Earth

★ 8.4 · 2023 · 60m · Documentary

There's nothing else like it. Chris Packham reveals the epic, four-billion-year story of our home - from its dramatic creation to the arrival of human life... and whatever's next.

Episodes

1. Inferno59m · Chris Packham explores one of the darkest periods in Earth’s history: the worst mass extinction the planet has ever seen, when as much as 90% of all species died 252 million years ago. This extraordinary moment in Earth’s history took life to the brink, wreaking havoc and destruction on an unprecedented scale. But, somehow, life found a way to bounce back, and a new geological era ushered in the age of the dinosaurs.

2. Snowball59m · Earth’s terrifying journey into the deep freeze starts with fire, not ice. 800 million years ago, long before the age of the dinosaurs, before there was even animal life, the giant supercontinent Rodinia breaks up. Earth’s vast powerful tectonic forces rip the land apart, kicking off a series of events that results in huge amounts of carbon dioxide being sucked from the atmosphere and sending global temperatures plummeting.

3. Green59m · Chris Packham tells the miraculous story of how plant life turned Earth from a barren rock into a vibrant green world - a four-billion year saga of extraordinary highs and lows that almost wiped out all life on the planet. Beginning as a water world without land masses, a giant asteroid bombardment triggered Earth's plate tectonics, leading to huge fungi, soil and giant swamp forests. But the early plants locked so much carbon dioxide that global temperatures suddenly plunged.

4. Atmosphere59m · When Earth first formed from clouds of dust and gas 4.6 billion years ago, it was - like so many other lifeless worlds in the universe - devoid of an atmosphere, an inhospitable rock floating in the black void of space. But as the young planet is pummelled by asteroids, a period of extraordinary upheaval begins.

5. Human59m · Today, Earth is a human world, home to eight billion people and counting. Humans now have a greater effect in shaping Earth’s surface than many natural processes. Chris Packham explores how dramatic twists in Earth’s story enabled humans to go from being part of nature to controlling it and what can be learnt from this epic tale before it’s too late.

More Like This

Kingdom of the Polar Bears

2021 · ★ 8

As the Arctic changes faster than ever, a team of polar bear guides prepares for an epic journey; a first-ever attempt to follow the bears on the sea ice of Hudson Bay. In this high-stakes high-reward venture, they will document the secret world of bears, a mysterious and disappearing realm that is the bears key to survival. Life on the ice is a critical time for these bears. It also remains undocumented, deemed too dangerous for humans to follow, hinted at only through aerial reconnaissance and satellite collar research. The team, armed with traditional ecological knowledge and the latest 4K camera technology, will witness never- before-seen seal hunting strategies and document rapid adaptations to climate change, including whale predation and open-water hunting.

More info →

Secrets of Wild Australia

2016

Dive into the secret and surprising lives of some of Australia's signature wildlife. From mini marsupials to flying foxes, join these extraordinary creatures thriving in the otherworldly landscapes of this astonishing island-continent.

More info →

UFO Europe: The Untold Stories

2012 · ★ 7.8

Are we finally a step closer to understanding the great unknown and what it may – or may not – hold? Man has always been curious about what is really out there in the vastness of space, and UFO sightings have been reported for years. Now, with video footage of sightings, radar evidence and eyewitness accounts from around the world, UFOs: The Untold Stories (Tuesdays at 8pm from 13th November) provides an in-depth look at the fascinating and disturbing aspects of encounters with the unexplained.

More info →