Product Details

• Actors: Morgan Freeman
• Directors: Revelations Entertainment
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Discovery Channel
• DVD Release Date: March 8, 2011
• Run Time: 373 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0047HXMKM
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,976 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #74 in Movies & TV > DVD > Documentary

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

There are a lot of questions asked (and answered, sometimes surprisingly so) in the course of the eight episodes that make up the first season of Through the Wormhole, a science documentary hosted by actor Morgan Freeman. Not just any questions--big questions, cosmic questions, the kind that humans have been asking since the dawn of time. For instance: Can science somehow prove the existence of the Creator? (Could be. One scientist suggests that what people claim are visions of and visitations from God are in fact the result of stimulation of the brain's right temporal lobe, and he invented a "God helmet" to prove it.) Is time travel possible? (Sure. All we have to do is figure out how to make a machine that goes as fast as the speed of light.) What happened before the Big Bang, when the universe was created? (That one's a little tough to explain in a sentence or two.) Are we truly alone, or is there other life somewhere out there? (Many among the astrobiologists who spend a lot of time studying such things are convinced that the universe--or universes, as there may be many more than one--is so incomprehensibly vast that there must be.) These and other topics make for fascinating viewing. To be sure, those who aren't especially scientifically or mathematically inclined may find some of it to be tough sledding; explanations of how gravity might combine with electromagnetism and the so-called weak and strong forces to form a single, unifying force, how "quantum nonlocality" (in which particles are instantly teleported across vast distances) works, or what "retro-causality" means are complex, to say the least. But while the approach is serious and very detailed, it's also entertaining, with lots of visual interest (by way of animation, film clips, visual effects, and such) and often rather amusing (scientists rendered to look like aliens, a fellow who uses a glass of red wine to illustrate his point), and Freeman makes an excellent guide. And with the second season of the series having already aired, fans already have a lot more to look forward to. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Hosted by Morgan Freeman, Through the Wormhole will explore the deepest mysteries of existence - the questions that have puzzled mankind for eternity (Who-or what-am I? Are we alone? How did this begin? What happened before that?). This series will bring together the brightest minds and best ideas fromthe very edges of Science--Astrophysics, Astrobiology, Quantum Mechanics, String Theory, and more - to reveal the extraordinary truth of our Universe.

1. What Happened Before the Beginning?
Every cosmologist and astronomer agrees: our Universe is 13.7 billion years old. Using cutting-edge technology, scientists are now able to take a snapshot of the Universe a mere heartbeat after its birth. Armed with hypersensitive satellites, astronomers look back in time to the very moment of creation, when all the matter in the Universe exploded into existence. It is here that we uncover an unsolved mystery as old as time itself --if the Universe was born, where did it come from? Meet the leading scientists who have now discovered what they believe to be the origin of our Universe, and a window into the time before time.

2. Are We Alone?
Aliens almost certainly do exist. So why haven't we yet met E.T.? It turns out we're only just developing instruments powerful enough to scan for them, and science sophisticated enough to know where to look. As a result, race is on to find the first intelligent aliens. But what would they look like, and how would they interact with us if we met? The answers may come to us sooner than we imagine, for one leading astronomer believes she may already have heard a hint of their first efforts to communicate.

3. Is Time Travel Possible?
Einstein's world-shaking Theory of Relativity says that time travel is perfectly possible -- if you're going forward in time. Finding a way to
travel backwards requires breaking the speed of light, which so far seems impossible. But now, strange-but-true phenomena such as quantum nonlocality (where particles instantly teleport across vast distances) may give us a way to make the dream of traveling back and forth through time a reality. Step into a time machine and rewrite history, bring loved ones back to life, control our destinies. But if succeed, what are the consequences of such freedom? Will we get trapped in a plethora of paradoxes and multiple universes that will destroy the fabric of the universe?

4. How Did We Get Here?
Everywhere we look in the most hospitable of environments and in the most extreme we find life. On Earth, life exists everywhere we look. Yet we have only ever found life on our planet. How did the stuff of stars come together to create life as we know it? What do we really mean by 'life'? And will unlocking this mystery help us find life elsewhere?

5. What Are We Really Made Of?
What is the universe made of? If you answered stars, planets, gas and dust, you'd be dead wrong. Thirty years ago, scientists first realized that some unknown dark substance was affecting the way galaxies moved. Today, they think there must be five times Our understanding of the universe and the nature of reality itself has drastically changed over the last 100 years - and it's on the verge of another seismic shift. In a 17-mile-long tunnel buried 570 feet beneath the Franco-Swiss border, the world's largest and most powerful atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider, is powering up. Its goal is nothing less than recreating the first instants of creation, when the universe was unimaginably hot and long-extinct forms of matter sizzled and cooled into stars, planets, and ultimately, us. These incredibly small and exotic particles hold the keys to the greatest mysteries of the universe. What we find could validate our long-held theories about how the world works and wh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A bit deeper than the "Universe" series, February 21, 2011

By 

J. Gardner (Houston) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman (DVD)

This Science Channel series covers much of the same ground as the History Channel's "Universe" series, but makes more historically relevant choices for expert commentators. Rather than relying, typically, on astronomers and physicists with general creditials, as the Universe does, "Through The Wormhole" uses almost exclusively scientists directly involved in pioneering work, some of which is ongoing. Wormhole also is a bit more provocative philosophically, which appealed to me. Morgan Freeman provides excellent narration, as one would expect from an accomplished actor. Highly recommended.

39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Through The Wormhole, 2 DVD Set Fantastic!!, March 21, 2011

By 

adoorsfan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman (DVD)

One of the best documentaries I have seen. In the product listing (Amazon) it list the tracks from One of the discs and the other is missing. I don't have the set infront of me to add the rest. The first disc is the best. I would say - have a cup of coffee before watching this set - not because it's boring - but you need to be fully awake - and paying attention to get this. Very deep. And for me - I'll watch it many times over - because there is so much to take in.
They also talk of blackholes on here too.
I also own another set - "The Notradamus Effect" - and it is equal to this. So if you saw that one and liked it - get this one "Through The Wormhole" - and if you like that one - Get "The Nostradamus Effect".
I also caution, on Amazon - I believe I see it relisted (must be the same set) and the sellers are seeking higher prices.
I wish I could find more DVDs on time travel (on a scientific level).
Enjoy, Scott MacNeil.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth the money, April 17, 2011

By 

David M. Holmes "Dave" (Elizabethton, Tn) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Through the Wormhole With Morgan Freeman (DVD)

I recently started a new hobby of star gazing, and found "Through The Wormhole" both instructional and entertaining. Anything with Morgan Freeman is worth watching. I highly recommend the DVD to anyone at any age. The information is up to date and the graphics and visual effects are fantastic.