Révélations

Did I miss some key part of this mini-series? I watched all 6 parts. Granted, I missed a few minutes of some of the parts, but at the end of Part 6, I had no clue what happened.

I have liked Pullman in other things, and he may be the only reason I followed this mini-series, but even he could not pull it out.

This movie was the worst TV mini-series I have ever seen. I kept waiting for some interesting, thrilling epiphany, but it ended in such a whimper that I was left shocked.

Maybe they should do a Part 7, if for no other reason than to explain why they did the first 6.

There seems to be a common dislike in the public for this miniseries, for any number of reasons. Therefore, the majority of people out there seem to be influenced by these opinions rather than their own. I watched every episode starting at the premiere, and I can say that while I was rather alarmed at the constant misquoting of scripture (which is really the only true negative I had regarding this show), overall it was an engaging show. This show seemed to be honestly striving to have a purpose on television, to tell people about what is inevitable, though likely not in the way it is being described in the show itself. This, in a world where religion is so controversial that the very mention of God can spark heated debates between opposing sides. There are always going to be people offended by the mention of religion (but why they bother watching the show in the case, I don't know). With subject matter like the Apocalypse, in which every side has a different idea of how it's going to come about, there will always be sides unhappy with the way it is presented. Instead of focusing in on all the little things that conflict with your own personal beliefs, watch the show for its entertainment value, which I found to be rather high compared to most of the stuff on television nowadays. I would highly suggest that people give it a fair shot, get rid of all your biases, and watch it for its purpose: to serve as entertainment for religious and secular audiences alike.

REVIEW: Wed + Sun 9pm NBC: "It's as probable for a tornado traveling through a junkyard to produce Buckingham Palace than for life to emerge from the Big Bang," says the teacher at the start of Revelations… and he's the scientist. The series, produced by Omen maker David Seltzer is relatively well done, with the likable Bill Pullman playing a scientist whose daughter has been kidnapped and murdered by a Satanist who excised her heart in a ritual sacrifice. Pullman goes to Chile and helps capture the fiend, and later is confronted by a Nun (the other-worldly Natasha McElhone – the wife in Solaris) whose sister has died in an apocalyptic cult in Africa, and who drags him to the bedside of a young brain dead Florida girl who was hit by lightning. Of course, this girl is talking.. in Latin, and it's about the end of the world. Evil secular doctors are eager to harvest her organs while the Sister's foundation staves them off (doctors love to pull the plug on speaking patients). The girl draws a stick figure (with ancient writing) that is the same as Pullman's daughter used to. The parallels with the Florida Schiavo allow-to-die circus are probably coincidental, but jarring. Signs abound: a shadow of Jesus on the cross on a Mexican cliff, a lone child pulled from floating wreckage of a Greek ferry, the Satanist chopping his finger off without bleeding.

I personally love these apocalyptic movies, but feel this is in so many ways a sop to the religious right, whose penetration into government is alarming. It feeds the creationist fervor, the cheap exploitive political acts behind the Schiavo carnival of fools. At the first meeting the Sister wisely advises the dubious Pullman to start contributing to religion. "All the signs and symbols are currently in place for the end of days." They allow Pullman to visit the killer of his daughter in prison, dubiously unmonitored, who chops his finger off in the feeding slot, and doesn't bleed. This sends Pullman on a quest for the Answers, being dragged kicking and screaming towards the Truth, like Gregory Peck so long ago in The Omen (actually saw that world premiere in LA). Portentous Bible quotes start each section. When the girl dies, Pullman holds her hand, and she.. awakes. Personally I don't think we should rush this apocalypse business- some nightmare virus may make it real for hundreds of millions soon enough. Not as intense as I thought, but then NBC isn't cable. Rating: 6 out of 10

We are very sorry to find out that the series will not be continued. The only thing we can think of as to why, is that maybe it wasn't advertised enough. I think most anyone would enjoy this mini-series. There is a fair amount of violence, and the wanton killing is difficult to take, but the overall series is well worth it. It is basically a tale of good versus evil. The characters, I believe, do an excellent job. Michael Massee, as the "bad guy", does an especially great job. No wooden performances here - an overall great job by everyone. It is refreshing that the two "good guy" leads are a professor and a nun, so there is no romantic interest possible; seems like about every time I see a movie, there must be sex involved. It's nice that they didn't stoop to that level in Revelations.

Having actually seen the first installment, I can say I didn't miss the bloated 40 minutes of "American Idol" commercials mixed with 20 minutes of overwrought "you are safe, you are in the bottom 3" hyperbole in order to rid the field of wannabes of one more person.

Instead, I was mesmerized by the first one-hour installment of an intriguing story about people being brought together to consider a proliferation of unexplainable signs and events that might mark the end of the world.

Unless America is simply brain dead, this extremely well-produced limited series should rack up good numbers in the ratings.

Bill Pullman plays a Harvard professor who has recently seen the murderer of his teen-aged daughter captured and imprisoned. Not giving any credence to this man's claims that he can never be killed and will never bleed, he sees one of the man's fingers sliced off...and the non-bleeding hand is raised defiantly.

A nun who is part of a research foundation is an investigator checking out unexplained phenomena with religious connections. One is the appearance of a shadow on a mountainside. It appears to be the shadow of a cross upon which a man has been nailed. The shadow of the head moves as if the victim were alive. There were neither clouds,nor trees, nor anything else between the sun and the mountain that could have cast that shadow.

Another phenomenon is a girl, declared brain dead, after being struck by lightning. Now in a hospital bed, she speaks Biblical verses in Latin. And on one occasion, she was given a pencil and pad and began auto-writing, drawing a map....which linked, it was revealed, to Bill Pullman's daughter. These miraculous goings-on only happen during storms with lightning and thunder.

As hokey as I make it seem, it was beautifully done; the acting is first-rate. I am eager for part 2.