Wow. Powerful standalone episode that packed a strong religious punch. At first I was afraid they were going to cross the line and make me, a religious person of a non-Christian faith, feel uncomfortable in delivering a heavy Jesus episode. I should have known better. TDZ has been known to kill, rape, and child molest on their shows but they have never had the gall to infringe on my religion. Instead, this was a fun, smart, high-octane movie-level episode with great drama and ethics all interwoven.
Although the things they say are corny and their humor lines are never funny, the DZ characters are given a lot of depth, a huge redeeming factor to this show many times. In this episode, Gene's character that we've grown to know for four and a half years, shows us another layer of himself. He doesn't always know what's best, but he always wants to do what's best, and tries to guide himself via his faith. In this episode we see that he has another struggle, the same common struggle many religious people have, it is the fight within oneself to believe what you believe that you are supposed to believe. David Ogden Stiers presents this characteristic and all the other layers of Purdey wonderfully.
The story of Johnny having to help out the bad guys was cleverly told. It reminds me of when I used to sneak backstage at major sporting events to meet the stars by acting as if I was a staff member, and then the crew would actually tell me to help them out! And usually I did a good job doing so! So, this episode also hits home. And it hit a home run.
8.5
Although the things they say are corny and their humor lines are never funny, the DZ characters are given a lot of depth, a huge redeeming factor to this show many times. In this episode, Gene's character that we've grown to know for four and a half years, shows us another layer of himself. He doesn't always know what's best, but he always wants to do what's best, and tries to guide himself via his faith. In this episode we see that he has another struggle, the same common struggle many religious people have, it is the fight within oneself to believe what you believe that you are supposed to believe. David Ogden Stiers presents this characteristic and all the other layers of Purdey wonderfully.
The story of Johnny having to help out the bad guys was cleverly told. It reminds me of when I used to sneak backstage at major sporting events to meet the stars by acting as if I was a staff member, and then the crew would actually tell me to help them out! And usually I did a good job doing so! So, this episode also hits home. And it hit a home run.
8.5
