''Taboo'' is a
documentary television series that premiered in 2002 on the
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney General ...
. The program is an educational look into "
taboo
A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...
" rituals and traditions practiced in some societies, yet forbidden and/or illegal in others.
Each hour-long episode details a specific topic, such as marriage or initiation rituals, and explores how such topics are viewed throughout the world. ''Taboo'' generally focuses on the most misunderstood, despised, or disagreed-upon activities, jobs, and roles.
Episodes
National Geographic TV
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by the National Geographic Global Networks unit of Disney General ...
producers did not produce ''Taboo'' in seasons of fixed episode counts, thus the number of episodes in each production batch varies wildly. The production order does not necessarily match the order episodes were arranged into for DVD "season" boxsets. In total, 118 episodes have aired.
Season 1
# "
Food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is in ...
" - Sep. 30, 2002
# "
Healers
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and al ...
" - Oct. 7, 2002
# "
Tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...
" - Oct. 14, 2002
# "
Voodoo" - Oct. 21, 2002
# "
Witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...
" - Oct. 28, 2002
# "
Marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
" - Nov. 4, 2002
# "
Drugs
A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...
" - Nov. 11, 2002
# "
Evil Spirits" - Nov. 18, 2002
# "
Sexuality
Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied wit ...
" - Dec. 2, 2002
# "
Death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
" - Dec. 9, 2002
# "Test of Faith" - Dec. 23, 2002
# "
Blood Sports
A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities char ...
" - Dec. 29, 2002
"Death" is not featured on the National Geographic page for the show. However it does appear on the first season boxset.
Season 2
# "
Justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
" - Oct. 6, 2003
# "
Delicacies" - Oct. 13, 2003
# "Creature
Cure
A cure is a substance or procedure that ends a medical condition, such as a medication, a surgical operation, a change in lifestyle or even a philosophical mindset that helps end a person's sufferings; or the state of being healed, or cured. The ...
s" - Oct. 20, 2003
# "
After Death" - Nov. 3, 2003
# "Body Perfect" - Nov. 10, 2003
# "Sacred
Pain
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
" Dec. 8, 2003
# "
Rites of Passage" - Dec. 30, 2003
# "
Child Rearing" - Jan. 12, 2004
# "Extreme
Entertainers" - Jan. 19, 2004
# "Blood Bonds" - Jan. 26, 2004
# "Marks of
Identity
Identity may refer to:
* Identity document
* Identity (philosophy)
* Identity (social science)
* Identity (mathematics)
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''Identity'' (1987 film), an Iranian film
* ''Identity'' (2003 film), an ...
" - Mar. 15, 2004
# "
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...
" - Mar. 23, 2004
Season 3
# "
Outcasts" - Jun. 14, 2004
# "Extreme Living" - Jun. 30, 2004
# "
Spirit Worlds" - Jul. 07, 2004
# "Extreme
Cuisine
A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
" - Jul. 14, 2004
# "Extreme
Childhood
A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...
" - Jul. 21, 2004
# "
Body Cutters" - Jul. 28, 2004
# "
Body Art" - Aug. 04, 2004
# "Gross
Grub" - Sept. 13, 2004
# "Rites of
Manhood
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...
" - Sept. 20, 2004
# "
Possessed" - Oct. 4, 2004
# "
Altered States" - Oct. 4, 2004
# "
Gender Benders
"Gender Benders" is the twelfth episode of '' Taboo'' third season, which aired on October 18, 2004. It is the 36th episode to be broadcast.
Female bodybuilding
2003 Ms. Olympia
The segment begins in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, at the ...
" - Oct. 18, 2004
# "
Blood Rites" - Nov. 8, 2004
# "
Crime Scene
A crime scene is any location that may be associated with a committed crime. Crime scenes contain physical evidence that is pertinent to a criminal investigation. This evidence is collected by crime scene investigators (CSI) and law enforcemen ...
" - Jan. 27, 2005
# "Gross Work" - Jan. 27, 2005
Season 4
# "Initiation Rituals" - Aug. 5, 2007
# "Skin Deep" - Aug. 5, 2007
# "Sexual Identity" - Aug. 8, 2007
# "Signs of Identity" - Aug. 15, 2007
# "Proving Ground" - Aug. 22, 2007
# "Body Modification" - Aug. 29, 2007
# "Nudity" - Sept. 5, 2007
# "Trials of Faith" - Oct. 3, 2007
# "
Pet
A pet, or companion animal, is an animal kept primarily for a person's company or entertainment rather than as a working animal, livestock, or a laboratory animal. Popular pets are often considered to have attractive appearances, intelligence ...
s" - Oct. 10, 2007
# "Gross Food" - Oct. 31, 2007
# "Extreme
Performer
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfor ...
s" - Nov. 11, 2007
# "
Jobs" - Nov. 14, 2007
# "
Mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite- sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reprod ...
