Kings premieres on NBC this Sunday

[scottc320]

Looks like a great show, premieres on NBC this Sunday, based on the biblical story of King David. Will be interesting if they try to make this up through a PoD or just say its set in a modern Western (looks like it) society. Setting is called "Shiloh".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kings_(U.S._TV_series)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5c1Vr1fcZI

 

[Bob D]

I wonder if there will be any references to God. In the video link that you posted, there's a song by Jars of Clay, which is a Christian rock band, so... maybe.

It doesn't look like an exact retelling, though. I don't recall the slaying of Goliath having anything to do with saving Jonathan's life. And speaking of that, I wonder how they handled David's relationship with Jonathan.

 

[Bob D]

Aaaand, I just read the script for the pilot. The country that David is from is called Gilboa (Shiloh is the capital city). They're at war with a country called Gath (the Philistine city-state where Goliath was from). There is a passing reference to a country called Austeria (apparently, it means "inn" in a Polish dialect). Also, it seems that Liszt was alive and composed the same music as he did OTL.

God does figure a bit in the plot (there is an analog to the prophet Samuel), but interestingly enough, there was profanity in the script (they were probably pitching it to cable... and now that I think of it, it's suprising that a network actually latched onto such an artistically ambitious show).

I'm interested to see how it turns out.

BTW, the script link: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/3236354/Script_Kings_1x01_-_Goliath

 

[Underboss_3]

Personally, I'm really looking forward to this show. What scares me is that it might be too intelligent, and too "out there" for the average NBC viewer.

 

[Geekhis Khan]

Is this actual AH, or is it a fictional "retelling" of the King David story in present day?

Either way, I'm a lot more intrigued now than I was when I saw the previews for it. Have to check it out!

 

[Redem]

How many season do you think it can go doing the whole "King David inspired" thing?

Anyway any show that survive more than three episodes on american TV deserve a medal in my opinion

 

[Bob D]

Is this actual AH, or is it a fictional "retelling" of the King David story in present day?

Either way, I'm a lot more intrigued now than I was when I saw the previews for it. Have to check it out!

Looks like a retelling of King David in present day. Well see if they provide any historical background on the world in which it takes place, though. It looks like the principal characters are all white, so I don't think it would be taking place in the Middle East. So, if it's not there, is it anywhere on Earth that we'd recognize?

How many season do you think it can go doing the whole "King David inspired" thing?

I don't know. At least one. They can go up to David's downfall, which might take a while. And they might take their time making David king. First, they have to go through the parts where David runs away from Saul's--I mean, Silas's attempts to kill him.

That said, the show is called "Kings". Maybe they could go through Solomon's reign, too.

 

[Electric Monk]

Is this actual AH, or is it a fictional "retelling" of the King David story in present day?

It's AH (though probably ASB) somewhere, although it does seem to riffing on the story of King David.

As far as I can tell America is fragmented into a whole bunch of little states, with our protagonist belonging to a corporate styled monarchy originally funded by a real corporation (which is a plot point in the pilot). Being that it's TV we'll overlook the reference to Blackberries and the like.


The brief background we have is that the King had butterflies circle around his head a generation ago and managed to unite/put together his kingdom based on New York City when before it was in anarchy. Currently they're locked into a war with their neighbours (who possess the Goliath tanks) and they don't seem to be doing well because they lack anything as good as the Goliaths.

 

[ImperialVienna]

I've watched two of the trailers, and I will likely watch the actual show. But the thing I found myself focusing on whenever I see one of the trailers is the flag. It's orange with a silver halved butterfly, any ideas as to why?

 

[Redem]

The brief background we have is that the King had butterflies circle around his head a generation ago and managed to unite/put together his kingdom based on New York City when before it was in anarchy. Currently they're locked into a war with their neighbours (who possess the Goliath tanks) and they don't seem to be doing well because they lack anything as good as the Goliaths.

Well an actual war on a tv show would be good

I'm still piss off they never had a war on Commander in Chief

Didn't God gave an holy miscarage to David wife?

 

[Bob D]

I've watched two of the trailers, and I will likely watch the actual show. But the thing I found myself focusing on whenever I see one of the trailers is the flag. It's orange with a silver halved butterfly, any ideas as to why?

I don't know why the flag is orange and silver, but I know that the butterfly has to do with a symbolic event that happened to the king before he united Gilboa under his rule. I don't know when or where it happened, but apparently, a swarm of butterflies circled above the king and then came to rest upon his head like a crown. After this, the king realized he was destined to unite the kingdom and rule over it.

It sounds kind of lame, but I don't know... We'll see how well it works.

 

[Bob D]

Well an actual war on a tv show would be good

I'm still piss off they never had a war on Commander in Chief

You might be happy to know that the war and the morality/ramifications of it are an important theme in the pilot.

