Season 1
13 episodes · May 5, 1973
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S1E1Lower Than the Angels
May 5, 197350mThe programme follows the changes in Man as he marches out of Africa, through desert and ice age, to leave the print of his hand in a dark Spanish cave.
- S1E2
The Harvest of the Seasons
May 12, 197350mAs the ice retreats and the land flowers, Man the hunter turns to agriculture, domesticating plant and animal, imposing his will on the wild wheat and the horse.
- S1E3
The Grain in the Stone
May 19, 197350mThe wandering nomads cease their migrations and settle in townships, learning new skills.
- S1E4
The Hidden Structure
May 26, 197350mThe programme follows the beginnings of chemistry: from the techniques of ancient metallurgy in China and Japan to the mystical searchings of the alchemists.
- S1E5
Music of the Spheres
Jun 2, 197350mMathematics is a way of describing the world that we see, hear and touch.
- S1E6
The Starry Messenger
Jun 9, 197350mFrom the earliest times, Man has looked outwards from the earth and wondered at the movements of sun, stars and planets. The programme hinges on the crisis of the scientific conscience in the person of the astronomer Galileo and in the rich cities of Venice and Rome, the scenes both of his triumph and his punishment.
- S1E7
The Majestic Clockwork
Jun 16, 197350mThe universe of Newton, clear, English, stately, like the music and the great buildings of his century ticking away with a fine clockwork mechanism, wisely regulated by laws. Then the quizzical world of Einstein whose direct truth and questions could turn the dignified universe upside-down in the interests of a clearer understanding. We ride with Einstein on his beam of light to end our journey in our own century.
- S1E8
The Drive for Power
Jun 23, 197350mAs political revolutions shook France and America, another quieter, yet more profound restructuring was taking place in Britain - the Industrial Revolution.
- S1E9
The Ladder of Creation
Jun 30, 197350mHow did life begin on earth? Dr Jacob Bronowski recounts the adventures of Alfred Russell Wallace, and how they triggered off the ideas of Charles Darwin.
- S1E10
World Within World
Jul 7, 197350mDr Jacob Bronowski tells the story of the men and ideas that gave concrete expression to the invisible, intangible structure that lies beneath all matter.
- S1E11
Knowledge or Certainty
Jul 14, 197350mDr Jacob Bronowski considers how the great achievement of physics in the 20th century has been to show that absolute certainty, in science or outside of it, is beyond our grasp.
- S1E12
Generation Upon Generation
Jul 21, 197350mDr Jacob Bronowski follows the history of genetics, from the lonely experiments of Gregor Mendel to the discovery of the structure of DNA. Should we see human sexuality as a gift?
- S1E13
The Long Childhood
Jul 28, 197350mFrom his home, Dr Jacob Bronowski takes stock of man's complex and often precarious ascent, drawing on experiences from his own lifetime.