The Show
The Universe is a pretty lofty topic, and yet The History Channel has managed to dissect it into categories and sub-chapters we can wrap our head around, putting it all into terms that us regular Joes can process, without ever talking down to its audience. And this weekly series, now past its second season, is not afraid to address the major questions: How does the sun work? Is there life on Mars? How was the moon created? When and how will the Earth be destroyed? And that's just a fraction of what we learn on Disc One. By the time we're done with the first year (2007), new to Blu-ray, we'll also have a better understanding of where Saturn got those rings, and if we're alone out here. Mankind has never known more about the heavens than we do now (Pluto's not really a planet!) and so each installment is dense with the latest science fact as well as theories new and old.
The Picture
Every episode is a combination of state-of-the-art NASA footage, computer-generated simulations created at high-definition quality, and interviews with leading experts photographed in HD. Presented in a widescreen-filling 1.78:1, the overall look of the visuals is both pleasing and inviting. Some of the NASA footage is almost eerily detailed, likely to renew the conspiracy that it was faked inside a Hollywood soundstage. Colors are strong although a lot of the planets, stars and moons are enveloped in a soft glow which can at times lead to some severe ringing. The interview footage often shows twitch in out-of-focus backgrounds, and fine textures don't always reproduce well here in 1080p. Some of the older footage incorporated is of lesser-quality, but the eye tends to forgive such anomalies in a documentary context.
Making the most of their source material, A&E has encoded the audio for The Universe Season One as linear PCM stereo. There's a lot of music used throughout the series to help keep it interesting (it is educational after all, so I'll take whatever pizzazz I can get), and it is always well-balanced with the clear dialogue and various sound effects in the ever-changing mix. If you really crave surround, you will need to engage your receiver's processing. What bass we are given is clean, but a ".1" would have been a nice gesture, considering the magnitude of the events depicted.
The Extras
The set's sole "extra" comes at the end but tackles the beginning of everything, The Big Bang. I believe that the documentary feature Beyond the Big Bang was actually the double-length season finale, but it goes further, deeper than standard episodes, with actors in costume portraying great scientists, and a different narrator. More than any explanation I've ever witnessed, Beyond succeeds in demystifying the very origin of the entire universe by breaking it down into a chain of interrelated aspects, each specific and more readily grasped. Despite the title, there's no improvement in sound quality here.
Final Thoughts
For those space-curious viewers who don't receive History HD from their cable or satellite provider, or for anyone who wants a handy astronomical reference/cheat sheet, The Universe deserves a place on your shelf, maybe even wedged in next to your encyclopedias.
Where to Buy:
Product Details:
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Video | |
| Audio | |
| Movie | |
| Extras |
