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Lem’s Star Diaries

Czarna komnata profesora Tarantogi

Literal: Professor Tarantoga's black room No English release

by Stanisław Lem
Professor Tarantoga saves human civilization! After using his chronopad to investigate the leading scientists and artists in history, Tarantoga concludes that without exception they are lazy drunkards. So naturally, he sends smart young people into various eras to invent differential calculus, to paint the Mona Lisa, etc.—all while a pair of police inspectors have their eye on him.
— based on Wikipedia
DEBUT
[ex=bare]Czarna komnata profesora Tarantogi: Widowisko telewizyjne | Professor Tarantoga’s black room: Television show[/ex], in Noc księżycowa (Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1963).
VARIANTS
2 Polish variants
TRANSLATIONS
Translations to Russian
TAGS(SPOILERS!)
Time Periods Time Travel Methods Themes
  • Classified Ad: Adventurers Wanted: Tarantoga places classified ads for a personal secretary
  • Evolving or De-Evolving as a Result of Time Travel
  • Ex Nihilo Obects and People: In order to save humanity, the professor must ensure that Newton discovers the laws of gravity, Kepler discovers the laws of planetary orbits, Copernicus discovers the motion of Earth. The works of Shakespeare must be written, the paintings of Da Vinci must be painted! And more.
  • Exiled or Intentionally Stranded in Time: Tarantoga strands the inspector in the stone age.
  • Frozen Time: The chief inspector is briefly frozen in time.
  • Spot Rewinding: Just a minor time loop when Tarrantoga repeated sends the chief inspector back before he pulled out his gun, but Tarantogi himself seems to be outside the loop. Tarantoga asks the inspector, “Well, how do you like the circle of time?” And a moment later, Tarantoga spot-rewinds the inspector to earlier in the morning.
  • True Histories
Real-World Tags Fictional Tags Groupings
TIME TRAVEL ITINERARY (SPOILERS!)
  1. From the professor’s black room, an unspecified time ⋙ to King Henry IV’s chambers, circa AD 1400. Note: Tarantogi’s accidental trip.
  2. From an unknown time ⋙ to Newton’s chambers, circa AD 1680. Note: Targantogi visits the fake Newton.
  3. From the professor’s black room, an unspecified time ⋙ to the professor’s black room, an unspecified time. Note: Tarantogi returns.
  4. From the professor’s black room, an unspecified time ⋙ to the same location, earlier in the day. Note: Tarantogi tag-3315 spot rewinds the inspector, at first for just a few seconds, but then to the morning.
  5. From the professor’s black room, an unspecified time ⋙ to 540,000 BC. Note: Tarantogi sends the inspector to the stone age.
INDEXER NOTES (SPOILERS!)
  • 1963 Published Script—For us, the 1963 script and the 1964 Polish made-for-TV movie are variants of the same work rather than separate works because the 1963 publication was an actual TV script (“widowisko telewizyjne”) rather than a story, and we believe that the TV film was adapted from the script more or less directly, although it could have been expanded or otherwise revised.
  • 1964 Polish TV Film—Details of the 1964 Polish broadcast are from a <a href='http%3A%2F%2Fdocplayer.pl%2F29473881-Lista-emisji-teatru-telewizji-rok-1964.html'>list of 1964 Polish theater TV</a>. We presume that the broadcaster was <a href='https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTelewizja_Polska'>Telewizja Polska</a> (TVP), since that was the only station on air in 1964.
  • Russian translation—The Russian translation, <em><a href='%D0%A7%D1%91%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%BC%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B0_%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%84%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%81%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0_%D0%A2%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%3A_%D0%A2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%81%D1%86%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B9_%3A%3A_Chernaya_komnata_professora_Tarantogi%3A_Televizionnyy_stsenariy'>Чёрная комната профессора Тарантоги: Телевизионный сценарий :: Chernaya komnata professora Tarantogi: Televizionnyy stsenariy</a></em> (Professor Tarantoga’s black room: television script), appears to be a straight-up translation of the 1963 Polish script that was similarly published as a script. Because it is a direct translation, we list it here as a variant rather than listing it as a separate work in its own right (as we would do if it were a remake adapted to a new language). Please see the <a href='http%3A%2F%2Fbvi.rusf.ru%2Flem%2Flb1968.htm'>1968 Russian Stanisław Lem bibliography</a> for the source of our citation.