these episodes sparked quite the
backlash welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’re counting down our picks for
the top ten controversial TV episodes
before we begin we publish new videos
every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re looking at
the episodes of television that prompted
a public outcry
we’re censored or otherwise stirred up
heated discussion we will not be
including season finales or animated
episodes however as those have lists of
their own shall we number 10 honey
Degrassi are you reading she’s acting of
your lives
she is well this teen drama has never
shied away from controversial or taboo
topics one of its most contentious
moments with this season 13 episode
which featured the death of fan favorite
character Adam Torres drawing on modern
issues Adam dies after an accident
caused by texting and driving the death
of a beloved character is often a sad
and anger and voguing event for many
fans but being the first transgender
character on the show Adams death was a
particularly rough blow for Degrassi
viewers
number nine I’ll see you in court
married with children hey I told you we
should never have sex no everybody’s
going to know it was a series notorious
for being more racy than its
contemporaries but this episode is
perhaps its most controversial in large
part due to censoring by the network
I’ll see you in court sees Al and Peggy
attempt to spice up their sex life by
trying it somewhere new only to end up
being filmed without their consent which
leads them to seek compensation for the
violation of their privacy you can’t do
this al remove this woman ya lose what
little confidence he already have going
unaired for years on US television the
episode gained a reputation as the lost
episode upon viewing it however more
recent critics have found it fairly
vanilla chalk this one up to overzealous
censors if we have been on tape we would
have made a Million number eight
13100 how dare you bring this to me on
Ascension Day killing off a character
who exemplifies an underrepresented
demographic can often result in a public
outcry and the death of LexA one of the
few gay characters on the hundred was
another case of this fans were
particularly upset since acts and gay
characters is common enough to be a
rather morbid trope the writing staff of
the hundred has apologized for their
handling of the deaths since the episode
aired though saying that they would have
done things differently in hindsight
on a happier note over 170,000 dollars
was raised by fans to support LGBTQ
teens in need after the episode aired
number 7 on all fours girls you don’t
know for us girls have generated plenty
of controversy and discomfort for its
audience but this episode took the
series signature cringe comedy and
cranked the squirm level up to 11 while
the majority of on all fours drew
criticism for being one of the darkest
outings in the show to that point with
extremely uncomfortable storylines for
many of the cast the epitome of the tone
shift came in the titular sex scene
which featured rough humiliating sex but
some viewers felt bordered on rape no no
not a magician
while HBO in general is noted for
featuring programs that delve into the
darker side of sex many viewers
apparently felt shocked to witness
something quite so extreme on what is
primarily a comedy I’m so sorry I don’t
know what came over me
number 6 you’re shot Buffy the Vampire
Slayer we could just get rid of all this
news Buffy and the rest of the Scooby
Gang dealt with many supernatural
threats during their adventures but one
of their most talked-about episodes
dealt with a problem that hit closer to
home an accident with a demons blood
allows Buffy to hear the thoughts of
others which leads her to uncover a
potential school shooting Christian
here’s the killer in the cafeteria the
subject is always extremely sensitive in
America but earshot was initially set to
air shortly after the Columbine massacre
despite the fact that the episode
shooter only intended suicide and that
the airing was delayed until nearly the
next season it’s still drew complaints
could we ever hurt anybody I came up
here to kill myself number 5 unbowed
unbent unbroken Game of Thrones this is
my home
you can’t pray to me controversy has
been woven into Game of Thrones since
day one but this episode ignited one of
its biggest public outcry
primarily for one scene despite the fact
that the show infamously kills off fan
favorite characters
it was the rape of Sansa Stark by her
sadistic new husband Ramsay Bolton that
had fans and critics outraged then he
found the scene gratuitous even with the
show’s history of depicting
non-consensual sex
[Music]
in addition fans of the books objected
to the scene as the rape and even
Sansa’s marriage to Ramsey originally
happened to an entirely different
character in their view this change
derailed her story arc and prior
character development number 4 mods
dilemma mod live in I’m pregnant
given that it was a spinoff of the
always confrontational all in the family
mod was destined to deal with hot-button
issues and this two-parter went right
for the jugular a few things inspire as
much debate as abortion made following
the practices legalization in New York
in real life mod a middle-aged woman
finds herself pregnant and decides to
have the procedure I think it would be
wrong to have a child at our age oh so
hot wolf oh well this saga why although
the initial broadcasts drew little
attention that changed when it was rerun
after the landmark roe v– wade Supreme
Court verdict
this time it through huge viewing
figures thanks in part to the publicity
unintentionally generated by protesters
oh we close number three home the
