What’s the name of this show? Time Traveling Bong
When does it premiere? The miniseries premieres on Wednesday 20 April (4/20, get it?) at 10.30pm EDT. The final two episodes air on Thursday and Friday at the same time.
Is it about what I think it’s about? Yes, it is about a bong that, when smoked, sends the toker journeying back into the past.
The kind of past in which they’re starring in a Cheech and Chong movie? No, but close.
What happens in the first episode? Sharee (Ilana Glazer) and her cousin Jeff (Paul W Downs) live together in New Jersey where Sharee dates a married man and works at Hertz car rental. Jeff spends most of his time jerking off on the couch. They are both huge stoners. On a trip to Wawa one night to get more buffalo chicken bites, they come across two people from the future who have a bong that, when smoked, will send the person into the past, and when smoked again will return them to the present. While they’re in the past, the bong gets broken and hastily reassembled, so the two have to keep smoking in order to find their way home so that they can finally get some good cellphone reception.
What time periods do they visit? The title is actually a misnomer because they travel in space as well as time. They visit Salem in 1693 right before the witch trials, prehistoric caveman times, the south in 1963, ancient Greece, and, of course, the future in which they buy a book of sports outcomes and go back to the past and make a fortune. Wait, wrong movie.
Glazer and Downs are both on Broad City. Does this have something to do with that? They both work on this show, but this project is based on a Funny or Die short they made in 2012 with Lucia Aniello. Abbi Jacobson, who is the co-creator and co-star of Broad City with Glazer, had nothing to do with this project (though I kept waiting for her to make an appearance).
How is it different from Broad City? There is just as much cursing and sex, but Glazer’s Sharee says “Yas kween” a whole lot less and is a little more tame than Ilana. Also her hair is straight, which is creepy. Downs’ Jeff tries to keep his insanely fit body under wraps which is something Trey, the personal trainer he plays on the other show, would never do.
Is it funny? Absolutely. There is the absurdity of the entire premise and the almost intestinally schlocky special effects (think old episodes of Doctor Who), of course, but Glazer and Downs’ schlubby stoners are also a kick. There isn’t a joke a minute like on a show like Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, but when the two agree to kidnap Michael Jackson to save his childhood and exist as a married couple in 1963 it is a wellspring of great comedy, especially once Sharee gets on the diet pills.
What is surprising is that the laughs don’t come just from the absurdity or mind-bending plot, as they would if this show was made by Adult Swim. What makes Time Traveling Bong great is the fact that it uses the concept to explore modern concerns around race, class and gender. When they go back to Salem, Sharee is treated like a witch but Jeff is treated like a god. They try to think of a time to go that would be good for women, but can’t find one. The two also pop up in the time of slavery and quickly take three slaves from the field with them into the 1960s. They try to explain that they’re free now, but things still aren’t that great.
Time Traveling Bong is way smarter than it needs to be. The level of insight around a plot that sounds like something you come up with in a dorm room after way too much Purple Haze indicates how subversively brilliant this show really is.
Should I watch this show? Yes. There is no better way to spend 4/20, especially if you live in one of those states that allows you to smoke weed legally. But for those who live in states where there is still prohibition, don’t worry, you’ll still have a lot of fun, even if you can’t get your hands on some green.
