The History Channel debuted their new five-part series “Bible” Sunday night in a time spot competing with AMC’s “The Walking Dead.” It will be curious to see how the two compared in the ratings, but it would not be shocking if “Bible” lost that battle.
The series is set around different stories in the Holy Bible and the show has a unique spin in delivering those stories in a historical context. Instead of a narrator speaking over a scene being played out, each story is told much like any other television drama would be: by the characters.
It is interesting to see the emotion acted out by Abraham as he is about to sacrifice his son or to see Moses lead his people out of Egypt as if it were actually happening. A narrator would chime in every so often to give a sentence or two of back story, not to take away from what is acted out on screen.
“Bible” begins with Noah and his family on the famous ark. The boat is springing leaks and animals are panicking, bringing the situation to life. The scene lasts maybe a couple of minutes and involves Noah describing to his children the seven days it took God to create the Earth.
The show jumps around too much. Instead of focusing on one key story, the debut lasted two hours and covered, briefly, Noah’s ark as well as the entire life span of Abraham and Moses escape from Egypt. The biggest gripe could be the last half with Moses.
Each plague aside from the first and last were just shown as happening, taking screen time totaling no more than a minute at best. Also failing was the portion of story where Moses is given the ten commandments. Big parts of that story are missing, such as a golden idol being made, Moses destroying the stones and him being denied entry into “The Promised Land.” In fact, after he is given his laws, the story jumps 40 years in the future. Briefly, viewers see the Ark of the Covenant as the Hebrews prepare for a battle on Jericho. Moses is dead by this point.
Overall, the show is a great concept, but the jumping around needs to be slowed a bit. Some of the missing information from some of these stories also needs to be addressed. Without it, these biblical stories feel incomplete. Special effects and acting are superb though, especially for a History Channel production. Overall, a final verdict for the premier of “Bible” would be a solid B. It will fail at the end of the day against “The Walking Dead” and whatever else the bigger networks may air, but as a five part series it should end positively.
