By Forris Day Jr.
I admit the fact that I am a skeptic by nature. I don’t believe 30 percent of what I hear. Many times people will tell me things and I just nod along as if I believe them when I really don’t. It makes them feel good because they believe they have outsmarted me, and it makes me happy because I am pretty non-confrontational, therefore I have just avoided conflict by not disagreeing. It works pretty well. I do have opinions mind you but I usually keep them to myself. Now I’ll explain what this has to do with this review.
I had the opportunity to check out a new DVD set entitled “Arthur C. Clarke: The Complete Collection” and it really impressed me. It is an 8 disc set broken up into 3 different documentary programs Arthur C. Clarke (Space Odyssey 2001) hosted for the BBC from 1980 – 1995. The first 2 disc series is called “Mysterious World” where he discuses things such as Bigfoot, UFOs, and the Loch Ness Monster. This is the oldest program and I love the washed out and grainy footage used in it and all of the shows for that matter. It has that really cool 1970s documentary feel to it. The second series, 4 discs in this one, is called “Mysterious Universe”. Clarke researches more mysterious things such as crop circles, zombies, and delves into the Bermuda Triangle. The set wraps up with the 2 disc series called “World of Strange Powers” in which he takes an in-depth look at supernatural happenings. Are ghosts real? Did aliens really make the crop circles? Are psychics the answer to solving crimes or are they just a bunch of phonies? Watch and you be the judge.
What I like about Arthur C. Clark is that he presents the topics and lets you decide what to believe. He too is a skeptic but rather than agree with the believers he quite simply says in essence “Hey I respect your belief, but I need more viable proof”. I like the man for that and I like the show for that also. I was able to watch these documentary style programs without the information being pushed on me as if it were solid fact. Perhaps many of the occurrences really happened, maybe the crop circles were created by space aliens or there just might be another race of ape-like men living in our back yard that photograph really blurry. I do not believe most of the stuff but it is strictly up to the individual viewer to decide. I wish more TV programs like this took this approach to presenting evidence.
The 52 episode, 8 disc, DVD set comes nicely boxed in three cases, one for each series. Over 22 hours of viewing pleasure! No long menus to trudge through either. Pop a disc in and decide to play all or select an episode. It’s that simple and simplicity is always the best choice I think. It is formatted in it’s original 4X3 screen ratio as it was created long before the advent of wide screen TVs. Whether you are a skeptic like myself or a fanatic about paranormal events, or believe a Virgin Mary statue can cry like baby who just had her lollipop taken away, you will enjoy this very interesting and thought provoking series compiled into one box set for the first time ever.
Rating: 9.5/10 “Add this monolithic set to your DVD collection today” ……(Space Odyssey 2001 reference)
