Discovery Channel may or may not have found the tomb of Jesus Christ, but its March 4 documentary that makes the claim could lift the network into ratings heaven -- or land it in purgatory with viewers.
Industry observers like Syracuse professor of popular culture Robert Thompson said The Lost Tomb of Jesus could finish among the network’s most-viewed shows ever -- a mega attraction along the lines of Walking with Dinosaurs and Raising the Mammoth.
But others, like TV historian Tim Brooks, said the special could backfire.
The special’s premise of unearthing the physical remains of Jesus Christ -- which sharply contrasts with the Christian belief of the Resurrection -- has been condemned by conservative groups and could alienate a large segment of viewers from watching future Discovery fare.
“Whenever you’re dealing with religious issues, you always have to be careful that you don’t take sides or offend someone’s religious sensibilities,” said Brooks, who also serves as Lifetime Entertainment Services’ executive vice president of research. “If the special were to run and to make statements that are very controversial in religious terms, that would be a big mistake.”
The documentary claims to provide scientific evidence through DNA testing of limestone ossuaries -- boxes in which bones were kept -- to support the theory that the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family were placed in a 2,000-year-old tomb in Talpiot, Jerusalem.
Discovery Channel general manager Jane Root said the special, three years in the making, will hopefully spur a “spirited debate” about the life and death of Jesus. “Our whole aim as a network is to get people thinking about things again, to listen to experts and to make up their own minds,” she added.
But the Catholic League and conservative organizations like the American Family Association spent much of the past week blasting the documentary and charging Discovery with trying to undermine Christianity.
Brent Bozell, president of right-leaning media-watchdog group Media Research Center, called for the cancellation of the “slanderous” documentary.
“This network should be embarrassed by this plunge into sensational speculation masquerading as ‘science,’” he said in a prepared statement. “To slander Christianity at the start of the Lenten season is unconscionable. This isn’t news. It’s sensationalism on a stick. Or in this case, on a cross.”
But producer James Cameron, the Academy Award-winning producer and director of Titanic, said the documentary celebrates the real-life existence of Christ and kin.
“What this film and investigation brings to light is for the first time tangible, physical, archeological and, in some cases, forensic evidence that can be analyzed scientifically in the same manner that one would in a criminal investigation, in terms of DNA evidence, mineral and chemical analysis,” he said.
According to the documentary, the Talpiot tomb originally held 10 ossuaries, with six of the boxes including inscriptions of names found in the New Testament -- Jesus son of Joseph, Maria, Mariamene e Mara, Matthew, Yose and Judah son of Jesus.
Discovery unveiled the ossuaries of Jesus and Mary Magdalene to the press last Monday at the New York Public Library.
Brooks said Discovery’s decision to air the show six days after first announcing it in New York was a “brilliant” marketing move because it got the word out without giving opponents enough time to mobilize against the event.
Thompson also said Discovery will most likely benefit from the worldwide press it has generated. “Everyone who talks about this show on TV and in newspapers is essentially deputized into the Discovery promotional machine,” he added
Following the special’s 9 p.m. debut Sunday, Discovery was slated to air a debate show about the subject, moderated by network managing editor Ted Koppel.
An unedited version of The Lost Tomb will air on Discovery Times Channel March 5, on Discovery en Español March 18 and on Discovery HD Theater March 28.
