Contest: 'The Universe' DVD Series

Here at Geeks of Doom we're holding a prize giveaway for The Universe, the 13-episode History Channel series now available on DVD.

ABOUT 'THE UNIVERSE': From the planets to the stars and out to the edge of the unknown, history, and science collide in this epic exploration of the Universe and its mysteries. It’s a very old universe. Yet just 50 years since man first ventured into outer space, the heavens are yielding their greatest secrets. Robotic rovers give us eyes on the red rock of Mars….NASA probes slam into comets at hyperspeed…. deep-space telescopes capture violent images of the birth of stars and their collapse into black holes. All have significantly changed the way we see ourselves. We wonder, Is there anywhere else out there that that can support life? Using cutting-edge computer graphics, this series brings the universe down to earth to show what life would be like on other planets, and to imagine what kind of life forms might evolve in alien atmospheres. Episodes examine how discoveries were made and the scientists and explorers who dared to venture into the uncharted territory of the universe.

TO ENTER:...find out all the contest details at Geeks of Doom!

TV Review: 'The Universe' — Mars: The Red Planet

I've long held a fascination with Mars. It all started when I was 10 years old and given an old issue of National Geographic which had a map of the red planet inside, complete with the names of all the major geographical features. From there on out, I was devouring science fiction as fast as I could read it, and Mars was a cornerstone of my obsession... fueled by the Martian tales of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Ray Bradbury...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

TV Review: ‘The Universe’ — Mercury & Venus: The Inner Planets

The History Channel gives us a two-for-one special in this episode of The Universe, as we take a look at the first two planets orbiting the Sun -- Mercury And Venus: The Inner Planets. The episode is broken down into two parts and takes a look at the more interesting planet Venus, Earth's "sister" planet, first and is followed by a slightly rushed look at Mercury. As both planets are solid, unlike the gaseous outer planets, the episode and the scientists interviewed are able to talk about the similarities and differences of these inner planets to Earth, and how by studying these two planets has helped to answer questions about our own planet...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

TV Review: 'The Universe' -- Life and Death of a Star

Almost 30 years ago, the late astronomer Carl Sagan wrote "we are creatures of the cosmos... we are star stuff." This is not merely a bit of poetic license. The death throes of large stars are the workshops where the heavier elements (e.g., carbon and iron) that make up our bodies were once made. There is nothing in us, except possibly a few hydrogen atoms in the water in our tissues, that was not once in a star. Mr. Sagan eloquently captured this idea once and for all with his memorable turn of phrase.

This is also one of the core ideas visited by the Life and Death of a Star, episode 10 of the 13-part series The Universe on The History Channel. During this fairly fascinating hour of television, we learn about the biology of stars -- how they are born, live, and die. And make no mistake: stars live very interesting lives...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

TV Review: 'The Universe' -- Saturn: Lord of the Rings

Hailed as the "showstopper" of our solar system, the planet Saturn is subject of Saturn: Lord of the Rings, part 8 in the 13-episode History Channel series The Universe. In this hour-long installment, we get the facts about the sixth planet from the Sun, its numerous Moons, and the attribute its best known for -- its mysterious rings.

The episode starts off with a bombardment of statistics on the 4.5 billion-year-old planet: it's the 2nd largest planet in our solar system, 750 times the size of Earth, and takes 29.5 years to orbit the Sun; it has 48 known Moons, which have smaller "shepherd moons"; and it has 7 known ring regions...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

TV Review: ‘The Universe’ — Spaceship Earth

This episode of The History Channel's The Universe features a look at the distant past of the 3rd rock from the Sun, the planet we call Earth. After a brief, and frankly insulting to the viewers, catch-up of the most rudimentary and basic facts about Earth, the show takes a trip back in time almost five billion years ago, to when a supernova that would eventually turn into the Sun takes place. The show spends almost half of the show slowly working through the evolution of space debris into small rocks, into bigger rocks, and finally into something large enough to be called the infantile Earth...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

TV Review: 'The Universe' -- Alien Galaxies

In this episode of The History Channel's The Universe series, telescopes are pointed outside of our solar system to explore and contemplate the absolutely daunting massiveness of the universe.

The show starts off with some basic astronomy lessons, as scientists and researchers discuss just how big the universe is and how big our own Milky Way galaxy is by using some simple comparisons of size that our minds can somewhat get a grasp on. For example, if our Sun was the dot of an "i" in a book, the Milky Way would be the size of the continental United States. Scientists discuss the different types of galaxies, as well as other celestial bodies such as quasars...continue reading this review at Geeks of Doom!

Also, don't forget to enter the Geeks of Doom SkyScout Giveaway!