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 This week we stick around in the 90s with an episode from one of the formative TV shows of a certain type of person of a certain age, Daria, in which Daria finds herself mildly perturbed to be the person everyone seeks out to help deal with their misery following the death of a beloved high school alumnus. Join Carolyn, Austin, & David as they talk MTV, the dangers of goal posts, and grapple with their own complex feelings about the recent passing of Dustin Diamond. Plus, a long-overdue mailbag check-in! So pour one out for Generation X, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode108.mp3

Arr arr arr arugh? What time is it? Time for more Home Improvement, as Carolyn, Austin, and David grunt their way back to the seminal 90s sitcom for a Very Special Episode in which Tandy Randy thinks he might have cancer and Tim & Jill are really shitty at handling it. Join them as they discuss their favorite pies, the sitcom spouse attractiveness ratio, and the dangers of WebMD and/or IMDB. So put out some empty bottles for the milkman, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode107.mp3

 Hello Wisconsin! We are back in the New Year with a Very Special episode set on the last day of the 1970s, That '70s Show series finale! Join Carolyn, Austin, & David as they talk Green Bay Packers tickets, weather-appropriate clothing, and the bizarre turns this show took once its main cast members decided to pack it in. Plus, a look back at the year that was in pop culture with a mini "Year in Review" segment! So head to the basement with your friends in order to take the edge off, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode106.mp3

 Pip pip, Happy Christmas guv'nor! This week we're traveling across the pond to merry ole England for our final Christmas episode of this holiday season, Peep Show's "Seasonal Beatings", in which Mark's family is coming over for Christmas lunch and Jeremy is a bit over-excited for the holiday. And if none of that makes any sense to you, don't worry, because Anglophile Carolyn is there to help walk you, Austin, and David through the vast narrative tapestry that is Peep Show! Join them as they talk Hot Knives, debate whether a potato counts as "veg", and explore the difference between an Eiffel Tower and spit-roasting!  So feed some deli ham through a paper shredder, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode105.mp3

Whatcu talking 'bout, everyone? The AVSE Holiday's continue this week with a Very Special Christmas episode of The Simpsons, in which Bart, Lisa & Homer team-up with special guest Gary Coleman to save Christmas from toy-murdering robots. Join Austin, Carolyn & David as they discuss the stunning longevity of the show, reveal which Bart Simpson t-shirts they wore back in the day, and point out the ways this episode from 1999 is eerily relevant to 2020 in places. So put the P then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode104.mp3

"For the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, the return of a prodigal podcast host!" That's right, we are kicking off our annual holiday coverage with a Very Special reunion, as Ryan Alexander-Tanner returns in order to reunite the Aluminum Four just in time to review the first episode of the brand new Saved by the Bell series! He joins Carolyn, Austin, and David as they discuss where the new show succeeds and fails at both tickling our nostalgia and doing something new, drop some knowledge about interdimensional wizard Max, and ponder whether this show is actually...good? So park your car in the best spot, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here! http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode103.mp3

Gobble gobble everyone! Since Thanksgiving is all effed up this year anyway, we figured we'd lean into the curve and celebrate with a Very Special non-Thanksgiving episode from the annals of classic TV and dive into the seminal I Love Lucy for the very first time by discussing the episode in which Lucy has to tell Ricky she's pregnant without saying the word "pregnant" because the 1950s! Join Carolyn, David, and Austin as they get all horned up like Lucy and talk Communism, sandwiches, and raw doggin' it! So head on down to the club, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode102.mp3

Happy Halloween everyone! This year we are celebrating the holiday with a Very Special episode of Punky Brewster, you know, the infamous one in which Punky and the gang go camping and find themselves lost in a cave filled with horrific nightmare fuel that will take root in your brain and haunt you forever! Join Austin, Carolyn, and David as they join Punky for her trip of horrors and encounter dismembered gold prospectors, giant black light spiders, and a bedazzled disco demon of death, all in this two-part episode of a family sitcom airing in prime time! So unwrap a Caramelo bar, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode101.mp3

This week, we celebrate one hundred episodes of A Very Special Episode with a Very Special episode about one of our favorite subjects: TV theme songs! Listen in as Carolyn, David, and Austin rank their favorite theme songs from decades of TV, celebrate the 80s as the Golden Age of TV theme songs, and ruminate on the slow death of the theme song over the last twenty years. Also featuring some terrible singing! So get prepared to get songs stuck in your head, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com. Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode100.mp3

"Must See TV" summer concludes with a Very Special Thanksgiving episode of ER! Included on the holiday menu is turducken, French toast, and DEATH BY HELICOPTER. That's right, as much as this episode might seem like a Very Special episode about the fertility of HIV patients, or marijuana use, or PTSD, it's really about the cold, unceasing bloodlust of helicopters. Join Carolyn, Austin & David as we carve a bird in honor of Dr. Melty Guy, discuss the unending stream of "That Guys" who appear on the show, and discover David's intricate knowledge of Michael Crichton's autobiography.So ignore that guy smushed under a helicopter, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode099.mp3

