HOW THE EARTH CHANGED HISTORY
Overview: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 civilization 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 storytelling, 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 the Earth Changed History overturns preconceptions about our civilizations and our cultures to offer a new perspective on who we are today.
Episodes:1. Water
2. Deep Earth
3. Wind
4. Fire
5. Human Planet
My Thoughts:While there are certainly companies out there making good natural history documentaries (History Channel, National Geographic, PBS), by far the BBC stands above them all. Nobody makes a great natural history doc like the BBC.
Planet Earth stands tall above them all, with its related series clustered around it, but frankly any doc the BBC puts out is likely to be head and shoulders above the rest. This is no exception. The topic - how climate and natural forces shaped history - is definitely interesting and little talked about, and Iain Stewart, the geologist professor who takes us through the series, does a good job and is interesting to listen to. Sure, he's no David Attenborough, but nobody is. While a lot of this was stuff I knew, there was also some new historical information and interesting peoples and places, like the library that's been run by the same family for longer than the US has been a country and has the oldest Koran in west Africa. Just a real moment of wow, thinking about the age of that.
Recommended if you like BBC natural history documentaries, or this sort of thing in general.
Bechdel Test: Not Applicable
However no women really appear in the series either - there's only Prof. Iain Stewart in any sort of main role.
Overall: 4/5
