October 1, 2013: "The Book of Daniel" Premieres

October 1, 2013: The film The Book of Daniel is released on DVD, going straight there rather than being released to movie theaters. Directed by Anna Zielinski, it tells the story of the Bible's book of the same title.

In Jerusalem in 605 BC, Daniel (played as a young man by Andrew Bongiorno) is a slave who serves Nebuchadnezzar II (Rolf Saxon), who has just ascended to the throne of Babylonia after the death of his father. Daniel proves to be a trusty advisor, and becomes one of Nebuchadnezzar's "wise men."

Later, during the reign of King Darius (Peter Kluge), known as Darius the Mede, Daniel (played as an older man by Robert Miano) is accused of worshipping the God of the Jews instead of the King, and is thrown into a den of lions. But he maintains his faith, an angel saves him, his accusers are destroyed, and Daniel is restored to his position by Darius.

The real Nebuchadnezzar -- usually listed as "Nebuchadrezzar II" in non-biblical sources, sometimes as "Nebuchadnezzar the Great" -- ruled from 605 BC until his death in 562 BC. He is regarded as the empire's greatest king, having conquered the Assyrian Empire in 609 BC. Just before the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC, Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharoah Necho II and his Egyptian army, making himself the most powerful man in what would now be called the Middle East.

But a failed invasion of Egypt led to some insurrections against his rule. In 587 BC, conquered Jerusalem, beginning the Babylonian Captivity of the Jews, and symbolizing the restoration of his previous level of power.

In contrast, there is no non-biblical source for a King of Babylonia named Darius. Cyrus II became King of Persia in 559 BC, King of Media in 549 BC, King of Lydia in 547 BC, and King of Babylon in 539 BC. He reigned over the Achaemenid Empire, stretching from the Indus River in present-day Pakistan in the east to a portion of Greece in the west, until his death in 530 BC.

In 539 BC, he allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem. His tolerance for the cultures under his rule led both Jews and Greeks to call him Cyrus the Great. In this film, he is played by Lance Henriksen.

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October 1, 2013 was a Tuesday. Author Tom Clancy died.

In baseball, the Pittsburgh Pirates defeated their traditional rivals, the Cincinnati Reds, 6-2 in the National League Wild Card game at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. Catcher Russell Martin hit 2 home runs, Marlon Byrd added 1, and Francisco Liriano was the winning pitcher. It is the 1st time the Pirates had advanced in the postseason in 34 years, since winning the 1979 World Series. Century, and owned a small share of the Baltimore Orioles.

Football was in midweek. The NBA was in its preseason. There were 3 games on this opening night of the 2013-14 NHL season:

* In the NHL's oldest rivalry, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Montreal Canadiens, 4-3 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* The Chicago Blackhawks beat the Washington Capitals, 6-4 at the United Center in Chicago.

* And the Winnipeg Jets beat the Edmonton Oilers, 5-4 at Rexall Place, as the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton was then known.