The Shroud

Maybe the writer was unaware that the Shroud of Lies, was definitively Carbon-Dated to around the 15th or 16th Century, which sounds about right, so even if they did get DNA off the thing, it could be from absolutely anyone at all... So this premise is just stupid from the beginning as its all based on a hoax, so for me, it was stupid from the very start. Skip.

Keep in mind this is not a documentary, It's a fantasy television show. People get so riled up when religion gets put on television. If you accept this as a fantasy science fiction episode the rating is a bit low and should be around 7. The acting is fine and the story even though it meanders a bit but even though this is not a top rated episode at all, it shouldn't be close to the bottom.

I love the Outer Limits and this had virtually no characteristics of a typical good Outer Limits episode and I was very surprised that it was so well rated. Basically, a religious zealot dupes a young couple to * * SPOILER ALERT * * clone Jesus.

This was a bad combination of The Omen, Rosemary's Baby, and various other bad 70's movies. 1. Everyone was wooden and I did not care about the characters. David Stiers (Winchester from M.A.S.H.) gave a valiant but futile attempt to look convincing. In a good Outer Limits episode you ALWAYS care about the actors and it kills you when there is a bad ending.

2. Pacing, in a good Outer Limits episode they use the non-story time for character development but in this episode there simply was no character development.

I kept watching this episode to see when it was going to pick up and it never does. Please watch virtually any other Outer Limit's episode before judging this series.

I have to begin by telling you that I don't buy the Shroud of Turin stuff. The evidence of a Christ figure on a piece of cloth is ludicrous. For starters no one knows anything about what Christ looked like. The figure on the shroud shows us a face that looks like the portrayals in Italian paintings. As usual, they are white and duplicate the Italian males of the time. Perhaps it would be better if they used a figure created by ketchup and mustard on a cheeseburger. So David Ogden Stiers is an overzealous minister who has overseen the cloning of a new Jesus, using DNA stuck to the aforementioned shroud. The embryo has been implanted in a young "new virgin Mary" who is eventually going to give birth to the super- tyke. She doesn't know that this is being done, and believes it is a normal in- vitro birth. Her husband is in on the plot and this leads to some tension. He is the new Joseph, of course. They even head to a barn to have the baby. While the baby is still in the womb, it begins to make things float in the air and is also able to destroy the lab where he was "formed." Sorry, I can't go on.