by Christopher Fulkerson
Persistent Creatures I,
Photographic Still Life by CF,
12/30/2009
A really superb special, it is always a pleasure to hear F. Murray Abraham read, the script and science writing is quite good, and the expert commentary top notch. The sets are often very elaborate; one wonders why there isn't a whole miniseries of this. Actor Scott Handy is a real find; he is worth watching for, and his resemblance to Newton, or maybe somebody else who's famous, is incredible. He plays a very profound Newton, as though he understands just about everything. The "Dark Secret" part, meaning the alchemy, is not as big a deal as the title would indicate. There are some very important and straightforward explanations about the real work, and Newton, were he alive today, would be honored with some of the adjectives used to describe it. We can be grateful that not too much was made out of I.N.'s very understandable nervous breakdown; in the 17th C. little was known of the effects on human behavior of automobiles and their loan signatories. But Newton mastered the material and became Master of the Mint, and that doesn't mean Mint Julep. The incident at Ye Olde Playboye Clubb, when John Locke supposedly tried to get Newton interested in girls, is mentioned, but appropriately downplayed.
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Copyright 2010 by Christopher Fulkerson
Posted 5/24/2010.