GOD IS SHOWING UP ON TELEVISION

(From ReligionToday.com) God is showing up in the scripts of some of TV's grittiest shows. Hot-tempered policeman Andy Sipowicz on ABC's "NYPD Blue" ended the season on his knees, praying after the death of his wife. NBC's "Law & Order" attorneys prosecuted a former nun for killing a young girl during an exorcism. HBO's prison series "Oz" showed the mother of a murdered correctional officer forgiving her son's killer before his execution.

...A new weekly segment on "CNN NewsStand" aims to show why. "Prime-Time Prophets" is the brainchild of Silvia Gambardella, a freelance TV reporter and producer. She wanted to show that spiritual themes recur with at least a few writers and producers of secular prime-time series. The former crime reporter, who is Catholic, watches many of the most controversial TV dramas. "With all the attacks they've been getting, I started to see other things in them, solely as a viewer, scenes about God and the Bible and spirituality and family values in shows where you wouldn't expect it," she told The Los Angeles Times.

..."In the past, writers and producers felt religion was a mortal sin for prime time. Now it's thought of not only as a divine act, but a ratings miracle," "CNN NewsStand" correspondent Robin Groth said. The cable network aired the segment after a more popular TV news magazine rejected it because it wasn't "celebrity-driven enough," Gambardella said. The 10-minute Thursday-night segments show that programs don’t have to be extra-wholesome, like CBS' "Touched by an Angel" and WB's" 7th Heaven," to gain viewers and accurately portray religious values, she said.

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