The Unhappy Medium
In life, Farley Bright (Peter Miller) was a noted televangelist who founded the Church of the Bright Tomorrow, but in death, it becomes known that he was a huge fraud who cared more about riches instead of religion. His surviving family members, his sister Caroline (Connie Stevens), her daughter Jenny (Carolyn Ann Clark), and Jenny's boyfriend Johnathan Reed (Richard Kuhlman) gather at Bright Mansion for the showing of his taped will, where Farley tells the family that he'll send them a sign. Farley's sign takes the form of his relatives finding themselves trapped between Heaven and Hell, but it's even worse for Jenny, as Farley's ghost possesses her, planning to use her for his "comeback" and as a means to escape being condemned for his corrupt ways.
Tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Caroline would gladly let her daughter literally rot in Hell so she can get her hands on her late brother's estate and church.
- Arc Words: "Ain't it wondrous?"
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Brights, with Farley and his sister Caroline being uncaring, unloving, money-grabbing hypocrites who fought with one another constantly, and the fallout of Jenny's discovery of her uncle's true character nearly destroying her faith.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Caroline may seem like a morally conservative Christian who only wants the best for her family, but the ending reveals her true colors as an uncaring and sinful monster who's willing to throw her own daughter and a family friend into Hell just to claim her brother's wealth, estate, and church as her own. This ends up with her being dragged to Hell by her own brother's ghost.
- Black Sheep: Jenny is viewed as such for rebuking her Christian faith and joining a Humanist church. Farley takes it personally by taking over her body and intending to use her as his new mouthpiece.
- Borrowed Catchphrase: Jenny comments "Ain't it wondrous?" as she and Johnathan leave, having renewed her faith through her experience of being possessed and stuck in limbo.
- Bottle Episode: The whole episode is set in Farley's office.
- Catchphrase: Farley often says "Ain't it wondrous?!" as his followers share their belief in the Lord's ways.
- Color Motif: Red and blue are shown blended together throughout the episode, representing Hell and Heaven, respectively. When Farley talks through Jenny, her body is bathed in a mix of blue and red to emphasize the limbo state she and her family are stuck in.
- Crisis of Faith: Jenny makes it clear that she lost her faith in Christianity and turned to Humanism after her uncle Farley was revealed to have been a hypocrite who cared more about money than what he was preaching.
- Deadpan Snarker: Jenny has sharpness and wit at her disposal, ever since she learned who her uncle truly was.
- Dragged Off to Hell: Caroline meets this fate at the end of the episode after demonstrating her morally corrupt true colors.
- Five-Second Foreshadowing: Farley gives Caroline the idea to "Read the Bible!" to see where his will is. She soon finds it hidden between the pages of his personal Bible.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: Jenny refuses to believe in her uncle's "Christian ethics" and has been dabbling in Humanism, but she changes her views by the end of the episode after Farley's ghost possesses her and haunts her family. Her mother, on the other hand, refuses to change her greedy ways despite witnessing Heaven and Hell for herself.
- Give Me a Sign: The Bright family are told to wait for a sign from the deceased Farley. The sign comes, but Farley doesn't send it from Heaven.
- Grand Theft Me: Farley's ghost possesses Jenny in order to avoid damnation and make a comeback tour to keep making profits.
- Happy Ending: Jenny and Johnathan escape Hell and have both their faiths and their bond strengthened, whereas Caroline is dragged to Hell by her brother's ghost.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Averted for Jenny. She throws herself into Hell in order to save her family, but the selflessness of her act allows her and Johnathan to be spared from death.
- Ironic Echo: Farley's ghost cites his catchphrase "Ain't it wondrous?!" to Caroline, just as he prepares to drag her to Hell with him.
- It's All About Me: Caroline constantly complains about how horrible her life is, constantly copping a judgmental attitude towards her own daughter and screaming how she demands to be the future of the Church of the Bright Tomorrow.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Jonathan is a little harsh towards Jenny for her lack of Christian faith, but he does care for her a great deal, even jumping into Hell after her when she decides to sacrifice herself.
