Bring Back Kings! - Bob

A lot of people are up in arms about what is seen on today’s major television networks, but few actually do anything about it. They talk about trashy reality shows, actors who shouldn’t be in silent films, and network executives who can’t seem to agree on any show staying on the air for an adequate amount of time. Shows are cancelled before they get a chance to shine. That’s what I think happened with the NBC show kings. How could a show that got more than 6 million viewers during its premiere be cancelled before the end of the first season? It just doesn’t make sense to me. In fact, the average viewer rating was a high 8.7/10, much more than the NBC average.

When you think of a great television show, you almost always think of a show with a realistic but exciting plot, drama, and great acting at the same time. Well, Kings has all three of those, wrapped up into a perfectly polished package that anyone who has seen the show will agree is matched by few other shows on any network’s line up. Starting with a stunning cast of actors, including Dylan Baker, who was also in the Spiderman 2 and 3 movies, Ian McShane, and Chris Egan from the Eragon movie, who couldn’t love the show from the start?? It’s plot centers around a nation not unlike the modern day United States, but instead of a democracy, the government is a hereditary monarchy. Silas (Ian McShane) is the king of Gilboa, the country in the story, and David (Chris Egan) is the hero David. The story itself mirrors the David and Goliath story well, but was somewhat hindered by NBC executives, who didn’t quite want the controversial aspect of homosexuality put into the relationship between Jack and David. It’s actually a big part of the drama throughout the show, and I think people all over the country should have been discussing what would happen next, and not whether Sarah Palin has a tanning booth in her house. Just take a look at the NBC trailer, which was never broadcast during any primetime event! How can NBC make such a beautiful show, and NOT flaunt it!

I think a big part of why the show’s plot is so exciting and new and realistic is the fact that it lifts the veil on the problems that we know exist in today’s society. There is drama among royalty, gossip is spread about those who are supposed to be society’s “role models”, and no one can entirely predict how everyone will react. The king himself isn’t perfect, and in the show has a mistress and second child! David also has a budding relationship with the king’s daughter Michelle. The queen says she doesn’t enjoy being a part of politics, but actually has quite a big hand in what goes on behind the scenes. I think I’m so entranced by all of the different aspects of the show because they never got a chance to develop. Drama and conflict could only become so heated in less than one full season of a series, and that’s why I think NBC made a mistake in cancelling it early. After poor advertising and high production costs, NBC most likely replaced the show with a much lower-budget cheesy reality show. Comments on its own website’s forum seem to say the same thing. It just makes me mad that NBC sets its shows up for failure, and then can’t even come up with something good to replace them with.

I say, “Bring Back our Kings!” not only for my personal enjoyment, but for the enjoyment of millions of other people, and quite honestly, because television today needs shows like Kings. Without it, we can expect only a further degradation of the quality of what is shown on primetime television. In my opinion, primetime seems to be past its prime, and if the executives over at NBC don’t come up with something good soon, they can expect to lose one of their biggest fans (that’s me!), and all of the rest of their loyal intelligent audience to a new wave of mindless American Idol fans. Without shows like Kings, TV as we know it will cease to exist. I say, “Bring Back our Kings!” because I honestly care about this nation’s cultural values, and getting lost in shows, and if Sarah Palin can get a TV show, but a respected cast of actors in a beautifully constructed show can’t, then I don’t want to watch TV anymore.