Tweet This Page

"Impastor" review by Suzanne 7/15/15
Premieres Wednesday, 10:30pm, July 15 on FX

I've been looking forward to this show because I loved the star, Michael Rosenbaum, in "Smallville" years ago, and I'm happy to say that it didn't disappoint. It's a good show with plenty of laughs. That doesn't happen very often on TV any more. Most shows don't make me laugh very often.

The premise of the show is that this loser guy, Buddy (Rosenbaum), decides to kill himself because his life is messed up. He owes money to some thugs, and his girlfriend has had it with him. However, fate (or God, or whomever) intervenes, so he ends up stealing the identity of this dead gay pastor who was on his way to a new job in a small town.

Buddy just wants to steal the dead guy's money and leave town, but things don't go quite as he planned. The fun comes from watching him try to fit in as a pastor when he knows very little about religion or the bible, and he's not gay.  It's a fun fish-out-of-water show.

Now, you may think that being a show on TV Land, it's not going to be all that funny, or it's going to be an old-fashioned type of show. Well, you'd be wrong. This is an edgy show that uses four letter words and talks about doing drugs, among other things. However, they are fairly reverent (pardon the pun) when it comes to religion and the community Buddy has joined. They are never disrespectful to religious people or religion. This is not something I care about, but I know many people who would care about that.

The great veteran comedy talent David Rasche ("Sledgehammer," "Veep," "Rubicon," "Bored to Death") plays a church elder that isn't sure at first about the new pastor. He clearly didn't want a gay pastor in the first place, but he was outvoted. Somehow in this TV world, a small, conservative Christian community is fine with a gay pastor (although, they said he shouldn't actually act on his homosexuality; I'm not sure if that is something that really happens or not). But TV silliness aside, the characters are very likable (especially Rosenbaum), and the show is hilarious. Make sure to check it out!

TVLAND is no longer the network for conservative old people. Good for them! I'm old (53), but I like edgier shows. I don't mind 4 letter words. As long as it's funny, they should go for it. I enjoyed some of the other TVLAND shows, like "Hot in Cleveland," but none of them have been all that funny. I only watched them because I liked the actors or the guest-stars from the 70's. I'd rather have good comedy.  They can bring back Bettty White, though...

MORE INFORMATION:

“Impastor” is a dark comedy from Christopher Vane (“Wings”) starring Michael Rosenbaum as Buddy Dobbs, a slacker on the run from his gambling debt. Just when he’s about to end his misery and jump off a bridge, a reverend shows up and talks him down. When the reverend slips off the bridge and falls to his death, he leaves Buddy with the unlikely opportunity to steal the man’s identity and pose as the new gay pastor of a small, tight-knight town, leaving his bartender ex-girlfriend Leanne (Aimee Garcia) to clean up the huge mess he left behind. Buddy begins to settle into his new life as a pastor with the help of his preppy new assistant Dora (Sara Rue), alluring church treasurer Alexa (Mircea Monroe) and enthusiastic secretary Russell (Mike Kosinski) – but the church president, Alden Schmidt (David Rasche) senses that something isn’t quite right. Curing sex crazed teenagers, stealing kids’ weed and reading Bible scripture may not be a bad gig for Buddy after all. Only time will tell how long he can keep up the façade. “Impastor” is executive produced by Vane and Rosenbaum, along with Eric and Kim Tannenbaum (“Two and a Half Men”) and Rob Greenberg (“How I Met Your Mother”).

http://observer.com/2015/07/impastor-star-on-the-controversy-surrounding-new-tv-land-comedy-series/

The opinions in these articles are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The TV MegaSite or its other volunteers.

We need more episode guide recap writers, article writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users, graphics designers, and more, so please email us if you can help out!  More volunteers always needed!  Thanks!

Back to the Main Reviews Page

Page updated 7/15/15