Customer Reviews

The Universe: The Complete Season One

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

I am reviewing the Blu-ray version of The Universe Season One.

Let me first frame my review. I am a big astronomy buff. I have been interested and studied astronomy all my life. Although I dabled in aerospace engineering in college due to my love of space, I ultimately changed my major and have never really worked in the field. In fact I don't own a telescope. Most of my interest has been satisfied by books and wonderful TV shows like Cosmos and The Planets.

So, to me this series would have been perfect fit. A modern Cosmos with all the latest technology, computer graphics, and newest imagery. However, this series is dissapointing. I wanted this to be the outer space equivalent of the stunning Planet Earth series (or even walking with Dinosaurs), which it is not. It's not that it's horrible or even bad, just it left so much on the table.

So, I will outline what I find as flaws and then finish the review with the positives.

1) It's a little to cutesy. The narative style is a little too casual and relies on a lot of comparisons that are a little trite. For instance, they describe how Jupiter flings comets and asteriods out of their normal orbit (which protects the inner planets) by comparing it to a frisbee thower. So we have a lady on a field throwing a frisbee over and over. There are descriptions like, "I want to go ice fishing on Europa" from professional scientists, and using pool tables to make analogies of particles in the Sun colliding, but doing it over and over, or how the threats to the Earth are like an amusement park (except that they aren't at all!!!). Most of us get the point with the mere mention and don't need the extended display of terrestrial footage. It comes off as dumb and slightly insulting. Especially since most of the analogies are weak at best and very misleading at worse since they don't quite work. The narative comes off as trying to be hip and plays to a younger or naive crowd.

2) Animation quality is inconsistent. The computer animations can be quite good, but many are also quite bad. It's inconsistent. In fact some are high def and some are standard def or even blurry! That's unexceptable for computer animations. Even if rendered at lower rez they should be clear. My only guess is they couldn't get the originals. For instance on the rocket launch of the Mar rover missions the picture quality is very bad. However, I have Roving Mars on blu-ray and know it's quality is top notch. Why didn't they get the source? Some animations are really hokey too, like 10 years ago. Still some animations are quite good.

3) Constantly repeating a few graphics multiple times throughout the show. This one is really annoying and kills any desire to revist the show for another viewing. They constantly replay the same few computer animations throughout the episode too many times. This combined with the repeating of the people/earth shots, screams to me: We only had so much budget and we are stretching it as far as we can.

4) Lack of real images. It's amazing that we have soooo many good high rez images of many of the space topics they cover and they choose not to use them. Hubble has put out some great images as well as many other satellites. There are 1000's of photo's of Jupiter and the moons, Saturn, etc... and yet we get very few. When we do get some they are usually blurry low resolution and only shown for a few seconds (see mars episode). This would have been a great way to fill space and show the awe of the universe without repeating the same canned footage and computer animations over and over.

5) Lack of historical context or mission data. The show seems to find a couple things it focuses on in an episode and then avoids a lot of other stuff. for instance, when discussing Jupiter they show only one probe that visited, Voyager, but not a single mention of any other mission. There's no context into what we found out and when. No grander understanding to the journey of exploration and what it has uncovered over time. DOn't get me wrong, I don't want to see another show about how engineers built a satellite at NASA. But knowing that many other probes visited and what they found and how their data got better and answered questions from previous ones....

6) Misleading computer graphics. This one is probably my biggest beef with the show. In and attempt to dramaticize the show, much of the images are flat out misleading or wrong. For instance one animation has the moon (as in Earth's moon) revolving around Jupiter. Another has Europa in front of a star field that is zooming (like a ship going into hyperspace). Or when they show a Gamma burst from a star hitting Earth it looks like a huge glowing space ray. Or showing the asteroid field as heavily populated sea of rocks like a sci fi movie (I had to tell my wife, the asteriods are so far away from eachother that you wouldn't see another one if standing on one). These are plain turn offs if you ask me. It doesn't give the right imagery to those that don't know any better.

7) Formula of 4 or 5 concepts. It seems that each episode has at most 4 or five concepts it touches upon and no more. You can start to see and predict how the episodes will go and realize they aren't going to go in depth on a particular episode since they spend a lot of time on only the four or five areas. For instance, Jupiter they talk about How it Formed, the weather patterns, Europa, and Magnetosphere. There is so much more they could have gone over when discussing Jupiter and the moons.

I could go on. I had high hopes for the series but feel it's a pop culture cable television show with little BBC or PBS feel to it.

So is it good at all? Well, yes, it's still decent. This does fill a void in space documentaries. There are a few new nuggets of information that I am gleaning and some of the animations are still cool. If I were an average person without any knowledge of space, I might find it really neat. It might inspire some children to take up astronomy. Some episodes were more interesting than others (like the one on our Sun).

All in all, I give it a recomendation if you are curious. THere aren't that many astronomy documentaries and even Cosmos and The Planets are pretty dated. If you can get past the narrative and other flaws then you will probably find it was worth it.

I think if you have high def cable/satellite though, I would just watch it on TV as it airs. You probably won't find the need to buy it.

UPDATE: I hadn't viewed the bonus feature "The Big Bang" prior to my reivew. I have to say it was MUCH better quality than the regular episodes. It actually showed the history of astronomy including early scientists and theories of the universe but from a unique perspective. It showed only those people/theories connected to the eventual big bang theory. That was nicely done. It put a good wrapper around the whole big bang theory. Also the special was high def throughout the entire program (only rarely did this special drop in lower def material). So the consistency of the high def production was apparent. Even old phots were given the high def treatment and look excellent on screen even if they were only black and white. The show was a little light on CG. I could have enjoyed some more attention to dark matter and it's role in the universe's evolution. They also only showed one theory for the end of the universe, the Big RIP. They didn't cover the convergence or other theories. I guess the show is about the big bang and not the end. All in all, this bonus feature adds quality to the package. I would have given an extra half star to make my review 3 1/2 stars because of it.

I've ordered this show on iTunes and now I want to add this as a permanent collection on my DVD rack, so here I am. This show is great on a number of levels. Following along the lines of great shows like Dogfights, this series takes a new, refreshing, and bold look at our solar system, stars, galaxies, you name it, with great computer graphics and special effects. I've longed for a show that realistically took me among the clouds of Jupiter and Saturn, and here it is. It's also great for the family, because even though its focus is on science its presentation is on a layman's -- or even children's -- level. My 8-year-old daughter has even shown a newfound interest in astronomy. So consider buying this show; not just for you, but for the entertainment and enlightenment of those around you. You won't regret it. To the creators of this show, if you read this, know your work is greatly appreciated and keep 'em coming!

I ordered this item from Amazon not knowing if the bonus disk "Beyond the Big Bang" was included. Other web sites very clearly state that it is. After receiving the DVD set, I confirm to all interested that the bonus disk is indeed included in the product I received from Amazon.

I purchased this dvd set after seeing it on the History channel and I was blown away because it is so informative and well done both the visual effects and descriptions of our universe and planets VERY interesting series everything you will want to know about our solar system and beyond you will never view our universe the same again this will make you think. these shows envelope the viewer into the topic at hand and forseeable future catastrophies of planets detailed descriptions of all the planets that will fascinate you like never before this series is just great buy it and enjoy.

I bought this on DVD last year, and was soo upset because the video was 4:3 letterboxed, I'm so glad the person in charge of the blu-ray didn't make the same stupid mistake (however, they did make a different one, 1080i!!!!! come on! why can't someone release this wonderful CGI filled series the way it should be seen!)

If your interested in learning more about the universe, this is a pretty good choice, especially considering the price. As far as content goes, Cosmos, this is not. But thats ok. This is a ongoing series, it cannot pack tons of information in such a short amount of time. This is an ongoing show, and as the seasons progress, more and more content will be covered. I like the format, and find it refreshing, the only hard part is not watching the whole disc each time I put one in.

What's cool though is, watching this blu-ray makes me more interested in studying some of the drier material out there, and usually encourages an amazon book purchase from me.

I'm glad the series is finally on blu-ray, and I'm even more glad that it is in real widescreen format, instead of 4:3 letter boxed like the last dvd. I eagerly await season 2 on blu-ray, and wish History Channel the best of luck with making this series.

I truly hope that the next box set has some extras. I know, its a documentary, which is basically a whole bunch of extras, but still, maybe some CGI making of, interviews with experts, something, I'm just saying. I still like it, and I really appreciate the low price. Thanks for giving this wonderful series the chance to shine on blu-ray.

I, along with so many others, purchased this set after seeing it on the History Channel. In short, this series is AWESOME!! Explains our universe in a very easy down to Earth way that both young and old can enjoy.
In this 4 disc set you get;
Disc 1) Secrets of the Sun, Mars:The Red Planet, The End of the Earth:Deep Space Threats to our Planet, Jupiter:The Giant Planet.
Disc 2) The Moon, Spaceship Earth, The Inner Planets:Mercury & Venus.
Disc 3) Saturn:Lord of the Rings, Alien Galaxies, Life and Death of a Star, The Outer Planets.
Disc 4) The Most Dangerous Place in the Universe, Search for ET, Beyond the Big Bang.
In all, 14 episodes. While you're at it, consider buying The Universe by Tim Tully. This Dvd can not be beat!!

This is one of the best science programs ever from the History channel. It takes us from the local solar system to the big bang without a pause in the enthusiasm.

It presents the science accurately and in detail and gives you an excellent overview of astronomy and cosmology.

