Is NBC Stepping Over the Line?

NBC is scrambling to find a new TV show that will bring them the ratings, and in their endeavor, they are turning to religious subject matter. But do they treat this subject matter with dignity?

BURBANK, Calif. (Reuters) - NBC, praying for new hits as it weathers a post-"Friends" ratings slump, may soon be bringing Jesus to prime time -- not as a biblical miracle worker, but as a modern-day private savior for a pill-popping priest.

That's the scenario for "The Book of Daniel," one of several pilot dramas developed at NBC as possible additions to its 2005-2006 schedule and showcased on Thursday for a gathering for advertisers.

"Daniel" is one project that NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said he is particularly excited about, citing it as a prime example of his big new watch word in program development -- "fresh."

"I like that it's slightly provocative," he told Reuters. "We did realize that we're in uncharted waters. ... It certainly stirs people's passions and stirs opinions, and if we do it right, with quality, I think there's millions and millions of people who would say, 'Hey, that's what I've been looking for on television.'"

"Daniel," however, is a far cry from "Passion" or the conventional Easter-season TV specials that portray Christ in a biblical context.

According to NBC's promotional materials, its pilot drama depicts Jesus as a "contemporary, cool" figure who appears as a personal confidant to an Episcopal minister named Daniel Webster (Aidan Quinn), who in turn is wrestling with family issues and a dependence on prescription pills. The cast co-stars Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn as Daniel's church superior and newcomer Garrett Dillahunt as Jesus.

"Daniel" also is a departure from the more wholesome spirituality offered by such shows as "Touched By an Angel" and "Highway to Heaven."

And therein lies the challenge for NBC -- finding the right balance between breakout hit and blasphemy.

"It's all about execution," said Stacey Lynn Koerner, an executive at the New York-based media buying agency Initiative. "This is a show that plays to the heart of Middle America. ... If it's too provocative, you won't get Middle America. They'll find it sacrilegious."

The network's newest prime-time success is "Medium," stars Patricia Arquette as a suburban housewife who helps solve crimes by communicating with the dead.

And next month, NBC will debut its six-part apocalyptic thriller "Revelations," starring Bill Pullman as a scientist who teams up with a nun to try to thwart Armageddon.

NBC will do anything to be on top, even creating a show in which they think Americans with "Values" would want to see. But they don't get it, the premise of the show is wrong, just because they throw a "cool" Jesus in with a troubled priest, that they will be giving America what they want to see. First off, they must have never read the Bible, because Jesus DOES NOT come back that way, and second Jesus isn't coming back as "cool" he is coming back to kick the Devil's butt. Would you trust a network that has a show with a "Medium" channeling the dead to solve crimes? And as for their "Revelations" mini-movie, they can try to thwart Armageddon all they want, it's in God's plan and it will happen. NBC has no idea of what the hell they are doing, so they will do it badly, and I hope they bomb badly too.


Mr Minority