The New York Times: ADHD On Rise; "The Bible" Generation
WHITFIELD: We're taking on the hot stories trending today. Twitter is going crazy. Let's start with this.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lady, I believe your son is the promised king of his people. What is his name?</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jesus.</s>WHITFIELD: Were you hooked last night? Well, if you were, you were not alone. The big networks, they're kicking themselves today after passing up on this five-part miniseries, "The Bible." Last night, millions of people watched the last episode, which included the crucifixion scene, which I warn you, is graphic. The show's first episode broke television ratings records, snagging 13 million viewers, surprisingly most of those viewers were in the 18 to 49 age bracket. I say surprisingly because a recent poll found this generation is responsible for the growth of the knowns. That's Americans who say they don't identify with any religion. According to Pew, one-third of Americans under 30 have now said they no religious affiliation. That's 32 percent, a sharp increase even in just the past five years. When in 2008, just 24 percent of those in that same age group declared themselves nonreligious. All right, so let's talk about this. Hal Sparks, actor and political comedian. Good to see you. Steve Helling, staff writer at "People" magazine, good to see you as well. Dana Johnson, New York correspondent at Cocoa Fab, and Donna Brazile, CNN political contributor, good to see you all. OK, Steve, you first. You know, are you hooked? Have you been watching "The Bible?"</s>STEVE HELLING, STAFF WRITER, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Well, you know, I read the book that the bible was based on and it was pretty interesting. You know, that's the thing. The bible is full of all sorts of intrigue, full of sex, full of violence, full of the stories of redemption and I understand why people are so interested in watching it, especially people who weren't exposed to it in Sunday school growing up.</s>WHITFIELD: So Donna, how do you explain this fascination. It seems kind of new found.</s>DONNA BRAZILE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: No, I don't think it is. Look, I think young people like many other Americans hunger for something that is different, that is authentic. This was a great and compelling series. I was somewhat startled that -- I sat there and couldn't turn it off. I was glued to it. I read the bible many times, but this was a great series.</s>WHITFIELD: You feel like it was an accurate depiction?</s>BRAZILE: I believe so. Look, I'm old school Catholic. There were some things I wouldn't tinker with, but clearly it was graphic, it was profound, and I'm glad that they did it. I'm actually going to get the DVD when it comes out.</s>WHITFIELD: Well, I'm sure they're happy to hear that. What does this say about the audience appetite these days? Particularly since, you know, it is talking about the bible, and it is very graphic in the way in which it does that.</s>HAL SPARKS, ACTOR/POLITICAL COMEDIAN: Well, I don't think you can lose releasing a miniseries on Easter weekend essentially about a topic that, by the way, every time you put it out has a guaranteed built in audience. "The Bible" actually did very well this weekend, but it did not tap the Hatfield and McCoy miniseries special that they did last year, and that didn't have a weekend advertising campaign in the form of church every week, you know, that "The Bible" technically had if you look at it from a marketing and television standpoint. The reality is, is that the number is declining and in many ways people will watch something like this rather than read the book. The same way most people saw the "Twilight" movies didn't read the books or saw the "Lord of the Rings," didn't read the book. The important thing is the breadth of the ratings is not indicative of the breadth of the religious belief any more than if it had low ratings it would deride the faith of the people involved. It is simply a depiction of that that did reasonably well. It really did.</s>WHITFIELD: So, Dana, there is another issue here. You know, are television networks out of touch with its audience given that the net said, they passed on this, can they be learning from cable?</s>DANA JOHNSON, NEW YORK CORRESPONDENT, COCOAFAB: I definitely think they can. In a society where everything is about reality television, flipping tables, cursing each other out, it is really great to see everyone get back to fundamentals and the television series may encourage some to go back to the book. I definitely think you're learning the fundamentals all over again and very well executed and very well done.</s>WHITFIELD: Donna, what about the graphic nature? Does it make you cringe -- I guess not because you said you're going to get the box set. But what does it say about the television audience and the tolerance, what people are willing to digest and view and what they're willing to dismiss for the sake of a good story?</s>BRAZILE: Yes, you know what, imagine, you know, being an early Christian and some of the trials and tribulations of the Apostle Paul that we saw, the crucifixion of Christ that we saw last night. I would much rather read the book than get the book thrown at me. Of course, when I was a girl, I got it thrown at me a bit, but it is a fascinating story. The bible reads like the daily news. I don't think people should take offense at some of the graphic nature of some of the scenes.</s>SPARKS: There is some fairly reality show-esque chapters in the bible, especially in the Old Testament stuff. I think the one issue you'll have with doing a miniseries about it is you'll hit the point story wise that do resonate with a lot of people they want to see again. But that leave out in some cases areas of death and parts of contradiction. That's the nature of putting something like the bible on television. They have been -- Charlton Heston backed this pony a long time ago and knew it was a guaranteed way to attach a certain audience. Look at the passion of the Christ. There is an element where you're going to guarantee that people are seeing it, but is that indicative of the depth of the story that they're being taught?</s>WHITFIELD: That was a lot more sanitized than what we're seeing, the graphic nature that is unfolding.</s>SPARKS: So are westerns at the time. You know, westerns didn't show what the unforgiven would show. I think the audiences now, it is almost -- it speaks to what we like to see on film more so than the importance of showing the suffering of Christ. That's the disturbing part for me.</s>WHITFIELD: So, Steve, the bible's creator, Mark Burnett, very familiar name, responsible for reality shows, you know --</s>HELLING: Did Mark Burnett create the bible?</s>WHITFIELD: Well, the show.</s>HELLING: My bad.</s>WHITFIELD: You know, this is his version. You know, he was able to sell this idea. How did he do that? Is it -- his track record, anything he touches, you know, seems to turn to gold.</s>HELLING: Well, does he have the track record and also he felt that it was really important, he says that, you know, schoolchildren learn about Shakespeare, but they don't learn about the bible. And the bible is, you know, a foundation for a lot of the things that we do. Our laws and so forth, you know. This is a Christian nation and so therefore, you know, we don't --</s>SPARKS: Not so much.</s>HELLING: We don't know --</s>SPARKS: Well, listen, Hal, what I'm saying is if you know what the bible says, then you know a little bit more about the foundations of this country and that is what Mark Burnett was trying to --</s>SPARKS: Eight out of ten -- eight out of the Ten Commandments are unconstitutional or graded on a scale that the bible doesn't allow. The very first --</s>BRAZILLE: That's right. Some people have no religion at all.</s>WHITFIELD: And so, you know, Donna, do you see how potentially influential this might be, that perhaps, you know, television programming might be modified or some things that might be influenced on the horizon as a result of the success of the show?</s>BRAZILLE: I hope so, but, you know, you know this business better than I do. I think we just go for things that will attract people and then we look for the next best thing. But I do believe that it was well done, and some of the consultants made it possible for this to be seen in a -- for a wide variety of reasons, because it really came at a time when I think people were looking to see what else there is in life. It was a great series.</s>WHITFIELD: Timing is everything. All right, we're not done with you guys. "The Bible" is not the only cable show with a lot of viewers, "The Walking Dead" also a huge success last night, bringing in 12.4 million viewers. Next hour, we'll look at why cable shows are getting more viewers than some of the network shows, especially when they put stuff like this on the air. All right, up next for our panel, do women have a, quote, "shelf life?" A letter published in a college newspaper suggests women find a husband on campus to beat the clock, the biological clock.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get your world class education, make your lifelong friends and if you can find a life partner, good for you.</s>WHITFIELD: What, is she right? We put the question to our panel next.