8.1/1074 votes#1 - Lower Than the Angels
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 5/5/1973
The programme follows the changes in Man as he marches out of Africa, through desert and ice age, to leave the print of his hand in a dark Spanish cave.
Director: Adrian Malone
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.0/1062 votes
#2 - The Harvest of the Seasons
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 5/12/1973
As the ice retreats and the land flowers, Man the hunter turns to agriculture, domesticating plant and animal, imposing his will on the wild wheat and the horse.
Director: Adrian Malone
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 7.9/1064 votes
#3 - The Grain in the Stone
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 5/19/1973
The wandering nomads cease their migrations and settle in townships, learning new skills.
Director: Mick Jackson
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.1/1063 votes
#4 - The Hidden Structure
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 5/26/1973
The programme follows the beginnings of chemistry: from the techniques of ancient metallurgy in China and Japan to the mystical searchings of the alchemists.
Director: Mick Jackson
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.0/1061 votes
#5 - Music of the Spheres
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 6/2/1973
Mathematics is a way of describing the world that we see, hear and touch.
Director: Adrian Malone
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.4/1057 votes
#6 - The Starry Messenger
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 6/9/1973
From the earliest times, Man has looked outwards from the earth and wondered at the movements of sun, stars and planets. The programme hinges on the crisis of the scientific conscience in the person of the astronomer Galileo and in the rich cities of Venice and Rome, the scenes both of his triumph and his punishment.
Director: Adrian Malone
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.2/1053 votes
#7 - The Majestic Clockwork
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 6/16/1973
The universe of Newton, clear, English, stately, like the music and the great buildings of his century ticking away with a fine clockwork mechanism, wisely regulated by laws. Then the quizzical world of Einstein whose direct truth and questions could turn the dignified universe upside-down in the interests of a clearer understanding. We ride with Einstein on his beam of light to end our journey in our own century.
Director: Dick Gilling
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.2/1049 votes
#8 - The Drive for Power
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 6/23/1973
As political revolutions shook France and America, another quieter, yet more profound restructuring was taking place in Britain - the Industrial Revolution.
Director: David John Kennard
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.4/1052 votes
#9 - The Ladder of Creation
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 6/30/1973
How did life begin on earth? Dr Jacob Bronowski recounts the adventures of Alfred Russell Wallace, and how they triggered off the ideas of Charles Darwin.
Director: Mick Jackson
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.3/1046 votes
#10 - World Within World
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 7/7/1973
Dr Jacob Bronowski tells the story of the men and ideas that gave concrete expression to the invisible, intangible structure that lies beneath all matter.
Director: Mick Jackson
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.6/1057 votes
#11 - Knowledge or Certainty
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 7/14/1973
Dr Jacob Bronowski considers how the great achievement of physics in the 20th century has been to show that absolute certainty, in science or outside of it, is beyond our grasp.
Director: Mick Jackson
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.5/1044 votes
#12 - Generation Upon Generation
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 7/21/1973
Dr Jacob Bronowski follows the history of genetics, from the lonely experiments of Gregor Mendel to the discovery of the structure of DNA. Should we see human sexuality as a gift?
Director: Mick Jackson
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
- 8.4/1049 votes
#13 - The Long Childhood
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 7/28/1973
From his home, Dr Jacob Bronowski takes stock of man's complex and often precarious ascent, drawing on experiences from his own lifetime.
Director: Adrian Malone
Writer: Jacob Bronowski
The Best Episodes of The Ascent of Man Season 1
Every episode of The Ascent of Man Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of The Ascent of Man Season 1!
The Ascent of Man is a thirteen-part documentary television series produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films first transmitted in 1973, written and presented by...
Genre:Documentary
Network:BBC Two
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Lower Than the Angels" is the best rated episode of "The Ascent of Man" season 1. It scored 8.1/10 based on 74 votes. Directed by Adrian Malone and written by Jacob Bronowski, it aired on 5/5/1973. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Harvest of the Seasons".