This should interest those with biological or comparative interests:
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/about_tv.html
About the Television Series
Evolution will premiere on PBS September 24-27, 2001 (check local listings).
Here are brief descriptions of each of the shows.
Show 1: "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" (two-hour premiere)
For 21 years, Charles Darwin kept his theory of evolution secret from all
but a few friends. He confided to one: "It is like confessing to a murder."
Why does Darwin's "dangerous idea" matter today more than ever, and how does
it convey the power of science to explain the past and predict the future of
life on Earth? The two-hour series premiere of Evolution interweaves the
drama of Darwin's life with documentary sequences of current research and
introduces core concepts of evolutionary theory.
Show 2: "Great Transformations" (one hour)
What caused the incredible diversity of life on Earth, and how have complex
life forms, including humans, evolved? "Great Transformations" focuses on
evolution's "great transformations," among them, the development of a
standard four-limb body plan, the journey from water to land, the return of
marine mammals to the sea, and the emergence of humans. Driven by a
combination of opportunism and a genetic "toolkit," these astounding
transformations define the arc of evolution, suggesting that every species
is a variation on one grand genetic theme -- members of a common tree of
life.
Show 3: "Extinction!" (one hour)
Ninety-nine percent of all the species that have ever lived are now extinct.
While cataclysmic events on Earth have pruned the tree of life, extinction
also opens the door to diversity, carving out room for new species to emerge
and thrive.
"Extinction!" explores the causes of the five mass extinctions that have
occurred over the life of the planet and takes us behind the scenes to
investigate the sources of the mass extinction happening today. It asks,
What does evolutionary theory predict for the world we leave for future
generations?
Show 4: "The Evolutionary Arms Race" (one hour)
"Survival of the fittest": Is it raw competition, or a level of cooperation
indispensable to life? The theory of evolution demonstrates that both are
needed.
Interactions among species are among the most powerful evolutionary forces
on Earth, and understanding them may be key to our own survival. "The
Evolutionary Arms Race" explores our own spiraling arms race with
microorganisms -- the only entities that can pose a threat to our existence.
We follow the struggles of medical detectives uncovering the roots of
epidemics and trace the alarming spread of resistance among pathogens that
cause disease, like the new virulent tuberculosis nicknamed "Ebola with
wings."
Show 5: "Why Sex?" (one hour)
In evolutionary terms, sex is more important than life itself -- without
progeny, we are evolutionary losers. Sex fuels evolutionary change by adding
variation to the gene pool and eliminating unsatisfactory traits. We look at
the endless variety of sexual expression and the powerful hold sex exerts
over all living things. And we explore how the need to pass on our genes has
shaped our own bodies, minds, and lives. Some scientists believe that art,
literature, music -- in fact all of human culture -- may be the ultimate
result of our sexual drives.
Show 6: "The Mind's Big Bang" (one hour)
Anatomically, modern humans existed more than 100,000 years ago, but with no
art and with only crude technology and primitive social interaction. Then
50,000 years ago, something happened -- a creative, technological, and
social explosion -- and humans came to dominate the planet. This was a
pivotal point in our development, the time when the human mind truly
emerged. What made this moment so different? "The Mind's Big Bang" examines
the forces that may have contributed to the breakthrough and enabled us to
prevail over our relatives, the Neanderthals, who co-existed with us for
tens of thousands of years; the show also explores where the power of the
modern mind may ultimately lead us.
Show 7: "What About God?" (one hour)
Of all the species on Earth, we alone attempt to explain who we are and how
we came to be, and we use both science and religion as our references. How
has the tension between the two played out? Today the theory of evolution
still is dogged by controversy. This program explores the creationist
movement and its arguments by drawing on real human stories of people
struggling to find a balance between faith and science. Through their
perceptions we underscore the point that science and religion are
compatible, although they play very different roles in assigning order to
the universe and a purpose to life.
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Michael J. Renner
Department of Psychology
West Chester University
West Chester, PA 19383
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Telephone: 610-436-2925
Fax: 610-436-2846
"The path of least resistance is always downhill."
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