Dom Robinson reviews

Take a journey to worlds
beyond your imagination...

Distributed by

Cat.no: BBCDVD 1003

Cert: E

Running time: 390 minutes

Year: 1999

Pressing: 2000

Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)

Chapters: 48 plus extras

Sound: Dolby Surround (Dolby Digital 2.0)

Languages: English

Subtitles: 7 languages available

Widescreen: 16:9 (1.77:1)

16:9-enhanced: Yes

Macrovision: No

Disc Format: 2 * DVD 9

Price: £34.99

Extras : Scene index, Booklet

---

Series Producer:

David McNab

Writers/Producers:

David McNab, James Younger, Jacqueline Smith and Becky Jones

Music:

Jim Meacock

Narration:

Samuel West

Starring:

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
and a special guest appearance by The Sun

The Planets is the BBC's TV programme from last year, produced in eight parts of approximately 50 minutes apiece. Put together in 16:9 widescreen, it was broadcast on digital TV in that ratio but cropped to 14:9 for analogue presentation, between April 29th and June 17th. So far a 4:3 pan-and-scan video has been released, but now the disc we have all been waiting for has now arrived.

What do we know about our solar system? What more can be found out about it? How long have we got before the sun grows so big that we all just burn up into nothing, reducing everything including the DVD you're watching, the film stock on which the programme was shot and the server on which this review resides, into less than dust? This series aims to answer as many of these questions as possible with respected, leading scientists stepping up to speak when their turn comes.

Just trying to think of these things is enough to make your brain hurt. Try and imagine how big the solar system is. You can picture the nine planets we know about, all revolving around the sun at different speeds, each with different atmospheres, the study of which reveal fascinating information and it'll take you an immense amount of time to get to grips with that, but what's beyond that as well?

Space is defined as being infinite, but surely it's got to end somewhere. You see the more you try and think about what lies beyond, the more you have to stop and take stock because the concept of infinity is a difficult one to understand. Nothing in life that we come across on a daily basis lasts forever, apart from the traffic jams, so where does it all end?

The chapters, including the titles of the sketches on show, are :

1. Different Worlds: A look at space travel and the latest planetary explorations. 2. Terra Firma: The story of the pioneering missions to our neighbouring worlds. 3. Giants: Uncovers the secrets surrounding the massive planets in our Solar System. 4. Moon: The answer to one of the greatest mysteries of the Solar System - why does the Earth have a moon? 5. Star: The latest scientific advances bring us a new perspective on the Sun. 6. Atmosphere: A fantastic voyage through the skies of the Solar System. 7. Life: A look at the latest robotic explorations of other planets. 8. Destiny: How are the planets going to evolve over the next four billion years?

Sparkling...

The picture quality here is spot-on perfect in the main, lacking in any artifacts in scenes using state-of-the-art computer graphics. The only time the picture does suffer is in some interview scenes where the picture looks a little hazy and when it comes to archive footage, but the former only really shows up if you sit with your face glued to the screen like I do and the latter doesn't look any different than you'd expect so can't be condemned. I was unable to determine the average bitrate on the disc, but each episode is placed on the disc as a separate title anyway.

It is presented in the programme's original ratio of 16:9, as broadcast on digital TV and watching the stunning visuals on view, it's hard to believe this can be watched in a cropped ratio as shown on analogue TV and video.

The sound is presented in Dolby Surround (Dolby Digital 2.0) and is equally impressive. The dialogue is clear, there is a specially-composed musical score from Jim Meacock and where would such a series be without the famous classical work of Gustav Holst's Planet's Suite.

What you might have missed on Eclipse Day.

Extras :

Chapters :

Languages & Subtitles :

Booklet :

There's no other extras in particular to speak of, bar the Dolby Digital "train" trailer, but when the whole show runs for six-and-a-half hours, is there anything else you need to know?

Menu :

What happens when the Sun says: "No more!" ?

Overall :

If I had a niggle it's that you can't save bookmarks, so you have to go by the chapters on the disc.

DVD Trivia: Surprisingly, disc one contains a hidden picture menu for disc two and vice versa.

Scheduled for late March/early April release are : Gormenghast, Walking with Dinosaurs and Tweenies.

As for which DVDs I'd like to see from the BBC in future. They include : Red Dwarf (in their original versions, not the remastered form), The Young Ones, Filthy Rich and Catflap, Fawlty Towers and - depending on whether I could bribe the new DG with enough cash - Eldorado...

FILM	 		: *****
PICTURE QUALITY 	: ****½
SOUND QUALITY		: *****
EXTRAS			: *****
-------------------------------
OVERALL			: *****

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.