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Aliens of the Deep begins with a sunrise and a short sequence about light and what it provides to the food chain. Cut to a deep sea submarine and a few moments spent meeting the crew. Cut back to the support boats where our Captain introduces us around a bit more and gives us a tour of the facilities. We even get to meet Jake, the little bot that will be doing the truly hard work for us.

On day one, the A-frame these guys launch the submarines from fails and they end up having to do things the old fashioned way: they get out the torches and cut a hole in the side of the ship. Once everything's tested and working, they push all four of the submarines through the hole and spend the next thirty minutes going straight down. On the ocean floor, the machines rendezvous and head off in search of the unknown. Two or three minutes later they find it: giant, glowing jellyfish, giant squids and giant and not so giant, but very strange all the same, sea creatures.

This resembles a very real version of all of those science fiction, effects-fests and actually does include a few short "interviews" with some creatures that look like they might be more at home on another planet. Cameron does have a bit of experience with the former {see below}, so it's done right.

Some of this footage is pretty amazing. Seeing as they do have several submarines, these guys can take shots of the other ships as well as the undersea life and rock formations and so on. This way they can get some pretty impressive lighting, which makes the already impressive images just that much more... ummm... "impressive". Some of the footage of the ocean where it meets the volcanic rock they run into at these depths is just plain bizarre. At the very least, you could call it "otherworldly"; something like the sort of place that Roger Dean might build if he were allowed to be God for a couple of days.

The purpose of these explorations, in addition to the simple thrill of exploration, is to research the ways that humans might interact in an environment similar to that you might find in outer space. They do discuss the planets as well as the sea and have incorporated some nifty, effects style footage that's very nicely done and actually serves a purpose.