The Darkest Episodes From '90s TV Shows 

ALBDAMMED I remember that episode of Family Matters...another dark episode of that show was “The Gun” when some thugs rob Laura of her new leather jacket and she thinks about getting a gun for protection until one of her good friends gets shot by those thugs.

What's so *Dark* about the *FRIENDS* episode ? ...Other than the Lying aspect . So what Monica was 26 and was Ethan 17 , that's only a 9 yr age difference ... an as for Monica " some how avoids prison " , The show takes place in New York and the age of *consent* is 17 .. so *nothing* illegal happen ~ 😈🔺🦋

The episode of “ The Fresh Prince of Bel Air”where Carlton gets a hold of speed.

I can name one. It's this episode where some stuck up rich white lady who pretends to be all wholesome and pure lies and uses her money to get her airhead daughter into college. 🤣

Full House also had an episode where one of Stephanie's classmates admits to her that he is physically abused at home and asks her to keep it a secret.

@@flightofthebumblebee9529 please don't breed. That's all.

Sam Loomis 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Or the one where DJ meets an old guy with dementia. (although at the end the say it's Alzheimers, although I think that's not quite how Alzheimer's develops/works)

@@MsHojat That was actually DJ. But yeah that was sad.

Or the one where Stephanie’s scared for her dad to leave after the earthquake

That is true, a very dark one

To be fair it was Jackie

@@jmcfintona999 lol surprised it didn't happen more

That was dark but overall Rosanne show was always also kinda dark comedy dealing with real subjects, it's what made it unique for the time.

Actually loved seeing Dan's reaction in that 1 in getting revenge for his sister in law.

'i learned how to fight without him, i learned how to play ball without him, i had 13 wonderful summers without him he hasnt sent me one single birthday card, iTHE HELL WITH HIM.....how come he dont want me, man'

Travis C omg I cant even watch that clip because I cry every time

Where’s mars Argo not my life. That scene was wayyy darker than the friends, full house and saved by the bell scenes, that stuff happens everyday too.

ThisBitch Wow, what a story. Your “father” sounds like a pompous narcissist too. He wants credit for something he doesn’t deserve. Parenting is a privilege, not a right. If he won’t ever let you forget the one time you used his name, he’s on a lifelong power trip. I can relate. My story’s a lot like yours and my “father” is so much like yours. As an adult, I’ve had to terminate any relationship at all. He’s still angry about it, 4 years later, but I have a lot less pain. I don’t know how young or old you are, but my advice would be to start setting boundaries for him now. That’s what I did first, to see if his behavior would be better. When it didn’t after a few years, I said “see ya later.” Good luck ✌🏼

@ThisBitch I'm really sorry you had to go through that. The silver lining though, is that you are a better person for not having him around & your mom going against his wish shows how nich she really, truly DID want you & loved you before even meeting you. You are stronger now for having to grow up with those wounds & you will take those lessons forward in life to have compassion & understanding for others & especially for your kids (if & when you choose to have any.) It's hard to see the light in such a dark situation, but I promise you it's there. Your experiences have shaped you in to exactly the person you were designed to be & people who have been hurt & know pain, understand the value of love, generosity, and empathy on a level others simply can't fathom. Take that pain and light your fire with it. Use that fire to change the world & help others experiencing the same kind of pain & loneliness you had to. And most importantly, DON'T let his screw ups make you bitter. M the things he didn't do, are a sign of all the things wrong with him. Not one single bit of his awful decisions refelct on you or anything being wrong with you. You are perfect. Keep your heart open & give the love that wasn't given to you by his weak ass, knowing that it might change the life of someone going through darkness & pain just like you have. Blessings & love baby. ❤

What episode was that? I love BMW, but I don't remember that at all.

Been waiting for this comment

Robert Burnham Oh god, that episode made me feel sick.

FireMinstrel The episode is “Dangerous Secret” I believe.

