# The Planets (1999)

> A BBC Two documentary miniseries narrated by Samuel West that tours the solar system and traces humanity's exploration of it.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/5941

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 8
- Episode runtime: 48 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: documentary
- Network: BBC Two
- Cast: Samuel West
- TMDB rating: 8.4/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283775/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: accessible
- Violence: none
- Tone: wondrous, calm, inquisitive, awe-inspiring, warm

## Synopsis

The Planets (1999) is a British documentary miniseries broadcast on BBC Two. Narrated by Samuel West, the eight-episode series travels across the solar system, planet by planet, pairing spacecraft footage and planetary imagery with an account of how humanity has come to know these worlds. Rather than following a single protagonist, it builds its momentum from one world to the next, each episode dwelling on the scientific discoveries and missions that revealed its surface and atmosphere. The tone is warm, wondrous and unhurried, with an emphasis on scale and the strangeness of distant landscapes. Its one-season, eight-episode run gives each body room to unfold. Viewers drawn to the sweeping natural-history style of Planet Earth or the cosmic curiosity of Cosmos will find a similar sense of awe here, though The Planets stays closer to a traditional broadcast survey of the planets. Its tone is calm and inquisitive, suited to viewers who enjoy patient, informative television about the universe and humanity's place within it.

## Shows like The Planets

- [Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/30012)
- [Wonders of the Universe (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/34738)
- [A Perfect Planet (2021)](https://ember.film/tv/95990)
- [Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980)](https://ember.film/tv/1346)
- [One Strange Rock (2018)](https://ember.film/tv/65697)
- [Wonders of the Solar System (2010)](https://ember.film/tv/29793)
- [The Dinosaurs (2026)](https://ember.film/tv/1105182)
- [Cosmos (2014)](https://ember.film/tv/52325)
- [Horizon (1964)](https://ember.film/tv/1858)
- [Human Planet (2011)](https://ember.film/tv/29516)

---

Site overview: https://ember.film/llms.txt