Article Surfing Archive

Fear not, the decline of Christian America did not come to pass with the 2 hour debut of NBC's 'The Book of Daniel' on Friday. After watching the well produced and written premiere, I'm certain that the show will become my newest Friday night obsession.

A cross between Desperate Housewives and Six Feet Under but set against a religious backdrop, The Book of Daniel manages to torpedo through nearly every social, ethical, and moral issue plaguing this county.

The debut episode alone touched upon issues ranging from homosexuality, adultery, euthanasia, Alzheimer's, teen sex, racism, alcoholism, sibling rivalry, drug use, pre-martial sex, church politics, and the contention between the Catholic and the Episcopalian church.

Amazingly all of it was effortlessly weaved within the textured fabric of the lives of the ever evolving Webster family. Aidan Quinn's performance as the compassionate but pill popping priest who has frequent chats with Jesus is the most poignant and multi-burdened character.

In one gab fest with Jesus, he asks the savior if he also has fire side chats with everyone else. Jesus' response was yes, but not everyone listens. In another scene, we learn that Christ himself has a sense of humor and exchanges light-hearted jokes about himself.

Combine this with supporting story lines and characters such as Webster's martini loving wife, openly gay son, drug dealing daughter, sex crazed adopted Asian son, lesbian sister-in-law, adulterer father whose also a bishop, and an Alzheimer impacted mother. Obviously there're plenty of plot twists and turns to keep you glued to the television set hungering for more.

The best feature about The Book of Daniel is that it shows every day people struggling with every day issues. In one scene we see a character's outward faith but most importantly in the next scene we see the inner person behind the mask of faith. What's revealed are impeccably genuine people who try their best to love and support one another the best way they know how.

If you haven't seen The Book of Daniel yet, I encourage you to join me in making it your newest Friday night obsession!!