The Power Men Wield - Kings on NBC

Last spring, NBC marketed the hell out of a new show during every commercial break they had, especially during Heroes.  Some of you may have seen the big orange title card with the wings, bound by a halo.  

Kings was an interesting idea.  Take a biblical story and transpose it into modern times where modern concerns are influenced by motivations that haven't changed since the dawn of civilization.  Then create an entirely fake universe around all of that, add in some creative above the line talent, and aim high.

Personally, I think the show was pretty damn good.  Not LOST or Supernatural good, but good nonetheless.  Francis Lawrence (director of Constanstine and I Am Legend) directed the first few episodes and gave the show a sizable and noticeable punch in the early goings.  The acting was stellar, especially from the ridiculously talented Ian McShane as King Silas Benjamin, and the cast gelled well together (and I really enjoyed the addition of Macauley Culkin to the cast.  The creepiness he's been able to embody now that he's older fits in perfect with his role.)  They really showed the meat and sinew of a family with that much power.  But for many reasons, the most obvious being the misdirected marketing for the show presented by NBC, it never found an audience and got shuffled off in the summer.  It did get a 12 episode run and they concluded it really well with a 2 part finale that tied it all off.

A lot of reviews and stories I've read gave too much weight to the religious overtones as the reason the show floundered.  If you look back at the modern history of television, any show that mentions God a lot, especially in reference to the Judeo/Christian tradition, never makes it very far.  The general population doesn't like to feel preached to by primetime entertainment.  It's supposed to be about escapism.  Look at the unrealistic, rock-star portrayal of crime scene investigation on the myriad CSI shows if you want evidence.  Even our "realism" isn't real.

However, I don't think that was the case.  Honestly, I'm not a religious person and I really don't like being preached to but I actually enjoy it when a form of entertainment uses religion as a powerful story-telling tool.  So I know the religious aspect didn't put that many people off.  I think it was the writing.  Or more specifically, the language of the show.  The show came off like it was written by the bible scholars working with Shakespeare.  All the flowery language adds gravitas to the drama but I think it turns a lot of people off.  It's a fine line to tread creating an intelligent show that feels accessible but doesn't seem to talk down to the general audience.  Frasier did it and did it well but Kings perhaps just aimed too high.

The reason for this review is pretty simple.  If you like your drama intelligent then give the show a shot.  It's more a miniseries than a full show but I think anyone can appreciate the layers of complexity.  The entire series is available on Hulu - Kings so go check it out, tell me what you think.