NOVA Episode review

NOVA: HUNTING THE EDGE OF SPACE:

IT’S LIKE GRAVITY AND INTERSTELLAR, EXCEPT IT’S REALLY HAPPENING AND LACKS THE IMAX EXPERIENCE!

By Nico Beland

Documentary review: B+ (3 stars)

PBS

            So far, 2014 has been my year of experimenting with media reviews, I reviewed documentaries, posted recaps of the Emerald City and Rose City Comic Con, and I reviewed a couple TV shows, and now my first and probably only review of a PBS documentary, a NOVA episode titled, Hunting the Edge of Space. Now don’t get me wrong, I like space documentaries, especially IMAX ones like Space Station 3D and more recently, Hubble 3D, but I usually don’t tackle them with a review, but today I am going to make a special exception.

            The documentary has some breathtaking shots of how a galaxy is formed, an interesting story about the invention of the telescope, and lots of interviews. The best part of the documentary is watching the galaxies form because I have never seen anything like that before and it really caught my intention and almost looked like something out of a science-fiction movie, I actually almost forgot I was watching a PBS space documentary, it almost felt like I was watching Interstellar again, except more realistic.

            The special explained in great detail how a simple instrument like the telescope has changed our understanding of our place in the universe, now we have the massive Hubble space telescope and satellites orbiting through space and providing us a glimpse of what is going on beyond our planet. I felt this documentary doesn’t belong as a NOVA episode on PBS, but rather a documentary on an IMAX screen, but that’s just me.

            I haven’t watched a whole lot of NOVA, but perhaps after watching this 2-part documentary about space and the telescope, it might encourage me to check more of it out. Plus, this is my time to experiment with my reviews and don’t rely completely on traditional movies but all kinds of things in the media, whether it’s a TV show, independent film, or a documentary like this one.

            It certainly was quite a journey to the edge of space that any fans of NOVA or space documentaries should enjoy, but for me, I’ll probably just give Gravity and Interstellar more viewings.