and out all the time, like they were in this episode which is why he was able to hide Claire at the trailer in the first place. While he was definitely doing what he thought was right Cory was able to get him to see reason.
The best thing about this episode is that at the end Rider Strong did a PSA about how to handle Child Abuse the right way, which given that he actually was 16 at the time is impressively mature for someone so young.
I think it is important for shows to have episodes like these so that we as viewers can be entertained while also learning valuable life lessons in an easily accessible way that we are actually more likely to pay attention to and absorb sometimes without even realizing what we are taking in until much later.
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JoMarieM
I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and there were many shows on TV that dealt with fairly serious topics. Remember the After School specials aimed at kids, that aired on TV, that dealt with stuff that kids normally deal with, stuff like bullying, living with alcoholic parents, dealing with the death of a parent or sibling? And even popular sitcoms like Full House dealt with some fairly heavy topics, like the death of a grandparent, eating disorders, being tempted to drink alcohol, child abuse and peer pressure? LOTS of these so-called family shows had so-called special episodes, usually with a disclaimer ahead of time. I didn't think that introducing serious topics into sitcoms (which were actually considered family shows, not merely comedy, was all that strange then -- I thought it was a fairly normal thing to do, and I don't really understand why anybody would think it's a big deal NOW! Those serious topics helped to balance out the funny stuff and actually helped to provide warmth and heart to these shows, making the families on them seem more like real families, rather than people who never had ANYTHING bad happen to them, thus making them unrelatable! Seeing that these TV families faced the kind of problems that real people did, helped them become a bit more real to us viewers!
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I grew up in the 80s and 90s, and there were many shows on TV that dealt with fairly serious topics. Remember the After School specials aimed at kids, that aired on TV, that dealt with stuff that kids normally deal with, stuff like bullying, living with alcoholic parents, dealing with the death of a parent or sibling? And even popular sitcoms like Full House dealt with some fairly heavy topics, like the death of a grandparent, eating disorders, being tempted to drink alcohol, child abuse and peer pressure? LOTS of these so-called family shows had so-called special episodes, usually with a disclaimer ahead of time. I didn't think that introducing serious topics into sitcoms (which were actually considered family shows, not merely comedy, was all that strange then -- I thought it was a fairly normal thing to do, and I don't really understand why anybody would think it's a big deal NOW! Those serious topics helped to balance out the funny stuff and actually helped to provide warmth and heart to these shows, making the families on them seem more like real families, rather than people who never had ANYTHING bad happen to them, thus making them unrelatable! Seeing that these TV families faced the kind of problems that real people did, helped them become a bit more real to us viewers!
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Krystal
Keep in mind that sitcoms are meant to be family programs, and their plots deal with many things that real families can potentially deal with. They're meant to be informative about such things, with (in some respects) ways of dealing with such things that are easy and safe, especially when concerning young people. Also keep in mind that some of the things covered in this video weren't really things back when these episodes first aired, such as with the Friends episode, or with the Benson episode (cell phones and the internet weren't exactly everywhere back then. While the contacting police part would be far easier today, the story could still work if the boat was A) in a very remote location, and B) the radio on the boat was somehow damaged or whatever. Re-writing the scripts to utilize items and knowledge that we have today could still make the same story arcs work. Just because the stories are troubling for young viewers, or are dramatic, doesn't mean they won't work for today's sitcom audiences. I personally don't see an issue with some of these story arcs to be told today. People still go through some of these things in real life. People should still be informed that such things happen. Why not use their favourite characters to inform audiences? Why is this a bad thing?
