Voyage to the Planets and Beyond (2004)
Think of this BBC two-part TV special asWalking with Planets. One of the makers of the excellentWalking with...dinosaur programs looks forward--into the future--and upward--into space--for another presentation of story-driven science. This fake documentary follows an international crew of five on an extraordinary six-year spaceflight. We hear from Mission Control and view footage of the astronauts in training along with the flight photography and "TV broadcasts" (perfect for quickly explaining facts via Q&As;). The flight is beyond ambitious: landing on Venus, Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, the rings of Saturn, an asteroid, and the far-off reaches of Pluto. Certainly, no real space agency would sign off on such a mission, but the dramatics work thanks to the deft handling by writer-director Joe Ahearne (Ultraviolet). Here's a fun way to learn about the crushing pressure of Venus or the risk/reward of slingshot-ing around the sun. With quick pacing (we are on Venus six minutes into the two-hour movie), smart choices (some of the astronauts' hardships are brutal), plus excellent special effects (the mile-long spacecraftPegasusis a dandy), you have a program with which families can learn together and kids will want to watch more than once.The DVD contains some great making-of features, plus a complete episode on the real-life space probes that have visited--and are still visiting--the planets. They are just as watchable as the main program.--Doug Thomas