Our 2020 Must See TV marathon continues, as we tackle one of the most successful spinoffs of all time, Frasier, with an episode that sees Niles undergo open heart surgery and a hospital spill its guts! Join Carolyn, Austin and David as they rank iconic city skyline buildings, dig into some old candy bars, and discuss Dr. Bitz's tips for ripping off vending machines!So toss a salad and scramble some eggs, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode098.mp3

Our 2020 Summer Theme marathon kicks off this week, as we begin reviews of episodes plucked from NBC's "Must See TV" lineup of the 90s! Things kick off with a Very Special episode of Mad About You, the Diet Coke of sitcoms, in which Paul & Jamie attempt to Ferberize their baby in one continuous shot. Join Carolyn, Austin, & David as they discuss parenthood, make some contributions to the great Red Vines vs. Twizzler War, and name the official pasta of the AVSE podcast!So put down that copy of Architectural Digest, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.And you can follow Aaron on Twitter here!Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode097.mp3

In this week's sax-tastic episode, Carolyn & Austin are joined by Carolyn's husband & returning AVSE guest Aaron Walker to discuss an eerily prescient episode of Night Man, the superhero show you've never heard of but still technically counts as one of the earliest Marvel characters to get his own TV show, in which the titular hero has to battle an evil business magnate determined to win public office at any cost! Join us as we talk out-of-touch writers' ideas of the internet in 1998, the inexplicable limitations of Night Man's super suit, and a Nixon-themed version of the Joker!So leave a hologram of yourself doing something productive in your place, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.And you can follow Aaron on Twitter here!Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode096.mp3

Pour yourself a big tall glass of Vanilla extract and warm up your clarinet, cuz it's time for another Very Special Episode. This week, Austin, David & Carolyn are tackling one of those standard-bearing VSEs, Family Ties' "Say Uncle", in which Tom Hanks rolls into the Keaton household and promptly drinks everything in sight. Join us as we discuss our favorite Tom Hanks' roles, the background sitcom tropes which annoy us the most, and booze, booze and more booze.So grab some socks, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode095.mp3

Happy Pandemic everyone! We are back, and piggybacking on the zeitgeist, with a Very Special episode about the dangers of disease, asymptomatic carriers, and poor social distancing from The George Carlin Show, in which the sheer filth of George's apartment births a virus that soon causes everyone he comes into contact with to get sick. And if all that is hitting too close to home right now, don't worry: Carolyn, Austin, & David find plenty else to talk about, like dating in the 90s and the Madonna/Whore Complex (the Crack Research Team gets quite a workout in this one)!So renew your subscription to Caboose magazine (Carolyn will thank you), then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode094.mp3

This week, our bodies go through some changes in an episode more gross than the Screech porn, as  as an Aluminum Two-some plus a Very Special Guest, AVSE & SbtbB Reviewed Theme Song Master Brad Sucks, discover hair where they had no hair before while tackling modern sketch comedy.So sit on down for a puberty milkshake as you try not to involuntarily release urine, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.And be sure to check out Brad's work at BradSucks.net and follow him on Twitter!Also, be sure to listen to Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode093.mp3

We are back and tackling your dad's favorite sitcom this week, as we review an episode of MASH involving the departure of a much-loved character from the ensemble! Join Carolyn, Austin & David as they talk toidy trees,  decide which MASHer is the show's Screech, and declare the new leader of the podcast!So put on your best Carmen Miranda outfit, then download and listen here, and rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.Also, be sure to check out Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode092.mp3

So long, 2019! It's time for our now annual very special Very Special episode, when the Aluminum Four look back on the year that was and highlight the bits of new (or new to them) pop culture & societal trends they loved, hated, or were slightly more than indifferent towards. This year, we're talking about Tuca & Bertie, Knives Out, 30 Rock, Watchmen, and so much more.So join us as we yell at some kids to get off our lawns, then download and listen here, and rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.Also, be sure to check out Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here! It still makes a great stocking stuffer if you want to get a heads start on next year!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode091.mp3

It's a Christmas miracle, as we reach our fourth and final Family Matters Christmas episode, and Urkel is shockingly not super annoying! But we're still left with plenty to discuss as, following last week's return to a Homeless Christmas, this episode brings us back to our second favorite Christmas trope, "Christmas at the Mall in Which The Main Characters Are Inexplicably in Charge of Holiday Events!" Along the way we talk gingerbread houses, expensive pens that are still just pens, and randy Myra!So help us calculate how many Christmases Aunt Rachel has missed, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.Also, be sure to check out Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here! It makes a great stocking stuffer!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode090.mp3

In our latest episode, A Very Special Family Matters Christmas continues with season six's "A Miracle on Elm Street", in which Laura loses another cherished childhood heirloom and the Winslow family is again given irrefutable proof that Santa is real via another instance of the "homeless person comes to live with the central family at Christmas" sitcom trope. Also, Urkel hangs out at the dump.So iron out the wrinkles in your underwear, then download and listen here, rate & review us on iTunes or listen via Podbean, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify! You can follow the show on Twitter, like our Facebook page, and email us via avsepodcast@gmail.com.Also, be sure to check out Carolyn's spinoff podcast, Pitch Please!, here, and buy the game here! It makes a great stocking stuffer!http://media.averyspecialepisodepodcast.com/AVerySpecialEpisode089.mp3