The Star was the last segment of an already solid holiday themed episode that had included the lovely remake of a old Twilight Zone favorite, Night Of The Meek and a so so but entertaining fantasy scenario But Can She Type?, but The Star really sends the 13th episode of the first season off with a bang. In many ways The Star is a lot like Arthur C. Clarke's The Sentinel in it's approach and goals. It is one of the many episodes of the show's great first and second seasons that really strikes an emotional chord within me.
Before you go on to reading the spoiler ridden synopsis and my final thoughts on this episode, Give it a watch. It's only 12 minutes long and I don't think you'll regret it.
Synopsis: On an interstellar journey, far in the future, a medical doctor and a priest debate about the existence of God in the wonders of the universe. Dr. Chandler(Donald Moffat) believes them to be random patterns, but the priest, Father Matthew Costigan(Fritz Weaver)—also an astrophysicist—believes it is God's grand design. While having their friendly debate and wishing each other a merry Christmas, their ship picks up a subspace signal from a long-dead world. Father Matthew claims it is impossible that a civilization could have survived its star going supernova. The planet was so far from the star when it exploded that it escaped the worst. Upon landing on the now-dead planet, the explorers discover that the planet holds the last remains of a race which was destroyed when the supernova hit. Their civilization was quite advanced, with remnants of art and other pieces of their culture. Along with a computer record of their entire history comes evidence that they had had a thousand years of peace before their extinction. The captain requests Father Matthew to determine when the star went supernova. He calculates that the star exploded in the year 3120 B.C.
To his dismay, however, Father Matthew realizes that it would have taken 3120 years for the light from this explosion to reach Earth, in the Eastern Hemisphere. This star was the same star that shone down on Earth the day Jesus was born, "The Star of Bethlehem". In front of Dr. Chandler, Father Matthew cries out to God, to question why it had to be these people who had to lose their lives, why it could not have been a star with no life around it. Dr. Chandler attempts to comfort him by reading a poem he found among the archives of the advanced culture. It says that no one should mourn for them, for they lived in peace and love and saw the beauty of the universe. It says to grieve for those who live in pain and those who never see the light of peace. Dr. Chandler says that "whatever destiny was theirs, they fulfilled it. Their time had come, and in their passing, they passed their light on to another world. A balance was struck, and perhaps one day, whenever we've fulfilled whatever destiny we have, maybe we too will light the way for another world." The doctor's words and this quiet artifact consoles and encourages the priest.
Final Thoughts: The connection this story makes with the tales of the bible and the birth of Jesus Christ are amazing, and have haunting and tragic reprocussions that stick with the viewer for days after viewing. The episodes production values are fine for the television budget it was given and for it's time frame. Some effects don't hold up as well nowadays but it was never a story about the effects being the forefront, it was a story about it's message and the moment in time when two men discover a sad truth about one of the most wonderful births, the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. You don't even have to be deeply religous to feel this story's impact. It is so well written and preformed by Fritz Weaver and Donald Moffat that it can touch anyone's heart. I remember fondly the first time I saw this episode. It took me for a loop with it's conclusion and really affected me emotionally. So much so that I actually shed some tears at the episode's end. Now I try to make it a christmas tradition to watch this episode every year, and try to share it with those who are willing to give it a watch and appreciate it as much as I do.
"Whatever destiny was theirs, they fulfilled it. Their time had come, and in their passing, they passed their light on to another world. A balance was struck, and perhaps one day, whenever we've fulfilled whatever destiny we have, maybe we too will light the way for another world."
Those are ambitions for all mankind to strive for in my book. To by the time our world does come to an end to light the way for another world.
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