Music of the Spheres (The Outer Limits)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Music of the Spheres” | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Outer Limits episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 14 |
||||||
| Written by | Steven Barnes | ||||||
| Directed by | David Warry-Smith | ||||||
| Guest stars | Kirsten Dunst as Joyce Taylor, Joshua Jackson as Devon Taylor, Howard Hesseman as Dr. Emory Taylor, Larry Musser as Dr. Evan Swift, Ryan Taylor as Vic, Gina Chiarelli as Doctor #2, Kamilyn Kaneko as Kelly, Douglas Newell as Principal, Freda Perry as Nurse, Ronin Wong as Doctor #1, Andrew Younghusband as D.J., Jonathan Whittaker as Colonel Bowen | ||||||
| Production no. | 58 | ||||||
| Original airdate | 9 May 1997 | ||||||
|
|||||||
| List of The Outer Limits episodes | |||||||
"Music of the Spheres" is an episode of The Outer Limits. It first aired on 9 May 1997, during the third season.
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
Devon Taylor, a young physics student, picks up a strange signal during his work at a radio observatory. He believes that he can hear a pattern in it, but none of his older colleagues can hear it.
[edit] Opening narration
"For years we have searched for the answer to an eternal question, "Are we alone?" As yet, there has been no answer. Or perhaps the answer is only for those with the facility to hear it."
[edit] Plot
Taylor’s younger sister, Joyce Taylor, plays the tape and enjoys the sound so much she plays it at a rave. When Devon finds her at the rave, everyone there is infected with skin deformities. All the teens are quarantined at a hospital, but when they are separated from the music on the tape they all experience severe pain and withdrawal symptoms. Devon and his superiors are left with no choice but to let the patients listen to the tape until they can figure out the rest of the transmitted message.
It is later discovered that a dying alien world had transmitted this audio in order to save other planets from a dire fate: their sun had shifted to the ultraviolet spectrum, and all their world's inhabitants would have died if they had not figured out how to alter their own physiology so that they would resist the effects of the changed sun. They detected that Earth's sun would also undergo the same change and sent the audio signal to Earth so that humanity could prepare. In the end the rest of humanity either transforms by the transmitted sound (developing new, hardened skin) or chose to remain as they were. Any humans who did not change would have to avoid the sun at all times since the new sun's radiation would be instantly fatal to anyone who did not change.
[edit] Closing narration
"It is said that Music is a universal bridge, crossing the barriers of culture, age, and language. Perhaps, eventually, we will learn that it also spans those of time... and space."
