- Evolution (TV series)
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"A journey into where we're from and where we're going"Evolution is a 2001 documentary series by the American broadcaster Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and WGBH on evolutionary biology.
The spokespeople for the series were Jane Goodall (overall spokesperson), Kenneth R. Miller and Stephen Jay Gould (science spokespeople), Eugenie C. Scott (education spokesperson), Arthur Peacocke and Arnold Thomas (religious spokespeople). The series was narrated by the Irish actor Liam Neeson.
The series was accompanied by a book by the popular science writer Carl Zimmer Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea.[1] An extensive website provides teaching resources for each episode's material, including "The Mating Game", further looks at Charles Darwin, and an interactive history of speciation in the invented "pollencreeper" birds.
The episode What about God? features discussion of the issues of evolution and creationism at Wheaton College (Illinois), an Evangelical Protestant college that teaches evolution but has in the past restricted professors from taking a stance on the literal versus the allegorical interpretations of Adam and Eve in the Genesis account of creation.
Contents
Reaction
TV critic Julie Salamon, writing in the New York Times, said that "[a] powerful sense of drama, discovery and intellectual enthusiasm runs through this rich eight-hour series ... The series covers an enormous amount of ground but doesn’t leave you feeling swamped."[2]
Being made and broadcast in the country where creation-evolution controversy is strongest, the last episode What About God? focused on religion, and "through personal stories of students and teachers, it offers the view that they are compatible". Phina Borgeson, Faith Network Director of the National Center for Science Education, provided a Congregational Study Guide for Evolution.[3] Conversely, the Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture produced a website to refute the documentary and started a petition it called A Scientific Dissent From Darwinism to show that there were "scientists that dispute the claims".[4]
Episodes
- Darwin's Dangerous Idea (two hours)
- Great Transformations (one hour)
- Extinction! (one hour)
- The Evolutionary Arms Race (one hour)
- Why Sex? (one hour)
- The Mind's Big Bang (one hour)
- What About God? (one hour)
Appearances
- Susan Blackmore
- Sean B. Carroll
- Jenny Clack
- Richard Dawkins
- Daniel Dennett
- Stephen Jay Gould
- William McGinnis
- James Moore
- Simon Conway Morris
- Walter Gehring
- Steve Pinker
- Geoffrey Miller
- Neil Shubin
- E. O. Wilson
- Richard Wrangham
References
- ^ Zimmer, Carl (2001). Evolution: The Triumph of an Idea. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-019906-7.
- ^ A Stark Explanation for Mankind From an Unlikely Rebel
- ^ Congregational Study Guide for Evolution from the National Center for Science Education
- ^ A Critique of PBS's Evolution, Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture
External links
- Official website
- Resources for PBS Evolution from the National Center for Science Education
- Evolution at the Internet Movie Database
Institutions Education centers Research Other work Evolution (TV series)Awards Kyoto Prize (1990) • Hubbard Medal (1995) • William Procter Prize for Scientific Achievement (1996) • Community of Christ International Peace Award (1999) • Gandhi–King Award (2001) • Huxley Memorial Medal (2002) • United Nations Messenger of Peace (2002) • Dame of the British Empire (2003) • Global Environmental Citizen Award (2003) • Légion d'honneur (2006)Honorary degreesSyracuse University (2005) • Uppsala University (2007) • University of Liverpool (2007) • University of Toronto (2008)Categories:- PBS network shows
- Programs produced by WGBH
- 2001 American television series debuts
- 2001 American television series endings
- Biological evolution
- Jane Goodall
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