Luanne starts a Christian puppet show that causes a dilemma for Hank when it's put on TV during the Super Bowl.
Tropes in the Episode
- An Aesop: Within the Manger Babies shows: Sneaking into movie theaters is wrong and anyone who drives drunk is a jackass.
- As Himself: Then-star Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman appears at the end, watching the Manger Babies at the studio and briefly talks to Hank.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: Luanne telling Hank he's playing God in the TV show. After which, Bobby says if Hank's God, then Bobby is Jesus. To which Peggy scolds him, seemingly for him making a blasphemous statement, but then adds "That's for Luanne to decide".
- Big Damn Heroes: Hank pulls this in both Manger Babies Shows:
- In the church show, Hank improvises the ending where he plays the movie theater manager and frees the Manger Babies from the closet and fires the usher.
- In the end when he makes the TV show as God when he grabs the car just as the Manger Babies and Joe Six-Pack as they're about to drive off to their deaths. He saves the Babies and condemns Joe Six-Pack.
- Disproportionate Retribution: The usher in the Manger Babies church show, who locks up the puppets for the crime of sneaking into a movie theater; made even more egregious by the fact that out of the five, only one didn't have the ticket.
- Divine Intervention: Played with at the end: during the Super Bowl party, Peggy secretly changes the channel to screw with Hank and guilt him into going to the TV show. But at the end, Bobby give back the batteries he took from the remote to use for his Game Boy and he says he got them before the Super Bowl, making Peggy wonder how she changed the channel, then cutting to outside the station, with stormy skies being cleared by sunlight, implying God had a hand. Then cutting back afterwards to Bobby adding "or after", he wasn't sure, leaving whether or not God was involved ambiguous.
- Downer Ending: In the Manger Babies show in church, it initially happens with the usher at the movie theater locking the Manger Babies in the closet and wrapping it up. But after the poor reception with Luanne trying to come up with a resolution, Hank steps in as manager of the theater and frees the Manger Babies and fires the usher.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: The Manger Babies TV show takes place on Super Bowl Sunday, during the game, which causes a conflict with Hank, who's hosting the Super Bowl party at home and playing God in the show. Initially Hank sticks with his original plans, but eventually comes to his senses and saves the show.
- HA HA HA—No: Hank does this to Luanne while trying to give her a pep talk and she asks if she can sell propane.
- Hollywood Atheist: In the TV show, Joe Six-Pack serves as something as this, who tells the Manger Babies God's not helping them.
- Hope Spot: As Luanne prays for Hank to show up, a hand lands on her shoulder, which gets her excited, only to see it's one of the studio workers.
- I Take Offense to That Last One: During rehearsal for the Manger Babies show where Hank is playing God, Luanne introduces him to his arch-enemy Joe Six-Pack, a drunk driver who died in a crash and was sent to Hell, but after he borrowed Satan's pick-up truck without asking and crashed it, he was sent back to Earth, where he does evil things such as not calling on friends' birthdays and throwing bottles at peoples' heads. It's the crashing the pick-up that incurs Hank's wrath.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: During the Manger Babies show in church, Hank notices a nail sticking out of the bottom, concerned it reflects poorly on his craftsmanship. Peggy tries to reassure him no one notices, but then he turns around to see a few guys critiquing his work.
- Jerkass: In the Manager Babies TV show, we have the antagonist, Joe Six-Pack, a drunk driver who died in a crash and was sent to Hell. But after he borrowed Satan's pick-up truck without asking and crashed it, he was sent back to Earth, where he does evil things such as not calling on friends' birthdays, throwing bottles at peoples' heads, and riding buses. And also forces the Manger Babies to get into the car with him, to seemingly their deaths.
- Made in Country X: Hank's TV breaks and needs a part to fix it. He tells Bobby he's trying to keep this TV running as long as possible because it was made in America and he doesn't want a piece of America to die. When Bobby suggests he buy a Japanese one, Hank orders him to his room.
- Misplaced Wildlife: The Manger Babies' shtick is that they once lived in the manger where Jesus was born. There's a donkey, a cat, an octopus, and a penguin.
- Offscreen Teleportation: With the TV channels sticking to Luanne's puppet show, Hank watches the Manger Babies and Joe Six-Pack about to drive off to their deaths, with Hank freaking out and putting on his coat. And when Luanne drives them off, Hank appears instantaneously to rescue them.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Among the guys who hosted the Super Bowl, Boomhauer's party for Super Bowl XXIV where he got dip so thick, the chips, in Hank's words, "were snapping like Joe Theisman's birdie leg".
- Show Within a Show. The Manger Babies, from going to a show in church to TV.
- Took A Level In Cynicism: Luanne does this after Hank decides to stay home for the Super Bowl, and incorporates it in the show where their faith in "God" in shattered and even seem to be Driven to Suicide, getting in Joe Six-Pack's car. But it all goes away when Hank finally shows up.
