# Most blasphemous network TV sitcom/show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 1, 2020, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992 "2020-05-01T17:08:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/21 "2020-05-01T19:58:38Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I would think it would be much simpler to turn the question around. Is there any mainstream shows made in the lasts 30 years that have cast an overt Christian or Christianity in a positive light? This pisses me right off. Blasphemous =/= anti Christianity I dunno if it’s the medication change (I’m now on less lithium and have dropped the abilify for a mix of mirtazipine and vraylar), or if I’m having a bad day or what. Even in the United States, there are other religions. Jerry Seinfeld got a lot of criticism from the Jewish community when he portrayed a very horny prophet Elijah who had come to pave the way for the second coming of Jesus, on SNL. Back To The OP I remember the show God, The Devil And Bob. It was animated and had James Arness as the Lord. Despite messages like ‘the devil is an impotetent (not literally) liar’ and ’ All God really wants is for us to be nice to each other’ it was condemned as blasphemous by various Christian organizations and only lasted two episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/22 "2020-05-01T20:19:52Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Michael says in the first episode that all the religions only got about 5% right. As I said, it didn’t mock any particular religion. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/23 "2020-05-01T20:29:06Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > _Supernatural_ wins this one. It is currently running a storyline where God is the bad guy. Yep. It gets my vote too. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/24 "2020-05-01T20:33:03Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Does HBO count as “network TV”? > > If so, I nominate the opening bit from the episode “In Case of Rapture.” > > Each episode opened with a scene in which someone dies. The dearly departed ends up at the Fisher’s funeral home. > > In this episode, two guys are transporting a number of inflated party dolls in an open truck. A kid skateboards in front of them. Dead kid is the corpse of the week, no? > > Actually, no. The driver slams on the brakes and misses the kid. However the net holding the party dolls in place shifts, and they begin rising up to the sky. Nearby a woman is driving in a car with a bumper sticker reading “I brake for the Rapture.” She mistakes the party dolls for the rapture and runs out into traffic and splat! > > I related this scene to my bother-in-law, a devout Christian. He didn’t think it was funny at all, but I’m cracking up now just remembering it. **Six Feet Under** , for those that were wondering. I can picture that scene now, that opening was hilarious! > [@Hermitian](#): > > I would think it would be much simpler to turn the question around. Is there any mainstream shows made in the lasts 30 years that have cast an overt Christian or Christianity in a positive light? I have not seen the show, but something tells me **God Friended Me** shows Christianity in a positive light. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/25 "2020-05-01T20:44:15Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I would think it would be much simpler to turn the question around. Is there any mainstream shows made in the lasts 30 years that have cast an overt Christian or Christianity in a positive light? As long as it isn’t 100% of the time, Big Bang Theory treated Mary Cooper quite well. She was shown to be a positive influence on virtually all the cast, even as some of them mocked her behind her back (Sheldon and Beverly Hofstadter to her front.) ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/26 "2020-05-01T22:14:40Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I would think it would be much simpler to turn the question around. Is there any mainstream shows made in the lasts 30 years that have cast an overt Christian or Christianity in a positive light? The main characters on “Last Man Standing” are depicted as regular churchgoers and fairly decent folks. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/27 "2020-05-01T22:50:11Z")
_Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell_ needs a mention. Damn, that is some funny shit! ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/28 "2020-05-01T22:52:33Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Does HBO count as “network TV”? > > If so, I nominate the opening bit from the episode “In Case of Rapture.” > > Each episode opened with a scene in which someone dies. The dearly departed ends up at the Fisher’s funeral home. > > In this episode, two guys are transporting a number of inflated party dolls in an open truck. A kid skateboards in front of them. Dead kid is the corpse of the week, no? > > Actually, no. The driver slams on the brakes and misses the kid. However the net holding the party dolls in place shifts, and they begin rising up to the sky. Nearby a woman is driving in a car with a bumper sticker reading “I brake for the Rapture.” She mistakes the party dolls for the rapture and runs out into traffic and splat! > > I related this scene to my bother-in-law, a devout Christian. He didn’t think it was funny at all, but I’m cracking up now just remembering it. > [@Czarcasm](#): > > You named the episode-what show? It was Six Feet Under. Edit: Here’s the scene Edit2: If you didn’t know that scene, I assume you haven’t seen the show. Go watch the show. It’s up there with some of the best TV that’s ever aired. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/29 "2020-05-01T22:57:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > As long as it isn’t 100% of the time, Big Bang Theory treated Mary Cooper quite well. She was shown to be a positive influence on virtually all the cast, even as some of them mocked her behind her back (Sheldon and Beverly Hofstadter to her front.) And Sheldon is the only one to really mock anyone on Young Sheldon about their religion. And since it’s Sheldon, he’s not doing it so much to make fun of anyone as he is to make a point. