Available on
BBC Two

Chris Packham uses the latest science to explore some of the most important moments in the Earth's billions of years of history. In the process, he explores sagas including the emergence of life following a vast asteroid bombardment, a period 800 million years ago where global temperatures collapsed, a moment 252 million years ago where life was almost wiped out, and the emergence of humanity as a force in its own right. During this journey deep into the planet's past, Packham considers what it might mean for the Earth of today.

Inferno: Episode Image
Episode 1Inferno

Chris Packham explores the dramatic moment nearly all life on Earth was wiped out.

Snowball: Episode Image
Episode 2Snowball

Life’s existence hangs in the balance when the ancient Earth almost entirely freezes over.

Green: Episode Image
Episode 3Green

How plant life turned the Earth from a barren rock into a vibrant green world.

Atmosphere: Episode Image
Episode 4Atmosphere

The almost implausible story of how our life-sustaining atmosphere came to exist.

Human: Episode Image
Episode 5Human

From the end of the dinosaurs to the rise of the planet’s most unlikely force: humanity.

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