The Darkest Episodes Of Kids' TV Shows

They're often billed as "family-friendly," "wholesome," or "appropriate for children," but sometimes, television shows designed for young audiences contain some really dark and twisted stuff. With plots involving traumatizing topics like rape, suicide, parental abandonment, and murder, it's frankly amazing that some of these episodes ever made it on the air—and that parents didn't notice or take offense at the questionable content. There are many examples of dark episodes of "family" TV out there, but here are some of the worst offenders. 

From the opening moments of the season five episode "It's a Wishful Life" on the quirky animated series The Fairly OddParents, things go downhill fast. Main character Timmy keeps trying to do good deeds, but nobody appreciates his efforts, and even his loved ones complain or criticize him afterwards. Understandably upset, Timmy wishes that he'd never been born—a wish that his fairy godparent Wanda reluctantly grants. 

In a parody of the classic Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life, Timmy sees what the world would be like without him. However, unlike the movie (where the main character sees the positive impact he's made in people's lives), Timmy's fairy guide reveals that everyone he knows is much happier in a world where he doesn't exist. That's some pretty twisted stuff for a Nickelodeon cartoon aimed at grade-schoolers.  

Even more troubling, Timmy is later shown the Hell-like place where all the kids who wished they were never born go—implying that this sort of thing happens on a fairly regular basis. Later, the fairy explains that the whole thing was a setup, aimed at teaching him the lesson that a job well done is its own reward—a lesson that probably could have been imparted in a much less traumatizing manner. Considering that It's a Wonderful Life is about a guardian angel preventing the main character's suicide, and this episode parodies the movie by flipping its plot, that's a pretty disturbing message if you're a kid—especially if you are going through a tough time in your life.

If you grew up watching the Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats, you might not have been aware of the heavy themes going on behind-the-scenes. If you rewatch the series as an adult, you soon notice some really tragic backstories—which aren't really noticed or understood by the babies. Rugrats even has its own creepy It's a Wonderful Life spoof which would be worthy of a spot on this list—if it weren't for the much darker episode, "Angelica's Worst Nightmare."

Spoiled toddler Angelica Pickles enjoys her status as an only child, so when her mother announces that she is pregnant, Angelica's fragile ego is thrown into a tailspin. Her parents ignore her while discussing the pregnancy, and Angelica begins to worry that they won't have time for her—so she asks her mother not to have the baby. Her mother laughs this off, and a troubled Angelica goes to bed upset and frustrated. In a nightmare, Angelica's baby brother has arrived, and her parents have forgotten who she is. She's sent to live in the laundry room and eat table scraps while her brother is given her room and all of her toys.

Not satisfied with just taking everything she loves, the now-gigantic baby chases Angelica out of the house, and down the road as she tries to drive away in the family car. He catches her, picking up the car and starting to eat it—which causes her to wake up, screaming. Later, Angelica's parents tell her that they aren't going to have a baby after all (presumably because of a false-positive or a miscarriage). While she feigns disappointment, Angelica is secretly pleased about the sad news.

While it's probably one of the best early episodes of SpongeBob SquarePants, there was plenty of dark and twisted humor to go around in the season three episode "Nasty Patty." When a health inspector unexpectedly shows up at the Krusty Krab and demands one of everything on the menu, SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs become suspicious when they overhear a news report about a con artist posing as a health inspector to scam free food. In retaliation, they concoct a disgusting "Nasty Patty" for the inspector containing all sorts of vile ingredients. The inspector chokes on a fly and passes out, but SpongeBob and Mr. Krabs panic, believing they've accidentally killed him with the Nasty Patty.

For the rest of the episode, they try to dispose of the "body" in various ways, and when the health inspector starts to wake up as they bury him alive, they accidentally knock him out again (never realizing that he's not really dead). His shallow grave washes away, and they dig him out before being picked up by some unsuspecting police officers, who give them a ride back to the Krusty Krab (with the inspector hidden in the cop car's trunk).

Then SpongeBob sticks the inspector in the freezer, which backfires when one of the officers asks for ice with his drink. Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob confess everything and open the freezer, but the "body" is missing. When the very-much-alive inspector suddenly reappears, the police beat the tar out of him because they think he's a zombie. They soon realize their mistake, the inspector gives Mr. Krabs a passing grade on the restaurant, and everyone eats some Krabby Patties to celebrate.

The '90s ABC sitcom Dinosaurs (featuring Muppet-like dinosaurs created by Jim Henson Productions) was a fairly upbeat parody of modern American families, but it occasionally included episodes that touched on more serious topical issues—including racism, religion, sexual harassment, and women's rights. When the show's run came to an end after three seasons, the writers tied up the loose ends in the series finale "Changing Nature," which is a depressing parable about progress and climate change.

When Earl Sinclair's employers at the WESAYSO company destroy a swamp to build a factory, they kill off an entire species of insects—a species which helps keep an invasive type of poppies at bay. The plants run wild, and the bumbling Earl gets duped by his boss into leading a task force to deal with the poppies. He decides to poison the plants, and WESAYSO helicopters spray herbicide all over the world—which not only kills the poppies, but all other plant life. In a even stupider gambit to make it rain so the plants will return, the company drops bombs into volcanoes so the smoke will make bigger clouds. Instead, the thick ash blocks out the sun, sending the planet into an ice age—which spells certain extinction for the dinosaurs. 

The series closes out with Earl apologizing to his family for causing the end of the world, as they huddle together in their home while snow falls all around them.

Most episodes of the popular children's series Thomas the Tank Engine are rather cheerful affairs, usually with Thomas or one of the other engines learning a valuable lesson after being stubborn or childish in some way. In one early episode, "The Sad Story of Henry/Come Out Henry," a similar setup unfolds, but things take a decidedly dark turn. 

The green engine Henry is afraid the rain will ruin his bright and shiny paint, so he takes refuge inside a tunnel, and then refuses to leave it—even after the rain stops. When logical reasoning, firm orders, and even brute force fail to budge the silly steam engine, railway manager/father figure Sir Topham Hatt finally gives up, telling Henry that he can have it his way.

Henry's driver and fireman abandon him, then workers pull up the rails to the tunnel and lay bricks over the entrance, trapping Henry inside. The other engines cheekily whistle at Henry as they pass, and he becomes extremely lonely and miserable. Henry's fire goes out, so he can no longer whistle back at his friends, and the soot from their smoke ruins his shiny paint. As the sad green engine contemplates his unknown fate, the plucky narrator (Ringo Starr) asks the child audience, "But I think he deserved his punishment, don't you?" That's right, kids: if you misbehave, then it's completely normal for your parents to lock you in your room and not let you out. And if you've been really naughty, they might never come back.