Don?t bother at all if you?re going to make a half-arsed job of it!

I couldn?t shake the feeling that this was just churned out as a very basic effort. Perhaps budget was an issue? I?m just not sure that there was any particular ?vision? for this piece, and it?s a real shame as I have always been interested in the career of Stephen Hawking. In truth, I was hoping this DVD was a documentary, which would therefore allow for it to get into the details of his theory, and not have to use cheesy dramatic angles to appeal to ?mass? tastes. The acting was ok, nothing to complain about, but nothing to write home about either. It?s lacklustre all around, unfortunately.

The story covers two years in the life of Stephen Hawking whilst still a student at Cambridge University. Well ? so much for doctors? diagnoses! He?s still alive at 62, despite being diagnosed at twenty-one with Motor Neurone Disease, and being told he likely had only two years to live. I don?t know what the medical advancements in the field are these days, or what life expectancy is currently suggested for victims of this disease. However, he far exceeded the common expectations of the time, it appears! Good on him. As far as the time period covered in this film is concerned, he presumably thought he was going to die shortly. I don?t think that this awareness was portrayed as an obviously motivating factor in his pursuit of his own theory of the history of the universe, but he is portrayed as a gifted student, and one who is not afraid to challenge the accepted knowledge of his ?superiors? when it comes down to it. He has ?balls?! The mind is brilliant, but the physical body let him down.

I have read Hawking?s breakthrough book entitled ?A Brief History of Time? more than once and found it absolutely fascinating. I would never part with this book. It is beautifully written in simple (non-mathematical) language, and addresses some amazing, fundamental questions about the nature of the universe as we know it. You?re not likely to stumble across this book unless you actively seek it. Whilst reading it, I felt so small and insignificant in the context of the scale he refers to, and I LOVED that I felt so insignificant ? to me, it hints at what I fundamentally believe; that we are definitely not the ?centre of the universe?. We really have no ?divine? right to exist, it?s just a cosmological fluke. What we do with our ?flukey? existence is another story entirely, but is not the topic of Hawking?s study, and he certainly doesn?t try to address the ?meaning of life?, just the fundamental, sub-atomic structure of it - there?s a vast difference! Anyone who has a strong religious feeling will likely be offended by the whole idea of Theoretical Physics (in the great tradition of Einstein), and they deserve to read this book. I LOVED IT. It?s one of the most wonderful books I have ever read in my life. I?d want it on a desert island with me if I were stranded. This BBC treatment is really crappy and lightweight in comparison ? it does not do Hawking justice at all. I?m sure he did, and still does, struggle with the symptoms of this debilitating (and ultimately fatal) disease, and his life is made difficult as a result, but somehow this film did little to convey the daily complexities and subtleties of his condition, apart from the fact that they didn?t seem to address the complexity of his mind either. Hawking?s undeniable achievement ? like any pioneer scientific thinker - is really the achievement of the human mind to study and theorise about the world in a ?measurable? way.

A scerrick of time is spent pitting Hawking against another pioneering cosmological thinker of the period, Fred Hoyle. Hoyle was appointed Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge in 1958, and presumably was still presiding at the time of Hawking?s studies there. I can imagine the fundamental clash, as Hoyle was a proponent of the ?steady state? theory of the universe, which is that the universe has always existed, there was NO creation (?big bang?) as such. As I understand it, Hoyle?s idea is that the universe just ?IS? ? there?s no beginning, no end. On one level, religious creationists should have more to fear from Hoyle than Hawking, as there seems to be no scope for ?creation? by GOD, but then again, I guess this is up for argument! God exists therefore the universe has always existed? Is God bigger than the universe, or created within it? The ideas wrapped up in all this theorising are monumental! I love the controversy! I only wish that this DVD had displayed one iota of the intensity of these clashing ideas! Anyway ? the crux of Hawking?s theory is that the universe actually began with a ?big bang?. A ?singularity? that catastrophically explodes to produce an expanding universe (the phase we are currently deemed to be in) and which will continue to expand to a critical point (many billions of years hence), and then will collapse back upon itself and ultimately end back where it started, collapsing back upon itself to a singularity. READ ABOUT IT! The concept of a singularity is INCREDIBLE! Black holes are examples of a singularity in space. Stunning concepts. It?s all beautiful physics in that it just sounds good to me, and who knows if it is actually correct, but frankly I don?t care if it?s right or wrong, as the greatness of such a comprehensive theory is what I am sucked in by. I love the mind behind it. I guess it?s just more charismatic to me than Hoyle?s ?Steady State? theory! Maybe Hoyle?s right, but frankly it?s less likely as all things we see on earth evolve over time, nothing stays ?steady? really. Plus I am forgetting that Hawking would back up his theories with mathematical equations that ?prove? his arguments. Perhaps Hoyle did the same but facts change with advancing technology. I?m just impressed by the concepts that the human mind can deal with. Everyone wins on this level. My last statement will be that Hawking is credited with proving Einstein ultimately ?correct? on points of quantum physics that, at the time, seemed ?impossible?. Hawking bridged the gap somehow. Awesome!

I have never read any of Hoyle?s theory on the existence of the universe, but I read a GREAT sci-fi novel he wrote in 1957 called ?The Black Cloud?. Also LOVED IT. Regardless, I have the greatest respect for Hawking, and would certainly choose to have him as one of my ?magic 12? dinner party guests. No fear! His ideas have really left a mark on my soul ? to me, that?s invaluable.

I won?t bother with a plot synopsis. If you are interested in cosmology, and the mechanics behind the universe that supports us, which we largely take for granted, then this will interest you, but PLEASE read his book before you watch this BBC job, or you?ll only wonder what the big deal is! That?s how boringly they?ve dealt with it! This would be a shame, as the powerful ideas behind this story are great.

THE EXTRAS

None other than a scene select option. No languages. No need for anything else ? it?s not worthy of any!

CONCLUSION

This is something for those out there who actually know of the cosmological theories of Stephen Hawking, or for those that just love BBC productions. I think this had the potential to be good ? the BBC picked a great subject, but the rather flat, one-dimensional translation made it all seem really boring. I am disappointed, especially considering that I enjoy most BBC productions, and usually see great effort reflected in the quality of the outcome. I think this one definitely suffers from a lack of depth and/or detail. I was very surprised to find that it only ran for 95 minutes. A mini-series would have served the subject better, but maybe the BBC producers found that they would?ve had to become more technical with the details of Hawking?s theory of the birth of the universe, and perhaps this doesn?t translate well on-screen?! I have to concede that it would be hard to meld the beauty of his mathematical argument with the more mundane ? and unfortunate - circumstances of his daily life, dealing with Motor Neurone Disease. But it?s certainly not impossible ? it could?ve been more cleverly devised. Creative methods were sadly lacking. Read Hawking?s book instead. No extras, DD 2.0 stereo.