Written by Linda
October 18, 2008
The fascinating (and dorkily titled) Earth: The Biography suffers from being released after the glorious and widely-praised Planet Earth. But just like animation studios simultaneously released films about ants, or monsters, or zoo animals, it doesn't necessarily mean that one is great and the other is a complete turkey. Earth: The Biography is actually a nice companion to all those other "in vogue" environmental films, and has the bonus of being hosted by a wee Scotsman named Dr. Iain Stewart. (OK, he is actually not "wee", but how can you not smile when each of the five episodes is introduced thusly: "Thees ees oura planet: The Aaaairrrth!")
Stewart is an enthusiastic guide, focusing on the geological wonders of this planet we live on, delving less into the wondrous world of the animal and plant kingdom. He announces, "I want to show you how this planet works!" To give you an idea, the roughly 45-minute episodes are titled: Volcanoes, Atmosphere, Ice, Oceans, and Rare Planet. For instance, just when you think volcanoes are cool, turns out that they are the rock stars of the planet and play a huge part in controlling the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. And if you don't think volcanoes are freaky enough, wait until you see the CGI animated graphic of how the whole island country of Iceland sits plopped right on top of a huge magma core (!). You just imagine it erupting and tossing the whole country sky high!
For all of the fantastic photography of natural wonders from all over the world, Earth: The Biography also has just enough human element to give it some scale, but not too much to be obnoxious. Stewart role is mostly in voice-over, but he does appear on camera quite often, for instance trudging through a mountain blizzard in order to stop, gasping for breath, to talk about the planet's various ice ages. He also features many other experts and adventurers, like a guy scaling the sheer rock cliff of El Capitan at Yosemite National Park. He is on camera, clutching what seems like nothing with his bare hands when he starts to slide... "Um..." You can hear the panic in his voice as it starts to rain and he knows he's screwed. Thankfully he knows when it is time to give nature her due, take a break, and call it good.
Iain Stewart sucks you in with his sheer wonder of it all, and you can't help but join the ride. There is so much information jam-packed into each episode that even the most jaded viewer is bound to learn something. Kids would get a kick out of this show, but it is also great for adults, too. An unlike many environmental docs of late, Earth: The Biography is not all gloom-and-doom. The planet's power is simply awe-inspiring. As Stewart sums up at the end, "It's not the planet we should be worried about. It's us."
