And, I seem to recall that, when he did, he said something about some (motor) oil being on his forehead.
Another allusion: David’s last name is Shepherd.
It was fairly enjoyable, though I think, for my wife and me, a lot of the enjoyment came from seeing the allusions to the OT story, and how they translated the old story to modern times. Given that NBC didn’t go out of their way to publicize that fact, and given that many folks probably just aren’t that familiar with the story, I wonder how much sense the whole thing made to a casual viewer?
Out of curiosity, because I’m not that familiar with the biblical account: is there a counterpart to the character played by Dylan Baker (the guy whose gold seems to be propping up the regime)? What about the minister who was offed (heart attack) when he didn’t seem to be going along with the king?
I’d give character names, but the IMDb page for the series is missing a lot of the main characters in the cast list.
This is a show I’d like to see, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to make time for it. I’ll be keeping an eye on these threads to see peoples’ reactions. It’s hard to not watch Ian McShane after Deadwood.
It’s not an alternative history, it’s a modern-day allegory based on the story of Saul and David in the bible. The capitol of King Silas Benjamin’s kingdom is called Shiloh, but resembles modern NYC in a lot of ways.
I enjoyed most of the show. I forsee some great tv-moments if this show gets a chance to breathe and grow. I liked the bad guy (money-man brother-in-law) I really liked the reverend. The team of him, David, and Silas can make for some great strategy and tactics.
I don’t feel the need to look for all the parallels to the bible-stories. I’m willing to let the storytellers take me on a ride. I just hope they get the chance.
Maybe the threat of cancellation will make them move the story along a little faster. I’d hate for them to drag it out (do you hear me Lost?)
It actually is NYC, but with some CGI buildings added and some of the more recognizable landmark buildings either digitally removed or out of the frame.
The king is giving his opening speech (about 2:14) from what would be the NY Public Library. The crowd is gathered in Bryant Park on 42nd and you can clearly see the green 1095 Avenue of the Americas building on the other side.
In some of the arial shots of Shiloh, you can see the Bank of America tower, the new New York Times building, the Conde Naste building and a few others.
Although interestingly, I believe his office is being shot from inside the Time Warner building overlooking Central Park from Columbus Circle (24:16).
Anyhow, I’m just happy to see Wes Studi.
We watched it (missed the first half hour) and I was so so about it.
It had some nice political intrigue stuff, the “alternate universe” thing is fairly intriguing and Swearengine’s pretty good in it, though everything he does now is going to seem slightly neutered from what he did on Deadwood.
There were a few parts that just killed me though. he two doe eyed kids were talking to each other and the king’s daughter sounded so painfully flat. She may be a better actor than that, but it didn’t look like it. The other scene was where David lost his brother on the front and stood out on the line yelling at the enemy tanks. It went on a little too long and I don’t think it was a strong as they intended it.
Oh well, it was decent, like I said. I’ll watch the rest of it.
I was interested from the early ads: “What if the greatest country on Earth had a King?”
Then I saw one ad that referenced David & Goliath, & then some stuff in the press about it using the Saul & David story. I of course had to see it anyway, but now I knew it was referencing something I knew.
Well, it uses those characters as a jumping off point, but it’s not really a straight retelling. For some reason, CrossGen is involved, which can’t be good.
I’m a bit disappointed that so far the presumed Jonathan figure is being played unsympathetically. I expected him & David to become friends as per the source material.
It had depth of plot, a WHOLE world created, with a very good sense of history and interrelationships, and some damn good drama, on both the global and personal scale.
I LOVED the family issues - cheating King, wife in love with power, the “prince Hal” son who’s got major issues, and the daughter/father battles waged on a public King/Minister level.
The Court intrigue was amazing - I loved the foreshadowing on the corporate shill. His constant disapproving glare during the meetings, him being the only one with a colorful tie, and then the threats to the King at the end were just amazing.
I hope they can keep up this level of writing.
And yeah - the mystical stuff was very intriguing, and didn’t turn me off from the series. I can easily view this as the gods that serve this world take a little more notice of their followers on the planet. Not much, but a little.
I just hope this doesn’t become another New Amsterdam or Journeyman.
I believe he just said “you have something on your forehead.” But it was abundantly clear that the touch was supposed to be very meaningful. He didn’t just wipe it off.
None.
I’m woefully ignorant of biblical stories, and I tend not to notice when things refer even to the ones I do know. I wouldn’t have guessed that this had anything to do with a biblical story. I did hear some “David and Goliath” references in promos, but even that didn’t tip me off. I just thought it was a typical “little guy overcomes big guy” sort of thing.
And I hope it doesn’t become another Jericho. I’m still mad about the hash they made of that idea.
At first I was upset about the butterflies making such a perfect crown on David’s head, but after reflection I’ve come to realize why it was done that way. It wasn’t an interpretation of events. This story is about David’s divine progression. As much as I don’t want to see it that way, I can certainly appreciate what the storytellers are trying to tell us. That God is a part of this story. The butterflies DID form a perfect crown on his head. It IS a sign.
At least that’s my interpretation.
PS. Some of the things I didn’t like all had to do with NBC interfering with the show. The logo on the flags all look like peacock logos. It’s very distracting and either it was a coincidence (incompetent) or on purpose (ignorant). Also on the open shot of David and the Gathian mutually surrendering, they were actually covered by the network bug. (at least on my TV…I watched that scene on Hulu and there was more to the shot)
