Darwin's Brave New World

2009, 3 x 54 minute episodes

A series containing

Origins, Evolutions, Publish and Be Damned

Darwin's Brave New World is the story of how four young voyagers to the Southern Hemisphere changed our world, forever. The epic adventures of Charles Darwin, Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Alfred Russel Wallace revolutionized science, turned society on its head and gave birth to an extraordinary theory about the evolution of life on earth. In this brilliant three-part dramatised series, we take a fresh look at Charles Darwin's oft-overlooked experiences in New Zealand, Australia and the Cocos & Keeling Islands and discover that these extraordinary places were crucial in formulating his radical theory of evolution. Australasia was also critical in forging the lives and careers of Darwin's greatest allies: Joseph Hooker, Thomas Huxley and Alfred Russel Wallace. These three men would support and defend Charles Darwin through years of illness, isolation, agonizing self-doubt and religious crisis. Without their courage and tenacity, Darwin may never have published On the Origin of Species - his great work about evolution and a book that changed the way we understand our world and our place in it.

A Screen Australia National Documentary Program. A ScreenWorld and Ferns Productions production. Produced in association with the NSW Film and Television Office and the ABC with the assistance of the Canadian Television Fund and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Made in association with History Television (UK) and ZDF in co-operation with ARTE. An Australia-Canada Co-production. © 2011 NFSA, ScreenWorld, Ferns Productions, NSW Film and Television Office.

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Classification: G

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