Alien Worlds (TV series)
| Alien Worlds | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Docufiction Science fiction Speculative evolution |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Production company | Wall to Wall Media |
| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | 2 December 2020 |
Alien Worlds is a British
sci-fi nature docufiction narrated by Sophie Okonedo. The 4-part miniseries, depicted by using CGI techniques, blends fact with science fiction and conceptualizes what alien life might be like by applying the laws of life on Earth to imagined exoplanets.[1][2] The series was released on Netflix on 2 December 2020.[3]
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Atlas" | 2 December 2020 | |
| Atlas is a larger planet than Earth, with higher gravity and a thicker atmosphere leading to an airborne ecosystem. Astronomer Didier Queloz makes an appearance to discuss the discoveries of exoplanets and how they are analyzed in the real world. In explaining the aliens of Atlas, the episode also explores the handicap principle in insects, and shows a rehabilitative form of falconry as captive falcons are trained to live in the wild. | |||
| 2 | "Janus" | 2 December 2020 | |
|
Janus orbits a fireflies (including aggressive mimicry in Photuris ), as inspiration for the five-legged "pentapods" on Janus. | |||
| 3 | "Eden" | 2 December 2020 | |
| On the planet Eden, in a life cycle. | |||
| 4 | "Terra" | 2 December 2020 | |
|
Episode 4 imagines a planet called Terra, whose extremely advanced Doug Vakoch talks about the Arecibo message and the possibility of communication with extraterrestrial intelligence . | |||
Reception
The weekend after the series' release, it was one of Netflix's top 10 shows in the UK.[2]
Sheena Scott of Forbes called the series "entertaining and very informative science fiction" and said that the most interesting part of the series was the non-fiction sections about planet Earth, which show "the breadth of knowledge scientists have accumulated about our planet".[2] Likewise, Emma Stefansky of Thrillist said the alien creatures were fun, but "it's the Earth-bound science that ends up being the most interesting part".[4]
See also
- Alien Planet, a 2005 Discovery Channel TV film with a similar premise
- Natural History of an Alien, a 1998 TV film, also by the Discovery Channel
- Extraterrestrial (Alien Worlds in the UK) a 2005 National Geographic documentary series
References
- ^ Mallenbaum, Carly. "Netflix in December 2020: What's new and what's expiring". USA TODAY. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Scott, Sheena. "Netflix's 'Alien Worlds': Fantastical British Mini Series Blending Facts With Fiction". Forbes. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
- ^ "Alien Worlds | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
- ^ Stefansky, Emma. "Netflix's 'Alien Worlds' Is the Ultimate Escape From Our Doomed Planet". Thrillist. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
External links
- Alien Worlds at IMDb
- Alien Worlds on Netflix
- "Exploring 'Alien Worlds' on Netflix" from the SETI Institute