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/30 "2020-05-01T23:11:25Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I would think it would be much simpler to turn the question around. Is there any mainstream shows made in the lasts 30 years that have cast an overt Christian or Christianity in a positive light? Friday Night Lights would count. But I will admit that isn’t nearly as common as the other way around these days. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2020, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/31 "2020-05-01T23:59:28Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > _Your Pretty Face Is Going To Hell_ needs a mention. Damn, that is some funny shit! I _totally_ didn’t read the question properly, did I? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/32 "2020-05-02T00:01:34Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > While I’ve never been a devotee of The Simpsons, I think Ned Flanders was consistently portrayed as a sincere and decent person (although a pain in the ass). Marge is another example - goes to church eagerly every week (the other members of the family go because of her) and is a decent and not-particularly-annoying person. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/33 "2020-05-02T00:32:57Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > Marge is another example - goes to church eagerly every week (the other members of the family go because of her) and is a decent and not-particularly-annoying person. And, just to broaden this out a bit: Martin Stein, on the various Arowverse shows, basically does the same ‘superhero’ stuff as the other characters but was ordained as a rabbi. So it’s not just that we see him speaking Hebrew and struggling to get his kid the perfect Hanukkah present; it’s that we actually get to see him conduct the occasional religious service (and that, in the course of their time-travel adventures, we get to see his funeral, complete with enormous Star Of David). ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/34 "2020-05-02T02:55:51Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I tend not to seek them out, and never watched them, but weren’t shows like **Friended By God** and **Blessed By An Angel** (names from memory) in the pro christianity camp? > > And I think the VAST majority of TV is at the very least noncritical of christianity. Which is understandable - given the beliefs of prospective audiences. I believe the shows’ titles are \*\*God Friended Me \*\* and **Touched By an Angel**. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/35 "2020-05-02T03:23:38Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I would think it would be much simpler to turn the question around. Is there any mainstream shows made in the lasts 30 years that have cast an overt Christian or Christianity in a positive light? God Friended Me, sort of. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/36 "2020-05-02T03:38:50Z")
I hate that the OP used the word “blasphemous”, that’s really a highly-charged value judgement there. And the last line sort of defined it: “What other nominations do you have for network productions which seem to intentionally poke fun at christianity or offend christians?” Poking fun = Blasphemy? Offending people is some sort of crime? I happen to believe that God loves skeptics, and that he has a sense of humor ([proof](https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/63062/10-curious-and-quirky-platypus-facts)). I may be over-sensitive, but it’d be like asking about gay relationships with a title using the word sodomy. Or asking about mixed race couples: “Do you have any friends diluting the purity of the blood of the master race?” Oh, when walking into church, I sometimes quote the dad from a family that often goes to church: “Hey, Flanders, I got us some kickass seats down front!” ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/37 "2020-05-02T04:04:16Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Just started watching this from the beginning. He is Lucifer, the fallen angel, taking a vacation from Hell by living in L.A. as a club owner and police consultant. He’s kind of changing or something, don’t know where this goes in the series. Hard to rank the potentially blasphemous parts, having Lucifer and other angels be characters in a police drama, their sexual activities, or Lucifer’s problems with ‘Dad’. Of course God has a plan, just no one said it was a particularly good one. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/38 "2020-05-02T04:58:22Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > **Six Feet Under** , for those that were wondering. I can picture that scene now, that opening was hilarious! > I have not seen the show, but something tells me **God Friended Me** shows Christianity in a positive light. Six Feet Under seems to have stolen that joke from an absolutely ancient joke that’s been around since the 70s. The fact the scene makes usage of inflatable sex dolls is the big giveaway it wasn’t originally written in the 00s. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/39 "2020-05-02T05:29:19Z")
How about a whole STATION that I personally consider blasphemous? My local cable lineup includes the SonLife Network, which is not for dyslexic Rush fans, but instead is 24/7/365 Swaggart family programming. When I stumbled onto it while channel-surfing, I wondered if it could possibly be what I thought it was, and unfortunately I was right. Jimmy and Frances are well into their 80s (and when she’s on, her camera lens is blurrier than the ones used on Barbara Walters in her last years on the air) and their son and a grandson also preach. They probably don’t show this. That was after his FIRST arrest for picking up hookers. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yWkVa-_sd24/maxresdefault.jpg "Jimmy Swaggart I have sinned") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWkVa-_sd24) ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992/40 "2020-05-02T13:09:47Z")
Apologies for any confusion by my choice of words. I certainly did not intend to use “blasphemous” as specifically as some of you are interpreting it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-blasphemous-network-tv-sitcom-show/852992.md?page=3)