Super Comet: After the Impact

December 30, 2007

Rated: Unrated Runtime: 84 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I’m a sucker for armageddon stuff. And I’m a sucker for anything related to outer space. So imagine my glee when I got to see Super Comet: After the Impact! I was really wanting to see this particular documentary on the subject since it dealt primarily with the aftermath of a mega-impact and how the planet might start to recover (as opposed to the pre-impact hoopla and immediate impact effects as covered by so many other specials).

In that respect, this program delivers. You do get a small bit of pre-impact buildup and some immediate impact projections, but this was not something I minded. You need to give viewers a frame of reference for the meat of your material. In this case, some of the impact effects were covered in detail that I hadn’t previously seen; kudos for that! And when the program really gets going, it definitely delivers on the long-term after-effects that the planet (and humanity) will have to endure for survival. Also included, however, are the “dramatic” stories of several fictitious people. I really just did NOT care for this aspect of the program at all.

When I’m watching a program for hard-science, I don’t like for my time to be wasted with the poorly manufactured stories of people enduring the horrors that you’ve been hearing about in detail in a previous scene. If I want end-of-the-world drama, I’ll pop in a DVD of Deep Impact or Armageddon instead. In this case, though, I want facts, simulated results, and detailed observations. Inserting all this human interest stuff was good for a 2 star drop in my rating. I drop it 1 star just for it being there and then 1 more star for the science material that had to remain on the cutting room floor in order to for this melo-drama crap to be fit in.

In short, if you’re into the science, there’s good stuff here. Just be prepared to wade through the bad drama scenes to get to it.

Posted by Alex | Filed Under 3 Stars, DVD, Documentary, Unrated