Watch “Lando” teach “theology of the body” on That ’70s Show

It’s not very often when Star Wars, theology and pop-culture all come together. However, when it does, it’s difficult to forget!

Take for example season 6, episode 14 of That ’70s Show, a popular comedy that ran from 1998-2006. The episode is entitled, Baby Don’t You Do it and has a guest appearance from Billy Dee Williams–the actor that played Lando Calrissian in the original trilogy and in The Rise of Skywalker! (As a side note, credit goes to my wife for remembering this episode!)

The episode is focused on Donna and Eric, who end up going to premarital church counseling and lie about having had sex before marriage. Williams plays “Pastor Dan” and tries to use Star Wars analogies to connect with “young people.” It is a hilarious episode, especially for any Star Wars fan!

What’s surprising, however, is how Pastor Dan speaks a fundamental truth that is entirely consistent with the “theology of the body” that St. John Paul II constantly taught in regards to the beauty of sex being a gift and why pre-marital sex steals much of the joy and anticipation of marriage.

Here is the interchange that Pastor Dan has with Donna and Eric after they return to the church to confess their lie.

Donna: Well, you see, pastor Dan, when we were here before and you had asked us about premarital sex, we might have…
Eric: We lied, okay? We have had sex zillions of times.
Eric: I’m sorry, Donna, but we are knocking on hell’s door, and I ain’t goin’ in!

Pastor Dan: Eric, you’re not going to hell. But you might be. I don’t know you that well. I just think you’re depriving yourselves of that wonderful moment when marriage is cemented by giving the gift of yourselves.

Maybe that’s why you couldn’t figure out the whole excitement about marriage.
The one thing you should have been looking forward to, you had already experienced.

Eric: Um I don’t mean to bring up “Star Wars” again.
This is a lot like Luke before he discovered the force.

Pastor Dan: Exactly. And what is the force in real life?

You can watch the comical, yet profound interchange in the two videos below.

St. John Paul II repeatedly spoke about how conjugal love was meant to be an exchange of gifts, the gift of one person to another in the sacrament of marriage.

Therefore, the man not only accepts the gift. At the same time he is received as a gift by the woman, in the revelation of the interior spiritual essence of his masculinity, together with the whole truth of his body and sex. Accepted in this way, he is enriched through this acceptance and welcoming of the gift of his own masculinity. Subsequently, this acceptance, in which the man finds himself again through the sincere gift of himself, becomes in him the source of a new and deeper enrichment of the woman. The exchange is mutual. In it the reciprocal effects of the sincere gift and of the finding oneself again are revealed and grow.

Marriage is the proper place for this exchange of gifts and only heightens the anticipation of engaged couples. However, if this gift is abused and not given according to God’s divine plan, we are left empty inside. We feel cheated and trapped in a relationship that is going nowhere.

Is it a surprise that so many couples live together before marriage for years and years and never get married?

What’s even more interesting is how Donna at the end of the episode wants to save sex until marriage! They have already had sex, but now she seeks a secondary virginity so that they can better prepare for their own marriage.

While it is a comedic episode and is often handled in a light way, it is a perfect example of how our hearts long for truth, beauty and goodness. We know in our hearts that sex is meant to be a gift, but too often we abuse that gift and open it too soon.

To be honest, this would be the perfect episode to play for any pre-marriage counseling session and would be a good spring-board for discussion!

I encourage you to watch the two clips below and ponder the underlying truths spoken in them.