TELEVISION
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday March 29, 2011
HOW EARTH MADE US8.30pm, ABC1"Some say the world will end in fire,Some say in ice.From what I've tasted of desire,I hold with those who favour fire.But if I had to perish twice,I think I know enough of hateTo know that for destruction iceIs also greatAnd would suffice."From Frost and T.S. Eliot to Prometheus, the essential element is a chip off the old solar furnace. Fire is one of the key forces that have shaped the emergence of life on the planet and which determine the destiny of most things that live on it. Professor Iain Stewart explores mankind's paradoxical relationship with the geography, climate and geology of Earth and the ways those factors dictate our behaviour, enterprise and capabilities. On the face of it, a program about rocks, minerals and the elements might seem a little dry but Stewart's performance skills bring a refreshing enthusiasm to his specialty. And, as ongoing events remind us, the primal forces of the planet should be respected and regarded with the awe they so obviously inspire in the Scot. Perhaps his earlier programs, 10 Things You Didn't Know about Earthquakes and 10 Things You Didn't Know about Tsunamis, are ripe for rebroadcast. If Stewart's programs help reconnect us to the environment, we may yet modify the rapacious, strip-mining attitude that is pushing the joint to its fail-safe point. The forces examined here are epic and remind us that the Earth could, if mismanaged and abused any further, spit humanity out and carry on without us.WONDERS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM8.30pm, SBS OneIf the green and pleasant hills of Earth do succumb to the predations of our species, some futurists suggest the obvious option is to abandon the place and bugger off into the cosmos to find another planet to despoil. The ultimate expression of the throwaway society! So what are the options if we choose relocation over renovation? Like Iain Stewart, Brian Cox is also concerned with essential elements and, given humans consist of somewhere between 55 per cent and 75 per cent water, H2O is one of the imperatives for off-planet colonies. Research into the prospects of finding alien life in the cosmos accedes that other intelligent forms would likely emerge on planets made habitable by an atmosphere and water. How many have been found thus far? Not many. There are signs that a planet in orbit around star HD 209458 might be a possibility. And as the real estate agents say, location is everything. It's only 150 light years away, according to data accumulated by the Hubble Space Telescope. Pack the bags, Maude!WINNERS & LOSERS8.30pm, Channel SevenWhen it comes to the $8 million lotto win, Jenny is a loser. But Bec reckons for the sake of equality and in the spirit of mateship, she should be given her quarter even though she opted not to punt a few dollars on the (winning) ticket. The others seem reasonably amenable to such a proposition until Jenny unleashes one of her rants.TOP GEAR8.30pm, Channel NineThe original Top Gear top cats - Richard, Jeremy and James - indulge in a spirited encounter with the team assembled to present the Australian version of the program. It's not exactly the Ashes but good-natured rivalry emerges as they behave badly with a Ferrari 599 GTO. The celebrity guest is one-time tennis champion Boris Becker, who famously entered a broom cupboard at Nobu, a Japanese restaurant in London, with glamorous Russian model Angela Ermakova. Their two-minute encounter delivered unfortunate dividends. Fault!
© 2011 Sydney Morning Herald