Hyperspace on TLC (1 Viewer)

[Dawn_R]

Did anyone else happen to catch this three-hour series on TLC (as part of a BBC co-production) first on the weekend, then repeating tonight? What a stunning production, I must say....I sat through it with my mouth hanging open in shock and wonder, wide-eyed, amazed....*what* an undertaking this show must have been, and it shows, because the structure of it, everything that it shows - up to and including the F/X work, *wow*....never before have I felt what it must be like to be around a rampaging black hole or a dying star, but now I feel like I know that quite well and it's a *very* startling and brand-new sensation - it just struck me as a phenomenal thing, especially since this show actually managed to clue me into some things I'd never realized before, never would have thought possible. Like a rogue black hole passing through the solar system, destroying Jupiter and the sun, and then finally swallowing up the dead Earth at last....a black hole, the size of a *pea* but with the gravitational pull of a million suns....wow, I say! The stuff this program shows, what it clues me into....*this* is what The Learning Channel is all about, just part and parcel of why it's always been one of my top faves. First Trauma: Life and Death in the ER, and now "Hyperspace"....phew!
I know they're offering the VHS version of the program....but does anyone happen to have the inside line on whether they'll have a DVD release of the show? Oh, I *do* hope they can manage it....because just the *thought* of what this program would look like on DVD, what it would *sound* like into the bargain....it only makes me eager in the *extreme*.

Mmmmmmm....
Dawn.

 

[Ted Lee]

i agree! that show is exactly what i like to see on tlc/discovery channel. i thought the effects were amazing...especially the shot of the black hole "peeling" away the planet little-by-little. i thought sam neil did a great job hosting too!
i feel that these kinds of shows are what we need. they make you want to actively watch and listen. talk about educational stimuli.
unfortunately, i had guests over and you know how that goes...hopefully they'll rerun it when i can fully concentrate on the show.
------------------
You step in the stream,
But the water has moved on.
This page is not here.

 

[BrianW]

Great post, Dawn! I’ve got all three episodes sitting on my TiVo, waiting for me to consume them this weekend. I must say, your description of the shows has made my anticipation almost unbearable.
TV at its best is pretty darn good, no?
-Brian

 

[Ryan Peddle]

I saw it last weekend when it premiered. What a fantastic show. It touched me. I can't really remember the last time a television show touched me. The part about how we humans think we are alone in the universe, but then if you look at our planet...there are about 10 million species of living thing on earth. I loved the part about how Jupiter saved us billions of years ago.
The special effects are hollywood material....and the "seem" more realistic. I'm glad they included something about the DEEP SPACE 1 project. To me the project is one of the most important advancements in our history.
I agree that this is the type of educational programming that needs to be produced more often. I was gripped to the tele for the full 3 hours. Sam Neill did a fantastic job. Most time when a show like this comes on the host gets in the way, but Sam does not at all.
Anyone who hasn't seen it, find it and watch it. HYPERSPACE can really open your eyes to what is going on in space.
"we are lucky to be here"
------------------
Oops, I dropped my eardrums.
Could you pick them up for me?

 

[Shawn Shultzaberger]

Ack!! I must have caught the last 1 hour show on the Sun. Damn! I had no idea it was 3 hours. I was flipping through the channels and about 11pm I found this and knew I hadn't seen it before. Great FX and Sam Neil makes a wonderful narrator. Will it be rerunning any time soon?
------------------
Dear Tick: What would you do if bees took over the world?
Egad, Hogarth! When the bees implement their worldwide Fascist regime, I will be the first to go down into the honey mines. I will be the first to carry their squirming larvae in my teeth, to smear royal jelly on their chosen queen. And why? Good heavens! On account of the stinging!

 

[BertFalasco]

HAHA, man what a coincidence, thanks to user Jay H., he informed me of this post, here is the url to what I posted about Sam Neil's great narration and series. (well, BBC's production..)http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uub/...ML/005526.html
-Bert

 

[Joe_C]

I was also similarly blown away by "Hyperspace". Sam Neil did a pretty damn good job, as did TLC for implementing such high quality SFX. Me and my roommate were planning on going out to the grocery store to buy some much needed supplies, when all of a sudden I started flipping through the channels and came upon it by chance. Needless to say, we didn't get to the grocery store that day
By the way, I would love to have this show on DVD!
------------------
www.DigitalHoard.com
Petition: get Family Guy released on DVD!

 

[Bill Catherall]

I saw most of the episode about black holes, and what I saw doesn't make me want to see the rest. Yes, the visuals were very stunning, but the pace of the show was sooooooooooooo slooooooooowwwwwww. I was dying. How many times did we need to see the shot of the black hole eating up that star? And how many times did we need to have it explained to us before we could get it? What it looked like to me was "Here we have this really expensive visual effect. Let's give it as much air time as possible." Even my 5 year old son seemed frustrated by the pace. He wanted answers that they were taking forever to answer. And it wasn't because they needed to explain certain scientific principals before giving more detail (which they did very well). But it was because there was so much dead time while we sat around and oooo'd at their special effects. Then they repeated things as if we didn't get it the first time we heard it.
If the other shows are like this one then I won't be tuning in.
------------------
Bill

 

[Iain Lambert]

Top tip guys, don't go espousing its virtues on the Bad Astronomy board. Personally, I hated this show when we Brits got to see it earlier this year. For those that liked it, there will be a UK release on DVD in time for Christmas (in 16x9 anamorphic, too), so I expect there will be a US one as well.
Basically, loads of fancy (and generally well done) CGI, but covered in so much hyperbole and 'we could all die at any moment' scaremongering, with no distinction between commonly accepted scientific theory and wild speculation to fill in the holes. Real science took a complete back seat to anything that had an excuse for fancy graphics. I was quite surprised at the quantity of effects shots that were taken from totally unrelated Horizon episodes as well.

 

[Jack Briggs]

All (bad) style, no substance. And with an annoyingly raucous soundtrack to boot (which happens a lot on TLC's programming I've notices--check out both installments of Twister: Fury on the Plains when it reruns, as the worst such example).
Astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology deserve better, more serious treatment than this. Hyperspace was Cosmology Lite.
After all these years, no one is able to approach the quality PBS's NOVA exudes with seeming impunity.
------------------

 

[Ted Lee]

i agree/disagree.
i do believe nova is an excellent show and i've probably seen most of them. i'm not sure, but i think i've seen some "flashy" graphics on that show too. i'm not knockin' it....just making a point.
but i do think the hyperspace series was well done. aside from all the flash, i think they did a good job explaining the phenomena (sp?) in a very lucid manner...easily understood by the layman.
just my .02
------------------
You step in the stream,
But the water has moved on.
This page is not here.