If you consider yourself a documentary nut then you undoubtedly hold a special place in your heart for the BBC. The British station has backed some of the greatest documentary series of our time and recently the genre has become quite popular on DVD. Whether it's Planet Earth, Blue Planet, or even wildlife specials, the BBC proves time and time again that they have the resources to back a quality project. Such is the case with their latest release, Earth: The Biography.

Hosted by geologist extraordinaire Dr. Iain Stewart, Earth: The Biography is a five episode series that began airing on National Geographic's channel in July. For a series with such a broad topic as the Earth itself the amount of episodes seems painfully short. After watching the entire release this becomes more evident. I wanted more of Stewart's show because, quite honestly, this was one of the best documentaries I have seen in a while.

There are many reasons why this show is a success but one of the biggest is Stewart himself. Much like David Attenborough from Planet Earth and oh so many other documentaries, Stewart adds his own personality and expertise to Earth: The Biography. He has real enthusiasm for the subject matter in each episode and he brings a great amount of energy and knowledge to each topic. He brings to Earth what Steve Irwin brought to crocodiles; a certain spark that gets the viewer interested and hanging on his every word.

Not only does Stewart speak passionately but he also puts himself in harms way in order to give us an up close and personal view of some of the most breathtaking places on Earth. In this series you'll see him lowered into an active volcano, he crawls beneath a glacier, he flies to the stratosphere, and even rides in a speed boat ahead of a 20 mph tidal bore in the Amazon. Who doesn't enjoy seeing someone get up close and personal which something that could kill them? This series simply wouldn't be as enjoyable if Stewart wasn't a part of it.

Another feature in this show's cap is the cinematography which takes us on wild and rare journeys through our planet. Much like Planet Earth the high definition shooting captures some of the most fantastic details from remote corners of our home. At many points during the show I just wanted Stewart to stop with the information and allow the camera to sit and capture the beauty of the location. While this does happen once in a while it certainly doesn't take place often enough due to the fact that so much information is crammed into each episode.

The pacing for this series is fast; very fast. There is rarely a moment when Stewart stops talking about the subject matter and in all honesty this is both a positive and negative aspect of Earth: The Biography. So much information is wedged into each episode that it will leave your head reeling in many cases. To full capture the breadth of details you have to watch the episode again due of how lightning fast material is thrown at you. In each case of this series I watched the episode once and then again to allow everything to sink in. In most documentaries this would be a dull exercise but Earth: The Biography has so much going for it that you won't want to stop watching it.

As far as what's actually covered by this show the first disc features Volcanoes, Ice, and the Atmosphere as talking points. The second offers up the Ocean and glimpses at our Rare Planet. Each episode is finely focused on its topic and covers a variety of ways each affects our world. From the history of volcanoes providing the necessary building blocks for life on Earth to covering the massive amounts of energy the ocean has each episode talks at length about how each element helped shape our planet.

"Rare Planet" was arguably the most diverse episode for this series as it explored several facets of our planet's creation, the origins of life, and how mankind is affecting our environment. It's not outwardly preachy about how we're destroying our home but there are definitely some elements of that present inside. At any rate, this episode was probably the most influenced by Stewart's charm and personal views. It offers interesting insight into our world and is a nice time to spend with the guy who made this show as enjoyable as it was.

All around Earth: The Biography is a fascinating and successful documentary series that captures some breathtaking beauty and provides a wealth of information. The subject matters of the ocean, volcanoes, ice, and air have been waxed on about ad nauseam. Earth takes these known elements and infuses them with Stewart's narration to create something fresh in a world that is familiar. There're many interesting sights to behold here and the information is quite rich for each topic. If you're looking for a new documentary series that will supply plenty of knowledge and entertainment value then this is one to check out.

This DVD review is for an screener copy of the documentary. The quality of these discs may or may not necessarily reflect the final product. Should the final product become available this review will be adjusted to compensate for any differences.

With an anamorphic widescreen presentation, Earth: The Biography is a thing of beauty in most instances. Landscape shots and low motion photography yield the best results as the camera is able to capture every little detail across fast fields, forests, waters, and fire. Most of the images are crisp and clean with some very refined moments throughout. Unfortunately there are scenes which are softer and less focused than others and rapid movement of objects tends to appear somewhat blurry. Grain and edge enhancement are other factors in many parts of the Standard Definition release though they may be less significant with the better resolution of the Blu-ray edition.

One thing worth mentioning for Earth: The Biography is that it uses time elapsed imagery quite a bit to show just how the Earth is constantly changing. It's a nifty effect that really hits home some of the details but it doesn't really translate well in terms of video quality. The same can be said for some CGI and stock footage which is mostly hit or miss. Overall this is a finely filmed series and a good looking DVD but it's not quite as sharp as it could have been.

Documentaries are notorious for lacking in the audio department but thankfully Earth: The Biography comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation to spruce things up a bit. It does just that with the rear channels picking up some ambient noise and most of the music that plays throughout each episode. There aren't many sound effects employed here and for the most part the show is simply all about Stewart going on about one topic or another so the 5.1 doesn't really craft a sense of immersion. What's here is clearly defined and lacking of flaw which is really all you need from a documentary such as this. Optional subtitles are included.

No bonus features are available for this release.

Earth: The Biography is a very well done mini-series. The five episodes capture an incredible amount of detail and in most cases they feel as though they are bursting at the seams. With the variety of content each episode could easily have been carried over into two parts but as is the brisk pace makes the show feel like a rapid source of information. Dr. Iain Stewart's involvement in the project brings a great deal of energy and enthusiasm. He makes the content interesting and draws you in which is a challenging feat for any narrator but Stewart pulls it off with apparent ease.

If you've gone through other Earthly documentaries and you're looking for something else to watch you really can't go wrong with this show. It's a great little documentary that you'll undoubtedly go back to time and time again. Unfortunately the video quality is lackluster and the absence of bonus material doesn't help matters. As highly entertaining as this show is the standard definition DVD comes recommended.

Check out more of my reviews here. Head on over to my anime blog as well for random musings and reviews of anime, manga, and stuff from Japan!