Demons and Angels

"Demons and Angels" is the fifth episode of science fiction sit-com Red Dwarf Series V and the twenty ninth in the series run. It was first broadcast on the British television channel BBC2 on 19 March 1992. Written by Rob Grant & Doug Naylor, the episode was the first to be filmed with new director Juliet May. The episode has the regular Red Dwarf crew meet their 'high' and 'low' versions.

Plot

Kryten has created a Triplicator, derived from the Matter Paddle, which he hopes will solve any supply problems that might arise on Red Dwarf. It can create two copies of anything placed within its field, and he tests the machine out with a strawberry. Two seemingly identical copies are created; however they are entirely difference under the surface. Lister tastes one, and is amazed at how succulent it tastes. However the second is anything but, as it is filled with maggots. Kryten realises that the machine, instead of creating two identical copies, is instead putting all the very best elements into one copy and all the worst elements into another. Lister decides to test what happens when the beam is reversed. However, this causes the science room to begin to blow up. Holly appears, but her voice unit is damaged making her spout out gibberish (although Rimmer quips that this isn't much difference to normal). At this point however, Kryten tells everyone that the engine core is about to go into meltdown. As a result, the crew, joined by the Cat, quickly head to Starbug to make their escape. Starbug is forced to crash its way through the cargo doors when Holly is too damaged to open them, but manage to make it out. As the rest of the crew start to bemoan the situation, Lister tries to reassure everyone that they've only escaped as a precaution as the safety systems aboard Red Dwarf should take care of the danger. However he is quickly shut up when Red Dwarf suddenly explodes.

Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons is a 2000 bestselling mystery-thriller novel written by American author Dan Brown and published by Pocket Books and then by Corgi Books. The novel introduces the character Robert Langdon, who is also the protagonist of Brown's subsequent 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code; his 2009 novel, The Lost Symbol; and the 2013 novel Inferno. Angels and Demons shares many stylistic literary elements with its sequel, such as conspiracies of secret societies, a single-day time frame, and the Catholic Church. Ancient history, architecture, and symbolism are also heavily referenced throughout the book. A film adaptation was released on May 15, 2009. The Da Vinci Code film had been released in 2006.

Background

The book contains several ambigrams created by real-life typographer John Langdon. Besides the "Angels And Demons" and "Illuminati" designs, the title of the book is also presented as an ambigram on the hardcover book jacket (see illustration at right on this page), and on the inside cover of the paperback versions. The book also contains ambigrams of the words Earth, Air, Fire, and Water, which has served to bring the art of ambigrams to public attention by virtue of the popularity of the book. The "Illuminati Diamond" mentioned in the book is an ambigram of the four elements arranged in the shape of a diamond.

Angel

An angel is a purely spiritual being found in various religions and mythologies. In Abrahamic religions and Zoroastrianism, angels are often depicted as benevolent celestial beings who act as intermediaries between God or Heaven and Earth, or as guardian spirits or a guiding influence. Other roles of angels include protecting and guiding human beings, and carrying out God's tasks. The term "angel" has also been diversed to various notions of spirits or figures found in many other religious traditions. The theological study of angels is known as "angelology".

In art, angels are often depicted with bird-like wings on their back, a halo, robes and various forms of glowing light.

Etymology

The word angel (pronounced /ˈeɪn.dʒəl/) in English is a blend of Old English engel (with a hard g) and Old French angele. Both derive from Late Latin angelus "messenger", which in turn was borrowed from Late Greek ἄνγελος ángelos. According to R. S. P. Beekes, ángelos itself may be "an Oriental loan, like ἄγγαρος ['Persian mounted courier']." The word's earliest form is Mycenaean a-ke-ro attested in Linear B syllabic script.