TV station decides to not air Book of Daniel because it has Jesus in it

[Apocalypse]

And Episcopalians.

Associated Press
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -- Television station WTWO is refusing to air a new NBC series that features Jesus Christ as a supporting character.

The station said it would not broadcast "The Book of Daniel," which debuts Friday, because of complaints from viewers.
The show, starring Aidan Quinn as an Episcopal priest who regularly converses with a physical Jesus Christ, has drawn fire from conservative Christians, including the Tupelo, Miss.-based American Family Association.
Duane Lammers, WTWO's general manager, said in a statement posted Wednesday on the station's Web site that he was exercising the station's right to reject network programming.
"I will not allow them to make unilateral decisions affecting our viewers," he said. "If my action causes people in our community to pay more attention to what they watch on television, I have accomplished my mission."
The American Family Association has urged viewers to complain to NBC about the upcoming series, which the group's chairman, Donald E. Wildmon, called "anti-Christian bigotry."
"We expect other NBC affiliates will join WTWO in their decision," Wildmon said.
NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly told The New York Times in an interview last month that the show was intended to be thought-provoking.
"Some of the best shows on TV start with the perception of controversy, which is usually not an issue if it's backed by quality," Reilly said.

So basically conservative Christians are pissed about more moderate and liberal Christians again. Episopals aren't very popular with conservative Christians really....since you know they like Evolution and Women's Rights and all of that good stuff. It'd be one thing if he was some southern Baptist type preacher, but he's not. Even though the preacher is shown in a bit of a bad light, it's not the Episopals complaining here. Conservatives need to stop acting like they are the only Christians.

[Ben Kenobi]

http://channels.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?id=2006010504340002545042&dt=20060105043400&w=RTR&coview=

The series depicts an Episcopalian minister, played by Aidan Quinn, struggling with an addiction to Vicodin, among other problems in his diocese. Jesus is actually a character on the series, depicted in imagined conversations with the minister.

Last month, the conservative American Familuy Assn. began calling on affiliates and advertisers to bail out of "Daniel." Many stations have been flooded with e-mails and calls from viewers objecting to the series.

KARK-TV in Little Rock, Ark., and WTWO-TV in Terre Haute, Ind., announced Wednesday they would pre-empt "Daniel," when it premieres Friday at 9 p.m. Both are owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group,

KARK-TV declined to air "Daniel" citing "careful consideration" of viewer feedback. Little Rock's WB affiliate, KWBF-TV, will air "Daniel" instead.

However, WTWO general manager Duane Lammers said he is not pre-empting "Daniel" due to its content but rather to protest what he views as the networks' strong-arm approach to affiliates, as well inconsistent federal oversight of indecent content.

"This has nothing to do with the program and has nothing to do with the AFA," Lammers said. "I think the system is screwed up. I think the network thinks we are going to do whatever they tell us to do. I think the regulatory environment is flawed."

The network stands by the series, according to Vivi Zigler, executive vp current programming at NBC Entertainment, who cautioned not to judge the series on the basis of promotions for the show.

"People are reacting based on not having seen it," she said. "They're seeing the advertising, not seeing what the core of the show is.

Jack Kenny, executive producer of "Daniel," dismissed claims that the series is anti-Christian. "We are not in any way satirizing Christianity or Jesus," he said. "It's done with love, honoring those things."

But Lammers isn't taking exception with "Daniel." Rather, he is using the pre-emption to air multiple grievances with industry practice -- especially network-affiliate relations.

"In the last few years, the networks have responded in a unilateral manner in their treatment of affiliates, whether it's about compensation, exclusivity or other issues," he said. "I am now reaffirming my right to treat them unilaterally."

Lammers also decried what he sees as a double standard in the lack of content regulation regarding cable. "I'm saying the regulatory atmosphere is unfair," he said. "If this gives me a chance to talk about it, that's fair."

WTWO is alone so far in its pre-emption of "Daniel," but other affiliates wrestled with the decision.

"There's been an enormous amount of discussion about the show," said Steve Poulsen, vp marketing at KSL-TV, NBC's affiliate in Salt Lake City. "This one happens to have religious overtones to it and is causing a little stir. We determined on this one to let the viewers determine the success or failure of this show."

KSL, which caters to a heavily Mormon viewership, has not been shy about joining the small group of stations that have pre-empted NBC programming in the recent past. Among the NBC series that have been yanked in recent years, include "Coupling," "God, the Devil and Bob," and "Stressed Eric."

Lammers, who also serves as executive vp and chief operating officer of WTWO parent company Nexstar Broadcasting Group, is known for taking aggressive stands on behalf of his company. He pulled multiple Nexstar-owned stations off Cox Communications and Cable One cable systems for most of 2005 in order to negotiate cash for carriage -- an unprecedented arrangement. Both operators settled with Nexstar late last year.

WTVO, which is the 150th-largest television market in the U.S., will air theatrical "Simon Birch" instead of back-to-back episodes of "Daniel."

Uh, I don't see where it has anything to do about the priest being an episcopalian.

[thesilentone]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi

http://channels.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?id=2006010504340002545042&dt=20060105043400&w=RTR&coview=

Uh, I don't see where it has anything to do about the priest being an episcopalian.

Try the first 6 words of your quote?

[chequita guevara]

When I was a Christian, I feared these people would one day gain power.

[Apocalypse]

The Jesus of Episcopalian and Catholics really isn't the God of conservative Christians. Our God doesn't hate fags. He also might have helped start the big bang and created everything that way, but he didn't put dinos on the earth with people. He let evolution do it's thing mostly....just meddled a bit. Very different religions.

[chequita guevara]

Well, even Episcopals and Catholics have their conservatives. Look at the split in the Episcopal Church (though I don't think a practicing, unmarried homosexual should have been made a Bishop).

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
Well, even Episcopals and Catholics have their conservatives. Look at the split in the Episcopal Church (though I don't think a practicing, unmarried homosexual should have been made a Bishop).

I agree

JM

[chequita guevara]

If he had been married (to his partner), I would have had no objection. True, he couldn't get married in New Hampshire, but he could have gotten married in a country where it was legal at the time. Or hell, even by his own religion (so it wouldn't have been legal-except in the eyes of the faith).

[mrmitchell]

KARK-TV in Little Rock, Ark., and WTWO-TV in Terre Haute, Ind., announced Wednesday they would pre-empt "Daniel," when it premieres Friday at 9 p.m. Both are owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group,

KARK are the jerks that threatened to cut off our cable company if it didn't start paying them retransmission fees.

HELLO GUYS ANYONE WITH AN ANTENNA CAN PICK YOU UP FOR FREE

And their news sucks, too.

[Sava]

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi

http://channels.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?id=2006010504340002545042&dt=20060105043400&w=RTR&coview=

Uh, I don't see where it has anything to do about the priest being an episcopalian.

Originally posted by thesilentone

Try the first 6 words of your quote?

yeah BK has issues with reading comprehension

pwn3d

[Zkribbler]

Jesus is hip. The preacher is hooked on Vicodin. His wife is an alcoholic. Their daughter sells drugs. One son is gay, and the other is promiscuous. I could see why some people might have a problem with that.

Although...it would have been nice if they'd seen the show and evaluated it, rather than call and complain without knowing the full story.

Wait'll they find out that there's fornication, adultery, masturbation, etc. in the Bible.

[Pekka]

I have an idea for a tv show.. it has to have Jesus in it, either modern day Jesus, make it a sitcom. You know like 'Hi, I'm Jebus'. But the point is, no one knows it's Jesus, except viewers and Jebus himself. No one knows where he came from, except that he lived in YMCA and smokes a lot of weed.
Comedy.

OR, two guys, modern dudes, sent back in time for some reason, find themselves to be Jesus' friends in his teens and stuff. Smoking weed. Comedy.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara
If he had been married (to his partner), I would have had no objection. True, he couldn't get married in New Hampshire, but he could have gotten married in a country where it was legal at the time. Or hell, even by his own religion (so it wouldn't have been legal-except in the eyes of the faith).

I Agree

JM

[Barnabas]

Originally posted by mrmitchell


KARK are the jerks that threatened to cut off our cable company if it didn't start paying them retransmission fees.

HELLO GUYS ANYONE WITH AN ANTENNA CAN PICK YOU UP FOR FREE

And their news sucks, too.

I read anyone with an anathema, lol

[StarLightDeath]

I think the funniest part of all this is that the gays and atheists are actually surprised why Christians would be offended.