"A.D. The Bible Continues" Ep. 4 Review (4/26/15)

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Sorry for the huge delay. With graduation coming, there was a lot to be done. However, I did manage to view episode 4 of A.D. The Bible Continues.

So let's get started.
Oh, and... something I may or may not have mentioned in my previous reviews of this show...
WARNING: SPOILERS!
Now we can start.

Pilate is hell-bent on finding his assassin, so he makes a delegation that 10 Jews are crucified every day until the assassin is captured. Team Caiaphas are shocked to find that the governor has made such a decree.

While Simon Peter and John are sitting in prison, the rest of the disciples are baptizing people. Maya wants to go back to Jerusalem to find out about her imprisoned father Simon Peter, and a man named Steven gets acquainted with her... because apparently he and Simon Peter knew each other.
-It seems that Peter has connections with people. First, the rebel guy called Boaz, and now this Steven guy.

While Caiaphas prays for the crucified Jews at the execution site, a rebel is tortured in the prison where Simon Peter and John are at.
Simon Peter: "We're going to die today, John."
-That seemed nonchalant.

Meanwhile, Pilate learns about the assassin Boaz, and orders the soldiers to find him. His wife Claudia suggests handing Boaz over to Caiaphas, but Pilate thinks she's an idiot.
-He doesn't say that she's an idiot, but he makes it clear to her that she should mind her own business.

Caiaphas' wife Leah secretly tries to bribe a beggar to falsely testify against Simon Peter and John. Now this is the beggar from the previous episode, the one that was healed by Simon Peter.
-How much you want to bet that this felt like a reference to Judas' conspiring with authority to hand over and/or betray someone like Jesus?

During their trial, Caiaphas degrades Simon Peter and John by telling the audience that the miracle with the beggar was staged, and that it was theatrics. But when the beggar himself is called to testify, he defends Simon and John.
-So... Judas symbolism is out the window at this point.
So, seeing that he has inefficient evidence, he's forced to release Simon and John, but not without having them swear to never talk or preach about Jesus...
-Don't count on it, Caiaphas...

So Simon Peter and John are welcomed back with open arms, having Simon give a really good motivational speech, and people donating for the cause. One couple claimed to have sold their house to help the cause.

Next, Peter is called to heal a girl. At first, it doesn't seem to work, but it worked anyway. Steven sees this miracle and wants to spread the word, but Peter says that they need to wait for the right time.

But Steven doesn't have time to ponder this, because he runs into the guards. When refusing to stand aside, he's beaten down by the captain of the guards.
-Oooooo-kay...

Meanwhile, Peter ponders about everything around him changing quickly. But with the helpful guidance of Jesus' mother Mary, Peter gets back his confidence to continue the mission.

However, if the killing of 10 more Jews weren't bad enough for you, wait until you see Pilate mess around with cremated ashes.
Pilate: "...now I'm building a mountain of their ashes." (in response to the executed Jews)
-(pause) WTF?

One night, Boaz is stopped by a shady guy who tells him to "disappear" in order to avoid getting arrested for murder.
And on that same night, John has a vision of being in town and finding a small crack on the town grounds. John finds this cracked stone, which leads him to a generous man who wants to join the cause.

We keep going back to the execution of the Jews, and when Claudia confronts Pilate about the executions, Pilate stands by his actions:
Pilate: "I am an instrument of Roman power. My actions are an expression and a reminder of that power. And that power sustains Rome. It is paramount."
And then he forbids his wife to never question his motives.
-Wow. That's pretty harsh. Talk about domestic abuse...

So Simon Peter is given a piece of land that the guy (John ran into) offers, and the disciples create their ministry there.

Back in Jerusalem, the execution takes its toll on Team Caiaphas. While that's going on, Boaz leaves his wife to flee. Meanwhile, the secret community is thriving, and Peter meets up with the generous donors from earlier.

Now, while Caiaphas prays while dumping ashes all over him, we cut to Boaz arriving at Peter's community. Seeing Boaz's presence as a breach to the community, Peter asks him to repent; but Boaz doesn't recognize Jesus in the Scriptures, but only the "warriors" of the Scriptures.

Later, Peter has a vision that the generous donors from earlier weren't being honest with God ("betting" against God).

So they each bleed to death for their impure intentions.

Finally, we cut to Caiaphas (still covered in ashes) going to Pilate and begging for the executions to stop, but Pilate refuses to stop. In fact, Pilate is such an asshole, that he makes Caiaphas eat some of the cremated ashes that he was playing with.
The episode ends with Claudia meeting with Leah in secret, saying that the assassin Boaz must be found.

Consensus:
Now, from what I could gather from this episode is that...
If this Boaz guy is captured, then the executions would stop.
If Boaz remains free, the killings would continue.
So,,, how will this be resolved? We'll have to find out in the next episode.
So far, it's a race to catch a guy that's involved in a rebellion against the Rome empire. The Jesus part of this series was lacking in this episode, but this isn't over, guys. There are more episodes to come.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: A.D. The Bible Continues

Courtesy: NBC/LightworkersMedia

"A.D. The Bible Continues" Ep. 3 Review (4/19/15)

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Let's jump right into episode 3 of A.D. The Bible Continues.

