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< back to main page Web Features Multimedia Resources for Learning |
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About the Television Series |
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Show 1: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" (two-hour premiere)For 21 years, Charles Darwin kept his theory of evolution secret from all but a few friends. He confided to one: "It is like confessing to a murder." Why does Darwin's "dangerous idea" matter today more than ever, and how does it convey the power of science to explain the past and predict the future of life on Earth? The two-hour series premiere of Evolution interweaves the drama of Darwin's life with documentary sequences of current research and introduces core concepts of evolutionary theory. |
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Show 2: "Great Transformations" (one hour)What caused the incredible diversity of life on Earth, and how have complex life forms, including humans, evolved? "Great Transformations" focuses on evolution's "great transformations," among them, the development of a standard four-limb body plan, the journey from water to land, the return of marine mammals to the sea, and the emergence of humans. Driven by a combination of opportunism and a genetic "toolkit," these astounding transformations define the arc of evolution, suggesting that every species is a variation on one grand genetic theme -- members of a common tree of life. |
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Show 3: "Extinction!" (one hour)Ninety-nine percent of all the species that have ever lived are now extinct. While cataclysmic events on Earth have pruned the tree of life, extinction also opens the door to diversity, carving out room for new species to emerge and thrive. "Extinction!" explores the causes of the five mass extinctions that have occurred over the life of the planet and takes us behind the scenes to investigate the sources of the mass extinction happening today. It asks, What does evolutionary theory predict for the world we leave for future generations? |
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Show 4: "The Evolutionary Arms Race" (one hour)"Survival of the fittest": Is it raw competition, or a level of cooperation indispensable to life? The theory of evolution demonstrates that both are needed. Interactions among species are among the most powerful evolutionary forces on Earth, and understanding them may be key to our own survival. "The Evolutionary Arms Race" explores our own spiraling arms race with microorganisms -- the only entities that can pose a threat to our existence. We follow the struggles of medical detectives uncovering the roots of epidemics and trace the alarming spread of resistance among pathogens that cause disease, like the new virulent tuberculosis nicknamed "Ebola with wings." |
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Show 5: "Why Sex?" (one hour)In evolutionary terms, sex is more important than life itself -- without progeny, we are evolutionary losers. Sex fuels evolutionary change by adding variation to the gene pool and eliminating unsatisfactory traits. We look at the endless variety of sexual expression and the powerful hold sex exerts over all living things. And we explore how the need to pass on our genes has shaped our own bodies, minds, and lives. Some scientists believe that art, literature, music -- in fact all of human culture -- may be the ultimate result of our sexual drives. |
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Show 6: "The Mind's Big Bang" (one hour)Anatomically, modern humans existed more than 100,000 years ago, but with no art and with only crude technology and primitive social interaction. Then 50,000 years ago, something happened -- a creative, technological, and social explosion -- and humans came to dominate the planet. This was a pivotal point in our development, the time when the human mind truly emerged. What made this moment so different? "The Mind's Big Bang" examines the forces that may have contributed to the breakthrough and enabled us to prevail over our relatives, the Neanderthals, who co-existed with us for tens of thousands of years; the show also explores where the power of the modern mind may ultimately lead us. |
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Show 7: "What About God?" (one hour)Of all the species on Earth, we alone attempt to explain who we are and how we came to be, and we use both science and religion as our references. How has the tension between the two played out? Today the theory of evolution still is dogged by controversy. This program explores the creationist movement and its arguments by drawing on real human stories of people struggling to find a balance between faith and science. Through their perceptions we underscore the point that science and religion are compatible, although they play very different roles in assigning order to the universe and a purpose to life. |
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The entire seven-part, eight-hour Evolution television series, as well as single videos and a special curriculum kit for educators, will be available from WGBH Boston Video. To place an order, for more information, or to request a free catalogue, please call WGBH Boston Video at 1-800-949-8670. |
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A co-production of the WGBH/NOVA Science Unit and Clear Blue Sky Productions. ©2001 WGBH Educational Foundation and Clear Blue Sky Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. |
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