Webster’s dictionary defines “bong” as “a simple water pipe consisting of a bottle or vertical tube partially filled with a liquid (as water or liqueur) and a smaller offset tube ending in a bowl.” Nowhere in that does it say anything about the ability to transport people through time and space, but Comedy Central is looking to alter that definition by giving the greenlight to the new comedy Time Traveling Bong. I’m going to assume that no bongs were harmed in the conception of this project.
I don’t think any minds are going to be blown in finding out that Time Traveling Bong isn’t guilty of any form of false representation for what this series will be about. The show will star Broad City’s Ilana Glazer and that show’s recurring actor Paul Downs, and they’ll play cousins who stumble across the titular smoking device and have a blast zipping around through the corridors of time while presumably imbibing on as much herbage as possible. The trouble starts when they accidentally break the bong and find themselves unable to stop bouncing around through the space-time continuum, which causes them to reflect on how good they had it in the present.
It sounds kind of like a first draft for Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and I would lose my mind if they ran into Alex Winter at some point in their travels . In any case, a bong is a much more timeless form of time machine than a phone booth, and is a more relaxing water-based time machine than that cinematic hot tub. Plus, it automatically becomes one of the most notable bongs in pop culture.
Amusingly, Comedy Central isn’t exactly giving Time Traveling Bong a long time to win over viewers, as only three episodes of the comedy have been ordered, making it more of a miniseries than anything else. But “miniseries” might be a little too prestigious a description. At least it won’t overstay its welcome.
Time Traveling Bong is being written by the previously mentioned Ilana Glazer and Paul Downs, as well as Lucia Aniello, with all three executive producing. Aniello will be handling directing duties, which she has done on Broad City and Paul Feig’s excellent sci-fi comedy Other Space, among other things. As well, Downs and Aniello are part of the creative team behind the in-the-making spinoff of 21 Jump Street.
I bet you can guess when Time Traveling Bong will come out. You’re right, it’s set to debut on April 20, the pot smoker’s holiday, right after the Season 3 finale of Broad City. So now you have a good excuse to grab a platter of snacks and veg in front of the TV. I mean, besides all the other good excuses.
