Extraterrestrial (TV program)

Extraterrestrial (also Alien Worlds in the UK) is a British-American two-part television documentary miniseries, aired in 2005 in the UK by Channel 4, by the National Geographic Channel (as Extraterrestrial) in the US on Monday, May 30, 2005 and produced by Big Wave Productions Ltd. The program focuses on the hypothetical and scientifically feasible evolution of alien life on extrasolar planets, providing model examples of two different fictional worlds, one in each of the series's two episodes.

"Aurelia and Blue Moon" redirects here. Not to be confused with Extraterrestrial life.
For the 2011 film and 2014 film, see Extraterrestrial (2011 film) and Extraterrestrial (2014 film).

Extraterrestrial
Also known as
  • Alien Worlds
  • Extraterrestrial – Alien Worlds
GenreAstrobiology documentary
Directed byNick Stringer
Presented byArmand Leroi (UK)
Starring
  • Simon Conway Morris
  • Chris McKay
  • Seth Shostak
  • Nigel Franks
  • Jim Usherwood
Narrated by
ComposerThe Fratelli Brothers
Country of origin
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes2
Production
Executive producerSarah Cunliffe
ProducerNick Stringer
Running time
  • 2 hours with commercials
  • 100 minutes without commercials
Production companyBig Wave Productions Ltd.
Original release
Network
  • Channel 4 (UK)
  • National Geographic Channel (US)
Release
  • January 2005 (2005-01) (UK)
  • May 30, 2005 (2005-05-30) (U.S.)

The documentary is based on speculative collaboration of a group of American and British scientists, who were collectively commissioned by National Geographic. For the purposes of the documentary, the team of scientists divides two hypothetical examples of realistic worlds on which extraterrestrial life could evolve: A tidally locked planet (dubbed "Aurelia") orbiting a red dwarf star and a large moon (dubbed "Blue Moon") orbiting a gas giant in a binary star system. The scientific team of the series used a combination of accretion theory, climatology, and xenobiology to imagine the most likely locations for extraterrestrial life and most probable evolutionary path such life would take.

The "Aurelia" and "Blue Moon" concepts seen in the series were also featured in the touring exhibition The Science of Aliens.

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