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Revelations movie poster

NBC has decided to jump into the "religious programming" fray with Revelations, a six-part miniseries beginning Wednesday, April 13, at 9 p.m. (ET).

The series, essentially amounting to a long movie about the end times, depicts a last-days scenario centering on the final conflict between God and Satan. Writer/producer David Seltzer, who has shown a fascination for the occult before by writing The Omen and its sequels, is the creative mind behind the series. According to press releases, Revelations "revolves around the joint attempts of science and theology to determine if the end-of-the-world confrontation as foretold in the Bible is at hand and can be avoided."

The story's main characters are a Harvard astrophysicist played by Bill Pullman and a Catholic nun played by Natascha McElhone. Along the way, the scientist—surprise!—has to learn how to let go of reason and logic, learning instead how to embrace faith.

The series also features John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Lord of the Rings films) in a minor role as an atheistic scientist.

Seltzer and Rhys-Davies recently discussed Revelations with members of the religious media via a teleconference in New York. Here are some excerpts from that, ahem, revealing interview:

Why did you want to do this series and what do you hope viewers will get out of it?

David Seltzer: I wanted to do this series because I haven't seen it done before. I'm very interested in doing things that are original. That was the draw. And I've always been interested in the Bible and in science. This was a chance to combine the two in a compelling story.

Writer David Seltzer

As for the audience, I hope they'll get a wonderful ride on an adventurous, mysterious story. I hope they will feel in some way challenged to think in ways that they rarely do when they watch a television show. I think it's going to be provocative because we actually say the name Jesus Christ and we talk about the Bible and we talk about specific Scriptures and what they mean. I think an audience also will become aware of the fact that the world really is on the cusp of ending, and will look at their own faith and their own doubt and their own ability, perhaps, to affect the outcome of the very dangerous times that we live in.

There appears to be a sudden demand in Hollywood for projects that are linked to Christianity and religion. Why is that?

Seltzer: I'm observing the same thing. I'm aware of the Left Behind books. I'm aware of the huge audience that was discovered by The Passion of The Christ. I think if people are interested in religion now it's because of what they see on television with their morning coffee. Everybody wonders if their children are going to survive to have children of their own, if we're going to have an environment with air we can breathe, and an environment that we have the freedom to travel without worrying about somebody blowing us up. It certainly makes me think about religion and wonder if in fact there is a dark side and a light side, and if I'm doing everything I can to shine more light rather than create more darkness. In times of fear, people become religious, and I think that's probably what we're experiencing right now—more people wanting to come together in a community and find reassurance in a singular belief. I think we're going to help do that with the series.

How do your personal beliefs line up with this presentation of the end times?

Seltzer: I'm writing characters some of whom doubt, some of whom believe, some of whom talk of science, some of whom talk of the Bible. I don't know that as a writer it's important to talk about the confines of the way my own life works. I'm a searcher, I'll say that much. I believe in man's instinct to find a connection to something ultimately in control of their fate; I believe that's indigenous chronic, genetic, and inherent. I am fascinated with the very, very personal ways in which people dialogue with their own gods, and my mind is open to everything. It's not closed to any possibility. So I would say that I function here as a writer with a curious mind rather than a man with a belief or a dogma or a need to teach anybody anything.

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