A strange series - it starts out as fine but nothing special, and ends up somewhere quite powerful.īefore Sagan's "Cosmos" and before James Burke's "Connections", Jacob Bronowski brought us a thoughtful examination of the history of mankind and his achievements. But the the last 4 or 5 episodes are incredibly clear explanations of the often complex and confusing world of 19th and 20th century science, mixed with quite touching observations about the role of science in a bigger society, its poetry, and the way it feeds humanity' soul. They feel pretty pedantic and straightforward, and there wasn't much I didn't find familiar. I don't feel I need to ever re-see the earliest 4 or 5 episodes again. A few of Brononski's theories seem a bit stretched, or even wrong headed, the visual style is dated and the effects less than impressive, but that doesn't mean the show isn't interesting, thought provoking and occasionally quite moving - especially as the series goes on. The series is in 13 parts, each covering a different key step in the development of civilization. It reminded me of nothing as much as a really interesting illustrated college lecture series. A bit wordy and dry, even dull at times at times (especially early on), but also full of ever more interesting insight and theories by writer/host Jacob Bronowski.
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