I was a little skeptical when I first heard about this show–it seemed campy, and the fact that it stars B-List actor Aidan Quinn (who used to be a hottie, by the way), just all seemed too cheesy for me to waste my time. But then, once again, Christians come to the rescue. After much outrage from the Evangelical community over the content of this show, Book of Daniel became much higher on the radar than it was ever intended to be. In the words of Christian Campbell, who plays Daniel’s (Aidan Quinn) gay son, “It was the best publicity we could have ever gotten.” But I actually tuned into this show, due to accrued interest with a little hint of nothing-else-to-watch-on-Friday-nights, and it surprisingly is a very good show.

So what exactly are the Christians so pissed off about, you ask? Well, let’s take a look. First of all, the main character, Daniel is addicted to Vicodin. He also talks to Jesus. What’s bad about that, you say? Well, Jesus is not your typical run of the mill Messiah. He’s humorous, he’s tolerant, even accepting. His daughter is a pot-dealing manga artist, one of his sons is gay, and the other is an adopted chinese womanizer.

The great thing about this show is, it’s not just another satirical commentary on hypocritical Christians. It’s simply a story about a priest, and the problems he faces in his life with his family and in his work. It’s excellently acted, both dramatic and funny, and the story got me hooked with its two hour premiere last night on NBC. It reminded me a lot of Desperate Housewives–there were mysteries being unveiled, both in the community and with Daniel’s family. I think, even though a few of NBC’s affiliates refused to air the show, that Book of Daniel will do pretty well in the ratings. Hopefully it’ll be around for a while.