Posted on 08/16/2005 5:04:13 PM PDT by sionnsar
[Episcopal News Service] A new television drama featuring the struggles of an Episcopal priest with family, church politics and Jesus, his mentor and friend, and even his own nagging reliance on painkillers, is planned for the NBC 2005-2006 mid-season line-up. “This challenging new series is our first announced drama for mid-season as we continue to seek different, out-of-the-box projects," said Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment, when announcing the new series. “The Book of Daniel' is bold and surprising storytelling told by a great cast led by Aidan Quinn,” Reilly added. The new series also offers the Episcopal Church a rare product placement opportunity at a time when TIVO devices make it possible to excise paid commercials from home viewing. In 2004, the value of television product placements (a product or brand name inserted for marketing purposes into entertainment fare) increased by 46.4 percent over the year before, to $1.88 billion, according to the research firm PQ Media. A pilot episode for “The Book of Daniel,” was filmed at All Saints Church in Pasadena, where Quinn portrays Daniel, a young, liberal priest and father who clashes frequently with his conservative bishop, Dr. Beatrice Congreve, played by Ellen Burstyn. The series, set in upstate New York, would also feature Quinn’s frequent conversations with Jesus, played by actor Garrett Dillahunt. Among his parishioners is long-time actress and comedienne Phyllis Diller. The Rev. Susan Russell, an associate rector at the Pasadena parish, said the plot for the series is hopeful. “It is one more indicator of how much issues of faith and religion are ‘in,’ right now,” said Russell, who is also national Integrity president. “How cool is it that a progressive Episcopal priest has a shot at being a prime-time drama protagonist,” she added. “How surprising might it be to many who tune in to find out there actually IS a church where women can be bishops – clergy can be human – and there’s enough Good News around to extend to everybody?” Quinn, a frequent star of television and film for two decades, has appeared in numerous episodes of NBC’s Third Watch, and such films as Desperately Seeking Susan, The Handmaid’s Tale, Cave Dweller and many others. The show’s producer and writer is Jack Kenny, a Julliard graduate and former professional actor. He has collaborated on Dave’s World, Caroline in the City, and co-wrote “Titus” the 2000 Christopher Titus comedy, with his partner Brian which ran for two years on Fox. Kenny has also directed episodes of “Titus,” the WB Network’s “Reba,” and Titus’ recent comedy special for Showtime, “Norman Rockwell is Bleeding.” Russell noted that, in her conversations with Kenny, he indicated that he wanted to focus on places where “faith and life and family connect, particularly through an Episcopal lens.” In a previously published interview, Kenny acknowledged that he has worked on a variety of shows and added that, in writing: “You can serve any product, whether it’s a kids’ show or an edgy adult comedy. The same kind of work goes into it, but your goal is a little different.” The day and time the series will be aired will be announced later, Reilly said.
Love the breathless hype: "bold and surprising storytelling" -- President, NBC Entertainment
With "Integrity" president Susan Russell behind this, the image it will present will likely just accelerate the departures from ECUSA.
(Nagging reliance on painkillers? Is this a Limbaugh reference?)
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. LOL. I'm sure it was a flip of the coin whether it was going to be an Episcopal or a Southern Baptist ...
It seems to me that the reverse is much more common in the Episcopal Church these days -- raving liberal bishops cracking down on orthodox Christian believers...
NBC will surely live up to it's acronyn of "Nothing But Crap" trying to get hold of the evangelical market with this show.
Am I mistaken in thinking that this series has nothing to do with the Book of Daniel in the Bible? One of the Anglican pastors I know, the Canon Rev Loong Kong, said of the Book of Daniel "describing the past and future of the nations, and prophecy illustrating the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven: how religions and nations come and go, and the fulfillment of the Kingdom of Heaven.".
In fact he is one of the few dispensational Anglican pastors/clergies I know. Oh wait, it was a product of another time and the Hong Kong Anglican Church is on another planet when compared with the ECUSA.
Oh, I know very well why. To the "progressive"-oriented TV networks and the "creative" community of TV producers, writers, etc. such orthodox characters are classified as "fundagelicals" and "bigots". If cast on TV at all, they could only be cast as villains.
What really needed to be said was countercultural in the 1960's and it is even more countercultural now. Of course, what needed saying then bears little to no relationship to what needs saying now, but I rest assured that NBC, et al, wouldn't say what needs saying until long after it is not worth talking about.
In Christ,
Deacon Paul+
How long until they have the "Priest" getting a human booster shot from a guy named Molly?
One can only imagine the leftist morality plays in store this season...
Episode 1. Daniel must confront his mixed feeling about whether to be up-front with his congregation about his more than platonic interest in the boys choir.
Episode 4. Daniel's congregation breaks into near civil war when it is revealed that non-organic flour has been used in preparing the Eucharist. This is compounded when parish vegans demand that the liturgy be revised to purge carnal references to body and blood, and instead use the terms tempe and juice.
Episode 6. Zany hijinx break out when Bishop Beatrice reveals that she used to be known as Bob and had once dated Daniel's Mom.
IIRC, the last time the nets had a show about an Episcopal priest, it was a so-called comedy starring Dan Akroyd..anyone else remember..
It's surprising alright... and laughable.
They have it backwards. I don't know of any women bishops who are conservative and the reality is that conservative priests are hounded and persecuted by liberal bishops not the reverse.
>>“It is one more indicator of how much issues of faith and religion are ‘in,’ right now,”<<
Good grief, this "woman playing pastor" just doesn't get it, does she?
Religion is "in"? Whenever was it "out"?
Oh, my! She's a lesbian priestess!!!! I didn't catch that before. What do you expect from the New World Order Broadcasting Company?
I think that my "Father Basil meets Desperate Housewives" plot has much better dramatic possibilities. Maybe they'd do better to flush the gaysbian-gnostic stuff down the toilet and hire me to develop the program concept and write the plot instead!!!!
Hmm.
Already one new TV show with a woman President and now one with a woman Bishop.
The conditioning begins.
national Integrity president ........If you have to say it, you don't have it.
The show with the woman president won't last two months.
I wish that I could say the same for Hillary Rodham Izetbegovic Khomeini's campaign.
I am sure you are correct.
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