Pastor Dan is a character that was introduced in the episode Baby Don't You Do It. He is portrayed by Billy Dee Williams.
Character[]
One week after Eric and Donna went through a pregnancy scare, Red, Kitty and Bob all decided that the couple needed premarital counseling (with Hyde convincing them with the idea in the first place) at the church; although Eric doesn’t want to go to counseling but Donna agrees to go as she believes it will sort out their personal issues. The next day Eric and Donna attend their first counseling session with Pastor Dan, Donna then tries bringing up her and Eric’s issues such as Eric obsessing over Star Wars, the pastor himself reveals that he too is a Star Wars fan much to Eric’s joy and Donna’s dismay. Pastor Dan then asks the couple of what excites them about marriage, both Eric and Donna, surprised by the question, cannot respond to an answer. The pastor then points out that every soon to be married couples are most excited about getting married is by also having sexual relations for the first time and asks the couple if they’ve already had sex. Eric and Donna, baffled and embarrassed to respond, both lie to the pastor by claiming that they are still virgins.
A few days later in the Sunday gathering at the church, Paster Dan speaks to the crowd of church morals and about Star Wars, with Eric silently agreeing. Pastor Dan goes on with how he recently met young engaged "virgins" who have turn their backs on premarital sex and temptation, (with both the horrified Eric and Donna realizing that the pastor is talking about them) Pastor Dan then announces Eric and Donna as the engaged virgins and asks them to take a stand. Most of the people in the church applaud to them, except for Red, Kitty and Bob who are all flabbergasted and silently angry by this deception (with the trio all knowing the truth that Eric and Donna are not virgins). When Eric, Donna and the others return to the Forman house, the parents all confront them with their lie with Hyde joining in the confrontation. Still angry about the deception, Kitty orders Eric and Donna to go to the church and tell Pastor Dan the truth, which they do. In Pastor Dan’s office Eric and Donna come clean to the man about not being virgins and that they lied to him and the others, with Eric mostly freaking out that they are going to Hell. Pastor Dan then calms and reassures Eric that he’s not going to Hell but might be since he doesn’t know him that well and tells them that they might be depriving themselves of that wonderful moment when marriage is cemented by giving the gift of themselves; surprised by this, Donna admits she never thought of it that way before. Pastor Dan stated that that is why they couldn’t figure out the whole excitement about marriage and that the one thing they should have been looking forward to is that they already experienced, with the pastor stating that maybe they knew that without realizing it. Eric then brings up the Star Wars reference believing that this is like when Luke Skywalker was before he discovered the Force. Pastor Dan then states that he is right and asks him what the Force is in real life, Eric then realizes what he means and agrees with the pastor. After their visit with Pastor Dan Donna then decides that she and Eric needed to celibate until they are married, with Eric begrudgingly agrees.
One week later in another Sunday gathering at the church Pastor Dan then tells his church members that he’s learned that congregants (Eric and Donna) have lied about abstaining from sеx and corrected the injustice by ordering Eric and Donna to take a stand. The couple not only just stand to represent themselves to the church, Red, Kitty and Bob, as well as the other church members all start booing at them.
Trivia[]
- Billy Dee Williams who plays the role of Pastor Dan had previously played the iconic role of Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars franchise.