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'Amish
in the City': Nobody drives buggies in L.A.
The drama in this sensitive, entertaining TV show comes from crises
of conscience. more...
TV
horror with bite
A new adaptation of Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot' maximizes suspense
by minimizing gore. more...
TV
gets animated
Networks plan to launch several animated series aimed at young adults.
more...
A
'family' sitcom for Gen X - 'Friends' cast a new TV mold
The show captured a generation's angst and ambition, fluid notions
of family, and cult of youth. more...
The
Gospel According to Trump
Why The Apprentice Is the Best New Show on TV. more...
The
war in Iraq, seen through a Latino lens
PBS's 'American Family' returns this week as a miniseries with an
ambitious agenda. more...
Can
reality TV 'survive' in the Middle East?
Adaptations of 'American Idol' and 'Fear Factor' are a hit in the
Arab world. more...
'Angels'
revisits feminism's roots
Interview with Hilary Swank, who portrays suffragette in HBO's 'Iron
Jawed Angels.' more...
Watching
Joan of Arcadia: A mini-study guide to discussing the show
The CBS drama Joan of Arcadia (Fridays, 8 p.m. ET/PT) is the hot
new water-cooler topic in religious circles. At a recent Presbyterian
adult education class, after participants viewed a portion of the
series one member shouted out, "Wow, there's some great theology
in that scene!" more...
'Frontline'
examines Iraq from the outside in
A reporter and his crew provide an in-depth look at a post-Hussein
Iraq. more...
The
Simple Life
Television has stooped to a lot of lows in recent months. But one
of the lowest lows was the “The Simple Life” reality
show with those two mega-rich young women I refuse to name, who
toughed it out on a farm in Arkansas for five weeks. more...
Hollywood
walks fine line in portraying God
In a nation where 90 percent believe in God, a lot of Americans
claim to speak to the Almighty every day. So it shouldn't be shocking
that the Lord has been granted some face time on prime-time TV.
more...
Swearing
swearers and FCC's new rulebook
From TV to politics, profanity and suggestive themes have proliferated.
more...
For
quirky `Joan,' God is in the details
That God. Such a pain. Always sneaking up on Joan at unexpected
moments, provoking her with outlandish requests and smarty-pants
exit lines. Doesn't He, She, or It have anything better to do than
stalk a rebellious teenage girl who just wants to put on her headphones
and listen to Pink? more...
Reality
TV: Guilty Pleasure or Window to Our Souls?
It’s been called the crack cocaine of television, cheap to
produce and addictive to watch. Reality TV – is it really
a bad thing? more...
Guiding
Light
'Joan of Arcadia' is just one of a half-dozen new network series
whose characters deal with spirituality. more...
Don't
Have a Sacred Cow, Man!
When The Simpsons creator Matt Groening was a Boy Scout, he stole
a Gideon Bible from a hotel room and underlined all the dirty parts.
Confronted by a furious scoutmaster, Groening (pronounced graining)
recalled in a recent interview with My Generation magazine, "I prayed
to God and said, ‘I know you'll forgive me for not believing in
you.'"
Angels
fall from perch on high
Angels — a '90s pop-culture craze seen everywhere from the big screen
and books to endless bric-a-brac — seem to have taken a dive.
Buffy
the Vampire Slayer - Theologian of the Year
Hidden among the stupid sitcoms, copycat dramas and reality shows
of broadcast TV, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been acting out a
modern-day morality play for seven seasons, delivering what a growing
number of critics say is the edgiest show on television, dealing
with topics like evil, redemption, resurrection, sex, guilt, existential
angst, selflessness and sacrifice, religion and the occult, often
all before the first commercial break.
Would
a Christian Bachelorette Be Different
Other than detective drama, there may be no hotter genre of television
programs right now than the dating show. And this new breed is a
far leap from The Dating Game.
| FaithandValues.com SHOPPING |
 Religions of Star Trek
by Ross Shepard Kraemer, William Cassidy, Susan Schwartz
A trio of religion scholars presents a learned but readable
review of religious themes in Star Trek that should interest
fans and provide grist for students and teachers of religion.
The book focuses not so much on the beliefs and rituals found
in the Star Trek universe itself as on the metaphysical issues
Star Trek explores as a present-day text.
Buy it |
Taking On the Culture
"I'll shake your hand and I'll go on from here. But if I were ever to pass you along in life again and you were laying [sic] there dying of thirst, I would not give you a drink of water. I would let the vultures take you and do whatever they want with you with no ill regrets." The words came from Chicago truck driver Susan Hawk in a venom-laden speech before the jury panel on the final episode of the first Survivor...
Religion plugs into TV
OK, so anybody who has seen HBO's hit series "The Sopranos" knows that mob boss Tony Soprano has what you could call a bad temper. You might even call him a lying, cheating, gutter-mouthed killer who would gun down his best friend in cold blood. But we've all got our flaws, right? And God still loves us.
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