Thoughts, notes, observations on the everyday nonsense of American Pop Culture from one of the most not-hip people on the face of the planet...

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

NBC's got that God-loving feeling...

NBC may be trying to convince you otherwise, but its new miniseries “Revelations” is actually quite a riveting watch.

Though NBC’s marketing people obviously told them evangelism is all the rage in the red states, this series doesn’t provide fodder for the overly righteous to masturbate themselves to a holier-than-thou orgasm like a certain popular book series I feared this show was based on. Thankfully, those of us that sleep in on Sundays can also get quite a jolt out of Wednesday nights.

More “X-Files” than “Touched by an Angel,” “Revelations” is steeped in end of days dogma, but doesn’t feel the need to preach. It has plenty of scripture, but its used in such a way to give viewers the heebie-jeebies instead of guilting them back to the pews.

In terms of Biblical fright, the gang’s all here. There’s a possible Christ missing on Earth, a cult of Satanists led by a child murderer/Antichrist figure, wild miracles, Catholic iconography, shady priests, bodily possessions, etc. - all backed by ominous church choir music and a bunch of spooky lighting. Oh, and there’s Fred Durst (as a token Satanist). His presence is nothing short of a sign of the apocalypse, in my book.

But, like the “X-Files”, we don’t know if this is all for real, or just some bad guys, camera tricks and a bunch of wild imaginations run amok. We even have a designated Mulder and Scully, this time in the form of non-believing doctor Dr. Richard Massey (Bill Pullman, as wooden as ever, but hell, its TV) and the slightly insane believer Sister Josepha Montefiore (Natasha McElhone).

Simply put, the nun thinks the end of days is here and the signs are all around to prove it, whereas the good doctor, who just lost his daughter to said Satanist sicko, doesn’t believe her, but seems eager to prove her wrong and potentially get laid. So they jet all over the place, talking in various languages to various religious figures trying to find evidence of Christ on Earth as the Satanist dude apparently keeps on thwarting them.

The storyline is straightforward, but manages to be suspenseful. It wasn’t named after the most exciting boo of the Bible for nothing…this is prime time entertainment. NBC even pulled out all of the budget stops to get “Revelations” above average television special effects. It’s like watching good sci-fi, only the people who actually believe this stuff is real aren’t regarded as nutjobs anymore.

Though some might say this is meant to whip the Religious Right into a frenzy about the current state of our nation…I say, “So What?” It makes for good TV. Give it a shot. You never know, maybe you’ll be a believer. The Truth is Out There, yo.

1 Comments:

Blogger nikki said...

i love your writer's voice. i really enjoy reading your posts, and this is another onei really like. now you've actually got me considering watching that show, which i thought was gonna be crappy.

3:01 PM CDT

 

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