Rating: 
Summary: the un-elegant dvd
Review: i can imagine what was said at the production meetings for this dvd... "let's make it fun" ... "yeah, even a little goofy, for the kids!". i have nothing against kids, but seems like this dvd was made for 7 year olds. it is horrible, the style of the narration is very annoying, made me feel like an idiot. what is even worse, it is very repetitive. in the first hour i heard countless times how this minute "strings of energy" were the great unifying theory, but they never explained why or how they arrived to this conclusion. it stays on the surface, never goes in deeper, i guess they were afraid to include too many numbers or symbols (mind you i am not a physicist, just a regular person). as if that wasn't enough, the 5 minutes of commercials at the beginning of each of the 5 episodes are unbearable, and there is no skiping them, this shoud be illegal, it is my dvd, why can't i skip the things i don't want to see?
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, now for the "Layman's Perspective."
Review: I don't claim to be a master of physics, nor do I have much understanding of the universe at the molecular level, but after watching this DVD I feel I now have a basic understanding of both. What I enjoyed the most were the historical referrences about those great men who came before and how their theories gradually revealed other avenues of higher thinking. But this DVD is certainly not for the casual viewer. My advice for the average citizen (like me) is to put on your thinking-cap before the program begins. There is plenty of knowledge here that has been proven absolutely that is well worth retaining. By the end of the program, "String Theory" remains just that, a theory. It is nonetheless an intriguing hypothesis that had me thinking about the fabric of the universe for days afterward. But I should mention the problems with the actual show. While there are plenty of visually impressive moments and intellectually stimulating phrases strewn throughout, there is some repetition by the end. At first, I appreciated the review of the more difficult ideas earlier in the show (including visuals), but later on the statements and theories become second-hand knowledge for those who were paying attention. Like how radical the ideas are, and how none of the theories may ever be proven, thus reducing the possibility of hard science into unprovable philosophy. But don't get me wrong, there is a lot of interesting material here to be pondered and discussed with like minds. But in the end, it still remains theory. Perhaps it is revolutionary to physicists, but to the common man, until it is proven, it may as well be The Twilight Zone.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: I first read the Elegant Universe when it came out and was very impressed then. After catching the show on PBS I went back and re-read the book. Armed with the viuals from the television show I was able to understand a great deal more of Brian Greene.
Wonderful, amazing show!
Rating: 
Summary: For Kids?
Review: I got this DVD series out from the library, and I was excited to watch it because I have layman's interested in oddity of string theory. There were a lot of digital and special effects that backed up the points that were being made, but unfortunately each point was made upwards of five times, by at least five experts who repeated each other, and then the points were further repeated by the host ad nauseum. If toothpicks came with the set, it might have helped keeping the eyes open between the interesting tidbits of information. This was the sort of video that one can imagine being shown by a substitute teacher in a (...) science class, it looks as if it were made to teach something to distracted kids who are busy passing notes, and as such it isn't half bad, on the scale of such movies. But it's not for adults who are actually interested in the subject. I was really looking forward to a popularized yet intelligent explanation of some of the newer scientific theories on unification, but I found myself drifting off as basic ideas were repeated over and over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: All good except no subtitle
Review: I got this DVD set and the box's cover looks exactly like the one sold here. There is no subtitle and no closed caption for the DVD set, although the spec on Amazon, on the DVD box, and on the DVD's language option screen says there is. I tried using the TV, and on the PC using WinDVD and PowerDVD. Both software can't show the closed caption either. So am I buying a faulty version of the DVD set? [update: I can see the closed caption if I use the old-style yellow video cable instead of S-video cable or the component video or DVI cable. But of course the yellow cable isn't great for video quality].Related is also... I suspect if the closed caption was already created on PBS broadcast, the work it takes to add real DVD subtitle is like one to at most three days? How come it isn't done for the sake of every viewer in the world? I need the closed caption because English is my second language. And especially, all the physics terminologies and names of physicists would need some help of subtitle or closed caption even for the average people.
Rating:
Summary: String Theory simplified, but not dumbed-down
Review: I have read and enjoyed the book several times, enjoying it ever more on subsequent passes. Having just viewed the first two-thirds of this three-part (three-hour) series, I have to say that although my expectations were quite high, this production exceeded them by a great margin. The methods chosen to elucidate arcane issues in physics have been brilliantly chosen and magnificently illustrated. The running commentary by the main players in the thirty-odd years of String Theory development - of whom thoroughly engaging host Brian Greene is but one - lends an authenticity to the program that cannot fail to educate as well as to entertain. Professor Greene fairly glows - exuding sincere enthusiasm and excitement for the concepts, history, and people involved. He is undoubtedly a terrific physicist AND educator to be able to make such difficult concepts as clearly understandable by "civilians" as he has. I foresee that he will be for the popularization of physics and a scientific world view what Carl Sagan was for astronomy almost four decades ago. I am ordering a copy of the DVD as soon as it's available so that I can enjoy it again and again, and so that in fifty years, my grandkids can say, "Gee! Gramps was there right at the beginning!"
Rating:
Summary: As good as Cosmos!!! This will be a classic
Review: I have read the book and I was so captivated that I ended up reading few other books on the string theory. I sat through the first two hours of the program and it was simply awesome!
The narrative, quotes from the Nobel winners and visualizations are so nicely done. Brian Green is on par with Carl Sagan.
I think I finally understood what gravity is. To put it in perspective, it is like having a chance to meet Gallileo in 1630s and to be able to gaze the stars through his telescope. A must-have....
Rating:
Summary: Who edited this documentary?
Review: I really wondered when I saw this who wrote it and edited it. Although they were able to get interviews with most of the top string theory people, the show itself lacked information. I thought it would actually give an overview of string theory (not with mathematical rigor, but a little detail) when in fact it feels more like an unexplained mysteries show. I have seen small town colleges host better "string theory for everyone" lectures than this high cost production. For example, why do we need extra dimensions? There are many simple explanations for this that would have fit in well, but no attempt was made. What are the differences between the string theories? Again it is easy to summarize, but ignored completely. My other complaint is the somewhat arrogant attitude of the narrator, especially near the end. After going through a long show on how wonderful string theory is, there is almost no mention of competing theories. I don't mean an in depth review, but a few minutes to summarize where the weaknesses of string theory are considered strengths in something like loop quantum gravity (ie how come a theory of everything has to assume that there is already a universe in existence?). The show leaves the impression that string theory is perfect and anyone working on other theories is foolish. It also leaves the impression that the theory is too complicated to even summarize for the masses.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book -- Horrible Nova Show
Review: I recently read The Elegant Universe and while it was extremely dense it is well written and definitely worth reading if you are interested in string theory. I HIGHLY suggest that anyone really interested in sting theory read the book.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: I recently saw this show on NJN a few days ago. The movie is based on the book "The Elegant Universe" by Brian Greene. It deals with the string theory of physics (what protons and neutrons are made of). How they displayed the ideas of the book is excellent. The visual effects were amazing. If you love science and physics, this is a must see.
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