Genre: Drama

Review Based On: First Two Episodes

Star Rating: 

Thanks to the rise of online streaming platforms, we have reached the dawning of a new era in Christian media. Finally, we have modern Christian television shows! I’m a TV girl through and through, so I was really excited to see that the streaming service Pure Flix made my dreams come true. The question is: Will their content be good enough to compete with the zillions of hours of everything else one could be watching? A pretty solid competitor is their drama The Encounter.

This 30-minute drama, a spinoff of the movie with the same name, tells the stories of various people as they encounter God during a turning point in their lives. The role of Jesus is played by Bruce Marchiano (The Lion of Judah, Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End). He is the only reoccurring character in the series.

I have to admit that that little fact was a bit of a disappointment after watching the first episode, The Heist. In it, Carlos PenaVega plays a young man who is in the middle of a gas station robbery gone wrong. I loved watching PenaVega so much that I was really hoping we would get to see him throughout the series.

On the bright side, a rotating cast makes way for other actors to impress us with their dramatic chops. Furthermore, if any of them give a bad performance, you won’t have to see them again in future episodes. It’s a win-win!

The show’s gritty coloring reminded me of NBC’s 2002 series Boomtown. It’s a stylistic choice that I think worked really well for The Encounter, especially for the first episode.

While I, personally, wasn’t as enthralled with the second episode, U Turn, it was still really good. It tells the story of a young woman who, after an argument with her mother, tries to leave town but mysteriously can’t. I liked mystery and the twist at the end (which I won’t give away) and the acting was really good overall.

While I can’t give the show any points for creativity, as similar storylines have been done before with shows like Highway to Heaven and Touched by an Angel, I am very pleased with the program. It kept my interest and I will definitely continue to watch future episodes. It looks like our first television show up for review was a success!

WHAT AGE GROUP IS IT FOR?

Based on the first couple of episodes, it has a PG-13 rating. There isn’t anything truly disturbing, but The Heist does show a guy getting shot. I also doubt that the storylines would hold the attention of anyone under the age of 13.

LOOKING TO SHOW IT AT CHURCH?

The Encounter is a show that has great potential to be used at church. In general, it shows the importance of making the right choices. More specific topics like theft and forgiveness would have to be assessed on an episode by episode basis.