Tsunami: Race Against Time

I genuinely believe everyone should watch this documentary.

It's hard to understand the full scope of this disaster until you do. I never realized this tsunami killed a quarter of a million people.

The documentary wasn't pure "doom and gloom." Periodically, this documentary surprises you with people who survived unbelievable odds. Seeing them reunited with their families is extremely heartwarming.

The amount of "new footage" is stunning. Other pieces of media about this disaster focus on Thailand, but 170,000 people in Indonesia lost their lives.

This documentary should make you feel hopeful about humanity. The amount of people who stepped up to save complete strangers is staggering. It reminds you that every day you spend alive is a lucky day.

I think it's an incredible documentary and shows lots of perspectives on this disaster. Still, I wish it was longer and covered all the countries hit. It was covering them sequentially, but suddenly it stops following that timeline. It's a missed potential for sure.

One interesting approach was to show the pacific tsunami warning center perspective on the earthquake. Shows how many things had to be improved in earthquake and tsunami detection and warning centers. In my country in Brazil, especifically my state Rio Grande do Sul, we also went through an unprecedented flood disaster last year and we also didn't have a proper detection nor warnings, getting hit by a disaster suddenly when you're just having a normal day is terrifying. I can only imagine the terror people faced on the tsunami, as it is many times worse.

That said, i really enjoyed all the episodes and i loved the format they chose for it. Quality wise it's top notch and extremely empathetic to the places covered.

This 4 piece documentary could have and should have been over 10 episodes. There is so much to look at.

The volunteers who made such a difference alone could be covered.

So many countries not covered.

There are so many golden pieces and parts that broke my heart too.

I was in Thailand that day and it was so weird how the country functioned. How it set to cope.

I've waited 20 years to watch even a 5 minute video of that morning. This is a solid and sensitive documentary. It's not made for money. It's there to show truly what happened and when. I still can't believe it all. Hopefully never happens again.

I literal cried my eyes out. All the stories, survivors, losses and the mega impact this tsunami had on mankind, is portrayed in the most respectable way to do so.

You feel and see the damage and all the live it costs. But you feel how remarkable people are by nature. Without knowing what to do, people absolutely know what to do. Working together and set up medical care.

The moral of this documentary is in my opinion that mankind is good in nature. And in time of crisis, that part is unknowingly what we'll do and wont be forgotten.

It takes a good, excellent producing team to create a documentary like this, but it's humanity that already made the story.

Absolutely recommend to everyone to watch it. We are committed in doing the right thing, and this documentary makes you feel it in every fiber of your body.

As many others have noted, this could have been a longer series in order to include more of the sites that were devastated. Still, it was a very encouraging view - one that gave hope as we saw people helping each other, lost family being found, people surviving injuries, and the eventual establishment of an Indian Ocean Warning System. I was pleased with the approach of letting survivors talk and enhancing their descriptions with video. Is it complete? No. Does it show the lengthy process of recovery? No. But it is a different view that adds considerably to the documented history. I suggest watching all 4 episodes in one sitting.