Evolve

This is a terrific and timely series (it being the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin and the 150th anniverary of the publication of "Origin of Species"), and the presentation here is worthy of attention. The narration, the photography...everything about this series from The History Channel...is as good as you would hope.My problem with it is, while the series documents the results of evolution in splendid detail, it gives short shrift to HOW evolution achieves its wonders. For example, despite the iconic role that the human eye once played in creationist arguments, the evolution of vision is now pretty well-understood. See, for example, "Endless Forms Most Beautiful" by Sean Carroll, or "Why Evolution is True" by Jerry Coyne for an explanation of eye evolution. But in the episode on eye evolution, while much was made of the results of natural selection, very little was said about what natural selection was acting upon--that is, the type of genetic mutations and so forth that resulted, ultimately, in camera-like eyes, and especially color vision.I have found this to be true in other episodes within the series as well. Perhaps the concern was that information on the "how" of evolution, being both more speculative and complex, did not lend itself as well to TV presentation as did footage of ancient organisms and present-day examples of evolution's RESULTS. But the fact is, many people remain profoundly ignorant of the most basic facts about how evolution works. It's hard not to think that, despite what this series can mean for the informed (a whirl-wind tour of evolution's greatest hits), it's a missed opportunity educationally. And it didn't have to be ponderous. People like Neil Shubin with "Your Inner Fish" and especially Carl Zimmer with such books as "At the Water's Edge" have shown just how entertaining--even awe-inspiring--the facts of evolution can be.I would recommend "Evolve" to anyone who enjoys nature. But I would not feel satisfied that they yet knew very much. For that, other resources must be relied upon. Perhaps that's the series' greatest value, then. To stir up curiosity and promote further learning.

I just bought this series for a friend to watch with his 13 and 11 year old sons. While there are many great science series available for parents to watch with teens, 'Evolve' stands out. It explores current evolutionaries findings while utilizing recent breakthroughs in video programming. This combination of information with imagery makes for a facinating production.The series also offers insightful commentary from a handful of scientists. Each episode sets aside time for experiments. These exhibitions seem especially beneficial to young viewers; allowing them to witness the steps taken in reaching particular theories.Teaching evolution to kids in their early teens is the best introduction to real science. Unlike courses such as chemistry and phyics, the basic concept of evolution is easy to understand and offers room for discovery.Parents should watch this series with their kids. It's not the type of show to viewed in one sitting, but over time, could inspire a career in science. Or, at the very least, introduce both parent and child to a lifetime of discovery.

The "Evolve" pack represents one of the most incredible collection ever made about the evolution subject, with amazing new and astonishing information on the evolution and general Biological sciences, with the quality guaranteed under the seal of The History Channel documentaries. If you are intended to buy this pack, I'm sure you'll be delightful with every single chapter inside, comprising the evolution of jaws, shape, sex, size, eye, flight, guts, communication, skin and speed. All of these chapters are full of digital and anatomical computer art, with a wide geological contextualization of these themes, filled with real images of the animals and followed by interviews and conclusions on these discussion of some top researchers of these areas. If you are a student, school or university teacher and/or apreciate the discoveries on the evolutionary sciences, you will certainly love all the complete series in this pack as I did! Enjoy, fellows!

Evolve is a pretty good documentary series on how an assortment of different animal and human features may have evolved. Each dealswith a different feature such as size, jaws, eyes, ect.It has some good info and is entertaining. But it is a little lax on presenting compeating ideas and theories, or for that mattereven admiting they exist. There are several ideas of what may drive evolution in different instances and situations. In this,the series is very one sided.Dispite this, it`s still interesting and entertaining.

I love this series. Instead of the classic era/age chronological approach to evolution, this series takes a structural approach to evolution to show how various different animals evolved similar traits in vastly different ways. I was at first very cautious about this series. History channel has a nasty habit of creating over-sensationalized unscholarly docs that are merely designed to grab a wide audience. The team that created this series however, did an excellent job of simply presenting the experts and their arguments in an engaging and complete way. Overall, this series far exceeded my expectations, and deserves much more attention, especially during a time where so many still cling to literal interpretations of the creation narratives of a certain desert culture.

Received.