''The Book of Daniel''
The Reverend Daniel Webster & family
Format	Drama
Running time	approx. 45 minutes (per episode)
Creator(s)	Jack Kenny (writer)
Starring	Aidan Quinn Susanna Thompson Christian Campbell Alison Pill Ivan Shaw Ellen Burstyn
Country	United States
Original network/channel	NBC
Original run	January 6, 2006 – 20 January 2006
No. of episodes	7
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Book of Daniel was a television series broadcast on NBC. The network promoted it as a serious drama about Christians and the Christian faith. The show was originally proposed for NBC's 2005 Fall Season, but was rescheduled as a 2006 midseason replacement. The program premiered on January 6, 2006 in the US and was scheduled to air in thirteen episodes on Friday nights. NBC called the show "edgy," "challenging," and "courageous" in its promotional material. However, on January 24, 2006, a spokeswoman for NBC announced the show had been dropped from the schedule. [1] Image File history File linksMetadata Daniel01. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959 Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an Irish-American actor. ... Susanna Thompson (born January 27, 1958 in San Diego, California) is an American television and film actress. ... Christian Campbell, in a still from All My Children. ... Alison Elizabeth Pill (born November 27, 1985 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian film, television and theatre actress. ... A photo of Ivan Shaw. ... Ellen Burstyn (born December 7, 1932 as Edna Rae Gilhooley in Detroit, Michigan) is an Irish-American actress. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... This article is about the religous people known as Christians. ... For other uses of the term Christian, see Christian (disambiguation). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Synopsis

Set in the fictional town of Newbury in Westchester County, New York, the main character is the Reverend Daniel Webster (Aidan Quinn), an unconventional Episcopal priest who is addicted to narcotic painkillers while his wife Judith (Susanna Thompson) is fighting her dependence on mid-day martinis. Newbury, New York is a fictional Westchester County town that is the setting for the 2006 NBC television program The Book of Daniel. ... Westchester County is a suburban county with about 940,000 residents located in the U.S. state of New York. ... Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959 Chicago, Illinois, USA) is an Irish-American actor. ... The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in Washington DC is the National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... Susanna Thompson (born January 27, 1958 in San Diego, California) is an American television and film actress. ...

Struggling to be a good husband, father, and minister, Webster regularly sees and talks with a classic-looking, white, white-robed and bearded Jesus (Garret Dillahunt), who nonetheless is rather unconventional. Daniel's Jesus appears only to him and openly questions modern interpretations of church teachings, reminding Daniel of his own strengths and weaknesses. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Biblical_Jesus. ...

The Webster family is rounded out by a 23-year-old gay Republican son Peter (Christian Campbell), a 16-year-old daughter Grace (Alison Pill), who is arrested for drug possession in the pilot, and Adam (Ivan Shaw), a 16-year-old adopted Asian son who dates the daughter of one of Daniel's parishioners, the latter who harbor anti-Asian prejudices. When Daniel's brother-in-law, Charlie (last name unknown), absconds with church funds and abandons his family, his sister-in-law enters a lesbian relationship with Charlie's bisexual secretary (Halley Wegryn Gross). Bishop Beatrice Congreve (Ellen Burstyn) is involved with Daniel's married father (James Rebhorn) a retired bishop who, despite his gruff exterior, is troubled by dealing with his wife's Alzheimer's disease. In our modern society, gay is a word which can be used as either a noun or adjective. ... The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Democratic Party. ... Christian Campbell, in a still from All My Children. ... Alison Elizabeth Pill (born November 27, 1985 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian film, television and theatre actress. ... A photo of Ivan Shaw. ... In human sexuality, bisexuality describes a man or woman having a sexual orientation to persons of either or both sexes (a man or woman who sexually likes both sexes; people who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to both males and females). ... Ellen Burstyn (born December 7, 1932 as Edna Rae Gilhooley in Detroit, Michigan) is an Irish-American actress. ... James Rebhorn (born September 1, 1948) is an American actor who has appeared in dozens of major films. ...

Controversy

This show's acceptance among the Christian community has been mixed. Some conservative Christian blogs and websites oppose the program and expect further opposition. The conservative American Family Association accused NBC of being anti-Christian. The organization has also objected to the fact that the show's creator, Jack Kenny, is openly gay [2], as are two characters on the program. The first use of the term weblog. ... The American Family Association (AFA) is a conservative, fundamentalist Christian non-profit organization founded in 1977 by Rev. ...

However, the Rev. Susan Russell, president of IntegrityUSA and an Episcopal priest at All Saints Church in Pasadena, California (where some of the show was filmed) had seen rough cuts of the program and praised the show by saying, "How cool is it that a progressive Episcopal priest has a shot at being a prime-time drama protagonist. How surprising might it be to many who tune in to find out there actually is a church where women can be bishops – clergy can be human – and there’s enough good news around to extend to everybody?” [3] IntegrityUSA is a U.S. non-profit organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Episcopalians and straight friends. ... Pasadena is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ...

