Rating: 
Summary: Tries to be too cute
Review: All the unusal camera angles, and shots in poor light are very annoying...the program contains tons of needless fluff.
Rating: 
Summary: The unfolding of everything
Review: I come to physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology and geology as a layperson who is fascinated by the big questions of life. For me science fact far exceeds science fiction or fantasy. I cannot get enough.I come to this whole exploration of science under the influence of Darwin, Nietzsche and Krishnamurti. To learn and understand beyond the narrowness and pettiness of the human experience. I think the human experience is infinitely enhanced, not diminished, when we see outside the box of what we have been told, beyond the truths and reality we accept without any deeper understanding than that this is what has been programmed into our brains and veins from cradle to grave. This dvd is so layered and complex and filled with fantasic ideas and theories, that I'll surely watch it over and over again. The string theory concept, alone, is worth the price of this dvd. I had, also, purchased 'The Elegant Universe' when I ordered this dvd. The updated and added string theory perspectives add to what was said in Hawking's Universe. For me its the glue and unfolding of everything. I wish I could be more technical but I'm too much of an infant in this arena. I seem to understand but find the words very difficult to explain the specifics of what was said. Each of the six parts goes into incredible depth. I would imagine even the experienced scientist must wrinkle his forehead when digesting the vast concepts big and small. For me, the technology of dvd's and computers was made for this type of project. We, the layperson, can now have accessibility to a world otherwise locked up in laboratories or a chance viewing on PBS, Discovery or A&E.
Rating: 
Summary: Informative and entertaining - a well produced series!
Review: I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive about the quality of this DVD collection before even seeing it. Being an owner of Carl Sagan's Cosmos series on DVD, and a great admirer of the man and his series, I must admit I had an inherent bias and felt that I would be hard-pressed finding anything else that was in the same league. I was mistaken. This DVD collection presents the main points anyone should know about the universe. I say "main" due simply to the fact that this collection does not go into great detail on several topics, as does Sagan's Cosmos. It focuses on a limited field of topics (which is understandable, since it is only three discs) and explains them thoroughly. It is not brief, yet Hawking does not waste our time with "waffle". It is concise and does not err in explaining details correctly. Being of a science-trained background, I would like to take the opportunity of adding that I did not find anything questionable or dubious in the subject matter. (It was, after all, written and edited by Stephen Hawking.) Viewers with no physics, or even basic science education, may find this collection slightly hard to understand in certain sections. That's not to say that the episodes need a Degree in Physics to be able to understand them either! A high-school level of Physics would allow you to comfortably understand everything that is said. Nevertheless, if you have no training in this area, do not fear... you might misunderstand one or two terms or concepts, but whole episodes do not focus on just one point, so you will not find any episode completely bewildering. (I would find this as a positive. The collection then serves as an educational set and may even influence the viewer to take-on personal study or research the topic more thoroughly. This in my opinion, can never be a bad thing, and thus the set becomes a more valuable item in one's DVD collection.) There are times during the episodes when Hawking attempts to be witty. These are effective attempts and often "soften" the show's theory-based nature. At times, one might even say Hawking takes the opportunity to "brag" about his many achievements and accomplishments, which in my opinion all adds to the enjoyment of the show. The presenter of such a show needs a bit of personality, or else, dare I say, it becomes boring. There are SHORT role-plays and interesting interviews mainly from American intelligentsia. Do not expect long and entertaining role-plays though. The episodes consist mainly of interviews and people (or Hawking) presenting facts or their opinions. (Those of you who have seen Sagan's Cosmos will know what I mean by "entertaining role-plays".) Perhaps I AM a little biased when it comes to this type of show. It is always in my mind to keep comparing shows of this nature to Sagan's Cosmos. In this case, if I do, it does little harm. This is a well-produced series and I would give it a high recommendation. This series is best suited to people with a keen interest in the topic, those wishing to "brush-up" on their universal knowledge, or simply those shopping for an interesting (and educational) present to give their friends or relatives.
Rating:
Summary: Boring
Review: I should've listened to the viewer who rated this as "Poorly done". He was completely right. The animations were repetitious, the pace very slow with a major amount time spent on historical recreations, the interviews unexciting and filmed in shadows. My tape had a defect so I returned it.
