Release Date: January 10, 2017
Rating: TV-14+
Running Time: 271 minutes / Approx. 361 minutes including Special Features
Today, for better or worse, the power of religion touches all of our lives, no matter what our faith. This is Morgan Freeman’s journey to discover how our beliefs connect us all. This is the quest of our generation. This is the Story of God.
***
The Story of God with Morgan Freeman Season One is a fascinating overview of God, gods, spirituality, religion, and good and evil and it takes us all over the world in its exploration.
The first season explores Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Mayan beliefs, the beliefs of Indigenous People, Buddhism, Roman fates,Taoism/Daoism , Zoroastrianism (which I’d never heard of), and more. I am fascinated by religion and spirituality so each episode has been quite something to look forward to watching. In season one which consists of six hour-long episodes each with a certain theme, Morgan Freeman talks to spiritual leaders, experts, and everyday people all around the world about life after death, the apocalypse, creation, miracles and the power they hold, who God is as well as who gods are to many different walks of life.
The first three episodes were solid though it didn’t feel like any new ground was covered for me while the last three episodes were captivating from the moment they began to the moment the credits rolled. My favorite episode though is “Why Does Evil Exist?” In this episode, Morgan Freeman talks to a psychopath and former white supremacist. There is discussion on whether or not people can be inherently evil and there is a fascinating Princess Alice Social Experiment that we get to witness as well.
The Story of God with Morgan Freeman is an unbiased, open look at the beliefs, history, and practices of many faiths, giving viewers a better understanding of the world around them and an inspiring look at hope, love, humanity, and the inexplainable. Whether or not you have faith, if you’re enthralled by truly engaging pieces on spirituality, definitely put this on your list of shows to watch.
* Talent Q&A (Approx. 3 minutes) – The Q&A with Morgan Freeman is broken down into three segments, “Reincarnation in Hinduism, “Opening Your Mind,” and “God in Different Cultures” which is pretty pointless because it all adds up to about three minutes of footage so it could have simply been edited to be one feature. Anyway, nothing new here was touched upon so this feature is a skip.
Also Appearing in this Feature:
Executive Producer, Lori McCreary
Executive Producer, James Younger
* Web Series: Man on the Street (Approx. 10 minutes) – In this web series, the show travels to 22 countries to ask everyday people from all walks of life, very simple yet very complex questions. The questions are broken down into the segments, “Street Spirituality: What Happens After We Die?,” “Street Spirituality: How Will the World End?,” and “Street Spirituality: Who is God?” I loved that this segment went to the streets of various countries and we get to see the people who were interviewed speak in their native tongues and immerse ourself in a deep moment in their everyday, if only for a moment. This was a great feature.
* Web Series: Walks into a Diner (Approx. 14 minutes) – I actually found this feature even more intriguing than the actual program. I’d love to sit and watch these three talk for an hour, it is just so fascinating to see such similar beliefs systems and yet such vastly different ways of faith, of life, sit down and talk about God in a peaceful way. This feature is broken down into three segments, “A Pastor, A Rabbi, and an Imam… Resurrection,” “A Pastor, A Rabbi, and an Imam… The Apocalypse,” and “A Pastor, A Rabbi, and an Imam… Who is God?” all of which are worth watching.
Appearing in this Feature:
Pastor Touré Roberts
Rabbi Deborah Schuldenfrei
Imam Jihad Turk
DISC TWO
* Talent Q&A (Approx. 5:45 minutes) – The Q&A with Morgan Freeman is broken down into four segments, “Science and Catholicism,” “Universal Knowledge,” “Miracles,” and “20 Questions.” The last segment is fun and games with Morgan Freeman while the first three are Freeman and the executive producers looking back on the messages behind the the last three episodes of the season. I found these episodes more fascinating than the first three episodes so this doesn’t get the skip factor that the first disc gets.
Also Appearing in this Feature:
Executive Producer, Lori McCreary
Executive Producer, James Younger
* Web Series: Man on the Street (Approx. 8:50 minutes) – This follows the same pattern as the feature on disc one only the questions are “Where Do We Come From?,” “Where Does Evil Come From?” and “Do You Believe in Miracles?” A must see.
* Web Series: Walks into a Diner (Approx. 13:20 minutes) –
The “A Pastor, A Rabbi, and an Imam…” segments continue with Creation, Evil, and Miracles and it’s just as fascinating as the segment on disc one so definitely watch it.
Appearing in this Feature:
Pastor Touré Roberts
Rabbi Deborah Schuldenfrei
Imam Jihad Turk
Own The Story of God with Morgan Freeman Season One on and DVD today.
Watch Season 2 of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman Mondays at 9/8c on National Geographic.