Book of Daniel

Since Mel Gibson gave Jesus some time off from the movie business, the robed winemaker is free to make cameos on this new hour-long dramedy. Regular appearances by America's most popular deity are precisely what raises the ire of religious traditionalists, something that is usually a ringing endorsement for the next smart show. But Aidan Quinn's Daniel, a pill-popping priest with a funky family and an absolute distaste for our alliterations, does not easily meet those expectations. Husband to a noontime nipper and father to a drug dealer, a homosexual republican, and a girl-crazy adopted Asian who fights stereotypes by being stereotypical, Daniel finds solace in frequent tête-à-têtes with a hallucinated savior. The Church is rife with scandal—no, there are no choir boys involved—but the plots are largely a cause for ennui. Book combines one part Desperate Housewives–like chaos and one part 7th Heaven–like wholesomeness to assemble a muddle of unoriginality meant to capitalize on the popularity of others' hard work. Kind of like Kevin Federline.