Described as "Avatar for science programming," Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking is a new, four-hour special series that will forever change the way you think about the cosmos. To get ready for the series premiere on April 25, 2010 at 9pm ET/PT on Discovery, check out this stellar interview with the series producers, a complete episode guide, and an astronomical number of video clips and pics.

In this series, Professor Stephen Hawking discusses the deepest mysteries of the universe and answers life's burning questions: Does alien life exist? Can we really time travel? How did our universe begin? Will the Milky Way live forever?

For executive producer John Smithson and series producer Ben Bowie, Hawking was the obvious choice for the job. To find out more behind-the-scenes scoop like this, read the following out-of-this-world conversation between Bowie and Smithson:

John Smithson (JS):  We were pretty nervous approaching Stephen with this project.  We knew Discovery wanted a show about the cosmos. Our thought was who better to explain the universe then Stephen Hawking himself.  When you meet him, it’s actually quite intimidating.

Ben Bowie (BB):  We went up to Cambridge in January 2007 to meet with him and it was very much like a pitch to a studio boss. There was this terrifying lull as if the gladiator was meeting his ultimate verdict and then came the answer through his computer activated voice…he loved the idea and was on board.

JS:  The fact that Stephen has this limitless brilliant mind and yet is physically limited was an interesting component to explore in the show.  It really was a showcase for his imagination and intellect.

BB: We started with a short list of ideas to explore in the series.  We knew time and time travel would be included. We really wanted to capture his view and reproduce what he knows.  He also turned out to be very enthusiastic about aliens too. He was a very devilish sense of humor, poking fun at all this oddball abduction stories.

JS:  Stephen cared deeply about the content.  It was very important to him - and he stressed this time and time again – that we reach as large an audience as possible with the program.

BB:  For the subjects we mapped out we really only had Stephen’s mind and imagination.  No films existed of what we were trying to illustrate.  No NASA archives or slides to fall back on so it was a real challenge.  We set out putting together a huge team of television researchers with science backgrounds along with five or six scientists that Stephen knows well and respects and then of course a quite large CGI creative group.

JS:  Our creative team found incredible capabilities with super computers that were up to the challenge of building these  cosmic worlds.  This really became a stunning visual achievement.  I like to think of it as screen-saver television.

BB:  When you watch the show, it really stretches to illustrate the universe at the biggest scale.  We used all the scientific knowledge we could gather combining it with state of the art computing and graphics to give a real science fiction/faction feel to the whole project.

JS:  It was fascinating to see the science team and the animator work hand and hand each carefully verifying just exactly what Stephen’s vision and theory is and then finding the best possible way to communicate it.

BB:  There is one shot we created with the supercomputer and animators that is the ultimate long pullback of the universe illustrating just how vast it is.  As we pulled further and further back we ended up with one shot that became magnified 10 billion times over.

JS:  Stephen liked the idea of using as narrator Benedict Cumberbatch, the same actor who played him in the BBC drama The Hawking Paradox.  He felt like it was a good way in for audiences.

BB:  I would sit with him and go over the script line by line and review what we had shot.  Each one hour of film was actually a five hour review process since it takes Stephen time to compose his thoughts and have them come out on the computer. He was great stamina and discipline.  If there was something he did not like or felt was inaccurate he was very clear about it.

JS:  What we have created I believe is like an Avatar for science non-fiction programming – a real creative game changer.

You might be surprised to know that Hawking actually believes that intelligent aliens exist. Somewhere in the universe. It's true. He's thought about it a lot, and Into the Universe uses eye-popping computer graphics to bring his vivid imagination to life in the first hour.

Sunday, April 25 at 9-10pm ET/PT
Aliens
Hawking considers one of the most important mysteries facing humankind - the possibility of alien, intelligent life. He leads us on a journey rendered in eye-popping detail, from the moons of Jupiter to a galaxy maybe not so far, far away. We will meet possible aliens and wonder at their form, we will delve into the very principles of what it is to call something alive, and we will calculate the likelihood of 'contact' being made.

In the second hour of the series, Hawking investigates whether time travel -- like we watch on Lost or Fringe -- is realistic or just a farce. For years, Hawking contended that if time travel is possible then we should have been "overrun by tourists from the future." A few years ago, he became less skeptical and conceded that time travel is possible -- not likely, but possible -- if wormholes occur at the quantum level. And what are his thoughts now? You'll have to watch to find out. But I will tell you this. When asked what he would do with a time machine, if it existed, he answers "my first stop would be to visit Marilyn Monroe in her prime. Or Galileo."

Sunday, April 25 at 10-11pm ET/PT
Time Travel
The master of time tackles time travel.  Hawking explores the world's favorite scientific 'what if?' He explores all the possibilities, warping the very fabric of time and space as he goes. From killing your grandfather to riding a black hole, we learn the pitfalls and the prospects for a technology that could quite literally, change everything.

The last two hours of the program focus on the beginning and end of the universe, and the imagery is just spectacular. Series producer Ben Bowie says "For the subjects we mapped out we really only had Stephen’s mind and imagination.  No films existed of what we were trying to illustrate.  No NASA archives or slides to fall back. When you watch the show, it really stretches to illustrate the universe at the biggest scale."

Sunday, May 2 at 9-11pm ET/PT
The Life and Death of the Universe
From the Big Bang to the ultimate cosmic implosion, the life span of the universe is mapped out in stunning CGI in this two hour conclusion.  More like spinning a good yarn than presenting weighty scientific theory, Hawking shares how the universe was first formed and how it’s ever changing make up points to an inevitable break up of the cosmos.  One universe’s end is another’s beginning and Hawking illustrates how our world will eventually lead to new worlds being created in the far reaches of space.

Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking premieres on Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 9pm on Discovery with back-to-back one-hour episodes and concludes on the following at 9pm with a two-hour show. If you want to see more about the show, check out the video clips at Discovery.com or watch this promo: