The Nativity

This was great stuff. It was delighted to stumble across this BBC mini series from 2010 over the course of the festive break.

It's a really clever idea to reimagine the story that we've seen and heard told in so many different ways but from a modern (well, 2010) approach.

It's written by Tony Jordan of EastEnders fame too, so that's another mark of quality.

The characters have never been so engaging or relatable, and that's no bad thing.

This is well written and well performed drama, that just happens to be a retelling of The Nativity.

It does rather rush its final episode though, but other than that this was great.

It popped up on my kindle. I'm a fan of The Chosen and Dallas Jenkins' The Shephards, but productions can - and need to - stand on their own two feet even with the bar set so high. I watched the first episode opf The Nativity and about 2 minuites into the 2nd, but am stopping there.

Set design and costumes are superbly done. But what's with the 3 kings mention of Saturn and Jupiter? And desert might be hard to find in England, but I'm quite sure Joseph and Mary couldn't wander off alone together to hang out in greenery OR in the desert during their betrothal. They were lucky if they got to see each other much - supervised - much less UNsupervised.

Gabriel - we don't need light and drama theatrics but this is an angel who is frequently in the glory of God. I know people who have vision and have seen angels - the warrior ones are young, strong, and carry some serious weapons. Their light is often substantial. Gabriel may not be a general warrior angel, but I'm quite sure he isn't old with a slightly dirty face and a quite non-white garment, especially spending so much time in Heaven.

The Chosen provides backstories to the gospels, but they are credible and are plausible and scripturally accurate even so. The scene with Mary and Gabriel was....not so much on either count. A little too much liberty there. In fact - Mary saying "I don't believe you" is even a harsher version of what. Zechariah said to Gabriel (How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.") and that got HIM mute for Elizabeth's pregnancy with John the Baptist.

And while we're at it, could we at least have had Mary say something along the lines of "Let it be done according to His will" rather than just smile charmingly and Gabriel disappears?

Interspersed with the backstory are scenes of them approaching Bethlehem. Episode 1 begins with it. I was like "Is Joseph mad at Mary? What's up with that?" Beginning of episode 2 - yes, joseph is very cool to Mary. Well, okay, he might have been, but he also had a dream and decided to marry her, and had to stick by her in some difficult times so.......what's his deal?

A narrative summary about The Nativity says they have trouble in Bethlehem too. Bethelehm was very far away from Nazareth. Additionally, Mary and Joseph are nobodies from a nowhere town. That anyone would know them in Bethlehem seems a bit far fatched - but it makes for good drama I guess.

If the deviation is that great this early on, and the fiction is this IMplausable so far, I can only assume it continues or gets worse.

2023 had a cute little musical movie called Bethlehem - that one took some serious license also, but was light hearted with song and dance. Kind of a kids' thing that put a smile on adult faces. But this one takes has too many errors in its presentation of the story's reverence.

Three stories connected to the virgin birth from 1 year before. Thomas the shepherd from Bethlehem is struggling. The three Magi are debating then traveling to the birth. And in Nazareth, Joseph starts a new life with Mary.

The biblical story is given a more complex reading. What would happen to Mary if she becomes pregnant without Joseph? She is shunned by the town and most importantly by Joseph. Her father is able to convince Joseph to take Mary to Bethlehem where they hoped Mary would be able escape the shame. But even there, her shame is well known and she is turned away.

That adds much more humanity to the story. And I think it adds more drama. Tatiana Maslany do a good job. If they could get to the pregnancy earlier, it would make it even more compelling.

I was a bit nervous about watching this beforehand, worried that it would bring make memories of excruciating school plays and the like. I needn't have worried.

This turns out to be a piece of heartwarming television. The scriptwriter makes pains to allow the viewer to enter this historical world by bringing the characters to life with both realism and warmth. The attention to detail is fine, and the Moroccan backdrops are more than up to the job.

Aside from some dodgy CGI graphics of planetary shifts (left over from the latest DR WHO, perhaps) the BBC have done themselves proud here, with the ending particularly moving/everything you could have hoped to see. It's not often I get to commend the BBC for both sincerity and sensitivity, but both are in abundance here.

A modern version that makes too many compromises to be effective. Some very impactful moments in the real Bible story are left out. The host of angels when the shepherds are approached is an example. Another example, Joseph did NOT see his dream as just a bad dream. He was completely changed by it! For the better! Joseph's attitude towards Mary was completely 180'd after that dream! And I agree with another reviewer, too many liberties with the wise men and the cheesy alignment of planets bit. This is a ho hum, non-miraculous version of a story full of miracles. There are much better modern versions out there.