The only way to space travel
We have recently stumbled upon some really good pieces on Blu-ray produced by the History Channel. The first piece was the WWII in HD, which was reviewed by our WWII fanatic Steven McGehee. While looking through the list of releases at the beginning of the year, we stumbled upon another gem from the History Channel called The Universe.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of catching this show on cable, it’s a fascinating look into certain topics that people generally have questions about when it comes to the universe. It covers a wide variety of topics such as time travel, black holes and 10 ways to destroy the earth. In between all of the narrative and pretty animation, the show brings in experts that back up claims or theories and add a science curve to it all. The fourth season of the show is now on Blu-ray and it’s one of the more surprising Blu-rays that we’ve had the pleasure of watching.
The fourth season is certainly one of the more ‘seasoned’ seasons out there. Compared to the first season, which seemed a bit rough around the edges at time, Flight 33 Productions, LLC has found a formula that keeps the show interesting. They have gone out and produced some really fascinating topics such as ‘Space Wars’ for example. In this episode it takes everything that science fiction has produced and applies real logic/theories and space facts to them. You’ll understand the range of possibilities when it comes to making a laser work in space. You’ll also get scientific suggestions about the pros/cons of fighter ship construction. Flight 33 Productions has taken an interesting concept, applied exciting themes to them (such as Space Wars) and brought in experts to keep the show scientific. Each episode in season four (12 altogether) is exactly like this one. You will hard pressed to find an ‘uninteresting’ episode among the bunch.
Here’s a list of episodes you’ll find:
DISC 1
Death Stars
The Day the Moon was Gone
It Fell From Space
Biggest Blasts
DISC 2
The Hunt for Ringed Planets
10 Ways to Destroy the Earth
The Search for Cosmic Clusters
Space Wars
DISC 3
Liquid Universe
Pulsars & Quasars
Science Fiction. Science Fact.
Extreme Energy
Again, none of these episodes will bore you. I thought that ‘Pulsars & Quasars’ might be the episode that makes me want to watch something else, but indeed it captivated my attention just as much as the others.
I full endorse this set for your collection. I say that because you’re going to be entertained by these episodes and, more importantly, if you have young children in your household (mine are 7, 5, 3 and 1) then it’s even more valuable. I’m not sure about you, but when I was in science class in middle school or high school this would have made it so much.
Now the real treat, outside of how the shows are put together, is how the show is presented. A mixture of high-quality animation (with a little freedom for error in the ‘Space Wars’ episode — it was a little 1980s Battlestar Galactica. Actually, it really was) that shows you exactly the cause/effects of certain universe moments/happenings, mixed with high definition video interviews and examples, equals nothing but visual goodness. To get a great understanding about what the scientist are explaining it has to be backed up by good visuals. Not only is the animation easy to get and understand, but it helps when it’s all in 1080p. The audio, while very important, is not the star of the show in this one. It’s surprising to say that because audio is so valuable, but for something ‘educational’ as The Universe it is more important to understand what you’re seeing.
As for the features, you get two bonus features:
– Meteors: Fire in the Sky
– Comets: Prophets of Doom
They are great add-ons, but something inside me wanted more. I’m not sure what ‘more’ would equal out to be in this case. Of course, it could just be me sad that the adventure across the universe ended too quickly (yes, I watched all nine hours).
