The Universe: The Complete Season 3 (3 Disc Set) [Blu-ray][Region Free]

Review for The Universe: Season One:
The sky and outer space have fascinated man for centuries and the History Channel's series The Universe is the story of man's study of the cosmos from his earliest attempts to map and understand the heavens through modern day scientific studies, advances, and theories. A mix of historical footage, modern space imaging, and conceptual computer graphics presented in high-definition, the visual component of this production is absolutely breathtaking. Each of the 13 44-minute episodes begins with a general introduction of subjects ranging from the sun to individual planets, alien galaxies, the search for extra-terrestrial life, and scientific theories like the Big Bang. Each topic is then broken down into a series of segments that detail specific ideas, theories, or components integral to the understanding of the main topic as well as historical material, current studies and theories, and projections of potential future events and scientific advances. The 90-minute "Beyond the Big Bang" feature relates "the story of everything"--from the universe's formation following the "Big Bang" to its eventual projected demise from unchecked expansion dubbed the "Big Rip." Leading experts from universities and scientific institutions around the world do a great job of taking very complex subjects like galaxies with spiral density arms and relating them to easily graspable concepts like a city with a downtown core surrounded by suburbs and plagued by freeway traffic jams. Amazing photographs from the Hubble space telescope, infrared views from the Spitzer space telescope, and x-ray images from the Chandra X-ray Observatory augment understanding as do demonstrations of modern science's ability to simulate historical events like the formation of earth and to project future cosmic events. The Universe is a fascinating and understandable study of space that speaks to viewers ranging from the generally curious to the serious student of cosmology. --Tami Horiuchi

Review for The Universe: Season Two:
With the DVD release (on five discs) of this, the complete second season of The Universe, the History Channel has now devoted a combined total of more than 25 hours, not including bonus material, to its documentary study of that combination of time, space, and matter that we call our universe. That’s a lot. But then you consider the mind-boggling age and size of the universe itself: 13.7 billion years old, and big beyond our comprehension; infinite, in fact, and expanding rapidly. By those measures, it’s apparent that this fascinating series could probably air for longer than The Simpsons and Gunsmoke (the two longest running shows in TV history) put together and still not run out of things to talk about. The 18 episodes from Season Two cover an appropriately wide range of topics, from "Cosmic Holes" to "Cosmic Collisions," from supernovas to gravity. There are episodes about the weather in space, the largest objects in space (hint: they’re really, really big, like the so-called "cosmic web" of galaxies, which is a hundred million billion times bigger than Earth), and traveling to and colonizing space. The amount of information and data provided is enormous. Jargon abounds, including terms like "lunar transient phenomena," "pulsar planets," "hot Jupiters," "dark matter" and "dark energy," "collisional families," the "heavy bombardment period," and many, many more. And the numbers are mind-boggling: for instance, it’s estimated that the impact of the asteroid that landed on the Yucatan Peninsula some 65 million years ago, wiping out the dinosaurs, was equal to that of dropping a Hiroshima-sized atomic bomb every second for 140 years! Still, some may find the episodes that involve informed speculation more interesting than those that deal in facts. We know that the Moon affects ocean tides, but does it also have an effect on human behavior? If the Big Bang was the beginning of the universe, what came before it? Instead of using rockets to go to space, can scientists actually build a "space elevator" that will reach from an orbiting satellite some 60 thousand miles down to Earth? All of this is delivered by way of very convincing computer-generated imagery and other effects, along with dozens of interviews with astronomers and other experts, photos, film footage, and so on. Best of all, while it can get a bit dense, technically speaking, by and large The Universe will be readily accessible to most viewers. --Sam Graham

Immerse yourself in more spectacular space exploration with season three of this epic series from HISTORY™. A virtual collision of astronomy and history, each enlightening episode utilises strikingly realistic computer recreations and animations to provide unprecedented insight into the mysteries of our universe, and beyond. See how NASA is arming itself with the latest technology to pre-empt an apocalyptic attack in 'Deadly Comets and Meteors'. Learn how scientists envision reproduction and human development in 'Sex in Space', and explore startling new evidence showing the existence of universes other than our own in 'Parallel Universes'. From bizarre clouds to the hypothetical Planet X, from space disasters to space sex and the possibility of terrifying cosmic collisions, experience space in a whole new way not through a telescope or textbook, but firsthand. With The Universe, you'll feel like you've travelled to the edge of the unknown.

