Ancient Evidence - Mysteries of the Old Testament

Rating:
Summary: "Mysteries of the Old Testament"
Review:
This BBC/ Discovery Channel show is in 3 parts (Joseph; Joshua; David), and all are very well
produced, with good re-enactments, computer simulations, location shots and the advice of the
most relevant experts worldwide.

"Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors" is the weakest of the 3 parts, despite its very good
production quality, because the existing knowledge of Joseph is poor, being totally without
agreement amongst the experts, and with no hard evidence. Hence this Joseph part goes off
in many well-produced tangents without coming up with any acceptable outcome. It seems
to adopt assumptions, such as the date when Joseph actually lived, which is certainly not
well agreed upon; and other ambiguous notions are put forward. The final flaw is that the
"new-age" author David Rohl is put in amongst expert guests; his credibility is mainly based
on his book, which is of rather doubtful historical accuracy or academic value.

"Joshua and the Walls of Jerico" is next, and is a much more coherent work, which culminates
in a firm, reliable conclusion. But be warned: this is not a children's retelling or a documentary
for fundamentalists, since this ruthlessly critical view of the Biblical account strips away the
traditions to reveal a rather bare, even miserable historical basis. But then the metaphorical,
figurative meaning of the Joshua story becomes clear, and is finally seen to be much more
important than the rather unhistorical tale itself.

"David and Goliath" is the final show, and it too has a modern, totally frank look at the career
of King David. After some informative studies of slings (against Goliath) and lyres (played for
King Saul) the conclusions are, again, not for children's bedtime stories or fundamentalists. It
shows David to have been a ruthless monarch, quite prepared to kill, or have killed, anyone who
stood in his way, such as Saul, or his own son Absolom; but then, as the commentary states,
this was the norm in the ancient world, with many "great" leaders, such as Constantine and
Cleopatra, being equally ruthless.


Rating:
Summary: Very Disappointing!
Review: Aww... what a disappointment! I guess I should have waited for a description before ordering.

The box title says "Ancient Evidence - Mysteries of the Bible" but in fact should read "Conjecture and one sided assumptions - of famous stories from the Bible, fictionally embellished for your enjoyment". This is not a serious scientific/archaeological study of the various Bible stories which is what I though I was getting. The back of the DVD box give a better idea of what you are supposedly getting. Midway down the DVD back cover is says:

"This series examines scientific evidence to bring a fascinating new interpretation to the scriptures".

The "evidence" is pretty lame and missing vital information. In other words, much important archeological evidence is left out and only certain "evidences" are used inappropriately to write fictional accounts of what could have happened if these Bible stories were rewritten by a good imaginative fiction writer.

Also, the presenter of the series, Avery Brooks of Deep Space 9, has a voice that I personally found to be irritating and also to have a real arrogant tone to it. I think this was a terrible choice by the producers.

To sum up: This series is not about "Evidence" but about a good fictional writer rewriting some of the stories of the Bible. If you are looking for a real archeological study of these Bible stories you should look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting Conjecture
Review: I once watched a different documentary that stated when considering the Bible, everthing from David on could be matched with archelogical investigations; implying of course that everything before David was suspect. Suspect or fable or myth or...
I read the single review of this dvd and hit on his complaint that this dvd offers 'only' conjecture. Shall we explore conjecture? The world is flat. The earth is the center of all. Neanderthals were our ancestors.
I have looked on most of the early bible/old testament as fable... morality tales. I was appreciative of a possiblity that maybe there are truths behind the fables, or historical people and/or events the tales could have been based on. 'Joseph's Canal' made my eyes wide.
And the presented version of David makes a lot more sense than the Bible's, because it doesn't just tell good bits. God's chosen one, modest child who would eventually rule God's people, who was good and honest, until suddenly he wasn't.
At this point 'most' of human history is forever more unknown, lost, only assumptions based on the limited surviving artifacts and stories leading us to our best guesses. And it was entertaining and thought provoking... or at least thought proding... on this best guest... or conjecture.