I didn't own an account on this site but after looking at one of the only comments on here I felt I should clarify. They touch on many ideas and if this was the only video you would watch on this matter I can see how it would seem like rubbish, void of evidence, and full of anecdotes. This however is the format of many documentaries and as far as documentaries go this is actually a pretty good one. If this is the only documentary you're going to watch on cosmology and the universe, it will still be limited as any one documentary will be. If you know a lot on the matter its a nice refresher but if you don't know much about the subject, its a good start. If your looking for a different way of looking at the universe it may help oraganize your thoughts on the matter as it has for me.
3 Reviews
Philosophical, but average
siderite30 December 2006
The series itself is not even popular science, but popular philosophy. I've seen three episodes, each one trying to answer or at least comment on great questions like "Are we alone?" "Why are we here" and "Are we real?". Of course, no definitive answer can be given, so talking about it in pompous language can't possibly hurt, can it?
While exploring possible answers, though, they always touch sensitive "on the edge" information, like the accelerating universe, dark matter, dark energy, biochemistry, biophysics, etc. And I always fall for that, like a child succumbs to the temptation of a real colourful candy. However, these popular shows always stop at that. They talk big, ask big questions, tell about some anecdotal evidence, then they move on. No true science, no math, no exploration of different theories. They play it safe.
And while this kind of show definitely enlarges the perspective of the average Joe, they fall short on people like me, who have seen a zillion shows like this one and are actually expecting Lesson 2, where the bright teacher finally gets into the complicated details. I am still waiting, you know? And what about that stupid docu-funky style, with people talking sitting on stairs or on the grass, showing them driving in or taking the bike, and the endless repetition of ideas. Are people so dense that they need the same thing said 3 or 4 times in order to get it? Especially since some of those ideas are already obsolete by the time one sees the show anyway :-/
Bottom line: if you wonder about the nature of the universe and our place in it and you are short on ideas, try this series. If you are even mildly educated or above the age of 12, you might consider avoiding it.
While exploring possible answers, though, they always touch sensitive "on the edge" information, like the accelerating universe, dark matter, dark energy, biochemistry, biophysics, etc. And I always fall for that, like a child succumbs to the temptation of a real colourful candy. However, these popular shows always stop at that. They talk big, ask big questions, tell about some anecdotal evidence, then they move on. No true science, no math, no exploration of different theories. They play it safe.
And while this kind of show definitely enlarges the perspective of the average Joe, they fall short on people like me, who have seen a zillion shows like this one and are actually expecting Lesson 2, where the bright teacher finally gets into the complicated details. I am still waiting, you know? And what about that stupid docu-funky style, with people talking sitting on stairs or on the grass, showing them driving in or taking the bike, and the endless repetition of ideas. Are people so dense that they need the same thing said 3 or 4 times in order to get it? Especially since some of those ideas are already obsolete by the time one sees the show anyway :-/
Bottom line: if you wonder about the nature of the universe and our place in it and you are short on ideas, try this series. If you are even mildly educated or above the age of 12, you might consider avoiding it.
Getting us to re-think ourselves
mortiki22 August 2006
I have been doing a lot of research on everything from most religious things to Mythology's and this TV series is as good as anything i have seen thus far to make you re-thing ourselves 4 out of 5 stars even if you are not into religion this still is the movie to watch just to make you think about the ever popular question "why are we here" the only reason i gave this 4 stars and not 5 is because as with most of these movie it asks more questions than it answers. i am looking forward to seeing this as a regular series and will most certainly buy the DVD's when they come out. other movies that focus on these types of questions for you to consider are: "what the Bleep do we know", Empires Great Religions, are we really alive
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