Watch as history and science, earth and space collide in this epic collection of episodes from the premiere seasons of two landmark HISTORY series: The Universe and How the Earth Was Made.
A groundbreaking miniseries, The Universe employs cutting-edge CGI and stunning NASA footage to take viewers on an exhilarating voyage through the cosmos. From the farthest reaches of distant galaxies back to the familiar face of our moon, the mysteries of the heavens are brought down to earth.
How the Earth Was Made travels the globe to reveal the physical processes that have shaped some of the most familiar locations and geological phenomena in the world. From the Great Lakes to Iceland, the San Andreas Fault to Krakatoa, this stunning series demonstrates how immensely powerful, and at times violent, forces of geology have formed our planet.
EARTH AND SPACE contains all 26 episodes from the first seasons of both The Universe and How the Earth Was Made on 6 discs.
HOW THE EARTH WAS MADE
DISC 1: - San Andreas Fault, The Deepest Place on Earth, Krakatoa, Loch Ness, New York
DISC 2: - Driest Place On Earth, Great Lakes, Yellowstone, Tsunami
DISC 3: - Asteroids, Iceland, Hawaii, The Alps
THE UNIVERSE
DISC 1: - Secrets of the Sun, Mars: The Red Planet, The End of the Earth: Deep Space Threats To Our Planet, Jupiter: The Giant Planet, The Moon
DISC 2: - Spaceship Earth, The Inner Planets: Mercury & Venus, Saturn: Lord of the Rings, Alien Galaxies, Life and Death of a Star
DISC 3: - The Outer Planets, The Most Dangerous Place in the Universe, Search for ET
BONUS FEATURE: Feature-length Documentary Beyond the Big Bang
"Earth & Space" arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p/1080i transfer in the original aspect ratio of 1.78:1>.
"How the Earth Was Made" - As with other History Channel releases the episodes use a varying mix of vintage stock footage, new HD interview segments and CG graphics are implemented as well. Considering this the transfer was an enjoyable viewing experience especially the crisp and natural, recently shot interviews. There are also some gorgeous HD shots of Yellowstone, Hawaii and New York with strong black levels and good contrast. Colors are nicely saturated with sharp details noticed. The stock footage on the other hand is a bit inconsistent with some vintage stuff being blown up to fit the screen and they exhibited a very soft and muddy presentation. Overall though the transfer did a commendable job in showing off some really great images of our home planet.7.5/10
"The Universe: - I was blown away by some of the striking colors while touring "The Universe". The CG footage exhibits wonderful clarity. Blacks are pitch perfect, which gives the outer space moments the inky blacks I was looking for. Stock footage is fine, and current HD interviews and location footage are gorgeous. This release is a real stunner 9.5/10
"How the Earth Was Made" - Audio is provided by a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. Dialogue is the key hear and narration as well as interview dialogue are crisp and clean throughout. Dynamic range was very good and various panning effects from the front towers were precise. Bass provided some decent heft when called upon.8/10
"The Universe" - Audio is provided by a PCM 2.0 Stereo track. While it is a shame we don't get a full 5.1 track, the audio presentation is perfectly adequate. Dialogue is crisp and clear. The musical score comes across really nice. Bass is pretty much nonexistent. Overall a well done if underwhelming track 7/10
"Beyond The Big Bang" - A fascinating feature length at how the universe began and theories from various sources on how it may one day end.