" - Nov. 21, 2007
Season 5
# "Touching Death" - Aug. 6, 2008
# "Extreme Kids" - Aug. 6, 2008
# "Supreme
Devotion" - Aug. 13, 2008
# "Body Extremes" - Aug. 20, 2008
# "Extreme Healing" - Aug. 27, 2008
# "
Trial by Fire" - Sept. 3, 2008
# "Extreme Eats" - Sept. 10, 2008
# "
Outsiders" - Sept. 17, 2008
# "Drugs" - Oct. 15, 2008
# "The Third Sex" - Oct. 22, 2008
# "Extreme
Punishment
Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon a group or individual, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a response and deterrent to a particular ac ...
" - Oct. 29, 2008
# "Bizarre Bodies" - Nov. 10, 2008
# "Extreme
Ritual
A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...
s" - Nov. 24, 2008
# "Spilling
Blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the cir ...
" - Dec. 1, 2008
# "
Sex" - Dec. 8, 2008
Season 6
# "
Prostitution
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...
" - Jan. 17, 2010
# "
Fat" - Jan. 20, 2010
# "
Misfits" - Jan. 27, 2010
# "
Narcotics
The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiate ...
" - Feb. 3, 2010
# "Strange Love" - Feb. 10, 2010
# "Beyond the Grave" - Feb. 17, 2010
Season 7
# "
Beauty
Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...
" - May 2, 2011
# "Fantasy Lives" - May 2, 2011
# "
Addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
" - May 9, 2011
# "
Hoarders" - May 16, 2011
# "Prison Love" - May 23, 2011
# "Forbidden Love" - Jun. 12, 2011
Season 8
# "Secret Lives" - Jan. 3, 2012
# "Odd Couples" - Jan. 10, 2012
# "Extreme Fighting" - Jan. 17, 2012
# "Freaky Remedies" - Jan. 24, 2012
Season 9
# "Living With the Dead" - Jun. 17, 2012
# "Strange Behavior" - Jun. 24, 2012
# "
Booze" - Jul. 1, 2012
# "
Teen Sex
Adolescent sexuality is a stage of human development in which adolescents experience and explore sexual feelings. Interest in sexuality intensifies during the onset of puberty, and sexuality is often a vital aspect of teenagers' lives. Sexual int ...
" - Jul. 8, 2012
# "Extreme Collectors" - Jul. 15, 2012
# "Ugly" - Jul. 22, 2012
# "Nasty Jobs" - Jul. 29, 2012
# "Weird Weddings" - Aug. 5, 2012
# "Strange Passions" - Aug. 19, 2012
# "U.S. of Alcohol" - Sept. 2, 2012
# "Extreme Bodies" - Sept. 23, 2012
# "Changing Sex" - Sept. 30, 2012
# "Weird Collections" - Oct. 2, 2012
# "Private Passions" - Oct. 9, 2012
# "Old Enough?" - Oct. 16, 2012
# "Strange Syndromes" - Oct. 23, 2012
# "Bizarre Burials" - Oct. 30, 2012
# "Devils and Demons" - Nov. 19, 2012
Season 10
This "season" consists of episodes from a spin-off series: "Taboo USA".
# "Secret Passions" - Jun. 04, 2013
# "Strange Bonds" - Jun. 11, 2013
# "Odd Jobs" - Jun. 18, 2013
# "Forever Young" - Jun. 25, 2013
# "Strange Obsessions" - Jul. 02, 2013
# "Inked, Pierced & Hooked" - Jul. 09, 2013
# "Extreme Obesity" - Jul. 16, 2013
# "Strange Medicine" - Jul. 23, 2013
# "Body Shock" - Jul. 30, 2013
# "Home Strange Home" - Aug. 06, 2013
# "Strange Medicine" - Dec. 17, 2013
Specials
# The original Taboo pilot aired as a special in 2002.
# "Sex Swap" - 2007
# "Marked for Life" - March 2, 2008
# "Quest for Acceptance" - March 26, 2008
# "Ritualized" - Dec. 5, 2014
# "New Shades of Sex" - Dec. 5, 2014
# "Express Your Body" - Dec. 5, 2014
Featured individuals
*
Miss Plus America
Miss Plus America is a beauty pageant for plus-sized women. It began in 2002, to offer an alternative to mainstream pageants like Miss America, to which it has no affiliation.
All American women are eligible, so long as they are more than a ...
, Steph DeWaegeneer; Ms. Plus America 2009, featured in the episode "Fat".
*
The Lizardman
Reptilian humanoids, or anthropomorphic reptiles, are fictional creatures that appear in folklore, fiction, and conspiracy theories.
In folklore
In South Asian and Southeast Asian mythology, the Nāga are semi-divine creatures which are ...
, Erik Sprague, featured in the episode "Outcast".
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taboo
2002 American television series debuts
2014 American television series endings
2000s American documentary television series
2010s American documentary television series
Cultural anthropology
English-language television shows
National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming