You know the story, but what would your wife say if you told her you were informed by an angel that God had chosen to save you while he drowned the rest of mankind for its sins? You want to build a boat seventy miles from the sea when it hasn't rained for a year? Why don't you lie down on the couch and tell the good doctor all about it? Well, not the last part, but you get the drift. Other family members were not exactly chuffed either, the consensus being that the old man had been out in the sun too long. And of course this view was shared by the crowds who denied even the existence of the Man Upstairs, but weren't our ancestors supposed to be superstitious heathens who believed in all manner of spirits?Whatever, this special TV adaptation of the story of Noah and his ark is not concerned with anachronisms; the word science did not exist in his time, but it's unlikely he spoke English either. One serious criticism must be made of it, it is curtailed greatly towards the end. After they enter the ark we see nothing until Noah is back on dry land. Whatever restrictions the film makers were under, they should have extended it for at least another half hour.

I feel like this TV movie could have been condensed into 60 Minutes as the middle section felt like it dragged on just a bit too much and i found the end not very satisfying, as someone said in the comments below, 'blink and you'll miss it' has never been so true with regards to the flood, some heavy rain followed by a cut back to show the Earth from space followed by them walking on dry land again, i found that very anti climactic.It features a mish-mash of different accents and ethnicities, i understand this is the 21st century but as this drama was set so long ago i feel the BBC didn't need to be so politically correct as it takes you out of your suspension of disbelief.They tried hard to give the characters some back story in a vain attempt the make us care about their fate, and i wouldn't say it failed completely, David Threlfall put in a great performance as did his wife but their children didn't have any individuality or personalities, they were all very wooden and seemed to be reading from a script quite obviously.They were quite cheap on the effects like the storm itself and the boat didn't look particularly durable but then again this isn't a blockbuster movie, if you're willing to overlook that and the mixture of characters and accents then you'll find it to be watchable if not memorable.

OK first off you may think me daft for adding the "spoiler alert" to this review.After all let's face it.You have to be an alien from the outer reaches of space not to know what happens with this story.But there is a reason for this which will be explained further below.I'll start by saying that almost any drama from the BBC has high expectations.They have an enormous eye for detail,employ quality actors for the roles at hand and the entire production normally screams quality.For the most part The Ark is no exception.David Threlfall and Joanne Whalley played their roles as Noah and his Mrs extremely well and what we are treated to here is more of a story of Noah trying to convince his 4 (shouldn't it be 3?) sons and everyone else that he really has had a message from God,and isn't going bonkers by trying to build a large boat in the middle of the dessert.Three of his sons would rather work the land and carry on as normal hoping their dad would one day regain his sanity,while the forth would rather take trips into the local town (representing the evil of the world that needs to be cleansed) and stay with his girlfriend and smoking the wacky stuff!! Only Noahs wife sees the need to support her man no matter what and only after much boat building and family arguments,do all but the 4th rebellious son join in.And so it goes on for nearly an hour and fifteen minutes,at which point I'm looking at the clock thinking "this is only on for an hour and a half.There is a lot still to cover in this story.There must be a part two".WRONG!!As compelling as this drama was up to this point,it came to rather an abrupt finish. The end when it came was covered in the last ten or fifteen minutes in what I can only describe as a flash flood.Everything from the animals running hell for leather to get to safety (albeit from a distance),to the flood,waters receding (no dove in sight) and everybody getting off the Ark and going forth etc........all rushed in a complete mess of an ending.So much of a great opportunity was missed here by the BBC. Sure there were a few quibbles in the story (everybody speaking with Northern English accents for one)but rushing a great story such as this to such an abrupt ending was unforgivable.A part two was needed to cover all the time on the Ark during the flood and the aftermath. The whole story was not told here and it deserved better than this.Shame on you BBC!!.So hence the spoiler alert because if you are expecting more,you ain't gonna get it.

Writer Tony Jordan has gone to a back to basics re-telling of the story of Noah. Less of the actual floods and the animals going two by two. After all this is a BBC television movie and the budget was never going to be mega unless Russell Crowe had signed on.David Threlfall plays Noah and Joanne Whalley plays his loyal wife with their three grown up sons living a hard working life in the desert (it was filmed in Morocco.) Noah is committed to God but a visit to the local market town with his son shows him a life there without belief where violence, faithlessness and cheating is close at hand.This version has the family in the centre of the drama as well as faith. When Noah gets a visit from God's messenger, family loyalties are put to the test as he goes about building an ark first by himself, then helped by his wife before the rest of the family pitch in which is made to look like hard even bad breaking work.The film tries to be a modern small scale parable with its comparison to a world of science and bankers although I think it does not entirely carry it off as it comes too close to be rather preachy. The film also disappoints as it strips maybe too much of the familiar traits of the tale such as the animals going to the ark as well as the flooding.Threlfall is a stern but kind hearted Noah who puts his love of the family first and he does well to be the centre of the film although I guess some viewers would find the northern accents rather off putting and accuse it of being a Shameless in the Desert which is rather unfair.