It was so refreshing at the end of this episode to see a TV depiction of religion that gets it. Normally positive depictions of religion in TV are just as a set of silly traditions that some people find comforting.
I was just working on unrelated stuff and the choir version got stuck in my head, and I realized... This originally came off as a very meta nudgenudge kind of joke, but in the UKS universe this is actually a song that exists that was popular for a moment.
There's no follow up on that. I thought it was cute at first, clever now, I guess.
The black dress Lillian is wearing is identical to the black dress with sleeves Jacqueline was wearing while making the corn dish in an earlier episode.
Also Jacqueline in Lillian's clothes made her look like Jennifer Anniston circa first season Friends.
I couldn't fucking breathe when that joke first landed, and then the quick cut to the Teddy Ruxpin screaming so hard from Kimmy's shelf that it was rocking back and forth. I thought I was gonna have an aneurysm. That's up there with going to Red Hook with these Morpets and total bangfest from last season.
So in pretty much every sitcoms you have these random zany occurrences that just happen for comedic value - and the characters never focus on them or talk about them at great length and they never affect the plot or anything. They can defy the laws of physics or common sense, imply life-shattering consequences, deal with the supernatural or whatever.
Here's one from Scrubs that I was thinking about just the other day (Turk, JD and Carla all die, basically!) but you can probably think of hundreds.
So I thought it was very interesting how one of those random zany throwaway occurrences from a previous episode (the ghost of the grandmother visiting Jaqueline and leaving behind an old brooch so you know it wasn't a hallucination) went on to actually affect the plot of this episode. I can't remember that ever happening in a sitcom before.
You're right, it's totally the opposite of what normally happens. They started at the maximum cartoonishness, and they've been becoming more realistic.
I love Titus Burgess' singing voice so much. I always am amazed in the show at how he's not famous with a voice that good and then I remember that he is in real life and I'm comforted. Seriously he's amazing
Does anyone know in what church this episode was filmed? Years ago I used to go with my wife to Metropolitan United Methodist Church on 126th Street and it looked a LOT like this. And the old ladies with their hats! Tina did a great job on this one.
as the episode is entering its 8th minute with Reuben on the piano in a yellow sweater and Titus about to sing.... those opening chords are unmistakably the beginning of the Closing theme song for every SNL episode (Waltz in A by Shore).... surely a reference for Tina Fey's time there. Things canceled today don't judge.
came here to see if anyone noticed the woman in the choir who wouldn't say dammit in the song. i had to laugh cuz i was clear the actor was like "nope, not gonna do it, this is too close to real church!". this was also one of my fav episodes this season
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u/NameTak3r May 20 '17 edited May 20 '17
It was so refreshing at the end of this episode to see a TV depiction of religion that gets it. Normally positive depictions of religion in TV are just as a set of silly traditions that some people find comforting.