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Keep in mind that sitcoms are meant to be family programs, and their plots deal with many things that real families can potentially deal with. They're meant to be informative about such things, with (in some respects) ways of dealing with such things that are easy and safe, especially when concerning young people. Also keep in mind that some of the things covered in this video weren't really things back when these episodes first aired, such as with the Friends episode, or with the Benson episode (cell phones and the internet weren't exactly everywhere back then. While the contacting police part would be far easier today, the story could still work if the boat was A) in a very remote location, and B) the radio on the boat was somehow damaged or whatever. Re-writing the scripts to utilize items and knowledge that we have today could still make the same story arcs work. Just because the stories are troubling for young viewers, or are dramatic, doesn't mean they won't work for today's sitcom audiences. I personally don't see an issue with some of these story arcs to be told today. People still go through some of these things in real life. People should still be informed that such things happen. Why not use their favourite characters to inform audiences? Why is this a bad thing?
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Delmi
Chandler was mad because his dad cheated his mom, they divorced and tell him without sensibility. Also his dad is drag not transgender he had a show. Both of Chandler's parents embarrassed him and make him uncomfortable because they never acknowledged his feeling, later one he learn that's just the way they are and started voicing his opinions. Like him talking with his mom after she kissed ross and making peace with his dad in his wedding day.
I think this list should stop is the 2nd they make and chandler's dad shouldn't be in here.
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Chandler was mad because his dad cheated his mom, they divorced and tell him without sensibility. Also his dad is drag not transgender he had a show. Both of Chandler's parents embarrassed him and make him uncomfortable because they never acknowledged his feeling, later one he learn that's just the way they are and started voicing his opinions. Like him talking with his mom after she kissed ross and making peace with his dad in his wedding day.
I think this list should stop is the 2nd they make and chandler's dad shouldn't be in here.
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Kimberly
I thought the Mr. Belvedere and Diff'rent Strokes episodes were the perfect shows to highlight child predators BECAUSE they were aimed at kids, kids who would realize and understand that if someone is touching you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, or shows you images that you know aren't appropriate, you absolutely must go to a parent, guardian or the police.
Also, the All In the Family The Rape of Edith Bunker two-part episode is usually ranked high for a reason! It showed what happened and a realistic aftermath response!
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I thought the Mr. Belvedere and Diff'rent Strokes episodes were the perfect shows to highlight child predators BECAUSE they were aimed at kids, kids who would realize and understand that if someone is touching you in a way that makes you uncomfortable, or shows you images that you know aren't appropriate, you absolutely must go to a parent, guardian or the police.
Also, the All In the Family The Rape of Edith Bunker two-part episode is usually ranked high for a reason! It showed what happened and a realistic aftermath response!
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dabigdikdangler
While generally a comedy All in the Family never failed to address serious and uncomfortable subjects, which is why it was so groundbreaking and won so many Emmys. Edith's attempted rape was just the tip of the iceberg. If anything the murder of female impersonator Beverly should have been mentioned. She was Edith's friend who made several appearances, eventually winning over the homophobic Archie but wound up dead, because of course in the media of the day those people had to suffer and die rather than live free.
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While generally a comedy All in the Family never failed to address serious and uncomfortable subjects, which is why it was so groundbreaking and won so many Emmys. Edith's attempted rape was just the tip of the iceberg. If anything the murder of female impersonator Beverly should have been mentioned. She was Edith's friend who made several appearances, eventually winning over the homophobic Archie but wound up dead, because of course in the media of the day those people had to suffer and die rather than live free.
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Melissa
Although The Bicycle Man episode is memorable there were other dark storylines on Different Strokes besides that one. The Hitchhiker where Arnold and Kimberly hitched a ride with a stranger and is held captive in his home. Then there was the episode where Sam gets taken by a stranger and is forced to stay with the man's family for fear the man will kill his parents. And the episode where Arnold and Sam discovers that Kimberly has an eating disorder.
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Although The Bicycle Man episode is memorable there were other dark storylines on Different Strokes besides that one. The Hitchhiker where Arnold and Kimberly hitched a ride with a stranger and is held captive in his home. Then there was the episode where Sam gets taken by a stranger and is forced to stay with the man's family for fear the man will kill his parents. And the episode where Arnold and Sam discovers that Kimberly has an eating disorder.