 

[Redem]

You might be happy to know that the war and the morality/ramifications of it are an important theme in the pilot.

Well the average war on a tv show last 6 episodes in its battle

 

[Leo euler]

This show has potential, I think. If you read the Bible, there are a ton of stories involving David. But to really make it work, there need to be good writers, as well.

It's interesting that they did a modern-day version. They could have tried for something like "Rome", but maybe ancient Israel is a little too uninteresting in terms of culture.

A quick rundown of all the different things mentioned in the Bible that would be fitting in a TV-drama sort of way:

-Early days. David killing bears, etc. with only hand weapons (he was a shepherd)

-Samuel's choosing of David. David was the smallest and youngest of Jesse's sons, so nobody expected him.

-David and Goliath...everyone knows about this one.

-The relationship between David and Jonathan, and David and Saul. The conflict between Saul and David.

-David living with the Philistines. He actually did this for a time, even after the situation with Goliath!

-David and Bathsheba. The killing of Uriah. Bathsheba's pregnancy, etc.

And that's just the first season. There are many more situations involving his later years, when his kids are grown up, like with Absalom's coup, etc.

 

[Jesse]

I wonder if they'll address the question of what kinds of religious beliefs people have in this alternate world...is everyone Jewish?

 

[Trotsky]

I'm gonna give this show a try, but after what ABC did to "Life on Mars" I'm skeptical of its chances on network TV.

 

[Bob D]

Heh, I feel like a miniexpert on the show because I read that whole pilot script...

A quick rundown of all the different things mentioned in the Bible that would be fitting in a TV-drama sort of way:

-Early days. David killing bears, etc. with only hand weapons (he was a shepherd)

Doesn't seem to get addressed. Unless they decide to flashback later in the season.

-Samuel's choosing of David. David was the smallest and youngest of Jesse's sons, so nobody expected him.

It kinda, sorta happens in the pilot. But "Reverend Samuels" doesn't actually say out loud that David is going to be the next king. The actual way it's done is different, and David's brothers are nowhere near when it happens. (In fact, David appears to have only one [older] brother.)

-David and Goliath...everyone knows about this one.

Obviously addressed in the pilot.

-The relationship between David and Jonathan, and David and Saul. The conflict between Saul and David.

The conflict between Silas (the Saul analogue in the show) begins at the end of the pilot.

Not too much happens between David and Jack (the Jonathan analogue) in the pilot. Their relationship will probably develop in later episodes.

-David living with the Philistines. He actually did this for a time, even after the situation with Goliath!

Considering what happens in the pilot (I won't say anymore in order to avoid a spoiler), he may have earned the respect of Gath. I could see them offering him asylum at some point.

I wonder if they'll address the question of what kinds of religious beliefs people have in this alternate world...is everyone Jewish?

God is mentioned, but nothing really specific about whether or not their religion is Judaism.

Well the average war on a tv show last 6 episodes in its battle

Oh, you'll be disappointed, then. The war is over by the end of the pilot. Knowing the story of David, there will probably be more wars over the course of the series, but I don't know how many episodes they'll last.

Really, I can think of only one TV series that depicts soldiers fighting a war, and that's "Tour of Duty", which is about Vietnam. (Disclaimer: I only saw one episode a long time ago, so I don't remember how good it was.) Besides that, I highly recommend the miniseries Band of Brothers if you haven't already seen that. (I wonder if there's anyone on here who hasn't actually seen it. It's about WWII, in case you actually didn't know.)

 

[Adept Havelock]

Kings looks interesting enough to give a shot.

Really, I can think of only one TV series that depicts soldiers fighting a war, and that's "Tour of Duty", which is about Vietnam.

Combat, Rat Patrol, Black Sheep Squadron, 12 o' Clock High, The Gallant Men, are all WW2 series.

For a sci-fi take, Space:Above and Beyond.

I'm sure there are others, but that's all I've got off the top of my head.

 

[Jesse]

I wonder if they'll address the question of what kinds of religious beliefs people have in this alternate world...is everyone Jewish?

I just found this quote from executive producer Michael Greeni in an IGN article:

"I think, for me anyway, it's less of a show about religion than it is a show where religion is a part of the characters' lives," says Green. "I went into it thinking, I look at Indiana Jones: It's about trying to find the lost Ark. Is it a religious movie? I don't know, but it takes as its subject religious themes and treats them as real, and a lot of the people in the film consider them real and take them that seriously. So there are believers and non-believers [on the show]. As for different sects [of religions in the show's world], that's something we look forward to exploring."

 

[sunsurf]

The official site of the Royal Kingdom of Gilboa. Guess what the URL is?