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly done.
Review: I thought that because of Stephen Hawking, this was going to be great (I wish I could see more of his direct work on the film). It was pretty bad. First it looked as if it was filmed through a very dark blue filter. It was very hard to see. I thought my tv was broken. Also, the same graphic of an exploding star is used from everything to supernovas and blackholes, it is quite irritating. The information is poor at best, it covered 1/100 of the infomation in A Brief History of Time, a very good book (I never saw the video). Don't buy this, it is not worth it, try to catch it on PBS if you are interested, or rent it from your library.
Rating: 
Summary: A "pretty okay" documentary for the curious layman.
Review: I viewed "Universe" and as a direct result took up a new hobby: reading about Quantum physics and cosmology, mainly via John Gribbin's books. This documentary, therefore, serves a great educational and popularizing function AND I RECOMMEND IT. However, even while watching it the first time, before I read up on so much the videos discuss, I had a sense that it was dealing heavy-handedly with some quite speculative theories. What is more, the videos' producers forget that it's not always wise to let laymen see and hear some of the days' great astronomical and cosmological thinkers. They can be very annoying individuals. Some of them are best encountered in print and through their ideas. (Oh well, not every scientist can be a great personality like Feynman.) Hawkins himself might be an exception, but it's hard to know; we see and hear little of his own ideas here--in this video he's merely a commentator whose observations and asides are used to link various segments of "Universe." Nonetheless, this documentary is better than bad, but buy it NOW. Cosmological and astronomical developments are occurring so quickly in this post-Hubble space scope world that many segments in "Universe" on 1980's and 1990's theories (dark matter, inflation, etc.) are already becoming dated.
Rating:
Summary: Best you'll find on DVD
Review: I'd agree with another reviewer of this work that it does, in fact, lack the desirable element of the visual in its explication of what indeed are the truly profound, complex theories and concepts of cosmologists and physicists--but not only for the purpose of enjoyment but also to aid in the elucidation of inherently counter-intuitive ideas. That being said, I should say that as something of an obsessed dillitante on these subjects--time, universe, et al.--this collection is about as in-depth and informative as you will, to date, find anywhere.
Rating:
Summary: Very slow
Review: I'm up to the second chapter, but its not for anyone who has read the book or is an amature. The pace the DVD sets is slow slow, you need to find other things to do while watching it. Narration is the slowest ever for a documentary, even when telling you history. I'm sure the technical detail is there, just not made interesting enough to keep me watching, which counts all kids and teenagers out as well (I'm 25). I don't think I will watch them all, I don't have that much time, I will read the book again instead - much quicker. I won't buy a PBS DVD/Video again, lots of advertising on the disc, sponsorship messages.
Rating:
Summary: Great information with a hefty compromise
Review: In General I agree with the negative reviews of this DVD. I had seen the PBS series and there is no doubt that the "text", the information on this DVD is of great importance for anyone. However the execution as a general interest TV series (meaning these DVD's) is greatly flawed. I have so far seen only the first episode on DVD and I already depise the the awful video. Only the shadows of people are visble. Close-ups shoes walking up stairs, bodies out of frame, all pieces that never build to a whole. In one of the most egregious examples of artifice (or just plain "operator headspace") a talking head (that means some person before the camera talks to someone off camera--as if in interview) is placed before an open widow with a strong ligt source of the sun shining on the villiage in the background from behind is CENTERED, and our subject (talking head) at far right barely in frame is, as some with photography experience can guess) is merely a shadow, so intentionally dark. It's like one of those shots were they intentially try to hide the speaker's identity. Our eyes wish to focus on the person speking, but it is so UNaestetic, and painful to focus using our eyes, that we naturally drift to the well lit background that has NOTHING to do with the words spoken. In fact the whole bloddy thing is DARK, intentionally, I believe. Yes, it is a style, but it is a LOUSY style: Distacting and UNaestetic. This is among the NOISIEST video transfers to DVD I have seen. No doubt due in part to the low lighting. Perhaps this was a compromise to the limitations of our dear Dr. Hawking, for he appears so very rarely, and when he does, the camera dawdles upon the meaningles disply of his voice synthesizer and other tricks to obsure his face. It seemed as if