FireMinstrel I THINK it’s the one where the girl is sleeping at Shawn’s and Corey thinks they’re having sex but really he was just keeping her safe

Yes! Agreed

Go make a list

That wasnt dark... just real life

Remember that African Americans have always been seen as comedic buffoons so even with serious situations no one took the same situation that would be tragic for African Americans as anything but normal! You can see this basic premise in Good Times!

@Jose Moran yes

That was a powerful episode because it highlighted that Uncle Phil was Will's real father figure.

Yeah I remember tearin up listening to that line. How many children have an absentee parent and feel unwanted?!? It's very heartbreaking and very real for so many babies. It's sad. To be a child and feel unwanted and unloved. Even at Wills age in the show it just goes to show, you're never to old to feel abandoned

For me its the episode where will and Carlton got assaulted and will took the shot. Carlton couldn't come to terms how cold the world can be.

Iam 34.. And still cry on that scene .. I dont wanna cry hugs buddy

Or the episode when Phil has a heart attack and Carlton doesn’t want to go to the hospital. Will points out that he at least knows where his dad is as Will hasn’t seen his actual dad in years.

Yeah, nobody watched that show.

You didn't see that coming?

@@snikkerr1949 Obviously I know that dinosaurs are extinct, but I didn't think they were going to end the series with them dying. It's like ending the Ice Age series with them dying, it's just a punch in the gut as you see these characters you've come to know and like die.

@@JaysonT1 Um...that show was hugely popular!

@@snikkerr1949 I didn't - not as a child.

Nick K lol

Too soon... and anyways, DJ would have had no trouble getting into USC on her own merit. Becky's own sons, however, are a different story from what we see on Fuller House...

Bahaha

@@FireMinstrel ha it is NOT too soon to call out criminal behavior. And, DJ didn't get into Stanford, her dream school. Kimmie tells her she should have sent a crisp twenty with her application. Aunt Becky took the idea just a leeetle further.

@@YTistooannoying Ah, I must've missed that scene. My bad. Wonder where DJ ended up going?

ryland is a fail best show ever for young kids growing up

That was actually early 2000’s

@@jpcote8794 80's 90's 2000's ...look it up then delete ur comment stupid

@@tylersimpson5091 I absolutely agreed with your comment, all the way up until the "stupid" part. Smh, completely unnecessary 🙄

Rachel's a flop that’s 80s

He happened to have a door named dad.

I agree!

or the one where Rose pulls a knife on Sophie for eating the last Fig Newton in the house, that B*tch cut that old lady good !

The almost assisted suicide episode breaks my heart every time I see it. I think of my grandmothers and their friends and it makes me so sad to know that some of them could be feeling that way. Golden Girls has some truly great dark episodes. The episode with Dorothy's anti-Semitic friend was another dark one that they did a great job with.

@@FireflyGirl2517 i know right?!? The show is amazing in how it can be funny one episode and in the next it can tear at your heart strings such a good show

You guys are forgetting about The Golden Girls Haunted House episode, that one is worth an honorable mention.

Memelord 420 I knew that show wasn’t very funny.

Man I hate it when that happens to me

Married With Children doesn't count. Every single episode was dark as fuck one way or another.

Ah yes that was dark alright Al kept having sex with peggy. Lol

Steve ate his burger with a big smile

That's a show I honestly can't bring myself to watch. Nope.

the shot one @Cherlock McFly

@Cherlock McFly the Fresh Prince had some kinda dark and upsetting episodes nor just funny ones

There were quite a few "dark" episodes of that show, the one where Will tries to drive home drunk, his dad coming back then leaving the same episode, when Carlton takes too many pills, the one where Will gets shot, and I'm sure there's a few more, those are just the ones I can remember.

Oh and the one where Will gets shy and Carlton gets a gun. There’s also the one where Will and Carlton get racially profiled and arrested. They really got serious a lot for also being one of the funniest shows of the 90s

Yeah, what about the one when Carlton gets high on pills?

Along with some soft comforting music in the background.

And don't forget a hug!

and then he burns a jay

Where was Danny Tanner on 9/11?

