Introduction

The Cold Equations is a 1996 US drama, sci-fi, thriller film by director Peter Geiger.

Outline

Lieutenant John Barton is sent on a special mission to deliver a special vaccine to a distant mining colony. He is infuriated to find Lee, a stowaway aboard his spacecraft. Barton has only enough fuel to carry himself and his precious cargo, and Lee’s added weight insures that they will crash if she stays on board. They have gone too far to turn back, and Barton’s superiors make it clear: the mission takes precedence and Lee has to be dumped into space. But she will not go quietly.

Cast

• Billy Campbell … Lieutenant John Barton (as Bill Campbell).
• Poppy Montgomery … Marilyn ‘Lee’ Cross.
• Daniel Roebuck … Mitch.
• William R. Moses … Adrian Cross.
• John Prosky … Markham.
• Heidi Swedberg … Board Member.
• Derk Cheetwood … Corporal.
• Nicki Micheaux … Ground Controller.
• Albert Hall … Captain Keynes.

The Cold Equations Book

“The Cold Equations” is a science fiction short story by American writer Tom Godwin, first published in Astounding Magazine in August 1954. In 1970, the Science Fiction Writers of America selected it as one of the best science-fiction short stories published before 1965, and it was therefore included in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume One, 1929-1964. The story has been widely anthologised and dramatised.

Summary of the Book

The story takes place entirely aboard an Emergency Dispatch Ship (EDS) headed for the frontier planet Woden with a load of desperately-needed medical supplies. The pilot, Barton, discovers a stowaway: an eighteen-year-old girl. By law, all EDS stowaways are to be jettisoned because EDS vessels carry no more fuel than is absolutely necessary to land safely at their destination. The girl, Marilyn, merely wants to see her brother Gerry and was not aware of the law. When boarding the EDS, Marilyn saw the “UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL KEEP OUT!” sign, but thought she would at most have to pay a fine if she were caught. Barton explains that her presence dooms the mission by exceeding the weight limit, and the subsequent crash would kill both of them and doom the colonists awaiting the medical supplies. After contacting her brother for the last moments of her life, Marilyn willingly walks into the airlock and is ejected into space.

Adaptations

Film and Television

• An adaptation of it aired on the 1962 British anthology series Out of This World and starred Peter Wyngarde and Jane Asher.
• Another television adaptation aired as part of the 1985-1989 revival of The Twilight Zone.
• Episode 08 of the anime Martian Successor Nadesico is named for and takes elements from the story.
• The story formed the basis for a made-for-TV movie starring Billy Campbell and Poppy Montgomery, which aired on the Sci-Fi Channel.
• It is the basis of the award-winning 2014 short film, “The Stowaway”, which was released on YouTube.
• A similar premise is used for the 2021 film Stowaway.

Radio

• The story was also adapted into an episode of the radio programme X Minus One in 1955. In a 1958 episode of Exploring Tomorrow in 1958, the stowaway is a woman trying to visit her husband to make amends for an affair.
• Another adaptation featured as a part of Faster Than Light on CBC Radio’s Sunday Showcase in September 2002 by Joe Mahoney. The programme was hosted by science fiction writer Robert J. Sawyer.

Web

The fiction podcast The Drabblecast released a full-cast reading of the story on 15 July 2013.

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • Peter Geiger.
• Producer(s):
  • Yoram Barzilai … producer.
  • Billy Campbell … co-executive producer (as Bill Campbell).
  • Jana Sue Memel … producer.
  • Hillary Anne Ripps … associate producer.
• Writer(s):
  • Stephen Berger.
  • Peter Geiger.
  • Tom Godwin … (story).
  • Norman Plotkin.
• Music:
  • Paul Rabjohns.
• Cinematography:
  • Christopher Walling.
• Editor(s):
  • Mary Jo Markey.
• Production:
  • Alliance Communications Corporation.
  • Chanticleer Films.
  • USA Pictures.
• Distributor(s):
  • Grand Slam International (1998) (Japan) (VHS).
  • The Sci-Fi Channel (1996) (USA) (TV).
• Release Date: 07 December 1996 (US).
• Rating: Not Rated.
• Running Time: 92 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Link