Roving Mars

My review of the Roving Mars DVD release is now live over at RevolutionSF. It's a very good documentary, but one that has some significant flaws. Still, the special bonus features on the disc warrant their own mention:

Rarely is a feature upstaged by its own extras on a DVD release, but Roving Mars comes close. And that's saying something, considering how engrossing the feature is despite its listed flaws. Whoever thought to include "Mars and Beyond," a 50-minute episode of Walt Disney's Disneyland television program originally broadcast in 1957, should be commended. Bits and pieces of the show have aired in various incarnations over the years, and the yellow, tubular bicycle-tire of a space station that makes an appearance late in the episode will likely be familiar to space buffs. But the uncut program is a rarity, and the eclectic nature of it is close to mind-boggling.

Someday, I'd like to see a comprehensive Mars film that covers the history of the exploration of the planet thoroughly, from Mariner 4 and the Soviet's Mars 2, through Viking and Pathfinder and everything else to come. Yeah, I'm definitely looking forward to that someday.

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