The Bible not the greatest story in this adaptation

The History Channel presents THE BIBLE, a ten part miniseries premiering Sunday, March 3rd at 8 p.m. ET. Select stories from the religious tome are dramatized and presented as a saga over several nights, taking viewers through some of the best known, oldest tales on the planet.

This review attempts to examine the miniseries purely on its own merit, ignoring other versions already released, as well as the reverence many feel towards The Bible itself as a book. Any complaints in the review below are with the production, not the religious text, and no offense against any Christian is intended.

In 2013, with the technology at our disposal, and plenty of religious believers still around, it seems an opportune time for a project such as this. The Bible is the best selling book of all time, and many are familiar with the stories, hungering for a well-made screen adaptation using the best tools at our disposal to really sell the story.

This is not that version.

My issues with the piece start right away. THE BIBLE begins on Noah's Ark, rain pouring down, as Noah tells his scared family how the Earth was created, and also talks about Adam and Eve, and their offspring, Cain and Abel. This happens in just a few minutes, glossing over some of the best known, and possibly most interesting, parts of the book. Yes, the text presented as a quick oral tale takes up a relatively small amount of the source material, but they are also some of the most famous scenes, and to reduce them to a scant few minute overview seems a shame and a waste.

Not only that, but the special effects leave a lot to be desired. It's understandable that the budget for this project may not be huge, but surely enough financing could be found to present a convincing ark scene. Or, at least, a decent burning bush. Instead, anything supernatural looks very, very fake and low quality, running off any chance the project has at believability.

Most History Channels specials don't have access to the use of the latest effects. THE BIBLE is on par with the offerings of other fare from the network. However, given what this is, a sweeping story, rather than some crude animation to supplement interviews in a non-fiction broadcast, one would think that priority might be given to such an endeavor, and a little more cash infused. In an era where amazing, realistic things can be created on a computer, THE BIBLE lacks all of that. It's quite a shame, as this has the opportunity to really make a splash for the network.

I also found the story itself completely the opposite of compelling. The first hour follows Abraham as he leads his people into the desert, watches Sodom be destroyed, and fathers two sons, one of whom he almost sacrifices to his god. Yet, we don't get the motivation for any of this.

Is it faith? How has Abraham come by this faith? Doesn't he ever have any doubts about it? Because the time table is so tight, the action skims right over the events without taking even a second to get into the mind of the character. When he takes Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him, we see a little emotion in Abraham's face, but don't get a sense for a single moment that he might hesitate. We don't see him regret leading his people into poverty. We don't see the basis for his relationship with God. Addressing these complaints would make for far better television.

The narration also feels flat. Rather than adding insight into events, it is used instead to keep things speeding along. Why could it not slow down a little, and let us appreciate what is happening?

Perhaps ten hours just isn't enough time to do this correctly. Maybe the team should have gone for something a little less ambitious, maybe just the old testament, and allowed the characters to breathe a little more. If they did that well enough, they could always come back and continue the tale later with another miniseries. Instead, by forcing such a quick flow, they shoot themselves in the foot, and ruin what they have here.

The actors in the piece aren't bad. They do the best with what they are given. In the first section, there aren't any faces among them that I recognize, but the principal players are convincing enough for what they are doing.

In all, THE BIBLE proved to be highly disappointing. While not believing the story myself, I was hoping for an entertaining presentation of an exciting story which serves as the basis for the beliefs of millions. Instead, we get a watered-down, low budget, too-fast-paced drivel that fails to inspire or surprise. Maybe in a few years, someone will do a screen version of The Bible right, but this is not that effort.