TV REVIEW : ‘View of Earth’ Gets Lost in Space

“An Astronaut’s View of Earth,” a “Nova” segment airing at 7:30 tonight on KCET Channel 28, is filled with pretty pictures, images of our not-so-lonely planet taken from as far afield as man has ventured.

Unfortunately, as vivid and startling as they are, the pretty pictures are not quite enough to fill an hour, not quite enough to hold a viewer’s attention.

Writer-producer-director Joseph Blatt tries hard to capture the look and feeling of seeing the Earth from space, coming closest during a segment that follows a trip around the world via the space shuttle. From lift-off through 180-mile-high orbit, the 24,000-mile round trip is reasonably entertaining and informative.

Part of the problem facing “An Astronaut’s View of Earth” is that much of the footage was shot by the huge IMAX camera for use in IMAX theaters like the one at the California Museum of Science and Industry. TV sets simply can’t compete with the mega-screen and wraparound sound of an IMAX show. (“Earth” even shows an enthralled audience watching the film in an IMAX theater, inadvertently rubbing it in to home viewers that their experience is the video equivalent of leftovers.)

“An Astronaut’s View of Earth” is frustrating for other reasons as well. Former Talking Heads leader David Byrne’s music is eerie and compelling but is only heard in short blips. The snippets of history and geography are interesting, as are some of the astronauts’ comments, but do little to unify the show. And “Earth” could easily jettison the cloying narration (competently read by William Shatner).

If Blatt shrunk “Earth” down to 10 minutes of great images backed by Byrne’s music, he would have a choice piece of material.