April 1, 2009

Pitch Black when known Exoplanets were less than 50

How could i have forgotten Pitch Black?! When this film debuted in year 2000, exoplanets were nowhere near my sphere of thought. At that time there were less than 50 confirmed exoplanets on the list. By the end of March 2009, we have 344.
It would be good to visit the memory lane and see how the movies with exoplanetary settings were, back then.
The thing i remember most about Pitch Black was Riddick's goggles (which i wanted to have) and his attitude (which I also wanted to have). Although i failed to acquire both, at least I still remember that Riddick's group crash-landed on a barren planet lit by three suns. The flesh-eating local inhabitants of that planet were afraid of light.
Three suns would have ensured constant daylight to protect Riddick's group from the deadly creatures. However they discovered that every 22 years there is a total eclipse of all three suns, plunging the planet into complete darkness. Sadly for them, it was the last eclipse they will see on that planet.
Only now do I truly appreciate the beauty of this planetary setting with a multiple star system. It all jives well with the plot, and the goggles.
I will watch this film again to observe and appreciate how it was back then, to make an interplanetary sci-fi film at a time when scientific knowledge of exoplanets were just an inkling in our minds.