Does this look exciting, or what? That trailer sure sucked me in much more energetically than either of the trailers for Creation or Darwin's Darkest Hour. Hopefully the whole thing delivers on what the trailer promises. Too bad, therefore, not to see any US air dates at the end there, although our neighbors to the north will get to see it, having helped produce it. I hope it does get here eventually. PBS, are you paying attention?
I'm often looking for videos on the web to enhance my lectures (or merely to jolt students out of the slumber my soothing voice may put them into from time to time), especially when teaching about animal behavior. Its always more impressive to see an animal carry out some astonishingly bizarre behavior than to read about it or have it be described in class by someone who may never have seen the behavior either! Places like Youtube are therefore quite the boon for the modern professor of ethology, and a casual perusal of this blog will show you how much I fall into that happy camp. The exciting thing is that lately, competition has been heating up among the online video portals, bringing us access to all kinds of video treasures. I stumbled upon one such treasure today when I discovered that youtube now has, in its growing Nature channel, Sir David Attenborough's entire series on The Life of Birds!
Since we have been exploring acoustic signals in my Animal Communication class in recent weeks, with birds (of course) starring as prime examples, this is a perfect time to share this episode where one of humanity's most eloquent communicators takes us on a wonderful exploration of some of nature's most Eloquent Communicators:
I'm looking forward to watching this on our local public television channel tonight - starting in another half hour here: "Darwin's Darkest Hour" a 2-hour dramatization of "the delay" in publishing his revolutionary theory, which I mentioned last week. Check it out - although this reminder may be too late for those of you living east of California. But don't worry if you miss the broadcast, for you can still watch it online, on the PBS website, and soon on their YouTube channel! Meanwhile, here's another preview:
As the Darwin Bicentennial year winds down and we approach the Sesquicentennial anniversary of the publication of "On the Origin of Species" on Nov 21, we will get two promising televisual/cinematic treatments of the torment Darwin underwent while sitting on the horns of the dilemma of whether or not to share his theory with the world! The recent drama about whether the movie Creation was going to be distributed at all in the US has now been settled as we get word today that Newmarket, a small Indie company (whose previous hit, intriguingly, was "The Passion of the Christ"!!) has picked up the US rights for the film and plans a year-end release! Hooray - although some of us are apprehensive about how "even-handed" the film will be in trying to "balance" between religion and science! The National Center for Science Education's executive director Eugenie Scott (who has just accepted my invitation to speak at Fresno State this fall as well - but more on that soon!) liked the film, describing it in her early review as "a thoughtful, well-made film that will change many views of Darwin held by the public — for the good."
Meanwhile, NCSE also alerts us to another treatment of Darwin's Darkest Hour - a 2-hour television special airing on PBS stations next week courtesy of NOVA and National Geographic. Here's a preview:
... but probably worth watching as we head towards another Earth Day next week!
This episode of Nature airs this sunday, April 19, 2009 at 8 PM. on PBS (check local listings).
In the meantime, if you want to get a head start on your depression, here's an extended clip:
There's even a web exclusive about Gibbon matchmaking!
Here you go, the Attenborough documentary shown recently on BBC, in 6 parts! There's much more on the Wellcome Trust's Tree of Life companion site
Part 1:
Look below the fold for the rest...
Part 2:
Part 3:
Part 4:
Part 5:
Part 6:
Sir David Attenborough was interviewed on several British TV channels in anticipation of his latest documentary, broadcast on BBC lon Feb 1. I just found a couple that you might enjoy.
I'll find "Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life" to share soon also.
And may be viewed by those of you fortunate to be subscribed to the National Geographic TV channel via cable/satellite. The above is the tagline NatGeoTV is using to promote their celebration of Darwin's 200th birthday. Click on the image here for the program, which kicks off this Sunday, Feb 8th with a new 3-part series "Morphed".
They will also run a live-blog starting an hour before Morphed, and are already inviting questions in their Evolution forum. Then on the 10th, they're showing Darwin's Secret Notebooks, and Explorer: Monster Fish of the Congo. All of this looks pretty exciting, and I will try to post previews/reviews as time permits over the next couple of weeks. I may even try a bit of live-blogging here if enough of the students are interested (so let me know!). And if you don't have access to NatGeoTV, find someone who does and might tolerate you on their couch for a few hours! Meanwhile, the complete announcement I received in my email, with links to video clips, is below the fold:
Below are brief descriptions of each of our five Darwin-related programs, and attached is the full press release for your information.
MORPHED
Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 8PM – 11PM ET/PT, with Live Blogging Event at 7PM ET/PT
Using advanced CGI, forensic examination of the latest fossil evidence and 3-D, biomechanic animation, Morphed brings ancient creatures back to life and recreates the most dramatic forces impacting their evolution — from natural disasters to competitors and brushes with extinction. Also, during the first hour of Morphed, join a panel of experts in the fields of biology, molecular science, and theology for a Live Blogging Event to discuss the topic of evolution and its significance in today's science community, education, and its relationship to religion and theology. Be sure to submit your questions in advance at http://ngccommunity.nationalgeographic.com/ngcforums/evolution/ and log in on Sunday, February 8 at 7 PM ET/PT! The three back-to-back episode premieres include:
MORPHED: FROM DINOSAUR TO TURKEY digs 230 million years back into the fossil record to witness the emergence of the first dinosaur and follows different dinosaur species as they respond to changes in the earth's environment.
Video "Dinosaur Descendents" – Next Year at Thanksgiving dinner, imagine you're eating a dinosaur. You won't be far from the truth:http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/feeds/cv-seo/Animals--Nature/All-Videos/Prehistoric-Turkeys.html
MORPHED: WHEN WHALES HAD LEGS examines the environmental pressures that turned a wolflike creature that hunted in shallow waters into a leviathan of the seas.
Video "Ancient Whale Bones" – In the plains of Pakistan, archaeologists discover clues to help solve the mystery of how land mammals became whales:http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/feeds/cv-seo/Animals--Nature/All-Videos/Archaeologists-Find-the-Missing-Whale-Link.html
MORPHED: BEFORE THEY WERE BEARS travels back 30 million years to watch the bear's doglike ancestor climb down from the trees of central Europe and set out on a journey that spanned the planet.
Video "Giant Historic Bear" – In the struggle for survival, the giant short-faced bear evolved into a towering kiling machine:http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/feeds/cv-seo/Nat-Geo-Wild/All-Videos/Ancient-Predators-in-Beringia.html
DARWIN'S SECRET NOTEBOOKS
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 9 PM ET/PT
Using Darwin's own diary and field notes as a travel guide, National Geographic Channel retrace Darwin's expedition beyond the Galapagos to uncover the forgotten evidence that inspired his revolutionary work. We see how fossils in Argentina, seashells in the Andes and fish in the South Pacific helped him cultivate his radical theory of evolution.
Video "Inside Darwin's Mind" – The oddity of flightless birds leads Darwin to question the intentions of the Creator:http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/videos/feeds/cv-seo/Animals--Nature/All-Videos/Darwin-Ponders-Flightless-Birds.html
EXPLORER: MONSTER FISH OF THE CONGO
Tuesday, February 10, 2009 at 10 PM ET/PT
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/3826/Overview
Join a team of adventurers and scientists and travel deep into the heart of Africa's Congo River Basin in search of an elusive man-sized predator known as the tiger fish. While locals believe this ravenous relative of the piranha is cursed, scientists believe the fearsome fish may hold the key to understanding the evolution of an extraordinary array of bizarre creatures found throughout the Congo.
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