The concept of a bong that travels through time is silly, but the actual time travel on Comedy Central's new mini-series feels to me like a pretty accurate depiction of what would go down if two ill-equipped people from the modern world went back to a different era. Right off the bat, Time Traveling Bong Part 1 tackled gender roles when Sharee and Jeff find themselves momentarily trapped in 1600s Salem.
The show stars Broad City's Ilana Glazer and Paul W. Downs as two cousins and casual stoners who witness the death of two travelers and inherit, like the title suggests, a time traveling bong. The instructions are simple: smoke once to travel and again to return. However, when the two arrive in 1600s Salem, the apparatus is almost immediately broken by suspicious villagers. What happens next is funny, but almost too real in a lot of ways. While Jeff is accepted by the town and has a wonderful time drinking and dancing with the people of Salem, Sharee is tried for witchcraft and almost burnt at the stake. It's a humorous and creative look at privilege in history. Like, of course that's what would happen. I know it's fun to think about living in the past in fun period clothing when everything was "simpler" — but there are some major downsides.
It sucks, but it does make me think about my time travel plans. (Some people have zombie apocalypse plans, I have a time travel plan. To each their own.) Would I need a white male companion just in case something goes wrong? I would like to think that I could handle myself, but even Claire on Outlander learned to make friends and advocates fast. Time Traveling Bong is a comedy, but not 100 percent a fantasy. I like that this silly show has a serious side.
Images: Claire Folger/Comedy Central (3)
