To Tell the Truth (The Outer Limits)
| "To Tell the Truth (The Outer Limits)" |
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"To Tell the Truth" is an episode of The Outer Limits television show. It was first broadcast on April the 24th, of 1998, during the fourth season.
Opening narration
It has been said that for the truth to exist it takes two people... one to speak it and another to hear it.
Plot
Dr. Larry Chambers (Gregory Harrison) helped building the colony on Janus Five. He and fellow scientist Amanda Harper (Kim Huffman) run computer simulations that show the planet's star will flash over in a matter of days, emitting waves of deadly radiation, so Dr. Chambers urges evacuation. This is not a popular recommendation, especially among the colony's leaders who include council chairman Franklin Murdock (William Atherton), security head Montgomery Bennett (Alan Scarfe) and Amanda's father, Ian Harper (Ken Pogue). They point out that Chambers has been wrong before; the colony had to be moved at great cost after he warned of deadly volcanic activity that never occurred; and suggest that his judgment has been clouded by the death of his wife Elise. When that doesn't stop Chambers, Murdock and Bennett discredit him by falsely accusing him of being one of the aliens who originally inhabited the planet, suggesting that the evacuation plan is a plot to reclaim the planet for his people. Imprisoned and threatened with death, Chambers' only hope is that Amanda will uncover the truth in time to save him and the colony. She does manage to convince her father, who helps them into an escape rocket. However when all three are cornered by an angry mob led by Murdock, Chambers sacrifices himself to ensure the launching and is trampled to death. In a twist of fate, Murdock learns that Bennett is actually an alien, who manipulated Murdock to destroy the colony as the flash indeed occurs, killing everyone. The Aliens survive, now able to use humanity's technology for their own advantage.
Closing narration
Mankind will be forever doomed to destruction, if we continue to ask for the truth but then... refuse to listen.