The Book of Daniel

I was flipping around on the remote tonight and came across The Book of Daniel. Who's idea was it to put on a show where Jesus is the wacky neighbor? This is in, what, its third week now? Apparently it's a limited series and will only run two more weeks, so presumably NBC will ride it out, but the ratings are nothing to write home about. Don't expect to see a surprise pick-up for another handful of episodes. But how did they think they weren't going to get complaints from the Christian right about this? Maybe NBC was trying to move the pendulum back after the couple of more Christian-friendly shows it's had over the last few months. In the spring, the network showed Revelations, a show concerning biblical prophecy about the end of the world, and Three Wishes, a show in which Christian pop singer Amy Grant traveled the country granting uplifting wishes to people. Those shows are no longer on the air, so I guess showing Christian subjects in a good light doesn't bring in the ratings, either.

I'll admit to liking one thing about The Book of Daniel, though. When it breaks for a commercial, the frame freezes and turns into an illustration, sort of like The Wild, Wild West with stained glass instead of faux engravings.