The Book of Daniel
faith January 10th, 2006Christians are up in arms about NBC's new show The Book of Daniel. You may have received one or more emails this past week from friends or family urging you to petition and boycott the show. I received more than one such email. And then I watched the premiere out of curiosity.
As a Christian, I expected to be appalled at the anti-Christian slant oozing from the show. At least, this is what I was led to believe. Except that's not what I felt at all. The show was so over the top that it was just goofy. If the writers' intention was to weave an anti-Christian agenda into the show, they failed with hyperbole overload. It was laughable: not in a "this is funny" way, but more on a "this is stupid" level. I wasn't offended any more than any of the other junk that's on television. Bottom line, the show just wasn't that good, and I won't be watching it again.
Real Live Preacher wrote a review for salon.com that sums up most of my feelings on the show. To read the whole thing you have to click through an ad, but it's worth it. Favorite quote from the article:
[Jesus] looks like one of the Doobie Brothers, and all he does is hand out Life Savers and say things like, "Life is hard, but that's why there's a nice reward at the end."
January 12th, 2006 at 10:09 am
I agree. The show is typical of so many that try to tackle "radical" or outrageous themes, but the writers appear to be so shallow in their historical and cultural perspectives. It's the (by now) SOT of endless, meaningless iteration of absurd or cynical themes some people think will appeal to the mass of viewers. I think they're dead wrong and I won't be watching it. I'm amazed it even got on any network; it isn't clever, but, then, I shudder to think what other kinds of garbage may have been passed over instead. If this is a "front-runner" in some TV moguls' eyes, they must have serious vision problems - but no surprise there either. Oh, the banality of it all!
January 12th, 2006 at 10:11 am
Oh, and P.S. re the depiction of Jesus. That kind of thing — the utter trivialization — could come only through supreme ignorance or viciousness. Not even a shadow-Jesus — I would prefer a more in-your-face Jesus, the kind the producers and writers aren't actually willing to tackle in this waste of a program.
January 19th, 2006 at 1:06 am
I agree, Uncle Jerry. I watched the 2-hour pilot as well and was less than impressed. The only thing somewhat good about the show was the subplot with the church funds being stolen and the mob brought in to find it. That was the only somewhat interesting aspect.
The Jesus of the show simply did not seem to be that great. I kept thinking, "This is the man who died for my sins?"
Curtis, I also was not "offended." I found it over the top also. It presented supposed godly people with no morals whatsoever. No change in lifestyle or attitudes.