Left Behind: The Kids TV Series

[Jasmine_Princess]

I've actually thought of that Left Behind: The Kids could be turn into a TV Series. It would work well episodically, even better than try to cram them into movies. Plus, it would be a terrible idea to open the door wide open for some big Hollywood studio and let it run wild with their ideas.

It would follow the books closely, even if some things would require some changes or some things expanded on. We might see each of the kids background before the Rapture. We might see more of the Global Community Middle School. We might get to see Chaya Stein talking with Tom just before the Rapture. We might see John Preston getting drafted to the GC Navy and talking with Carl Menninger. We might even get to see Natalie Bishop trying to talk with Claudia Zander about God.

Then of course there are some things to be concerned about, like the stereotype depictions of African-Americans, Jews, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Native Americans, Hispanics, etc.

If Dallas Jenkins and Randy LaHaye have any involvement, it would certainly be a plus!

Do you think a Left Behind: The Kids TV Series could be done? Any ideas for what could be expanded on? Is there anything you might be concern about?

 

[bobinfaith]

Hello, Jasmine_Princess;

With God all this could happen. How old would the kids be to watch this? I have a 6 year old niece who has attended Church since her birth.

Stereotype depictions should be replaced with the Truth of God, therefore, it would require a producer and director who are seasoned disciples to put this movie together for kids.

God bless you and thank you for sharing.

 

[Jasmine_Princess]

I thought about the target audience. I think I was about 10 when I first watched the Kirk Cameron movie. Our 4th and 5th grade class on a Wednesday Night was studying Revelation, and we've watched the Left Behind movie. Though I'm not sure how many kids watch apocalyptic fiction.

I wonder if it could even overlap with the adult series. They are the same story, just taken from different angles. It could be done chronologically, especially if it was an episodic series. Here are some random ideas-

Rayford Steele learning how to be a pilot.

Nicolae Carpathia's childhood and going into the Parliament of Romania.

Suhail Akbar and Nelson Stefanich at the Madrid Military Academy (I honestly don't know if that's in Spain, but that's besides the point).

Raymie Steele and Ryan Daley become best friends when they were in Kindergarten.

Lionel Washington and his family moving from Chicago to Mount Prospect.

Vicki Byrne's family getting converted at a concert in a trailer park.

Judd Thompson, JR going to church as a child then watch him starting falling away.

Those are just random ideas. The kids version has never been adapted to screen before, of course. The closest they got was the dramatic audio presentation, which I that could be discussed in another thread. We could even discuss on how hard it is to turn a book or series of books into a movie or TV series.

 

[Jasmine_Princess]

Well, I’ll give a list of what I wouldn’t want for a Left Behind: The Kids TV series and what I would actually be concern about.

A list of things I wouldn't want-

1. This is for sure- not to take the plot too far from the books. It's really tricky to turn a book or even a series of books into a movie or TV series. Though there are things that would have to require some changes to make it work on screen or there could even be additions or they may have to cut out some things. And of course, I get that. But if you take the plot too far from the books, it will not do well. Here's the thing: if you do them right, it can turn out great! If you do them wrong which can be very easy to do, it can turn out to be a disaster. So I wouldn't want it to take it too far from the books.

2. I think most would agree with me on this- I wouldn't want a romance added that are already not in the books. For example, I wouldn't want a romance between Ryan Daley and Darrion Stahley. It's one of the things I often get worried about. People are into pairing two characters these days, even more so than about 10 or 20 or even 30 years ago. Romance isn't a big part of the Left Behind universe, especially in the kids version. It's not about falling in love, but about their struggle to survive when the world has changed so much. And don't you just get sick of a romantic plot be forced into every Hollywood production? The only romance I see in the Left Behind universe are of course Buck and Chloe, David and Annie, Ree and Ming, Chang and Naomi, Judd and Vicki, and Conrad and Shelly. But no pairing two characters, like Ryan and Darrion or Lionel and Melinda, etc. Plus, for Ryan and Darrion, it would require to age them up, which I'm sure we wouldn't want. It's kind of nice for a boy and girl character to have a close friendship without having to fall in love.

As for things I would be concern about-

1. I've talked about this earlier in the discussion, but it's about the depiction of stereotype. It would be a challenge, that's for sure. The challenge is how to depict Jews or Middle-Eastern or Hispanics, etc. I mean, one of the main characters in the kids version is African-American, Lionel Washington. Then there's Chang Wong, whose also a major character in the adult series, whose Chinese. There's also Sam Goldberg and Nada who are Israeli's. Stereotype depiction can be a real challenge. Instead, as pointed out, should be replaced with God's Truth, and how He wants to reach out to all people, especially teens, no matter their racial background.

2. Here's one that's a challenge- how would they do Carpathia coming back to life? The question is, would we want to see that in a TV series, especially the kids version? There's a part of me that says, "Ooh yes!" Then another part of me says, "There's something unsettling about that!" I've watched murder mysteries, but not one where the murdered victim comes back to life, especially at a funeral service. I guess one way to do that for the kids version is to show the audiences, both at the funeral and even those watching it on TV, and their reactions. "Oh, he's back from the dead!" So that would probably be a way to do it.

Do you agree with any of these? Is there anything else you wouldn't want or that you might be concerned about?