panorama92240 Excellent show! I can't believe that NBC buckled under the pressure from the religious right christians. This show is harmless and very entertaining. Too bad they didn't make more than 8 episodes. I can't believe how hateful the Christian right can be. There was a lot of truth in this series that they were and are afraid of....like compassion and that God loves everyone, not just them! I found the show funny, real and full of class. Aidan Quinn was marvelous and very compassionate. Shame on the Christian right for bullying their way into censoring a classy, bold TV series. NBC has gone down hill for quite some time. A series like this could have helped them compete with the other networks. This series was comparable to CBS's 'Brothers and Sisters' or maybe even a little better. I found myself laughing one minute and crying the next. That's good, wholesome entertainment as far as I'm concerned. NBC, you lost on this one. I rarely watch anything on that network because most of the shows are mindless entertainment. Also, I heard it was on TV on Friday nights....one of the worst nights to be on to draw an audience! It was doomed from the start with a weak viewing base and an even weaker network to be on. This show needs to be rejuvenated on a network like HBO or Showtime where the Christian right has no influence!

liquidcelluloid-1 Network: NBC; Genre: Drama; Content Rating: TV-14 (strong language, pervasive adult content, suggested sex); Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4); Available: DVD; Seasons Reviewed: series (1 season) Before getting into the very front-loaded jump-in summery of "The Book of Daniel" I should probably make two points. First, every time a show of faith such as this hits TV in anything other than straight "7th Heaven"/"Joan of Arcadia" form, it is always greeted as controversial. The faithful's desire to see flawless, problem-free heroes goes up against the dramatic screenwriter's desire to be complex and compelling. Activists groups have deemed that faith and titillation have no place in the same hour. Any external controversy and the show's ultimate cancellation have no effect on this review. The other point is a concept as simple as: when everything is "edgy" than nothing will be edgy. You'll see.Daniel Webster (Aidan Quinn) is the Reverend at St. Barnibus Episcopal church. But dealing with the problems of the parish are nothing compared to his family, which includes his alcoholic wife, a gay son, an adopted, girl-crazy Chinese son, a pot-dealing daughter who threatens to expose them all with her comic book art (shades of Claire Fischer) a mother with Alzheimer's and a sister-in-law flirting with lesbianism. Got all that? A nice touch thrown into the mix here is Jesus himself (Garret Dillahunt, "A Minute with Stan Hooper"), who Daniel appears to be able to see and speak to. I must say it makes a lot more sense in "The Book of Daniel" than it did in "Rescue Me".Aidan Quinn does a good job here. Is it me or does he look and sound an awful lot like Mel Gibson? But other than Quinn it is hard to find a likable character in the bunch, that includes Ellen Burstyn as Daniel's co-dependent pill-popping assistant. The most insufferable is Daniel's wife (Suzanna Thompson) who becomes an emotional wreck because she doesn't own her own house - because her mom never signed the deed over to her. Wasp problems without the slightest bit of self-conscious commentary. A little winking and nudging would have been nice with these characters."Daniel" comes off kind of like "Six Feet Under" mixed with a worst-case scenario series. In the course of 7 episodes money is stolen from the endowment which leads Daniel into a debt with the mob, Daniel's wife is courted by his politician brother, His gay son is (as you could probably see coming a mile away) beaten up by homophobes, but not before having to pretend to be straight to please his grandfather. It's like "Nip/Tuck" from behind a pulpit, except that if Ryan Murphy were behind this there would be a lot more fun and invention and less melodrama and cliché. And by cliché, I mean new-age cliché.Creator Jack Kenny was last seen as 1/3rd of the team behind the neo-classic sitcom "Titus". But what worked in a broad sitcom doesn't play in a more mellow character drama. Kenny sprays wide and throws hard, trying to get every loony spitball to stick to the wall - and 10 years ago, "Daniel" might have been considered edgy or compelling stuff. But now, with so much sex-themed, gay-themed, drug and crime-themed shows with morally questionable lead characters on TV these story points have themselves become clichés. The network's desire to push the envelope has dug a hole for the hacks that would normally use shock for the sake of it as a crutch. Now, you've got to give that twist another twist. And we know Kenny can juggle razor's edge issues better than this because we saw it in "Titus". I want to see more from Kenny, but before the next go-around he might benefit from a weekend with a notepad and the "Nip/Tuck" DVDs.Now, all this emphasis on the show's issues may seem misplaced, which is a result of the show's misplaced emphasis. To get back to the central premise, "The Book of Daniel" says nothing about faith, the human condition and the bigger questions in life. Occasional musings with Jesus offer no warmth or depth. The show is more concerned with shallow titillation. For most of the series, for all the philosophical insight it offers, Daniel might as well be a psychiatrist.* ½ / 4

DWhitney89 I really enjoyed this show. It was a good, funny show. Although it was only on for like 3 episodes, it was great. Imagine my disappointment when it was cancelled because of "controversal reasons". I can understand why Christain people wouldn't want this show on the air-it does make their religion look bad. But the one question that I have it "Did anyone make them watch it?" If they don't want to watch it, there is an off button on the TV. No one made religious people watch it. I know there were a lot of churches that said it was "their duty to stop this show from airing..." What a joke! This show should not have been cancelled,at least not for such a dumb reason.

ddidee Finally, a refreshing and humorous look at religion and the realistic view of a priest and his foibles--including his flawed family...and it bites the dust! (Aiden Quinn was outstanding!) Of course the religious right had to stand up and scream and yell at how blasphemous it is....OH YEAH, like any Church is saintly! (Ha!) This was a well acted ensemble piece that was wry and fresh. I can't stand the reality shows...give me some interesting scripted TV any day. Too bad that some stone-throwing Neanderthals in the Bible Belt took offense. If they didn't care for it--THEY SHOULD HAVE JUST CHANGED THE CHANNEL! That is called "CHOICE"...something that we are supposed to have in this country. Apparently, the fundamentalist wackos want to take over the communications in this country--if they had their way, we would only be allowed to watch 'Leave It to Beaver' re-runs!