Origins: The Journey of Humankind

Was so psyched to see this. Such an interesting subject matter but the way this is presented with reality TV style commentary and cringe worthy dramatizaions, ruins what could have been a very interesting and educational series. Why oh why did you have to make it in this format? Such a waste. This is definitely for the "American Idol" audience. Going to have to look elsewhere to find some mentally provocative programming. Seems this is the way Nat Geo is going now.

◦ An overacted and melodramatic series of speculations, conjectures, dramatizations, & fictional speculations woven into a 'story' of key elements of mankind's progress: i.e., fire, cooking, gunpowder.

◦ The narrator, Jason Silva, presents dialogue with overacted caffeinated gusto, using a repetitious series of stiff, wooden gestures reminiscent of President George Bush. The format and style of the show is so amateurish that it made me wonder if the target audience was elementary or junior high. LCD in High-Def.

This is a National Geographic series about everything human and our world. It's a big subject. It's too big. The show is noise and fury without enough enlightenment. There are eight episodes. Each one tackles such a big part of human existence that it can't possibly cover them in one hour episodes. The show has a cast of educated presenters and host Jason Silva. Most of it is a series of reenactments, talking heads, and always the fast-cutting flashy connective sequences.

There are some issues with accuracy. It's problematic because one expects better from National Geographic. Did we really discover fire in 12,000 BC? Despite the importance of accuracy, the biggest problem is the show's scattered disjointed way of tackling each issue. It feels like the host Jason Silva is attacking me with his wild hand gestures and words. He's looking directly into the camera and barking at me. The flashy jolting presentation doesn't allow anything to sink in. The show jumps from one place and time to another and then another and another. It's too disjointed for anything educational to sink into the audience. By the end of each episode, I could only remember bits of disconnected information which leaves me with no new insight or new understanding. Apparently, all of transportation leads to the discovery of Marilyn Monroe. I don't know why that's important. It might be worthwhile for dumb people with no concept of science or history. For an educated audience, this really only skims the vast history of man. With such a big subject matter, this show could never dig that deep.

Look, I don't disagree with all the negative points that others have raised: flagrant inaccuracies; glaring omissions; irritating narration; poor acting; too America- / Euro-centric; and a dumbed-down patronising style. Nevertheless, I watched Origins primarily in order to learn interesting new facts, and it did teach me quite a few: Kublai Khan's pioneering use of paper money (although the show is inaccurate - the Song Dynasty were the first to issue paper money, before the Mongols); the work of Nostradamus as a plague healer (although the show inaccurately portrays him as a proper doctor, which he wasn't); Tollense (Germany) as the world's oldest large-scale battlefield; Robert Koch's role as the founder.of microbiology; and El Castillo (Spain) as the home of the world's oldest known cave painting. Therefore, in my opinion, it's not a bad show.

Hyper, electronic/industrial melodramatic soundtrack, lots of flashy CGI with rotating/panning camera work, cinematically contrived, fast-paced cut scenes. It's a documentary with ADD.

The host/narrator, Jason Silva, is absolutely the worst I have ever seen/heard. Is he high on coke? it's jarring--I can't stand his overly emphatic speech mannerisms. The tone has a quality of being very condescending/patronizing, as if he needs to make you understand just how important everything he says is. He needs to see how to convey the sense of wonder in presenting knowledge--maybe watch Carl Sagan, James Burke, David Attenborough, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and many other successful narrators. It's also hard to "connect" with the narrator when the stupid camera constantly breaks eye contact with the narrator with off-angle camera work.

Material itself is fine, in my opinion. Yes, it over-dramatizes too many minor points with lots of hyperbole, but I get that it's an interpretive work. It has educational value. Just hit the mute button when Silva appears and lower the volume a bit for the rest of the show. I tried watching that way and found that I missed nothing, confirming that he adds nothing to the presentation of the material. My blood pressure and stress levels came down, and was able to enjoy the show.