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The Movie: Many continue to wonder about the existence of life on other planets, and organizations like NASA and scientists around the world continue to speculate what the universe may hold - and if there is a planet that can support life. "Alien Planet", which is a Discovery Channel feature that looks into the possibilities, offers a mixture of visuals and interview footage to support its theories. The majority of the feature revolves around the planet Darwin, which is a fictional planet that scientists imagine what the first planet found with new life could be like. We see as CGI models of probes come down onto the planet, and begin inspecting for new life, coming across both plant and "animal" life in its journeys across the landscape. The NASA scientists and others (we hear from George Lucas who is now, I guess, an honorary scientist), discuss (a tad dryly) the details behind what a probe could technically be made of and be capable of, as well as what the animals that the probes could run across could be like physically. Overall, I took "Alien Planet" as mostly a sci-fi program, and that's what it seemed to want to be. There are some interesting and intriguing thoughts about what a possible alien planet situation could be like (it's a bit odd to have scienists discussing, with all seriousness, fictional creatures), but again, they're still just ideas thrown out there at this point and for the forseeable future. The program's CGI effects are not of feature film quality, but they do capably portray what the program is trying to show. The DVD VIDEO: The program is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The presentation quality is generally excellent, although some shimmering does get in the way of the overall impression. Sharpness and detail are mostly solid, as the picture looked, aside from a couple of instances, crisp and well-defined. Aside from the shimmering, no edge enhancement, pixelation or concerns with the elements used were spotted. Colors looked bold and vivid, with nice saturation and no smearing. SOUND: The presentation is offered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Surrounds are used moderately throughout the program to provide some sound effects and environmental sounds, but the majority of the sound is spread across the front speakers. Audio quality is fine, with clear dialogue, sound effects and music. EXTRAS: Extended interviews and a Discovery Channel promo. Final Thoughts: For those who believe that there is life out there, this sci-fi drama with a bit of documentary program may be to your liking as a rental. Columbia/Tristar's DVD edition offers fine audio/video quality, but little in the way of supplements. |