South Sea adventure in the wake of Captain Cook
Captain
Cook's epic voyage of discovery in Australia and the south seas
was the 18th century equivalent of flying to the moon.
More
than 230 years later, a ground-breaking BBC TWO documentary series,
The Ship, throws new light on historical and scientific aspects
of Cook's original voyage by undertaking a distinctly 21st century
adventure.
Forty
one volunteers join 15 working crew on the Endeavour - a perfect
replica of Cook's original ship - where they get to grips with the
rigours of life on an 18th century tall-ship.
Award-winning
documentary film-maker, Chris Terrill is on board as part of the
crew to capture the insights and human dramas during the six week
long voyage.
Also
on board are British and Australian historians together with scientific
specialists including a botanist, botanical artist and astronomer,
who put their book-learning to the acid test.
Cook's
voyages had a major impact on the native peoples of Australia and
new Zealand. Their side of the story unfolds on board the Endeavour
through the Aborigine and Maori crew members and their exchanges
with native people on land and sea.
"The Ship is a fresh new concept in the history documentary
genre which I believe will make compelling viewing, not only for
those already fascinated by history, but also those new to the genre,"
says The Ship's BAFTA award-winning executive producer, Laurence
Rees.
"This
is not a case of trying to replicate the past. It is about how the
past can illuminate the present and vice versa.
"Both
the specialists and the volunteer recruits on board learn something
new about themselves and about our century, but they also learn
about the psychology and the sheer physical hardships of life for
the 18th century sailor."
The
Ship interweaves drama reconstruction of key moments in Captain
Cook's original voyage with the 21st century adventure, exploring
the similarities, but also the wide gulf, between the past and present.
"We
were not trying to be 18th century sailors," says The Ship's
director and cameraman Chris Terrill.
"We
are who we are - but we were trying to discover what it was like
for those incredible seafarers as they sailed into the unknown.
"These
were six extraordinary weeks of personal and historical discovery.
I always thought of Cook standing next to me. We were divided by
time, but united by geography."
The
Ship airs on BBC TWO from Tuesday 20 August.
It
is accompanied by a BBC book, The Ship: Retracing Cook's Endeavour
Voyage, and www.bbc.co.uk/history
takes the experience forward with a package of articles, features,
on-line chats and 3-D models.
The
Ship is a BBC production for BBC TWO in association with the History
Channel.
The
consultant academic for the series is Professor Glyn Williams.
Notes
to Editors
A full
press pack for The Ship is available
below in pdf
format. You may require Adobe Acrobat Software to read PDF files
which can be obtained here.
Synopses are available - for press use only - from the BBC Press
Office.
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