I WONDER IF HE CAN GET AUNT BECKY OUT OF THE FIX SHE'S IN NOW? LOL #IMVISUALLYIMPAIRED #IMNOTYELLING

Need to have more truth shown to our young

Kevin F I remember that too, because Jesse sees her with it and the friends saw Jesse there and played it off.

Yea the episode where we find out uncle Jesse ain't that cool....

How about the one where Kimmy got drunk?

Valerie Vargas yeah I remember that one too.

Ooooo dark lol....

Or the Family Ties episode with Tom Hanks as the alcoholic uncle.

German Dimplez or Alex P. Keaton’s addiction to speed.

@@marisaledesma4068 was just about to comment this lol

@@marisaledesma4068 Absolutely !! That scene in his bedroom where he "crashes" (from the 'high') in front of his parents, was (in my opinion) his best performance in the entire series. During his meltdown where he slides down the wall and looks up at his mom, & she said something to the effect of "You know how you feel *right now* ? Don't ever forget it."

I don't remember the episode with Sophia's friend wanting to commit suicide. Was it an earlier episode?

when shawn’s dad had a heart attack then died..

The thing is, in later seasons Boy Meets World was hardly a comedy series anymore.

DEGRASSI (JUNIOR) HIGH + SAVED BY THE BELL = BEVERLY HILLS 90210

the one where claude kills himself should have been on this list

RIP Claude, JT, Cam, and Adam

Well, I would say the darkest one of QL is when he jumped into a female rape survivor and was almost raped again barely escaping his/her attacker.

I also thought that the Evil Leaper episodes were really dark and intense.

lumariadp Oswald actually started merging w/Sam, overwhelming his personality or something, didn't he? And I remember being *very* disappointed w/the conclusion: "Sam, you saved Jackie!" So anti-climactic, and made no sense. He changed history how, Al?? I also recall thinking that Clint Hill should sue.

@@hadleymccool2193 I always thought the ending where he says "Sam, you saved Jackie" was because maybe in the original history Lee Harvey Oswald ended up shooting both of them (aka the bullet angle went through John and hit Jackie, killing them both) but because there was another person in his body the angle was slightly altered. We think Sam's there to stop Oswald from killing John, but what if he was there to really save Jackie and the future she would bring.

That was the first thing that came to mind for me too. Than and literally every episode of Seventh Heaven.

YOU OWE ME!! GIVE ME THE GUN CARLTON!!

*think the ep. of Carlton taking amphetamines and almost dying is easily fourth...

That episode was the first thing I thought of when I read the title of this video. And I agree, there was quite some more. Like the one in which Will and Carlton drive the car of Phil's friend and get arrested by the police.

Rebecca, is that the episode where Carleton says “I would have taken a bullet for you,” but Will jokes “don’t worry about it. Even if you tried, you’re so short, it would have hit me anyways.”

Not to mention that they downplayed or minimized the seriousness of eating disorders. Saying "you're headed down a dangerous road" or "you could be doing serious damage to your body" isn't enough for a young girl that doesn't like how she looks. Jesse and Danny should've scared the hell out of DJ.

Never even heard of "Silence is Not Golden"

Josh When I first watched that episode, I believe I was about 9 or 10 years old and that was the first time I ever heard of those terms Danny used warning DJ such as “anorexia” and bulimia”. Given that eating disorders tend to be higher with women compared to men, this made me very curious as to what those eating disorders were exactly and it was like a wake up call as to what problems I could have ran into when I got older into adolescence. Luckily, I never dealt with ED when I was a teen and don’t have body issues, but it’s sad as to how I’ve actually witnessed it now in the modern era on social media with controversial figures like Eugina Cooney.

“silence is not golden”. Is in Full House Season 6 I believe. Very uncharacteristicall sober episode for s typically light-hearted show. You should check it out. . I remember when it aired they even had Jodie Sweetin and John Stamos talk directly to the viewers at the end doing a little PSA for the child abuse hotline.. that episode definitely deserved mention on this list.. it’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the title of the list. Much more so than the One where DJ diets

@@abacab87 it s a very good episode

Yeah, that was crazy it was dealing only with a Pre-school or Kindergarten but that was very ironic. Maybe that episode got her the idea to try such a deception.

