There have been plenty of shows about the planets, the solar system, the Big Bang, and everything else there is to say about the universe we live in, but to me none of them have been able to capture the awe and majesty of the totality of existence as well as The History Channel’s The Universe.
The show manages to do this through its incredible graphics, the enthusiasm of the experts, and the way it celebrates both what we know and what we don’t know. In this season the show covers such diverse topics as dark matter, the future of space travel, and the wildest weather in space. Like in the previous season, the episodes find a nice balance between talking about the history of our thinking about the heavens—such as the myths we had about the Moon—an explanation of what we know now, and what we may well discover in the future. This provides an overarching frame that gives a sense that what you’re watching is part of a grand human affair, like we are all participating in an amazing journey of discovery.
For me the only drawback to this show is that it makes me painfully aware of the setbacks in our exploration of space. Episodes like “Space Travel” and “Colonizing Space” make me angry at the politics of the past forty years that pretty much wrote off space travel as a science fiction flight of fancy and failed to realize the importance of what is out there. It seems like such a waste of human potential, and I know I’m not alone in feeling that way.
I suppose for now myself and people like me will have to console ourselves with The Universe and explore the cosmos from our living rooms.
Each episode is presented in Fullscreen with Dolby Digital Stereo for the sound and they are beautiful to look at. The computer graphics used are top of the line and really capture the beauty and majesty of space.
Backyard Astronomers (53:35)–the only complaint I have about this DVD set is here in the special features. Backyard Astronomers is a series of twenty small features strung together under one title. The sections are geared toward teaching the amateur astronomer about space by first giving basic information on the planets, the Milky Way, and the Constellations, then goes into a month-by-month breakdown of what stars can be seen in the night sky. While the information here is good, the featurettes really should have been broken down into individual segments for easier access. I can imagine that it would be frustrating to slog through all that extra information if all I wanted was to see what kind of stars I could see in November. It’s not a huge deal, but definitely an annoyance.
In case it didn’t come through with my subtle gushing, I really like this series. The Universe acts as a travelogue and celebration of this incredible continuum we exist in. If you get nothing else from this show you will come away with a sense of amazement at the mystery, elegance, and power of existence, and that’s well worth the price of a DVD collection. Highly recommended.
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A&E Television Networks presents The Universe: Season Two. Directed by Douglas J. Cohen. Running time: 846 minutes. Rated NR. Released on DVD: October 14, 2008. Available at Amazon.com.
