On Tuesday, November 13, the highly anticipated independent film "Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth" hits the DVD shelves. "Man from Earth" was the last script written by Jerome Bixby, a writer for the Original Series, before he died in 1998. His son, Emerson Bixby, made it his mission to produce that script without compromising his father's vision, and it's now available on Amazon.com.

Bixby wrote some of the most memorable episodes of classic Star Trek including "Mirror, Mirror," "By Any Other Name" and "Day of the Dove." He also wrote "Requiem for Methuselah," and apparently decided to take the premise of that episode — an immortal who has lived throughout human history — and explore its themes in much greater depth, thus giving rise to "The Man from Earth."

One of the stars of the movie is John Billingsley, and he graciously allowed us into his home in the Hollywood Hills to discuss the film. In the 18-minute video at top left, John talks about the sociological and theological implications of "Man from Earth" and his reasons for participating in the low-budget venture. "It's a very literate film about ideas," he says during the interview, explaining that his attraction to the project "was the difference between spirituality and religiosity, and where that line is. How we take a spiritual concept or a moral concept or set of precepts, and encrust them and codify them into rules and regulations that turn them into the antithesis of what they were originally intended to be."

"Man from Earth" also stars Richard Riehle, who portrayed Dr. Phlox's friend "Dr. Jeremy Lucas" and other important roles in Star Trek; Tony Todd, who played Worf's brother "Kurn" and other roles; and David Lee Smith, who played "Zahir" in "Darkling." Smith is the central figure of the film, "John Oldman," the "Flint"-like character who claims to have lived for millennia.

Billingsley and the other actors also appear in several of the bonus features of the DVD. Billingsley and director Richard Schenkman do an audio commentary together (it's very funny!), plus they are part of a featurette called "Star Trek: Jerome Bixby's Sci-Fi Legacy."

If you live in the Chicago area, you can see "Man from Earth" on the big screen this weekend at the Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State Street. It will run Friday and Saturday, November 16-17, and Monday the 19th at 8:00 p.m. each night. Director Schenkman will be present at the Friday screening for an audience discussion. (In the video, John mentions Hemet, Calif., and Pitman, New Jersey, but those screenings have already taken place.)

If you live in the Los Angeles area, Tuesday night, November 13, Billingsley, Riehle and other actors along with Schenkman will be in Burbank to sign copies of the DVD. That will take place from 7-9 p.m. at the Dark Delicacies bookstore, 4213 W. Burbank Blvd.

During our conversation with John, we also talked about his upcoming role in 24, plus his AIDS charity walk taking place in Pasadena on December 1 ... and a few profound thoughts on Star Trek! Please stay tuned for more video of the always compelling John Billingsley!