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The Best Episodes Written By John Rubin

Every TV Episode Written by John Rubin Ranked from Best to Worst by Thousands of Voters

John Rubin Ratings Summary

  • Ape Genius
    6.0/101 votes

    #1 - Ape Genius

    Season 35 Episode 12 - Aired 2/19/2008

    At a research site in Fongoli, Senegal, a female chimpanzee breaks off a branch, chews the end to make it sharp, and then uses this rudimentary spear to skewer a tasty bush baby hiding inside a hollow tree. It’s an astonishing breakthrough for primate researchers—the first time anyone has documented a chimpanzee wielding a carefully prepared, preplanned weapon. But it's only the latest in a slew of extraordinary new findings about ape behavior. The more researchers learn about the great apes—chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans—the more evidence they find of creative intelligence. What, then, is the essential difference between them and us? "Ape Genius," a NOVA-National Geographic special, explores that provocative question and examines research that is illuminating the ape mind. Bit by bit, investigators are finding an explanation for why the non-human great apes never made the breakthrough into a human-style culture that builds on the achievements of previous generations.

    Director: John Rubin

    Writer: John Rubin