Product Details

• Actors: History Channel
• Directors: Douglas Cohen (II)
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Closed-captioned
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video (New REleaset)
• DVD Release Date: October 14, 2008
• Run Time: 846 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0016OKQOO
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,599 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #10 in	Movies & TV > Television > History Channel > The Universe
  #18 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Space Exploration

• For more information about "The Universe - The Complete Season Two (History) (Steelbook)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 2 in The Universe Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

With the DVD release (on five discs) of this, the complete second season of The Universe, the History Channel has now devoted a combined total of more than 25 hours, not including bonus material, to its documentary study of that combination of time, space, and matter that we call our universe. That’s a lot. But then you consider the mind-boggling age and size of the universe itself: 13.7 billion years old, and big beyond our comprehension; infinite, in fact, and expanding rapidly. By those measures, it’s apparent that this fascinating series could probably air for longer than The Simpsons and Gunsmoke (the two longest running shows in TV history) put together and still not run out of things to talk about.

The 18 episodes from Season Two cover an appropriately wide range of topics, from "Cosmic Holes" to "Cosmic Collisions," from supernovas to gravity. There are episodes about the weather in space, the largest objects in space (hint: they’re really, really big, like the so-called "cosmic web" of galaxies, which is a hundred million billion times bigger than Earth), and traveling to and colonizing space. The amount of information and data provided is enormous. Jargon abounds, including terms like "lunar transient phenomena," "pulsar planets," "hot Jupiters," "dark matter" and "dark energy," "collisional families," the "heavy bombardment period," and many, many more. And the numbers are mind-boggling: for instance, it’s estimated that the impact of the asteroid that landed on the Yucatan Peninsula some 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs, was equal to that of dropping a Hiroshima-sized atomic bomb every second for 140 years! Still, some may find the episodes that involve informed speculation more interesting than those that deal in facts. We know that the Moon affects ocean tides, but does it also have an effect on human behavior? If the Big Bang was the beginning of the universe, what came before it? Instead of using rockets to go to space, can scientists actually build a "space elevator" that will reach from an orbiting satellite some 60 thousand miles down to Earth? All of this is delivered by way of very convincing computer-generated imagery and other effects, along with dozens of interviews with astronomers and other experts, photos, film footage, and so on. Best of all, while it can get a bit dense, technically speaking, by and large The Universe will be readily accessible to most viewers. --Sam Graham

Product Description

We once considered ourselves to be at the center of the universe now we know that we are just a small spec in a giant cosmos. This season, HISTORY® ventures outsides of our solar system in another epic exploration of the universe and its mysteries. With strikingly realistic computer re-creations, you ll feel like you ve traveled to the edge of the unknown: visit strange and unfamiliar worlds in Exoplanets, prepare for the worst in Cosmic Collisions, and uncover the secrets of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. And that s just the beginning... learn exactly what Dark Matter is and how it takes up 95% of the universe; take a front-row seat for the ultimate light show with Supernovas; and while most people have heard of black holes (which swallow all matter that they come in contact with), find out more about White Holes which actually create matter.

Episodes Include:
Alien Planets
Cosmic Holes
Mysteries of the Moon
The Milky Way
Alien Moons
Dark Matter
Astrobiology
Space Travel
Supernovas
Constellations
Unexplained Mysteries
Cosmic Collisions
Colonizing Space
Stills from The Universe: The Complete Second Season (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great series!, November 4, 2008

By	Lulu (Doh, Qat) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

I ordered this series with the thought 'what more can they do?' I seen it all in season one, it cannot top that. Was I wrong!
It was even better.

To realize that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old, and so vast, that it's totally beyond our comprehension and still expanding. A truly unimaginable thought, that.
There are so many amazing episodes, one of which shows the largest objects in space. They are seriously big, like the so-called "cosmic web" of galaxies, which is a hundred million billion times bigger than Earth. Then there's the fascinating Lunar transient phenomena, the pulsar planets, the hot Jupiters, the weather in space, dark matter, dark energy, and much more. Really mind-boggling stuff, this!
For instance it's estimated that the impact of the asteroid that landed on the Yucatan Peninsula about 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs, this was equal to that of dropping a Hiroshima-sized atomic bomb every second for 140 years!

And another mind-boggling thought, where did we really come from...hmmn. Still, I'd like to go to heaven eventually:)

This series had me riveted to my screen. The computer-generated imagery and other effects is so realistic. It makes one feel as if one is truly there experiencing this phenomenal aspects. And it's explained so simply that anyone can understand it.
My favourite episodes are:
Alien Planets, Dark Matter, Astrobiology
Space Travel,Unexplained Mysteries &
Colonizing Space.

A truly awesome series! Enjoyed every bit of it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, October 24, 2008

By	Joshua M. Thompson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

You cannot say much more than Awesome. This series is truly interesting and will have you staring into the night sky immediately.

30 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome!, June 7, 2008

By	Chloe Barker "Chloe" (Minnesota) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have my DVR set to record whenever this show is on, so I have seen all of Season 1 and 2 to date. They are wonderful! There is so much fascinating information packed into these shows that you want to watch them over and over again!