Docudrama
190 minutes / 2020
Rating: 7/10
This didn’t grab me on a first viewing but as I wasn’t the target audience, I thought I would still test it out on my kids. I’m glad I did: what’s good-but-not-great for dad turned out to be downright funtastic for the younger set! This 5-episode series is based on filmmaker Timothy Mahoney’s full-length documentary Patterns of Evidence about his search for evidence of Israel’s captivity in Egypt. The original was part mystery, part biblical history, and my wife and I both enjoyed it immensely, which is why I ordered this sequel of sorts.
But what initially put me off of the Young Explorers version was the added element of a whole gang of kids helping Mahoney investigate this mystery. This is now not simply a documentary, but a docudrama, with fact and fiction, education and entertainment, all mixed together. The kids were decent actors but still kids, and while I enjoyed the gags and dry humor, it all struck me as just a bit…cheesy.
However, after testing it out on my daughters, I realized what I was bristling against wasn’t cheese so much as enthusiasm, and though the greybeard that I am should know better, I still sometimes succumb to that weird teenage cynicism that believes enthusiasm is the opposite of cool – I was actually faulting Mahoney’s junior investigators for being eager beavers! But watching this with my own kids, then the gangs’ enthusiasm became a key feature of the film: here were 10 keeners sharing their passions, and no one was getting mocked for gushing about this or that. It was a whole group of geeky kids encouraging and cheering each other on. Would that my own kids can be like that (would that I can be like that!). So yes, a cynical, edgy, or critical audience will find plenty to mock here, and consequently won’t be interested in the gang’s big adventure. But if you’ve got geeky kids of your own, then they may just love it!
There’s a lot of love in the more than 3 hours of content. One highlight is the “Exploration Chamber” – a fictitious holodeck that the group can enter to then see and explore Egypt as it once was. Adults will appreciate how we hear directly from the horse’s mouth, with Mahoney often interviewing the very critics he is trying to rebut. On my second viewing with the family I caught how there is humor on two levels here, with pratfalls for the kids, and dry humor for the adults – there are some snort-worthy moments!
The five episodes in order cover:
- The adventures begin when the kids hear about Timothy Mahoney’s work and are eager to help
- They learn that we may know where Joseph lived in Egypt
- The team searches for signs of captive Israel’s population explosion
- The Young Explorers go search for signs of the 10 plagues
- The search continues on into Israel, where the team now investigates the fall of the walls of Jericho
Caution
There are no real content concerns so the only caution I’ll offer is not to take Mahoney’s conclusions as the final word. Mahoney isn’t the only one trying to solve these mysteries, and while his answers are especially compelling, there seem to be some other creationist contenders.
Conclusion
While this isn’t something for dad to watch on his own, it could be some great viewing for the family…if your teens aren’t going through that overly critical phase. Or skip the teens altogether and watch this with your elementary age kids: they’ll love it…and mom and dad will too. The one downside? It is pricey, running between $30-$45 US. You can buy it for online streaming at Christian Cinema, and Christianbooks.com, or buy it on DVD at PatternsOfEvidence.com.
You can also watch it for free (you will have to register an account) at RedeemTV.com here.
To get a feel for the series, check out the trailer below and find other sneak peeks here.
