The Bible

History | The History Channel | History Channel | Release Date: March 3, 2013
CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
45
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 13 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
7
Negative:
4
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
70
VarietyBrian LowryFeb 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: Told with great earnestness and a Hans Zimmer score, The Bible hits only a few conspicuously awkward notes. Read full review
63
New York PostLinda StasiMar 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: Much of this is tediously drawn out, with crazy fly-overs between Biblical Chapters that may make you think it’s “Survivor: Holy Lands,” which, of course, it is.... Things really pick up when Jesus shows up. Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchGail PenningtonMar 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: I suspect that viewers who know the Bible well will be annoyed by "The Bible," while those who are casual students will be alternately mildly entertained and fairly bored. People with no religious beliefs probably won't watch anyway, but if they do, they could wind up confused or amused. Read full review
50
Uncle BarkyEd BarkMar 1, 2013
Season 1 Review: The Bible has the misfortune of looking cheap in comparison to the visual feast provided by the preceding Vikings. And the acting isn't nearly strong enough to overcome this. Read full review
50
NewsdayVerne GayMar 1, 2013
Season 1 Review: This Bible probably won't offend anyone, but it's hard to imagine it will inspire anyone, either. Read full review
50
People WeeklyTom GliattoMar 1, 2013
Season 1 Review: This is like dramatizing War and peace without commenting on war or peace. [11 Mar 2013, p.46]
50
Pittsburgh Post-GazetteRob OwenFeb 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: It often plays more like an action film than a serious interpretation of a holy book. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesRobert LloydMar 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: The Bible according to Burnett and Downey is a handsome and generally expensive-looking production, but it is also flat and often tedious, even when it tends to the hysterical, and as hard as the Hans Zimmer soundtrack strains to keep you on the edge of your sofa. Read full review
40
Boston GlobeSarah RodmanFeb 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: As is, The Bible sometimes feels too facile, like a colorful Sunday school pop-up book come to life, albeit one with much more graphic violence (which some parents might want to preview before sharing with their kids). Read full review
33
Entertainment WeeklyDalton RossFeb 28, 2013
Season 1 Review: [A] cheesefest miniseries. Read full review
30
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniMar 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: There's no character work here, no interesting reinterpretations of a classic text, no inspired acting. Just cardboard characters surrounded by CGI frippery. Read full review
30
The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerMar 1, 2013
Season 1 Review: The result is a mini-series full of emoting that does not register emotionally, a tableau of great biblical moments that doesn’t convey why they’re great. Read full review
20
Miami HeraldGlenn GarvinMar 4, 2013
Season 1 Review: With the pace of a music video, the characterizations of a comic book and the political-correctness quotient of a Berkeley vegetarian commune this production makes Cecil B. DeMille look like a sober theologian. Read full review
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