Review of Greatest Heroes of the Bible

Fans of The Bible and "The Love Boat" both, finally have a video series made to order! Nowhere else can one find all the heroic and awe-inspiring stories of The Bible enacted by the likes of Jan and Greg Brady, Joanie Cunningham, Potsie, Ralph, The Riddler, Lurch, Pamela Ewing, Doc Bricker and many more! Seventy-six year-old Jory provides weighty opening narration to this 4 part series (subsequently broken down into 15 individual episodes) featuring Noah, David and Goliath, Joseph, Esther, Samson and Delilah, Moses and others. Each story features a jaw-dropping blend of actors, some acting their heart out and some walking though it (and only a few of which are listed here! Gene Barry, Daniel J. Travanti, Beverly Garland, Lainie Kazan and John Larroquette are just some of the performers to be found in this series!) There is a definite reverence to the tone of the stories, but a lot of the dramatic heft is undercut by the low budget and the amateurish direction and acting of the lesser players. The extras, in particular, often look ludicrous standing around in their togas as if they're wondering when the box lunch will be brought out. The series succeeds in flushing out certain story points that large scale movies don't have time for, such as the pagan priests during Noah's time or the political and military situation surrounding David and Goliath. Even though these casts are an irresistible draw for cult TV fans and camp followers, the stories would have come across as a lot more profound if they'd have axed the "Happy Days" and "Brady Bunch" performers and stuck with the talents of the more established stars. Funniest Highlight: In the "Abraham's Sacrifice" episode, Beverly Garland is buried under tons of age makeup, but when God allows her to be fertile again, she develops long, lustrous hair, loses the wrinkles and has a ton of glamorous make-up on!! Runner up is Rossen as Potiphar's wife in a Roseanne Roseannadanna fright wig rolling around trying to seduce Joseph (Sam Bottoms.)