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Roland
The Friends episode is especially mean spirited. They were known for othering the LGBT community as lesser beings and freaks. Carol and Susan were 90% of the time played for laughs. Rachel makes an off the cuff joke about how awful the trans woman at work is at her makeup when Ross offers to do it for her when she hurts her hand. Then this is the icing on the homophobia/transphobia cake. Friends should be put out to pasture and not celebrated.
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The Friends episode is especially mean spirited. They were known for othering the LGBT community as lesser beings and freaks. Carol and Susan were 90% of the time played for laughs. Rachel makes an off the cuff joke about how awful the trans woman at work is at her makeup when Ross offers to do it for her when she hurts her hand. Then this is the icing on the homophobia/transphobia cake. Friends should be put out to pasture and not celebrated.
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Boston
You can't judge anything out of it's own time. Some of these episode in their day were regarded as ground breaking. The reason this video has content is because there was nothing ground breaking on TV before, the world was perfect and people lived happy lives. Everything has to start somewhere, sometime, and things can't be changed over night. Just imagine what people will think in the future of the crap that is on TV in 2020.
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You can't judge anything out of it's own time. Some of these episode in their day were regarded as ground breaking. The reason this video has content is because there was nothing ground breaking on TV before, the world was perfect and people lived happy lives. Everything has to start somewhere, sometime, and things can't be changed over night. Just imagine what people will think in the future of the crap that is on TV in 2020.
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Chelsea
Although Diffrent Strokes was in the 80s, but when I was 11-12 years old the bicycle man episodes scared me, and my mother and aunt explained to me that if someone is doing something that is making you uncomfortable then tell a parent or a police. I didnt understand it, until I was 19 years old when the man was a child molester
If todays modern television show were to use that, then there will be a lot of controversies.
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Although Diffrent Strokes was in the 80s, but when I was 11-12 years old the bicycle man episodes scared me, and my mother and aunt explained to me that if someone is doing something that is making you uncomfortable then tell a parent or a police. I didnt understand it, until I was 19 years old when the man was a child molester
If todays modern television show were to use that, then there will be a lot of controversies.
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baby
Some of these weren't so bad, they aren't suited for sitcoms, sure but the fact that they had these scenes - teaching children to feel love for their trans parents and teaching kids the signs of pedophilia and encouraging them to tell their parents is very helpful. It takes a moment to put the whole sitcom/funny aspect on hold and really make you look at life while still showing you a couple of funny scenes in between.
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Some of these weren't so bad, they aren't suited for sitcoms, sure but the fact that they had these scenes - teaching children to feel love for their trans parents and teaching kids the signs of pedophilia and encouraging them to tell their parents is very helpful. It takes a moment to put the whole sitcom/funny aspect on hold and really make you look at life while still showing you a couple of funny scenes in between.
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Denis
People don't get the Friends joke. The joke isn't that he is transgender or drag, the joke is that he is played by Kathleen Turner. That's it, nothing more. Even Kathleen Turner herself saw the funny side to it. In the 90's people joked about Turner all the time because of her deep masculine voice so the producers just went with that!
And it was never stated that he was transgender, only drag act.
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People don't get the Friends joke. The joke isn't that he is transgender or drag, the joke is that he is played by Kathleen Turner. That's it, nothing more. Even Kathleen Turner herself saw the funny side to it. In the 90's people joked about Turner all the time because of her deep masculine voice so the producers just went with that!
And it was never stated that he was transgender, only drag act.
