Taboo (2002 TV series)

Taboo
Title screenshot/logo of Taboo
Also known as	Culture Shocks
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producer	Morris Abraham
Running time	60 minutes (with commercials)
Original release
Network	National Geographic Channel
Release	September 30, 2002 (2002-09-30) – December 5, 2014 (2014-12-05)

Taboo is a documentary television series that premiered in 2002 on the National Geographic Channel. The program is an educational look into "taboo" rituals and traditions practiced in some societies, yet forbidden and/or illegal in others.^[1]

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[edit]

National Geographic TV producers did not produce Taboo in seasons of fixed episode counts, thus the number of episodes in each production batch varies wildly.^[2][3] 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[edit]

1. "Food" - Sep. 30, 2002
2. "Healers" - Oct. 7, 2002
3. "Tattoo" - Oct. 14, 2002
4. "Voodoo" - Oct. 21, 2002
5. "Witchcraft" - Oct. 28, 2002
6. "Marriage" - Nov. 4, 2002
7. "Drugs" - Nov. 11, 2002
8. "Evil Spirits" - Nov. 18, 2002
9. "Sexuality" - Dec. 2, 2002
10. "Death" - Dec. 9, 2002
11. "Test of Faith" - Dec. 23, 2002
12. "Blood Sports" - 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[edit]

1. "Justice" - Oct. 6, 2003
2. "Delicacies" - Oct. 13, 2003
3. "Creature Cures" - Oct. 20, 2003
4. "After Death" - Nov. 3, 2003
5. "Body Perfect" - Nov. 10, 2003
6. "Sacred Pain" Dec. 8, 2003
7. "Rites of Passage" - Dec. 30, 2003
8. "Child Rearing" - Jan. 12, 2004
9. "Extreme Entertainers" - Jan. 19, 2004
10. "Blood Bonds" - Jan. 26, 2004
11. "Marks of Identity" - Mar. 15, 2004
12. "Initiation" - Mar. 23, 2004

Season 3[edit]

1. "Outcasts" - Jun. 14, 2004
2. "Extreme Living" - Jun. 30, 2004
3. "Spirit Worlds" - Jul. 07, 2004
4. "Extreme Cuisine" - Jul. 14, 2004
5. "Extreme Childhood" - Jul. 21, 2004
6. "Body Cutters" - Jul. 28, 2004
7. "Body Art" - Aug. 04, 2004
8. "Gross Grub" - Sept. 13, 2004
9. "Rites of Manhood" - Sept. 20, 2004
10. "Possessed" - Oct. 4, 2004
11. "Altered States" - Oct. 4, 2004
12. "Gender Benders" - Oct. 18, 2004
13. "Blood Rites" - Nov. 8, 2004
14. "Crime Scene" - Jan. 27, 2005
15. "Gross Work" - Jan. 27, 2005

Season 4[edit]

1. "Initiation Rituals" - Aug. 5, 2007
2. "Skin Deep" - Aug. 5, 2007
3. "Sexual Identity" - Aug. 8, 2007
4. "Signs of Identity" - Aug. 15, 2007
5. "Proving Ground" - Aug. 22, 2007
6. "Body Modification" - Aug. 29, 2007
7. "Nudity" - Sept. 5, 2007
8. "Trials of Faith" - Oct. 3, 2007
9. "Pets" - Oct. 10, 2007
10. "Gross Food" - Oct. 31, 2007
11. "Extreme Performers" - Nov. 11, 2007
12. "Jobs" - Nov. 14, 2007
13. "Mating" - Nov. 21, 2007

Season 5[edit]

