Judgment Day - Intelligent Design on Trial

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Starring: Nova
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Type: DVD
Directed By: Nova
Studio: WGBH Boston
Release Date: 2008-02-26
Running Time: 112 minutes
Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial captures the turmoil that tore apart the community of Dover, Pennsylvania in a landmark battle over the teaching of evolution in public schools. In 2004, the Dover school board ordered science teachers to read a statement to high school biology students about an alternative to Darwin s theory of evolution called intelligent design the idea that life is too complex to have evolved naturally and so must have been designed by an intelligent agent. The teachers refused to comply, and both parents and teachers filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the school board of violating the constitutional separation of church and state.

Now, NOVA explores the arguments by lawyers and expert witnesses in riveting detail and provides an eye-opening crash course on questions such as What is evolution? and Is intelligent design a scientifically valid alternative? Featuring trial reenactments based on court transcripts and interviews with key participants and expert scientists, this gripping program presents the celebrated case of Kitzmiller v. Dover School District.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed?
"Judgment Day" is a fascinating documentary about the Intelligent Design (ID) trials in Dover,Pennsylvania. It's an interesting case of parents championing evolution against the school board. The school board thought they had Mission Accomplished--Pres. Bush was on their side,as well as Senator Rick Santorum. They had the Discovery Institute,a Seattle-based conservative think tank.

"Judgment Day" shows families and friends divided over the issue. Most riveting are the court re-enactments. Michael Behe,a scientist and author of "Darwin's Black Box",comes across as sincere and unprepared. The IDers portray themselves as victims--despite the fact that many of them,including Behe,refused interviews with PBS. At one crucial moment,Behe says his redefinition of science could include astrology. ID,it turns out,is creation science in drag.

"Judgment Day" does bring up some important questions. Why is creation science vs. evolution such a big issue in American culture? Should ID be taught as science,or philosophy? Is evolution really an atheistic evil its opponents portray it as? It's a riveting documentary. Come to your own judgments.

Why is Amazon offering this video with Flock of Dodos?
Every other Nova video is offered with another Nova video, except this one. With this video they are offering Flock of Dodos. Which side are they insulting with this offer?

See reviews above
I have watched this documentary several times, and I have nothing to add to other reviews. It is one of the best NOVA specials I have ever seen, definitely should receive 5 stars. Just wanted to get my rating in, please read the excellent summaries above for details.

As Always, a Well-Done Documentary from Nova
Very entertaining documentary, with a story that was well-laid out by the director. Glad that interviews were conducted with both sides, and the overall presentation tried to be as impartial as can be.

The documentary doesn't present any arguments, but tells the story of what happened at this school, which is facinating enough.

Kudos to the producers for keeping the broader argument in check enough to tell the story impartially.

Brilliant Recounting of the Kitzmiller vs. Dover Trial Courtesy of PBS' NOVA
"Judgement Day - Intelligent Design on Trial" ranks as among the finest documentaries I have seen on the so-called "creation vs. evolution" debate. Why? It does a most admirable job showing the cultural fissures which emerged in Dover, PA in the immediate aftermath of its pro-Creationist school board's decision to "introduce" Intelligent Design creationism into the science classrooms of Dover High School. There is ample testimony from local residents like former board members Alan Bonsell and Bill Buckingham, Dover science teacher Berta Spahr and reporter Lori Lebo, whose words dramatically illustrate the ample tensions that were present in the small Pennsylvanian town from the summer of 2004 through December 2005; tensions which erupted quite literally in a "cultural" civil war which pitted father against daughter (Lori Lebo's Fundamentalist Protestant Christian father against a daughter who was quite skeptical of his devout religious faith.) and neighbor against neighbor. There is also excellent commentary from Intelligent Design advocates philosopher Steve Fuller and retired law school professor Philip Johnson in defending Intelligent Design, but there is indeed ample, persuasive remarks in defense of valid scientific education and the validity of modern evolutionary theory as sound science from the Pepper Hamilton lawyers who were the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, and notable scientists like paleontologists Kevin Padian, and Neil Shubin, cell biologist Ken Miller and physical anthropologist Eugenie Scott, the Executive Director of the National Center for Science Education. Last, but not least, Judge John E. Jones III, offers a most persuasive defense of his ruling, demonstrating why his thinking was indeed original (contrary to creationist accusations of his "plagiarizing" from previous court cases) and non-activist in tone.

The most remarkable aspects of "Judgement Day - Intelligent Design on Trial" are the excellent re-enactments of key moments in the trial by actors portraying Ken Miller, ID advocate Michael Behe, the attorneys for the plaintiffs and the defendants, and philosopher of science Barbara Forrest, taken directly from the actual courtroom transcripts. Among the most memorable scenes include those of Michael Behe's admission that astrology could be viewed as science under his expansive definition of a tenable scientific theory, his failure to admit that there is ample evidence supporting the evolutionary biology of immunology (a scene in which Pepper Hamilton attorney Eric Rothschild piles a large stack of papers and books providing this evidence on Michael Behe's desk), Ken Miller's defense of real science when questioned by defense attorney Patrick Gillen, and Barbara Forrest's devastating disclosure showing how the Intelligent Design textbook "Of Pandas and People" "evolved" from a religiously-oriented "creation science" book into one devoted exclusively to the "scientific" nature of Intelligent Design.

Without question, "Judgement Day: Intelligent Design on Trial" should be purchased by anyone interested in understanding what transpired in Dover, Pennsylvania and the true, religious nature of so-called "Intelligent Design"; a scientifically discarded concept that should be regarded not only as a pernicious mixture of dead science and bad theology, but truly as mendacious intellectual pornography.