National Narrative

Mystery, danger, splendor, adventure. National Geographic has been broadcasting television specials that created and, many would argue, still maintain the standard for all nature programming since. Vigilantly focusing on what came before human beings, this special is a grand slam of 30 years of painstaking exploration and documentation. Its narrative sounds almost biblical: "In the beginning…" there was molten lava. The footage is, as you would expect, dazzling but it is the agile editing and well-crafted storytelling here that makes this video into a poignant success.