“Book of Daniel” Cancelled
Posted by Michael on January 26th, 2006 filed in Faith, Movies and TVGood riddance to bad rubbish. Axed because of low ratings, high criticism, and advertisers withdrawing ads.
When the people most upset about the cancellation are gays and lesbians, then there’s little mystery why conservative Christians were offended.
I have an idea: why not produce a Christian series that portrays Christians in a positive light? Say, successfully resisting sin with the help of the Holy Spirit, spreading their faith, going around the world digging water wells for people regardless of the threat to their lives?
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January 26th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Jeff Jarvis tries to chalk this up to “Religious Nutjobs” quashing creativity - his commenters are quick to set him straight.
January 27th, 2006 at 10:07 am
If NBC had a show about a drunken womanizing Muslim imam that got cancelled, would Jarvis still attribute the cancellation to “religious nutjobs?”
February 4th, 2006 at 12:14 am
I have to say, though, that I thought it was very cool to see Jesus portrayed as sort of a “regular guy” without going completely overboard with it. He seemed like someone you could just sit on a bench and talk to. The typical portrayal of Jesus is (rightly) the one with the golden crown but it tends to intimitate many people who are on the fence about religion. Had they not been so liberal on everything else, they might have succeeded in bringing more people to the church.
March 1st, 2006 at 11:20 am
Here’s a novel idea…If you’re offended by something on TV, TURN IT OFF! Art and entertainment would not exist without any diversity or difference of opinions. I am a Christian, and I’m absolutely furious that the ultra tight-ass conservative christian community gets to dictate what I watch on TV. Why don’t you all use the obvious over-abundance of time you have to actually do something that matters. I’m quite offended on Sunday mornings when I flip through the channels to find half naked people, homo and heterosexuals making out and humping on MTV’s reality shows, especially with my 2 year old sitting next to me. You know what I do? I TURN IT OFF!! I’m offended of the mockery shows like The Bachelor make of marriage. I just don’t watch it. The Book of Daniel was different, it was funny, and most of all it was ENTERTAINING! Isn’t that the point of a TV show? To entertain? Did all of you anti-Book of Daniel people get nervous because it did not portray the non-existent unrealistic world of perfection, one worthy of Wally and the Beave, that you all try to live in? Priests and ministers are human beings. Some of them rotten human beings. Jim Baker was a horny, cheating thief. Leaders of all faiths have been caught abusing children. Leaders of all faiths have addictions and relationship problems. Some are even, shall I say it….. GAY (gasp!) People have children who make bad decisions or are even, shall I say it…. GAY (gasp!)…even ministers. So stop pretending the world is perfect and that a little tv show is going to turn this perfect world into a shit hole. It was not meant to be a tool to teach Christianity or replace bible study for crying out loud! Get a grip and get a life! Decide for yourself what is ok to watch and use your damn remote. DON’T DECIDE FOR ME!!!!
Shannon Smith
March 1st, 2006 at 2:46 pm
Goodness, Shannon.
For a Christian, you’ve got a mouth on you. When I read James 1:26, I am admonished to keep a tight rein on my tongue. I only mention this to you since I am sure that since you follow Jesus that you would also wish to practice what the Word teaches.
It’s hard to respond to your rant because you covered so many topics, but I’ll hit a couple -
a) I did “turn it off.” So did everybody else apparently. The show may have been “entertaining” in an all-caps sort of way to you, but your opinion wasn’t widely shared.
b) Leaders are human too, of course. Do you think that because some have failed at their responsibility that everything else is ok? Paul reminds us that while everything may be permitted, not everything is beneficial.
c) I didn’t decide for you. I used my 1st Amendment rights and what I considered justifiable moral indignation to denounce something I thought was offensive. Sort of what you’re doing, except you think it’s ok when you do it to me and bad when I do it to them. If you don’t like negative opinions about “The Book of Daniel,” you may consider taking your own advice to get a grip, get a life, turn it off, and don’t decide for others.
March 3rd, 2006 at 7:55 pm
March 8th, 2006 at 12:16 pm
Oh - I wouldn’t quote the Bible to back up your points about this show, seeing as it’s somewhat self-defeating and only serves to bring more wroth upon yourself from the critical so-called ‘unbelievers’ (which may be your intent, in which case you have proved one my points).
May whatever God you believe (or don’t believe) in watch over you (or not), and may he (or she) have the sense of humor to appreciate a bit of self-deprecation now and then.
March 12th, 2006 at 4:09 pm
I have to confess, Borat, I have no idea what point you’re trying to make. Best I can figure is that as a non-believer you don’t think the show was offensive to believers, whatever they believe, and that I should use the bible to back up my beliefs. Those who “appreciate the darker messages of life” are not those I understand often, anyway.
March 14th, 2006 at 9:58 am
Mike, I am confused also.
Whereupon does he stand? Perhaps such elevated spirits do not need grounding.
March 23rd, 2006 at 1:00 pm
I was just sitting here at my desk wondering why I had not seen this on my Tivo the last few weeks….I do so rely on it for the things I enjoy watching. I googled and found this site. Thanks for letting me know it is cancelled. Too bad, it was pretty amusing (but so are some of these posts) and pretty close to the reality we hear on the news everyday. Perhaps that is why so many people are depressed about the schmucks they think they are because they are never good enough.
Thankfully, I am not perfect but forgiven. I wonder if they would have gotten to that on the show? Guess we won’t know. Best to you all….
September 24th, 2006 at 2:38 am
I’ve been a follower of the good Lord as far back as I can remember and I took no offense to this show. It was refreshing to see an actor portrayed as a good Christian man doing the best he knew how with the help of Jesus. I liked the fact that it spoke to the common person, just as Jesus did. If He didn’t, what would have been the point of His ministry? The laid back Jesus was not the Jesus that anyone could imagine because none of us have ever met Jesus face to face, so the Jesus that spoke with Daniel (on occasion) was, as I would imagine Jesus being. Supportive, but He could only help Daniel as far as Daniel was willing to go. I cheered this show on because I felt it was a great (different) new vehicle that may offer even the slightest (mustard seed) of a way for people to imagine the notion of being in personal contact with the good Lord. God works in mysterious ways, and if this was one of them…we stopped Him again.
September 25th, 2006 at 7:50 am
I would agree those are all good things, but I disagree we stopped something good. For all the accuracy about Jesus Christ shown in the show, we might as well be encouraging “faith the size of a mustard seed” in vegetarianism or tae kwan do.
September 26th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
Well, yes, not something good,rather that it may just plant a mustard seed in someone that has never wanted anything to do with Christ because of…whatever…that’s all. It worked very well for Jesus in many cases. Changing water in to wine, for example, was done for many reasons. I would imagine that it went a very long way in the endeavor to present a far bigger picture than just the act of suddenly presenting more wine at a party that had run dry. I just had a little hope that some (ONE) might just happen to stick their face into (say) a Gideon Bible (out of simple curiosity) because of some (stupid) little TV show that didn’t amount to a hill of beans…they just picked it up because a seed had been planted. One they had never been aware of. Stranger things have happened…to all of us that can witness about our faith. On that, I’m sure we both agree.
September 27th, 2006 at 11:03 am
That’s certainly true. And there’s no reason to stop planting seeds. Next time, hopefully one with a little more truth in it.
September 29th, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Yes, I am glad that the one good truth included was the possibility that Jesus really WAS communicating with Daniel, and that He wasn’t just some drug induced hallucination. In His name, Scotty beaming up.ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz……