The Planets (Box Set)
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DVD Cover Information
Brand: A and E Home VideoDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 400 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-05-02
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E Home Video
Movie Reviews of The Planets (Box Set)
Movie Review: Spectacular & entertaining
Summary: 5 Stars
Please note that I saw this series on the Science Channel so I can't comment on the video transfer or its features.
This is without a doubt the best documentary series on the solar system. If you've kept up with planetary astronomy the technical level is probably too basic for you, but for me, being about 30 years out of date, it was fine. I actually took a planetary geology course as a junior in college years ago (one of the few offered in the U.S. at the time, and it was fun). But I was woefully out of date and didn't know the new advances.
A few comments on individual episodes:
I especially enjoyed the episode on the moon, with all the old archival footage of the manned Apollo and also the Russian unmanned missions to the moon, which scooped up soil and sent it back to earth, which were sort of over-shadowed by the Apollo achievement.
In the episode on the gas giants and the outer planets, some of the Voyager and Cassini-Huyghens discoveries were truly amazing, such as 1000+ mile an hour winds on Neptune and also the first discovery of an active volcano elsewhere in the solar system on its moon, Triton. These winds were faster even than those on Jupiter and Saturn. The surface of Triton is so cold (-235 degrees Celsius) that during the winter nitrogen freezes, coating the planet in white nitrogen snow, which then thaws during the summer. In many ways the Neptune and Triton discoveries were the biggest surprise of all.
The episode on the sun, showing the discovery of coronal mass ejections and its powerful magnetic fields, was also very interesting. The solar helioscope photography (I assume taken from Hubble) was truly spectacular, showing the solar flares erupting along magnetic lines of force, the sun's atmosphere or corona, and the coronal mass ejections which can occur at velocities of up to 800 kilometers per hour.
The series focuses mainly on the history and geology of the planets, rather than astrobiology, so if geology isn't your thing, this set probably isn't for you. But I don't think you have to be a mineralogist or "hard rocker" to enjoy it. But one episode does cover the prospects for life on other planets, mainly Mars--which apparently is looking better all the time.
I note one reviewer didn't like all the "talking heads," or all the interviews, but after all it's a documentary (and many of these scientists and project directors were getting up there in years but still mentally with it), and it was interesting to hear things from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
Overall just a great series with awesome historical footage, spectacular planetary and solar photography, and good coverage of all the planets (except Pluto, which is the only one that wasn't featured, but since it's probably a captured asteroid, probably no big deal).
Summary of The Planets (Box Set)
PLANETS - DVD MovieWhere did it all begin? How did the universe give birth to the sun and its family of planets that form our solar system? How is a bubbling atomic reactor in space the source of warmth and light for life as we know it? Why will Mars be the first planet we colonize? What is the long-term fate of the planets in our solar system? Are we alone? The Planets is an entertaining, comprehensive, and informative A&E documentary series that sets out to answer many of life's most physically existential questions. This series combines scientific history of early scientists, rich knowledge from the leading minds in modern astronomy, and extraordinary image technology to tell the story of our solar system, from its beginnings to the present and beyond. The topics of the eight-volumes are: "Different Worlds," "Terra Firma," "Giants," Moon," "Star," "Atmosphere," "Life Beyond the Sun," and "Destiny." From the sweltering rocky surface of Mercury to the violent stormy skies of Jupiter to the cold, mysterious land of Pluto, The Planets is a fascinating exploration of discovery and adventure for anyone who has looked up into space on a starry night in total amazement. --Rob Bracco
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