they didn't want to allow Hawking's face too much time on the tube, the implication that he is repulsive to the audience. He is NOT repuslive, and I would have LOVED longer shots of his face looking into the camera as the words are played. He does react. Also, many of the foreign scientists who speak do so in broken English that I and others feel breaks the pace and makes difficult to comprehend already weighty ideas. They should have spoken in their native language and then an interpreter's voice dubbed in later. I highly reccommend viewing the entire COSMOS with Dr. Carl Sagan FIRST. He provides and excellent foundation for grasping the NEW cosmological theories of the last 20 years on this DVD that picks up where COSMOS left off. Indeed Hawking's DVD explaination of the Doppler effect is ineffectual compared to the far supior use of video by Sagen in Cosmos. Perhaps it was the money. Don't forget that Cosmos was the MOST expensive TV series EVER at that time. They used state of the art effects and went all over the world for locations, and pefromed exercises with many props. and that Spaceship of the Imagaination was a lot of $$$$. They also had one of the BBC's best directing that series. At the time, BEFORE it aired, a lot of folks didnn't think the show would have mass appeal and that it would be an example of Public TV (specifically KCET, Los Angeles) folly. Well, we all know that it wasn't folly. It was revolutionary. But I don't think we will ever see another science series with a budget that was provided for Cosmos EVER again. Hawking's DVD for all the latest theories of the universe, but not much more.
Rating:
Summary: Great information with a hefty compromise
Review: In General I agree with the negative reviews of this DVD. I had seen the PBS series and there is no doubt that the "text", the information on this DVD is of great importance for anyone. However the execution as a general interest TV series (meaning these DVD's) is greatly flawed. I have so far seen only the first episode on DVD and I already depise the the awful video. Only the shadows of people are visble. Close-ups shoes walking up stairs, bodies out of frame, all pieces that never build to a whole. In one of the most egregious examples of artifice (or just plain "operator headspace") a talking head (that means some person before the camera talks to someone off camera--as if in interview) is placed before an open widow with a strong ligt source of the sun shining on the villiage in the background from behind is CENTERED, and our subject (talking head) at far right barely in frame is, as some with photography experience can guess) is merely a shadow, so intentionally dark. It's like one of those shots were they intentially try to hide the speaker's identity. Our eyes wish to focus on the person speking, but it is so UNaestetic, and painful to focus using our eyes, that we naturally drift to the well lit background that has NOTHING to do with the words spoken. In fact the whole bloddy thing is DARK, intentionally, I believe. Yes, it is a style, but it is a LOUSY style: Distacting and UNaestetic. This is among the NOISIEST video transfers to DVD I have seen. No doubt due in part to the low lighting. Perhaps this was a compromise to the limitations of our dear Dr. Hawking, for he appears so very rarely, and when he does, the camera dawdles upon the meaningles disply of his voice synthesizer and other tricks to obsure his face. It seemed as if they didn't want to allow Hawking's face too much time on the tube, the implication that he is repulsive to the audience. He is NOT repuslive, and I would have LOVED longer shots of his face looking into the camera as the words are played. He does react. Also, many of the foreign scientists who speak do so in broken English that I and others feel breaks the pace and makes difficult to comprehend already weighty ideas. They should have spoken in their native language and then an interpreter's voice dubbed in later. I highly reccommend viewing the entire COSMOS with Dr. Carl Sagan FIRST. He provides and excellent foundation for grasping the NEW cosmological theories of the last 20 years on this DVD that picks up where COSMOS left off. Indeed Hawking's DVD explaination of the Doppler effect is ineffectual compared to the far supior use of video by Sagen in Cosmos. Perhaps it was the money. Don't forget that Cosmos was the MOST expensive TV series EVER at that time. They used state of the art effects and went all over the world for locations, and pefromed exercises with many props. and that Spaceship of the Imagaination was a lot of $$$$. They also had one of the BBC's best directing that series. At the time, BEFORE it aired, a lot of folks didnn't think the show would have mass appeal and that it would be an example of Public TV (specifically KCET, Los Angeles) folly. Well, we all know that it wasn't folly. It was revolutionary. But I don't think we will ever see another science series with a budget that was provided for Cosmos EVER again. Hawking's DVD for all the latest theories of the universe, but not much more.
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