Episode 1 of Kings

Here is the first two hours of NBC's Kings, directed by Francis Lawrence, who made Constantine and I Am Legend, both of which were surprisingly watchable(even good) and surprisingly literate spiritually.  I was impressed by the opening episode, which is operatic and gripping, even if it is a bit silly.  Sure, Ian McShane gives at least 4 monologues in these 2 hours, but he sells the heck out of them.  Sure, David shouting at tanks doesn't quite have the dramatic ring of a true "David vs. Goliath" battle, but that works too.  Mostly because it is operatic, and in opera you expect over the top theatrics and emoting.  Its not Battlestar Galactica, but Battlestar Galactica is the first show that I thought of after watching this, and that is a very good thing.

Biblically, it has some issues.  For one thing, it is far too prudish and bloodless for being based upon one of the most violent and lascivious books in the Bible. But until a "real" adaptation of the Old Testament is made, then this will do.  Kings airs Sundays on NBC, or you can watch it like I do, on Hulu. 




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What would People Say if the Found out we were Jesus People?

First off, if you're not watching Kings on NBC, you're missing out. Sure, it's no Battlestar Galactica, but it does remind me of it in a good way. I especially like that it doesn't shy away from talking about God, even if the people aren't really Jewish. Full episodes aren't online yet, but I'm sure they will be soon. I also have to say I like, in a ridiculous way, that NBC is apparently promoting Kings by using advertising modeled on their sitcoms. "When he's not charming the ladies, David Shepard is smooth talking the King. What will this guy do next?!" Wait, what? Today I wanted to tell everyone about Jesus People. I had never heard of the show/improv group before, but Christianity Today had a story about a movie version, so I watched the original webisodes, and was hooked at once. It is a spot-on parody of Christian culture and Christian music in particular. I like the guy who leads the group(Joel McCrary - ed.) because he has a Seth Rogan type of voice and delivery, and is always being interrupted by everyone. I burst out laughing when someone suggests opening in prayer and then immediately jumps into a full-on hands up prayer without any warning. I'm going to finish watching the webisodes, and I'm now really looking forward to the movie version. Apparently it is touring film festivals already, so we can look forward to it soon! Based on the strength of the webisodes, the movie should be great. Jesus People Movie Trailer (Source - CT Movies) Email us at supercandid at gmail dot com

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The Easter Experience & Kings - Stories from the Bible Told in New Ways

Richard Ramsey linked to an interesting looking series entitled The Easter Experience.  While I initially thought it was some kind of interactive passion play, it turns out to be a series of 6 20-minute episodes about the Passion of Jesus.  The twist is that this series frames the events as lessons for life application, not unlike the way that the Stations of the Cross puts symbolic and metaphorical meaning on the events of Jesus' Passion. This film reminds me of Son of Man, which we talked about a long time ago and I'd still like to see, as well as NBC's Kings, the modern re-telling of the book of Samuel(ironically not the book of Kings).  Kings premieres this Sunday, and I'm really looking forward to it.  Done right, The Book of Samuel could be a better family crime drama than The Sopranos, with easily twice as much violence and sex.  Lets hope they go all out, at least to hold us over until HBO produces a piece directly based on the Bible.  Plus it has Wes Studi, always awesome as a villian, as the Bible's #1 S.O.B., Joab.

(source- Richard Ramsey)
The Easter Experience Trailer



Kings Trailer

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NBC's Kings

Ian McShane, best known as the Al Swearengen from HBO's Deadwood, has been cast as whatever character is representing King David in the pilot for NBC's Kings. Kings, written by Heroes writer and co-executive producer Michael Green, is a re-telling of the reign of King David in a modern setting. (if that link doesn't work try the Google Cache version). The pilot will be directed by Francis Lawrence, director of I Am Legend and Constantine, two films that turned out to be much better than they looked, and he seems to have a deft hand on weaving religion into stories well. The pitch sounds promising: Set in present day, "Kings" centers on "a regular small-town guy who gets mixed up with the upper crust social and political elite of a monarchy and eventually would become the new king," Green said. "It's a Cinderella story and a story of struggle for power." The plot of the soap, which will feature magical elements, loosely parallels the story of the biblical David, a shepherd boy who went on to defeat the giant Goliath and become Israel's second king. " I'm guessing that McShane's casting means that it will be eschewing the familiar "David and Goliath" story to be more focused on his reign. As great as David and Goliath is, it is more than over-done and the rest of David's reign has plenty of meat for a juicy soap opera. It sounds like it could be a sort of organized crime tale, Sopranos-esque perhaps. Unless they go all out and make it a alternate universe where America is ruled by a king? And there I go, assuming it will be set in America. Who knows at this point? Heroes success, McShane's TV cred and Lawrence's directing skills all point to this as having good chances of being picked up for a series. Lets hope so, because un-sold pilots usually disappear into nothingness and I'd like to at least see this take on the Bible. Anyone have any other Bible stories they'd like to see brought into the modern day? I think Jeremiah could work well as a story in the modern US. Save This Page