A very big spectacle, 4K UHD images, glaciers, waterfalls, volcanic eruptions, a boiling acid lake, a crossing of the clouds… The Earth is filmed from its bowels into space; from the infinitely large of the cosmos to the infinitely small of DNA helices…
When National Geographic applies the rules of an American blockbuster to a documentary series devoted to our planet, the result is One Strange Rock (literally “a strange rock”, translated for the French version as Une planet sans peer), ten fantastic episodes released in 2018. Thanks to the summer, the channel is rebroadcasting them. And it’s an opportunity to seize – while waiting for season 2, announced since 2021.
In the commentary, the American actor Will Smith, involved in his role of popularizer, in voiceover or in front of the camera. With a laughing look, he alternates metaphors and humor so that no spectator picks up. Directed by Darren Aronofsky (The Wrestler in 2008; Black Swan in 2010; The Whale in 2023). Behind the cameras, in addition to the professionals, eight astronauts, trained by Darren Aronofsky before their mission in space, from which they bring back unpublished images.
Meteorite and dinosaurs
Gasp (“a breath of fresh air”), the first episode, is thus carried by Chris Hadfield, “166 days in space” – each astronaut is introduced by his number of days spent in weightlessness. The Canadian, very popular for his videos which show him playing the guitar in the International Space Station, is well placed to talk about oxygen, essential to life. Filmed in close-up, in his car, then by himself, in orbit, he recounts how, during a spacewalk, dust in his eye forced him to depressurize his spacesuit, depriving himself of ‘oxygen.
The main character of Storm (“the storm”) is Nicole Stott, astronaut of the STS-128 mission of the space shuttle Discovery, in 2009, who we follow alternately in space and in her daily life to evoke the role of the meteorite that hit the Earth sixty-six million years ago. “Lucky for us,” she said. “A few seconds later, the asteroid fell into the ocean: no explosion, no destruction of the dinosaurs, no humans”, summarizes Will Smith.
Astrophysicist and astronaut Jeffrey (Jeff) Hoffman serves as a guide to Shield, “the shield”, or rather the shields that naturally protect our planet from the “killer” Sun: the ozone layer and water. It may seem repetitive, but the images are breathtaking: from the edge of Mount Nyiragongo (in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) to the gigantic Xiaolangdi Dam in China, which controls, according to the engineer present, “90% of the Yellow River”.
Broadcast at the end of the evening, the fourth episode, Genesis (“the genesis”), could have been programmed at the beginning, since it introduces all ten parts and tries to answer Mae Jemison’s question (“8 days in space”): “How did life come to Earth? The answers follow each other, at a faster pace, by “element”. First water then fire, via Bali, Venezuela, Hong Kong, the ISS, Iceland… Until the “Bang!” Happy Birthday Life! », the lighthearted explanation of the Big Bang by Will Smith. “The story is not over,” concludes the actor. Nature has protected us for millions of years, now it’s up to us to save our “strange rock”.
