Have two hours? See “History of the World in Two Hours”

You could do a whole lot worse than to spend your Sunday night checking out the entire history of our so-great-yet-so-small planet. Sunday, Oct. 2, to be precise, H2 will present History of the World in Two Hours, tracing the story of us and this stone we inhabit in space from the time of the Big Bang to the dawn of life, from the Precambrian through the Mesozoic eras and up to what we know as human civilization today. And it will all unfold in a minuscule 120 minutes.

Every beat in the story will present a connection from the distant past to our world as we know it today, connecting us and the world we feel we’ve made to the history that has helped shape all of it, and us.

Told in a thrilling, fast-paced style, the film hits the highlights of our planet’s widely varied story, examining the Big Bang, the birth of our solar system, the emergence of life, the downfall of the dinosaurs, the rise of primates, the epic journey of Columbus, the invention of the steam engine and much more. But most importantly, it will show how so
many of these events are improbably connected, from the 50-million-year-old seashells that now make up the Great Pyramids of Egypt to how grass was responsible for the primates learning to walk upright.

Premieres Sunday, Oct. 2 on H2, and Thursday, Oct. 6 on History.

20 Comments

  1. I am sure you had numerous “Susan”s as well as numerous responders similarly critical of her, and on and on. Ignore them all but please continue with similar type magnificent programs. It should be obvious to all [but some still won’t get it] that after great research and consideration you selected historically “unique” developments through the ages to enumerate your capsuled history, while many other possibly equally impressive events must be put aside due to time and space constraints. The still dissatisfied can get together and make hemp outfits while concocting other examples of our universe!

  2. Although i don`t believe in religion,i do believe in God or the creator .So let me get this straight ,where there was nothing but an atom ,that exploded one day ,and everything that is out there ,the Universe and beyond and our world that is one of a kind ,perfect for our kind to evolve into what we are today ,good or bad just happened ???????? If you take religion out of the equation and believe that the universe is billions of years old like i do and believe that a higher power set everything in motion ,is my belief not anymore credible than the big bang theory ?The universe is but a dot in the eye of the creator ,a billion years is but a blink.

    • For someone who calls themselves non-religious you sure sound like you believe in a god – belief in a god makes you religious.

    • This is exactly the issue I have with religion. Your entire understanding of the world around you has been polluted by religious dogma and that’s a shame. Please educate yourself with something other than religious nonsense. Open your eyes and listen to reason…

      • well Dan,’pollution by religious dogma’is/has been ‘the pollution’ since the fear of the unknown first began being leveraged to control others,no?I personally would be described best ‘religiously’ as Pantheist-The SOC is in all things.There is no ‘Big Daddy,super-human consciousness in the sky’The task,the way?; to be moral beings to the best of our ability-w/o threat of hell,nor promise of heaven…[2 panatheists:Sittingbull &Einstein]

    • man made ‘religion’.the natural quest of human consciousness-‘meaning’assures we seek “god”.However I suggest ‘god’ is so loaded with anthropomorphization,ie)’god’ has been created in MAN’s image that we recognize deeper.There IS ‘existence’.Therefore,a source of existence-‘the creator’? I call it the SOC (source of creation),& cease insisting that we know more than we do.Let’s grow up!(Praise the SOC!)

  3. This is Mondo Cane (a motion picture of the 1960s) with so many better pieces of knowledge of modern thinking without relying on unproven beliefs. Thank you !

  4. This History of Earth in Two Hours is a magnificent summation of hundreds of theories, scientific known evidences, and non-sectarian. This show should be shown in every school, in every year, from third grade through high school with differing discussions, concentrations, questions to be answered,and varying views of areas that may arise or issues that may be brought up in class. Instead of funding more sports stadiums, or coaches with high salaries and questionable practices; we should endow programs such as this and provide them as a national event for families,medication research groups, students, researchers, and our future leaders. Please make this video part of your secondary curricula to ignite our youth to want to study our earth, science, and technologies so much more than those in competing countries or beliefs.

  5. pathetic – left out how farming came about which arose out of the recognition that creation is more than the sum of it’s natural parts & thus the need to worship made hunter gathers build permanent worship centers which then required a permenent/predictable food source –

    left out subsequent critical civ. building developments ie law, monarchy, eventually greco roman democratic city states, the Church’s preservation and enlightenment of man through the dark ages/middle ages & finally the arrival of modernity w/ the rennaissance –

    instead skips all this & says trade is the sole reason along w/ help from the arabs, which is partyly true, but in this propaganda entirely exclusive we arrived in the new world –

    sorry guys but look into the so called ” historians'” commentating & they’re almost exclusively english & the english curriculum cuts out western civ from 5th c. ad to 16th c ad to coincide w/ the protestant reformation & cut out their national shame of leaving western civ/church & writing off 500 ad – 1550 ad – we are brainwashed by this negative part of the anglo tradition, namely it’s well document propaganda against the continent, the church & even against it’s own civilization

  6. Loved it
    Saw the last 90 mins (missed the first 30) of this last week and thought it was fascinating.
    A cosmic join the dots
    Had me thinking all week since

    TV rarely manages to do that nowdays

    P.S. leave Susan alone
    She can’t help it and you won`t convince her with facts.
    That’s what faith is a belief despite no proof or proof to the contrary.

  7. I watched this with my family this weekend. My 7 and 11 year old boys loved it and asked questions the entire time.

    I wish this type of programming was availabel when i was a kid!!

  8. Some people loved this program because it’s cool to condense the history of everything into 2 hours — these people probably liked Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire.” These guys like microwavable food.
    Other people hated the show because it did not acknowledge their limited, narrow religious perspective of creation. These people are crazy.
    Look, this show was just pure entertainment, nothing more, nothing less.

  9. Although I enjoyed the first part of the show, I was not so thrilled with the part that dealt with man’s relatively short time on planet Earth. Of course I didn’t expect them to squeeze in all the important historical events that have taken place in the last 3000 years, but there was one singular event that took place at the end of WWII that should not have been omitted simply for the sake of time restraints.
    The World changed forever when, in 1945 the United States, in an attempt to end the war, dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. Suddenly the world had to deal with the possibility that man had the ability to destroy the planet, and that a third world war would most likely end with that result.
    To omit this event and the effect that it had on the world borders on negligence. Anyone who lived through the “Cold War” and the Cuban Missile Crisis would back me up on this. In all honesty, I really can’t recommend this special because of this inexcusable omission.

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