And, taken as what it is, it's one of the best such stories ever told. Apparitions is a BBC drama about Father Jacob Myers, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, played by Martin Shaw, who examines evidence of miracles to be used in canonisation but also performs exorcisms. Our Lady of Medjugorje (Croatian: Međugorska Gospa), also called Queen of Peace (Croatian: Kraljica mira) and Mother of the Redeemer (Croatian: Majka Otkupiteljica), is the title given to the "visions" of the Blessed Virgin Mary which allegedly began in 1981 to six Herzegovinian teenagers in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina (at the time in SFR Yugoslavia). These are interwoven with the continuing story of Michael, an ex soldier who succumbs to demons. Thought provoking. Father Jacob Myers, a priest of the Roman Catholic Church, played by Martin Shaw, examines evidence of miracles to be used in canonisation but also performs exorcisms. Watch full episodes of Apparitions and get the latest breaking news, exclusive videos and pictures, episode recaps and much more at TVGuide.com Claiming this was akin to describing homosexuality as satanic is glib at best; the series is about the Catholic church, and it's a matter of fact that the Catholic church frowns on homosexuality. The television series is about Father Jacob, a Catholic Priest who is involved in performing the exorcism of demons who have taken possession of people. I started out being very enthusiastic about this series. The series develops as the episodes go on, with the introduction of his secretary, Sister Ruth who provides the role of the disapproving sceptic; and with interesting and unpredictable cases that Father Jacob becomes involved in. This is one of the best television dramas I have ever watched. This series didn't define atheists and homosexuals as 'evil' anymore than it defined Christians as holy warriors who see possessed people around every corner. A bona fide thriller of faith, “The Apparition” … This show evokes emotion and makes you care deeply what happens next. An atheist is someone who doesn't believe. It's no wonder the BBC didn't do another series. It's nice to watch a good vs evil and not have the evil be the Catholic church. I only wish that Amazon could have turned this into 10 epic instead of 6; or do a second season with more episodes because I think Amazon needs to keep going on this series TV with more season's to come. It has all the elements of a classic gangster movie. This is the best movie on exorcism I have seen. Lots of excellent acting and an interesting - and slightly scary - storyline, keeps the attention. An interesting experiment on religious perceptions, Some great stuff, but a rough beginning and disappointing end. And Martin Shaw. I saw this series on the BBC when it was broadcast and was pleased to see I could buy it on DVD. Great season wish there was more seasons, but as usual Vatican always complains about TV or films likes these, this series wasn't about spinning heads etc it was more realistic of what happens during one with the background information coming out in the story. Roughly, this is how the story goes. I'm an atheist and I loved the series. "Apparitions" is a supernatural drama series about a priest (Martin Shaw) who is working to promote candidates for sainthood and becomes drawn into the world of exorcism as he discovers a dark battle between good and evil. Why it wasn't picked up is beyond me. Although I am familiar with the Catholic religion, I don't find that it would be necessary to know the intricate details of that particular religion. People can believe anything they want as far as I'm concerned as long as they don't try to impose their beliefs onto others. Select the department you want to search in. The List of Catholic TV shows & films 2020. Episode one of season one begins in Calcutta, when Sister Teresa is hospitalized for and unknown illness. However some startling turns of events and some personal tragedy soon hurl Jacob towards his fate. A psychologist would have had no trouble accepting that performing a satanic ritual could have resulted in physical illness for a priest; she would simply have explained it as a psychosomatic illness. And so, even before I had an opportunity to view the episodes myself, I drew them to the attention of a friend who is a fan, as am I, of Martin Shaw's work. Every non-believer is not also rude, aggressive, and confrontational. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 14, 2017. Sign in to see videos available to you. Awards I sincerely wish there were more episodes. The negative review by "critical thinker" is the mainstream result of public brainwashing about the catholic church. Add to Watchlist. "Apparitions" is a supernatural drama series about a priest (Martin Shaw) who is working to promote candidates for sainthood and becomes drawn into the world of exorcism as he discovers a dark battle between good and evil. Thank you. Not scary. Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2013. They are often given names based on the town in which they were reported, or on the sobriquet which was given to Mary on the occasion of the apparition. Feature: 8.5: Video: 8.0: Audio: 8.0: Special Features: 6.0: Total: 8.4: Distributor: Madman Running Time: 352 Minutes Classification: MA15+ Reviewer: Kyle Sudukis 8.4: Apparitions the Complete First Series. And, taken as what it is, it's one of the best such stories ever told. My guess is that most will not make it through all six episodes. This is what the recent movie featuring Anthony Hopkins should have been had the writing and story line been stronger. It's open enough that another series would have been possible. I'm also a gay-rights activist, and I didn't see anything blatantly harmful. Not in any way scary, nor did it make me jump or uneasy, this was drama with a twist. I appreciated that it did a decent job of following the actual rite … Martin Shaw a revelation. Suspecting her father to be possessed by the devil, a young girl approaches Father Jacob for help. The guy was very much interested and definitely believed in God; he just chose the other side. And it has some creepy scenes that rival "The Exorcist". I anticipate repeat viewings. But brilliant. Prime members enjoy FREE Delivery and exclusive access to music, movies, TV shows, original audio series, and Kindle books. The characters are believable and well fleshed out, even the seemingly unimportant ones come across as real. When I saw that the six episodes of "Apparitions" were available for streaming on Netflix, I browsed the user reviews on two sites, and found them to be overwhelmingly glowing. This program delves deeply into people's belief in a higher power. The series, called Apparitions, was the idea of the actor Martin Shaw, who also stars in it as a Roman Catholic priest. Using the evidence gained he has an important role to play in saying who gets canonised as a Saint. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our users. As you may guess, he is very talented at exorcising the demons of the possessed. I was willing to suspend disbelief and accept the premise of the show, and I admire the actors for treating the script seriously, but I can't accept its plot holes and misconceptions. Never seen it before, and was not a fan of Martin Shaw, but this was great. (And he WAS an atheist, not a satanist, though I can see how he could be mistaken for a satanist, as he was possessed by a demon) How can one make a series about a religious war without defining 'good' and 'evil' and dealing with the resistance of non-believers. Father Jacob, played by Martin Shaw, is a British Catholic priest who is next in line to assume the Vatican's positions of chief exorcist. Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2018. The only downfall of this series is that it's only six episodes. Metacritic Reviews. Apparitions. Great piece of work from all concerned. The story does have an end... or does it. And this show does impose their prejudice onto the viewer. | Top subscription boxes – right to your door, © 1996-2020, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. I enjoy movies of this genre type but never realized there was a TV series about it! Minor inaccuracies - a priest would have known that it's "The Revelation of St. John the Divine," not "Revelations." I have only seen the first two episodes and at the moment I simply cannot find any explanation to it's low ratings when it first aired (as I've read in the internet), except maybe the "timing" was inappropriate(??). There is a new chief exorcist in town (new chief of police), and the demons start attacking people close to him. I must say I am a bit disappointed. Metacritic TV Reviews, Apparitions - Season 1, Father Jacob, played by Martin Shaw, is caught up in a sinister battle between good and evil. This is not in the Linda Blair category of exorcism but subtle with a very dark underlying humour e.g when Father Jacob is listening to a radio ,which is switched off but still broadcasting,after being possessed the sister asks why is he listening to "Satan FM". I don't believe in God or Satan but have always found religions fascinating and interesting. I am agnostic (which means, to those who do not know, I believe that I just don't know whether God exists or not) and anti-religion. As he learns, Jacob's duties run deeper than just sending demons back to Hell; he later must prevent them all from escaping. Travelling or based outside United States? In fact, the story line was written to suggest that the reason the young priest lost faith was because the church had forsaken him because of his homosexuality, not because he was gay. Great start to what I hope will be a first rate series. As for being controversial, it didn't particularly offend or shock me, but then I'm not a practising Catholic. Flaws?? Totally gripping, could not stop watching and saw the lot in one day. Now we have "The Apparition", a very detailed and serious account of the Catholic Church's investigations into determining whether a young girl's claims to have seen the Virgin Mary are true or not. A sinister apparition of the Virgin Mary begins haunting a Muslim family who seem to have a connection to Michael. Martin Shaw first came to my notice in the Professionals back in the 80's (action cop/spy drama cheasy version of Spooks), he is a very respected and accomplished Shakespearean and TV actor here, of late the BBC have constructed a number of easy on the eye and brain dramas for him eg Judge John Deed and George Gently and I expected this to be another of the same, however I was pleasantly surprised. As for characteristics usually given to a movie, there is no need to list them here. The reviews and comments on this board are strange. The acting is superb. Marian Apparitions, Catholic Prophecies A Marian apparition is an event in which the Blessed Virgin Mary is believed to have supernaturally appeared to one or more persons. FAQ The actors, especially Martin Shaw (whom I had never met until now), are superb. As he learns, Jacob's duties run deeper than just sending demons back to Hell; he later must prevent them all from escaping. It is critical that you pay attention to the various characters that come and go during the episodes. As some one else commented this could be a one trick pony but what a trick .You do not have to be religious or an atheist to enjoy it . It seems like they may have had a little too much faith in their viewers to make sense of all of it. Welcome to the current list of Catholic-themed TV shows and films you can watch online! This is a 6 part series following Father Jacob, a somewhat maverick priest performing exorcisms against the wishes of his superiors, who believe it is an antiquated practice that brings the church into disrepute. This TV series certainly is deserving of a 5 star review from me, for sure! I missed this one because I was out on the Thursday night, but I caught it on BBC's iplayer - and I'm glad I did. Must have been on the BBC as it's a Beeb production. The primary weakness is an inability to understand other points of view. It deals with Christian and Muslim beliefs, abortion, child abuse, homelessness and war. He is forced to meet Vimal's murderer on his terms in order to exorcise him. There surely are, but I have yet to ponder the four remaining episodes. Who knows! I was surprised to learn from him, a few days later, that he had abandoned "Apparitions" after viewing the first episode. I am disappointed that there was only one season made. Quite interesting and captivating story, intense and thought-provoking. It is truly a rarity these days to watch, read, listen to anything from the mainstream media that doesn't fuse the Church and Scandal. It is a breath of fresh air to watch Christianity and Catholicism portrayed in a