It's not so common in British comedies, but over in the US of A, crowbarring serious issues into otherwise pretty silly sitcoms in 'special episodes' is relatively common.
Because of this, Dinosaurs ends up with a show about steroid abuse, Family Ties discusses alcoholism and Boy Meets World tackles the dark and murky world of cults.
All this to encourage kids to think a bit more about the more serious issues of the day - by dropping them into traditionally giggle-filled scenarios. Nice work, you guys!
Jest.com have collected their favourite 50 examples of this bizarre trope, and we've got just that for you above.
It does make you think, though: what if us Brits did a similar thing? Would we see Basil Fawlty dealing with anger management, Del Boy on smuggling? We can but dream...