BBC unveils line-up for Darwin season
- Published: 03 July 2008 08:07
- Author: Will Hurrell
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 03 July 2008 08:07
- Reader Responses
The BBC has revealed the full scope of its Charles Darwin season, with a raft of single docs and radio content sitting around flagship projects.
The season will go out this winter to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth on 12 February. It will explore Darwin's The Origin of Species - and will provide content for television, radio and online.
The season will kick off on BBC1 with a 60-minute special from the Natural History Unit in Bristol fronted by David Attenborough. Tree of Life (working title) explores the origin of Darwin's groundbreaking idea with Attenborough making a case for the importance of the science of evolution.
The NHU is also behind a 10 x 60-minute series for BBC1 called Life, which the BBC promises will capture "some of the most awe-inspiring animal survival behaviours ever shown on TV". The series has been four years in the making and is a co-production with BBC Worldwide and Discovery.
Two more one-off documentaries from BBC science and history are planned for BBC4 including What Darwin Didn't Know, a 90-minute film exploring "evo devo". This new field of genetics combines the study of evolution with development in the womb.
The second BBC4 commission is Darwin: In His Own Words, which will chart Darwin's thoughts in the long period before he made his theory known to the public.
Also part of the season is the 3 x 60-minute Andrew Marr on Darwin's Legacy (working title) from BBC science and history, as revealed in Broadcast (25/04/08).
Jimmy Doherty will front BBC2's Darwin's Garden (3 x 60 minutes) in which the entomologist and farmer will recreate many of Darwin's ground-breaking plant experiments. The series is co-funded by the Open University.
BBC Radio 3 and 4 will also mark the anniversary with a range of features and programmes.
Martin Davidson, commissioning editor for specialist factual (in-house), was the overall commissioner for the season.
