Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial (2007)

Documentary made for PBS's Nova program about the noteworthy 'intelligent design' court case Kitzmiller v. Dover Area School District. Basically the story is this, some members of the school board in a small Pennsylvania school district passed an ordinance insisting that 'intelligent design' be presented as a viable and scientific counter theory to Darwinian evolution, and that Darwin's theory not be present as, in there word, fact. The movie talks to Dover area residents involved in the ruckus, and presents re-enactments from the federal court case that arose from it. Both sides of the argument are presented, but what I'll call 'The Darwinian side' clearly had the stronger case. The arguments presented, taken largely from the court transcripts themselves, are very strong and logical, while the ID side's arguments were for the most part retorted easily, and some of their witnesses are known to have lied. One can believe in 'intelligent design' if one so chooses, but it is not science because it can not be tested, its arguments are easily refuted by the existing evidence, and its mostly based on inherently religious pre-suppositions. This is a documentary but its presented as what it is, a modern day Scopes trial, and it is riveting as courtroom drama, science, and sociological discourse. Grade: B+