The first time we saw an ad for Kings, NBC's slightly sci-fi retelling of the David and Goliath story, it was in the middle of Inauguration Weekend, as Barack Obama made his way to Washington by train. You've probably seen the ad since -- "a kingdom at war needs hope," they've re-run it constantly the last couple weeks -- but on that weekend, we couldn't help but admire NBC for the baldness of their attempt to link a mid-season replacement to the incoming President. And, of course, we wondered: would that strategy work? Could a show get an audience purely through the audacity of, erm, a few well-placed ads?
Well, maybe we give the NBC promo department too much credit, but about halfway through last night's series premiere, we found ourselves wondering again about the timing behind Kings. This time, though, it wasn't that NBC might be trying to capitalize on the beginning of something... No, rather it seemed clear that NBC's hoping that Kings'll be a decent substitute for something that's ending right as it begins, leaving a decently rabid fanbase with nothing new to follow.
So, can Kings be the new Battlestar Galactica? We're not sure yet...
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