Alien Planet (2005)

The CGI or computer animated drama/documentary takes place on Darwin IV, a planet 6.5 light years from earth, with 2 suns and 60% of Earth's gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world ... See full summary »

Director:

Pierre de Lespinois

Writers:

Peter Crabbe, Steve Eder

Stars:

Wayne D. Barlowe, Curtis Clark, James Garvin

1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Wayne D. Barlowe	...	Self
Curtis Clark	...	Self
James Garvin	...	Self
Jamie Hanes	...	Self (as Jamie Haines)
Stephen Hawking	...	Self
Jack Horner	...	Self
Joan Horvath	...	Self
Michio Kaku	...	Self
James Kirkland	...	Self
George Lucas	...	Self
John C. McGinley	...	Narrator
Victoria Meadows	...	Self
David Moriarty	...	Self
Randy Pollock	...	Self
J. Craig Venter	...	Self

Storyline

The CGI or computer animated drama/documentary takes place on Darwin IV, a planet 6.5 light years from earth, with 2 suns and 60% of Earth's gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world that could support life, Earth sends a pilot mission consisting of the Mothership Von Braun and three probes: Balboa, Da Vinci, and Newton. This robotic fleet is responsible for finding and assessing any life forms on Darwin IV. Initially, the expectation is to find microscopic life, but the probes soon find themselves in the middle of a developed ecosystem teeming with diversity of life of all sizes. The drama on Darwin IV is motivated by real science missions, such as the NASA Origins Program and the NASA / JPL Planet-Finder Mission, as well as the European Space Agency's Darwin Project. "Alien Planet " is a cosmic expedition along side Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Jack Horner, Craig Venter, and George Lucas, and NASA's Chief Scientist Jim Garvin. No longer just the domain of science fiction, "Alien...

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Plot Keywords:

lightspeed | alien creature | space exploration | national aeronautics and space administration | planet | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Animation | Adventure | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The program was based on the work of science fiction writer and illustrator Wayne D. Barlowe, specifically the alien lifeforms presented in his 1990 speculative fiction book "Expedition: Being an Account in Words and Artwork of the 2358 A.D. Voyage to Darwin IV". The main difference is that the book is presented from the writer's point of view, as if he were an explorer on an alien planet, whereas this documentary focuses on robotic exploration probes.

User Reviews

Great fun of the imagination

I just love this program and watch it quite a bit. Not only is it full of very imaginative creatures, but it does so logically. The makers realize that a biosphere of a planet must follow the rules of evolutionary descent and unity of common body plans. Things like bipedalism, bioluminescence and facial shape are kept consistent through all of Darwin IV's creatures. Their oddly shaped "eyes" are really creepy looking, kinda looks like the thing that Alec Baldwin turned himself into in BEETLEJUICE. Some of the creatures are bordering on the far-fetched, but they're so well-conceived and fun, who cares. My only criticism would be the name Darwin IV. It just seemed a little too obvious.

Details

Official Sites:

Discovery Channel [United States] Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 2005 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alien Planet

Filming Locations:

Iceland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Discovery Channel, Evergreen Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color