i'm into this puerto rican today the
sight the sound the hot spicy flavor of
it all it's kellyanne
welcome to watch mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
most controversial sitcom episodes i'm
afraid our adventure
has come to an end
what
but why
it's not you it's me no actually it's
not me it is you
for this list we're looking at the
episodes of live-action sitcoms that
caused the most uproar or otherwise
broke new ground for the medium how do
you feel about these episodes let us
know in the comments
number 10 lucy is a saint i love lucy if
you need any proof of how much tv has
changed there was a time when specifying
that a character was pregnant was deemed
unacceptable in this season 2 episode
lucy ricardo learns she's with child and
tries to figure out how to tell husband
ricky i'm going down to the club and
tell him
oh lucy that won't be the way you've
always planned it well i can't help but
ricky's gotta know and if i don't tell
him soon i might as well wait let the
baby tell him
ball herself was pregnant with her and
desi arnaz's second child network cbs's
main objection was the use of the word
pregnant so the show danced around it
with euphemisms like expecting we're
having a baby
my baby and me
while this wasn't the first depiction of
a pregnancy on television it was the
most publicized at that point my wife
came down here to tell me something very
important that's the only thing that
counts right now
i don't even want to hear a pin drop
please be quiet
all right honey what is it
funnily enough the name of the next
episode was pregnant women or
unpredictable sometimes progress happens
quicker than we expect what took you so
long
what do you mean what took me so long i
had to go all over town
there's only one store in new york city
that makes a papaya used milkshake
number nine episode 1.1 soap hi big
brother hiya little brother why don't
you over him some fruit looks to be very
appropriate
listen you animal
few sitcoms cause controversy right out
of the gate the way soap did when it
first premiered this comedic take on the
soap opera genre took sitcoms in a new
direction as did one of its main
characters it has nothing to do with us
i mean it's just too risky you know i've
only got a couple years of pro ball left
and after that i've got to rely on
making money from my endorsements jody
dallas played by billy crystal was
openly gay something that hadn't been
normalized for audiences at the time
much about soap was provocative but jody
seemed to stir the most controversy
benson this is all wrong the avocado and
the shrimp should not be separated the
shrimp should go in the avocado
here tinkerbell stop it
religious groups mailed tens of
thousands of letters in protest to abc
and some affiliates and sponsors took
issue as well additionally some lgbtq
plus rights groups took issue with
jody's portrayal and how it might
negatively influence society's view on
gay people while soap's depiction was
not perfect it was certainly
revolutionary number eight promises
promises boy meets world oh maybe
maybe what
ah it's just guy stuff oh
guy stuff on uh prom night
sit down boy meets world follows its
characters from adolescence to adulthood
that means plots got more risque over
time in this season five episode cory
and tapanga attend the prom and later
attempt to consummate their relationship
with many setbacks do you not see this
wait a second the guy said this was the
matthews room it is now get out are so
just you into panga yes alone in a hotel
room yes on prom night yes so
what you do
though the episode takes a
pro-abstinence stance it definitely
wasn't the show's most family-friendly
hour when the disney channel started
airing reruns of the show they removed
several episodes from their rotation
including this one you've been waiting
for everything to be exactly perfectly
right and now it is so
maybe we need to be more spontaneous
not when we think we have to like one
day on the way home from the library we
appreciate boy meets world for how it
handled sensitive topics but we also
understand why episodes like this would
be considered inappropriate for younger
viewers sometimes things can happen in a
minute that will change your life
forever
we're just lucky that for us it came at
a time when we can handle it number
seven the bicycle man different strokes
there were many episodes of different
strokes aimed at educating young viewers
and their families about difficult
topics i think you're very generous mr
horton oh he's doing me a favor too you
know what's the old saying you scratch
my back i'll scratch yours you keep
coming up with this present she could
scratch me all over
but the most notorious is this one about
a bicycle shop owner played by gordon
jump who tries to form too close of a
bond with arnold and his friend dudley
it lacks a certain dignity well if you
ask me there are too many uptight
dignified people in the world today
anyway it's time we all let our hair
down a little bit this episode was
acclaimed for how it handled the
sensitive subject matter however some
were bothered by the show not completely
veering away from its humorous nature
during the episode the titular bicycle
man is thankfully apprehended and
millions of viewers learned an important
lesson about dealing with strangers
somebody wants you to do something
that's wrong or if they want you to lie
to your parents that is a person should
not be trusted no matter how good the
reason they gave you seems to be
and you have to watch out for people who
come on real strong and try to win you
over with gifts number six i'll see you
in court married with children the
bundys were no strangers to controversy
but one episode of married with children
went too far for the fox network i feel
terrible
yeah
laugh clowns laugh but here's a hot
flash for you
if they taped us
they taped you too in this third season
episode
al and peggy discover they've been
secretly recorded during a night at a
motel and subsequently file a lawsuit i
told you peg we should have just beat
the hell out of these people
it's a million dollars al how else are
we gonna get a million dollars you earn
it
now just relax and be outraged the
network sensors took issue with the
