Could Kings be the Next Galactica
King Silas Benjamin (Ian McShane, “Deadwood”) is the well-entrenched king of Gilboa, whose flag bears a divine butterfly symbol. Gilboa has its capital in Shiloh, a clean new city that is unspoiled by time or litter. Silas must deal with the tensions rising between Gilboa and neighboring nation Gath. When several prisoners of war are taken, a young soldier, David Shepard (Chris Egan, “Eragon”), defies orders and crosses enemy lines to save them. Unknown to David, the soldier he saves is Jack Benjamin (Sebastian Stan, “The Covenant”), the son of the king. From that day forth, David’s life will never be the same.
(Pictured: Chris Egan as David Shepherd — NBC Universal Photo: Eric Liebowitz)
When I read that synopsis for NBC’s mid-season series Kings, I pictured Lord of the Rings, fantasy characters living a medieval lifestyle with kings, princes, wizards and fairies. Then I watched the trailer for the series and realized that I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Kings is a contemporary re-telling of the David and Goliath story but it’s set in an alternate universe. Thus we have kings and queens but as far as I can tell, no wizards or fairies. It’s more like Winds of War with fictitious countries, more like Battlestar Galactica.
TV critic James Hibberd said he sat down intending to read just a few pages of the pilot script and ended up staying through to the end. Here’s his take on the series:
Execution here is just too key. Mixing business suits and crowns in an alternative universe Lower Manhattan is not a venture for the faint of heart. The whole escapade could easily be rendered hokey, or with a lot of skill and a grown-up budget, become brilliant. To pull it off, NBC has tapped feature film director Francis Lawrence — “I Am Legend,” “Constantine” — to helm the pilot.
I’m voting for brilliant. Ian McShane has the acting chops to pull of the role of King Silas and Sebastian Stan has that Twilight look about him which could bring in a younger audience. Chris Egan is another Aussie import and they are a well-liked bred on American TV (Simon Baker, Alex O’Loughlin).
With some care and an eye toward keeping up the quality, I think Kings could be the new Galactica with it’s twisted, yet familiar tale of greed, power, secret romances and war. The only question I have is, if a show is set on earth in a modern but alternate time, is it really a SCI FI show?
Kings premieres with a two-hour episode on March 19 on NBC.
(Pictured: Ian McShane as King Silas Benjamin — NBC Photo: Eric Liebowitz)
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1 opinion for Could Kings be the Next Galactica
P:SI # 290 “Something Weird And It Don’t Look Good” | Project: Shadow
Dec 5, 2008 at 4:23 pm
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