The Urantia TL;DR series is aimed at a very specific audience; people who are never going to pick up a book as big as the Urantia Book to read.

This project is A (not THE) solution to overcoming the obstacle of the huge book itself when trying to spread the world-saving and life-changing message contained within its pages.

When confronted by the question, How can we share the teachings of the Urantia Papers with a population of people who increasingly don’t like to read?, the answer that this project has arrived at is: rather than searching for more and more ways to get people to read the book, we’re just going to set ALL of that aside and literally tell them what the book says. Then, they can refer back to the book for more detailed information. The idea is to, at least initially, completely remove the Book as an obstacle, share its message and vision, and then offer the Book (and perhaps more videos which take deeper dives on specific topics) for more detail and clarification.

Features

The episodes will be characterised as being informative and being visually and musically appealing. It will feature everyday language describing the difficult concepts and information in the Papers.

There will be a great emphasis on not falling into ‘Urantia Speak’ or not referring back to the Urantia Book (ie. “According to the Urantia Book….”). Concepts will be portrayed in a matter of fact way; as just being  ‘the way it is’.

Although the target audience is people who have never read the UB and probably never would, there will be a great deal of ‘eye candy’ as a reward to Urantians who want to watch and hopefully support the series. Cinematic representations of the Resurrection temple, Dalamatia, both Edens, and possibly other places are already in the works.

There will also be a great deal of effort put into creating a soundscape or soundtrack for each episode. The LoTR transcended through its soundtrack; Gladiator, Interstellar, Miami Vice, all transcend in large part to the importance that was placed on the music.

You might notice that there is no episode called “What is the Urantia Book?”. The premise of this series is to de-emphasise the book and instead, just share the information in it. We are targeting people whose eyes glaze over when you even mention a book. It might be interesting to have this episode as the very last one in the series as a summary. It is much easier to describe the book as an epochal revelation when the argument has already been laid out before the viewer in great detail. In light of all of the information in all of the episodes, what else could it be?!

How Do We Choose and Structure What to Tell People?

The structure we are using is loosely based on the structure of the UB itself. It’s also heavily based on a series of webcasts that were produced and created by the Perth Urantia Book Study Group after having a less than comfortable experience with a series of interviews we participated in at a local radio station in Perth. The radio host was involved in a group that was promoting the Galactic Federation and had ‘stapled’ the Urantia Book to it. Due to the ‘stapling’, he thought it would be good to have some Urantians on his program to explain the book. All through the interviews we did, he would bend what we were saying to support his other stuff, and it made us very uncomfortable.

This was around the time that podcasting was becoming popular, so we decided not to return to the radio station and instead created our own shows where we could fully control the content and remove the bias.

In many ways, Urantia TL;DR is an evolution of that project and material. And that is also why PerthUBSG is credited as a major partner in the series.

SEASON ONE

Firstly, and incredibly importantly, we are going to share “The Big Picture”. This is the foundation for all of religion, history, and philosophy, but it’s also the story of our origins, history, and destiny that we create for ourselves individually and then collectively. It becomes the canvas that we paint our lives onto. It shapes how we approach our lives and interactions with others. In short, it is foundational and primal; so that is where we will start. As we know, there is nothing as vast, breath-taking, and inspiring as the Big Picture we get in the UB.

Because it is so vast and so all-encompassing, we will take the whole first season to tell this story.  The first five episodes paint the top-down picture- from the universal perspective. Episode Six will answer the age old question, “what’s in it for me?”  It will be the story of how we fit into it all.

The Big Picture

1. 1. Beginnings
   2. God
   3. The Paradise Trinity
   4. Universe Structure
   5. God the Sevenfold
   6. What Happens When We Die: The Ascension Plan

SEASON TWO

It’s unfortunate that in sharing the vast cosmic background our whole reality is based on, that we have to qualify that story with the story of Lucifer and how our particular corner of the universe is suffering and isolated. Season Two will not only cover Lucifer and the default of Adam and Eve, but it will also contribute to setting the scene for the upcoming season about Jesus. There is a very strong argument that the first 3 parts of the UB are just background for Part 4. This might possibly serve as a unifying theme for the whole series that can slowly emerge as we approach the Jesus Season.

The Problems of Our Planet

1. 1. Epochal Revelation
   2. The Lucifer Rebellion
   3. The Ramifications of Lucifer’s Manifesto on Our Planet
   4. The Adamic Default
   5. Speculations on the Adjudication

SEASON THREE

In loosely following the structure of the UB, Season Three will cover history. It will focus on the purpose of evolution on an inhabited planet, and what exactly is it that makes us human. This will tie into Season One where we briefly touched on Thought Adjusters , the Holy Spirit etc..; it will in broad strokes show the human family tree extending from Andon & Fonta down to us with specific episodes on The Prince’s staff, the Adamites, and the Midwayers. Again using an underlying theme of leading up to Jesus and also expanding on content from earlier seasons.

History

1. 1. Evolution: What Makes Us Human?
   2. The Human Family Tree
   3. The Anunnaki and the Nephilim: Making Sense of Myth & Legend
   4. The Adamites
   5. Our Closest Cousins: The Midwayers

SEASON FOUR

Excepting perhaps the vision that we share in Season One, this is the biggest and most important topic that the whole series will cover. The season will actually begin with an episode on Melchezedek. This is due to his mission being entirely a preparation for Michael’s bestowal, and also so that we can emphasise the Urantian Covenant where all we are required to do is believe. Then Jesus comes and builds on that by saying that belief will get you in the door, but if you want to stay, your belief must grow into faith and action. The episode topics in this season are still a bit up in the air, but we intend to focus on exactly who he is, why he came here, what he accomplished, what he taught, and where we are 2000 years into it. In describing where things stand now, it will be easier to transition into why the UB is here and what it’s purpose is.

Jesus

1. 1. An Incredible Honour & An Emergency Bestowal
   2. Who is Jesus When He’s Not on Earth?
   3. The Religion OF Jesus vs. The Religion ABOUT Jesus
   4. Original Sin and the Cross

SEASON FIVE

This will most likely be the final season and we’re still working out Episode titles. The theme for the season is “The Rubber Meets the Road” so the intent is to focus on a transition from sharing what the book says into how to put it to use in your life. Conversations on topics like Truth, Beauty and Goodness, etc.. would have a good home in this season.

The Rubber Meets the Road

TBA

Final Episode: What is the Urantia Book

As with almost every other Urantia-based project, it costs money to get it done and published. There are different routes that many people and projects have taken, but this is currently the path we are intending to take.

• • Using the business assets and subscriptions already in place at GrongTech Web Media, who will be listed as the editor and major partner
  • Selling appropriate branded merchandise; for self-funding and for marketing/brand recognition
  • Applying for the Fellowship Grant
  • Possibly, but not counting on, attracting an angel investor or two

The initial budget required to do the first and well into the third season, I have estimated at approximately USD$32,000. A vast majority of this is for VFX and assets required to create historical and other scenes at cinematic quality. Other costs include platform subscriptions not already held by GrongTech, remote interview tech packages, and custom 3D modelling (ie. Adam and Eve, fandors, Midwayers, the Staff of 100, Seraphic transports, etc…