The trouble with 'Daniel'

Chicago Tribune ^ | January 22, 2006 | Lisa Anderson

[ConservativeStatement]

NEW YORK -- A martini-sipping wife, a pot-peddling daughter, a gay son mourning his twin's death, an aging mother battling Alzheimer's disease--and his own habit of popping painkillers and literally seeing Jesus. Daniel Webster, a beleaguered Episcopal priest, clearly has issues.

And the American Family Association definitely has issues with him. The Tupelo, Miss.-based Christian family advocacy group unleashed an e-mail protest blitz, mobilizing its 3 million members effectively to try to defrock the fictional Webster and get his new "anti-Christian" television series, "The Book of Daniel," excommunicated from the NBC schedule.

[ConservativeStatement]

The show sounds boorish.

[Nick5]

Well I've seen the show and the problem isn't that it's boorish, it's that it's BORING. Paint drying on a cold, wet day.

[The Foolkiller]

Don't think you'll have to worry about it much longer, as its ratings are in the toilet. I watched it once, and will never do so again. It was more stupid and boring than anything else.

[Nitro]

Hollywood loves the Devil,

but refuses to acknowledge God.

There are no cell phones in Heaven!

[oyez]

Its DOA. NBC should take notes on how not to program.

[Nitro]

Paint drying on a cold, wet day.

Were you ever in the US Navy, because you just explained a long, hard day with very few words? We always had at least two coats to do....

Red Lead and Haze Grey and underway.

[The Worthless Miracle]

Can't be worse than 7th Heaven!

[PAR35]

Boycott GE.

[JennysCool]

I mentioned on another thread that the concept sounded just right for a hilarious British comedy (imagine John Cleese as the put-upon clergyman). But PC/Liberal Hollywood would have absolutely no idea how to pull it off.

[Nitro]

Actually, the commercials promised it would.

The "Rev" is a drug addict, someone in the family stole the money from the worshippers and he talks to Jesus.

They stole that from "Rescue Me" and I didn't see it.

But, I'll bet few can be a sarcastic hard ass like Denis Leary.

[Jaysun]

Freaks. You don't cash in on Christians by insulting them.

[Chunga]

It's real easy to get this show canceled. Don't watch it.

I don't know about that. I never watched "Laverne And Shirley" but it was a smash for years.

[HiTech RedNeck]

They should have used Sears Weatherbeater.

[HiTech RedNeck]

But tell the advertisers. Is there a way to get a Tivo to record only the commercials?

[mrsmel]

They put on garbage like this,and when it tanks,they claim that "Christian" programming doesn't sell.

[MillerCreek]

Moral Absolutes Ping List.

Ongoing Discussion about the controversial and somewhat cancelled-before-it's-broadcasted (and depressingly negatively stereotyped) series, "DANIEL."

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To be included or removed from the Moral Absolutes Ping List, please FreepMail either MillerCreek or wagglebee.

[Nitro]

They should have used Sears Weatherbeater

I have two answers for that.......

One. There are no malls in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean!

Two. Then we couldn't stop in "The Med" for excellent seafood and Osso Buco!!

[durasell]

Hasn't everything that needs to be said already been said about this television show?

[martin_fierro]

A martini-sipping wife, a pot-peddling daughter, a gay son mourning his twin's death, an aging mother battling Alzheimer's disease--and his own habit of popping painkillers and literally seeing Jesus. Daniel Webster, a beleaguered Episcopal priest, clearly has issues.

Episcopalian reality is stranger than fiction.

[SkyPilot]

Nobody is watching it. Even the libs on morning talk radio around here say it is the worst program they have ever seen.

[thoughtomator]

That show is boorish like Chuck Schumer is unpleasant.

[Junior]

I watched the first hour of the first show, and it was quite slow and felt a little forced. I thought the hallucination of Jesus was hilarious, though. Unfortunately, they stuck it up against a really good set of programs that night so I never finished it. If you're going to go up against Ghost Whisperer and SciFi's lineup, you're going to have to do better than this show.

[Non-Sequitur]

"I know I sound like a naive idiot...

Ya think?

[Junior]

...and he talks to Jesus.

Which, if you are Christian, should not be a bad thing.

[Junior]

Amen. Pressuring a network to remove a show is a bit like pressuring the Admin Mods here to ban someone. Both are done in an effort to silence opposition. My theory has always been to allow the opposition its voice; it will eventually do itself in (in the case of TV, through really low ratings). Silencing it through intimidation shows a fear of the opposition's message and gives it some legitimacy.