Good one

With the cheesy music

Always!!

Uncle Jessie and Joey also had some corny speach's for all the girls over the years

Danny:”DJ,come on open the door.” DJ:”NO. Leave me alone!!” my mom be like “I 👏🏻 KNOW 👏🏻 YOU 👏🏻 DID 👏🏻 NOT 👏🏻 LOCK 👏🏻 THIS 👏🏻 DOOR 👏🏻,YOU GOT FIVE SECONDS TO UNLOCK THIS DOOR 👏🏻

Christian Diaz fr lmao

RoseofSharon Did ALF ever have a final episode? I thought it was was to be continued and the last episode never aired. 🤔

@@germandimplez Apparently the final episode was the goverment finding Alf and taking him back to a headquaters to peform messed up experiments on Alf.

I think they did a TV movie about what happened to Alf after the Alien Task Force got him. It was called Project Alf.

Yeah I am surpised the dinosaurs finale wasn’t On the list

Silver spoons, where ricky gets his heart broken for the first time..and its like he REALLY gets depressed

Yes 😩

And when you say "some" you mean "pretty much all the dark moments?" Also it got worse as Next Gen and Next Class came out years later.

If the acting seemed good, I assume it was because Will may not have been "acting." Those were probably authentic tears considering the weight of the scene.

never go full anime :)

Amen, no anime though.

I'm from the 90s and love anime; I also love cartoon in general. Let be honest a lot of live action sitcom are boring that come out now.

@@alexandermacdougall7873 always go full anime, anime characters destroy comic book heroes 24/7.

The episode of Tiny Toons where they drank one beer, drove off a cliff and died. lol.

I was going to point that out.

Not to mention that if the guy lied about his age and she genuinely believed him, there is no case to be made against her.

I dont think it was 17 back then but either way he lied and I doubt anyone would call the police on her for that. Lol

@@ytyt3922 Reverse the genders. Still hold the same opinion?

Todd Jones yes. I am male btw and have no time for the double standards preached by neofascist feminists.

That episode made me cry.

Plus this pisses me off. How come Roseanne and Dans son Jerry isn't on The Connors but Darlene's daughter is? If Roseanne's last season was supposed to be a dream? And Jackie's son isn't on The Connors either, Why????

LoL

agree

And the Frasier episode wasn’t dark either. When Niles went in for heart surgery and Daphne broke down, that episode was a bit too close to real life. But that was early noughties, so can’t be on the list.

Gross but not dark

Well, I think it's a stretch to call any of the examples shown "dark". Most of them are just not very typical for a sitcom.

It's pretty bizarre how if the genders were reversed it would be considered predatory but because a 40 year old woman seduces a teenage boy it's okay? Weird.

Omg pretty cheeeezy tops her showgirls performance lol

I'm so excited! I'm so excited! I'm so....scared!

what you mean what the hell, she broke the law that what happens when you brake the law, you get arrested.

phantomblade89 "Break." Not "Brake."

Technicality she wasn't an aunt to the girls. Joey either. Just saying.

@@oxymoron296 you dont have to be blood to be family. Full house taught that important lesson

Knew aunty was too pretty to be perfect

Remember Al's fave show... Psycho Dad (you only get to hear the theme song, which was hilarious)...then the one time Peg is watching TV and Psycho Mom comes on...comedy gold 😅

There was the episode where Buck died and the family has a seance so Kelly can have closure. That is the closest MWC came to being dark but it was still a funny episode because it had Father Guido Sarducci and Ben Stein.

Dumbest show ever made.

Yes they will!

Even Family Matters When Carl Felt Guilty About Victim In The Convenient Store Robbery Being Killed? I

Jordan Sparks they reconned the last season of the original run. Basically Dan faked his death and disappeared for awhile or something. Roseanne was written off shortly after the series returned by saying she OD’d.

