This has to be one of my favourite versions of the Nativity story. It is a careful, poignant, and believable filming of the tale. The characters are written as people who are responding to an incredible vision, told by those who would normally be dismissed. Each of the roles is acted with sincerity and a depth of care, the wise men, a shepherd, the families of Mary and Joseph are all there as are Herod and his officers. Their voices build up the story, working it into a picture of God intervening in the world, remaking it. Mary and Joseph are portrayed convincingly and with a pathos I found incredibly moving. These are young people, in love and looking forward to their future before Mary is chosen to bring God to birth. Her acceptance of this, and Joseph's gradual coming to terms with her child is beautifully shown. Joseph is hurt and bewildered. Mary confused but willing to trust. Their slow coming back together makes this retelling a lovely exploration of what it is to be human. I was really glad that I have seen the series and recommend it to anyone who is curious about what it might have been like to witness and be part of this story.

Three stories connected to the virgin birth from 1 year before. Thomas the shepherd from Bethlehem is struggling. The three Magi are debating then traveling to the birth. And in Nazareth, Joseph starts a new life with Mary.The biblical story is given a more complex reading. What would happen to Mary if she becomes pregnant without Joseph? She is shunned by the town and most importantly by Joseph. Her father is able to convince Joseph to take Mary to Bethlehem where they hoped Mary would be able escape the shame. But even there, her shame is well known and she is turned away.That adds much more humanity to the story. And I think it adds more drama. Tatiana Maslany do a good job. If they could get to the pregnancy earlier, it would make it even more compelling.

I agree with the other reviewers. This retelling of the Christian nativity story is a very pleasant surprise. No one is surrounded by any weird glows; schmaltzy music does not swell every three minutes. Angels are not accompanied by sparkly fog. The storyline contains no surprises, of course. The biggest liberty the screenwriters take is to speed up the wise men's arrival. I've always wondered why nativity retellings didn't make more of the Joseph character. This one finally does, and it turns out that treating Joseph as a three-dimensional character central to the plot worked even better than I thought it would. This Joseph is fully believable and just as conflicted and confused as one would expect. He is a good man who wants to be good to his word and who fully expected his fiancée to be true to hers. This treatment made me realize that Joseph's story is probably more relevant to regular humans than those of the other characters. Joseph is fully human, non-divine, non-chosen, no one special--a regular Joe (sorry!) just like you and me. He had the choice to trust and risk looking like a world-class chump, or to protect his pride by refusing to trust. That's a dilemma that is worth watching, even if you know how the story comes out in the end.

Over last year's festive season, there were some gems as well as some disappointments. The Nativity was one of those unexpected gems. I say unexpected because in all honesty I was expecting it to be like our primary school nativity plays, something you like participating in and enjoy as a child, but in some ways it doesn't really appeal as an adult, especially looking back I remember the songs I had to sing which seem twee by today's standards. Though on the other hand, the holiday is not complete without the story being told in some form or other. The Nativity wasn't anything like that. It really did appeal to me, it moved and touched me by its warmth and honesty and the end result was heart-warming and a just wonderful slice of television. Visually it is very beautiful, with great costumes and photography and the backdrops are gorgeous, and the music is very well composed and fits well. The writing is poignant and realistic, and while I wondered how they were going to fit the story over a running time such as this one they nailed it, there are many well done scenes such as when Mary is humiliated and the introduction to King Herod and the whole story is well paced, wonderfully told and satisfyingly rounded off.The cast also do fine jobs. Andrew Buchan is excellent as Joseph, and here I was really sympathetic towards Mary and not only because of how she is treated in some scenes but also because of Tatiana Maslany's heartbreaking performance. Peter Capaldi and Art Malik are also great value, while Vincent Regan is a very effective Herod.All in all, a wonderful series and one of the best airing over the holidays. 10/10 Bethany Cox