Aliens in America: The Muslim Card (Episode 15)

You wouldn't know it by the fact that this recap is a few weeks late, but seriously, I'm gonna miss this show. While it tended to paint the people of Medora with an overwhelmingly ignorant brush while making Raja look like an overly virtuous stick-in-the-mud, the show was willing to engage race in a humorous, non-preachy way. And there isn't a lot of that going on elsewhere on television. If this show could find a new home elsewhere, maybe on the new on-line iteration of The WB that's scheduled to go live later this year, that would be cool.

"Mental Mindy": Raja gets in the romantic sightlines of annoying do-gooder Mindy, who mistakes Raja's friendliness and invitation to be his partner in Italian class as way to lurve. Though Justin tried to warn him, Raja can't bring himself to tell Mindy that he's not into her that way. And would she even really hear him if he did? Raja tries to play the Muslim card, insisting that his faith would never permit him to become involved with someone of a different faith. I'd also imagine that Mindy would be especially verboten, as she is Jewish. This doesn't stop her, though, as she plays the Muslim card right back when she dons a burqa and says she has converted to Islam. When Mindy shows up at the Tolchuk house, Raja has finally had enough, taking Mindy to the porch for the letdown conversation that Justin had told him should have happened in the first place.

"Mr. & Mrs. Molestorburg": Gary and Franny befriend new neighbors Ted & Leslie, who come over for coffee, some TV, and oh yeah, to tell the Tolchuks that Ted's a registered sex offender. The crime that got Ted in trouble? As teenage sweethearts, they were caught together in Ted's dorm room when he was 19 and she was but 17. Though they'e gone on to enjoy a successful marriage, Ted's offense has stuck. Gary and Franny aren't sure about how to proceed but an outing to what I'm sure is Medora's only Italian restaurant, where Ted gets a glass of Chardonnay tossed in his face, shows the Tolchuks that if Ted and Leslie can stay strong and committed to each other, they can certainly be friends. Franny even makes them a totally awesome "OK, Welcome to the Neighborhood" sheet cake. Too bad Ted's a bit of a racist. Playing the Muslim card when he sees Raja and Mindy talking on the porch, Ted shows his true colors to Gary, who immediately fires back by calling him "Mr. Molestorburg". I guess Leslie won't be returning that platter to Franny any time soon.