Back when Jack Kenny was a good Catholic boy, he was taught to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. So when he wrote a TV show about a troubled Episcopal priest, he made Jesus his main character's best friend.
In Kenny's "The Book of Daniel," which NBC just picked up for midseason, Aidan Quinn plays Connecticut-bred Daniel Webster. Daniel is a good minister and a good man, but that's not always enough to deal with his life. He's addicted to Vicodin. His wife, Judith, has frozen inside since one of their sons died of leukemia. His son, Peter, is gay. His daughter, Grace, is dealing marijuana to raise extra cash.
And in moments of great stress, Jesus (played by "Deadwood" alum Garret Dillahunt) turns up--in the passenger seat of Daniel's station wagon, in the bedroom hallway, outside the church--to offer his counsel.
So, yeah, "Book of Daniel" is going to be controversial, and that's even before you consider that Kenny is gay, and that homosexuality and religion have mixed lately like hair spray and a blow torch.
"I recognize there are going to be people who have an issue with a gay man writing about Jesus," Kenny says at the Television Critics Association's summer press tour. He adds, "I'm not making fun of Jesus. I never want to poke fun at religion or at Jesus. These characters are very spiritual people. They believe in God, they believe in Christ as their savior, and I think that's wonderful."
Well, I'm definitely hooked. The writing is good, the acting is good and the show is funny in a bizarre, wry sort of way. I hope it's not hounded off the air. Already a couple of NBC affiliates have dropped it from their line-up due to fundamentalist pressure. What is it with these fundies??? Doesn't their remote change channels the way mine does? If they disapprove of a program, they don't have to watch it. But no, they want to police the rest of us. I will be very interested to see how this plays out.
I have noticed on a couple of occations that a show is listed to be played and it is replaced by something else with no explanation. One such occation, I'm remembering, was 'Cosmos' on OETA (Public TV in Tulsa).
ReplyDeleteI know the local 'fundies' don't like Carl Sagan, but I'm unsure that they have the power to prevent the Public Access Television station to change its lineup. I just wonder.
I'm really getting tired of the 'policing' being done by the moral majority around here. Lately someone took over my favorite radio station, Rock102.3, and replaced it with a religious music format.
I too will be interested to see how 'The Book of Daniel' will be met by the bible belt.
Thanks for your post. Your blog reminds me of mine in the position you take on many topics.
Thanks for you comment, rusko. I didn't realize OETA had dumped Cosmos. That's appalling!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you lost your radio program. The fundamentalist culture around here is something else.
Yes, it will be really interesting to see what happens to The Book of Daniel. I'm not optimistic.