Alien Planet

Better than any Hollywood science fiction epic, the Discovery Channel program Alien Planet presents a highly speculative yet scientifically accurate scenario depicting humankind's first contact with extraterrestrial life. Via elaborate digital animation and photorealistic composites, viewers are taken on a breathtaking mission to Darwin IV, an imaginary planet in a binary star system 6.5 light years from Earth, requiring a 42-year journey by unmanned spacecraft. Highly versatile probes Ike and Leo (named after Newton and Da Vinci, of course) float above the planet, taking in information on a dazzling variety of predators and prey, sensibly designed by the evolutionary demands of the planet, with such descriptive names as Gyrosprinters, Trunk-suckers, Bladderhorns, Dagger-wrists, and the five-story-tall "massive paradox" known as the Groveback. Aided by detailed, superbly written narration (well-read by actor John C. McGinley, from the sitcom Scrubs) and expert testimony from renowned scientists and free-thinkers across a broad spectrum of disciplines (including paleontologist Jack Horner, physicist Stephen Hawking, NASA scientist James Garvin, and Star Wars creator George Lucas), Ike and Leo become humanity's eyes and ears, interpreting their reconnaissance data to offer a detailed look at Darwin IV's flora, fauna, geology, ecology, and weather systems. Based on solid science, this is the most comprehensive hypothetical survey of an alien world yet created as popular "edu-tainment," and it's both visually inventive and dramatically compelling, climaxing with the ultimate encounter: another highly intelligent species. DVD extras include extended interviews. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (J. Shannon)