Alien Planet

This show ranks right up there with "The Future Is Wild" in that it presents some very intriguing ideas with very nice CGI. But unlike TFIW they are showing us a not to distant future, one that may be possible with my life time. I also thought the comments from various scientist was a nice touch since these are the best people to comment on a future mission to another planet. And on a final note, the planet depicted in the show, Darwin IV was a very alien place while yet being similar to earth but seeing what life is like on that planet makes me appreciate our own little blue marble even more. Also, speaking of the name Darwin IV, I would have preferred a name from popular science fiction, possible Hal IV.

Ordinarily, I hate documentaries. And I mean *hate*. So why is it that I love "Alien Planet"?

Simple. Using cutting-edge animation technology and fascinating (not mind-bogglingly boring), jargon-filled interviews with experts in various fields, the makers of this real winner have successfully created an interesting testament to the fact that mankind is not even a drop in the bucket, cosmically speaking. This fantastically done doc almost plays out like a motion picture as it interweaves the documentary with pieces of interstellar adventure and drama. Particularly interesting is the segment featuring an alien life form called a "groveback."

Take it from someone who is usually bored stiff by documentaries-- one look at this astounding, mind blowing extravaganza, and you want more. Immediately.

...just don't live in it. Yet?

The film may not be for self-proclaimed serious scientists....or for "serious creationists"...but for curious six year olds this was more than watchable and raised interesting questions in the xenobiological realm. So for me, as their Dad it was a success.

But even for all those serious science fans, with the commentary of Hawking, Kaku, Venter...what is the quibble about? Admittedly we are talking about something that if it happens will happen well after my children's children are dead, but trying to estimate what might be still is fun, and ideally incentive enough to continue to search the stars. Kaku works in a message of how rare and treasured life should be, even here on our own planet. Have any of the participating scientists rebuked this film?

As for all the "serious creationists", I still think this movie is more captivating than a discussion of how many angels could dance on the head of a pinhead.

The probes, with their wide eyes and narrow dots inside, gave a nice illusion of shock as each new creature was unfurled. The DVD came packaged for the sake of TV with commercial inserts, and sneak previews for something coming in the next three seconds. I found that a bit annoying.

Anyways, I can see some of the criticism, overly sleek animation leaves the creatures devoid of texture...more insight into the animals behavior (eating, socialization)...but I think this was mostly a chance to introduce the basic concept of life on another planet (hence disappointing to the two groups above) and a chance to display Wayne Douglas Barlowe's artwork...with whom I was regrettably unfamiliar, so I'll look forward to sharing some of his library books with the boys.

Not sure if he has done illustrations for the Book of Revelation, but that might appeal to some.

Yours for heresy and fantasy,

Thurston Hunger

7/10

this is the first time i have seen a show that actually depicts what could be out there in a scientific fashion.

The way we can calculate the possibility of life is by the Drake Equation, created by Frank Drake in the early 1960s. It states: N= (r* x fp x ne x fl x fi x fc) L where:

N= number of possible civilizations to communicate with

R* = is the rate at which stars capable of sustaining like are formed

fp = the fraction of these stars which have planets

ne = the number of planets similar to Earth in the planetary system

fl = the fraction of the Earth-like planets that hold life

fi = the fraction of life that becomes an intelligent civilization

fc = the fraction intelligent civilizations that attempt to communicate

L= the number of years the civilization remains able to communicate.

When these numbers are taken into consideration, we realize that there is a great possibility of life out there. There are about 400 billion stars in our galaxy, so there could be life right next door (relatively speaking, since that may be hundreds of thousands of light years away). Even if there is no life in the Milky Way, there are billions of other galaxies to turn to. We likely will not contact such civilizations in our lifetime, but it gives us a new kind of hope and dream for the future of our planet and the future of mankind.

so Darwin 4 could actually exist out there somewhere.

When I first watched this years ago, it definitely caught my attention. I know it was fake and meant to be strictly entertainment, but it still holds up after 20 years because it went hard on the so called "scientific realism."

I won't be alive when the day we explore other planets becomes a reality, but I at least have some fun media to look at and imagine what it might be like. In all honesty, this would still make a great movie, maybe with some better creature designs and more realistic backgrounds. Of course, no one would spend that kind of money on that type of project.

I will say this, it was a lot of fun. The speculative science of the film shows the reality of how difficult space exploration would be. The pitfalls and challenges prove it will take decades to really make this all possible.