Pilate is already sick and tired of the rebels being a threat, but he still keeps the city heavily guarded. This, of course, brings the attention of the Herod family, as they pay a visit to Pilate, despite having to pass harsh security clearance. Herod himself begins to question Caiaphas about his own safety, because apparently Herod was assured by Caiaphas that the Jesus incident was done and over with. With that being said, Herod questions Caiaphas' loyalty to him.
-As if Caiaphas hasn't already gotten bashed by Pilate for going over him that one time...

Later on, during an indoor gathering, Herod requests to Pilate that there would be less guards in "his city." But Pilate refuses, but only increases the number of guards, along with saying that he'll attend the Pentecost festivities.

Meanwhile, Simon Peter's daughter comes to visit. She wonders why her father won't come home. Peter tells her that he has a mission- to be Jesus' successor and to spread the word of Christ. All they have to do is wait for the Holy Spirit to embrace them.

Now, while rebels are planning to assassinate Pilate, Pilate's wife meets the head guard in secret and has him promise to protect her husband.

Meanwhile, Caiaphas hears word that Pilate is planning to attend the Pentecost celebration. This shocks him, because of the growing threat of the rebels in the city.

Back at the disciples,' Simon Peter continues to try to get his daughter to understand the importance of being Jesus' ministry. This leads to Peter finally realizing that they need to pray the Lord's Prayer over and over to conjure the Holy Spirit.

Thus, the Holy Spirit finally comes to the disciples with it's glorious lighting.

On the day of the Pentecost celebration, Caiaphas publicly welcomes Pilate, along with thunderous praise. Suddenly, one of the rebels makes a move to assassinate Pilate, but is chased away by the guards. But the rebel did kill one of the pursuing guards.
-It's like the guy said: Well, if I can't kill the big guy in rule, I might as well kill one of his guards. Ooooh... big deal!

Later on, the disciples finally come out of hiding.

One of the first things they do is go up to a homeless man and heal him by having him walk again, courtesy of their Lord and Savior Jesus.

This creates a spectacle, causing Simon Peter and John to be beaten and taken away by the guards.

While that's going on, three rebels are executed under Pilate on the steps of the Temple. This comes to the shock of Caiaphas.
-This would be the second time in this series that Caiaphas has witnessed executions of people. First it were the guards, and now three rebels... Geez! Cut this guy a break! He doesn't need to see anymore bloodshed made by Pilate.

The episode ends with Caiaphas coming face-to-face with Simon Peter and John in their prison cell.

Consensus:
We're already three episodes in, and the story is becoming more and more intense as the series progresses. It's like Five Nights at Freddy's: it becoming more and more intense every night. In fact, I'm not ashamed to put FNaF logic into this review of a Christian TV series, but that's just how it feels for me.
Anyway, I'm still looking forward to the next episode. According to the teaser trailer for next time, things get more aggressive for everyone.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: A.D. The Bible Continues

Courtesy: NBC/Lightworkers Media

Editorial: Is Veggietales Listening to Us Now?

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Remember my video on the survey that the Veggietales email newsletter that was recently released? 

Is Veggietales Listening to Us Now? video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QA-KrpzWL0I

In the video, I said I was going to do an editorial on the subject matter: Is Veggietales listening to us now?

Now the show that's under fire here is the Netflix series Veggietales In The House. Ever since the show came out this past November (2014), there has been so much debate about the show's choices and its style among the Veggietales fan community.

-And trust me, I'm part of that fan community.

And the series in question was featured in the survey that came out via email on Apr. 10, 2015. Now I don't think I'm giving anything away here when I say that the gist of the survey is that Big Idea is asking: Are the new character designs okay? Why or why not?

Now my question is: Why did it take Big Idea this long to make that inquiry to us?

-I mean, really? They had to wait at least three or four months to ask us whether the new designs suck or not? They had to wait until they released a line of episodes and a DVD to ask us this?

However, there's always a method to one's madness.

Maybe it took this long for Big Idea to ask us what we thought, because some of us are  still trying to adjust to the change...

-...like ME.

Also, there's only a handful of episodes of Veggietales In The House on Netflix, and still in its first season. And only one DVD has featured this change so far in the originalVeggietales series. 

Now let's talk about the survey itself. If you're subscribed to Veggietales' email newsletters, you may have gotten the survey already. The idea of a survey to beg the issue that was discussed earlier was very ballsy of Big Idea. However, a survey that's linked on an email isn't enough to speak to the entire fanbase for the following reasons:

1. Not everyone in the fanbase is subscribed to the newsletter.

2. A survey in an email was the only medium used to make the inquiry, instead of doing that AND also reaching out on social media.

