So, last night I started to write a few lines for an iTunes review of NBC's show Kings. It ended up getting fairly in-depth, and I cross-posted it to my Facebook. I figured this morning, I'd post it here as well.
NBC's Kings is a very fresh concept, which was marketed poorly. Dreamed up as a Battlestar Galactica-esque retelling of the biblical story of King David, fear of offending both Christians with minor changes to the already-established plot, and non-Christians by admitting it's biblical roots, revealed the lack of spine in NBC's marketing division. With no marketing, the show failed to pick up a significant audience, and with no audience, it was canceled promptly.
Despite not even realizing it existed while it was on-air, I was delighted to watch this show on iTunes. However, after a very good first season, I am not sure I was disappointed with the cancellation. Clearly there was both potential and intention to move on into a second season, but the poor execution of later episodes in the first makes me wonder how much farther the show could have potentially fallen.
The show offers a new perspective on an old and significant story. It does change a few major elements, the most glaring to me being the biblical prince Johnathan being re-written from best friend of David into prince Jack, homosexual and party-boy with eyes for the throne and hatred for David. The plot also introduces a corporate culture into the story: obviously absent from the biblical account, but practically impossible to leave out of a modern retelling.
Some of the things they did not leave out surprised me. The prophet Sameul is represented in the Reverend Ephram Samuels, spiritual guide to the nation and former friend of King Silas. Closely linked to the Reverend is the ever-present hand of God. King Silas is a God fearing man, only having taken up the crown after being sent a sign from God. Signs from God continue to appear in the series, but in a rather tactful way all the way through. The show even begins to lay groundwork for what I can only believe would have been a major story arc in the future, centering around Silas' failure to completely purge the land of his enemies.
One of the show's two greatest accomplishments, however, was how it deeply affected my view of the biblical King Saul (King Silas counterpart). Saul is portrayed as a villainous character in scripture, but this show made me sympathize with Silas. The sympathy I fond for Silas allowed me to think of Saul differently, enhancing my appreciation for the original source material: the highest praise possible for what is essentially a 'remake.'
The other accomplishment is much less remarkable. The setting of the show is the fictional nation of Gilboa. It is a modern country, with the media saturation and technological level of present day America. But it is also a monarchy, and while most of what we see in the show are only the absolute top levels of high society, the world feels completely realized. I can believe that Gilboa exists, with it's international relations, domestic issues, royal family, court of advisers and ministers, and yes: even a scribe.
As mentioned before, there are problems. The first half of the series moves along quite nicely as David acquires and begins to settle into his new role in the capitol as military liaison to the press. The king can't decide at first if he likes or hates David, and David can be believably genuine in his country-boy-in-the-big-city way. By the second half of the season, though, one would think a man as charismatic as David proves to be would be able to settle. And one would hope that the normally decisive king could decide whether he saw David as a threat or boon in his court, or at least settle on something in the middle.
Ultimately, the problem is a simple one. There were too many episodes that had to match up with too little story arc, and so writers had to invent a formula to use for padding. The formula ends up being 'David is loyal to King; King can't decide whether to promote or kill David.' As one can imagine, watching King Silas swing between the two options like a pendulum gets old quickly, and has the added detriment of undermining the believability of David's loyalty to a clearly bipolar monarch. And any time either makes a definitive stand, which should send the plot flying off into new and interesting places, it is somehow forgotten or ignored in the space between two episodes.
All in all, I stand by my declaration that this was a great show, but it is a blessing that it was ended before it could move permanently into the realm of the trite. Later episodes undermined the suspension of disbelief, but the promise awe-inspiring moments kept me watching, and in the end Kings did not disappoint, despite it's shortcomings.
NBC's Kings is a very fresh concept, which was marketed poorly. Dreamed up as a Battlestar Galactica-esque retelling of the biblical story of King David, fear of offending both Christians with minor changes to the already-established plot, and non-Christians by admitting it's biblical roots, revealed the lack of spine in NBC's marketing division. With no marketing, the show failed to pick up a significant audience, and with no audience, it was canceled promptly.
Despite not even realizing it existed while it was on-air, I was delighted to watch this show on iTunes. However, after a very good first season, I am not sure I was disappointed with the cancellation. Clearly there was both potential and intention to move on into a second season, but the poor execution of later episodes in the first makes me wonder how much farther the show could have potentially fallen.
The show offers a new perspective on an old and significant story. It does change a few major elements, the most glaring to me being the biblical prince Johnathan being re-written from best friend of David into prince Jack, homosexual and party-boy with eyes for the throne and hatred for David. The plot also introduces a corporate culture into the story: obviously absent from the biblical account, but practically impossible to leave out of a modern retelling.
Some of the things they did not leave out surprised me. The prophet Sameul is represented in the Reverend Ephram Samuels, spiritual guide to the nation and former friend of King Silas. Closely linked to the Reverend is the ever-present hand of God. King Silas is a God fearing man, only having taken up the crown after being sent a sign from God. Signs from God continue to appear in the series, but in a rather tactful way all the way through. The show even begins to lay groundwork for what I can only believe would have been a major story arc in the future, centering around Silas' failure to completely purge the land of his enemies.
One of the show's two greatest accomplishments, however, was how it deeply affected my view of the biblical King Saul (King Silas counterpart). Saul is portrayed as a villainous character in scripture, but this show made me sympathize with Silas. The sympathy I fond for Silas allowed me to think of Saul differently, enhancing my appreciation for the original source material: the highest praise possible for what is essentially a 'remake.'
The other accomplishment is much less remarkable. The setting of the show is the fictional nation of Gilboa. It is a modern country, with the media saturation and technological level of present day America. But it is also a monarchy, and while most of what we see in the show are only the absolute top levels of high society, the world feels completely realized. I can believe that Gilboa exists, with it's international relations, domestic issues, royal family, court of advisers and ministers, and yes: even a scribe.
As mentioned before, there are problems. The first half of the series moves along quite nicely as David acquires and begins to settle into his new role in the capitol as military liaison to the press. The king can't decide at first if he likes or hates David, and David can be believably genuine in his country-boy-in-the-big-city way. By the second half of the season, though, one would think a man as charismatic as David proves to be would be able to settle. And one would hope that the normally decisive king could decide whether he saw David as a threat or boon in his court, or at least settle on something in the middle.
Ultimately, the problem is a simple one. There were too many episodes that had to match up with too little story arc, and so writers had to invent a formula to use for padding. The formula ends up being 'David is loyal to King; King can't decide whether to promote or kill David.' As one can imagine, watching King Silas swing between the two options like a pendulum gets old quickly, and has the added detriment of undermining the believability of David's loyalty to a clearly bipolar monarch. And any time either makes a definitive stand, which should send the plot flying off into new and interesting places, it is somehow forgotten or ignored in the space between two episodes.
All in all, I stand by my declaration that this was a great show, but it is a blessing that it was ended before it could move permanently into the realm of the trite. Later episodes undermined the suspension of disbelief, but the promise awe-inspiring moments kept me watching, and in the end Kings did not disappoint, despite it's shortcomings.