Season seven of The Universe is just a single disc and runs just shy of three hours, but it contains four compelling episodes covering Stonehenge, Pyramids, Sodom and Gomorrah, and the Star of Bethlehem. Each topic has puzzled man for thousands of years, and in true History Channel fashion, experts and heavy use of computer graphics are brought in to try and solve some of these mysteries.
First up is Stonehenge — we’ve all heard of it, some of us have even been to England to see it. The question has always been, what exactly was it used for? It was built over the course of 1500 hundred years, which is astonishing in and of itself. Perhaps it was used to worship gods? Well, it’s actually far more likely, according to science and computer models, that it was used by ancient astronomers. The amazing truths are that Stonehenge is built with such precision, both in the placement and number of stones used, that it’s kind of hard to imagine it having been used for anything else, or at least anything more overtly than as an astronomer’s tool. The heelstone, for example, is placed such that on the morning of the first day of summer, the sun, with perfection within a degree, passes over this stone. The moon’s phases, including its nineteen year metronic cycle, are also accounted for with the design of Stonehenge. I learned more about Stonehenge in the forty-five minutes of this episode than I knew before, and with their go-to panel of experts, CG, and stock footage of Stonehenge, it’s enough to keep you glued to the screen.
The second episode in season seven is about the ancient pyramids in Egypt. Were they “just” enormous, elaborate burial grounds? A tribute to the gods? Or were they actually intended to help propel the souls of the dead pharaohs into the heavens? For many centuries, if not a few thousand years (the pyramids are about 4500 years old), there have been people who have dedicated their lives to the study of Egypt and the three pyramids that were built for a pharaoh, his son, and his grandson (in descending order of size). Their placement in the Egyptian sands is incredibly accurate to the cardinal directions, and yet also have a long path, leading to the mummified body, that projects perfectly northward. It’s known that the Egyptians placed a tremendous amount of belief and stock in the cosmos, including stars in the northern sky that can always be seen at night. Much of the episode explores the idea of the pyramids having been used to “interface” with the stars, but also the sun, too.
Up next is the Biblical tale of the destruction of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. In the Old Testament, these sinful cities were completely destroyed by the raining down of fire and brimstone. The most scientific explanation for this would be a meteorite that was big enough to get through the outer atmosphere, but small enough to get burned up just before it could make impact with earth. Thus, the meteorite blew up, creating an airburst and a ‘buckshot’ like effect as opposed to what a slug-impact would have done (which is create a crater). The description in the Bible matches up really well with the science of such an event. Scientists looking for the exact locations of these two cities seem to have narrowed it down, and the existence of Trinitite, a stone that only forms in the most extremes of temperatures (like, atomic bomb temps, far higher than volcanic magma) seems to only further prove the Biblical story and the idea that it was caused by a meteorite that created the nightmarish effect of fire and brimstone raining down from the sky.
The final episode is about the Star of Bethlehem. The mysteries around the exact time of Jesus’ birth make figuring out what exactly this Star was more difficult, but much is owed to ancient Chinese astronomers and their detailed notes. Experts discuss whether the Star was actually a comet, perhaps Halley’s or Ison, or if it was actually a supernova, or even a planet. It’s another intriguing episode that maintains a fluid pace and tackles a series of interesting questions.
So the content of season seven, while brief, is interesting. The Blu-ray release is good overall, but, I was irked at how there are a ton of Lionsgate and A&E trailers that you have to skip, one by one, at first launch, or anytime that you don’t select Resume upon starting the disc up after the first time. I suppose this isn’t a big deal, as season seven is both interesting and short enough that you’re likely to watch it in one or two sessions (which is what I did), but I thought the authoring of the disc could have been more user-conscious. That said, the menus are well done, being both visually impressive and easy to use. Subtitle support for English and Spanish is included. The image quality is excellent throughout, although if you’re looking for any extra features, there are none to be found, other than the ability to add bookmarks.
With that, let’s get to the summary…