"The survey ship Magellan, bearing with it the last legacy of a long-dead people. A legacy to be kept and cherished and, in time, bequeathed to a world still unborn. From the current inhabitants...of the Twilight Zone."
Wow...they fit a 12 minute film into a 30 min slot...amazing. It wasn't even that good.
Posted by: Raoul at December 22, 2012 5:14 PMWow...they fit a 12 minute film into a 30 min slot...amazing. It wasn't even that good.
Posted by: Raoul at December 22, 2012 5:15 PMIt was a wonderful 12 minutes. I was amazed that they would have a priest at all, let alone a Catholic one. The underlying acknowledgement of God and His redemptive work is a natural fit for science fiction.
Posted by: Jewel at December 23, 2012 7:08 PMAs the inhabitants of that planet passed their gift on to another planet, so too can we, on a much smaller scale, pass our personal gifts to others. Another profound selection, Mr. Vanderleun, and a message worthy of emulation. Merry Christmas to you and yours, and may you continue to let the Lord's gift shine from within.
Posted by: Roger Drew Williams at December 24, 2012 5:56 AMFrom an Arthur C. Clarke short storh.
http://www.enotes.com/star-salem/star-9620000427
The ending of the TV show was very different from the original story. In the original story, the priest (a Jesuit) loses his faith because he could not conceive of a God so "monstrous" as to destroy a whole people just to provide a star over Bethlehem.
I found the original story ironic: the priest was presented with proof positive that God exists, yet he loses his faith.
Of course, to God, death is not the end - it is just the beginning of eternity.
Posted by: Joel at December 26, 2012 3:58 PMMakes for fine drama, perhaps, but poor science. There is not an astronomer to be found who thinks that the Star of Bethlehem was a supernova. In fact, Kepler's equations have solved the problem once for all: the Star of Bethlehem was a conjunction of Jupiter with the star Regulus. In fact, there were three such conjunctions within a year, the first two within the backdrop of the constellation Leo.
Why does this matter? Kepler’s equations show that the Jupiter’s full stop for the third retrograde took place on December 25, 2 BC. If you had been in Jerusalem on that evening, you would have seen the kingly planet Jupiter motionless in the sky almost due south, directly above Bethlehem. And better yet, its stationary position was in the middle of the constellation Virgo, the Virgin.
Posted by: Donald Sensing at December 22, 2016 8:23 AMAs another commenter noted, Clarke's story ended in a somewhat pathetic anti-God whine. I grew up hooked on scifi because of a kid's book written by Clarke that I won at primary school, but this story of his annoyed me on several fronts. The Twilight Zone story, however, regardless of scientific accuracy or lack thereof (which I usually prefer), left me feeling fulfilled. I commend it to you as good Christmas fare!!!
Posted by: Dis at December 22, 2016 1:32 PMI only remember 2 episodes of the 'new' Twilight Zone - the one where that actor died in the helicopter crash, and this one. I was enthralled the entire episode. Finally, a few years ago, I found the story online and read it, and wasn't disappointed. What a great story. I will watch this again sometime in the next couple of days, and will again be enthralled. Thanks for the reminder, and Merry Christmas!
Posted by: SoCalMike at December 22, 2016 2:41 PMWow, Harlan Ellison and The Grateful Dead in one episode!
Posted by: Mark at December 23, 2016 11:23 PM"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated to combat spam and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.
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