Most of us take the sky above and the ground below entirely for granted, and now Mother Earth has a chance to shine in the spotlight.
However, I do have mixed feelings regarding the presentation on the Earth's creation roughly four and a half billion years ago. On one hand, it was an interesting topic and one could say there are arguments making it a relevant subject for this series. On the other hand, these theories are only theories and nothing more. I don't consider myself to be in the same boat as creationists, but when things go back billions or even thousands of years, it's impossible to know how things really went down. Science is full of errors, and even with scientific breakthroughs like carbon dating, we still don't have anything that we know with 100% certainty is a billion years old for comparison. I didn't mind learning about this sort of thing in "Walking with Dinosaurs" because that program was entirely about prehistoric Earth, but here it just felt like it was out of place.
At the end of the series, Stewart does make a valid point on the recent push by environmentalists to "Go Green" and "Save the Planet." The truth is, the planet is perfectly capable of taking care of itself. Evidence shows that Earth has suffered some pretty major cataclysmic blows during its lifetime, yet it has always found a way to reboot itself and bounce back stronger than ever. We really should be more concerned about our own fates... as Mother Nature won't hesitate to push back if she's pushed too far.
Video:
"Earth: The Biography" is presented in widescreen 1.78:1 aspect ratio on two BD25 discs. I'm a little perplexed as to why the BBC didn't just go with one BD50, especially since the picture is 1080i (VC-1 codec) rather than full 1080p. The aerial topography shots are truly breathtaking at times and comparable to some of the high-definition camerawork seen in "Planet Earth." Other times the colors are very soft resulting in a slight wash over details and the black levels aren't as sharp as they could be. The series also includes older stock footage, like the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 for example, that are in pretty rough shape. Still, the overall image quality is definitely an improvement over standard-definition, just not quite as good as many of the other Blu-rays currently on the market.
Audio:
Normally I'm pretty gung-ho about lossless audio formats, although in this case an English DTS-HD HR 5.1 track for a documentary almost seems like overkill. Stewart's narration comes in clear through the center channel and the rear speakers even periodically chime in with sounds of nature on occasion, so I have no complaints there. It's just that Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 probably would have worked just as well. It's also worth noting that on the second disc, I noticed a few times where Stewart's voice was slightly out of sync with his lips. Personally it wasn't that much of an issue, but some viewers might find it a little distracting. Optional English subtitles round out the disc.
Extras:
There are trailers for "Planet Earth" and "loveearth.com" on startup. That's all, folks.
The Final Cut:
"Earth: The Biography" could've been more thorough in the science department, but the trade-off is the series keeps moving at a decent pace and never really sticks on a topic long enough for boredom to set in. Most of us take the sky above and the ground below entirely for granted, and now Mother Earth has a chance to shine in the spotlight.
At the end of the series, Stewart does make a valid point on the recent push by environmentalists to "Go Green" and "Save the Planet." The truth is, the planet is perfectly capable of taking care of itself. Evidence shows that Earth has suffered some pretty major cataclysmic blows during its lifetime, yet it has always found a way to reboot itself and bounce back stronger than ever. We really should be more concerned about our own fates... as Mother Nature won't hesitate to push back if she's pushed too far.
Video:
"Earth: The Biography" is presented in widescreen 1.78:1 aspect ratio on two BD25 discs. I'm a little perplexed as to why the BBC didn't just go with one BD50, especially since the picture is 1080i (VC-1 codec) rather than full 1080p. The aerial topography shots are truly breathtaking at times and comparable to some of the high-definition camerawork seen in "Planet Earth." Other times the colors are very soft resulting in a slight wash over details and the black levels aren't as sharp as they could be. The series also includes older stock footage, like the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 for example, that are in pretty rough shape. Still, the overall image quality is definitely an improvement over standard-definition, just not quite as good as many of the other Blu-rays currently on the market.
Audio:
Normally I'm pretty gung-ho about lossless audio formats, although in this case an English DTS-HD HR 5.1 track for a documentary almost seems like overkill. Stewart's narration comes in clear through the center channel and the rear speakers even periodically chime in with sounds of nature on occasion, so I have no complaints there. It's just that Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 5.1 probably would have worked just as well. It's also worth noting that on the second disc, I noticed a few times where Stewart's voice was slightly out of sync with his lips. Personally it wasn't that much of an issue, but some viewers might find it a little distracting. Optional English subtitles round out the disc.
Extras:
There are trailers for "Planet Earth" and "loveearth.com" on startup. That's all, folks.
The Final Cut:
"Earth: The Biography" could've been more thorough in the science department, but the trade-off is the series keeps moving at a decent pace and never really sticks on a topic long enough for boredom to set in. Most of us take the sky above and the ground below entirely for granted, and now Mother Earth has a chance to shine in the spotlight.
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[release]23642[/release]