The Passion (2008 TV series)

Plot

In the first hour-long episode, Jesus's arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday causes a stir among the Jews; the Romans deal with a small rebellion and the High Priest wants to be rid of Jesus. In the second half-hour episode, Caiaphas calls a council after Jesus is overheard mocking the Temple, sealing his fate. The third hour-long episode covers the Last Supper to the Crucifixion. The final half-hour episode features the Resurrection, sightings by Mary Magdalene and others, and Jesus' departure after impressing upon Peter the importance of spreading his word; Caiaphas' wife gives birth to a son, and Pilate and his wife return to Caesarea.

Production

Nigel Stafford-Clark, producer of the 2005 adaptation of Bleak House, was brought on as producer, and Frank Deasy won the writing contract in July 2006. Deasy and Stafford-Clark looked to emulate The Gospel According to St. Matthew over The Passion of the Christ; Deasy had walked out of the latter after 20 minutes, feeling it drained the spirituality of Jesus. He wanted to draw Jesus down as a human character who is frustrated, angry, fearful and doubtful.

They formed a development team with scholar Mark Goodacre and the BBC's head of religion and ethics Michael Wakelin, preparing a research manual on Jerusalem, first-century lifestyles, and the gospels. Deasy spent a year researching in Israel and consulting Goodacre, submitting his first draft in autumn 2006. He portrayed Jesus as the human character in Matthew and Mark rather than the god-like figure in John, and incorporated Jesus's relationship with women from Luke. The opening scene of Episode 1 was influenced by the opening of Downfall.

Reception

The serial opened with an hour-long episode on 16 March, followed by a half-hour episode on 17 March, another hour-long episode on 21 March, and a concluding half-hour episode on 23 March. The first part had overnight ratings of 4.1 million viewers and a 15% audience share; the second episode dropped to 3.2 million against Coronation Street; Episode 3 brought in 3.7 million; Episode 4 received 4.9 million and a 21% share. The series was generally well received.

The Guardian's main review remarked that one could watch it and forget the story was central to a major world religion, though another article called it conventional and reverent. The Independent's Thomas Sutcliffe commented that only the most zealously dogmatic Christian could complain it was irreverent. The Daily Telegraph's James Walton praised the humanising of Pilate and Caiaphas and found Mawle's Jesus more appealingly human than Robert Powell's. The Times' Andrew Billen praised some nice touches but called Mawle's portrayal too meek and hangdog.

Stephen Green from Christian Voice voiced disquiet over sympathetic portrayals of Caiaphas and Pilate, though press reactions found this unjustified.