In many ways, the History Channel has moved away from history programs with reality shows like Ice Road Truckers. How the Earth Was Made is a return to the channel’s roots, but for that reason, I do not believe that How the Earth Was Made will perform very well on DVD.
How the Earth Was Made focuses its energy mainly on geology, and the second season’s topics range from the Grand Canyon to the Sahara Desert and the beginning of the world. They combine computer-generated simulations with accounts by top scientists, experiments, and video footage of the episode’s subjects.
Some of the best episodes of the season were ones that had the human angle. In “Mount St. Helen,” they showed the scientists who were studying the volcano when it erupted, and I was intrigued by the impact of the eruption and worried for the scientists. When the narrator described the power behind the eruption, I was amazed that even in an age of nuclear weaponry nature could still leave me speechless.
One part of the show that I appreciate is the overall recap at the end of each episode which shows how everything they covered connects together. Also, this element makes the show a great classroom tool for high school or middle school teachers, reminding students of the important highlights. In some of the lesser episodes, however, the recap serves only to magnify the episode’s weaknesses.
Most of the show’s weaknesses stem from a lack of real meat, and some episodes repeat the same stock footage and information over and over. Some episodes cannot help their thin or repetitious feel. A good example is episode three, “Birth of the Earth.” Television demands more varied visuals while a book or paper about the beginning of the Earth demands less computer-generated visuals, so perhaps the second season would have been better served by sticking with topics which could be more easily filmed, such as Mount St. Helens or Everest.
One of the other problems with “Birth of the Earth” was the theoretical nature of it. In a few decades, many of these episodes could still be used in a classroom and be considered relevant or useful. When it comes to parts of history like the beginning of time, scientists are continuing to learn more and more, and in a few decades, this episode could be either correct but incomplete or completely archaic. I’m not saying that the History Channel should not tackle evolving theories, but perhaps they should tackle theories that lend themselves better to film.
I mentioned that this series can be used in a high school or middle school classroom, but I wonder if it will find an audience outside of that. There might be some history or science buffs that will flip to How the Earth Was Made on TV, but despite the amount of facts and figures, there isn’t enough new information here to hold their interest. Someone who has already extensively researched any of these subjects won’t learn anything new.
Young science and history enthusiasts will enjoy the History Channel’s return to form, but for learned viewers, How the Earth Was Made is a high-tech repackaging of old information. Still, in a time when the Learning Channel is home to Jon & Kate Plus 8 and A&E has hits like Dog the Bounty Hunter, I am glad that there is at least one show on the History Channel that is trying to educate the masses. I hope that the History Channel will resist the pull of reality show ratings and continue to improve in season 3 of How the Earth Was Made.
DVD Bonus Features
This set has no extra features which was both surprising and a little disappointing. With a set like this, the History Channel could have included some more classroom tools like printable worksheets. They could have even included suggested in-class experiments that would have tied in to each episode.
"How the Earth Was Made: Season 2" is on sale June 29, 2010 and is not rated. Nature-Documentary, Television. Directed by Peter Chinn. Starring Corey Johnson.
