Join us on a journey through some of our home planet’s most epic moments in a new OU/BBC series, Earth, presented by legendary naturalist and nature photographer, Chris Packham.
The series will begin this evening (17 July 2023) on BBC Two at 9.00pm, kicking off five incredible episodes tracking the origins of Earth to the arrival of humanity.
We follow Chris through our planet’s worst mass extinction event, dramatic climate change and collisions of whole continents, all brought to life through incredible computer-generated imagery and jaw-dropping photography.
To help to bring the mystery of Earth’s 4.5-billion-year history to light, experts from the OU acted as academic consultants on the programme to provide the latest insight and research.
Dr. Angela Coe, Professor of Sedimentary Geology at the OU, commented on how Earth manages to bring our planet’s rich history to life:
“Earth’s rocks and fossils contain an amazing archive of the history of the planet. Throughout my career I have worked with colleagues, extracting details of Earth’s history so that we can better understand how processes operate and life has thrived but we still have much to discover. Many of the key points of Earth’s story that geologists have assembled over centuries are translated into this gripping set of programmes”
“Condensing many of the major and complex events in the history of the Earth into just five hours for the programmes is a remarkable achievement by the BBC.”
Dr Susanne Schwenzer, Senior Lecturer in Earth Science, discussed how Earth is unique within our Solar System and how this is portrayed in the series:
“I am a planetary scientist and this programme brings the Earth to life as one planet in the Solar System. But, of course, a very special planet, which has liquid water on its surface – and life. We haven’t found life anywhere else in the Solar System yet, but on Earth it has evolved all the way to beings that can reflect about themselves.”
“Seeing the history of life on Earth intertwined with the history of the Earth as a planet brings out the interaction between those two forces in very impressive ways.”
Each episode tells the story of a pivotal point in Earth’s history, it tells how the landscape evolved, ecosystems faced seemingly insurmountable challenges and there were breath-taking transitions, including the formation of our life-sustaining atmosphere, the era of lava lakes the size of Australia, giant mushrooms, and the catastrophic freezing of the entire planet.
Earth’s presenter, Chris Packham, said:
“The series is essentially a biography of our planet Earth. It highlights the most important aspects of its life to date. It’s not a chronological treatise of its existence. It picks the most important parts of its history and it’s full of surprises. It’s full of fantastic new science. It’s visually exciting. And it tells a great story.
“One might argue that it’s the greatest story ever told, because our planet is, as far as we know at this point in time, unique in all of the universe and universes, in that it has complex life on it. I think the series’ underlying mission is to lead people with a sense of wonder, and also to an appreciation of just how precious our planet is and, indeed, even our species is.”
Further information
This series was commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics with particular relevance to R53 | BSc (Honours) Geology, Q64 | BSc (Honours) Natural Sciences (Earth Sciences) and R16 | BSc (Honours) Geography and Environmental Science
- Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Head of Broadcast & Partnerships
- Academic Consultants: Prof. Angela Coe & Dr Susanne Schwenzer
- Media Fellow: Prof. Andrew Norton
- Broadcast Project Manager: Matthew Ray
- Supporting online content: Chris Belson
Supporting Online Content:
Visit our Broadcast website, OU Connect, where you can find extensive resources and information on topics related to this series, including an interactive interview exploring Earth’s history.