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Mari
The episode where Mike proposes to Phoebe in an NBA game, but she finds it lame but later proposes herself to Mike as an apologize. the guy just tells him that they know who is wearing the pants in that family and the public starts booing. That will never happen today, Mike was ridiculized and reinforced the idea that the man is the one who has to take the lead always
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The episode where Mike proposes to Phoebe in an NBA game, but she finds it lame but later proposes herself to Mike as an apologize. the guy just tells him that they know who is wearing the pants in that family and the public starts booing. That will never happen today, Mike was ridiculized and reinforced the idea that the man is the one who has to take the lead always
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Sarah
all of this so true who knew any of that would be wrong and totally disappointing to watch even though isn't there more like family matters the nanny 7th heaven boy meets world grounded for life golden girls the cosby show cheers but friends is very an adult show not so much younger teen to watch it'll be odd and weird for that generation
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all of this so true who knew any of that would be wrong and totally disappointing to watch even though isn't there more like family matters the nanny 7th heaven boy meets world grounded for life golden girls the cosby show cheers but friends is very an adult show not so much younger teen to watch it'll be odd and weird for that generation
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Chaos
I don't get why an episode about a man getting raped would be such an taboo thing it actually happens and is met with as much if not more animosity then women or kids at least their storys are investigated men just get ignore or laughed at and their shouldn't rape is a horrible thing no matter what age or gender you are
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I don't get why an episode about a man getting raped would be such an taboo thing it actually happens and is met with as much if not more animosity then women or kids at least their storys are investigated men just get ignore or laughed at and their shouldn't rape is a horrible thing no matter what age or gender you are
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fanjoy
Some of these episodes are important stories to tell especially when talking about abuse and assault as a lot of times families watch these shows together and its important to talk about them. I think Facts of Life, All in the Family and Different Strokes handled that subject matter well and got people talking
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Some of these episodes are important stories to tell especially when talking about abuse and assault as a lot of times families watch these shows together and its important to talk about them. I think Facts of Life, All in the Family and Different Strokes handled that subject matter well and got people talking
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DARKLY
I don't get it why only trans people can play trans people? Why isn't it necessary to hire a sportsman to play a sportsman, rapist to play a rapist? Actual virgins, lovers, spouses, dead celebrities? Why stop on trans people? Let actors only play actors. This world is going to somewhere bad.
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I don't get it why only trans people can play trans people? Why isn't it necessary to hire a sportsman to play a sportsman, rapist to play a rapist? Actual virgins, lovers, spouses, dead celebrities? Why stop on trans people? Let actors only play actors. This world is going to somewhere bad.
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Ethan
I honestly dont see why any of these cant work today. Tv is all about pushing boundries and telling interesting stories. Sitcom does not mean kids show. And even some of the more kid friendly sitcoms that i grew up on like family matters and boy meets world occasionaly dealt with adult topics
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I honestly dont see why any of these cant work today. Tv is all about pushing boundries and telling interesting stories. Sitcom does not mean kids show. And even some of the more kid friendly sitcoms that i grew up on like family matters and boy meets world occasionaly dealt with adult topics
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Sting
all of growing pains. no particular episode but one running gag. mike would call carol fat or pig. guess what? this was one of the leading causes of tracey gold getting an eating disorder in real life. by no means was she overweight. but the writers kept up with the fats jokes for 7 seasons.
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all of growing pains. no particular episode but one running gag. mike would call carol fat or pig. guess what? this was one of the leading causes of tracey gold getting an eating disorder in real life. by no means was she overweight. but the writers kept up with the fats jokes for 7 seasons.
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Melissa
back then when these shows aired no one was really offended by everything like they are now. I see nothing wrong with any of these things, just because some or most of these shows were sitcoms doesn't mean that they can't tackle difficult subjects. It was so much a simpler time back then.
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back then when these shows aired no one was really offended by everything like they are now. I see nothing wrong with any of these things, just because some or most of these shows were sitcoms doesn't mean that they can't tackle difficult subjects. It was so much a simpler time back then.
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Jules
I think friends needs a little credit, the episode with Chandler's dad was ahead of its time. I had never seen anything that showed this and made it acceptable.
Now that I've finished the video, it seems this should have titled shows that tackled major issues before their everyone else
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I think friends needs a little credit, the episode with Chandler's dad was ahead of its time. I had never seen anything that showed this and made it acceptable.
