King David on NBC

From Megan Basham in World, a (disappointed) review of the NBC series Kings about King David-- and an interview with the producer...

There's virtually no probability that I would catch a scintilla of this show. We only watch 24 and a little bit of Idol from prime-time TV. But for those of you who might have too much spare time (!) or would be otherwise interested...

Hopefully, Christians will let this die an easy and quick death. If they respond to form, they'll respond the reinterpretation of Jonathan as a homosexual. Like Father Daniel from NBC a few years ago, the better response is to ignore it and focus on more matters-- like divorce, Darfur, and discipleship.


First, the review...

It's easy to see why Christians might be excited about the new series Kings, premiering on NBC March 15. Since the golden age of the silver screen, Old Testament stories, with their sin, intrigue, supernaturalism, and redemption, have been the stuff of epic moviemaking. And a modern reimagining of the lives of Saul and David could hardly offer better fodder for the long format of the television drama. But like many other occasions when Hollywood has taken up the Bible, the producers of Kings appear to have missed the point....

Updating ancient Israel obviously requires a major overhaul of the source material, and there's nothing wrong with the way creator Michael Green has gone about that....If the place and a few of the names are different, the plot points are basically the same....Some of the revisions are obvious....Other alterations are more subtle....

[David] displays no particular love for the Lord....Equally disappointing is what the story does to the image of the warrior king. The producers play current events with the heaviest of hands to make barely veiled political points....Even when he defeats Goliath, he doesn't do it for the Lord's honor and he doesn't do it with a sense of conviction; rather, like Forrest Gump, he stumbles into victory accidentally. A postmodern poster-child, there is no assuredness in David of his God or anything else....a sad, pale imitation of the heroism of the actual David...

Then, the interview...