On FR, it's been my contention to allow the trolls to post so we can ridicule them; they'll eventually go away when they discover they have no traction here. Banning them just makes them more determined.

[50sDad]

When my God talks to me, he isn't namby-pampy, wishy-washy, and neutral on sin.

[Junior]

From my experience, God talks to each of us in a manner that reflects our personalities.

[KeyWest]

Admin Moderator- zot this troll!

[Junior]

I must be a hell of a troll to have survived on this forum four years longer than you. Oh well, death comes to us all eventually...

[Mr. Thorne]

Reminds me of when the Networks tried to show a conservative...

Anyone remember '704 Hauser'?

This would have been back in the mid to late 80's, I think, or even early 90's. The premise was logical: take Archie Bunker's address a generation forward. White would be black, liberal would be conservative, and the success would be as great as 'All In The Family'.

Except...

Part of the reason for 'All In The Family's' success was that Archie was so over the top, EVERYONE who watched could say to themselves, 'Thank God I'm not like THAT guy.' In fact, everyone on the show was a caricature. The 'perfect' reactionary, liberal, feminist, and nice mom.

But Lear couldn't pull it off with the revamp. He COULDN'T make a caricature out of the Good Liberal Black father and show his conservative son as the ideological victor. He just couldn't. So there was no byplay; I don't think Lear was any more aware of conservative philosophy than when he created All In The Family.

I think they're in the same pickle here. They DON'T KNOW any Christians. I mean look at the description of the show and the characters! It's not Red State Christians, it's LA liberals wearing 'Christian Suits'.

Dad's a man with a pain killer problem, and hallucinations. Mom's a drunk. Son #1 is gay. Son #2 is a womanizer. Grandpa's doing the nasty with Dad's boss.

The only thing that makes this any different than any other soap/sitcom is that they stuck Jesus (or an hallucination thereof) into the mix.

It's toast. IMHO.

[wolfcreek]

I'd rather watch South Park! At least your sure of their sincerity.

[MarkL]

Boycott GE.

I know that I've bought my last turbo jet and MRI machine from them!

Mark

[Richard Kimball]

On FR, it's been my contention to allow the trolls to post so we can ridicule them;

Nah. While there should be a free exchange of ideas, this is a conservative forum. Trolls who come in to lob bombs do nothing but lower the discourse.

[Dante3]

I have not seen this show, and I am not commenting specifically about it but rather regarding your general comment in #20.

Apparently you do not have children. It is difficult for parents to monitor what their children watch. Furthermore, many children - some refer to them as throwaway children - have parents who do not care or are uninformed about what they watch on TV. So yes, it does bother me that destructive and deviant behavior and values are promoted on TV. I have never watched child porn, for example, but I am horrified if it would appear on TV (it has in some countries) and it certainly has been promoted on the Internet.

While parents are extremely important in developing character, they are not the only factor. Children also learn, and in different ways internalize, what they are exposed to by their teachers, peers, and the mass media.

[Lady Heron]

No thank you, I like coming to a Conservative forum without all the garbage spewing from the left that I can get on any open forum on the net. There are plenty of open forums where the left can call you every name in the book go there, leave freerepublic alone where people actually use their minds.

[SDGOP]

I stopped watching ghost whisperer becuase my scheudle got hectic, pity. I guess i'll have to rent the dvd's when they come out.

They haven't had great tv on a friday night since jag and enterprsie got yanked off the air =(.

[PAR35]

Write to Boeing and tell them that you are only going to fly planes with PW or RR engines, so you won't be flying on any airline that buys a 787.

[MarkL]

They haven't had great tv on a friday night since jag and enterprsie got yanked off the air =(.

I gotta watch Battlestar Galactica on Friday nights!

It's really getting good!

Mark

[SDGOP]

Yea, im running behind on galactica, im still on season 2.

I kind of miss firefly though, pity serenity didn't do as well as it should have.

[KeyWest]

Joke.
Also check beekeeper, my other tag.

[KeyWest]

Beekeeper- Jun 21, 1998

[napscoordinator]

I don't know if you folks know it, but this show is cancelled so no need to discuss.

[Bob]

...becuase my scheudle got hectic...

Is that kinda like your beeber getting stuned? :=)

[Dante3]

What about children whose parents are unable or unwilling to protect them? Unfortunately some callus people say tough and basically feel they are "throwaway children." There is no need for the media to push their agenda of destructive lifestyles that harm these children and society in general.