# "Mars Rising"---what a series!
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-rising-what-a-series/456455
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [July 14, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-rising-what-a-series/456455 "2008-07-14T16:45:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 5
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-rising-what-a-series/456455/1 "2008-07-14T16:45:59Z")
Did anybody catch this? IIRC it was on the Science Channel. I got 5 hours on DVR, not sure if I caught it all.
The series discussed all the technical difficulties they’re working on. One of the neatest proposed tech bits—the Russians are developing an inflatable heat shield for entering the Mars atmosphere.
One of the neatest planning bits—James Cameron, a documentary film guy, is on the team. They wanted him as a guy who thinks outside the box, and his opinion seems to be taken pretty seriously.
If you haven’t seen it yet, you have to catch it when they show it again.
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### Author:  [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-rising-what-a-series/456455/2 "2008-07-14T18:57:57Z")
[QUOTE=lobotomyboy63]
One of the neatest planning bits—James Cameron, a documentary film guy, is on the team. They wanted him as a guy who thinks outside the box, and his opinion seems to be taken pretty seriously.
[/QUOTE]
You mean the guy behind Terminator, T2 and Titanic?
ETA: [From here](http://www.discoverychannel.ca/shows/showdetails.aspx?sid=2627):
> [@](#):
>
> Among the distinguished experts appearing in the series, three experts with very different backgrounds stand out: James Garvin, lead scientist for Mars and Lunar Exploration at NASA; Paul Delaney, Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Toronto’s York University; and Academy-Award winning filmmaker James Cameron (‘Titanic’) who is a member of NASA’s special advisory committee.
I wouldn’t describe him as “a documentary film guy”, but that’s just me.
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### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-rising-what-a-series/456455/3 "2008-07-14T19:21:13Z")
[QUOTE=Charlie Tan]
You mean the guy behind Terminator, T2 and Titanic?
ETA: [From here](http://www.discoverychannel.ca/shows/showdetails.aspx?sid=2627):
I wouldn’t describe him as “a documentary film guy”, but that’s just me.
[/QUOTE]
From Wikipedia:
_Cameron’s recent projects have included undersea documentaries on the Bismarck (Expedition: Bismarck, 2002) and the Titanic (Ghosts of the Abyss (2003, in IMAX 3D), and Tony Robinson’s Titanic Adventure (2005)[13]). He was a producer on the 2002 film Solaris, and narrated The Exodus Decoded._
> **[James Cameron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron#Documentarian_and_3-D_film_advocate_.282002-present.29)**
>
> James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker and deep-sea explorer. His films combine cutting-edge film technology with classical filmmaking techniques and have grossed over $10 billion worldwide, making him the second highest-grossing film director of all time. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, Cameron has received numerous accolades including three Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, as well as nominations for six Brit...
Interesting, I never connected him with the blockbusters…IIRC the committee thought he’d be good because he’d done this underwater stuff and they thought some of the science would transfer to a Mars landing.
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### Author:  [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2008, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-rising-what-a-series/456455/4 "2008-07-14T20:50:48Z")
Yeah, I watched this, and liked it enough (as somebody who follows this subject closely, there wasn’t a lot of new information, but it’s a nice one-stop package). But it’s been a while; I think I watched it several months ago. This isn’t a new version or something?
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### Author:  [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)
#### Post date: [July 14, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mars-rising-what-a-series/456455/5 "2008-07-14T23:55:26Z")
[QUOTE=Cervaise]
Yeah, I watched this, and liked it enough (as somebody who follows this subject closely, there wasn’t a lot of new information, but it’s a nice one-stop package). But it’s been a while; I think I watched it several months ago. This isn’t a new version or something?
[/QUOTE]
I don’t know; I don’t watch that much TV, or at least I don’t watch the Science Channel much. I had no idea there was this much of a push toward really doing it.