HUBBLE'S FINAL FRONTIER

YOU gotta love the Hubble Space Telescope. It's been up there for 18 years, orbiting Earth and snapping, literally, out-of-this-world photographs: stars, galaxies, swirls of dust and gas. Breathtaking.

As they say in science circles, Hubble has revolutionized astronomy and fired up the imaginations of people back here on terra firma. 

But alas, the show will soon be over. 

Just as the International Year of Astronomy begins, Hubble is preparing for its final act. In March the space shuttle Atlantis will make NASA’s fifth and final Hubble service mission. 

With luck the mighty machine will continue capturing more knock-out images until, with the click of a command from Earth, Hubble will turn itself off and get ready to plunge into the sea. 

What a story. Does this National Geographic documentary tell the tale in the style it deserves? Sort of. 

Certainly, the pictures are great. 

Added to Hubble’s more famous images such as the Pillars of Creation are excellent animations from NASA and its ilk, artists’ illustrations and historical footage. It sounds like a dog’s breakfast but it works. 

So, too, do the scientific talking heads. They’re articulate and passionate about Hubble and the discoveries it has helped them make. We get basics on the life cycle of stars and the formation and shenanigans of galaxies, along with the visible evidence Hubble revealed about invisible black holes and the expansion of the universe. Full marks to the production crew at Skyworks Digital. 

There is, of course, a but. In fact, there are two: the soundtrack and the narration. The adventures of Hubble and its friends are sufficiently interesting that there’s no need to present them like a sci-fi thriller with dramatic sound effects and over-the-top musical punctuation. Nor is there any need to assume viewers are morons, capable of taking in only simple sentences, or fragments thereof. 

‘‘Space (pause) is big (pause). 

Really big (pause). You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mind bogglingly big it is.’’ OK, that last bit is from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by the late, great Douglas Adams. When he does it, it’s fabulous. 

When the narrator of Hubble’s Final Frontier does it, it drives me insane. 

So, too, does her breathy ‘‘come up and see my etchings’’ voice-over. On top of an absurdly melodramatic script littered with gems such as ‘‘the death throes of stars’’ and ‘‘we are Hubble’s only chance of surviving’’, the result is unpleasant. In space no one can hear you scream. Not so next door, where my shut-up-just-shut-ups resounded. There’s one consolation, though: you can hit the mute button during her monologues and just enjoy the visuals.