User Reviews

It is impossible for any documentary to be completely up to date. Criticizing this series for not including anything discovered after '99 isn't fair. Yet, we lament that this information is missing only because this BBC production does such a GREAT job of presenting it.

I would give this series a 9 for the 3rd installment "Giants", alone. The story of the Voyager probes is simply fascinating and must rank as one of man's greatest under appreciated accomplishments.

Would it not be nice to have this series updated with new data and presented in high definition? As others have commented, the information from Cassini alone warrants a "brush up" of the series.

The Planets is a view of our Solar System with the knowledge from 1999. With little tuning, it would be fine basis for ever evolving documentary, which would be updated when new data arrives. It still shines in many parts, because huge part of it is history of solar system exploration. There are lots of interviews from Voyager project, Russian scientists who worked with Soviet space program, Apollo project personnel, and many many other scientists.

Dated parts concern discoveries during the last two decades: All those Mars rovers, Cassini-Huygens has arrived and is ending it's mission in few weeks (sep 2017), Voyger 1 has left the Solar System, that "future" Pluto probe (New Horizons) was launched and already few by Pluto six months ago, and, most of all, about 99,9% of exoplanets have been discovered after the show. But basically "only" two things are very much dated: Mars exploration and exoplanets.

Even with all that, huge part of it is still valid and especially those interviews are still interesting. I haven't seen any better documentary about the subject.

This 8 "hour" series is a wonderful historical production about the history of space travel including both Russian and American perspectives. It focuses each episode on a topic like the sun, atmosphere, giants, moon etc... The film footage on both country's programs reaches from the Sun to Neptune and the moons in between. The real video and still photography is accompanied by realistic computer generated enhancements. This series is well worth the time of any astronomy buff and even those who just want to learn a lot more about our Solar System.

I first saw The Planets On the ABC.It ran for 8 weeks on each sunday and i watched it and watched, to cut a long story short i gratefully now own it on DVD. With 8 episodes [ 1.Different Worlds. 2.Terra Firma. 3.The Giants. 4.The Moon. 5.Star. 6.Atmosphere. 7. Life. 8.Destiny.] and footage of the scientists and engineers talking about the events they were apart of at the time,This Documentary produced by the BBC is an eye opener.

I consider education to be best in a video format rather than a textual format. This series of documentaries are jewels in educating us about the solar system. I also developed a great deal of respect and admiration for the scientists who worked so hard to show us where the place of earth is in the universe.These documentaries should be definitely shown to all children in schools. This documentary really made me wonder about the place of mankind in the universe. The narration was nice. The visuals were also amazing. It also cleared many of my doubts about how the other planets in our solar system were. I hope there are more documentaries of this type in the future about the future findings.This documentary is a must see. I recommend it to all who have a passion for space exploration.

As I watch this series in December of 2018 I'm reminded of just how wonderful it is. Samuel West's elegant and soothing narration takes us on a fascinating journey through the solar system and a level of grippingness that is yet unmatched. This is supported by an absolutely mesmerising score by Jim Meacock which is both atmospheric, sinister and wondrous - just like space itself.

The series is a shining example of quality over quantity as, at only six episodes, it frees itself from the pomp and bloat which utterly plagues American productions, and with that is not only satisfying, but it leaves you wanting a little more.

As 2019 approaches it would be wonderful to see the series revived for a 20 year anniversary follow up, becasue literally the only flaw with this show is its age. There has been so much discovered in the last two decades that a lot of the information here, although still interesting, is obsolete, and so to have a follow up would be wonderful.

However, it would HAVE to be Samuel West back to narrate and Jim Meacock scoring again as they were an integral part of the show's appeal. I can't believe the Americans had the gaul to re-dub the show using an American voice actor. Sheer xenophobia at work there and they should be ashamed of themselves.

Still, obsolete or not, this is still a a fascinating watch today and I highly recommend it.

This is a more than an "Old Documentary". This was a monumental look into the universe in 1999. We haven't seen something on this scale since the Cosmos series was released back in 1980. The series takes you further and further from Earth. It's an educational experience for anyone who's never really considered what lies outside the Earths' atmosphere. This goes beyond any definition you'll find in any book. You have a front row seat to how and what we knew in 1999.

I have to disagree with those who say its outdated. I think it's more important to leave it untouched, a time capsule of sorts, preserved as a bookmark in time. It chronicles the technology we had up to 1999. Sure a lot has changed since then but how else can new generations have any understanding of how limited our knowledge of the universe really was in 1999.

If i had to point out something negative it would have to be the narration. The version i remember had an America voice resembling Mike Rowe. All i can find is the narration Sam West did.

I constantly come back to this series. It looks and sounds perfect with the score and narration. It impresses with the way it delves into extremely complex matters but you seem to understand them easily. It still looks modern now, nearly 20 years after release. It's quite simply one of the best TV documentaries that has been made. Personally, I think it holds its own against the outstanding BBC wildlife documentaries, such as Blue Planet and Planet Earth. Yes, they have the excitement of animals and the brilliance of non-generated shots but this makes Space interesting and paints a picture to inspire. If you haven't seen it, get the original UK version and binge, it's amazing.

This BBC series released in 1999 is an excellent source of information on our solar system. We are fortunate to be living at a time when so much is being revealed about our neighboring worlds.

But as more information comes in at an ever-increasing rate, it is always a matter of a 'snapshot' of what was known at the time the series was produced. 1999 now seems like such a long time ago.

The Mars-rovers were still in the works, as was Cassini-Huygens, and thus there is no material from those missions.

And while many of the first-person interviews are interesting, I have a bit of an issue with wasting screen-time on a talking-head astronomer/planetary scientist gushing how "I was the first person to see (X or Y or Z), and that made me feel so special." I did not purchase this DVD set in order to hear someone stroke their own ego.

And why was it felt necessary to re-dub the narration from a British male to an American female (who sounds just like NBC's Anne Curry)?

Another reviewer title their review: This needs a 20yr follow up series.

A few months later the BBC delivered on that request. I bet the reviewer has a new sense of empowerment.

This series is awesome, and also a little melancholy. In episode 1 they make PLUTO the focus of the story. How were they to know the Pluto-intolerance the science community would engage in just a few years after they made this series. Life is funny, in a dark and sad way. But this series is inspirational and uplifting in many other ways.

As far as the 2019 series of the same name from the same organization, I highly recommend that one as well.