A screenshot from a hybrid episode with incorrect graphics
A collage showing 2 different episodes that were combined and screenshots from the resulting 3rd episode
A hybrid episode is a type of illegitimate episode where 2 or more different episodes of the Maury Show are spliced together into one sharing segments from each of the episodes. Hybrid episodes are rather controversial due to the fact that the Maury Show tries to pass them off as new episodes when it's obvious that they are really just partial re-runs of several episodes condensed into 1. They began as early as Season 3 (2000-2001) but may have been present for longer than that. They are not considered real episodes of the Maury Show, as they never add any new content.
Characteristics:
Due to the fact that a hybrid episode is several episodes combined, segments from all or some of the episodes will be dropped entirely from the hybrid episodes. There will often be abrupt cuts as a result of the editors going to great lengths to remove any content from segments from the original episode that were not transferred to the new one. In episodes with interventions, like wild teen girl episodes, the interventionist will almost never be shown and the show will abruptly cut to the guests going through whatever punishment they have to go through. On most occasions, due to the fact that hybrid episodes sometime use episodes that air several months apart, Maury's shirt will change colors and members of the audience will be different. Although title card graphics will be changed, sometimes, the "You ARE/are NOT the father" graphic will stay the same as it was in the unedited episodes. When an episode from Season 7 or before is repackaged as a new episode for any season that used the original graphics scheme from 1998-earlier half of 2007, the blue title bubble will be opaque instead of transparent like it usually is. This is a result of the editing staff going to great lengths to prevent viewers from seeing the title of the original episodes. A handful of legitimate Season 7 episodes may use the opaque title bubble as well, though it isn't known why.
Several hybrid episodes sometimes have aired years after the original episodes aired. In 2012, the Maury Show aired several hybrid episodes from 2005-2007 packaged with upgraded title cards with little else changed, drawing attention to obvious differences in quality between hybrid episodes and legitimate episodes that were actually created for the 2012-2013 seasons. This also happened circa 2008 after the graphics were updated to the color red; episodes from 2005-2007 were aired, ostensibly as new episodes. These, however, were often much harder to spot than the similar ones from 2012, due to the fact that graphics hadn't really changed that much between 2005-2008.
Examples: