A.D. The Bible Continues

I'm honestly surprised by the reception of this series, it seems to be rather mixed compared to the original production. In all honesty I prefer this to the original Bible production, though the original had the benefit of being a genuine surprise coming from History.

What I prefer about this is that the passion remains strong, and the stories are well flushed out. By balancing a bit of pop-cinema with heart felt efforts to bring the bible to screen they are able to present a story that should be familiar to all Christians, but yet also keep you in a "wow, what will happen next week" state of mind.

The acting is very solid, I get a very strong sense of the evangelical zeel of the early church, and a good sense of hanging on by a knifes edge. As of this writing Saul of Tarsus has been introduced, and I feel he is very well played. I highly recommend watching this. No, this is not an attempt to provide you with a production where actors read scripture. But it is honest, and it will draw you into that time.

This is no way a comprehensive review. I have enjoyed much of the series that I have seen so far. However, I was very disturbed by the portrayal of two of the early Church's supporters, Ananias and his wife Sapphira. The show indicates that they died because they did not contribute the whole of the proceeds of the sale of their property. While this is true, it is true because they lied about it, not because they were required to contribute 100% and did not. Acts chapter 5 makes it quite clear . . . "Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? . . . You have not lied to men but to God." To me, the portrayal of the situation in the show frames God as a tyrant.

A great story, good production, and some really good actors, BUT, cancelled only after one season....so sad. NBC saying it didn't have the ratings is a bit premature.

Much better than The Bible. There less meaningful variances to what best sources indicate. But there are a few ... like Sapphira who admitted keeping money with excuses, when she actually denied keeping any money back -- and it makes a difference. Apparently, more than the Bible was consulted, as hints of Josephus, the Jewish historian might be seen here, as well as other sources. Production quality is remarkable. Sets, CGI, costumes, etc. are top flight. MGM did well. This is quality. It gets quite brutal at times, but it WAS a brutal era. Overall, the sense, the power, and the message gets through pretty well ... so far. Only 5 of 12 seen!

I just finished this series in two nights, and wanted more. I'm sad to have read that there weren't any more put out after this one. This made me want to watch the Bible series, which I did, and it's not as good. I had to skip a few episodes. The A.D. series is much better in every aspect. When I watched this series, I felt like I was there with the apostles. Keep in mind, I'm a newly converted Christian. It's like I didn't want this to end and watching it made me feel closer to the Lord.