There's a lot to be said for originality, and if there's one thing Comedy Central's "The Sarah Silverman Program" is chock full of, it's that. After all, is there any other show in which it's within the boundaries of conceivability that the protagonist learns that she was born with both male and female parts, swallows her own baby penis while her two gay troglodyte friends are haunted by the neighbor they killed with their remote control?
That's right, the answer is no. All of that and more happened in last night's Season Three premiere, a display of hilarious juvenile absurdity which ended with a song called “The Baby Penis in Your Mind”. It's just one of very many examples of the cheerfully awkward, brazenly sociopathic version of herself that Silverman plays.
Upon realizing her true origins (according to her sister Laura, anyway), Sarah grows a mustache and moves into the woods to live off the land - you know, like a real man. Meanwhile, Brian and Steve are haunted by the worm-ridden Mr. Jenkins and must dig up his grave and swap out the remote that killed him.
Watching Silverman and her merry pack of dysfunctional accomplices on my TV gives me a rare feeling: that society needs a few more taboos. Sarah and the gang so gleefully skip through the most offensive of topics and concepts, the live-action equivalent of some of channel-mate Eric Cartman's more cringeworthy moments.
Nevertheless, Silverman and her crew make it clear with each episode that there's a difference between being the lowest-common-denominator of cheap humor and clever, envelope-pushing controversial humor, and they know how to walk the line. If episode one is any indication, Silverman's trajectory will continue to angle upward, and we'll be there every cringe-worthy step of the way.