more neutral light if not positive. It's a little series that is well worth your time to watch. He seeks out the help of an old friend Monsignor Vincenzo, who happens to be the Vatican's chief Exorcist in Rome, he tells Jacob that demons have already been in touch with him and that they have warned Jacob off being the next Chief Exorcist, slightly sceptical Jacob laughs it off and says he has no intentions of becoming an Exorcist, Vincenzo explains that the demons fear this most of all as it will slow their final push for world domination. The demons, fallen angles, are eager to take hold of human bodies, since they are tired of the suffering they must endure in hell. With the exceptions of a few "Hollywood" detours, the movie depicts the benefits and dangers of exorcism. Father Jacob(Martin Shaw) is an English priest whose job entails him to investigate claims of miracles worldwide. That kind of belief is satanism, not atheism. With Vimal dead, Jacob realizes that all his friends are in danger. Jews do not recognize the Pope as God's representative. Unfortunately this recording does not contain the full original recording of this series. I appreciate I have only seen the first episode, but in my opinion, if you are not grabbed at this point, then there's a mistake been made somewhere. He might become anti-Catholic, but, despite the scriptwriters' misconception, that is not the same as becoming a Satanist. I’m grateful we have channels like EWTN and CatholicTV, but sometimes you just want to escape and watch a fictional drama/comedy/sitcom. Not a Complete Similation of the Original, Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2013. The locations and sets are rich and engaging, the use of light and sound to evoke mood masterful. Indeed there are other religions that are part of the on going story. Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2013. If you're going to write about exorcism, read the manual. It also beautifully filmed. I am desperately hoping that they produce a second series, as we are clearly left hanging at the end of episode 6. Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2018. As an atheist, it took quite the suspense of disbelief to keep watching, but I found myself questioning interesting notions put forth and challenged throughout the show: Father Jacob lives in a world in which both demons and saints can possess people; a world in which Satan acts but God relies on faith; evils is apparent but good only implied. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Marian Apparitions of the Catholic Church (The Overview Series) at Amazon.com. Intelligent, mostly well acted, but somewhat frustrating mini-series. It is a breath of fresh air to watch Christianity and Catholicism portrayed in a more neutral light if not positive. The battle of good VS evil and religion VS true faith was attractive. The attention to even small details is astounding. I must've missed this one first time around, as I'm a huge fan of tv horror/ supernatural / bizarre / odd children's programs from the 70's and 80's, so I was probably out getting drunk and clubbing when this was on the telly in the 90's. Intelligent, mostly well acted, but somewhat frustrating BBC mini-series. If they were more intelligent about it I would have enjoyed it even though I could never believe it. I looked this up as have just watch the whole series back to back as totally gripped by the storyline, so wanted more. Video availability outside of United States varies. The delivery is excellent. I just discovered it and was disappointed to find there only seem to be six episodes. Jews do not believe in the Christian version of Hell, for one thing, and while a Jew might (and many did) lose faith in God because of the Holocaust, he would have no reason to turn to Satan because of the behavior of the Pope. | This is an excellent show with superb writing. Throughout, the series explores the subject of faith and raises interesting questions, tackling some difficult subject matter without actually imposing any ideal on the viewer. Intelligent. Just don't expect scares or shock jumps. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. As he learns, Jacob's duties run deeper than just sending demons back to Hell; he later must prevent them all from escaping. Here's hoping that someone will want to make more. As he learns, Jacob's duties run deeper than just sending demons back to Hell; he later must prevent them all from escaping. The subject matter takes you on a rollercoaster ride of the two extremes good vs evil with great acting and direction that caputures the essence of the excorcist own battle for the light. This TV series certainly is deserving of a 5 star review from me, for sure! Although Ahearne notes that Apparitions makes reference to classic horror films (and to Silence of the Lambs, a prestige production that also effectively brings horror into the mainstream) the series engages with “current live issues” and contentious areas for contemporary Catholicism such as abortion, homosexuality and the holocaust. Season 1 Be the first to review this item 2008 13+ "Apparitions" is a supernatural drama series about a priest (Martin Shaw, "The Chief") who is working to promote candidates for sainthood and becomes drawn into the world of exorcism as he discovers a dark battle between good and evil. A very interesting and brillent series featuring one of the UK's most talented of actors. 5.0 out of 5 stars Deserving a 5 star from me for sure! I would have given it 10 stars if they had made more! I think they did a good job of showing how that attitude hurts homosexuals, by making them doubt themselves and their instincts, and ultimately by shutting them out of the faith. The acting by Martin Shaw is very well done and he makes his character very believable. Some great sections, but a bit of a rough start, and a disappointing ending, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2011. I only came across this short series whilst looking via my Fire Stick for something to watch. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 18, 2018. I understood why when I finally got around to viewing the series: I, too, wanted to quit after the first episode, but I stuck with it through three, after which I cut my losses and gave up. I enjoy movies of this genre type but never realized there was a TV series about it! 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