MEMBER REVIEW: I was quite impressed by this series, and really cannot recommend it enough. This 2005 five-disk series is a joint production of the National Film Board of Canada and NHK Japan, so you do not see the usual cast of scientists you see on Nova and other PBS series. And that is a good thing. I like those “usual guys” but hearing from new people brings new ideas for us to learn. And it is narrated by Christopher Plummer – what is not to like? It has good geology about the formation of the Earth and the evolution of life, but there is a different emphasis than the US products. I learned a lot of interesting new stuff, and I have been reading books and watching videos about all of this for many years. Many of the sites and rocks they use to illustrate their points come from the US – meteor crater, salt beds in the desert southwest and so forth. But they use those same old rocks to make new and different points. Microbes encased in salt from the Permian that can be brought back to life. And we see rocks and life in different places as well. New insights and a different take make this series a must-see for anyone interested in how the Earth formed and life evolved. It is a great keeper companion to the PBS series and Nova shows.