Earth

This was all over the place, if you're after a decent version of our Earths history, that's in layman's terms for us dumb a**es, this isn't in, half the sentences in this show made little sense in correlation to what was actually on screen.

Apparently, primates learnt to walk because of the huge new distances between trees (due to asteroid impact) and that's why gorillas & chimps can't get about without swinging from tress, because they were not met with this issue...excuse me! What! I'm no expert on primates, but I'm pretty certain I've seen both gorillas and Chimps roaming the flats without the need of a branch.

Beautiful, awe-inspiring and emotional. It tells an amazing story and, in more places than is usual for this kind of show, actually explains the evidence for the statements.

Chris Packham surprised me at being able to hold a bombastic show like this together. His shows are usually much smaller and more informal. He even sounds like Attenborough on occasions!

But the glaring problem? The script keeps using the language of creationism around evolution. It implies evolution had purpose, that organisms chose to evolve, that the Earth created conditions specifically to allow humans to exist. None of this is true. Evolution has no direction or purpose. It is just "whoever had the most grandchildren, their traits will spread through natural selection". I get that it makes for flowery prose, but it is misleading at a time where we need to be literate about this stuff.

The message it gives? Don't worry about climate change. The Earth chose to save us before and will eventually do it again (with volcanoes probably) so don't sweat it. We might even choose to evolve to cope with it. We need to understand the opposite.

Chris Packham is a genius, I think he is the natural successor to David Attenborough, this programme is full of facts, some easy to understand others not so easy, so people may now better understand the 'stop oil' activists (they are fighting for us) when he explains how unique and fragile our Earth actually is.

No one should be in doubt how passionate and determined Chris Packham and the other activists are and will not let Earth or us die without a fight.

From beginning to end crammed full of non-stop interesting facts presented in a straightforward honest matter of fact way, thank you Sir Chris.

The documentary boasts outstanding special effects, arguably the best in the genre to date. It's unfortunate that the post-show epilogue doesn't acknowledge the remarkable work put into them, much like the recognition given to scientists and filmmakers.

Chris, the host, brings a passionate energy, though his accent and inflections may take some adjustment. However, his script shines with brilliance, flowing seamlessly and matching the caliber of Attenborough's candor.

While some critical reviews point out gaps in coverage, considering the vast span of 4.6 billion years, the documentary impressively tackles a substantial amount. Addressing the impact of human activities on Earth's biodiversity is a necessary but somber reminder. A follow-up series with Chris, focusing on solutions and engaging viewers to contribute ideas, could be a powerful addition to address the impending challenges.

I enjoyed the series - this is such a fascinating subject for sure. As others have said though, condensing so much into a few episodes means at times it's just scratching the surface.

My main irritation though was the tone - it's pitched mainly at a school age audience is my guess. Every event has to have dramatic music behind it to make sure you understand whether it's a Sad Thing or a Wonderful Thing, the script at times is very silly - 'the world had become so hostile that to plant life is must have seemed a hopeless struggle, but just as they were on the point of giving up the struggle, they realised they had a friend, and a friend who wanted to help. And that friend was called...'. Cut to Packham staring resolutely into the camera. 'Fungus.'

It also gives the impression at times that evolution always had the aim to create humans, and that to do so it needed a lot of help from random disasters, a bit of a Lord Of The Rings quest. In fact humans are just the random place to which all the random disasters led.

But enjoyable in small doses (the music really gets to you after about 30 minutes).