MEMBER REVIEW: This 2010 series is a 2-disk 5-part set from the BBC. Being the BBC, the video is spectacular. Sometimes the music overwhelms the narration, but it is always spectacular to look at. And the series goes all over the planet. Professor Iain Stewart, a geologist, is the series producer and narrator, and if you like a thick Scots accent, he is the guy for you. This is a must-see for geology and history enthusiasts. “Water” explores the water cycle and how water shaped civilizations through history. There is history that has not been explored a lot, and different ways of looking at various civilizations and how they managed water. And it explores the politics of water, and how mismanagement ended empires. “Deep Earth” explores caves, volcanoes, plate tectonics & other deep-Earth phenomena. They get into mining, how the minerals were emplaced, & then exploited by man. They correlate fault lines, water, and cities. Fault lines are where the profit is, disaster notwithstanding. “Wind” explores how people have exploited the winds in sailing, but also the patterns of the winds around the planet. From the discovery of the trade winds & the age of exploration & the slave trade, to the dust bowl, wind & weather have shaped civilizations. It is as much meteorology as plain wind. “Fire” explores how man has harnessed fire for our use and civilization building as the human signature. Fuel drives civilization, and various energy crises are explored. From wood to coal to oil, man has used various carbon sources to fuel civilization. And now we have to break out of dependency on oil. “Human Planet” explores how people have changed the planet, purposely & by accident. The point is made that humans are as much a geological force on the planet as any natural force, so we need to be mindful about it. The extras go more in depth about a few aspects of the episodes in an informal manner. “Crystal Caves” goes into the gypsum caves in Mexico. They talk about the physical environment and how it impacted filming. “Walking through Fire” goes into the logistics of safety and using the suit. “Paragliding” shows the vagaries of flying that way.