x-files now we all have a natural
instinct to propagate through it the
truth is out there and it still gives
viewers the creeps in part thanks to
episodes like home set up like a slasher
horror movie this episode saw Mulder and
Scully investigating a murderous family
so monstrous they make the Fluke man
look cuddly the violence and subject
matter which included rape incest and
child murder were so graphic but it’s
the only episode during the series run
to receive a tv-ma rating and the only
one never rebroadcast on Fox
despite the controversy palm earned
extensive critical acclaim and is
typically considered one of the series
finest episodes
number two the puppy episode Ellen Ellen
are you coming out or not yep it’s that
episode lead character Ellen Morgan
realizes she’s gay and opens up about it
to others in the course of this
two-parter in a case of art mirroring
life Ellen DeGeneres came out of the
closet nearly simultaneously with her
character
I’m gay although not out of the norm
today this was groundbreaking in 1997
the episode was the subject of backlash
even before it aired with sponsors
pulling support right-wing groups
expressing outrage in the studio even
receiving a bomb threat what is that gay
humor and I don’t get it I’m gay I am
its legacy is much more uplifting
however as Ellen’s coming out episode
was a hugely seminal moment in advancing
gay representation on television it was
the hardest thing that I ever had to do
in my life and I would not change one
moment of it because it led me to be
exactly where I am today standing in
front of all of you before we get to our
top pick here are some honorable
mentions I got to show it to you so
don’t strike matches okay
I grew up in Honolulu they certainly
weren’t people who were building bombs
for a war the way King Friday thought
they were
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
number one the Puerto Rican Day Seinfeld
no it’s the Puerto Rican Day Parade
although the show about nothing tackled
some provocative subjects during its run
its most controversial episode was not
intentionally provocative when Jerry and
the gang are on their way home from a
baseball game they are caught in traffic
due to the Puerto Rican Day Parade in
the course of the story
Kramer accidentally sets the Puerto
Rican flag on fire and stomps on it to
put it out the guy fucking the Puerto
Rican flag who pours burning the flag in
addition the Puerto Ricans depicted in
the episode are not shown in a favorable
light and the territory itself is
implied to be riot prone all of this
prompted protests a formal apology and
the episode being pulled from reruns for
several years you know it’s like this
every day in question do you agree with
our picks check out these other great
clips from WatchMojo and subscribe for
new videos every day
[Music]
backlash welcome to watchmojo.com and
today we’re counting down our picks for
the top ten controversial TV episodes
before we begin we publish new videos
every day
so be sure to subscribe for more great
content for this list we’re looking at
the episodes of television that prompted
a public outcry
we’re censored or otherwise stirred up
heated discussion we will not be
including season finales or animated
episodes however as those have lists of
their own shall we number 10 honey
Degrassi are you reading she’s acting of
your lives
she is well this teen drama has never
shied away from controversial or taboo
topics one of its most contentious
moments with this season 13 episode
which featured the death of fan favorite
character Adam Torres drawing on modern
issues Adam dies after an accident
caused by texting and driving the death
of a beloved character is often a sad
and anger and voguing event for many
fans but being the first transgender
character on the show Adams death was a
particularly rough blow for Degrassi
viewers
number nine I’ll see you in court
married with children hey I told you we
should never have sex no everybody’s
going to know it was a series notorious
for being more racy than its
contemporaries but this episode is
perhaps its most controversial in large
part due to censoring by the network
I’ll see you in court sees Al and Peggy
attempt to spice up their sex life by
trying it somewhere new only to end up
being filmed without their consent which
leads them to seek compensation for the
violation of their privacy you can’t do
this al remove this woman ya lose what
little confidence he already have going
unaired for years on US television the
episode gained a reputation as the lost
episode upon viewing it however more
recent critics have found it fairly
vanilla chalk this one up to overzealous
censors if we have been on tape we would
have made a Million number eight
13100 how dare you bring this to me on
Ascension Day killing off a character
who exemplifies an underrepresented
demographic can often result in a public
outcry and the death of LexA one of the
few gay characters on the hundred was
another case of this fans were
particularly upset since acts and gay
characters is common enough to be a
rather morbid trope the writing staff of
the hundred has apologized for their
handling of the deaths since the episode
aired though saying that they would have
done things differently in hindsight
on a happier note over 170,000 dollars
was raised by fans to support LGBTQ
teens in need after the episode aired
number 7 on all fours girls you don’t
know for us girls have generated plenty
of controversy and discomfort for its
audience but this episode took the
series signature cringe comedy and
cranked the squirm level up to 11 while
the majority of on all fours drew
criticism for being one of the darkest
