Andrew Marr's History of the World - BBC
Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century.
The series is noted for its elaborate, Hollywood-like recreations of many of the people and events on which Marr frames his story. Great care was taken in accurate costumes and the use of the original language of those portrayed. To this are added elaborate digital effects, such as a recreation of the Palace of Knossos or the diversionary channels dug to control flooding of the Yellow River. The eight episodes include:
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Big History - The History Channel
Big History is an American television documentary series narrated by Bryan Cranston, which originally aired on H2 in 2013. Each episode covers a single topic from history and shows connections between that topic and various fields of science and social science. Sixteen half-hour episodes aired in the first season, followed by a two-hour finale drawing connections between the sixteen topics.
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Earth Story - BBC
When and how was the Earth formed? What is the link between earthquakes, volcanoes and the creation of the continents? How do mountains affect our climate? What triggers Ice Ages? This book and the accompanying television series answer these and many other questions, telling the amazing story of our planet and its constantly changing nature.
Two centuries ago, scientists began to investigate the history of the Earth by examining the rocks beneath its surface and thus began to formulate the astonishing concept of geological time. Using this discovery as their starting point, the authors of Earth Story unravel the fascinating history of the Earth from its earliest beginnings to the dawn of human civilisation. Two themes emerge as this compelling story unfolds. Firstly, from its molten core to the outermost reaches of its atmosphere, our planet operates as one vast interlinked system. Aspects of our landscape and climate that seem at first quite distinct - such as earthquakes, volcanoes, glaciers and monsoons - are in fact intimately related to each other. Secondly, the active geology of our world has been vital to the origin of life and the progress of evolution. The authors tackle these ideas, using full-colour illustrations, stunning photography and the latest scientific thinking. By describing the remarkable forces that formed and shape our ever-changing world, Earth Story gives us a new understanding of the planet and our place within its evolution. |
How Earth Made Us - BBC
Our planet has amazing power, and yet that's rarely mentioned in our history books. This series tells the story of how the Earth has influenced human history, from the dawn of civilisation to the modern industrial age. It reveals for the first time on television how geology, geography and climate have been a far more powerful influence on the human story than has previously been acknowledged. A combination of epic story telling, visually stunning camerawork, extraordinary locations and passionate presenting combine to form a highly original version of human history.
Discover why societies have succeeded or failed, and how the environment has influenced every aspect of our history from art to industry, religion to war, world domination or collapse. Visiting some of the most iconic places on Earth, How Earth Made Us overturns preconceptions about our civilisations and our cultures to offer a new perspective on who we are today. |
Mankind: The Story of All of Us - The History Channel
Mankind: The Story of All of Us is an American documentary television series on History that premiered on November 13, 2012 in the US and the UK, and on November 14, 2012 in Asia. The broadcast is narrated by Josh Brolin in the US, Stephen Fry in the UK and Jack Thompson in Australia and NZ and from 12 July 2013 is also transmitted on the network Mediaset in Italy on Italia 1 channel. The 12 episodes include:
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Origins of Us - BBC
Origins of Us Dr Alice Roberts reveals how your body tells the story of human evolution. The way you look, think and behave is a product of a 6 million year struggle for survival. We have uncovered the secrets of the atom and travelled to the moon. But how did humans come to be so successful? This series explores the anatomical changes that have given us, and our ancestors, the edge. Everything from the way that we walk, to the shape of our jaw and even the way our thumbs move connects us intimately to the struggles and triumphs of our ancestors. Yet many of those changes have come at a surprising cost and the problems we face now are a direct consequence of our evolutionary journey. As much about our bodies today as about our bodies 6 million years ago, Origins of Us will change the way you see yourself.
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The Ascent of Man - BBC
An American Film Festival Award winner, this 13 volume series attempts a massive survey of science, from flint tools to the theory of relativity. The series, a co-production of the BBC and Time-Life Films was made as a science counterpart to "Civilization". It is given superb technical support, with two crews using innovative filming techniques, shooting in 27 countries.
Dr. Jacob Bronowski makes for an unorthodox narrator, his non-scripted delivery ranging from hushed awe to trembling passion. He uses the crawling infant, the performing athlete, the development of the hunt and the discovery of fire to illustrate the most distinctive feature of man: imagination. His Scientific-Humanism is often spectacular, always provocative. |
The History of the World in Two Hours - The History Channel
History of the World in Two Hours Did you know that 1% of the white noise you see on old televisions is background radiation from The Big Bang? That the gold on a wedding ring comes from a star that exploded 5 billion years ago? And, that we're connected to the salt water of the first oceans through the water in our bodies? Our human story is actually 14 billion years old and the clues are all around us. This CGI-driven special will tell the history of our world in two hours, an ambitious story that will give surprising connections to our daily lives. From the formation of the earth and the emergence of life, to the advance of man and the growth of civilization, it’s a rapid-fire view of our unforgettable story.
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The Incredible Human Journey - BBC
How did we get here? Following a trail of clues from the latest scientific research, Dr Alice Roberts re-traces the greatest ever journey taken by our ancestors. Thousands of years ago one small group of our species, Homo sapiens, crossed out of Africa and into the unknown. Their descendants faced baking deserts, sweat-soaked jungles and frozen wildernesses and risked everything on the vast empty ocean.
Within 60,000 years they colonised the whole world... How did they do it? Why do we, their descendants all look so different? And what did we have that meant we were the only human species to survive? Using the evidence from genetics, fossils, archaeology and climatology, Dr Alice Roberts uncovers five epic routes our ancestors took across the globe and the obstacles and brutal challenges they encountered along the way. It reveals how our family tree grew and spread out across the world, producing all the variety we see in the human species today – but despite all that diversity, Alice reveals how astonishingly closely related we all are. |
The Story of Science: Power, Proof and Passion - BBC
Michael Mosley embarks on an informative and ambitious journey exploring how the evolution of scientific understanding is intimately interwoven with society's historical path. The Story Of Science: power, proof and passion; tells the story of the forces that came together to create scientific knowledge; the practical business of making instruments and machines; the great forces of history – revolutions, voyages of discovery and artistic movements – and the dogged determination of scientists and experimenters. This is the story of how scientific ideas shaped the modern world and how science made history. For 3,000 years people have wrestled with the great questions of existence. What is out there, what is the world made of, where did we come from? For three thousand years, we have struggled to answer the great questions: the what, the where, the how and the why of mankind and our planet. In this fascinating series, award-winning journalist Michael Mosley explains how our knowledge of science has grown over time.
We learn about some of the great figures in the history of science - Galileo, Newton and Darwin - but also of the astronomer who lost his nose in a duel but helped create a new vision of the cosmos and the alchemist who tried to make gold from human urine, and set us on the course to modern chemistry. An insightful and entertaining series, The Story of Science reveals how the political upheavals of history combine with iconic inventions and discoveries, along with the ideas of great thinkers, to create the advances that have transformed our lives. |