NBC’s Kings: The Show Must Go On

It seems that whatever show I get into gets canceled. Deadwood and Life on Mars being the more recent fatalities. I tend to like shows that are not  completely mainstream. Therefore, when the masses lose interest, I’m just beginning to warm up to a show.

It doesn’t hurt to have formidable actors like Ian McShane (Deadwood & Kings) and Harvey Keitel (Life on Mars) to watch either, for they are deeply brilliant and likeable characters in and of themselves. They tend to carry the plot forward.

I admit the only reason NBC’s Kings interested me was not the plotline or the premise; in fact I had no idea what Kings was about until I decided to give it a try this Sunday night. My reason for watching was pure and unadulterated: Ian McShane.

But as I watched the show, I also slowly became persuaded by Christopher Egan that his character, David Shepherd, was to some degree worth examining as well. Much in the way that Sheriff Bullock might have been the light to contrast Swearengen’s darkness in Deadwood–until the lines got blurred somewhere along the way.

David Shepherd, of course, for those of you familiar with your Bible, is akin to the young David before the Prophet Samuel anointed him king and prophesied the death and “de-anointing” of King Saul and his kingdom (played here by King Silus).

The Biblical references were not subtle for anyone who’s read the Bible seriously. Of course, judging what course Kings will take based on the pilot alone is hazardous.

Judging by the eclectic, yet schizophrenic mood of today’s TV viewership, there are ordained to be many shocking and unexpected twists and turns–all of which will serve (I can only dream), to keep the rapacious masses interested long enough for networks to make bling, and for me, in my solicitude, to adore Ian McShane yet another day.

And now the real question: whether “adored” should ever be used in the same sentence as Ian McShane is blog fodder for another day.