FOX
Where do you draw the line? How far can you go in getting to that line and not crossing it? What do you do, or how do you react, when it gets crossed?
All valid questions delving into the third installment of FOX’s Bordertown.
In the first post I did on the series, I mentioned the show could harbor “… uncomfortable situations we wouldn’t normally encounter or wouldn’t dare approach for lack of teetering that racial totter …” And, sure enough, that line was drawn and crossed with plenty of regularity in the episode “Megachurch.”
FOX
From church hypocrisy to the church leader being called out as a Peeping Tom. From passing gas while worshiping to calling out The Savior for a one-on-one throw down. From his holiness The Pope no-nonsensically swearing to him running down a Messianic Jew. From the megachurch leader (apply all the Elton John “Captain Fantastic And The Brown Dirt Cowboy” innuendo about the church’s “Reverend Fantastic” as you want — there’s plenty to choose from) riffing on The Dark Knight (complete with Jesus/Batman and Satan/Joker) to the lions awaiting their folly in “Daniel’s Den For Delinquents.” From the music box gardener to the jetpack of heavenly ascension. From the term “Hispandering” to Sigmund Freud and Carl Sagan admitting they were wrong about religion.
Man, was this half hour packed with zingers. And the ones mentioned above only scratched the surface. I haven’t even touched on the glass floor girls’ school, the Apollo 13 parody (where I physically doubled over during a full-on belly laugh) or the domestic abuse one-liner.
For those who saw it, though, you know what I’m talking about. You saw where those lines got drawn and you saw where they went and where they got crossed. So my question is this: How did you react?
FOX
There was stuff in the program that dropped my jaw. Still, with its usual opening warning (suggestive dialog, language, sexual situations) and 9:30 p.m. local start time, it lived up to that rating. And then some. With three episodes of Bordertown under our belts, you have a good idea what to expect from the show. If not, you’re either A) not paying attention or B) you’re “watching” the show like some do with it in the background, only cursorily paying attention. In that case you’re missing out on the groan-worthy stuff as well as the “Did they really just say that?!?” stuff.
One of the best parts of the episode were the Kaiju attack and the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote opening, the least offensive jokes and site gags in the entire installment … unless you’re an ex-mother-in-law. If that’s the case, you’ll probably be offended. And maybe that’s where you draw the line, at mothers-in-law jokes. (*naw* … I don’t think so.)
What’s that? You DVR’d it but haven’t seen the episode yet? Then go … go and be amazed at all Bordertown got away with this week. Like Becky’s prodding (sorry in advance, bad pun) of J.C. and his unspoken shame:
“Behind all that hurt is a hurt behind.”
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