Religion, abortion and homosexuality are sensitive topics for most, but not for comedian Sarah Silverman. Last season her Comedy Central show, "The Sarah Silverman Program," premiered and she made herself known by addressing sensitive topics from a different angle than most, and season two is no different.
"The Sarah Silverman Program" stars Silverman, who plays a character of the same name whose wacky daily life is told through narrative and the occasional song.
"In each episode, Sarah falls into unique, unsettling and always hilarious predicaments, with her sister, her nerdy gay neighbors Brian and Steve and dim-witted Officer Jay never far from her side," according a press release said.
Season two premiered on Oct. 3 with "Bored of the Rings," where Silverman discovers that the community group she joined for the delicious lemon bars is a radical anti-abortion group determined to bomb the clinic where her sister Laura, played by her real-life sister of the same name, volunteers. At the same time, an intense game of "Dungeons and Dragons" threatens Steve and Brian's relationship when it interferes with a scheduled date. The show culminates with everyone coming together to save Laura, with most of the men still dressed in costume for their game.
In "Joan of Arf," the second episode of the season, animal services takes Silverman's dog, Doug, into custody because of "human initiated inter-species relations" after a mail woman catches Silverman licking the dog's bottom. No one takes her seriously when she says she wanted to see how it tasted because he was always licking himself, so Doug is taken away and Silverman is labeled as "the woman who licked her dog's butt" by everyone in town.
Silverman tries to heal herself by going to rehab with drug addicts and robbers, but they reassure her that she is just a curious eccentric like Einstein or Galileo, so she hires a lawyer and takes the case to court. In the end, bestiality becomes legal and her case is dismissed. As always, the show ends with Silverman saying goodnight to Doug while sharing the satirical revelation of the day.
The series features Silverman's trademark humor that deals with societal taboos and controversial topics such as racism, sexism and religion. In episode one, as her group of friends charged the clinic, this was demonstrated when the serious tone was offset by slow-motion action and over-the-top heroic music dominant in the background.
What sets the show apart from others is how the scenes are shot. Season two was done in the same style as the pilot season, with the key being simplicity. The actors, including Brian Posehn of "Just Shoot Me," comedian Steve Agee and Jay Johnson from "Anchorman," are wearing typical, everyday mismatched clothes, talk excessively about bodily functions and throw in witty one liners at every opportunity. Seeing as how Silverman doesn't take anything seriously, her show reflects her position. The bright colors, barely-there graphics and laid-back feeling of the show make it easy to sit back and count on a mindless half hour of not-so-pure entertainment.
Contact Sara Grant at
Sara.Grant@UConn.edu.
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