3. It's been at least two weeks since the survey came out. So what now? There's no set deadline to the survey. So are they expecting survey-takers to trickle in and take it?

So, is Veggietales listening to us now? Well, yes and no.

The reason why I say yes is because Big Idea was brave enough to send us a survey, because of the fan community reacting to the changes, as proven in one Youtube video:

Why Veggietales In The House Doesn't Work

Original Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYP65equA-w&index=28&list=WL

Even I mentioned the changes over and over in my previous editorials on Veggietales In The House:

Part 1: http://ama-critic32.blogspot.com/2014/12/editorial-is-veggietales-in-house-hit.html

Part 2: http://ama-critic32.blogspot.com/2014/12/editorial-is-veggietales-in-house-hit_66.html

Part 3: http://ama-critic32.blogspot.com/2014/12/editorial-is-veggietales-in-house-hit_31.html

However, I also disagree, because I don't feel that anything's been done about it. The only semi-response to our questioning of the changes made in the series was the new intro to Veggietales, as featured in the recent DVD release "Noah's Ark":

Original Video Uploaded by Veggietales Official Youtube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zyb5qkXgqcc

So what do you guys think? Do you think they're listening to us? Let me know in the comments section below. 

But either way, I'm still going to go back to Veggietales, even though I may or may not agree with some of the choices its made. And besides, LarryBoy and I go a long way back; so there's no way I hate him now, even though his costume design was tinkered and altered.

Whatsoever Critic
Sources:
Veggietales In The House
Veggietales email newsletter

Courtesy: Big Idea Entertainment/DreamWorks

"A.D. The Bible Continues" Ep. 2 Review (4/12/15)

Hi, I'm the Whatsoever Critic. I review just about anything.

Sorry for the huge delay on this review. I had a heavy workload in school. So with that said, let's jump right in.

Where we last left off...

The tomb is opened by a divine force. Caiaphas tries to hide this discovery from Pilate, but Pilate eventually finds out a few minutes later...
-That didn't take long.
This, of course, pisses off Pilate, and he confronts Caiaphas in a bathing(?) area and tells him (basically) to not go behind his back again.
And later on, one of the assistants of Caiaphas suggests showing another man's corpse to the public and claim that it's Jesus, but Caiaphas warns against it, because he sticks to his ways of being truthful...
-...which is ironic, because he already lied to Pilate about the tomb once and got bashed for it.

Meanwhile, Mary Magdeline...

-Yeah, I already figured out who she is (what she looks like). I feel pretty bad not knowing what she looked like in the premiere episode.
...sees the tomb open, and then she meets Jesus and realizes that he has risen from the dead. She tries to tell this to the disciples, but when some of them go to the tomb themselves, they suspect foul play.

It's not until later when the disciples see Jesus for themselves appear in their room.

-Now in the two scenes with the disciples and Thomas, they were pretty emotional for me, because I remember Simon Peter saying before Jesus appeared (somewhere along the lines of): "I wish I could tell him I'm sorry."

While that's going on, the rebellion is going stronger. There's a point where Pilate has the city sealed, where go one can either enter or leave. The disciples are helped by some of the rebels to leave the city, because the disciples were told by Jesus to meet him at Galilee.
-Now, for what it's worth: I kind of liked the chase scene. It was compelling, and it had you on the edge of your seat.

Later on...
-I think I might be telling this out of order, but...
There's a scene where Pilate invites Caiaphas over to his establishment... only to have him witness the bloody execution of the guards that were supposed to have guarded Jesus' tomb.
-Talk about throwing your crew under the bus.
So why is Pilate hell-bent on destruction. Well... listen to this: he doesn't want anything to disrupt his beach vacation with his wife.
-Talk about a whiny character! It's like: I'm going to the beach with my woman. So I want everything to be perfect! If no one will please this wish, I will be mad. That is all.

In Galilee...
Simon Peter has to answer Jesus' question three times:
Jesus: "Do you love me?"
-This is because if you remember from the previous episode (or if you read the Bible), Simon Peter denied Jesus three times. So here, it's fitting that he answer the question three times.

Later on, Jesus makes Peter his successor, and then he tells the disciples to spread the word about him. After, Jesus disappears back to heaven.
-And yes, the CG effects are top-notch. It's like Disney meets The Ten Commandments.

Review:
Now in this episode, we get a semi-full appearance of Jesus (but at least he got more screen time here than in the premiere episode). Also, we start to see some of the characters for who they are, whether you're new to the Biblical accounts or if you came already knowing the story.
For me, I can't wait to see what else is in store for this series, because it's that good. And plus, the first two episodes have already made it clear that this isn't over, because from what was teased at the end credits, Peter now has healing abilities like Jesus.
-I didn't mean to throw in that spoiler, but it was teased at the end, I promise you.

Whatsoever Critic
Source: A.D. The Bible Continues

Courtesy: NBC/Lightworkers Media