Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives
- The First Eden (1987)
- The Trials of Life (1990)
Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives is a 1989 four-part BBC documentary series concerning the discovery of fossils. It is written and presented by David Attenborough, produced by Mike Salisbury, and was originally broadcast in April 1989. It was made in between the second and third instalments of Attenborough's "Life" series: The Living Planet and The Trials of Life, respectively. The study of rocks and their ancient secrets was something of a boyhood passion for David Attenborough. In these programmes, his enthusiasm for the subject is undiminished. With the help of expert palaeontologists, fossil hunters and (for the time) modern animation techniques, Attenborough attempts to show how life evolved in Earth's distant past. To do so, he travels the globe to visit the world's most famous fossil sites.
Release
2 Entertain published the series on DVD (catalog number BBCDVD1466) on 27 September 2004.
List of episodes
No. | Title | Original air date | |
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1 | "Magic in the Rocks" | 23 April 1989 (1989-04-23) | |
A picture of prehistoric life emerges, as Attenborough unearths several major clues in the form of fossilised remains that were undiscovered for millennia. | |||
2 | "Putting Flesh on Bone" | 30 April 1989 (1989-04-30) | |
Attenborough explores vanished lives of prehistoric creatures and using the latest evidence, scientists reconstruct a pterodactyl in the form of a model aircraft—to see if such a beast could indeed have flown.
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3 | "Dinosaur" | 7 May 1989 (1989-05-07) | |
Attenborough visits several museums of natural history. With the aid of dinosaur skeletons, he demonstrates how they existed in real life, and speculates about the reasons for their sudden demise.
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4 | "The Rare Glimpses" | 14 May 1989 (1989-05-14) | |
Four famous locations that have the most suitable conditions for fossilisation are explored. Not only are common animals preserved, but also plants and other, seldom-seen creatures. |
External links
- Lost Worlds Vanished Lives at the British Film Institute
- Lost Worlds, Vanished Lives at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Life on Earth (1979)
- The Living Planet (1984)
- The Trials of Life (1990)
- Life in the Freezer (1993)
- The Private Life of Plants (1995)
- The Life of Birds (1998)
- The Life of Mammals (2002)
- Life in the Undergrowth (2005)
- Life in Cold Blood (2008)
- Planet Earth (2006)
- Planet Earth II (2016)
- Planet Earth III (2023)
and programmes
Series |
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One-off programmes |
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- David Attenborough's Natural Curiosities (episodes) (2013–17)
- When Björk Met Attenborough (2013)
- Our Planet (2019)
- Wild Karnataka (2019)
- David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020)
- Breaking Boundaries (2021)
- Prehistoric Planet (2022)
and films
- Flying Monsters 3D (2010)
- The Penguin King (2011)
- Kingdom of Plants 3D (2012)
- Galapagos 3D (2013)
- David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive (2014)
- David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies 3D (2015)
- Attenborough in Paradise (2005)
- The Life Collection (2005)
- Life on Land (2008)
- David Attenborough's Life Stories (2009–11)
- Tweet of the Day (2013–14)
- A Life on Our Planet (2020)
- Frederick Attenborough (father)
- Richard Attenborough (brother)
- John Attenborough (brother)
- Michael Attenborough (nephew)
- Jane Attenborough (niece)
- Charlotte Attenborough (niece)
- Tom Attenborough (great nephew)
- Will Attenborough (great nephew)