Now that I've finished the video, it seems this should have titled shows that tackled major issues before their everyone else
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Robby
I think that you are judging the character of chandler. don't you think he has the right to feel however he needs to feel since he was the one who lived with her. Now, some characters of woman can be played by men, and viceversa. they are actors. so this one I think is being over analyze
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I think that you are judging the character of chandler. don't you think he has the right to feel however he needs to feel since he was the one who lived with her. Now, some characters of woman can be played by men, and viceversa. they are actors. so this one I think is being over analyze
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Mabel
I feel like now a days everyone has become sooooo fliping sensitive. We are not enjoying life anymore. We've become uptight and look for issues with everything. Those days we had good television that made us laugh, we didn't over thing it we just enjoyed it. Let's bring that time back.
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I feel like now a days everyone has become sooooo fliping sensitive. We are not enjoying life anymore. We've become uptight and look for issues with everything. Those days we had good television that made us laugh, we didn't over thing it we just enjoyed it. Let's bring that time back.
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hbgstorm
I wonder what will be hillarious funny in the year 2050. We will all watch cartoons everything will be family friendly soft jokes for kids. Its so annoying that fun stuff going away, married with children, seinfeld, two and a half men, all would be bad today, ARE U KIDDING ME
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I wonder what will be hillarious funny in the year 2050. We will all watch cartoons everything will be family friendly soft jokes for kids. Its so annoying that fun stuff going away, married with children, seinfeld, two and a half men, all would be bad today, ARE U KIDDING ME
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FranSlam
Why would it NOT work to air episodes warning children of the dangers of child-predators and to encourage them to talk to people they trust if they feel violated or uncomfortable? Why is that out of bounds today? Are these not teachable moments as opposed to causing offense?
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Why would it NOT work to air episodes warning children of the dangers of child-predators and to encourage them to talk to people they trust if they feel violated or uncomfortable? Why is that out of bounds today? Are these not teachable moments as opposed to causing offense?
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Janine
Marta Kauffman said in an interview that The One With Chandlers Dad was a mistake. I recall this being mentioned in your other video. I am curious to how this episode would be handled today.
Also I definitely remember that episode of Punky Brewster & felt for Punky.
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Marta Kauffman said in an interview that The One With Chandlers Dad was a mistake. I recall this being mentioned in your other video. I am curious to how this episode would be handled today.
Also I definitely remember that episode of Punky Brewster & felt for Punky.
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CRAZYCHRIS291
The Facts of Life episode sent the wrong message by blaming Natalie for her attack and acting like the fact that her trauma was causing the others problems was Natalies fault. Its never good to sensationalize the trope where we blame the victims.
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The Facts of Life episode sent the wrong message by blaming Natalie for her attack and acting like the fact that her trauma was causing the others problems was Natalies fault. Its never good to sensationalize the trope where we blame the victims.
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CRAZYCHRIS291
The All in The Family episode handled the situation well because things like that attack can lead to PTSD and its better to show the realities of situations like that then to act like they dont happen or like it is a joke.
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The All in The Family episode handled the situation well because things like that attack can lead to PTSD and its better to show the realities of situations like that then to act like they dont happen or like it is a joke.
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Joe
Not defending Seinfeld, but that was the 2nd to last episode. and EVERY writer other than Larry David was involved (Larry did the final episode alone. ouch)
Probably a case of too many cooks in the kitchen= The Puerto Rican Day.
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Not defending Seinfeld, but that was the 2nd to last episode. and EVERY writer other than Larry David was involved (Larry did the final episode alone. ouch)
Probably a case of too many cooks in the kitchen= The Puerto Rican Day.
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Marcelo
Some stuff here is pretty offensive, but the Seinfeld and Friends are actually funny. And understandable, Chandler was estranged from his Father thus he a lot of issues, Kramer did that kind of misunderstandings all the time.
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Some stuff here is pretty offensive, but the Seinfeld and Friends are actually funny. And understandable, Chandler was estranged from his Father thus he a lot of issues, Kramer did that kind of misunderstandings all the time.
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