This show has received some support from Episcopalian clergy who believe that it demonstrates the humanity of church leaders and tolerance of the Episcopal church.[4] The Episcopal Diocese of Washington has launched "The Blog of Daniel" to encourage dialog among its parishioners about issues raised on the show. Seal of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington The Episcopal Diocese of Washington is the ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Episcopal Bishop of Washington which is comprised of the United States District of Columbia and Maryland counties of Charles, St. ...

In contrast, a spokesman for the evangelical organization Focus on the Family compared the show's depiction of Jesus to a "namby-pamby frat boy," saying that "Having previewed the pilot and an additional episode, I find NBC’s new television show, The Book of Daniel, extremely repulsive in its portrayal of Jesus Christ and intentionally offensive in its flippant attitude toward behaviors almost universally agreed upon as unhealthy to society."[5] Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF), founded in 1977, is a evangelical Christian 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in the United States. ...

Criticism has also come from some who feel the show presents a hypocritical and dysfunctional church. Based on pre-premiere commercials, some critics have objected to what they see as Jesus's portrayal as a somewhat disinterested hippie character. Some have also questioned whether the show was purposely designed to offend. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Some Catholics and others have taken exception to the depiction of Daniel's Catholic counterpart, Father Frankie (Dan Hedaya). Fr. Frankie is an Italian priest who has connections to the mob. They see this as unhealthy stereotyping of both Italians and Catholics. Dan Hedaya Dan Hedaya is a prolific character actor who was born on July 24, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York to a Sephardic Jewish family. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... The Mafia, also referred to in Italian as Cosa Nostra (lit. ... For the term used in Computing, see Stereotype (computing). ...

NBC insists that their program treats Christians and Christianity with respect, promising a fresh modern look of the religion with a "hip, modern Jesus." "This challenging new series is our first announced drama for midseason as we continue to seek different out-of-the-box projects," NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly asserted in a media interview.[6] Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus as recounted in the New Testament. ...

The New York Times has reported NBC is having difficulty selling advertising during the program, even after offering significant rate discounts, because of the controversial content. [7] The New York Times is an internationally known daily newspaper published in New York City and distributed in the United States and many other nations worldwide. ...

Stations Refuse to Air

Eight of NBC's 232 affiliates are not carrying the program due to consumer complaints: WTWO in Terre Haute, Indiana (owned by Nexstar Broadcasting Group); KARK in Little Rock, Arkansas (also owned by Nexstar); KNWA/KFTA in Fayetteville-Fort Smith, Arkansas (also owned by Nexstar); KBTV in Beaumont, Texas; WGBC in Meridian, Mississippi; WTVA in Tupelo, Mississippi; WSMV in Nashville, Tennessee (owned by the Meredith Corporation); and KAMR in Amarillo, Texas. WTWO is an NBC affiliate in Terre Haute, Indiana. ... Nickname: The Crossroads of America Motto: Official website: City of Terre Haute Location Location in the state of Indiana Government County Vigo Mayor Kevin Burke Geographical characteristics Area Total 83. ... Nexstar Broadcasting, headquartered in Irving, Texas, consists of nearly 50 television stations across the U.S. It is publically traded under NXST. // Television stations ABC WTVO Rockford, IL WJET Erie, PA KODE Joplin, MO KAMC Lubbock, TX KMID Midland-Odessa, TX WUTR Utica, NY KSVI Hardin-Billings, MT WDHN Dothan... KARK-TV channel 4 is a NBC affiliate based in Little Rock, Arkansas. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... KFTA-TV is the NBC television affiliate in Fort Smith, Arkansas. ... Fayetteville is a city located in Washington County, Arkansas, USA. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 58,047. ... Fort Smith, situated at the junction of the Arkansas and Poteau rivers, is a city and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas. ... Flag of Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city and county seat of Jefferson County in U.S. state of Texas within the Beaumont—Port Arthur metropolitan area. ... Meridian is a city located in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County in Mississippi, a state of the United States of America. ... WTVA-TV is the NBC affiliate of the Columbus-Tupelo-West Point, Mississippi television market. ... Tupelo, birthplace of Elvis Presley and the seventh largest city in Mississippi, is located in northeast Mississippi between Memphis, Tennessee and Birmingham, Alabama. ... WSMV-TV is the NBC affiliate serving the Nashville, Tennessee area. ... Nickname: Music City Motto: Official website: http://www. ... Meredith Corporation NYSE: MDP is based in Des Moines, Iowa. ... KAMR-TV is an NBC affiliated television station in Amarillo, Texas, USA. The station is own by Texas based, Nexstar Broadcasting Group. ... Nickname: Rotor City, USA Motto: Official website: http://www. ...

