This is so not the type of show which usually appeals to me but i like it so that says a lot.

Amanda Peet is growing on me, rest of the cast is great except for Sarah Paulson. Did she only get the gig for the Jack and Jill reunion ?

I found the first half to be pretty slow and boring, but I attribute that to still trying to develop the show, so I won't hold it against them. But otherwise, I am enjoying it quite a bit.

How do you guys know that Crazy Christians was shown? I got the impression they were going to do a show that no one expected, etc. and that it probably wasn't even in the show this time. Was it shown on the schedule board or something? I also thought that was a great way to give the finger to the affiliates who didn't watch because of it and then not even having it.

Yeah, it was on the schedule board.

das

You gotta love stuff like "The Rapture" magazine.

I'm surprised that Sorkin would use such a lazy device - it's the sort of thing typically used by bitter Hollywood "elites" that not only know nothing about the Bible, but I would wager don't really know any Christians either.

The Rapture is not Biblical and is a theological fallacy.

That may be, but Left Behind was a big best seller. It's not as if nobody believes in this stuff, and Sorkin invented it out of thin air.

I don't know if it was just me, but I had a real hard time understanding the lyrics to the song when it aired. Maybe it's just my TV.

Agree, the audio for the show was low volume and the fidelity wasn't very good.

I'm not saying they don't, but it's mostly the wackos that believe in it, and since going after that segment is so easy, I see it as lazy writing - for Sorkin, anyways.

The whole point of that scene wasn't that it was Christians but wackos who have a surprisingly high readership and frustrating power. That's why Jordan said she could understand giving credentials to the <i>Christian Science Monitor</i>, but a wackjob publication like <i>Rapture</i>? When the assistant says they have a readership 4 times <i>Vanity Fair</i>, even Jack is taken aback that something not really embraced by most Christians would carry such weight. They weren't drawing the conclusion that Christians are crazy people who believe in the Rapture (in fact, I'd argue they went a little overboard trying to make that clear), simply that there are fringe groups out there who are highly orgnized and can stir up shit for a television network in a heartbeat.

das

slop, I'm not sure what you're objecting to when you say the Rapture is not Biblical and embraced only by wackos, but this survey indicates that 1 in 5 Americans believe Christ will return in their lifetimes.

Wow. That's pretty shocking (not the return of Christ, but "in their lifetimes"). Still, the return of Christ (specifically the "Second Coming") and the Rapture are not the same thing.

das

The way fundamentalists view the "Rapture" has to do with a lot more than just Jesus coming back - though there's no way of telling when he'll come back, I sort of doubt it'd be within my lifetime.

Here's a good overview, that points out it's problems.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/rapture.htm

Yeah, I agree, and I'd give it a pass on any other show - I just expected something more complex from Sorkin.

I think there's a telling quote in that link:
"Most Fundamentalist and other conservative Christians believe that The Rapture will occur when Christ first returns towards earth."

Fundamentalists and conservatives are the ones that stir up all the trouble for networks and other parts of the entertainment industry, so if you're doing a show in which there's religious uproar, portraying the protesters as being Fundamentalists and conservatives is 100% realistic.

I think the religious issue is more complex that just that issue though. The show has a main character that's prominently Christian, and one preview I read indicates that she may have issues with future sketches. They showed the cast praying before starting a show that had a sketch called "Crazy Christians" in it.

That percentage probably hasn't changed for Christians for centuries. Most of the apostles thought Christ would return in their lifetimes.

Wasn't there a whole scene between Peet & Weber about which markets they lost because they aired it?

That discussion was before the airing, but it was up on the board to follow the first cmomercial break.

das

Das mentioned it was on the board. I must have missed it.

fixed

*das beat me - damn dial-up!

Even if they didn't air it (and I'm not challenging that they did), I get the idea that Jordan wouldn't have asked them about it to verify it wasn't airing just on sheer principle. If those affiliates were willing to bow to the pressure if it were going to be shown, I don't think she was willing to lift a finger to help them out.

According to dvdpricesearch.com, DVDPlanet has it for $44.95 with free S&H.

If you want to take a chance on used copies, check eBay or half.com.

I don't know where you got the idea that it is mostly "the wackos" that believe in "the rapture" (unless you consider all Christians to be wackos). It is a major part of the Christian doctrine and is taught as an important Christian belief (or at least the major ones like Baptist, Methodist, etc.).

As far as the show goes...it was better than the pilot but still pretty weak. I am going to give it a couple more episodes before I dump it (if I had dumped Rome after the first three episodes...as I had considered at the time...I would have been very disappointed).

The rapture isn't part of all Christian beliefs. I am a Christian and was dumbfounded when I read Left Behind. The whole thing seemed alien to me. While it is prevalent among many Baptists, speaking to the few Methodists I do know, they are about 50-50 believers.

Watching Christians argue over things like whether the Rapture is "real" or not reminds me of this Emo Phillips joke:

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"

He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"

He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Me, too!"

Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.

Since i've found the cold opening video on NBC's website, I've watched it like 10 times. The damn tune is way too catchy.

:lol: I remember watching a concert of his a long time ago with that one. I don't think humor taking so long to get the point really flies quite as well these days. ;)

If by "rapture" you mean only Christ's eventual return, then you're correct. If you mean anything else, then you're way wrong.

The word "rapture" or anything like it is NOT in the Bible, and therefore not a part of Catholic or most Protestant doctrine. It has no scriptural basis - ask any theology proffessor.

I suggest you read some of these articles on it:

http://www.presbyweb.com/2005/Viewpo...te-Rapture.htm

http://www.catholicherald.com/gospel/04gc/gc041125.htm

http://www.cresourcei.org/secondcoming.html

Jason F...great joke!

I probably enjoyed reading it better than having to listen to Emo's voice and likely awful delivery.

Slop101...I thought it meant when they go up in the spaceship. :) (by the way...the best laugh I got all night on this episode)

:lol: True. I can't imagine him telling such a long joke and not fumbling over the words.

that's Gilbert and Sullivan for ya. I really liked the song and thought it was hilarious (even though it was slowed down considerably from how fast Modern Major General goes, or at least how fast it was in the film version of Pirates of Penzance I caught on tv a few weeks ago. I had never seen it before.)

but this is definitely my favorite new show. It's so reminiscent of Sports Night which I totally love. I could never get into the West Wing. It was just always too dull for me. I probably hated it even more because my roommate loved it so much and would watch it for hours straight when Bravo would show all those marathons. It was painful.