I just finished watching the season premier of Kings, which you can watch until September on Hulu. It is an interesting theatrical modern paraphrase of the Biblical narrative found in 1 Samuel. I say this loosely, because it often strays away from the original narrative, though to be fair, I don’t think the authors intended to be faithful to the text, but rather to take advantage of a popular biblical story. Regardless, the show has some good qualities. Saul, King of Israel is replaced by Silas, King of Gilboa, with its capital in the city of Shiloh. The biblical David is represented by...David Shepherd, a soldier in Gilboa's war against a rival nation Gath. David is played by Chris Egan, who also starred in Eragon, and does a good job capturing the humility that King David exhibited before his crowning. In the first episode David appears to have taken down one of the enemy tanks, called a Goliath (go figure), just after saving the King's son who was being held as a hostage. This rescue earns David practical nobility and with the King's permission the heart of his daughter, Michelle (probably the "Michal" of 1 Samuel 18). Another interesting parallel is the man who represents Samuel the priest. A man named "Reverend Ephram Samuels" plays this part. Later in the episode Reverend confronts the King and quotes those famous words combined from 1 Samuel 15:23 and 13:14 respectively, "Since you have cast aside the word of the Lord He has cast you aside as King...God wishes a man after His own heart." Issues such as homosexuality, infidelity, evolution, secret second families, war, and the death of family are but a few included in this drama. The show is interesting and there are some neat parallels. I kept my Bible out to follow along and keep some of the poor representations in check. The show helped me to better appreciate the true biblical narrative. The episode concludes provocatively with King Silas witnessing a flock of butterflies literally surround David's head to form a crown (a story the King has told his people numerous times happened to him, signaling his divine appointment as King). Very cool.

You can read more about the show here on NBC's website: http://www.nbc.com/Kings/about/index.shtml