The Star (The Twilight Zone)

"**The Star**"
"The Star"
The Twilight Zone episode
	Scene from The Star
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 13c
Directed by	Gerd Oswald
Written by	Alan Brennert ; (based on the short story by Arthur C. Clarke)
Original air date	December 20, 1985
Guest appearances
	Fritz Weaver: Fr. Matthew Costigan ; Donald Moffat: Dr. Chandler ; : Captain Durant
Episode chronology
← Previous; "But Can She Type?"	Next →; "Still Life"
	List of episodes

"The Star" is the third and final segment of the thirteenth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the American television series The Twilight Zone, which was a Christmas-themed episode. This segment is based on the short story "The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke, published in Infinity Science Fiction (November 1955). It centers on a space expedition's chance discovery of the Star of Bethlehem.

Plot[]

On an interstellar journey, astrophysicists Dr. Chandler and Fr. Matthew Costigan (a Jesuit priest) have a friendly debate over whether God exists or the wonders they view are caused by random occurrence. Their spaceship picks up a subspace signal from a long-dead world. Upon landing on the planet, the explorers discover that it holds the last remains of a race that was destroyed by a supernova. Their civilization was quite advanced, and they find remnants of art and other pieces of their culture. A computer record shows that they had one thousand years of peace before their extinction. Both Dr. Chandler and Fr. Costigan are deeply upset at the race's tragic demise, making their argument over religion turn bitter.

To his dismay, Fr. Matthew calculates that the star went supernova in the year 3120 B.C. and that the light produced from this explosion was "The Star of Bethlehem" that shone down on Earth the day Jesus was born. Fr. Matthew's trust in God is shaken, arguing that it is unfair that God choose this star to herald the divine birth when numerous stars from uninhabited systems were available.

Dr. Chandler apologizes for their bitter words earlier and comforts him by translating a poem he found among the archives of the dead culture. It says that one should mourn not for them, for they lived in peace and saw the beauty of the universe, but for those who live in pain and those who never see the light of peace. Dr. Chandler says that in dying, they passed their light onto another world, and that they can hope to one day do the same.

Production[]

The original script for "The Star" demanded much more elaborate sets, and by the admission of its writer, Alan Brennert, probably would have ended up not being made due to budget constraints. He credits The Twilight Zone story consultant Harlan Ellison for suggesting that the opening scene be done with a "limbo set" i.e. a black interior stylishly lit with a few isolated pieces of furniture. The 1960s TV series The Outer Limits frequently used such sets when under particularly tight budgets, and doing the opening scene in this way allowed "The Star" to be produced.^[1] Ellison also suggested that Gerd Oswald, who had directed many episodes of The Outer Limits, including one written by Ellison, be the director.^[1]

Brennert wanted Donald Moffat, whom he had worked with on an unproduced series called The Mississippi, to play Fr. Matthew Costigan, but Oswald said he could not see Moffat as a priest and insisted on Fritz Weaver in the role, with Moffat playing Dr. Chandler.^[1]

The planetary surface was a matte painting.^[1]

While Clarke's story ended with the priest in despair after the revelation that the alien civilization had perished in order to light "the Christmas star," the TV episode added an epitaph by the aliens, revealing their acceptance of their place in the universe. Brennert later commented that "Over the years I've taken a little bit of heat from certain fans in the science fiction community for changing the ending of this story. I actually maintain that the ending as it is in this episode is implicit in the story and is not really at odds with the kind of metaphysical work that Clarke did in Childhood's End."^[1] He also stated that prior to filming the episode, Clarke was asked if he objected to the different ending, and as The Twilight Zone team never received a reply to this query, they concluded that Clarke had no objections.^[1]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Brennert, Alan (2020). The Twilight Zone: The Complete '80s Series: Audio Commentary - "The Star" (DVD). CBS DVD.

External links[]

"The Star" at IMDb

[AudioCom-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Brennert, Alan (2020). The Twilight Zone: The Complete '80s Series: Audio Commentary - "The Star" (DVD). CBS DVD.

[1]

v t The Twilight Zone (1985) episodes
Season 1	"Shatterday" "A Little Peace and Quiet" "Wordplay" "Dreams for Sale" "Chameleon" "Healer" "Children's Zoo" "Kentucky Rye" "Little Boy Lost" "Wish Bank" "Nightcrawlers" "If She Dies" "Ye Gods" "Examination Day" "A Message from Charity" "Teacher's Aide" "Paladin of the Lost Hour" "Act Break" "The Burning Man" "Dealer's Choice" "Dead Woman's Shoes" "Wong's Lost and Found Emporium" "The Shadow Man" "The Uncle Devil Show" "Opening Day" "The Beacon" "One Life, Furnished in Early Poverty" "Her Pilgrim Soul" "I of Newton" "Night of the Meek" "But Can She Type?" "The Star" "Still Life" "The Little People of Killany Woods" "The Misfortune Cookie" "Monsters!" "A Small Talent for War" "A Matter of Minutes" "The Elevator" "To See the Invisible Man" "Tooth and Consequences" "Welcome to Winfield" "Quarantine" "Gramma" "Personal Demons" "Cold Reading" "The Leprechaun-Artist" "Dead Run" "Profile in Silver" "Button, Button" "Need to Know" "Red Snow" "Take My Life...Please!" "Devil's Alphabet" "The Library" "Shadow Play" "Grace Note" "A Day in Beaumont" "The Last Defender of Camelot"
Season 2	"The Once and Future King" "A Saucer of Loneliness" "What Are Friends For?" "Aqua Vita" "The Storyteller" "Nightsong" "The After Hours" "Lost and Found" "The World Next Door" "The Toys of Caliban" "The Convict's Piano" "The Road Less Traveled" "The Card" "The Junction" "Joy Ride" "Shelter Skelter" "Private Channel" "Time and Teresa Golowitz" "Voices in the Earth" "Song of the Younger World" "The Girl I Married"
Season 3	"The Curious Case of Edgar Witherspoon" "Extra Innings" "The Crossing" "The Hunters" "Dream Me a Life" "Memories" "The Hellgramite Method" "Our Selena Is Dying" "The Call" "The Trance" "Acts of Terror" "20/20 Vision" "There Was an Old Woman" "The Trunk" "Appointment on Route 17" "The Cold Equations" "Stranger in Possum Meadows" "Street of Shadows" "Something in the Walls" "A Game of Pool" "Room 2426" "The Mind of Simon Foster" "The Wall" "Cat and Mouse" "Rendezvous in a Dark Place" "Many, Many Monkeys" "Love Is Blind" "Crazy as a Soup Sandwich" "Special Service" "Father and Son Game"