Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial
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{{Infobox television
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| genre = Documentary, science
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| narrated = Jay O. Sanders
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| country = United States
| language = English (U.S.)
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| runtime = 1 hour, 53 minutes
| company = Vulcan Productions
Big Table Film Company
| network = PBS
| first_aired = {{Start date|2007|11|13}}
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Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial is a documentary on the case of Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District—which concentrated on the question of whether or not intelligent design could be viewed as science and taught in school science class. It first aired on PBS stations nationwide, on November 13, 2007, with many reruns, and features interviews with the judge, witnesses, and lawyers as well as re-enacted scenes using the official transcript of the trial.{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/arts/television/11dean.html?ref=television | title=Battlefield Report From the Evolution War | work=New York Times |date= 11 November 2007 | first= Cornelia| last= Dean| accessdate =2007-11-17}}
Judgment Day was produced by WGBH's NOVA and Vulcan Productions in association with the Big Table Film Company. The senior executive producer was Paula S. Apsell, the executive producer was Richard Hutton, and the producers were Joseph McMaster, Gary Johnstone, and Vanessa Tovell. The senior producer was Susanne Simpson. Johnstone and McMaster served as directors, and McMaster was the writer.
In April 2008 the documentary won a Peabody Award.[http://www.peabodyawards.com/award-profile/judgment-day-intelligent-design-on-trial 67th Annual Peabody Awards], May 2008. It won the 2008 Science Journalism Award presented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to honor excellence in science reporting.{{cite news | url=http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2008/1112sja.shtml | title=AAAS Announces Winners of the 2008 AAAS Science Journalism Awards | publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science | date=November 12, 2008 | accessdate=2008-04-06 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501140132/http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2008/1112sja.shtml | archive-date=May 1, 2009 | url-status=dead }}
Summary
When the school board in Dover, Pennsylvania, votes to require science teachers to read a statement touting intelligent design as a scientific alternative to Darwin's Theory of Evolution, parents sue the district, leading to a trial in which the judge must decide if intelligent design is merely a new name for creationism, already barred in public school science classes as being religious in nature.
Response
The documentary was received positively by many scientific organizations. It was praised by Nature,{{cite news | url=http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v450/n7167/full/450170a.html | title=Television: Dover trial documentary screens | publisher=Nature |date= 8 November 2007 | accessdate =2007-11-17}} and described as accurate by the National Center for Science Education.{{cite news | url=http://ncse.com/news/2007/11/judgment-day-accurate-ncse-reports-001181 | title=Judgment Day Accurate, NCSE Reports | publisher=National Center for Science Education |date= 13 November 2007 | accessdate =2007-11-17}}{{cite web |url=http://ncse.com/news/2007/11/judgment-day-praised-nature-001225 |title=Judgment Day praised in Nature |accessdate=2008-07-20 |date=2007-11-08 |publisher=National Center for Science Education}} Variety magazine also gave the documentary a positive review, and said it was one of the year's most important television projects, that "should be shown not just in every U.S. high school but in houses of worship as well."{{cite web |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117935395.html?categoryid=32&cs=1 |title=Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial |accessdate=2008-07-20 |last=Lowry |first=Brian |date=2007-11-12 |work=Recently Reviewed |publisher=Variety}}
In contrast, creationists and intelligent design supporters have criticized the documentary. The Discovery Institute produced a website critical of the broadcast,{{cite web |url=http://www.judgingpbs.com |title=Darwin's Failed Predictions |accessdate=2008-07-20 |work=JudgingPBS.com |publisher=Discovery Institute}}[http://intelligentdesign.podomatic.com/entry/2007-11-12T14_06_00-08_00# PBS, Darwin and Dover: an Interview with Phillip Johnson], [http://www.idthefuture.com/ Intelligent Design the Future] podcast, November 12, 2007 while Answers in Genesis argued the evidence for evolution presented by scientists in Judgment Day was fallacious.{{cite web |url=http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/11/14/over-after-dover |title=Is it over after Dover? |accessdate=2008-07-20 |author=Looy, Mark |date=2007-11-14 |publisher=Answers in Genesis}}{{cite web |url=http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2007/11/16/biased-judgment-day |title=Biased Judgment: Comments on NOVA TV's Judgment Day and its analysis of the Dover ID Trial |accessdate=2008-07-20 |author=David A. DeWitt, PhD |date=2007-11-16 |publisher=Answers in Genesis}} The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) also claimed the film was not balanced.{{cite web |url=http://www.icr.org/article/3518/ |title=PBS' "Judgment Day" Is a Misjudgment |accessdate=2008-07-20 |author=Christine Dao |publisher=Institute for Creation Research}}
WKNO-TV, the local PBS affiliate in Memphis, Tennessee, initially decided not to air the documentary because of the "controversial nature" of the subject, but later reversed its decision.{{cite news | url=http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2007/nov/15/topic-too-hot-for-wkno/ | title=Topic too hot for WKNO: Show on intelligent design didn't air here | publisher=Commercial Appeal |date= 15 November 2007 | accessdate =2007-11-17}}
See also
References
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External links
- [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/judgment-day-intelligent-design-on-trial/ Judgment Day] from PBS website. Full transcript is available on the website.
- {{IMDb title|id=1143530|title=Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial}}
=Teacher resources=
- [http://www.teachersdomain.org/exhibits/evol07-ex/index.html Special Collection: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205172425/http://www.teachersdomain.org/exhibits/evol07-ex/index.html |date=2007-12-05 }} Teacher's Domain Multimedia Resources
- [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/teachers/programs/3416_id.html Teacher's Guide: Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial], NOVA
- [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/id/media/nova-id-briefing.pdf Judgment Day Intelligent Day on Trial Briefing Packet for Educators: Resources to help you meet challenges to teach evolution], PBS
{{Nova (TV series)}}
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Category:2007 American television episodes
Category:American documentary television films
Category:Intelligent design controversies
Category:Nova (American TV program) episodes
Category:PBS original programming
Category:Peabody Award–winning broadcasts