Don't look for any Earth-shaking conclusions. Just enjoy the ride.
Based on their scientific speculations, the experts confirm the possibility that a planet like Darwin IV could have mountain ranges, weather systems, and a small aquifer-fed sea and surface water supply which would be capable of sustaining life similar to that which evolved on Earth during prehistoric times.
Dinosaur-loving kids will perk up when the speculative creatures start appearing, as probes from the Von Braun dubbed Leo (after Leonardo DiVinci), Newton (after Isaac, not Fig), and Balboa (after the Spanish explorer) try to document life on the planet. They get help from robotic, spider-like sub-probes, which look almost as fantastic as the creatures. And what life do they project for Darwin IV? How about an Arrowtongue, a two-legged creature with an arrow-shaped head as well? Or a Gyrosprinter, a two-legged vegetarian that can turn on a dime and has a head that's shaped like a cylinder. Or Bladderhorns, with their bioluminescent antlers, and Forest Vampires and Daggerwrists, with their alien-looking heads? Or how about Skewers, 50-foot winged aerial hunters that look like robotic pterodactyls but spew methane gas that gives them jet-like power? What about a Groveback—a gigantic creature five stories high that looks like part of the land, and grows trees on its back? There's a "Future is Wild" sense of playfulness in these creatures that could have evolved differently in a parallel universe.
The experts have given Darwin IV a dense, humid atmosphere and a lower gravity than on Earth, and in the 130+ day mission (we get computer print-outs on the screen that keep us apprised of what day it is). Don't look for any Earth-shaking conclusions. Just enjoy the ride.
Video: The picture quality, mastered in High Definition, is very good, with rich colors that lend a surreal atmosphere to these alien explorations and an aspect ratio of 1.78 on anamorphic widescreen.
Audio: The sound is also excellent—English Dolby Digital 5.1 with closed captioning.
Extras: The extras are really unused clips from interviews with Hawking, Garvin, Kaku, and paleontologist Jack Horner. Hawking talks about alien life, while we hear Garvin on punctuated equilibrium, fingerprints of life, multi-generational projects, Martian rocks on Earth, and the search for Earth-like planets. Horner shares his take on aliens, anticipating the color of dinosaurs, the "rules" for life, and how a planet effects evolution, while Kaku talks about microbial life, "Goldilocks zones," defining intelligence, and speculates whether sunlight is required for life and what aliens might look like.
Bottom Line: If you're into space or dinosaurs and appreciate speculation about possible life forms on other planets, "Alien Planet" provides a surprisingly entertaining and intelligent fantasy ride in search of other life forms in space. But if you consider the quotes from experts that weren't included and read between the lines, it's even more revealing.
Dinosaur-loving kids will perk up when the speculative creatures start appearing, as probes from the Von Braun dubbed Leo (after Leonardo DiVinci), Newton (after Isaac, not Fig), and Balboa (after the Spanish explorer) try to document life on the planet. They get help from robotic, spider-like sub-probes, which look almost as fantastic as the creatures. And what life do they project for Darwin IV? How about an Arrowtongue, a two-legged creature with an arrow-shaped head as well? Or a Gyrosprinter, a two-legged vegetarian that can turn on a dime and has a head that's shaped like a cylinder. Or Bladderhorns, with their bioluminescent antlers, and Forest Vampires and Daggerwrists, with their alien-looking heads? Or how about Skewers, 50-foot winged aerial hunters that look like robotic pterodactyls but spew methane gas that gives them jet-like power? What about a Groveback—a gigantic creature five stories high that looks like part of the land, and grows trees on its back? There's a "Future is Wild" sense of playfulness in these creatures that could have evolved differently in a parallel universe.
The experts have given Darwin IV a dense, humid atmosphere and a lower gravity than on Earth, and in the 130+ day mission (we get computer print-outs on the screen that keep us apprised of what day it is). Don't look for any Earth-shaking conclusions. Just enjoy the ride.
Video: The picture quality, mastered in High Definition, is very good, with rich colors that lend a surreal atmosphere to these alien explorations and an aspect ratio of 1.78 on anamorphic widescreen.
Audio: The sound is also excellent—English Dolby Digital 5.1 with closed captioning.
Extras: The extras are really unused clips from interviews with Hawking, Garvin, Kaku, and paleontologist Jack Horner. Hawking talks about alien life, while we hear Garvin on punctuated equilibrium, fingerprints of life, multi-generational projects, Martian rocks on Earth, and the search for Earth-like planets. Horner shares his take on aliens, anticipating the color of dinosaurs, the "rules" for life, and how a planet effects evolution, while Kaku talks about microbial life, "Goldilocks zones," defining intelligence, and speculates whether sunlight is required for life and what aliens might look like.
Bottom Line: If you're into space or dinosaurs and appreciate speculation about possible life forms on other planets, "Alien Planet" provides a surprisingly entertaining and intelligent fantasy ride in search of other life forms in space. But if you consider the quotes from experts that weren't included and read between the lines, it's even more revealing.
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[release]16545[/release]