Two Stations Won't Air 'Book of Daniel'

[bossradio93]

Two Stations Won't Air 'Book of Daniel'

By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer

Thu Jan 5, 4:51 PM ET

NEW YORK - Two television stations are refusing to broadcast a new NBC series about an Episcopal priest who abuses painkillers, has a gay son, a promiscuous straight son, a daughter who deals marijuana, and a wife who drinks too much.

Conservative Christian groups have condemned the depiction of Jesus as blasphemous, accusing the writers of portraying Christ as tolerant of sin in talks with the priest.

NBC affiliates KARK in Little Rock, Ark., and WTWO in Terre Haute, Ind., said sensitivity to viewers led them not to air "The Book of Daniel," which debuts Friday. In Little Rock, the WB affiliate has arranged to show the drama instead.

"If my action causes people in our community to pay more attention to what they watch on television, I have accomplished my mission," Duane Lammers, WTWO's general manager, said in a statement on his station's Web site.

The series stars Aidan Quinn as the Rev. Daniel Webster, who discusses his many troubles in regular chats with a robe-wearing, bearded Jesus. The American Family Association, in Tupelo, Miss., and Focus on the Family, the Colorado Springs group led by James Dobson, are asking supporters to lobby their local NBC affiliate to drop the show.

In a statement Thursday, NBC said, "We're confident that once audiences view this quality drama themselves, they'll appreciate this thought-provoking examination of one American family."

But the American Family Association said the series was another sign of NBC's "anti-Christian bigotry." Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, an anti-defamation group, called the series the "work of an embittered ex-Catholic homosexual."

The show's creator and executive producer, Jack Kenny, said he drew on the emotionally guarded family of his male partner for the series. He said his goal was to depict how "humor and grace" help a flawed man struggle with his faith and family. He said the writers never meant to mock religion or Jesus.

However, Bob Waliszewski, of Focus on the Family's teen ministries, said the show portrayed Christ as a "namby-pamby frat boy who basically winks at every sin and perversity under the sun."

"When the pastor's teen son is sexually active and having many romps with his 15-year-old girlfriend, this Jesus says, `A kid has to be a kid,'" Waliszewski said. "I don't think NBC would have portrayed a Muslim cleric or a Buddhist monk, the Dalai Lama, in a show this way. Why? Because they know to do so would be mean-spirited and insensitive."

James Naughton, a spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., said a California Episcopal church is advising the series.

Naughton has read scripts for eight episodes and acknowledged that viewers could take away a troubling message about people of faith, instead of a positive one about overcoming temptation. Still, he said it was "a tremendous opportunity for evangelism for Episcopalians." The Washington Diocese has started a blog to comment on the show and invite discussion.

"To me, this is good for us no matter how it comes out because if people are talking about what Episcopalians are like, it creates tremendous opportunities for us to say, `Here's what we actually are like,'" Naughton said.

___

On the Net:

American Family Association: http://www.afa.net/

Episcopal Diocese of Washington blog: http://blog.edow.org/weblog/

Yahoo! News/AP-January 5, 2006

[Dean Winchester]

this is silly... I think everytime religion is at the forefront of a show, people will complain. I remember a lot of people picketing "Joan Of Arcadia" when that premiered too.

I don't think this show is that bad... I mean, it's a little more realistic than 7th Heaven, a show that is too goody-goody for its own liking. Wow, so a teenage boy is promiscuous? isn't that the case usually? As opposed to how 7th Heaven promoted a "very special episode" over the fact the one blonde boy, who is in college, was having sex... WOW!! Yet on the same channel is One Tree Hill, a show where pretty much every character has slept with each other and they're still in high school

[Janice]

Reprinted from NewsMax.com
Friday, Jan. 6, 2006 2:27 p.m. EST

Three More NBC Affiliates Nix 'Daniel'


Three Kansas NBC affiliates have announced they will not be carrying NBC’s "The Book of Daniel.” KSNG in Garden City, KSNC in Great Bend and KSNK in Oberlin have responded to community concern and will not air the program.

They join KNSW-TV in Wichita, Kan., KARK-TV in Little Rock, Ark. and WTWO in Terre Haute, Ind., in refusing to carry NBC’s new series.
American Family Association (AFA) says that NBC has received more than 600,000 emails protesting the program.

After viewing the first episode at WBIR in Knoxville, several religious leaders gave their views on the program. Brian Kearns, minister at Lighthouse Christian Church, said, "I think it’s very demeaning to Christianity. It’s an assault on the Christian faith.”

Rev. Tom Seay of the Bearden United Methodist Church, described it as "just a pretty sorry piece of work.” Dale Powers of the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville said "You’re portraying something as normal that is just absurd.” And Rev. John Stuart said, "What the show has done is demean my faith. You’ve diminished the person I worship ... you’ve wounded me.”

