It's about time someone decided to make this story into a show. The story of David is one of my favorite stories from the Old Testament which is the only interesting part of the Bible to be honest. There have been mixed reviews so far but I feel like they're being a bit unfair.
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| Just another day in BC |
Characters & Story:
I'm not even going to make the joke about the many British accents and the 2 white guys (Ray Winstone as Saul and Olly Rix as David) playing the major characters. First off it's too easy and second it's like beating a dead horse. I focus on the quality of the actor and I think the casting turned out pretty well despite the many casting changes during the production.
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| This Rizpah chick is bad news |
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| You have to be bad to survive as a woman in this era |
I for one am happy to see Christina Chong (playing Rizpah) again after SyFy's Dominion cancelation. She's the girl with attitude which seems to play well with her character like the rest of the female cast. Old Testament women were strong, tough, and wily. They had to be in order to survive. The Old Testament is also full of characters who are all deeply flawed individuals. Saul was a pretty ok king until Samuel basically bullied him into genocide and when he didn't kill Agag the king of the Amalakites, Samuel butchered the guy in front of a rabbling crowd. Here's Saul trying to unite the 12 tribes of Israel which is not an easy thing to do and Samuel comes with a task that doesn't sound like a loving God. Then again the Old Testament God was a vengeful one.
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| Armed with a harp, a sling and a charming smile |
But in any case it still spells bad news for King Saul. In the story after this event, Saul sinks into a deep depression which is soothed only by David's beautiful harp playing. And before you cast David as the hero of this story you may want to read the rest of his tale. David is a musician/shepherd. He's very exuberant with a hell of an arm. He's also got some hubris when he promises to kill the lion that's slaughtering his village's flocks. Sounds noble but still going after a menacing lion with just a leather sling and a rock? David's got a brass set. Now David's on the rise but he also doesn't have ambition to become king at first. That comes later. So David has good qualities as well as bad ones that will hurt as well as help him. What's he willing to do to survive and fulfill his destiny?
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| Behind every great king is an even smarter queen |
Content:
As far as content goes it has about as much blood and sex you'd expect ABC to allow. Most claim it's a play at getting Game of Thrones fans to watch but people need to stop associating or even comparing the HBO fantasy show to this one. I feel people will enjoy it a lot better if they avoid comparisons. The story of David is the original GoT, people. You don't have to be a Bible thumper to enjoy a good tale of war, treason, backstabbing, and sexual conquest. I can tell they worked really hard on the setting. The costumes are well done. It really pulls the whole story together.
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| Girls love musicians |
Overall I give the show a B-. I'm excited for a show about a Biblical story that doesn't center around Jesus for once. Even Christ would like the break from the attention. So I'm definitely watching and I encourage everyone else to give this show a chance.
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