outings in the show to that point with
extremely uncomfortable storylines for
many of the cast the epitome of the tone
shift came in the titular sex scene
which featured rough humiliating sex but
some viewers felt bordered on rape no no
not a magician
while HBO in general is noted for
featuring programs that delve into the
darker side of sex many viewers
apparently felt shocked to witness
something quite so extreme on what is
primarily a comedy I’m so sorry I don’t
know what came over me
number 6 you’re shot Buffy the Vampire
Slayer we could just get rid of all this
news Buffy and the rest of the Scooby
Gang dealt with many supernatural
threats during their adventures but one
of their most talked-about episodes
dealt with a problem that hit closer to
home an accident with a demons blood
allows Buffy to hear the thoughts of
others which leads her to uncover a
potential school shooting Christian
here’s the killer in the cafeteria the
subject is always extremely sensitive in
America but earshot was initially set to
air shortly after the Columbine massacre
despite the fact that the episode
shooter only intended suicide and that
the airing was delayed until nearly the
next season it’s still drew complaints
could we ever hurt anybody I came up
here to kill myself number 5 unbowed
unbent unbroken Game of Thrones this is
my home
you can’t pray to me controversy has
been woven into Game of Thrones since
day one but this episode ignited one of
its biggest public outcry
primarily for one scene despite the fact
that the show infamously kills off fan
favorite characters
it was the rape of Sansa Stark by her
sadistic new husband Ramsay Bolton that
had fans and critics outraged then he
found the scene gratuitous even with the
show’s history of depicting
non-consensual sex
[Music]
in addition fans of the books objected
to the scene as the rape and even
Sansa’s marriage to Ramsey originally
happened to an entirely different
character in their view this change
derailed her story arc and prior
character development number 4 mods
dilemma mod live in I’m pregnant
given that it was a spinoff of the
always confrontational all in the family
mod was destined to deal with hot-button
issues and this two-parter went right
for the jugular a few things inspire as
much debate as abortion made following
the practices legalization in New York
in real life mod a middle-aged woman
finds herself pregnant and decides to
have the procedure I think it would be
wrong to have a child at our age oh so
hot wolf oh well this saga why although
the initial broadcasts drew little
attention that changed when it was rerun
after the landmark roe v– wade Supreme
Court verdict
this time it through huge viewing
figures thanks in part to the publicity
unintentionally generated by protesters
oh we close number three home the
x-files now we all have a natural
instinct to propagate through it the
truth is out there and it still gives
viewers the creeps in part thanks to
episodes like home set up like a slasher
horror movie this episode saw Mulder and
Scully investigating a murderous family
so monstrous they make the Fluke man
look cuddly the violence and subject
matter which included rape incest and
child murder were so graphic but it’s
the only episode during the series run
to receive a tv-ma rating and the only
one never rebroadcast on Fox
despite the controversy palm earned
extensive critical acclaim and is
typically considered one of the series
finest episodes
number two the puppy episode Ellen Ellen
are you coming out or not yep it’s that
episode lead character Ellen Morgan
realizes she’s gay and opens up about it
to others in the course of this
two-parter in a case of art mirroring
life Ellen DeGeneres came out of the
closet nearly simultaneously with her
character
I’m gay although not out of the norm
today this was groundbreaking in 1997
the episode was the subject of backlash
even before it aired with sponsors
pulling support right-wing groups
expressing outrage in the studio even
receiving a bomb threat what is that gay
humor and I don’t get it I’m gay I am
its legacy is much more uplifting
however as Ellen’s coming out episode
was a hugely seminal moment in advancing
gay representation on television it was
the hardest thing that I ever had to do
in my life and I would not change one
moment of it because it led me to be
exactly where I am today standing in
front of all of you before we get to our
top pick here are some honorable
mentions I got to show it to you so
don’t strike matches okay
I grew up in Honolulu they certainly
weren’t people who were building bombs
for a war the way King Friday thought
they were
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
number one the Puerto Rican Day Seinfeld
no it’s the Puerto Rican Day Parade
although the show about nothing tackled
some provocative subjects during its run
its most controversial episode was not
intentionally provocative when Jerry and
the gang are on their way home from a
baseball game they are caught in traffic
due to the Puerto Rican Day Parade in
the course of the story
Kramer accidentally sets the Puerto
Rican flag on fire and stomps on it to
put it out the guy fucking the Puerto
Rican flag who pours burning the flag in
addition the Puerto Ricans depicted in
the episode are not shown in a favorable
light and the territory itself is
implied to be riot prone all of this
prompted protests a formal apology and
the episode being pulled from reruns for
several years you know it’s like this
every day in question do you agree with
our picks check out these other great
clips from WatchMojo and subscribe for
new videos every day
[Music]
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