Realmscapes

Christianity: A History, Parts 1-4 (2009)

The UK's Channel 4 aired an eight-part documentary on the history of Christianity in January and February of this year. More accurately, it is eight chronological commentaries on Christian history. The commentaries of the first four parts are written by a "cultural" Jewish authour/journalist, a non-practicing Catholic and former British Defense Minister (under John Major), an African-Caribbean Christian theologian, and a Muslim former BBC correspondent covering the Iraqi front on the War on Terror. All commentators are British citizens so the documentary is wholly written for a British audience.

One should be warned that where it may be interesting to see a history of the Christian religion presented in this way, the commentators are fully allowed to editorialize their views in the documentary. The result is sometimes a cynical if not outright critical view of the Christian faith--or at least the Catholic tradition of it. And that is another note I would like to make: in the first four parts, anyway, Christianity = Catholicism; there is scant mention of Protestantism, and when the narrators speak with clergy it is usually Catholic. So in a sense, the first half of this doc is more a criticism of the Catholic Church than the whole Christian community.. but that doesn't always soften the blows.

Here I review and grade the written content of the first four parts. At present, you can view the entire series on YouTube in High Quality. I watched it on my 32" HDTV and it looked marvelous. Despite the criticisms within the various parts, the production values are outstanding. There is very little one can say about seeing the Holy Land, Vatican architecture, and 7th Century English landscapes in widescreen even while the narrator may be criticizing the history. (It must have looked breathtaking in HD, if it was broadcast that way.) If you can get past some of the commentary, then I highly recommend this documentary for its aesthetic feast for the eyes and ears.

24: Day 7 (2009)

This was Kas and my first foray into the world of 24. (It technically started when we caught the special TV film, 24: Redemption.) Whatever criticisms the show had from recent seasons, "Day 7" had to have redeemed itself.

24 is the kind of show that is must-see TV for Americans. It should be screened in high schools to help our teens understand the 21st Century world. Yes, post-9/11 world as well, but terrorism is really not a new phenomenon in this country. The difference between 9/11 and, say, the 1993 attacks was that 9/11 happened live on our TV sets; it was reality TV that unfortunately was not scripted or in a controlled environment. And it did not have an ending where only a few dozen people were affected.

Additionally, 24 brings the political debates that are part of the War on Terror into sharp focus. At the start of the show, Jack Bauer is facing a Senate Committee to answer for the various methods he has used an agent in the now defunct Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU) branch of the CIA. During the show, Jack soberly accepts the hearing as necessary so that the American people can be presented with the truth of his actions and decide for themselves if he (and the hundreds of agents like him) are out of line ethically or legally, and it us understood that Jack has no regrets.

In the current political climate where major elected officials, including U.S. Presidents, are debating these same questions, the whole show effectively presents the case of all those fighting terrorism to the viewer honestly and intelligently, as well as the case of those who firmly believe that the law cannot be bent even one millimeter. The show's writers leave up to you to decide who presents the best case for their argument. Jack presents his case to a fictitious Senator well--the same Senator who grills him at the start of the season--when he confronts the Senator about his politicizing of fighting a terrorist threat. His retort, "You, sir, are unwilling or unable to look evil in the eye and deal with it!" could be one leveled at several of our elected representatives...too many.

24 is not just about terrorism. It is also about life choices, and the characters of 24 are all faced with on-the-spot decisions that not only affect them but thousands of people--people that these characters may never meet. 24 gives people--of all walks of life, not just the political--the opportunity to be heroes and re-enforces that we all have the strength to commit selfless acts when faced with them. It also reminds that those selfless choices do not always end well for the hero. In relation to the previous paragraph, 24 reveals the result of these choices and therein also reminds us that we are all responsible for our choices, whether their result is seen immediately or over many years.

GRADE: A+

P.S. Oh, and 24 is also fun: there are several cool cameos by such stars as Tony Todd (Star Trek series, Stargate-SG1, Hercules), Peter Wingfield (Highlander), William O'Leary (Home Improvement), and Connor Trinneer (Star Trek: Enterprise, Stargate: Atlantis).