The Buzz

Acceptance

Where is the line between acceptance and giving in; between acceptance and approval? Interesting questions, which unfortunately had little light shed on them in the third episode of the "Book of Daniel," despite it's being titled "Acceptance."

The third episode of "The Book of Daniel" was light on Jesus and heavy on soap -- soap opera that is.

In the further adventures of Episcopal priest Danie Webster and his family, Daniel led his church further into bed with the mob and tried to reconcile a family whose father unknowingly married his son's ex-wife. Son Adam's girlfriend's family decided to send her away to school to keep them apart, mostly because Adam is Asian. And Daniel's sister-in-law's lover stole all of her jewelry but left her a message saying she'd be back. In between, his wife Judith had a run-in with her mother who gave them their house for a wedding present but never actually signed over the deed to them - and isn't about to now.

Jesus showed up a few times - once to commiserate with Daniel and another time to chide him about his pill popping.

The stereotyping continued with mob guys being confused for a gay couple until the properly flouncy gay guys showed up. Silly!!! It would have been much more interesting to have the reverse happen.

There were moments of acceptance - such as Judith not drinking a whole quart of vodka after the flare up with her mother. Judith's housekeeper explained how kind, if condescending, her mother had been 50 years ago when the housekeeper was a pregnant, unwed teenager. After listening to the story, Judith actually poured the vodka down the drain.

The characters in this show are interesting (although unfortunately Ellen Burstyn's bishop seems unnecessary) and the actors are excellent. Some sharper writing, particulary for Daniel's sermons, and more compelling storylines with less stereotyping would make this a much better show.

Although this may not matter much since the ratings for Daniel have not been great, according to Media Daily News

Favorite line from this episode:

Judith to her sister (after rummaging through her sister's liquor stores trying to find some decent vodka after her visit with her mother): "People who own their own homes should always have top shelf vodka for guests!"