In our valiant quest to review everything notable from the past year in television -- from the best episodes, the worst failures and the naughtiest characters -- Movieline continues today by examining another theme on the small screen in 2010: Television subplots that brilliantly toed the line between the not-so-politically correct and downright offensive. Below, our own list of envelope-pushing subplots and sequences, that in some instances, even made viewers recoil in disgust. As always, feel free to suggest your own faves in the space below.
South Park: Randy Gives Himself Testicular Cancer Just So That He Can Purchase Medical Marijuana
Amidst the misses of South Park's fourteenth season, there were a few subplot hits that outshone some of the series' all-time best moments. Among them, Randy's arc in "Medicinal Fried Chicken," when he willingly zapped his private parts in a microwave oven just to qualify for legal marijuana. Even though his tumor-ridden private parts need to be hauled in a wheelbarrow, Randy still convinced the men of South Park that the deadly condition was worth inflicting for the legal weed.
Weeds: Andy Buys a Severed Penis As Part of a Passport Scheme
When it comes to strange subplots, Weeds is king. This year's sixth season produced the weirdest arcs yet as Nancy Botwin and her family of fugitives circled the country, stopping for butter eating contests, surprise paternity tests, trailer park baptisms and SkyMall fetishists. The most bizarre arc occurred later in the season though when Andy, in need of cash for fake passports, agreed to act as a one-time hit man, faked an Al-Qaeda-style execution on home video, and then when asked for proof of his murder (which he never went through with), bought a severed penis from a morgue to use as evidence.
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It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia: Mac and Frank Use Blackface, Politically Incorrect Impressions and Gratuitous Sex During a Homemade Lethal Weapon 5 Movie
Forget the fact that this season's Sunny episode "Dee Reynolds: Shaping America's Youth" also managed to organically incorporate a plot where Charlie works as a high school janitor, insists that students call him "Professor" and encourages them to eat trash and bathe under his supervision. Just erase that from your memory. Because the most scandalous scene of this episode featured said high school students entering the bar under Dee and Charlie's supervision, and being subjected to a screening of Mac and Frank's politically incorrect video.
Party Down: Kyle Unwittingly References Nazi Propaganda and the Holocaust During His Performance at Constance Carmell's Wedding
It wasn't ideal for Party Down fans but the second season's closer ended up being a series finale for the ill-fated Rob Thomas Starz show. And no series finale is complete without a little accidental anti-Semitism, right?
The Simpsons: Moe Goes Down on Katy Perry
As credits rolled at the end of The Simpson's Christmas special, Sesame Street reject Katy Perry had a little bit of fun with the puppet version of Moe Szyslak.
Family Guy: Rush Limbaugh Brainwashes Brian into Becoming a Conservative, Attempting to Waterboard Nancy Pelosi
Family Guy may not have been able to lure Katy Perry to Quahog but they were able to attract someone just as controversial (if less sexy), Rush Limbaugh, for this season's Oct. 3 episode, "Excellence in Broadcasting." After reading Limbaugh's latest book, Brian became conservative, moved in with Limbaugh and even attempted to waterboard the Speaker of the House before even Limbaugh became fed up with Brian's
off-the-rails conservatism.
Mad Men: 11-Year-Old Sally Draper Masturbates at a Slumber Party
Awkward! Hopefully this disturbing scene -- in which Sally Draper, the product of her parents' divorce and neglect, lifted her nightgown while watching The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and did something that would later cause her mother to threaten to chop her fingers off -- will at least earn the brave Kiernan Shipka an Emmy nomination?