‘One Day. Five Endings.’ What will happen on Earth’s End Day?

Religion predicts it. Science guarantees it. The world will not be here forever. There will be an end to all this we know…or at least many so believe. But how our eventual doomsday will play out is a mystery. We can speculate, but we cannot know. We cannot predict the future, as much as we would like to. And so we explore the possibilities—both plausible and fantastic.

When the End Day begins it is 7:00 AM on another Monday morning in London. Dr. Howell (a.k.a. Mr. Doomsday), deputy director of the scientific organization known as TBM, awakes at the sound of his alarm. Today he is going to New York City where he will turn on the world’s largest particle accelerator, in an effort to recreate the particle “experiment that nature did after the Big Bang.” There are just a few draw backs; on this Monday the world will end and, in the style of Groundhog Day, the day will repeat, with each repeat day heralding the end of the world. Protesters are concerned that TBM’s experiment will bring about the apocalypse. And, with mega tsunamis, asteroid impacts, global pandemics, super volcano eruptions, and a mysterious particle called strangelet; Dr. Howell is having a hard time making it to his destination.

End Day, a one hour BBC “docu-drama”, aired on National Geographic Channel as part of the National Geographic Presents series. End Day, at its beginning, presents itself as more than a bit overly dramatic with our narrators deep voice begging us the question; “What’s the worst that can happen in one day?” And, its almost cliché line of “it’s not a question of if; it’s a question of when” may make some viewers eyes roll—after all, we have heard the same thing, perhaps too many times, before in popular culture. In addition, End Day is wrought with symbolism. The song which ties each act, and subsequent repeat day: “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” and a woman just happens to be cleaning up her child’s dinosaur toys when the asteroid is coming. But this Groundhog Day-esque documentary has a redeeming quality: entertainment. Here it’s the story, not the facts, which will keep audiences eyes trained on the television. The special effects are not of Hollywood, but the action is fast paced and enthralling, with moments that may make viewers startle as they sit safely on the living room sofa. But in the end it is all speculation and imagination. How and when and if, the Earth will meet her end day is a mystery: “It makes great science fiction, great entertainment, great television, but on this we can sleep easy.” So, for now at least, we are not going anywhere.

I first saw End Day my freshmen year of college. I was getting ready for class and just happened to have National Geographic Channel on, as I usually do. That day I was ten minutes late. End Day sucked me in. At the time I loved this show, and it is safe to say it had become a temporary obsession. But after watching it again I was disappointed. Now that I had sat down and watched it with a new eye I saw so many things I did not like. I was not too happy with the overuse of symbolism, nor did I enjoy the ending. It was much too tranquil for a story about the end of the world. I was hoping to see it go out with a bang, and I feel that, had I produced this show, I would have left the ending open, leaving the viewers more with questions then happy feelings. But, don’t get me wrong, I would still watch End Day again and again. It’s entertaining and action packed. But what truly fascinates me about End Day is this: according to rumor, End Day only ever aired on National Geographic once, and all evidence of it ever being on the channel has been wiped from its website. Make of that what you wish.

My rating:

Watch End Day!

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