Episode II: Bada Bing!

June 11th, 2008

The second episode was under production before the first ever premiered. The idea was that it was going to be the controversial episode, since we took shots at every religious denomination just about imaginable. Surely with the episodes airing in a fairly Bible Belt heavy part of America, this would be the episode that got people enraged and calling for our heads. Alas, our heads were spared.

In fact, this episode proved to be perhaps the least controversial. Despite even showing it to preachers and fairly strong religious types, we have heard few, if any, complaints over the years. So was the satire too tame, or were religious types just more understanding? Honestly, we have no idea. We’re simply happy that no one accused of us murder for making it. Oh, the good old days of the first episode.

The Making

The genesis of the script for the second episode focused around the Catholic priest scandal at the time. While the actions of the priests involved and the church were nothing short of reprehensible, it was an unfortunate side-effect that the entire Catholic church, and thereby all Christians to some extent or another, got tarnished by these actions. We really wanted to make a comment on the evil that could infect religion, and yet the greater good that still remained within the institution.

Playing with stereotypes (Catholics, Italians, Mafia) seemed the perfect way to mock both the stereotypes, and make our commentary. Whether or not that now comes across is another issue entirely. We were perhaps too subtle by half. Regardless, the episode marked a turning point for the series as a new voice actor took over for Mr. Mittens, the length of the episode far exceeded the first episode’s original length (pre-special edition), and we introduced a whole slew of characters who would play major roles in future episodes.

Trivia

Rick and Jabez eat outside of the Soylent Green Cafe, a reference to the classic Charlton Heston film Soylent Green.
Racer One was the team mascot for Murray State University, where the creators attended college.
Jolly 4 Jesus was a combination of several on-campus Christian groups.
Dr. Bones, a character from the comic strip, appears sitting in one of the pews late in the episode. Bonafide T. Gator gets a cameo sitting at the bar.