Kings: The Complete Series

A short-lived 2009 NBC series that was imaginative but too unusual to survive in today's unforgiving network climate, Kings is a mythic update of the biblical story of King Saul and young David, who became his rival (and eventual successor) by slaying the Philistine giant Goliath. In Michael Green's contemporary revision, “David” Shepherd is an infantry soldier who saves the son of King Silas Benjamin of Gilboa by crossing enemy lines and destroying the ultimate weapon of neighboring Gath, a tank named “Goliath.” This heroic act brings David into the royal circle—and the arms of the king's daughter—but the palace proves to be a hotbed of intrigue and Silas a Machiavellian manipulator; in such an environment, a naïve rustic like David is clearly out of his element. The parallels that Green draws to the Old Testament often seem strained, but the fantasy world he fashions is fascinating, and although Chris Egan is rather bland as David, Ian McShane as Silas proves as much a florid force of nature here as he was in Deadwood. The supporting cast also includes notables such as Dylan Baker and Macaulay Culkin as an ambitious royal relative and his son. The final episode ends on a cliffhanger note that will never be resolved, but apart from that, Kings is an intriguing, if flawed, riff on a well-known story. Compiling all 12 episodes, DVD extras include an episode audio commentary and deleted scenes. Recommended. (F. Swietek)