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From executive producer’s Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, MARS is a fascinating kind of hybrid series–real life documentary of events, mixed with a fictionalized account of man’s first attempt to colonize Mars circa 2033. Eighteen months in the making, this six part series is National Geographic Channel’s most ambitious project to date. The filmmakers have worked hard to seamlessly blend the documentary footage with events of today.

The fictionalized storyline is slick. Early on, Commander Ben Sawyer (Ben Cotton) provides some narration, explaining that NASA has joined with several other space organizations to create an international space aggregation that, along with private enterprise (think Elon Musk’s Space X), has pushed ahead with plans to send explorers to Mars to begin to colonize the planet. Sawyer’s crew includes Sammi Rotibi (Robert Foucault) a Nigerian engineer, Hanalei Seung (Jihae Kim), a systems engineer, whose twin sister Joon Seung (also Jihae Kim), is head of mission control on Earth, Amalie Durand (Clementine Poidatz) a French mission physician, and biochemist, Javier Delgado (Alberto Amman) a Spanish mission hydrologist and geochemist, and Marta Karen (Anamaria Marinca) a Russian mission exobiologist and geologist. Some of the decidedly clunky character beats interfere with some of the more interesting aspects of the mini-series, which includes a thorough explanation of the technology needed by the astronauts, not just to get to get to Mars, but succeed once they’ve arrived on the red planet.

Initially, the melodramatic buildup of the fictionalized storyline makes the first interstitial featuring a modern day talking seem very strange.  Soon though, the comments from Neil deGrasse Tyson, astronaut Scott Kelly, Elon Musk, and others become a real highlight, as they pop up at regular intervals providing information and context about what it’s really going to take to get man to Mars. Those interested in science will undoubtedly find these segments interesting, even if the exploits of Ben Sawyer and his crew aboard the Daedalus leads to the occasional eye roll.

The biggest problem? The fictionalized characters are one dimensional, and dull. The crew of the Daedalus is resolutely determined, but that’s it. That’s the only personality anybody exhibits. Even the “pre-fight” interviews designed to let us get to know the characters outside of the pressure filled mission come up empty. The result, we don’t really feel invested when the mission faces numerous mishaps. It’s not necessarily the fault of the actors, as the script doesn’t give them a lot to work with.

The blending of the scripted and non-scripted parts of Mars was supposed to be seen as innovative, but one wonders if the mini-series would have been more successful if the filmmakers had settled on one format. Sometimes, less is more.

Presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio, this is a solid transfer, with both the fictionalized and documentary elements looking impressive. The fictionalized elements have a brownish tone, but maintain an impressive level of detail throughout. The CGI looks slightly soft on occasion, but it’s never a distraction. Understandably, the condition of archival video varies from clip to clip, with older material looking a bit rough when compared to the new interviews.

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is occasionally immersive, with isolated effects creating welcome bursts of involvement. Aside from that though, this is a rather pedestrian mix, particularly when it comes to the documentary interviews. Fidelity is fine though, and the dialogue is clean, clear, and concise throughout. There are no audio issues to report.

English SDH, French, German, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish subtitles are included.

The following extras are available on the third Blu-ray disc:

  • Making Mars (HD, 47:17) An interesting behind-the-scenes look at how various parts of the mini-series were put together. Various members of the cast and crew are interviewed, including executive producer, Ron Howard.
  • Before Mars – A Prequel (HD, 33:00) Some backstory on the fictionalized portion of the series.
  • Before Mars – Behind the Scenes (HD, 2:28) Strictly an EPK.
  • Getting to Mars (HD, 13:51) A look at the science, data, and technology necessary to successfully get to Mars.
  • Living on Mars (HD, 10:26) A look at how we might live on Mars once we get there.
  • More Mars (HD, 10:29) More facts about the red planet.
  • Behind the Scenes (HD, 14:38) Some pretty good, candid footage.
  • Cast and Crew Interviews (HD, 25:06) Just what it implies. There’s more Ron Howard, and that’s always a good thing!