Posted on 03/31/2013 8:08:53 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Television watchers across the country are glomming on to an unlikely megahit: the History Channel’s 10-hour retelling of stories from the Bible. To the disbelief of Hollywood executives, viewers are shunning a lineup that includes “Revenge” and “The Mentalist” to watch another telling of the greatest story ever told.
During its first three weeks, the miniseries produced by reality-show producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, the star of “Touched By an Angel,” has drawn upward of 10 million viewers for each episode. That’s more, our critic Daniel Wattenberg reports, than anything aired by ABC or NBC during the same period. Who needs “Scandal” or “Deception” when the original, complete with serpent, is available?
This is not a line-by-line, chapter-and-verse telling of the stories from the Bible. Events are compressed, and more than one critical eyebrow has been raised over the ninja-style fighting engaged in by angels and the Israelites in their escape from bondage.
SNIP SNIP
Hollywood itself would do well to closely examine the overall success of “The Bible,” which concludes its initial television run on Sunday. Home-video release will follow by Tuesday, and the DVD and Blu-ray discs are expected to be hot sellers, too.
Sordid and trashy has become the norm for much of television entertainment, and the Bible’s blockbuster success should inspire entertainment executives to think again about taking stories from the Bible. A lot of people thought the runaway success of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” a decade ago would inspire Hollywood, too. The market for family-oriented, values-affirming entertainment is huge and all but untapped. The success of “The Bible” ought to persuade Hollywood, where the pursuit of money is all, that such stories are where the money is.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
How will Hollywierd make a religious-based movie today without gratuitous car crashes and explosions, dialogue laced with four-letter words, sex, frontal nudity and half the characters being gay??
I just have this vision of a chariot race (such as the one in Ben-Hur) and, when one of them crashes, there is a fireball and massive explosion!! It will be entertaining, but won't do much to tell the story.
I enjoyed the “The Bible” series and I am not even religious. But I am still learning! :)
Hollywood needs to learn what the moguls of the golden age knew by instinct-—give people what they want and you can make money—lots of money. Give them good stories with good people, stories that will give them hope and brighten there day. Now is not the time for realism—we need to see what is good out there! Most of the Moguls were Jewish but they still made Biblical stories for Christians. In today’s world a Biblical take seems new and different. look whats happening in Russia today—a total re-awaking to Christian Worship. Make movies that will inspire people!
I enjoy historical dramas and thought the Bible series was quite entertaining.
Well said.
I’m not much for evening TV (retired) and hadn’t watched until it made it to daytime yesterday. Yes, it was compressed but it was only a 10 hour series.
I made a big mistake. I recently bought a recliner, super soft over stuffed leather with electric controls. It had me sleeping before the show was over and I only saw the first 2½ hours.
Wow, someone grounded in reality. Thank you.
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