Over the past year, local filmmakers and writers David Springbett and Brian Paisley have been obsessed with the “what if” while preparing their new documentary Apocalypse . . . When, which debuts Nov. 19 on Vision TV. The five-part series explores the origins, implications, repercussions and psychology behind “doomsday” thinking. Lynne Van Luven talked on email with the pair, to find out what they discovered.

1. David, as far as I know, you’re not an “apocalypticism” proponent, what was the precipitating event or idea that got this series started?

I’d just finished a book called Future Babble – about why we continue to trust experts, even though they’re wrong more often than not. Add to that a conversation (OKAY, it was in a pub) about 2012, and Doomsday Scenarios in general, and it all just came together.

2. Brian, what drew you into the project?

The opportunity to dig around a popular myth and expose and explore its foundations. The fact that Doomsday predictions continue to enthrall us despite every previous one being an utter and undeniable failure suggests deeper human concerns and motivations…

3. What was the most interesting thing each of you learned in the making of the series?

BP: That our fascination with apocalyptic thinking extends far beyond simple End Days’ predictions and actually influences how we look at our world and deal with it on a day-to-day basis.

DS: Beyond the big picture of Apocalyptic ideas influencing our culture, a number of our interviews led us in directions we hadn’t previously considered. The siege at Waco, TX, for example, could have been avoided had the ATF and FBI understood the apocalyptic mindset of Koresh and his followers. One of the most interesting interviews was with Marcelo Gleiser, an astronomer and physicist, who connected early culture’s relationship with the heavens to such recent events as the Heaven’s Gate cult in the 1980s.

4. Do you have any fears that just by showing Apocalypse . . . When? Vison — and thus you two — might be setting off a whole aftershock of new Doomsday thinking?

BP: Positive aftershocks – yes!. If you watch the show from start to finish, you’ll be thinking and talking about the way we look at our world, and perhaps what we should be doing to ensure we never usher in a human-made Doomsday.

DS: If we can stimulate new Doomsday thinking that includes our potential for a self-created Apocalypse — we’ve done our job !

5. Your key question, “What happens when nothing happens?” is intriguing. What answer have you come to in the “aftermath” of all your research, writing and filming?

BP: What happens is, people keep believing. Despite all the historical evidence, every experience telling us the human race is still alive and kicking, and the blatant fact the sun just rose on another day, true believers will find a way to rationalize their beliefs and continue to follow their prophetic fixations – “It might not have happened this time, but wait, it will – and very soon!”. There’s even a name for that kind of antithetical persistence: cognitive dissonance – our ability to hold two obviously contradictory points-of-view at the same time. Fascinating!

www.apoclaypsewhentvseries.com

“Apocalypse. . . When?” coming soon to VisionTV, 8 p.m. Nov. 19 to 23