episode's content in an interview writer
michael g moy said the changes demanded
were too severe and fox ultimately
wouldn't air the episode it was later
aired on the fx cable network in 2002
albeit with a few cuts better late than
never right you can't do this to al
remove this woman he'll lose what little
confidence he already has
you were great baby please oh please
don't listen to her don't give up number
five the speech the i.t crowd
while problematic depictions of trans
characters were far more common in
decades past this episode of cult
british sitcom the i.t crowd is still
pretty appalling douglas rename played
by matt berry falls in love with a woman
he later learns is transgender leading
to a violent conclusion the episode
sparked backlash for its depiction of
the woman april and broadcast network
channel 4 took it off their streaming
service in 2020. series creator graham
linehan blasted this as an infringement
on quote his right to freedom of speech
and said he wouldn't work with the
network again unless the decision was
reversed
it's over april
while many societal values change with
the times some people stubbornly stay
the same
number four edith's 50th birthday all in
the family few sitcoms handled intense
subject matter more deftly than all in
the family all right
all you got to do is do exactly like i
tell you
and everything's going to be just fine
what are you going to do to me but even
for a show that went places other
comedies were not willing to this
two-part episode is quite harrowing on
her 50th birthday a man enters the
bunker home and tries to attack edith
she thankfully manages to defend herself
and escape but she's left traumatized by
the experience however she finds the
courage to report the assailant where
where are we going to go either down to
the police station oh you did you ain't
going to identify that guy aren't you
yeah if it's him
i gotta stop him one critic described
the episode as quote heartbreaking but
also praised it for balancing the show's
signature humor while not contradicting
the seriousness of the subject matter it
was a big success and to do it that way
was the wise thing i i'm sure i did
something good then
because the audience did not have a
chance to release its feelings
until
the crucial moment it might have been an
uncomfortable episode but it was
certainly an important one number three
the puppy episode ellen why would you
why
why would you think i was gay
oh wow i'm i'm sorry i just kind of got
that vibe vibe
like a gay vibe
even two decades after soap gay themes
on network television still caused
controversy the same year ellen
degeneres came out so did her sitcom
alter ego ellen morgan i mean why can't
i just say the truth i mean be who i am
i'm 35 years old i'm so afraid to tell
people i mean i just
susan
i'm gay
there was enormous hype about this
episode in which ellen finally comes to
terms with her sexuality news of
degeneres negotiating with network abc
and disney leaked the previous year is
there something you want to talk about
well as a matter of fact yes um
you know you know what i hate i'll tell
you what i hate i hate when people make
assumptions about you you know at least
one affiliate pulled the episode from
broadcast and some sponsors didn't
advertise in its time slot nonetheless
the episode was a huge rating success
and won two emmys ellen only lasted for
one more season but this episode's
legacy persists number two mods dilemma
mod the topic of this first season
episode of mod is one many sitcoms would
be reluctant to touch even 50 years
later mother mother you're 47 years old
walter's 49 this is no time to be having
a baby no time for who to be having a
baby miss carol oh not me florida the
headstrong mod finley finds herself at
an emotional crossroads when she learns
that she's pregnant at 47 years old
mod's dilemma brought a hotly contested
topic to a prime time audience and put a
familiar face at the center of it mother
listen to me
it's a simple operation now
but when you were growing up it was
illegal
and it was dangerous and it was sinister
and you've never gotten over that only
two cbs affiliates refused to air the
episode the night it premiered but the
controversy persisted to the point that
almost 40 affiliates refused to re-run
it i mean
the abortion shows uh two episodes were
the ones that really
riveted you know the country about in
terms of that
degree of controversy thousands of
letters were also sent in protest of the
episode while this debate might never
end this episode was still a massive
aspect of the larger cultural
conversation around it i think it would
be wrong to have a child at our age
oh so do i walter oh walter so do i
we'd make awful power oh impatient
irascible
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number one the puerto rican day seinfeld
for years millions tuned in to seinfeld
to laugh at the characters and their
terrible behavior and by the way that
was an i'm not sorry way what was that
i'm glad i cut you off because black
star rules
so long jackass
but something happened in one of the
very last episodes that many didn't find
amusing in this episode jerry elaine
george and kramer get into various
shenanigans during new york city's
puerto rican day parade streets are all
blocked i think every puerto rican in
the world is out here well
it is our day
wrong car the persistently clumsy cramer
ends up accidentally burning the puerto
rican flag and causes further outrage by
stomping the fire out this as well as
comments made by kramer about puerto
rico drew ire and protests i know what
day this is
they know what this is so i was
wondering
if you know what day they say because
it's puerto rican day
maybe we should have stumped you like
you were stumped the flag nbc issued an
apology and the episode was pulled from
circulation until 2002. seinfeld might
have been a show about nothing but
people had a lot to say about this
episode the only thing the episode was
about was traffic it had nothing to do
with
the puerto rican day parade i mean it
was just one of the we just thought it
was the funniest of the many parades
that they have in new york city
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you