Many people consider Earth's oceans to be an alien world -- much of it is undiscovered, and what we have discovered is not completely understood. History Channel's Underwater Universe: Season One attempts to make some sense of the mysteries below sea level, and if you have a keen interest in this subject, and enjoy watching a hyperactive onslaught of facts, this show might be for you.
Employing the typical format of interview bites from experts plus complimentary nature and archival footage, Underwater Universe doesn't break any new ground as far as nature documentaries go. It's in stark contrast to the other kind of nature documentary, like Planet Earth, which features a narrator over high definition candid footage. But the people behind Underwater Universe were likely not trying to re-invent the wheel, and there's no reason to, so long as the subject matter is interesting.
Underwater Universe's advantage is that it uses all aspects of anything ocean-related to put together the four episodes in the first season. In a way, though, that's sort of a problem: the first episode is all about the different kind of ocean waves, and is presented quite differently than the second episode, which is a countdown of the top five ocean predators. The only thing binding these two subject matters together is that they relate to the ocean. If it weren't for the same narrator being present, one might think these episodes belong to different series.
Another problem is the show's sloppy presentation. It lacks smooth and slick pacing -- it's a jumble of interviews, narration and random written facts. It sounds minor, but when the narrator is discussing a killer whale's speed by providing one statistic, and the show flashes a visual factoid pertaining to something completely different, it's hard to absorb either one. As stated, the show takes everything it can from the ocean to form its shows, which is good, but makes it difficult to establish structure.
Amidst the bombardment of information, the show does get across something quite good, and that's its interviews with first-hand accounts. Not the experts and scientists, necessarily, but the ordinary people who have had experiences with some of the oddities this show discusses. During the second episode which talked about killer creatures in the ocean, we get to hear from a little girl who impossibly survived an intense attack from a box jellyfish. In the third episode, which talks about water pressure and the different underwater depths broken into "zones," we hear from a man who was scuba diving with his brother and witnessed him ascend too fast, resulting in decompression sickness, and eventually, paralysis. It's intense, and the show gives a lot of humanity to topics that could have just been simply discussed by experts.
If you're really into oceans, from its animals to the water's physical properties, this will be a pleasing watch, so long as you don't mind watching it more than once, as catching every piece of information this show throws at you on the first go-around might be difficult.
Extras:
An 90-minute episode on Earth's "seven deadliest seas," presented in the same manner as the rest of the series.
"Underwater Universe: Season One" is on sale June 28, 2011 and is not rated. Documentary. Directed by Jed Rauscher, Lisa Quijano Wolfinger. Starring Jonathan Adams.
