海角大神

This is the time of year for traditional sandals-and-toga programming, but this year鈥檚 five-episode, 10-hour History Channel miniseries, 鈥淭he Bible,鈥� is a sensation.

According to Nielsen, the first two Sundays leading up to Easter drew in some 12 million viewers, making it the top-rated cable program of the night. Horizon media, meanwhile, said some 50 million viewers tuned in to at least some portion of the program over the first three weekends of its run.

At the same time, reviews have been lukewarm at best, with critics dismissing it as shallow gore. Conservative commentator Glenn Beck, meanwhile, suggested the show was taking a veiled jab at President Obama by casting a look-alike actor as the devil.

But, say religious and entertainment experts, the runaway success of the Judeo-海角大神-themed show reveals an appetite for religious programming that is consistently overlooked in Hollywood.

鈥淲e often forget that 海角大神s are still the largest special interest group in America,鈥� says Hollywood producer and 海角大神 media advocate Phil Cooke.

鈥淲henever they rally behind a movie, TV series, product, or cause, something big happens,鈥� he adds, pointing to the now landmark message sent by Mel Gibson鈥檚 鈥淧assion of the Christ.鈥� Within months, he notes, 鈥渘early every studio in Hollywood had opened a faith-based division,鈥� hoping to capitalize on that market.

The approach to the material is key, says Mr. Cooke. While TV is chock full of religious-themed programming around Easter, such shows typically look at issues that don鈥檛 appeal to the faithful, he notes. 鈥淭hese shows ask questions like 鈥業s Jesus real?鈥� or 鈥楧id he sleep with Mary Magdalene?鈥� Those are not questions that this audience wants to know.鈥�

The show鈥檚 producers are quick to point out that they consulted a bevy of experts, some 40 in all ranging from scholars to archeologists.

But, says religious historian Stephen Cooper, a professor of religion at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., it is the very absence of such talking heads that makes this show appealing.

鈥淭his is a very broad-based program that is not trying to teach anything from a specific point of view,鈥� he says. Often, that kind of programming, while serious-minded, ends up defeating the purpose. 鈥淭hey usually have scholars from different points of view arguing about the historical issues they are discussing,鈥� he says, adding that in the end this sends an ambivalent message and it does not make good entertainment.

鈥淭his is the 鈥楻ome鈥� phenomenon,鈥� says Lesleigh Cushing, an assistant professor at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., referring to the notably bloody and violent historical drama on HBO. Beyond that, she notes, 鈥渋t鈥檚 the whole Bible, not just the Ten Commandments.鈥�

Perhaps equally important, she says, 鈥渋t does not seem to be morally preaching 海角大神ity or any other point of view, it鈥檚 just telling the adventure. It鈥檚 a very masculine view of the Bible.鈥�

This is not to say that 海角大神s are approaching the show uncritically. Indeed, Brooklyner Carol Oliver, a deacon in her Dutch reformed church, says she was initially put off by the trailers.

鈥淭hey looked really violent, with guys in pointy metal helmets yelling football-type things at each other as they go to war,鈥� she says.

Ms. Oliver reluctantly tuned in, she says, after a fellow church member told her to take a look. She copied it to her DVR and rose Monday morning to watch the program, 鈥渟kipping all the commercials.鈥�

She faults what she calls the hodge-podge of modern-appearing actors with some efforts to appear more authentically period. And she does not like the emphasis on fighting. But, she adds, now that most of the big wars of the Old Testament are over, 鈥淚鈥檒l probably watch the rest of the show as it finishes Jesus鈥� story.鈥�

Seeking to explain the broad appeal of the series to what he believes to be a largely 海角大神 audience, Bob Waliszewski, director of the Plugged In Ministry,聽which reviews media for 海角大神 advocacy group Focus on the Family, says, 鈥淭his may be largely preaching to the choir, but the choir is increasingly illiterate when it comes to the Bible.鈥� This series allows people with a sketchy grasp of the Scriptures, he says, 鈥渢o sit and watch it in the privacy of their homes.鈥