Review: One Strange Rock combines thrilling visuals, thoughtful science

Documentaries and miniseries about our home planet are not in short supply. Perhaps the most famous example is the BBC’s sweeping Planet Earth, a series narrated by David Attenborough that considers the history of the planet and the lives of humpback whales, desert lizards, and other remarkable inhabitants. Planet Earth was an unexpected sensation when it premiered 12 years ago, and its fans could be forgiven for wondering if anything remains to be said—or seen—in a new documentary series about Earth. With National Geographic Channel’s new One Strange Rock, the answer is an emphatic yes.

One Strange Rock, which premieres 26 March at 10:00pm EDT, is a 10-episode miniseries that explores the ecology, geology, natural history, and chemistry of the planet where we live. The series covers everything from Earth’s core to the highest reaches of its surrounding atmosphere, looking at how both catastrophic and mundane events shape the way the planet functions.

Whereas Planet Earth extolls the majesty—and occasionally the tragedy—of our planet, One Strange Rock takes a more playful tone that emphasizes the serendipity and strangeness of life on Earth. In the series’ opening sequence, narrator Will Smith deems Earth “the weirdest place in the whole universe, full of liquid rock, crystal caves, and alien landscapes.” Despite that pronouncement, Smith’s wry, matter-of-fact narration keeps the series grounded. Footage of Smith engaging in everyday activities such as tending a houseplant open or close most episodes, and those scenes help remind viewers that the phenomena on screen also play out in their daily lives.

Darren Aronofsky, the filmmaker best known for the psychological thriller Black Swan (2010), is an executive producer of One Strange Rock. Aronofsky has a reputation for an ambitious style that juxtaposes unexpected images and themes, and his influence is evident throughout the first three episodes, which Physics Today received for review. Even viewers who think they’ve seen it all when it comes to nature photography will likely find something new and exciting. One early standout sequence follows astrobiologist Felipe Gómez and his team as they tread across the colorful but toxic banks of an acid lake in Ethiopia. Viewers can hear crystallized sulfur crunching underneath Gómez’s feet. The vibrant green acid pools seem at once hostile and beautiful.

What really makes One Strange Rock stand out from a crowded field is the way it integrates views of Earth from space. Eight astronauts contribute commentary, including Chris Hadfield, Nicole Stott, Mae Jemison, and Jerry Linenger. Their stories of watching the planet from space, when combined with NASA footage, provide big-picture perspective on the natural phenomena that shape Earth’s ecosystems. Linenger, for example, describes his experience watching a dust storm in Africa move over the South Atlantic Ocean and settle in South America.

The astronauts also lend their scientific expertise to the series. Following Linenger’s account of the African dust storm, Hadfield explains that the dust becomes a rich fertilizer for the Amazon rain forest, and viewers are treated to a lovely sequence that shows snaking green vines and blooming white flowers in South America. In the second episode, Stott explains the Theia hypothesis, which posits that early Earth collided with another large planetary body, leading to the formation of the Moon and to Earth’s tilted axis (see the article by Dave Stevenson, Physics Today, November 2014, page 32 ). Passages like those are a nice reminder that modern astronauts are not only courageous and physically capable—they are also serious researchers and skilled science communicators.

Each episode of One Strange Rock is loosely centered on a single theme. Episode 3, called “Shield,” focuses on how Earth deals with the constant bombardment of radiation, light, and heat from the Sun; episode 4, “Genesis,” explores the origins of life on Earth. Some themes feel more coherent than others. Episode 2, “Storm,” is nominally about how Earth survives large-scale disruptions, but the transitions between hunts for meteorites in Morocco, Stott’s experiences aboard the International Space Station, and the migration of fruit bats sometimes feel rushed or forced.

Everyone interested in geology, natural history, or astronomy should set their DVR to record One Strange Rock. Those who give the series a chance will come away with a new appreciation for the most improbable aspects of life on our planet. As Hadfield puts it, “It’s all just so wonderfully unlikely. And yet it’s here.”