Watch The First Full Episode Of 'Science Vs Cinema' Tackle Ridley Scott's 'The Martian'
We all know that most of what we see in motion pictures isn't the absolute truth. Even in grounded biopics and films inspired by true stories, there are plenty of liberties taken with stories to create drama and tension, or even just to speed up the story to fit in the timeframe of a motion picture.
But in the case of sci-fi blockbusters, there are also always liberties taken with science. And while Mythbusters tackles some of the more fun side of the wild and and crazy science of motion pictures and television, a new show called Science vs Cinema aims to dive even further in depth to determine the accuracy of science in the movies. Their first subject? It's Ridley Scott's hit survival drama The Martian.
Here's the Science vs Cinema pilot focusing on The Martian:
The video description explains:
We examine every scientific subject including Getting Your Ass to Mars, Martian Weather & Gravity, Rover Technology, Mark Watney as the MacGyver of Mars, and the film's portrayal of NASA astronauts and scientists.
Not only do they talk to the likes of Ridley Scott along with screenwriter Drew Goddard and source material author Andy Weir, but they talk to cast members Matt Damon, Jeff Daniels and Mackenzie Davis. And on the science side of things, they chat with plenty of people from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (which plays a huge part in the movie), including astronaut Drew Feustel, Mars Researchers Carrie Bridge, Matthew Heverly and Kate Stack-Morgan and many more.
This isn't quite as entertaining as Mythbusters, but it does seem a little more educational for those interested in science beyond just blowing things up and destroying dummies (not to take away from the great work of Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman), and also those who spend a lot of time thinking about whether or not what you're seeing on the screen could actually happen.