The Planets

This BBC series released in 1999 is an excellent source of information on our solar system. We are fortunate to be living at a time when so much is being revealed about our neighboring worlds.

But as more information comes in at an ever-increasing rate, it is always a matter of a 'snapshot' of what was known at the time the series was produced. 1999 now seems like such a long time ago.

The Mars-rovers were still in the works, as was Cassini-Huygens, and thus there is no material from those missions.

And while many of the first-person interviews are interesting, I have a bit of an issue with wasting screen-time on a talking-head astronomer/planetary scientist gushing how "I was the first person to see (X or Y or Z), and that made me feel so special." I did not purchase this DVD set in order to hear someone stroke their own ego.

And why was it felt necessary to re-dub the narration from a British male to an American female (who sounds just like NBC's Anne Curry)?

I constantly come back to this series. It looks and sounds perfect with the score and narration. It impresses with the way it delves into extremely complex matters but you seem to understand them easily. It still looks modern now, nearly 20 years after release. It's quite simply one of the best TV documentaries that has been made. Personally, I think it holds its own against the outstanding BBC wildlife documentaries, such as Blue Planet and Planet Earth. Yes, they have the excitement of animals and the brilliance of non-generated shots but this makes Space interesting and paints a picture to inspire. If you haven't seen it, get the original UK version and binge, it's amazing.

This 8 "hour" series is a wonderful historical production about the history of space travel including both Russian and American perspectives. It focuses each episode on a topic like the sun, atmosphere, giants, moon etc... The film footage on both country's programs reaches from the Sun to Neptune and the moons in between. The real video and still photography is accompanied by realistic computer generated enhancements. This series is well worth the time of any astronomy buff and even those who just want to learn a lot more about our Solar System.

This is a more than an "Old Documentary". This was a monumental look into the universe in 1999. We haven't seen something on this scale since the Cosmos series was released back in 1980. The series takes you further and further from Earth. It's an educational experience for anyone who's never really considered what lies outside the Earths' atmosphere. This goes beyond any definition you'll find in any book. You have a front row seat to how and what we knew in 1999.

I have to disagree with those who say its outdated. I think it's more important to leave it untouched, a time capsule of sorts, preserved as a bookmark in time. It chronicles the technology we had up to 1999. Sure a lot has changed since then but how else can new generations have any understanding of how limited our knowledge of the universe really was in 1999.

If i had to point out something negative it would have to be the narration. The version i remember had an America voice resembling Mike Rowe. All i can find is the narration Sam West did.

It is impossible for any documentary to be completely up to date. Criticizing this series for not including anything discovered after '99 isn't fair. Yet, we lament that this information is missing only because this BBC production does such a GREAT job of presenting it.

I would give this series a 9 for the 3rd installment "Giants", alone. The story of the Voyager probes is simply fascinating and must rank as one of man's greatest under appreciated accomplishments.

Would it not be nice to have this series updated with new data and presented in high definition? As others have commented, the information from Cassini alone warrants a "brush up" of the series.