Donald E. Wildmon, chairman of AFA, said NBC is running the program despite the loss of millions of dollars in advertising revenue. "Advertisers are shying away from the program,” Wildmon stated. "But NBC’s hostility to Christians and Christianity runs deep.”

The program’s main characters include Daniel Webster, a drug-addicted Episcopal priest; his alcoholic wife; his son, a 23-year-old homosexual Republican; his daughter, a 16-year-old drug dealer; a 16-year-old adopted son who is having sex with the bishop's daughter; his lesbian secretary who is sleeping with his sister-in-law; and a very unconventional white-robed, bearded Jesus who reassures the priest that his drug-dealing daughter and promiscuous son are good kids.

According to media reports, it is written by Jack Kenny, a practicing homosexual, who describes himself as being "in Catholic recovery,” interested in Buddhist teachings about reincarnation, and not sure exactly how he defines God and/or Jesus. "I don't necessarily know that all the myth surrounding him (Jesus) is true,” he said.

[troopoleon8897]

Originally Posted by HUNG UP!

this is silly... I think everytime religion is at the forefront of a show, people will complain. I remember a lot of people picketing "Joan Of Arcadia" when that premiered too.

I don't think this show is that bad... I mean, it's a little more realistic than 7th Heaven, a show that is too goody-goody for its own liking. Wow, so a teenage boy is promiscuous? isn't that the case usually? As opposed to how 7th Heaven promoted a "very special episode" over the fact the one blonde boy, who is in college, was having sex... WOW!! Yet on the same channel is One Tree Hill, a show where pretty much every character has slept with each other and they're still in high school

lol, Im checking it out because it looks like it could be really good and because its from Jack Kenny who was co-creater on titus...

[Brad Russ]

I'm absolutely outraged, and disgusted by this piece of crap show, and have been since I first heard about it. What's really silly, is the way NBC takes a total disregard for the probably millions of Christians who have supported them over the years, and repays them with this kind of blasphemous filled garbage!!! How dare you take something Iv'e held dear to my heart, and to my daily life for the past 7 years, and make an absolute mockery of it!!! Iv'e already emailed NBC, blocked them out from my channel lineup, and called the local affiliate complaining about this garbage. People can go right ahead and call me an extremist all they want, but my efforts, and the efforts of many others are proving to make a difference, as many local affiliates have already bailed out from airing it. And I say good for them.You have the right to your freedom of speech, and your freedom of expression, and to that I say cool. And in response to your right, I'm using mine, as I express that I refuse to watch or support anything to do with NBC.

I know a bunch of people will probably respond to this by dogging me, and calling me names, and saying I'm what's wrong with Christianity and all kinds of garbage, but you know what??? I really couldn't care less. I'm not even going to read those words, because you can make a mockery of anything you want to about me, but when you make a mockery of something I would die for, something I hold absolutely dear to my heart, like the most precious piece of gold, you're crossing the line!!!!!!!!! End of discussion!!!

[Dean Winchester]

ok, I've watched it for an hour and change... I don't get the outrage.

Wow, a dysfunctional family. That's the way life is. Being a priest doesn't mean your son is suddenly going to remain celebate until marriage, being a priest doesn't mean your kids are automatically going to be heterosexual. Being a priest doesn't mean your daughter is never going to try narcotic substances. Take the priest out of the setting and what you have is Six Feet Under (promiscuous son, gay son, druggie daughter)!!! Where was the boycotts over that show?

I actually like this, it's a lot better written and entertaining than the preachy piece of garbage called 7th Heaven, a show that is too goody-goody and fake and no family is really like that.

If anything, WB gets on my nerves with the way they promote "Simon loses his virginity at the age of 20 and in college" on 7th Heaven as a "very special episode" when the same network airs One Tree Hill, where the characters are still in high school and sexually active and not an eye is batted.

[Dean Winchester]

lol, one of my friends also watching this said the exact same thing... this show is Six Feet Under with more religious overtones to it. If you weren't offended by SFU, why be offended over this? This family is almost identical to the Fisher's


on a totally other note... am I the only person who thinks Christian Campbell is way too old to be playing a teenager? he is 33 years old for crying out loud, he's the OLDER brother of actress Neve Campbell and was the star of the late 90's film "Trick". It's nice seeing him on television but he cannot play teenagers anymore when even seven years ago he was playing an adult in movies.

[Brent88]

I watched and don't see what the fuss is about. How exactly was God portrayed in a bad light? and as far as content, I can name a handful of shows that are worse with the combination of sex, language, drugs, and violence.



Oh and I liked it... I'll be back next week.

