Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4577 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-01-24
• Rating: Exempt
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Swedish, Portuguese, Finnish, Danish, Dutch
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 400 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
While watching The Planets, be prepared to fight your way past all kinds of computer animation which makes Walking with Dinosaurs seem like the last word in realism. It seems that no solar or planetary event which ever happened (or which may or may not have happened) is worthy of mention here without recourse to lovingly detailed shots of implausible-looking collisions and explosions. These come complete with sound effects, despite the fact that there is no sound in the vacuum of space, and are enhanced by a range of colours, some of which are visible only to bees. Somehow Patrick Moore's The Sky at Night manages to convey just as much excitement with little more than a couple of diagrams and the presenter's hyperactive enthusiasm.

Fortunately, this two-DVD set is redeemed by both its subject matter and its sheer scope, offering all eight 50-minute episodes of the 1999 documentary series covering the history of the solar system and humanity's age-old desire to learn its secrets. Detailed indexing and scene access makes this a convenient reference source too, so amateur astronomers everywhere can finally bin those off-air VHS copies. --Roger Thomas

Special Features
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 9
English
Region 2
Dolby Surround English
Dolby Surround
Danish\Dutch\English\Finnish\Norwegian\Portuguese\Swedish

Synopsis
THE PLANETS uses state-of-the-art computer graphics, unseen space footage, and interviews with leading scientists to create the most comprehensive and spectacular account of space exploration ever made. This release includes all eight 50-minute episodes of the BBC series.

Customer Reviews

First Step into Astronomy
This is an excellently made series of documentaries, that GRIPPED my attention, imagination AND interest from the moment i saw it. I have watched the series over and over again and now read whatever i can about astronomy. It has launched me on a personal voyage to understand the universe and it's planets.

What's beautiful, is that the space age and recent trips to space which are presently out there are history in the making... this series will set you up with the knowledge to accompany what is happening right now, and when the latest probes will be landing on their targets.
Who knows what we will discover beyond Titans atmosphere?

Apart from the information included, the esthetics of the film making is worth noting. Samuel Wests voice narrates each episode perfectly, and all scientists interviewed transmit genuine excitement and awe towards what they have decided to dedicate their lives to - the universe and it's mysteries.

If you have the slightest interest in our universe, and like to ask yourself important questions, then i recommend these films for you.

A fantastic journey
Having diligently sat through the series, I placed my order for the DVD as soon as it was available.
This has been the best documentary series of its type ever produced for national television and it makes the licence fee worth it.
Any disparaging comments refer to it being a little bit technical and historical but that is the beauty of it. It wont be enjoyed by young kids (please see SPACE - also from the BBC) but it is fantastic for adults. I have watched this DVD over twenty times and each time I cannot resist being transfixed. The graphics are fantastic, the music is superb and the facts are correct.
This is a must buy for anyone who thinks TV should be about informing us and stimulating our minds. I highly recommend it.

Stunning
This was one DVD that I eagerly awaited. The BBC series was stunning and I just knew that I had to have my own copy. Although it was released on video first I waited to see if it would be issued on DVD - and it was. The picture quality is excellent and the computer simulations of flights around and to planets are amazing. The best series about the solar system for years. In fact that would be only complaint - why was the series called the planets when it was really about the solar system?

Experience again the wonder of the Voyager missions, the probes sent to Venus and Mars. This series reveals how much of our knowledge has been gleaned this past few decades, of how worlds thought to be potentially habitable are now seen as dead or inhospitable. Of how the outer satellites such as those of Jupiter and Saturn were once thought to be dead and rocky like our moon, but how Voyager revealed active worlds.

This is the only documentary/natural history style series I have ever bought and it was well worth it.

There are no extras but if you liked the series and want the best quality copy then go for the DVD.