What is being hailed as an ‘epic’ drama on the scale of ‘The Lord of the Rings’, “The Bible” premiers this Sunday on the History Channel. As many media outlets and TV channels begin focusing biblically related content during Lent, many are excited about the History Channel’s new take on major biblical stories.
Channel Guide Magazine neatly summarizes the show:
History presents the ambitious 10-hour, five-week miniseries The Bible, dramatizing the most famous tales from the Good Book beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation. Stories depicted include the Garden of Eden, Noah and the Flood, the Exodus, David and Goliath, and the Gospels. The series concludes on Easter with the story of the Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension and prophecy of the Second Coming of Christ.
I will be watching on Sunday with a keen eye. What makes the show interesting is that Survivor producer Mark Burnett is on the project. It makes me wonder, Will Noah get voted off the boat in this series? Condensing the Bible into 10 hours seems like an impossible task, and it is. Hopefully, the writers did the script justice. When you name a series, “The Bible” there is an expectation that the totality of the Good Word will be covered.
Perhaps what is interesting about this show is why it was created. Former “Touched by an Angel” star Roma Downey, married to Burnett, felt called to bring the project to life. The Salt Lake City Tribute reports:
“In my prayer and meditation, I imagine somehow running into a stadium carrying this,” Downey said. “The light is not the Olympic torch, the light is the series. And as I come into the stadium, instead of people standing and cheering, I feel like everybody’s running down and grabbing a bit of that light and running with me.”
“Three-and-a-half years ago, I felt the call to do this,” Downey said. “I got my husband to share the vision. He is a great man for making things happen. He doesn’t hear the word no.” Downey said her spouse is “deeply humbled to be given this once-in-a-generation opportunity to breathe new visual life into the Bible’s profound stories.”
I’m always fascinated how Hollywood depicts Bible stories and characters. Mel Gibson‘s “The Passion of the Christ” was a game changer. Will “The Bible” do the same? Find out this Sunday @ 8:00 p.m. ET on the History Channel.
Check back Monday for my analysis of “The Bible”.
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