The Universe (2006) Movie Information:

The Universe (2006) Directed by: Douglas Cohen and Laura Verklan The Universe (2006) Written by: Douglas Cohen The Universe (2006) Cast: Erik Thompson

The Universe (2006) U.S. Distributor: Not available at this time The Universe (2006) U.K. Distributor: Not available at this time

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The Universe (2006) Synopsis:

Questions about the Universe have consumed man since the dawn of time. In the 50 years since humans made their first tentative explorations of space, we have increased our knowledge of the cosmos dramatically, using powerful telescopes, robotic probes, and manned missions. But only recently has computer technology allowed scientists to illustrate in stunning detail their awe-inspiring conclusions. THE UNIVERSE, a groundbreaking series from THE HISTORY CHANNEL®, employs cutting-edge computer-generated imagery to bring distant planets and faraway stars up close, allowing viewers to gaze at black holes and comets, and witness the births and deaths of galaxies and solar systems.

The Universe (2006) Movie Review:

When I saw the recent global warming documentary “The 11th Hour” I was livid. Never has a film so "urgent" felt so passé. Here is a non-fiction film that covers everything we already knew about a topic and does so without innovation or style. A similar thing could be said about “The Universe,” a History Channel series that covers familiar territory. I mean, how could it not, the universe is, after all, infinite so there's kind of a lot of room for exploration (literally and filmicly). But unlike “The 11th Hour,” that’s exactly what I want with this series. Other notable space shows have included Carl Segan's innovative 80s “Cosmos,” Neil Tyson's (featured in this series) eye opening PBS doc “Origins” and Brian Greene's (also featured here) mind mending string theory journey called “The Elegant Universe.” Of course if you're interested in the subject I recommend those titles highly but this year’s “The Universe,” uneven as it may be, is actually a better place to start because it's accessible and cutting edge.

The child in me is still wonderstruck by the concept of space. Long have I abandoned my dreams of being an astronaut (being afraid of flying and sucking at math kind of takes me out of the running) but my mind still wanders into space and (dark) matters of the universe and documentaries act as a vessel. It's the last real mystery out there and far more interesting than any terrestrial nature documentary (except, of course, for this year's epic DVD set “The Planet”). It's unsolvable and unknowable. Or, at least, WAS unknowable thanks in part to this series' attempts to give the viewer a front row look into the creation of the universe the destruction of Earth and everything in between.

An avid fan of cosmos docs I've noticed they can go two ways: overly talky and academic vs. overly simplified candy coated. “The Universe” leans heavily towards simplification and something I call cheesemetology but what saves it is a hearty core full of fascinating visuals that match the informative material. One problem here is that the show's approach is needlessly corny at times. Holding on a shot of a movie theater with a marquee blazing the title "Sun," the narrator says "In our solar system there's simply no bigger star than the sun. At a million miles across it's a massive celestial blockbuster." My god, the lameness! The show even has the academics getting into the action now and again. One plays pool to explain to us how particles collide and fuse together and another explains the big bang while wearing a Hawaiian shirt and sitting on a boat. Another issue I have is that much of the series deals with our solar system rather than, duh, the universe beyond that familiar neighborhood. By the time I arrived at episode 8 titled "Saturn: Lord of the Rings" I was yearning for more.

And more I got on standout episodes that include “The Most Dangerous Place In the Universe” (takes a look at black holes and exploding stars), “Alien Galaxies” (explores through stunning CGI the nature of distant galaxies), and the (inner)stellar final episode "Beyond the Big Bang" which takes us back 13.7 billion years ago to the birth of everything. In these episodes the series dares to go where no man has... well, you know. Everybody hails new technology as a way of expanding the possibility of, say, fantasy spectacles or CGI children’s stories but I'm tickled just the same that this same populist friendly technology can be put to use in the non-fiction front by visually enhancing our way of seeing things that could not previously be seen or captured save for our imagination.

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The Universe (2006) review written by: Greg Douglass