Diocese hopes TV show sparks interest

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- An Episcopal diocese has decided to capitalize on the controversial NBC show, 'The Book of Daniel,' to draw people to its Web site and to the church.

Jim Naughton, communications director for the Washington diocese, told the Washington Times that so far BlogofDaniel.com has received 21,000 hits and the number of people inquiring about the Episcopal Church has gone up sharply.

The show stars Aidan Quinn as an Episcopal priest with a gay son, drug-selling daughter and a wife who deals with family problems by ordering another martini. His bishop, played by Ellen Burstyn, is having an affair with his father, a retired bishop.

The Episcopal Church has made no official comment, although Bishop Dean Wolfe of Kansas called it '`Desperate Housewives` meets `Seventh Heaven.`'

People who respond to the blog tend to be more critical.

One blogger had questions -- 'THIS is going to bring people into the Episcopal Church? Who cooked up this TV show, Monty Python?'

Another man, who identified himself as a gay atheist, criticized the 'immorality' of many of the characters and said that 'The Book of Daniel' also trades on stereotypes about Italian-Americans and the mob.

Diocese hopes TV show sparks interest @ Monsters and Critics.com