Now available on Blu-ray, The Universe: The Complete Season Three includes all 12 original episodes on 3 discs: 'Deep Space Disasters', 'Parallel Universes', 'Light Speed', 'Sex in Space', 'Alien Faces', 'Deadly Comets and Meteors', 'Living In Space', 'Stopping Armageddon', 'Another Earth', 'Strangest Things', 'Cosmic Phenomena' and 'Edge of Space'.

BONUS FEATURES: Additional Footage

Stills from The Universe Season 3 (Click for larger image)





Episodes:
1. Deep Space Disasters - In space travel there is a saying that the first 50 miles and the last 50 miles are the most dangerous. Explore the controlled explosion of launch, the fiery crucible of re-entry and everything in between. See how a single spark inside a spacecraft or a micrometeoroid less than an inch wide hitting a space station can turn a routine mission into a lethal nightmare.

2. Parallel Universes - Some of the world's leading physicists believe they have found startling new evidence showing the existence of universes other than our own. One possibility is that the universe is so vast that an exact replica of our Solar System, our planet and ourselves exists many times over. These Doppelganger Universes exist within our own Universe, in what scientist now call "The Multiverse."

3. Light Speed - Learn all about light speed, the ultimate constant in the universe, and discover ways scientists envision breaking the "light barrier," which may be the only way the star travel of our imaginations ever comes to reality.

4. Sex in Space - Probe the physiological, psychological and cultural challenges of sex in space. From the sex act through to birth, look at how the extreme environments of space exploration might effect copulation, conception and developing human tissues, as well as how issues around sex might impact the emotional lives of astronauts.

5. Alien Faces -Armed with scientific fact and a little imagination, experts come together to take you on an unprecedented journey to the edges of our imagination. Scientists, astrobiologists and astronomers create five lines of extraterrestrial evolution and explain how creatures on the surface of Earth offer a helping hand to understanding life in The Universe.

6. Deadly Comets and Meteors - Since the turbulent formation of the solar system, space rocks have continued to impact earth. Some have been so violent that they've led to mass extinction events, including one that wiped out the dinosaur. What's more, radical new theories suggest that asteroid and comet dust harbour deadly viruses that may have triggered some of our worst pandemics.

7. Living in Space - When mankind eventually leaves the cradle of Earth and ventures forth into the uncharted territories of the cosmos, where, and what form, will our new homes take? Will they be cities under glass, entrenched in distant alien soils? Will they be gleaming metropolises hanging in orbit above our heads, or in the lonely void of space? Will they be hollowed out asteroids, strip-mined for the valuables they horde? How will we grow food? What will the new era of spacesuits be like? The rovers that carry us around? Will robonauts, advanced robotic machines, perform the most dangerous tasks for us? How will we live... in space?

8. Stopping Armageddon - It sounds like a Hollywood blockbuster: a deadly asteroid is on a collision course with Earth. But in reality, it's only a matter of time before a giant space rock threatens to wipe out civilization. An asteroid took out the dinosaurs sixty-five million years ago. Are we next?

9. Another Earth - Are we alone? Is there another earth-like planet somewhere in the universe? What's the elusive recipe for a planet like ours? Can we find it, as it floats - hidden - in the billions of stars and trillions of planets that are out there? Could Alpha Centauri, our nearest star less than five light years away, be home to another earth? How can "Hot" Jupiters destroy would-be earth-like planets, while "good" Jupiters serve as protectors of young proto-earths? Earth sized planets are tough to find, but indirect methods are coming on line to give us a good survey of how many such bodies may be in the universe.

10. Strangest Things - Strangest Things in Space will expose the bizarre, mysterious and exotic things in our universe. Scientists will cast their votes for the weirdest structures in the categories of planets, stars, galaxies, moons, clouds, subatomic particles, black holes and invisible phenomenon.

11. Edge of Space - Low earth orbit is only as high as 120 miles above sea level and this is where the majority of space exploration has occurred. Low earth orbit is an eleven-hundred mile band around earth and for a cool $20 million any private citizen can take the vacation of their lives in the international space station via a Russian Soyuz rocket. The many commercial prospects are huge.

12. Cosmic Phenomena - This episode examines a variety of cosmic events that have had both helpful and harmful effects on life on Earth. From the beauty of the Aurora Borealis and rainbows to the dangers of UV radiation and cosmic rays, from the miracle of photosynthesis to the thrill of a meteor shower, “Cosmic Causes” explores how the effects generated by the sun and other extra-solar sources can literally get under our skin, scramble our technology, make life possible and threaten our existence all at the same time.