Good grief. What a mess.
The subject matter is fascinating, but it's clearly not in the hands of people who:
a) understand the subject matter b) care about the subject matter c) are anyone who's career goes any deeper than superficial, commercialized packaging
The dramatic re-enactments are distracting in that they are clumsy and over done in an effort to be flashy and interesting for an audience with very short attention spans and vast wells of ignorance and self-centeredness: as if to say the only way people alive today could be or would be interested in people from the past is only if people today saw themselves with as little effort as could be afforded without straying into being ridiculous. For example, I recall one of the "characters" supposedly depicting the Civil War era refer to telegraphed response as sending "a text message to the frontline." Please. Understandably, it is necessary to create an emotional connection between audience and subject matter for the audience to care about what they're hearing and seeing, but to have to be so ham-handed as to sprinkle in little 21st century speech patterns, concepts and ideas is a reflection of bad writing and shallow effect.
Another issue is that the episode scripts go on and on and on and on about humans' connection through time and space to one another and the connection between the ideas, events, and technology that shaped our world, but the episodes don't build on one another like the producers want the audience to believe they do. For example, in the first episode, fire is "the connection that started it all" blah blah, but then later on, medicine and money and then writing and further on it was metal and computers that were "the connection that started it all." The most frustrating was how hard a point like fire being the "technology" break through that propelled humanity further and faster forward than any other in history and is "unparalleled" in its profound power to alter our future (and even our DNA!) is driven home, but then not two episodes later, suddenly writing is the technology that is unparalleled in its power to shape destiny. But then computers came and they are unparalleled. That's not to say these things didn't all have the affects they did, but by proclaiming each and every one as THE ONE and most amazing game changer for humanity and the future is lazy and stupid.
Let me point out, that I don't recall the advent of agriculture being brought up once. It's all "hunter gatherers" and "noble nomadic warrior artists" then boom "interconnected" society, cities and space exploration. You'd think agricultural could at least rank a mention. But then again, most people today with the ability to watch this mess wouldn't be able to so easily recognize themselves in ancient farmers and I suspect coming up with little skits peppered with talk of social networking and "interneting" while working in a Mesopotamian garden would be too difficult to even bother with. Certainly, it lacks the drama and flash of teenaged nomadic warrior "hunting deer" in skillfully designed and sewn fabric garments 30,000 years ago.
Finally though, the host/presenter of this dreck is soooo over the top in his gestures and articulations and facial expressions- even his speech patterns and vocalizing are forced and way too "in your face." His hands, fingers, and arms spasm in and around the area of his torso while the camera directs focus to his face, so what you see is a whole mess of activity constantly gesticulating into and out of your sight line. This is all while dude is bouncing on and rolling his weight back and forth with his heels and the arches of his feet. It's way too distracting and forced. Like he's trying way too hard to be interesting and dynamic. Or he really has to go to the bathroom.
The subject matter is fascinating, but it's clearly not in the hands of people who:
a) understand the subject matter b) care about the subject matter c) are anyone who's career goes any deeper than superficial, commercialized packaging
The dramatic re-enactments are distracting in that they are clumsy and over done in an effort to be flashy and interesting for an audience with very short attention spans and vast wells of ignorance and self-centeredness: as if to say the only way people alive today could be or would be interested in people from the past is only if people today saw themselves with as little effort as could be afforded without straying into being ridiculous. For example, I recall one of the "characters" supposedly depicting the Civil War era refer to telegraphed response as sending "a text message to the frontline." Please. Understandably, it is necessary to create an emotional connection between audience and subject matter for the audience to care about what they're hearing and seeing, but to have to be so ham-handed as to sprinkle in little 21st century speech patterns, concepts and ideas is a reflection of bad writing and shallow effect.
Another issue is that the episode scripts go on and on and on and on about humans' connection through time and space to one another and the connection between the ideas, events, and technology that shaped our world, but the episodes don't build on one another like the producers want the audience to believe they do. For example, in the first episode, fire is "the connection that started it all" blah blah, but then later on, medicine and money and then writing and further on it was metal and computers that were "the connection that started it all." The most frustrating was how hard a point like fire being the "technology" break through that propelled humanity further and faster forward than any other in history and is "unparalleled" in its profound power to alter our future (and even our DNA!) is driven home, but then not two episodes later, suddenly writing is the technology that is unparalleled in its power to shape destiny. But then computers came and they are unparalleled. That's not to say these things didn't all have the affects they did, but by proclaiming each and every one as THE ONE and most amazing game changer for humanity and the future is lazy and stupid.
Let me point out, that I don't recall the advent of agriculture being brought up once. It's all "hunter gatherers" and "noble nomadic warrior artists" then boom "interconnected" society, cities and space exploration. You'd think agricultural could at least rank a mention. But then again, most people today with the ability to watch this mess wouldn't be able to so easily recognize themselves in ancient farmers and I suspect coming up with little skits peppered with talk of social networking and "interneting" while working in a Mesopotamian garden would be too difficult to even bother with. Certainly, it lacks the drama and flash of teenaged nomadic warrior "hunting deer" in skillfully designed and sewn fabric garments 30,000 years ago.
Finally though, the host/presenter of this dreck is soooo over the top in his gestures and articulations and facial expressions- even his speech patterns and vocalizing are forced and way too "in your face." His hands, fingers, and arms spasm in and around the area of his torso while the camera directs focus to his face, so what you see is a whole mess of activity constantly gesticulating into and out of your sight line. This is all while dude is bouncing on and rolling his weight back and forth with his heels and the arches of his feet. It's way too distracting and forced. Like he's trying way too hard to be interesting and dynamic. Or he really has to go to the bathroom.