More importantly, it captures the excitement of scientific discovery better than any other History channel program. You get an inside look at the process of discovery.

Get a copy of this series. You will want to watch it again and again.

I cannot say enough good things about this documentary. This series provides a comprehensive and easy to understand presentation of a multitude of astronomical ideas and subjects. And it is presented with commentary by some of the most brilliant physicists and astronomy experts on the planet. The final bonus episode "Beyond the Big Bang" is worth the price of this set in itself. And the entire presentation is up to date, accounting for the Mars rovers, the demotion of Pluto to dwarf planet status, and the recent discovery of water (and potential life) on Enceladus and Europa. I firmly believe this is the best space documentary series ever created. I'm looking forward to the release of season 2 (currently airing on the History Channel).

I recently got this DVD set for Christmas and have watched at least half the episodes, including the finale documentary "Beyond the Big Bang". At this point one will have become familiar enough with this series to glean the following:

To begin with the positive, this series covers a satisfyingly wide array of topics. The episode themes include everything from the familiar (such as The Moon, The Inner/Outer Planets, Secrets of the Sun, etc) to the increasingly thought-provoking and bizarre (Life and Death of a Star, Search for ET , Alien Galaxies (this was my favorite), and others). There is a lot of valuable and fascinating information contained in this series.

The episodes tend to begin with the "easy" stuff which you probably either remember from school/college or have read somewhere if you read popular science, with the (in my opinion) juicier facts, theories, and questions coming up closer to the end of the episode. The show uses a typical edu-tainment format of alternations between interviews with the scientists, and narration over computer animated or live-action videos illustrating the points. Computer illustrations can be very helpful with this topic that requires a lot of imaginative visualization (what does an exploding supernova look like? a flight through Jupiter's atmosphere?), and these often do the trick.

Unfortunately, a lot of what makes this a good, entertaining educational series paradoxically also holds it back from being great.

For one thing, those same helpful computer animations start to become tired and repetitive after you've seen 3 or 4 episodes (need a shot of Neptune's clouds? just take Jupiter's and tint them blue. Saturn's? yellow. Also random explosions all the time, even if they have nothing to do with the narration) Sometimes it seems like they can't decide if they're making this show for THC or MTV. There's a lot of (in my opinion) unnecessary zooming around and sound effects and "tricks" of the camera which are not only completely unjustified considering what the narrator is saying, but sort of, well, lower the sophistication of the whole enterprise. Sadly I do realize that they probably feel that it's necessary in order to grab or keep the attention of the average fickle, impatient TV viewer. But the other part of me feels like, if you really need that sort of thing to keep you interested, are you really going to appreciate the profundity of what's addressed here anyway?

In that same vein, there's a lot of "bringing things down to Earth", if you will, analogies thrown in, which are obviously calculated to be "real world" parallels to help the "average" person understand what's being described. And that's fine. Most people don't have science backgrounds. Analogies are an extremely useful tool and they certainly help me. BUT once again some of the analogies are just so ridiculous -- and worse, *strained* to the point of breaking -- that I think the more thoughtful and intelligent viewers (especially those with some sort of science background) will be turned off by them, as I was.

Also, I often felt that all this bad analogizing and silly, "creative" animation was wasting valuable time when they could have been clarifying some of the finer or denser points. The series can't seem to decide what "level" of difficulty it wants to present its material at. Many times a really intriguing concept I had never heard of or thought about before was raised, only to be left hanging in the air and never explained or developed. Again I suspect it was because this was intended as entertainment first, education second. Still, I was often left feeling deprived.

What got on my nerves the most was the tendency to personify and anthropomorphize planets, stars, galaxies, even forces of nature such as gravity (again, probably an attempt to help people feel more connected with otherwise profound concepts). It's fine with me if they want to describe something as awesome, ferocious, of terrible force or spectacular beauty, and connect people in that way. But listening to the narrator doomsay and harp on in terms of these celestial entities essentially possessing motives and intentions to the effect of "but the Andromeda galaxy is on a mission to destroy our Milky Way" or how gravity is a "vicious and unrelenting beast who wants nothing more than to kill this star" or "the sun, once our friend, will soon become our WORST ENEMY" gets rather annoying after a while.

A last minor point is that the music was very lackluster.

Because of all these cons, I'd really like to give it 3 1/2 stars, but I err on the side of 4 over 3 because I realize perhaps not all viewers will be as demanding of perfection as myself ;) and plus, if you're prepared to sift through all the junk there's lots of great stuff to be awed by. I suppose the upside of it being all over the place as far as "sophistication" goes is that if you watch it as a family there will be something for both the kids and the adults.

If ever there was a need to buy a Blu-Ray DVD player, this is it. This series is one of the most visually stunning presentations I've ever seen. Personally, I enjoyed the commentary in each episode, but I don't think it would have so much impact watching in standard definition.