Marking the first foray into 3D territory for The Universe (The History Channel’s popular astronomy documentary series), The Universe: 7 Wonders of the Solar System is a one off episode chronicling, and explaining the science behind, the seven greatest wonders in our solar system.
Taking viewers on a virtual tour of our solar system’s seven greatest wonders (complete with state of the art CGI graphics), this episode of The Universe explores natural phenomenon as diverse as the famous rings of Saturn, the unimaginably hot surface of the sun, a gigantic volcano on the surface of Mars, and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (which happens to be a fantastic storm larger than the Earth), and aims to entertain its viewers just as much as it educates them.
Yet while it may be quite an entertaining watch, and undeniably interesting; with the CGI tours of the various planets, and wonders, in our solar system being nicely accompanied by informative narration, and well broken up with footage of top scientists explaining the currently thinking behind how the wonders were formed, how they work, etc; this stand-alone episode could never be as informative as it would like to be, because of its limited runtime.
Covering seven different wonders of the solar system; that are are different from each other in every imaginable way; is something that would be hard to do given an unending amount of time, and though the scientists featured have spent their entire lives researching the various phenomenon they are trying to explain to everyone watching, they have only have between six and seven minutes to delve into the wonders of each (less if you include the jarring recaps, where the ad breaks have been removed), and while each does remain interesting, informative, and very entertaining, it would have been nice to have seen some of the wonders covered in more detail; something which attempting to cram too much into too little time made impossible.
Anyone who enjoys History™’s The Universe series is bound to enjoy the 7 Wonders of the Solar System, and hopefully appreciate the clear way in which the added depth provided by the 3D visuals enhances the experience and makes it more entertaining. It’s also a great window into the series for anyone who hasn’t yet experienced what it has to offer, and although it doesn’t delve as deeply into some issues as it could have, The Universe: 7 Wonders of the Solar System remains informative, and above all interesting; making it a worthwhile documentary that’s sure to please anyone who’s even remotely fascinated by the mysterious of outer space.
Picture:
While this maybe the first time The Universe has dipped its toes in the realm of 3D, there’s no denying that it’s clearly paid off; as not only is the image on the 3D Blu-ray crisp and clear throughout (having no unnecessary noise, a strong level of detail, and solid textures), but it provides a great sense of depth and scale that may be nowhere near the level of grandeur achieved by large studio movies such as Tron: Legacy, but throughly enhances the sense of space which an astronomy documentary needs to create, and helps to keeps things interesting and engaging throughout (upping the chances that children will stay interested for the duration).
The CGI effects (which take up the majority of the show’s screen-time) are generally pretty striking, colour and contrast are both of an above average standard, and although the scenes where the scientists explain the thinking behind the various phenomena didn’t need to be in 3D, they still look very good.
One of the only problems with the transfer of The universe: 7 Wonders of the Solar System comes by way of some fairly noticeable, severe, and slightly distracting ghosting around some of the images; however it’s infrequent, only pops up on occasion, and shouldn’t really detract from what is on the whole a very sound transfer.
Audio:
Coming by way of a 5.1 DTS-HD MA mix, the audio track for The Universe: 7 Wonders of the Solar System is stronger that that accompanying many documentary series, and although most of the sounds emanate from the front and center channels (as you’d expect from a documentary), every voiceover is constantly clear, easily intelligible, and well fitting within the context of the episode.
While the audio isn’t all that aggressive (not that you’d expect a documentary to blast out The Pacific style turbulence), it’s still more than strong enough in its own right, does contain a fair bit of noticeably well placed ambience, and creates a mix that’s easy to listen to, fairly engaging, and pretty apt for this release.
Extras:
Unfortunately there isn’t a single special feature, or snippet of bonus material, included with The Universe: 7 Wonders of the Solar System; largely because it’s a single episode, and can itself be treated as a piece of bonus material; seen as how it’s dubbed as an accompaniment to The Universe: Season 5 (which is being released on the same day).
The Bottom Line:
While being a single, stand-alone, episode means it might not last that long, The Universe: 7 Wonders of the Solar System is well presented, interesting, and despite being educational never becomes dull, and has a runtime that seems to fly by; as it’s undeniably entertaining and engrossing.
It may be a little too American for some British viewers, contain wholly unnecessary re-caps, and clearly isn’t an Attenborough documentary (although it does make any viewer want to watch one of his nature docs in 3D as soon as it’s over), it’s still interesting, guaranteed to please fans of The Universe series (despite spending only mere minutes on topics the series has previously spent entire episodes covering), and anyone interested in the wonders of space.
All in all this is a sound Blu-ray buy that’s going to both educate and entertain, both kids and adults; as it’s extremely easy to get to grips with (and kids love 3D); and although it may not provide quite as much information as other shows (such as BBC series Wonders of the Solar System), it’s important to remember that it isn’t really supposed to; it’s a great window into the series for any newcomer, and really is the perfect accompaniment to The Universe: Season 5 (which does cover issues in much more depth).
Screencaps sourced from Blu-rayDefinition.com
