The Chosen

Religion in TV, Movies, Books, etc.

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RightReason
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The Chosen

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Post by RightReason »

Has anyone else watched this series?



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Purple Knight
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Re: The Chosen

Post #2

Post by Purple Knight »

I might take a look at it.

Edit: Paywall.

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Re: The Chosen

Post #3

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Purple Knight wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 5:51 pm Edit: Paywall.
I'm pretty sure it can be watched for free. Might have to download some app.

If it is something you were interested in, it is well worth the effort, IMO. Unlike many cheesy Christian movies, the characters are portrayed as very human and the production is well done. I loved how the Scripture didn't come across as sounding out of place but flowed perfectly with the rest of the dialogue. It really helped you imagine how the events might have gone down.

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Re: The Chosen

Post #4

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RightReason wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 6:36 pm
Purple Knight wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 5:51 pm Edit: Paywall.
I'm pretty sure it can be watched for free. Might have to download some app.

If it is something you were interested in, it is well worth the effort, IMO. Unlike many cheesy Christian movies, the characters are portrayed as very human and the production is well done. I loved how the Scripture didn't come across as sounding out of place but flowed perfectly with the rest of the dialogue. It really helped you imagine how the events might have gone down.
Only episode 1 is free. I'll at least watch that one.

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Re: The Chosen

Post #5

Post by RightReason »

Purple Knight wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 8:25 pm Only episode 1 is free. I'll at least watch that one.
Hmmm . . . I think we thought it was only free for the first episode too, but then were able to watch the whole season. I don't remember having to pay for anything. Hope you'll get a chance because the first episode was actually my least favorite. In the 2nd episode, it starts getting really good and the characters just come to life. I especially love how they portray Peter and Matthew and even Nicodemus, the Pharisee. You actually sympathize with Nicodemus and get a picture of what it must have been like to be a member of the Sanhedrin. I can't wait for season 2 to come out (I think it is scheduled to come out around Easter).

I kind of forced my kids to watch it. I told them we were all going to start this and watch it together. They begrudgingly agreed at first, but then they were the ones requesting we watch the next episode. It is very entertaining. Even if someone isn't a believer, they might still enjoy it.

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Re: The Chosen

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RightReason wrote: Thu Jan 28, 2021 9:42 pmIn the 2nd episode, it starts getting really good and the characters just come to life.
I keep trying to tell my wife that many programmes are like this. She gives up if the first episode is boring. If she's being generous she'll give me two. That's still not enough in many cases. She misses out on too much.

We never watched Game of Thrones because the first bit when they were in Winterfell was boring and (I admit) the storytelling wasn't great and not a lot happened. And it definitely didn't make you care what the heck those ice people were or whether Bran Stark died or was merely crippled. I had to watch it by myself.

It's a double-edged sword that's hard to write around: If things start happening immediately, the viewer doesn't much care about the people those things are happening to, and if instead they give you time with the characters first (what I favour, and I do write), there's not too much interest generated for today's fast-paced viewer.

Oh, and if you care about an atheist's opinion...

Jesus of Nazareth: 4/5
Passion of the Christ : 0/5 (Pure unadulterated suck)

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Re: The Chosen

Post #7

Post by RightReason »

[Replying to Purple Knight in post #6]

I never saw Game of Thrones. From all the initial buzz sounded like it was more about shock value than anything else, but I suppose that is unfair since I haven’t seen it.

As for Jesus of Nazareth, I agree with your 4/5. It was well done and sticks to what we know from Scripture. The Chosen takes a few liberties in its character analysis, but in doing so really helps set up the back story to help understand and appreciate what we read in the Bible.

Your take on Passion of the Christ is interesting. It wasn’t my favorite and seemed to have a touch of Hollywood sensationalism (especially with the androgynous looking Satan and the eerie music), but “unadulterated suck”? Not sure it deserves that. It definitely had some good scenes, IMO. I loved the depiction of Jesus building the table for his mother.

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Re: The Chosen

Post #8

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[Replying to RightReason in post #7]

I watched episode 1 of The Chosen. I liked Nicodemus quite a lot. He was well-written and well-acted. I'm not into the tax collector yet, or the prostitute, though I like that they made her an alcoholic. In my mind if she was only prostituting because she had to, to make ends meet, she had not a lot to be sorry for. Making her an alcoholic is a good way to establish that she was genuinely sinful, even to a non-Christian. (Well, either an alcoholic or a problem drinker, at least.)

I just couldn't stand The Passion. I went in thinking it would be storied with Biblical bits filled in so it had a more solid plot like Jesus of Nazareth.

I may actually shell out the $15 for Season 1 of The Chosen. Looks good. The rest of it is indeed behind a paywall, but $15 isn't that bad.

Before the last season I would have highly recommended Game of Thrones. Now I don't. The ending was so bad. It was. so. bad. Up 'til that point the character development was great even though things do get gory from time to time. The problem is that if people can't write, you don't get a payoff. You're following threads assuming they all lead somewhere and it's good because you want to know where. You want to know how it all comes together. Then, if it's Game of Thrones, in the last season you find your observer self in the position of a character in that universe who asked a drunken bard what happened and why, and he couldn't explain any of it. "And what happened to..?" "Oh, they died." "How?" "Eh."

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Re: The Chosen

Post #9

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Purple Knight wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 12:29 am
I watched episode 1 of The Chosen. I liked Nicodemus quite a lot.
Yeah, Pharisees get a bad rap. They couldn't have all been bad. I’m sure many of them sincerely sought truth and weren’t just in it for the power trip. They keep showing Nicodemus as trying to stay above the fray, but how difficult that must have been given all the pressure on him.
I'm not into the tax collector yet
Matthew will grow on you. I thought depicting him on the Asperger or autism spectrum was interesting. The character of Simon (soon to be Peter) is also really good. The back story they gave him was great.
In my mind if she was only prostituting because she had to, to make ends meet, she had not a lot to be sorry for. Making her an alcoholic is a good way to establish that she was genuinely sinful, even to a non-Christian.
Interesting. I never really thought about that. I guess I always just assumed she had her sinful past that she was culpable for and not simply a victim of her circumstances, even though Scripture doesn’t really give the details.
I just couldn't stand The Passion. I went in thinking it would be storied with Biblical bits filled in so it had a more solid plot like Jesus of Nazareth.
Yeah, I guess you could say it was a bit disjointed, but it was only supposed to portray the Passion, which is essentially only the scouring, carrying of the cross, and crucifixion.
I may actually shell out the $15 for Season 1 of The Chosen. Looks good. The rest of it is indeed behind a paywall, but $15 isn't that bad.
Weird. Sorry about that. I guess the whole filming of it was crowdfunded. I can’t wait for them to finish season 2.
Before the last season I would have highly recommended Game of Thrones. Now I don't. The ending was so bad. It was. so. bad.
I think I did hear that from other people. I’ll probably skip that one. I actually just started watching Downton Abbey. Yes, I am a little late to the scene for most shows. But it is kind of nice to be able to just watch them all whenever you want and not have to wait for the next episode.

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Re: The Chosen

Post #10

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I watched the rest of season 1. I was only disappointed in how far they got into the story. They haven't even met Judas yet, and despite his ultimate betrayal, he's my favourite disciple. I liked everything else. Nicodemus continues to be my favourite character.

I especially liked the conflict around doing too many miracles in public, and the way they set up the turning-water-into-wine. They played it out in a way I would have probably done the same myself. In most other scenarios I wouldn't have personally used divine power to help people get drunk. But he's not really using divine power to help people get drunk; he's saving face for the people running the party.

I feel like there was a heartfelt sitdown and everyone who helped create this work was genuinely interested in the bits where the supposed good characters don't look good, and the supposed sinful characters don't seem that sinful, even if only to non-Christians, and they fleshed it out in some areas specifically to address those problems.

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