That’s a good question.... if only there was a good answer. Rosanne has truly pushed retconning and writing characters off to levels of “this series just needs to stop being made because it’s becoming a soap opera”.... when your show makes the Will and Grace Revival seem tasteful... you know something has gone horribly horribly wrong.

Yeah

Too much caffeine intake in the past caused those for me, so I'm normally pretty careful with my caffeine intake now.

congrats on using wikipedia and google!

Yup youre right. I hate anxiety and panic attacks 😔

But the point was it wasn't really caffeine wink wink cause network didn't want METH on the show Wich it was really about

Go have another cup of coffee

john ob Nah-ah...there was that episode where he...umm....wait...there was that time when he went to...umm...what about the one where he did that impression of...wait... Ok, man, just screwing around. That guy was a dope. NOTHING he did, or said, was even remotely funny to anyone over the age of three. Just seeing that guy on screen was enough to anger me.

Comet was funnier than Uncle Joey.

There is no Uncle Joey, only Joey.

john ob nobody called him uncle Joey ... Joey is what they called him

That whole show sucked ass so bad i could never watch it....

I kept pushing end on my keyboard hoping someone else made this comment already

terrified me for life!

Fayanora Ahnabahn it was dark for a show like fraiser

@@WickedLiquid That doesn't really explain it. I don't get how two consenting adults having sex with each other is in any way, shape, or form 'dark.'

Because one is an 18 year old virgin and the other is his 40 year old teacher. Consenting adults yes, but it was a creepy idea for a 90’s sitcom. Frasier was one of the smartest sitcoms on television and this episode was another example why. If it was a 40 year old man taking the virginity of his 18 year old student there would be no question it would look creepy and disturbing. Yet when it is an older woman taking advantage of a teenage man our public perception deems it to be ok. It’s a double standard and Frasier brought the subject to light.

it wasn't

@@WickedLiquid perfect way of putting it!!

Yes that was my first thought too.. if they could only mention one full house episode that should have been the one.. very dark and sober for full house.. I even distinctly remember Jodie Swetin and John Stamos did a PSA at the end where they broke character and gave the child abuse hotline number

Btw.. I’m pretty sure it was Season 6 and called something like “Silence is not Gilden”

“Why did I leap? I didn’t fix anything, he still died”. “The first time, she died too”. My favourite episode of Quantum Leap!!

I do. Some of these are some of my favorites. You can only take so much comedy before it gets boring.

U can only take so much comedy that isn’t even funny as is the case with most of these shows

Binge watch them all. Do what the girl from Saved by the bell did and pop Caffine pills. It'll be so worth it, who needs sleep, when you can simply binge watch all the greats at once.

I wish they did some Family Matters episodes. Like the one where Laura's friend got shot by a girl gang over her new shoes. And the one where Steve accidentally took Laura's diet pills thinking they were vitamins. Or how about the one where Eddie was roughed up by a pair of white cops because he was a black kid in a white neighborhood. Of course there was an episode about racism. It was where Laura was petitioning to have a year round black history course. The part that upset me the most was when she found a hateful note in her locker and when she closed it someone sprayed a racial slur on the door!

​@@melissacooper4282There Should Be 20 Episodes For Family Matters Maybe More.

Of course; theres many things that can cause panic attacks, etc. with anxiety. I have anxiety so I know all too well. Lol

It wasn't caffeine, it was legally-made cocaine.

Wha' chu talkin' bout, Kelly Sue?

Was that broadcast in the 80s though?

i guess thats what makes it dark. when sitcoms have an episode centered around real life topics instead of the assumed happy ending that most of the episodes would get, it can be shocking and a harsh break in from reality past all the jokes.

Thank you for being their friend.

True, but George's fiancee dying and the cast treating it like a joke, that's dark humor.

@@abacab87 true. I forgot about that one.😬

@@abacab87 😂😂👍

all joking aside, the episode with the incest/inbred family of freaks was so disturbing, Fox would only let it be allowed once, and then only on Halloween (supposedly). it was actually a great episode! it was like the hills have eyes/wrong turn, combined!

Right. Dam that episode creeped me out as a kid I don’t think I fully understood it then.

