Wednesday, October 24, 2012

The Bible Series, History Channel, 2013

In Spring next year, History Channel will be airing a new ten-part series entitled The Bible.  It dramatizes key narratives from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, and it is executive produced by Mark Burnett (The Voice, Survivor, The Apprentice) and Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel).  It is produced by Lightworkers Media.  There are short Wikipedia and IMDB entries which will no doubt get expanded as the air date approaches.

Mark Burnett and Roma Downey are now discussing the series in interviews, one of the most informative of which is found here on creators.com:

. . . . "I know it's epic, and I think it will be the must-watch event of the spring," she adds. "You'll see the Red Sea parted with the latest special effects that are available. We have Hans Zimmer creating the score ... We have Noah, we have Abraham, we have Moses. We have Jesus walking on water. We have scenes coming to life in extraordinary ways. Yes, it's going to be a faith journey, but it's also going to be really exciting and dynamic television."
The article mentions the sensitive nature of the undertaking and their discussions with scholars and theologians:
She and Mark are well aware they're treading on controversial ground, no matter how their Bible depiction is done. "But you have to step out there," she says. "We are stepping out together, and I'm sure people will hurl what they want to hurl. But it is being made with full hearts. We've had scholars and theologians help. We're not pretending to be biblical experts. We brought experts in once the scripts were created to take a look at the scripts to make sure we were accurate and true to the Bible, but obviously we're making a movie, and so we breathed creative expansion into that."
I should perhaps mention that I have been involved as a consultant on this project, and so there is some self-interest in my promotion of what is, I think, a fantastic production.  I look forward to chatting about it here some more when it is released next year.

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11 comments:

  1. Jens Knudsen (Sili)26 October 2012 at 17:09

    "History Channel"

    How will they fit in the Nazis?

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  2. Zion9 January 2013 at 20:15

    Excited! Can't wait to watch!

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  3. Unknown13 January 2013 at 04:54

    Thank you for posting this.

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  4. Unknown13 January 2013 at 04:55

    Thank you for posting this.

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  5. Unknown18 January 2013 at 22:32

    The world needs this thank you God bless your families.

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  6. Unknown18 January 2013 at 22:33

    The world needs this thank you God bless your families.

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  7. Anonymous21 January 2013 at 00:59

    Thank you for doing this with Burnett and Downey. It can only serve to bring renewed interest in the worlds most beloved book.

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  8. Anonymous21 January 2013 at 01:02

    Thank you for doing this with Burnett and Downey. It can only serve to bring renewed interest in the worlds most beloved book.

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  9. Unknown30 January 2013 at 12:48

    Wow!!! Finally a bible series....we are soo excited can't wait to see it!!! God Bless you and use you by producing more life changing and true stories from the word of GOD!

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  10. Unknown30 January 2013 at 12:48

    Wow!!! Finally a bible series....we are soo excited can't wait to see it!!! God Bless you and use you by producing more life changing and true stories from the word of GOD!

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  11. Ben Eicher4 March 2013 at 17:57

    I don't want to be the wet blanket, but so far: Thumbs down. I'm not a Fundamentalist, but there were too many deviations from Scripture for my taste, as well as glaring omissions that hint at doctrinal agendas. For instance, during the 10th Plague it was all about spreading the blood of the lamb on the doorpost (I could Pentecostals cheering, "Pleading the Blood of Jesus"), but entirely skipped was the Passover Meal entirely (precursor or type of the Eucharist). Most of the Moses section was cringe-worthy.

    I was the religion consultant for the Emmy-nominated CBS-TV drama series, "Joan of Arcadia" (2003-2005) so I do have experience with, and an understanding of, Hollywood and Bible-based or inspired themes, and Christian historical events.

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