Der Weltraum

When it comes to making good, informative and visually stunning documenters, the BBC stand head and shoulders above the rest. Shows like `Space' and `Walking with Dinosaurs' may not be hard-science, but they are good-science and understandable. I have a scientific education, but I still love shows like this. It helps you to understand things by placing them in a visually captivating way.

If you want hard facts and hard science, go watch `The open university', if you want to understand what's going on without needing a PhD in Astrophysics, watch `Space'.

My first impression of this, as I watched it, was that the visuals were very well done, and indeed they are. Great graphics make you really see how it looks when the events described occur. If it were just a graphic presentation, I would have given it a 10/10.

Unfortunately, it wasn't. While the presentation, including Sam Neill's narration, was very well done, the content was extremely scarce, and what was there had me raising my eyebrows. There is very little information in this that can't be gotten out of a grade school level book. The series makes very simple, obvious assertions about the universe and stretches them out for a half hour each. What's more is that it is strangely alarmist, giving the feeling that we could all die at any moment from some huge cataclysm. While that's true on some level, it's also extremely unlikely that a comet or asteroid will strike us out of the blue. To watch this series, you would think it was inevitable within our lifetimes.

It also makes the assertion that the only hope for humanity's future lies in colonizing the stars. This may or may not be true. In the several billion years before this even becomes an issue, we may very well discover how to keep the sun burning longer, how to live in the vacuum of space, or any number of other things that would make that much less relevant. There is no pressing need to colonize other worlds right now, though I admit I love the idea of doing it.

In all, outside of the alarmism, I suppose this would be good for someone who is very unfamiliar with astronomy in general. But if you have some knowledge of the subject, you won't get much out of this besides nice graphics.

This is the sort of tabloid "science" program that devotes more screen time to special effects, spectacle and catastrophism than education. Any single episode of "Nova" contains more hard science than this entire series. I'm surprised there wasn't a chapter on horoscopes.

For the most part, this series is a blast, with Sam Neill clearly having fun playing interstellar tour guide. The special effects are amazing, though some of the science is a bit basic. This makes for a rousing first and final ten minutes, with things dragging a bit in the middle.

That said, this is an entertaining introduction to some of the newer and stranger theories in astronomy. Neill is at his avuncular best and the marriage of weird, stunning New Zealand scenery with all the cgi is remarkably effective. Certainly worth a look.

Also called "Hyperspace", this three hour BBC astronomy documentary, hosted by Sam Neill, consists of six self-contained topical programs, each one about 30 minutes in length: (1) Star Stuff, (2)Staying Alive, (3) Black Holes, (4) Are We Alone...?, (5) New Worlds, and (6) Boldly Go.

The photography, visual effects, and computer graphics are stunning. And the sound effects and music are appropriately cosmic. All of which combine to create a production that entertains, and encourages interest in space exploration.

That said, "Space" did not tell me anything I did not already know. There's very little in the documentary that has not been described or explained elsewhere. For adults who keep up with advances in astronomy, these six programs provide only a rehash of current knowledge, in layman's terms.

Overall, "Space" is a technically well-made program, suited especially to kids, as well as to adults who are new to astronomy.