After KARK refused to air the series, the local WB station KWBF picked up the series. The company stated that it was excited to offer an outlet for viewers in the central Arkansas area who wanted to watch this show. However the station soon received a number of threats which required it to hire extra security. The WB Television Network, casually referred to as The WB, is a television network in the United States, founded as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ... KWBF, Arkansas WB42, is The WB Television Network affiliate based in Little Rock, Arkansas. ...

Several stations in Michigan, including WDIV in Detroit (owned by Post-Newsweek), WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, WILX in Lansing, WPBN and WTOM in Traverse City and Sault Ste. Marie, and WLUC in Marquette, did not air the The Book of Daniel's second episode, although this was due to a live broadcast of the 2006 North American International Auto Show Charity Preview and not necessarily the controversy. Official language(s) English de-facto Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 11th 96,889 mi² / 250,941 km² 239 miles / 385 km 491 miles / 790 km 41. ... WDIV (Local 4) is the NBC television station based in Detroit, Michigan. ... Nickname: The Motor City, Motown Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (Latin for, We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes) Official website: http://www. ... WOOD-TV is the NBC affiliate for West Michigan (the Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, Michigan television market). ... Nickname: Furniture City Motto: Official website: http://www. ... WILX-TV is the NBC television affiliate serving the the Lansing/Jackson, Michigan market of the United States. ... Nickname: Motto: Official website: http://www. ... WPBN-TV channel 7 is the NBC affiliate serving the Traverse City-Cadillac, Michigan market, the largest geographic television market east of the Mississippi River. ... Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, the largest in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. ... Sault Ste. ... WLUC-TV 6 is the NBC station in Marquette, Michigan, USA. External link Query the FCCs TV station database for WLUC Categories: | | ... The old ore dock in Marquette Marquette is a city located in Marquette County in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... NAIAS 2005, near the Audi exhibit. ...

Oddly, NBC's Salt Lake City affiliate, KSL-TV, did carry The Book of Daniel, despite the station's past history of pre-empting shows that would offend the religious (including Saturday Night Live). KSL-TV is a television station, broadcasting out of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA, on channel 5. ... Saturday Night Live (SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute comedy-variety show from NBC which has been broadcast nearly every Saturday night since its debut on October 11, 1975. ...

Network Cancels Program Mid-Season

On January 24, 2006, NBC announced the show had been dropped from the schedule. The last airing of the show was on January 20, 2006. The January 20th episode was the fourth in the series, drawing 5.8 million viewers. NBC gave no official explanation for the cancellation. January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... January 20 is the 20th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The National Broadcasting Company or NBC is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ...

Airings on the Web

The show holds the distinction of being one of the first shows to be streamed on the web after its cancellation. On January 27, 2006 at 8:10pm/ET, NBC.com streamed the first of the unaired episodes. January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Episodes continued to be streamed, one a week, for the next three weeks. New Episodes were initially made available at around 8pm on Friday night and were viewable until the next episode replaced it on the following Friday. The final episode was streamed on February 10, 2006. February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

With that streaming, NBC had aired (either on TV or the Web) every episode of the shows initial order (and consequently, every episode that had been produced up to that point).

Revelations - Lost Episode or Series Finale

The last episode to air on Television was titled “Assignation” and was marked as production number 103 while the first episode to air online was entitled “Withdrawal” and was marked as production number 105. This disparity became obvious in the “Previously on…” sequence of “Withdrawal” which contained scenes that had never aired either on Television or Online.

That led many to believe that NBC had aired the show out of order and that the episode with production number 104, entitled “Revelations”, had been skipped.

This theory seemed to be confirmed by the Book of Daniel Web Site which featured a section titled “Catch up with the unaired episode, “Revelations””. When viewers followed the link, it led to a photo recap of an episode entitled “Episode 3” that contained a sub plot (notably featuring actress Marin Hinkle) where Daniel meets a young girl who speaks to Jesus at a time when he had chosen not to. These scenes were consistent with the recap that aired in “Withdrawal (Production #105). Marin Hinkle is an actress. ...

“Revelations” did eventually air as the very last episode of the series but, contrary to earlier speculation, events that took place in the episode verify it aired in the proper order. The scenes recapped in “Withdrawal” and featured on the web were not present while scenes that could not have predated earlier episodes were.

This has led to speculation that this episode was repositioned as the final episode and that it consisted of newer scenes that were combined with previous material (perhaps replacing those scenes that were recapped earlier on).

External links

• negative post-mortem by Slate
• IMDb Profile
• The Book of Daniel website at NBC.com
• Episcopal Diocese of Washington's "The Blog of Daniel" discussing the program
• American Family Association's statement against the program
• Focus on the Family statement against the program
• WSMV statement against the program
• TV Series Finale article - cancellation & NBC offering unaired episodes online