Sweeps

A time of the year the world of television programs where the virgins become sluts, the straits become gay, the mild-mannered become basket-cases, likeable characters turn out to be evil and/or die, couples cheat on eachother, the selfless turn selfish, someone gets pregnant, and just about any other thing that the creators can think of to boost their show's ratings enough to avoid getting cancelled by the network executives. Often as soon as sweeps week is over, all these elements are suddenly written out or forgotten.