Nova: Australia's First 4 Billion Years [Blu-ray]

The spectacular and peculiar plants and animals of Australia are showcased in this superb NOVA presentation. Although it is crammed with the latest in research from the field, it is thoroughly enjoyable for a general audience. Hosted by geologist/biologist Richard Smith, in the course of four hours we are taken on a journey through 4 billion years of Earth history as seen in Australia, our planet's smallest, oldest, flattest, hottest and driest continent. The mini continent may be flat and dry, but this four-part natural history program is anything but. With a rock-solid foundation of geological knowledge, the story of life is rolled out before us like a scroll, utilizing truly remarkable high-definition photography of the deserts, seacoasts, coral reefs and ancient forests of Australia.This is a marvelous introduction to the origins of the rock forms and life forms that make up the Earth we know today. The first of the four one-hour episodes is entitled "Awakenings", and covers the majority of the four billion years of Australia's history, a time when there was a lot of geological activity but relatively little biological action going on. Like life on Earth itself, the story starts out slowly as life finds a foothold in the sea with simple organisms like the cyanobacteria that created the odd mounds called stromatolites, which are among the oldest evidence of life on Earth. Eventually life invades the land with creatures like the sea scorpion (eurypterids). The second episode, "Life Explodes", chronicles from the Cambrian explosion of life through the Permian extinction, the greatest mass dying in Earth's history. "Monsters" is the name of the third episode, detailing the Mesozoic Era ("middle life"), which for the general public is the best known of geologic eras due to the existence of the dinosaurs. Encompassing the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous, the Mesozoic was brought to an end by the most famous of all mass extinctions, the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs and most other life of the time.The Cretaceous extinction enabled the rise of small, furry, rat-like survivors that grew to dominate the planet, including Australia, in the Age of Mammals. Episode four is entitled "Strange Creatures" because, unlike any other continent, until quite recently the mammalian population of Australia was almost exclusively marsupials, the pouched mammals. Marsupials are one of the hallmarks of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana, which was comprised of what later became Africa, South America, India, Antarctica, and Australia. Another famous marker of that ancient land is the glossopteris flora, ancient tree fossils found in all continents which originated as part of Gondwana.This NOVA natural history presentation is similar to the extremely high quality BBC nature programs such as Planet Earth. But it has its own distinctive style, with excellent computer graphic simulations, satellite photos to locate areas of special interest, and the finest in live-action footage from the areas it discusses. Richard Smith is a knowledgeable and affable guide to the wonders of Australia, and he presents a subtle message with his volumes of facts: the Earth is beautiful, fragile, and worthy of being cherished. There is no heavy-handed preaching, but instead a carefully crafted video homage to the history of our planet.Don't miss this one. Like Australia itself, it is unique.

Another winner from PBS's Nova! Beautifully filmed in Australia, New Zealand and the Arctic Sea just north of Alaska. Hosted by Richard Smith and decorated with stunning digital effects and covering billions of years of natural history, the program takes you on a road trip to the beginning of life on Earth. On the way Smith makes several stops to observe our fragile planet and it's inhabitants for each time period he comes across. What stood out for me was Australia's fantastic landscape; arid deserts, dense tropical rain forest, rugged coastlines, and those incredibly ancient mountains. The "Giant Down-Under" has it all; thermal hot-springs, snow covered peaks while nearby New Zealand and Antarctica sport extensive snow fields and glaciers. Add some hot-water geysers in New Zealand and you'll get an idea of what the early Earth looked like. The scenic shots alone are worth the price of admission. Topping it all off the film showcases Australia's, and Tasmania's, unique plant and animal life, both living and extinct. During his road trip through the "out back" Smith stops now and then to talk to several other scientist about Australia's prehistoric past. One of them was Tim Flannery who gives you an overview of some recent extinctions caused by humans (see my review on his book A Gap In Nature). Some of the oddities you'll see are the Stromatolites in Sharks Bay and one of the oldest "clonal trees" in existence; the Huon Pine in Tasmania. Also viewed are giant prehistoric kangaroos, an extinct Monitor Lizard called Megalania that was a good 15 to 20 feet long. For most of it's history Australia's mammals were marsupials and monotremes but then some 40 to 60 thousand years ago a newcomer arrived by boat: Humans. The arrival of this invader coincided with the decline and extinction of Australia's Mega Fauna but some researchers feel that climate change may have been the ultimate cause. The now extinct Tasmanian Tiger makes it's last appearance in archival footage taken just after the turn of the 20th Century. It seems that the Tiger may have gotten the last laugh, or at least the last bite, just before checking out. As much as I enjoyed this four part film there are a few things I would change if it were up to me. One; the Intro that starts each episode is way too long and so were the recaps of the previous episodes. I would have cut them both by at least 50%. Regardless, I'm still glad I made this purchase and highly recommend this DVD.LastRanger

Fantastischer Film. Zu empfehlen. Erdgeschichte komplett anhand Australiens durchgegangen, und zwar auch noch auf sehr spannende Art und Weise. Definitiv zu empfehlen, wenn eine Reise nach Australien geplant ist, aber auch bei generellem Interesse an Erdgeschichte. Ich kenne keine bessere Verfilmung als diese und Life‘s Rocky Start für Erdgeschichte. Zu beiden gibt es auch die Bücher, die ich auch sehr empfehlen kann. Das Buch zu diesem Film heißt Australia the Four Billion year Journey of a Continent. Das Buch zum zweiten Film heißt the Story of Earth :the First 4.5 Billion years, from stardust to living planet von Robert M. Hazen.

Narrator needs to calm down a bit

The best series about the prehistory of a single continent. Very informative .

was very informative