Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life

Synopsis

David Attenborough asks three key questions: how and why did Darwin come up with his theory of evolution? Why do we think he was right? And why is it more important now than ever before?

David starts his journey in Darwin's home at Down House in Kent, where Darwin worried and puzzled over the origins of life. David goes back to his roots in Leicestershire, where he hunted for fossils as a child, and where another schoolboy unearthed a significant find in the 1950s. And he revisits Cambridge University, where both he and Darwin studied, and where many years later the DNA double helix was discovered, providing the foundations for genetics.

At the end of his journey in the Natural History Museum in London, David concludes that Darwin's great insight revolutionised the way in which we see the world. We now understand why there are so many different species, and why they are distributed in the way they are. But above all, Darwin has shown us that we are not set apart from the natural world, and do not have dominion over it. We are subject to its laws and processes, as are all other animals on earth to which, indeed, we are related.

Credits

Presenter

David Attenborough

Producer

Sacha Mirzoeff

Broadcasts

1. Sun 1 Feb 2009
   21:00
   BBC One
2. Sun 1 Feb 2009
   21:00
   BBC HD
3. Sat 7 Feb 2009
   20:00
   BBC Two
4. Mon 9 Feb 2009
   00:40
   BBC One (except Northern Ireland, Wales)
5. Mon 9 Feb 2009
   20:00
   BBC HD
6. Wed 18 Feb 2009
   01:45
   BBC One (Northern Ireland only)
7. Wed 25 Mar 2009
   21:00
   BBC HD
8. Sun 3 May 2009
   22:00
   BBC HD
9. Thu 1 Oct 2009
   21:00
   BBC Four