Customer Reviews

Miracle Planet (Five-Disc Box Editopm)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a spectacular series to see in hd, and the subject matter is often mind blowing. I would highly recommend this to anyone remotely interested in how we as a species came to be and/or in the really incredible history of this planet.

I've watched this series many times and it is still just as fascinating as the first time. The story is amazing, and even though I thought I knew a great deal about formation of the earth, this series adds enormously. This set is first on my list when I think of gifts in this price range.

I watched the entire series when it was on Cable. It brilliantly gives perspective on the history of planet Earth. It hammers home how the climate can change on a dime, making our paradise of a planet uninhabitable. Serious stuff. Should be recommended viewing for all climate-change skeptics. I particularly loved the voice of Christopher Plummer as narrator.

Having read a good deal on Science, I generally am often disappointed with DVDs dealing with Science. This is especially true today, as so often they seem today to be more concerned with entertaining than informing. I just picked this up at the Library, figuring I probably would get 10 minutes through and click the eject button, but that was not the case. It is a Canadian/Japanese production, perhaps that is why it is pretty good. I am pretty disappointed with most of what is targeted towards the American audiences today, I find them primarily entertainment as I mentioned, and dumbed down. They do not try to cover everything, they focus on some key topics and events, and I have actually learned quite a bit from it. The only flaw I can think of, was that they sped up some geological processes in an unrealistic way. In fact they showed the continents colliding at perhaps 20 MPH, with fish scurrying about to avoid getting crushed. That was a bit silly, and for children might give them the wrong impression, but it is a minor point. While they do not make an overt point of pressing ecological concerns, it does not take much to read between the lines, and comprehend the similarities of catastrophic climatic changes, quite quick runaway ones, due to green house gas atmospheric concentration increases in past epochs, as we clearly are trending towards now. I was not aware that the greatest extinction (250 million years ago) was due to a greenhouse effect following a massive volcanic eruption. Nor that this led to much lower atmospheric oxygen concentrations. Nor that in response Dinosaurs developed efficient lung sacks enabling them to become the dominant species (which their descendant birds sill have today, allowing them extended flight capability). Nor that the diaphragm developed in response in mammals, make the lungs more efficient. Nor did I realize that modern fish are descended from fish that had lungs of sort (which now have evolved into air sacks). That is just a sampling. You probably will learn things, and it is pretty entertaining as well. Again, I think the fact that they do not try to cover everything, but rather focus on some key topics and events, enhances the quality of the series. Christopher Plummer narrates, and does a good job.

I really liked this video series. It covers topics that I've not seen on a video before. I've heard of them but haven't seen anyone make a video of it. It is interesting and beautifully done. It isn't boring by a long shot. I think students will find it very interesting especially the first video Violent Earth. It details the early formation of earth. Very well done.

This is a beautifully done science series, based on today's theories of Earth history, mass extinction, evolution, and the usual. While I didn't agree with everything as presented (the Snowball Earth is a little hard to swallow), and not all of the animation was quite state-of-the-art if you look too close, it is nevertheless stunning, enjoyable, and thought-provoking.

I would be extremely interested in purchasing this if it were truly High Def as some reviewers have said in their reviews. I don't believe they know the real meaning of high def however! I have watched 2 of the episodes on my HDTV with Dish Network High Def programming and it is spectacular. It would not be as great with a standard DVD unfortunately!

If it is ever released in the Blu-Ray format - I guarantee that I will be one of the first in line to purchase it! That is what High Def is all about.