Diff'rent Strokes had a lot of dark episodes. Sam was kidnapped, Kimberley and Arnold were also kidnapped, Willis developed a gambling problem....what the hell was wrong with that family?!

Did she learn to deal with them? =)

Holt shit that killed me....funnnny

Dave Lawlis Your wife at the time was not very happy about it? No, REALLY?? Shock of the century.

@ Did you hear that whooshing sound?

This is sick on so many levels

No, it wasn't a flash back. They were able to keep her from taking the drug for like maybe 2 nights but, Rose breaks down and takes a pill and then realizes how addicted she is. She calls a rehab center and she stays there for a while in recovery. The girls worry that when Rose comes back she might not be the same old goofy Rose they were used to. But Rose quickly does something silly and we realize she is still the same old Rose.

That's what I was gonna say, lol. Well, there was the Family Matters where Willie Fuffner gets Steve Urkel drunk.

they used the end world also on diff world.

@@MsDisneylandlover It was sad. Also very telling about how racism still exists. The guys only put the first 2 letters, because that's when Dwayne and Ron caught them. But whoever finished was thinking the same way the white guys who started the graffitti were.

If I remember it right Will got some speed from a friend and was considering taking them because he was having trouble staying awake for all the activities he was involved with. Carlton takes nearly a whole bottle of amphetamines by accident because he thought they were vitamin E tablets. He ends up in the hospital and covers for Will when the family asks what happened. In the end Will felt guilty about nearly losing Carlton that he confessed to the family that he was at fault.

Alice Collins every series in the mid-late 80s did an episode on AIDS. It was the hot button topic at the time. I hate the fact that tv shows today don’t focus on the hot button topics of the day like they used to. In the 80s you had episodes of drugs (as there was an epidemic at the time), AIDS (it was a new thing and most didn’t know much about it and to an extent still don’t), gun violence, mental health, bullying, ect. We could learn a lot from these old shows. They at least tried to teach the audience a little something. Now it’s just crappy one liners, whole series about someone sleeping with someone else (or half the city) and making jokes about it and not one real lesson to be learned.

However 90210 had a darker episode in which Scott's sister was abused by her Uncle.

Classic episode, from when TV could have meaning and a message.

Wait who got it like dammm I use to watch it but it became to dark for me

@@stefanavic6630 the message is use condoms don't fuck around or share needles period that's the message

Hi @@RashadSims-bh3zz ! Fair opinion :) I reckon the message(s) were AIDS awareness and respect for other humans. The bully warned Joey about his blood with respect, and in turn Joey showed respect by demonstrating compassion towards his now former bully. We also need to remember the phone call from the the bully's former girlfriend (sex partner) to tell him about her HIV positive condition. Check out the episode again - there will never be another Degrassi!

Yeah, Degrassi was ALWAYS dark, so it kinda skips this list for that reason.

Torrriate You must be gay. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

voodoochile333 ~That’s so weird to make a statement about someone and end it with, “not that there is anything wrong with it!” Not sure why you’d even point it out anyways..... irrelevant.

@@voodoochile333 You wished!

@@voodoochile333 No, but seriously - if you have any sense for character development, quality dialogues, meaningful plots and superb acting, you'll concede!

Torrriate ~👍👍

sirroxalot California is screwed up mentally

You forget that this was during the days of "Heroin Chic." I was 5'1" and 95 lbs and convinced I was obese because I wasn't 80 lbs. I don't know about other states, but in Southern California, it was very important to look 'right.'

BelaayyasMusic exactly. In the 90s it didn’t matter where you lived. Thin was in. Unlike nowadays where girls seem to want to be curvy. It’s such a foreign concept to me.

Greenville??

😹😹😹

She is still ugly inside out especially with her religious views of gay people.

Ikr.

Except For Punky Brewster's Episode, All Those Real Life Issues Mean Negativity/Immorality/A Bad Idea For A Positive Family Show; Child Molestation,, Sexual Assault, Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Drug Uses, Alcoholism Leading To Violence Or Driving Drunk And Pre-Marital Sex/STD.