What went wrong with ABC’s Of Kings and Prophets? … Everything!
Like the NBC show Kings before it, the ABC series Of Kings and Prophets was short-lived due to protests. The show that billed itself as the Biblical Game of Thrones was a little too HBO for network television. The show was canceled after only two episodes aired, primarily due to the efforts of the Parents Television Council, which objected to the explicit sexual content and graphic violence. Ironically, these are the two elements of the show that most closely resemble the Biblical text.
The show was supposed to be based on the Biblical accounts of King Saul and King David. Since the Bible is actually quite scanty on details in this regard, any time a writer, producer or director wants to develop a series like this, certain gaps must be filled with imagination—and most people understand this. What annoys scholars in particular is when a show like this claims to be based on the Bible and yet ignores, changes or amalgamates the details that are present in the texts. For example, in the Bible it is King Saul who sends for David because of his skill with a lyre, but on the show David comes to the royal court after an encounter with the queen over unpaid taxes. Perhaps the most glaring change: instead of the epic battle between David and Goliath, for which David becomes renowned (1 Samuel 17), David vaults to fame in the show by slaying a menacing lion. It is true that David does kill lions (and bears) according to the Biblical text (1 Samuel 17:34), but this is presented as a minor aside and not the reason for his fame or entrance into the heart of the royals, particularly Michal. David in this version shares more similarities with the Biblical Sampson than with the Biblical David.
The Bible is a book that represents the HBO of its day (just read the Books of Joshua and Song of Songs—or the textual description of David’s life for that matter), so it didn’t need to be rejected to achieve this style. Watch the episodes if you want, but in this case the old adage is true: The book is better than the show.—E.W.
What went wrong with ABC’s Of Kings and Prophets? … Everything!
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