Evolution: Great Transformations & Extinction!
by Joel Olicker, Kate Churchill, Richard Hutton
List Price:
Our Price: $15.88
You Save: $14.03 (47%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $6.74 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Actor: Liam Neeson (narrator)Director: Joel Olicker, Kate Churchill, Richard Hutton
Brand: PBS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 120 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-11-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS
DVD Reviews of Evolution: Great Transformations & Extinction!
DVD Review: What triggered Earth's incredible biodiversity & why isn't the human species dead yet??
Summary: 5 Stars
XXXXX
"Great Transformations" and "Extinction!" are parts two and three respectively (on one disc) in the seven-part "Evolution" series. While not absolutely necessary I strongly recommend viewing part one in this series entitled "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" (on a separate disc) first before viewing these two parts.
In a nutshell, the second part "Great Transformations" (6 scenes, 55 min) discusses the evolutionary changes that are responsible for our planet's great biodiversity that we observe today. However, this brief statement does not do this interesting program justice. Here are the relevant parts of its "prologue" or introduction as said by the narrator, actor Liam Neeson:
"We can recognize the connection to our closest relatives but when we know how to look we can also find it in other mammals: birds, reptiles, fish, even insects. The deeper we dig, the farther back we go, the more we see that everything alive has evolved from a single starting point. The tree of life has been branching for four billion years. And we can now follow its branches back to their roots...In the history of our planet, a few great transformations [that is, big evolutionary steps] have opened the door for new forms of life and new types of life. Fifty million years ago land mammals evolved into sea creatures. Long before that, fish colonized land. At the dawn of civilization, the first [four-limbed] bodies appeared."
The third part entitled "Extinction!" (8 scenes, 55 min) deals with the antithesis of the second part. It explores why up to about 99% of all species that have ever lived on Earth are now no longer in existence. Here is some of this program's prologue:
"In the ongoing drama of evolution, species come and go. They live, they compete, they die out...on average, a species dies out after four million years of existence. It could take less time, it could take much more. But its all part of the normal process of extinction--always there, always happening...the extinction of species that can't adapt or compete creates opportunities for new species, new forms of life, in an endless cycle. So evolution and extinction are in balance, but what happens when a planet-wide catastrophe kills off many species in a great mass extinction?
Brief comments are made throughout both parts or programs by university professors, geologists, evolutionary biologists, etc. There is also excellent photography and animation throughout.
These programs alone sold on this single disc are for those who do not want to shell out the $90.00 (the price at the time this review was written) for the entire boxed set "Evolution" seven-part series.
Finally, the DVD itself (the one released in 2002) is perfect in picture and sound quality. There are no extras.
In conclusion, if you want to understand two intriguing facets of evolution--namely, transformations or large evolutionary steps and extinction, this is the film to see!!!
(2001; 1 hr, 50 min; made for TV ("Nova"); wide screen; 14 scenes; closed captioned)
XXXXX
More Evolution: Great Transformations & Extinction! reviews:
1
1
Miscellaneous Music CDs
Bestsellers in Miscellaneous Music CDs
Rudolph Wurlitzer - Slow Fade (As Read By Will Oldham)Release date: 2011-05-03; Music CD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
3 Fools 4 April - 3 Fools 4 AprilRelease date: 2008-03-25; Published: 2006; Music CD
Best price: $7.09
Price in other shops:
Judy Clark - Sing Like the StarsRelease date: 2008-07-22; Published: 2008; Music CD
Best price: $23.99
Price in other shops:
Race and Win: Race Boat Crewing with Tucker ThompsonBennett; Release date: 2007-01-01; DVD
Best price: $31.25
Price in other shops:
Rebecca Cooper - Coming Home to our Appetite: Guided ImageryRelease date: 2009-06-01; Music CD
Best price: $12.03
Price in other shops:
Sharon Bridgforth - Bull-Jean StoriesRelease date: 2005-12-27; Published: 1999; Music CD
Best price: $14.74
Price in other shops:
Janice Tucker Rhoda - The ABCs of Violin for the Intermediate, Book 2: Performance CDRelease date: 2009-03-17; Music CD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
![You Can Dance - Waltz [VHS] Image](/images/You-Can-Dance-Waltz-VHS-0769720692-X.jpg){kind=small}
You Can Dance - You Can Dance - Waltz [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $2.49
Price in other shops:
![You Can Dance - Rhumba [VHS] Image](/images/You-Can-Dance-Rhumba-VHS-0769720668-X.jpg){kind=small}
You Can Dance - You Can Dance - Rhumba [VHS]Kultur Video; Release date: 1999-05-25; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $2.99
Price in other shops:
Dino - Dino Collector's SeriesBenson Records; Published: 1998-07-01; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $9.12
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
National Geographic - Inside the Living BodyWarner Brothers; Release date: 2007-12-11; DVD
Best price: $12.40
Price in other shops:
Charles Darwin and the Tree of LifeWarner Brothers; Release date: 2009-11-03; DVD
Best price: $8.30
Price in other shops:
Biology Inquiries: Standards-Based Labs, Assessments, and Discussion Lessons (Jossey-Bass Teacher)by Martin Shields
Jossey-Bass; Published: 2005-10-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $19.06
Price in other shops:
NOVA - OriginsWGBH BOSTON VIDEO; Release date: 2004-12-07; DVD
Best price: $11.86
Price in other shops:
Journey of ManPBS; Release date: 2003-08-05; DVD
Best price: $12.49
Price in other shops:
How the Universe WorksGAI; Release date: 2011-06-28; DVD
Best price: $11.98
Price in other shops:
NOVA - Cracking the Code of LifeWgbh Wholesale; Release date: 2004-06-29; DVD
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops:
Evolution (parts 4 & 5): Evolutionary Arms Race/ Why Sex?PBS; Release date: 2001-11-20; DVD
Best price: $14.49
Price in other shops:
Evolution: Darwin's Dangerous IdeaWgbh Wholesale; Release date: 2009-02-10; DVD
Best price: $10.73
Price in other shops:
What Darwin Never KnewPBS; Release date: 2010-03-30; DVD
Best price: $13.00
Price in other shops: