The Universe
2007-2013, Flight 33 Productions
As much as a science junky as I am, this series—which ran for eight long seasons—left me as cold as interstellar space, despite copious computer animation and appearances by such science luminaries as Michio Kaku and Neil deGrasse Tyson. Most of the guests seem to struggle to keep the syllable count down; Tyson in particular looks bored out of his skull. Meanwhile, the producers feature massive explosions seemingly every five minutes, the writers use every cliché in the book, and the narrator lays on the drama with a shovel. Plus, too often the shows focus on doom, gloom, death and destruction; consider these cheery topics:
- Apocalyptic Visions
- Catastrophes that Changed the Planets
- Cosmic Apocalypse
- Crash Landing on Mars
- Dark Future of the Sun
- The Day the Moon Was Gone
- Deadly Comets and Meteors
- Death Stars
- Deep Space Disasters
- End of the Earth
- Heavenly Destruction
- Most Dangerous Places
- Nemesis: The Sun's Evil Twin
- Omens of Doom
- Ten Ways to Destroy the Earth
- Worst Days on Planet Earth
Perhaps I'm simply the wrong demographic.
DKS 2/20/22
