"Earth: The Power of the Planet" (2007) TV series

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

20 November 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Cast

Iain Stewart

...

Himself - Presenter (5 episodes, 2007)

Series Directed by
Annabel Gillings		(1 episode, 2007)
Matthew Gyves		(1 episode, 2007)
Sophie Harris		(1 episode, 2007)
Ben Lawrie		(1 episode, 2007)
Paul Olding		(1 episode, 2007)

Series Produced by
Phil Dolling	....	executive producer (5 episodes, 2007)
Jonathan Renouf	....	series producer (5 episodes, 2007)

Series Original Music by
Ty Unwin		(5 episodes, 2007)

Series Film Editing by
Lee Sutton		(5 episodes, 2007)

Series Production Management
Paul Appleton	....	production manager (5 episodes, 2007)

Series Art Department
Jason White	....	graphics (4 episodes, 2007)

Series Sound Department
Steve Crook	....	dubbing mixer (3 episodes, 2007)
Adam Prescod	....	sound (3 episodes, 2007)
Pete Dixon	....	dubbing mixer (2 episodes, 2007)
Frederique Olivier	....	sound (2 episodes, 2007)

Series Visual Effects by
Siobhan Fowler	....	visual effects (5 episodes, 2007)
Tim Zaccheo	....	visual effects (5 episodes, 2007)
Grahame Andrew	....	visual effects (3 episodes, 2007)
Rhys Williams	....	visual effects (3 episodes, 2007)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Tim Cragg	....	camera operator (3 episodes, 2007)
Wade Fairley	....	camera operator (2 episodes, 2007)
Rob Franklin	....	camera operator (2 episodes, 2007)
Adam Geiger	....	camera operator (2 episodes, 2007)

Series Editorial Department
Ross Baker	....	grade colorist (5 episodes, 2007)
Andy Roberts	....	on-line editor (5 episodes, 2007)
Marc Baleiza	....	post-production assistant (3 episodes, 2007)
Alex Leask	....	post-production assistant (2 episodes, 2007)

Series Other crew
Mario Biancacci	....	production runner (5 episodes, 2007)
Zoe Hughes	....	production runner (5 episodes, 2007)
G. David Price	....	scientific consultant (5 episodes, 2007)
Shelley Raichura	....	production coordinator (5 episodes, 2007)
Jenny Foster	....	archive researcher (4 episodes, 2007)
Rachel Dulin	....	production coordinator (2 episodes, 2007)
Rebecca Harrison	....	researcher (2 episodes, 2007)
Alison Seymour	....	production coordinator (2 episodes, 2007)

Series Thanks
Alain Gerrant	....	acknowledgment: archive source (2 episodes, 2007)

Production Companies

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
• National Geographic Channel
• Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF)

Distributors

• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2007) (UK) (TV)
• Polyband (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Lola  graphics

Also Known As:

"Earth: The Biography" (USA) (DVD title)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:G

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Very informative documentary full of enthusiasm

I have to say that during the first 5 minutes of the first episode I thought "O, no, this is going to be horrible". The presenter of this series, Iain Stewart, has a strong Scottish accent, and it seemed as if he did his best to act enthusiastically and hip. I expected a trendy, MTV-cut, scientifically numbed, kiddy documentary; of the sort the Discovery channel has too much of nowadays. I am very glad to say that I was couldn't be more wrong.

This series is very informative. No endless speculations, covering just one small topic with mostly stock footage and babbling scientists saying the same things over and over again. No, every episode is full of exploration, explanation and discovery about what makes our planet tick. It was also clear that Iain did not *act* enthusiastic, he *is* enthusiastic about this field of planetary science. And contagiously so. The accent issue faded for me very quickly.

The series never takes the easy way out, no over simplified explanations, but every subject is explored in full detail and in logical and understanding steps. I personally learned a lot from this documentary, and I think this would hold for most people. Iain has traveled the world to show every detail of the working of our planet firsthand and everything is captured beautifully on film. BBC proves once again that they have superior camera quality, as well as superior camera men who know how to film. It was simply breath taking.

It is documentaries like this that are vital for science, as it rouses the interest of people. I also loved the way it portrayed science. Iain joins some scientist that are doing research. But not fabricated tests with known outcomes: at some point a test fails because of an unexpected technical problem that made it necessary to refine the used instrument. That is how science works! Is this series 100% perfect? No, not perfectly. I personally found that a couple of times that hypothetical ideas, even though favored by the scientific community, were presented too much as science fact. I don't like that and I also don't think that the documentary needed that. But luckily this is only a minor issue in this series, for the rest I just wished there would be more episodes!

Conclusion: Must see documentary series. 9.5/10