1. "Touching Death" - Aug. 6, 2008
2. "Extreme Kids" - Aug. 6, 2008
3. "Supreme Devotion" - Aug. 13, 2008
4. "Body Extremes" - Aug. 20, 2008
5. "Extreme Healing" - Aug. 27, 2008
6. "Trial by Fire" - Sept. 3, 2008
7. "Extreme Eats" - Sept. 10, 2008
8. "Outsiders" - Sept. 17, 2008
9. "Drugs" - Oct. 15, 2008
10. "The Third Sex" - Oct. 22, 2008
11. "Extreme Punishment" - Oct. 29, 2008
12. "Bizarre Bodies" - Nov. 10, 2008
13. "Extreme Rituals" - Nov. 24, 2008
14. "Spilling Blood" - Dec. 1, 2008
15. "Sex" - Dec. 8, 2008

Season 6[edit]

1. "Prostitution" - Jan. 17, 2010
2. "Fat" - Jan. 20, 2010
3. "Misfits" - Jan. 27, 2010
4. "Narcotics"^[5] - Feb. 3, 2010
5. "Strange Love" - Feb. 10, 2010
6. "Beyond the Grave" - Feb. 17, 2010

Season 7[edit]

1. "Beauty" - May 2, 2011
2. "Fantasy Lives" - May 2, 2011
3. "Addiction" - May 9, 2011
4. "Hoarders" - May 16, 2011
5. "Prison Love" - May 23, 2011
6. "Forbidden Love" - Jun. 12, 2011

Season 8[edit]

1. "Secret Lives" - Jan. 3, 2012
2. "Odd Couples" - Jan. 10, 2012
3. "Extreme Fighting" - Jan. 17, 2012
4. "Freaky Remedies" - Jan. 24, 2012

Season 9[edit]

1. "Living With the Dead" - Jun. 17, 2012
2. "Strange Behavior" - Jun. 24, 2012
3. "Booze" - Jul. 1, 2012
4. "Teen Sex" - Jul. 8, 2012
5. "Extreme Collectors" - Jul. 15, 2012
6. "Ugly" - Jul. 22, 2012
7. "Nasty Jobs" - Jul. 29, 2012
8. "Weird Weddings" - Aug. 5, 2012
9. "Strange Passions" - Aug. 19, 2012
10. "U.S. of Alcohol" - Sept. 2, 2012
11. "Extreme Bodies" - Sept. 23, 2012
12. "Changing Sex" - Sept. 30, 2012
13. "Weird Collections" - Oct. 2, 2012
14. "Private Passions" - Oct. 9, 2012
15. "Old Enough?" - Oct. 16, 2012
16. "Strange Syndromes" - Oct. 23, 2012
17. "Bizarre Burials" - Oct. 30, 2012
18. "Devils and Demons" - Nov. 19, 2012

Season 10[edit]

This "season" consists of episodes from a spin-off series: "Taboo USA".^[6]

1. "Secret Passions" - Jun. 04, 2013
2. "Strange Bonds" - Jun. 11, 2013
3. "Odd Jobs" - Jun. 18, 2013
4. "Forever Young" - Jun. 25, 2013
5. "Strange Obsessions" - Jul. 02, 2013
6. "Inked, Pierced & Hooked" - Jul. 09, 2013
7. "Extreme Obesity" - Jul. 16, 2013
8. "Strange Medicine" - Jul. 23, 2013
9. "Body Shock" - Jul. 30, 2013
10. "Home Strange Home" - Aug. 06, 2013
11. "Strange Medicine" - Dec. 17, 2013

Specials[edit]

1. The original Taboo pilot aired as a special in 2002.
2. "Sex Swap" - 2007
3. "Marked for Life" - March 2, 2008
4. "Quest for Acceptance" - March 26, 2008
5. "Ritualized" - Dec. 5, 2014
6. "New Shades of Sex" - Dec. 5, 2014
7. "Express Your Body" - Dec. 5, 2014

Featured individuals[edit]

• Miss Plus America, Steph DeWaegeneer; Ms. Plus America 2009, featured in the episode "Fat".
• The Lizardman, Erik Sprague, featured in the episode "Outcast".

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Official website
• Taboo at IMDb