Chaotic Dreams

Discovery Channel apparantly had this special awhile back (based on a book I think), and I finally got around to seeing it on DVD. It's a fictional unmanned mission to another planet - but all the ideas are based on sound science that we know today.

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/al ... lanet.html

from About the Show section -

"The drama takes place on Darwin IV, a fictional planet 6.5 light-years from Earth, with two suns and 60 percent gravity. Having identified Darwin as a world that could support life, Earth sends a pilot mission consisting of the mothership Von Braun and three probes: Balboa, Da Vinci and Newton. This unmanned fleet is responsible for finding and assessing any life-forms on Darwin IV. Initially, the expectation is to find microscopic life, but the probes soon find themselves in the middle of a developed ecosystem teeming with life of all sizes."

I thought it was excellent, really well done. And with some very neat ideas for alien life and whatnot. I think my favorite of the aliens were the massive Grove Backs. But for me, perhaps the most fascinating things were the probes that we send to the planet surface itself.

On the web site (Virtual Voyage/Arrival/Vehicle Viewer) they can be viewed somewhat as the "Horus Probes". Very cool looking things that float around and explore. The web site is neat, but of course the probes look much cooler in the actual movie.

When needed, they use their flexible robot arms to pull out these little spider probes to walk around on the ground for them. And they also have these flying disc cameras/probes they can launch from their backs (sorta like the 'Black Widow' ones I saw on TV once and rambled on about as possible Chaos replacement of xloc). Both of which they can pick back up and recharge and reuse.

Anyway, I just thought it was way cool. Worth checking out if you can find the DVD in your local video store or something. Who knows, maybe some of it could even be inpirational material for some wacky Unreal mod....

Man, I wanted to watch that, but I missed it

i saw it, it was kinda good, but totally just imaginative tbh. not really any scientific background to it other than speculation.oh yeah, and everything had two legs.....

i liked that beaked gliding thing that ate those tree sap suckers. what was that called again?

Actually ven, the entire show was based on what's possible using real science as a guide. All of it. The planet we find, the tech we used to get there and explore, the alien life, etc. That was pretty much the whole point.

To quote the web site again:

"Real scientists consider data in this planetary environment. They discuss the larger issues of the possibilities of life outside our solar system and deconstruct the animals on Darwin IV, basing the analysis on the laws of evolution and physics. Where possible, life-size animal images and the real probe prototypes will help the audience to understand the current, real basis of the search for other planets. Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku and other big thinkers and scientists will participate in the discussion of where science is today. Other participants include Jack Horner, Craig Venter, George Lucas and NASA's chief scientist, Jim Garvin.

The drama on Darwin IV is motivated by real science missions, such as the NASA Origins Program and the NASA/JPL Planet-Finder Mission, as well as the European Space Agency's Darwin Project. The Discovery Channel's founder, John Hendricks, recently announced that Discovery is helping to fund a planet-finding telescope, at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. Rooted in real-life endeavors, scientists have designed the planet of Darwin IV (which lies in a known star system), the probes and spacecraft, as well as the various life-forms found. "

And throughout the show scientists speak about what you are seeing, and they offer some insight into the theories at work. (Mr. Hawking remains my favorite theoretical physicist. )

And sure, there were a lot of 2 legged critters in the show, but not everything. The Littoralopes, the Daggerwrist, or the Grovebacks for example.

BTW, sorta on a tangent here, but..., thinking of the alien critters reminds me, the federal government should step in and prevent Kansas from retreating to the Dark Ages. After all, evolution is as much a theory as gravity is.

R.Flagg wrote:BTW, sorta on a tangent here, but..., thinking of the alien critters reminds me, the federal government should step in and prevent Kansas from retreating to the Dark Ages. After all, evolution is as much a theory as gravity is.

Gravity is a myth... THE EARTH SUCKS!!!

the Daggerwrist. thats the one i thought was cool.


srry i kinda didnt type exactly what i meant.

i know that they have random animal generator programs at nasa and indeed have ran an accelerated evolution program for some time, to see what animals evolve on high gravitys, low gravities etc. what i meant was all that talking about alien behaviour etc, was all just "filler".

its all very well designing life based upon our own, but tbh i think that life doesnt not have to follow any of our established and loved laws. only recently they thought that nothing could survive on the seafloor, or in the poisonous sulphar springs dotted around the globe. and again, recently they have found life that defies these laws. so i kinda think basing any expectations of life on another planet on our own to be fairly "imaginative".


also, not that i dont belive in life on other worlds (in fact i think its almost impossible not to have other life), but it is estimated the closest life bearing (possiblity) planet to us is like far,far,far away. cant remember exactly what, but i know one dude saying that even at lightspeed , reaching those planets would take a long time....

i think darwin VI is a kinda "what if" show, like so many on discovery. however, i do respect jack horners work, and his arguement for a non predatory t-rex is quite convincing. his idea for a carrion eating t rex seems to fit the creatures bone skeleton much better, and would explain the huge olfactory lobe inside the things head.

Discovery does seem to have this thing with 'IF' shows. Heck, they even go as so far as to construct their own universes across their own black holes sometimes...

But it is kinda kool...