The Planets | |
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Genre | Documentary |
Directed by |
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Presented by | Brian Cox (UK version) |
Narrated by | Zachary Quinto (U.S. version) |
Opening theme | "The Void" by Muse |
Composers |
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Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 5 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Andrew Cohen |
Producer | Gideon Bradshaw |
Editor | Louise Salkow |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | |
Release | 29 May – 25 June 2019 |
Related | |
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The Planets is a 2019 BBC/PBS/Tencent/Open University television documentary series about the Solar System presented by Professor Brian Cox [2] in the UK version and Zachary Quinto in the US version. [3]
First broadcast on BBC Two beginning Tuesday 28 May 2019, the five-episode series looks at each planet in detail, examining scientific theories and hypotheses about the formation and evolution of the Solar System gained by uncrewed missions to the planets. [2] Originally released in the UK, it was changed to cater more to the American audience watching on PBS's series Nova .
Cox presents segments to camera from various locations around the world alongside extensive computer-generated imagery and footage from space missions. The series was created as a partnership between BBC Studios and the Open University. [4]
No. | Title [5] | US title [6] | Directed by [5] | Original air date [7] | UK viewers (millions) [8] | |
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1 | "A Moment in the Sun – The Terrestrial Planets" | Inner Worlds | Martin Johnson | 28 May 2019 | 3.24 | |
2 | "The Two Sisters – Earth & Mars" | Mars | Stephen Cooter | 4 June 2019 | 3.25 | |
Professor Cox contrasts the two rocky planets in the habitable zone, looking at how Mars lost its water and atmosphere, in stark contrast to the life-giving oasis of Earth. [11] [10] | ||||||
3 | "The Godfather – Jupiter" | Jupiter | Stephen Cooter | 11 June 2019 | 3.03 | |
4 | "Life Beyond the Sun – Saturn" | Saturn | Nic Stacey | 18 June 2019 | 2.39 | |
Cox looks at the gas giant Saturn, with its distinctive rings and a plethora of moons, examining the new evidence discovered by the NASA Cassini–Huygens mission. [10] | ||||||
5 | "Into the Darkness – Ice Worlds" | Ice Worlds | Martin Johnson | 25 June 2019 | 2.30 | |
Uranus, Neptune and the new discoveries being made by the NASA New Horizons probe to reveal more about the mysterious dwarf planet Pluto and the Kuiper belt. [10] |
A 288-page hardback book written by Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen was released on 23 May 2019. by HarperCollins ( ISBN 978-0007488841). The book was also released for ebook readers as well as an audiobook [13] on the same day.
Sir David Frederick Attenborough is a British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian, and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature documentary series forming the Life collection, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth.
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Brian Denis Cox is a Scottish actor. A classically trained Shakespearean actor, he is known for his work on stage and screen. His numerous accolades include two Laurence Olivier Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award as well as a nomination for a British Academy Television Award. In 2003, he was appointed to the Order of the British Empire at the rank of Commander.
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Zachary John Quinto is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series Heroes (2006–2010); Spock in the film Star Trek (2009) and its sequels Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) and Star Trek Beyond (2016); Charlie Manx in the AMC series NOS4A2, and Dr. Oliver Thredson in American Horror Story: Asylum, for which he received a nomination for an Emmy Award. He currently stars in and produces Brilliant Minds, a medical drama on NBC. His other starring film roles include Margin Call (2011), Hitman: Agent 47 (2015), Snowden (2016), and Hotel Artemis (2018). He also appeared in smaller roles on television series, such as So Notorious, The Slap, and 24, and on stage in Angels in America, The Glass Menagerie, and Smokefall.
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The Symphony of Science is a music project created by Washington-based electronic musician John D. Boswell. The project seeks to "spread scientific knowledge and philosophy through musical remixes." Boswell uses pitch-corrected audio and video samples from television programs featuring popular educators and scientists. The audio and video clips are mixed into digital mashups and scored with Boswell's original compositions. Two of Boswell's music videos, "A Glorious Dawn" and "We are All Connected", feature appearances from Carl Sagan, Richard Feynman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Bill Nye, and Stephen Hawking. The audio and video is sampled from popular science television shows including Cosmos, The Universe, The Eyes of Nye, The Elegant Universe, and Stephen Hawking's Universe.
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