# The Planets - Brian Cox



## Brian G Turner (Dec 20, 2019)

I know this was broadcast by the BBC in the summer of this year, but I've only just bought it through Amazon Prime and am watching it now.

I know it was going to be very good, and the first episode lived up to expectations - but the second episode about Mars was truly beautiful and haunting.

Something I especially like about this series is how they use CGI to reconstruct the experiences of landers and rovers, to make them more exciting and engaging - rather than just some static piece of machinery that takes photos and stuff.

An excellent series so far, and am very much looking forward to watching the third episode tonight. 

EDIT: Here's the original trailer from early this year:


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## Venusian Broon (Dec 20, 2019)

Brian G Turner said:


> I know this was broadcast by the BBC in the summer of this year, but I've only just bought it through Amazon Prime and am watching it now.
> 
> I know it was going to be very good, and the first episode lived up to expectations - but the second episode about Mars was truly beautiful and haunting.
> 
> ...


Is this an old series? 

When I watched the series, I'm thinking about at least five years ago, I wasn't that impressed. I had already bought the gorgeous and majesterial 'The Planets' by the BBC! An older and much more 'Old school' Horizon-like series. So narrated by a man with a deep reassuring voice, with loads of period film and (at the time!) state of the art graphics, interviews with the real people involved. No popstars preening at every opportunity  to get their mug on the telly .

Plus it felt that the BBC just repackaged the old series as a vehicle for Prof Cox, as it didn't strike me as all that different. Will try and see if they still have it somewhere, if you are interested in comparing and contrasting?


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## Lumens (Dec 20, 2019)

This is also on the BBC iPlayer. I have seen half of episode 1 and it's great! Thanks for the headsup.


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## Venusian Broon (Dec 20, 2019)

This is the one I was talking about:






						The Planets [DVD]: Amazon.co.uk: Samuel West, David McNab, James Younger, David McNab, Jacqueline Smith, Becky Jones: DVD & Blu-ray
					

Buy The Planets [DVD] from Amazon's DVD & Blu-ray TV Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.



					www.amazon.co.uk
				




I had a quick look on iPlayer, but I don't think the BBC keeps old stuff online but periodically purges it, which frankly, is really irritating.

I did remember expecting Cox's new version of _The Planets _to be more up todate with new discoveries, as the first one came out in 2000...but perhaps because I had been reading New Scientist for most of the 2010's I didn't see anything amazingly different. I could be wrong though. Everything gets mixed up in your memory as time goes by 

I'm less about the presenter in every shot, even if Prof Cox lectures well; more about the science and the _actual _scientists that did stuff!


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## Brian G Turner (Dec 20, 2019)

Venusian Broon said:


> Is this an old series?



No, a new one that was first aired on the BBC over the summer. I've added the original trailer in my opening post, though it doesn't really do it justice for the atmosphere of the program.

I don't have a TV licence or access to terrestrial TV, so bought it from Amazon Prime - cheaper than the DVD or Blu Ray:






						Watch The Planets | Prime Video
					

Professor Brian Cox tells the extraordinary life story of our solar system. The first episode traces the development of the four rocky worlds closest to the Sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.



					www.amazon.co.uk


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## Venusian Broon (Dec 20, 2019)

Brian G Turner said:


> No, a new one that was first aired on the BBC over the summer. I've added the original trailer in my opening post, though it doesn't really do it justice for the atmosphere of the program.
> 
> I don't have a TV licence or access to terrestrial TV, so bought it from Amazon Prime - cheaper than the DVD or Blu Ray:
> 
> ...


Ah, then maybe this is properly updated and completely different!

I'd still recommend the really old series - maybe a bit more look at the history of our space exploration as well as talking about the planets and the solar system - if you can get your hands on it!


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## Lumens (Dec 21, 2019)

Venusian Broon said:


> I had a quick look on iPlayer, but I don't think the BBC keeps old stuff online but periodically purges it, which frankly, is really irritating.


During my search this new series didn't come up in the top entries (it was number 4 or 5) but it is available, at least in England, currently. Five episodes, first shown in June 2019.


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## Venusian Broon (Dec 21, 2019)

Lumens said:


> During my search this new series didn't come up in the top entries (it was number 4 or 5) but it is available, at least in England, currently. Five episodes, first shown in June 2019.


Cheers, I was thinking about the old stuff, the 2000 series that I have a DVD of and that I put in the Amazon link for. I'm pretty sure it's not there! Unfortunately there is an absolute tidal wave of content that we've all paid for with TV licences, that the BBC takes off and makes you pay more by putting into DVD. Or Yesterday, Dave or the other channels that they make money off.


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## Wyrmlord (Dec 21, 2019)

Oh, damn. This looks good.


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## Brian G Turner (Dec 22, 2019)

Venusian Broon said:


> I had already bought the gorgeous and majesterial 'The Planets' by the BBC! An older and much more 'Old school' Horizon-like series.



That is an absolute classic - am hoping to re-watch that again soon to see how it holds up. 

In the new Cox series, he's able to cover some of the more recent missions such as Juno, Cassini, and New Horizons. He also gets to mention the idea of a "wandering Jupiter" in the early solar system, but puts it before the formation of the other planets and the Great Bombardment Event, and doesn't mention the missing ice giant postulated by the Nice 5 model. 

Even if you're up to date on the science, the images are amazing, and some of the sections on Mars were really haunting. I tend to be very cynical about the claims of life on Mars, but Cox did make a good argument for Mars having once been very similar to Earth and there were some stunning visualizations.


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## Paul_C (Dec 22, 2019)

My daughter (6) is mad on all things space so I've seen the whole series about 20 times  

She's getting a Lego Saturn V in a day or two which should keep us busy.


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