Spirituality in Pop Culture
Well, you know I am a fan of pop culture. I've resisted talking about TV lately. But there is a new show coming out that has caught my eye and I feel it is relevant to my blog.
I was a big fan of the short-lived CBS series Joan of Arcadia which was about a teenage girl who started seeing God in various places and receiving his/her guidance. It was very "TV" and not at all theologically sound (it is for entertainment, after all), but I really enjoyed exploring the idea of God visiting and interacting with people in a contemporary setting. (What a version of "God still speaking"!) Anyway, it was slotted for Friday nights and so doomed to only two seasons. I was sad to see it go.
However, TNT is introducing a new show that sounds somewhat similar and I am anxious to see what they do with it. The show is called Saving Grace and stars Holly Hunter (already a plus) as a detective in what appears to be a crime investigation series. However, Holly's character (aptly named Grace) is visited by an angel named Earl which leads Grace to a "spiritual awakening". Keeping in mind, this is entertainment and not academia, I am really excited about this. I mean, how often does the topic of God and religion come up in prime-time TV?
The pilot episode airs at 10pm ET on Monday July 23 on TNT. Check your local listings.
I was a big fan of the short-lived CBS series Joan of Arcadia which was about a teenage girl who started seeing God in various places and receiving his/her guidance. It was very "TV" and not at all theologically sound (it is for entertainment, after all), but I really enjoyed exploring the idea of God visiting and interacting with people in a contemporary setting. (What a version of "God still speaking"!) Anyway, it was slotted for Friday nights and so doomed to only two seasons. I was sad to see it go.
However, TNT is introducing a new show that sounds somewhat similar and I am anxious to see what they do with it. The show is called Saving Grace and stars Holly Hunter (already a plus) as a detective in what appears to be a crime investigation series. However, Holly's character (aptly named Grace) is visited by an angel named Earl which leads Grace to a "spiritual awakening". Keeping in mind, this is entertainment and not academia, I am really excited about this. I mean, how often does the topic of God and religion come up in prime-time TV?
The pilot episode airs at 10pm ET on Monday July 23 on TNT. Check your local listings.
Labels: My Spiritual Search, TV
posted by Mama G @ 6:41 PM
4 Comments:
At 8:49 PM,
Lizard Eater said…
Hmm, looks interesting. I'll check it out.
I watched the extremely short-lived "Book of Daniel" that was killed by religious conservatives. (A minister who pops pills and lives in a world that isn't treacly 7th Heaven? No, it must die!) I enjoyed it -- it was similar to Joan of A.
The rest of the Daniel series -- what there is of it -- was released on DVD. It's in my Netflix queue.
At 11:41 AM,
Comrade Kevin said…
Americans are strange people in many ways. We have some degree of ingrained respect for the religious, but we tend to want our entertainment to be firmly secular.
Anything religious seems to smack of thin pursing lips, heavy concentration, and extreme seriousness.
While we're on the subject of religious television sitcoms, do check out a British sitcom that ran in the late 90s called Father Ted. It was immensely popular over there but has been only a cult success on these shores.
At 1:08 PM,
Mama G said…
Now that you mention it, I remember watching the Book of Daniel series also. I was disappointed at the self-righteous people who thought that any representation of clergy must be perfect or it shouldn't be on TV. Very disappointing but not terribly surprising given the way things are in our culture lately. I thought the acting and writing was a little over the top, but I still enjoyed it. Maybe since Saving Grace is going to be on cable instead of network TV, it won't be doomed to a short life. We shall see.
And Kevin - I haven't heard of the British sitcom. I'll have to look into it.
At 7:22 PM,
Lillian said…
Good thing I didn't kill Holly Hunter, eh? ;)
I saw some promos for this during previews before the latest Harry Potter movie, and it does look interesting!
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