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Episode Recap: "Church"
The show opens with the Tolchucks getting all spruced up to go on their ritual Sunday voyage to Shop World. Raja tells Franny that their weekly ritual is a lot like going to church; they go together as a family every Sunday and leave behind roughly ten percent of their income. Heh.
Shocked that Raja thinks her family is so spiritually devoid, she decides the family is going back to their church that minute... only to find out it has now become a Chicken Wing restaurant. Determined to find some faith, they head to a mega chuch, complete with a coffee bar, music section and housewares department. Here we get to see Gary's obsession with a bargain (buying collectible saint plates), Justin finding his faith when he prays for a school bullies demise, and it happens, and Franny feeling relief when she manipulates Claire (who has asked for birth control pills for Christmas) into joining the "chastity club."
It just gets more and more awesome with each passing minute. Justin thinks that his prayers are being answered, and starts to make them about less altruistic requests... his teacher comes down with Perkin's disease, getting him out of a quiz, so then his friends decide this prayer business might be worth looking into. This devolves into praying for sex with Liz Sherman, resident hottie, and when she actually says, "hello" to the boys, the competition for her affections begin. Justin and his friend have a fight over the girl, and when he tells Raja of their prayer battle, Raja's jaw hitting the floor and long lecture on the sanctity of prayer snaps Justin out of it.
Meanwhile, Franny directs the mega-church's Christmas pagent, casting Claire as the Virgin Mary. So subtle. Claire admits to her peers that she's only there so her mom will get her pill, and discovers that a hot guy is only in the chastity club for a car; sparks fly! Franny just thinks she's into the part until she finds them making out in church closet. Then when Claire goes to church without Frannie, it sends her into a panic that Claire's going to do something very naughty in church. As she storms in on the two innocently running lines, she learns that maybe she should give Claire more credit and wonders why she really is doing the church thing at all.
In the end, good ol' Raja comes through for Franny, explaining that her kids were raised with good values, regardless of whether or not they go to church. Franny realizes what she needed most was faith, and returns to church for herself, not for anyone else. Awwww. Claire even ends up going with her on Christmas because she, "likes the music."
Great lines:
Raja: "At times we are all partial douches, but never a total one."
Franny: "Part of playing the Virgin Mary is not jumping every shepherd that comes along!"
Franny: "Trust is earned, Lady Godiva!"
Raja: "Growing up in Pakistan, I never understood how Jesus got so fat. Then I realized it was Santa Claus. I should have known he was too jolly to be a messiah."
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Dec 11, 2007 12:32 PM
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My favorite moment was when Raja admitted that he originally thought that Santa Claus was Jesus.
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Dec 11, 2007 1:04 PM
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my fav was when franny brokered the virgin mary/birth control deal.
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Dec 11, 2007 1:11 PM
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Best episode yet.
Because the ice storms here in Oklahoma blacked out my neighborhood, I watched it live (rather than on TiVo) with my wife's family, who'd never watched it. I do believe I made new converts with "Church."
I'm really hoping this show winds up on a lot of "Best of TV" lists for 2007. It's too good to have such little buzz.
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Dec 11, 2007 2:19 PM
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Terrific episode. There were so many great lines and I hollared at Raja's expression when Justin told him of his prayer for sex. Exactly!!!! I watched this episode through my minister eyes and found myself enjoying its subtle message. Like Claire I joined the Church because of the music, but I stayed because of Christ.
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Dec 11, 2007 3:03 PM
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