- Karmic Jackpot: Jenny sacrifices herself to the forces of Hell in order to make sure Farley faces his judgment, while her boyfriend Johnathan joins her so he doesn't lose her again. In contrast, Caroline throws Farley's will into Hell so no one will know who inherited what. The next morning, Jenny and Johnathan find themselves (and Farley's will) safe and sound. The experience has not only given the pair a second chance to rekindle their relationship, but to use their inheritance to fund Jenny's Humanist church in the hopes of genuinely helping the less fortunate. While they do that, Caroline isn't so lucky.
- Lighter and Softer: The episode goes a more light-hearted route (albeit not completely ridiculous) with its over-the-top cast and its means of pissing on sensationalized religion.
- Lost Will and Testament: Farley's missing will is a driving factor for the episode's first act, as Caroline spends that act frantically searching for it while Jenny and Johnathan slowly patch up their issues. When she finds it in the second act, she is furious to learn that Farley bequeathed nearly everything to Jenny, so she throws the will into Hell when she and Johnathan run in there so she can claim the entire Church of the Bright Tomorrow and its profits for herself.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: Farley and Caroline are glaringly obvious parodies of the
Bakkers, being a family of phenomenally famous televangelists who turn out to not be as devout as they appear. - Nothing Is Scarier: The brief glimpses of Hell, where we see only red light and clouds being furiously blown about while hearing only the screaming of damned souls.
- Offscreen Teleportation: After running into Hell to ensure that Farley stays where he belongs, Johnathan and Jenny spontaneously reappear in the office the next morning, Farley's will in the latter's hand.
- Plot-Triggering Death: Farley's death brings his surviving family together so their inheritance can be divided up.
- Preacher Man: Farley pretended to be one for years while he swindled gullible folks out of their money.
- Purgatory and Limbo: In a sense, as the Brights find themselves literally trapped between Heaven and Hell. Farley ends up "drifting" through here as well, since he claims that Heaven and Hell don't want his exceedingly corrupt soul.
- Redemption Earns Life: Jenny is spared from spending eternity in Hell after throwing herself down there to save her mother and boyfriend. Johnathan is also spared when he jumps in after her, earning a second chance to pursue a relationship with her. Unfortunately, Caroline is dragged to Hell in their place.
- Sinister Minister: Farley, if the allegations of his family and the powers that be are anything to go by.
- Straw Hypocrite: The episode spares no time in continuously highlighting how Caroline and Farley do not practice what they preach.
- Take Our Word for It: From what we can tell, Hell is accentuated with red light, howling winds, and the screams of the damned, while Heaven has blue light, gentle harp music, and the laughter of the righteous. We don't see either place in full, but Caroline's reactions to them indicate that they're respectively horrific and beautiful beyond mere words.
- Take That!: The episode is a giant one to sensationalized Christianity, painting televangelists like Farley and Caroline as being so greedy, unfaithful, and morally bankrupt that neither Heaven nor Hell want anything to do with them. Though Hell, at the very least, changes its mind at the end.
- Too Spicy for Yog-Sothoth: Speaking through Jenny, Farley tells Caroline and Johnathan that his soul was supposedly so corrupt, Heaven and Hell wanted nothing to do with him, even mentioning that there's a huge debate between the two sides about where he's ultimately going to end up. Hell ends up winning that debate, thanks to Jenny's intervention.
- Voice of the Legion: Farley's voice has a distorted echo effect when he speaks through Jenny.
- What You Are in the Dark: Three examples are shown towards the climax. Jenny throws herself into Hell in order to make sure that Farley's ghost faces judgment, Johnathan goes in after her because he won't risk losing her again, but Carol throws Farley's will in with them so nobody will know that her brother willed most of his assets to Jenny. She turns it up even higher when, alone in Farley's office, she grouses about how she never needed a family and can easily claim the estate and the church as her own.
- World of Ham: The Bright family are all noticeably over the top, but Farley and Caroline take the cake, especially when the former possesses Jenny.
- Yes-Man: Caroline explicitly calls Johnathan one during her monologue, as he was the chief assistant to Farley back when he was alive.
