Wonders of the Solar System (2010)

Powerful

Fresh and Exciting

As Good As It Gets

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This extraordinary subject is made unpalatable by the grinning presenter Brian Cox. Brian Cox is annoying, unengaging and lacks the authority this subject needs.The production itself seems very excessive with Cox being flown to remote locations probably at very high expense to expound upon time and the universe. Every second shot seems to be a close-up or long-shot of the presenter. It is almost unbelievable that such a wondrous subject could be made so boring because of inept presentation, writing, editing and clichéd post-production sound design.

I had high hopes for this series as it's been quite a while since I've seen a series with astronomy as its focus. Unfortunately I'm finding it tough going. I'm sure Brian Cox is a highly qualified scientist with a bunch of letters after his name, but he is definitely no David Attenborough. He does, however seem to think he is.Every second shot is of Cox in a new location, which probably cost the BBC a small fortune. All this in aid of presenting a documentary about .... the solar system.I found this distracting, excessive and indulgent. It makes Cox seem to be on a world tour financed by BBC. His style of speaking and delivery jar with the subject matter being presented.Ultimately I wish that the BBC had spent more on some nice CGI and the services of someone like Patrick Stewart, or any other actor with a good voice for narration to present this off camera rather than visiting deserts, waterfalls and the arctic circle.Having said that, the CGI used is very pretty. The science, while fairly basic, is explained well, though would have taken half the time had we not been looking at location shots instead of diagrams.

Our family loves this series, and it offers something for all ages. Professor Brian Cox is remarkably youthful in his presentations and appearance, and his fresh approach is accessible and exciting to watch. Brian has a wonderful way of bringing together modern and classic topics of astronomy to produce a truly breathtaking experience. In Episode 1, Empire of the Sun, Brian discusses the elements of the Solar Wind, its vast expanse, and the how our magnetic field protects us from these high energy particles. Then there's a tremendous visual and narrative the clearly explains the Northern Lights. And Brian is constantly traveling the globe to experience first hand these wonders. When Brian is viewing a full solar eclipse, he presents the event in the context of the everyone around him witnessing this remarkable event. When the sky goes dark, I could actually see what it was like for these folks, and minutes later, when the sun begins to reappear, you can really feel the emotional outburst of the crowd. Each episode is dramatically and skillfully crafted for an unbelievable experience. Not since the days of Carl Sagan and Cosmos have we enjoyed these wonders.

Wonders of Solar System has a very high rating on the IMDb, and in a way I can see why.It's a very lavish BBC production, high on costs and no expense is spared in the photography, nor the film locations. This series must have cost the Beeb a bomb.But it's the presenter Dr Brian Cox I can't abide. I don't really want to get personal but the guy looks like a wax work. He grins constantly whilst speaking and he commands not one ounce of authority.In the first episode he managed to babble on whilst grinning throughout the entire programme and I found it very off-putting. I am no science expert but what he was saying I thought, 'so what?' I gave this a one star rating, because for me it's simply unwatchable. The style is very patronising. Yes, the shots of earth and space are nice. But that doesn't detract from the fact that Mr Cox is a very annoying, plastic individual.