Thus far, the show appears to take too
many liberties with the text to satisfy the most biblically-minded of
viewers; to be too dark and violent for ordinary evangelicals drawn by
Downey’s Touched by an Angel pedigree; to be too lacking in
coherent narrative and stilted in script to appeal to those who just
want good entertainment; and to be too sketchy in history and profundity
to match the hopes of church leaders who want the miniseries to become
the next cultural sensation.
But I do think the series certainly will
appeal to the TV cheeseheads out there, those who soak up entertainingly
unsuccessful filmed epics. And so, the epic of the Bible remains the
greatest story never sold, at least on film, but watching the repeated
attempts is both historically edifying and emotionally irresistible.
Count me among the cheeseheads, Paul. I thought the opening episode was pretty good, or at least it wasn't terrible. Granted, there were too many commercials for Christianmingle.com, the Bible app, The Vikings, and the Roman Catholic Church, but I thought Mark Burnett and Roma Downey did a decent job of capturing the first five books of the Old Testament in two hours. (I thought some coverage of Jacob and Esau or Joseph would have made the episode even more compelling, but I don't think evangelical viewers would have been happy with a Potiphar's wife scene).
I watched it with my family over a couple of pizzas. Everyone was engaged and full of questions and comments during the commercials. For example, we had a great conversation about all of the violence in the Old Testament.
If the mini-series causes my kids to raise questions about the Bible and has enough drama and entertainment value to keep them interested for two hours, I am all for it. If Burnett and Downey can bring the story of the Bible and its life-changing message to a new generation by creating a television mini-series, then I think that is a good thing.
I am looking forward to next week.
I am looking forward to next week.
