After the one-two-three punch of abortion, sexual deviance, and racism provided by The Sarah Silverman Program's first three episodes of the season, the bets were off: What taboo or hot-button issue would the fourth episode gleefully exploit? Terrorism? Homosexuality? Gay terrorists? Well, SSP fans, none of the above. Episode four reprised some season one-style wackiness. There was even a musical number!
Sure, there was the usual Brian-Steve b-plot–Brian tries to prove he's interested in politics ("I know lots of politics!")–but this week's episode thankfully lacked the forced feeling of its predecessor. Sarah and Laura get on their favorite TV show, Cookie Party, hopefully to win money to buy their mom a new headstone. (Mrs. Silverman's grave was robbed, her skeleton raped, and her headstone purloined. The necrophiles also took her pelvis bone and "what they thought were her boob bones," according to officer Jay.)
But their plan brings to the surface the resentment Laura feels for her woman-child older sister and, in particular, Sarah's obsession with shit. The episode's funniest moment came in a flashback, where Laura sits by her mom's deathbed while Sarah stands in the front yard, waving shit on a stick to passing cars and yelling "Doodie!"
Laura Silverman's basically stuck being Sarah's straight man, so it's nice to see some character development, especially when it exposes the resentment lurking just below her cheerful exterior. I could foresee the SSP taking her fantasies to increasingly psychotic levels, all without changing her ever-helpful demeanor. Just as Sarah's the unknowing misanthrope, Laura could be oblivious to her own subconscious madness, with their co-dependent relationship keeping it all at bay.