[Brent88]

Originally Posted by HUNG UP!

lol, one of my friends also watching this said the exact same thing... this show is Six Feet Under with more religious overtones to it. If you weren't offended by SFU, why be offended over this? This family is almost identical to the Fisher's

Six Feet Under was on HBO. You have to pay to watch it.

[Dean Winchester]

Originally Posted by Brent88

I watched and don't see what the fuss is about. How exactly was God portrayed in a bad light? and as far as content, I can name a handful of shows that are worse with the combination of sex, language, drugs, and violence.



Oh and I liked it... I'll be back next week.

very true. I would argue that it's one of the less offensive shows on television. People are just so used to shows with a Christian message as being so overtly goody-goody and heavy handed like 7th Heaven or Touched By An Angel. I think the message of Book of Daniel is a very powerful and religious one... it's just one that a lot of fundamentalists are afraid of because they can't handle the fact that "dysfunctional families" are actually realistic and that these are all characters with faults and tempers. As opposed to 7th Heaven where everything is shiny and rosey and the worst thing any character on the show has ever done was have sex at the age of 20 outside of marriage, give me a break.

I think if people spent less time on the pulpit complaining and more time watching the show, they'd see that there's nothing that bad about it. I also thought Jesus was portrayed in a good light, I didn't see the "stoner Jesus" that people were complaining about. The Jesus on the show was a guide and helping hand to Daniel and someone who could be his friend... Isn't Jesus supposed to be your friend?

Complain to NBC about Fear Factor, if there's an objectionable show on that network, it's that piece of shock value garbage IMO.

[Dean Winchester]

I have a feeling if this show catches on, in a couple years people will look back on the pandemonium over it and laugh, much like how it's hard to believe the controversy and complaints and station bannings over NYPD Blue when it first came on in 1993.

[troopoleon8897]

Originally Posted by Little Mel

I'm absolutely outraged, and disgusted by this piece of crap show, and have been since I first heard about it. What's really silly, is the way NBC takes a total disregard for the probably millions of Christians who have supported them over the years, and repays them with this kind of blasphemous filled garbage!!! How dare you take something Iv'e held dear to my heart, and to my daily life for the past 7 years, and make an absolute mockery of it!!! Iv'e already emailed NBC, blocked them out from my channel lineup, and called the local affiliate complaining about this garbage. People can go right ahead and call me an extremist all they want, but my efforts, and the efforts of many others are proving to make a difference, as many local affiliates have already bailed out from airing it. And I say good for them.You have the right to your freedom of speech, and your freedom of expression, and to that I say cool. And in response to your right, I'm using mine, as I express that I refuse to watch or support anything to do with NBC.

I know a bunch of people will probably respond to this by dogging me, and calling me names, and saying I'm what's wrong with Christianity and all kinds of garbage, but you know what??? I really couldn't care less. I'm not even going to read those words, because you can make a mockery of anything you want to about me, but when you make a mockery of something I would die for, something I hold absolutely dear to my heart, like the most precious piece of gold, you're crossing the line!!!!!!!!! End of discussion!!!

Just to let you in on a little secret it is nothing like the commercials and I am cathlic and it ain't offending me...lol. And Im not just pointing you out but everyone who feels like you take Jack Kenny's (The Shows Creator) Words, "How can you protest a show for being outrageous when all that you have seen is a 30 second Promo?"

[Brent88]

The promos were what got me hooked(I thought it was like Revelations), I had not planned on watching it before I saw them, and they made it seem worse than it really was. I'm expecting pretty big ratings(for a Friday) due to the controversy. Americans love this stuff...

[Dean Winchester]

one thing I noticed through various message boards is that most people who actually watched the show were not offended at all... just people who heard the idea and dismissed it.

Same thing happened with Joan Of Arcadia when it premiered a few years back, a lot of people were so put off by the idea of God taking different peoples forms that they picketed it... and then when they got off their high horse and watched it, didn't find anything to complain about. Aidan Quinn is a good, yet underrated actor, he gives a good performance on this show. Ellen Burstyn is also great as his mother.

[troopoleon8897]

Originally Posted by HUNG UP!

one thing I noticed through various message boards is that most people who actually watched the show were not offended at all... just people who heard the idea and dismissed it.

Same thing happened with Joan Of Arcadia when it premiered a few years back, a lot of people were so put off by the idea of God taking different peoples forms that they picketed it... and then when they got off their high horse and watched it, didn't find anything to complain about. Aidan Quinn is a good, yet underrated actor, he gives a good performance on this show. Ellen Burstyn is also great as his mother.

I believe Ellen Burstyn's Character is Dan's Father's Mistress because In the second episode His father was talking about his relationship to ellen's character and how dan's mother doesn't even remember him anymore... The Adopted Kid was pretty funny, I think This could put up good competition for Numbers to bad the first season is only 8 eps...