The Sarah Silverman Program: Season One

Written by Fumo Verde

Get ready to laugh your ass off because Season One of The Sarah Silverman Program has hit DVD. Some call her humor offensive, tasteless, and abrasive, but this what the world needs right now. Silverman takes on racism, bigotry, and other social issues with a clever wit by bringing out the irony and mindless stupidity of such “wedge issue” positions. Accompanied by her older sister Laura and a fantastic cast and crew, The Sarah Silverman Program is a must-see for those who can stomach such an outrageous comedian.

All six episodes are on this DVD and the hilarity ranges from Silverman getting drunk on cough syrup to her going down to the local clinic to get an AIDS test because she has the blahs and needs something to cheer her up. Before her test is done, Silverman is on crusade to rid the world of either AIDS or those who have it. It isn’t as much about AIDS as it about SARAH. When Silverman finally learns that she doesn’t have AIDS, all her crusading comes to an immediate stop. And why not, she doesn’t have the blahs anymore.

My favorite is the “Not Without My Daughter” episode where Silverman quasi-adopts a young girl so she can enter her in the Little Miss Rainbow Contest. When the eight-year-old is about to quit, Silverman sees the crown in her grasp and gives her a pep talk by using abortion as the underlying theme. “Do you want to be a quitter, or do you want to go out there and have the abortion of your dreams.”

Besides the sidesplitting laughs being thrown around by Silverman and her “daughter,” played by Laura Marano who does a superb job, Silverman’s gay neighbors, Steve and Brian, are tracked down by the FBI for a phone conversation they had. With the bomb squad ready, they prepare to open the cop car Steve laid a bomb in. At the same time, Marano starts to sing “Amazing Grace” for her final song, and everything goes into slow motion. By the end of her song, the bomb squad cop opens the car door only to shout out in silence, “It’s a fart!” My eyes are still tearing up over that whole scene.

Call her what you want, but I see Silverman as the female Lenny Bruce of today. She pushes the limits of what is being said about these issues on TV, or to better put it, what is not being said. She reverses the bigotry and hatred and pulls it off beautifully. Besides being intelligent, funny, and quick, Sarah is smoking hot too. All that and a potty mouth, what more can a boy ask for? There are some extras on here too, a little karaoke, intro sequences, and commentary with Steve and Brian.

By playing on the edge, Silverman has created a show that has a humble “American pie” look with a shit-eating grin. This show is one of the most intelligent comedies out there and though abrasive humor can even make Fumo Verde blush, don’t discard what is being said. The Sarah Silverman Program: Season One is out now, so pick it up as soon as you can.