Posted: Tuesday 19th August 2008

Reviewed by Gregory Hughes

In his latest television outing, the renowned biologist Professor Richard Dawkins explores territory already familiar to his readers by combining two of his passions - Darwinism and an examination of religious belief. This three-part series examines Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection; the profound effect the idea had in our understanding of life, by blowing out of the water traditional understandings on the subject; and the damaging effect it had on religion's monopoly on supplying answers to fundamental questions about existence.

This series follows Dawkins after the enormous success of his bestselling book The God Delusion, in which he voiced his concerns about the campaign by the religious to present non-scientific theories of the origins of life to schoolchildren, which are expanded upon here. He also returns to the idea of understanding altruism, which formed the foundation of his first book, The Selfish Gene. In many ways, The Genius of Charles Darwin is Richard Dawkins's Greatest Hits, but the central idea of examining the life and work of Charles Darwin, Dawkins's hero, (which admittedly rarely stays the focus for long) holds the series together across the three episodes.

In part one of the series, Professor Dawkins, an entertaining host in his evident passion for his subject, introduces the simple yet sublime theory of evolution and takes this to a science class of London schoolchildren, who are generally hostile to the idea because it contradicts what their holy books say. 'A few hours in the science lab is no match for a lifetime of religious indoctrination', Dawkins concludes in voiceover before taking them to the beach to look for fossils so that they can see the evidence of the theory with their own eyes. Dawkins then recounts the journey Darwin took on HMS Beagle that led to the development of his theory, talking to palaeontologists and expounding Darwin's theory. Later he returns to the schoolchildren, and finds that their beliefs have been slightly challenged, from which he must have taken comfort.

The second part, which is subtitled The Fifth Ape, Dawkins attempts to explain the evolution of homo sapiens, something Darwin had 'skirted around'. Whilst adoring Darwinism as a scientist, Dawkins has struggled to reconcile the dog-eat-dog reality of nature, red in tooth and claw, with his liberal world view; and he attempts to explain how humans evolved to be altruistic to one another, even perfect strangers, whilst never losing sight of the fact that we are just one species of animal in the rich and varied world. He returns to Kenya, his birthplace, and speaks to Richard Leakey, a leading palaeontologist, to examine the bone evidence of our ancestors such as homo erectus, soon to be viewable in a controversial museum on evolution. The look at the genetic similarity we share with chimps, which is measurable through studies of DNA, the genetic make-up of all life. However the Evangelical Church of Kenya is leading a 'hide the bones' campaign, which leads to an uncomfortable interview with minister Adoyo, who finds what he understands about evolution unpalatable. Steven Pinker, an evolutionary psychologist, provides some interesting insight into the evolution of the human psyche, a subject often ignored in favour of a focus on anatomy. These meetings and insights leads Dawkins to explain how he believes homo sapiens have overthrown the tyranny of natural selection to create a society that operates above it.

This sort of subject matter would already make very uncomfortable viewing for the religious. However Dawkins' third and final instalment, God Strikes Back, looks at the other side of the argument, particularly the religious idea of creationism, in which he comes into conflict with a number of religious apologists. He also examines how Darwin's loss of faith, and his wife's strong faith, caused problems in their marriage. The first encounter with the religious in this episode is in the form of creationist John Mackay, who attempts to shoot down the theory of evolution because he can't see it happening with his own eyes. When Dawkins attempts to explain that it can take millions of years, Mackay becomes irate and talks over Dawkins, before bringing the interview to a curt close. 'That's ridiculous, but anyway, thank you very much,' Dawkins says. Mackay is relatively polite and receptive to new ideas in comparison to some, as the abusive emails Dawkins receives from religious believers proves. Next Dawkins faces Wendy Wright of the group Concerned Women for America, who by the sound of it, are America's answer to Mary Whitehouse's National Viewers' and Listeners' Association. Nick Cowan, a chemistry teacher at the Bluecoats' School in Liverpool, is a creationist who sees fossils as evidence of God's plan and considers the word of the bible of higher authority than the evidence of science, especially when it comes to the supposed age of the earth, which he believes to be less than ten thousand years. Dawkins worries about this man teaching children, and interviews school science teachers, whom he judges frightened to contradict the religious doctrines with which the children have been brought up. Dr Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, is next on the list, and he responds with poetic language when asked why he believes the Virgin Birth really took place. Dawkins, unimpressed by what he sees as the Church of England trying to have both God and Darwin (who was, against his wishes, buried in Westminster Abbey), worries that this stance allows in the fundamentalists.

That so many others squirm when asked awkward questions by Dawkins shows how essential he is in challenging the status quo that treads gently on religious beliefs; and how brave he is to ask the unpalatable and uncover ignorance at every turn in the face of such hostility. Given his divisive appeal, this series is unlikely to be viewed by those with strong religious conviction; but a compelling and fascinating account of one of the major scientific theories of all time will still hold wide appeal. This series brings together in a highly visual and accessible style (which some reviewers will no doubt call patronising) Dawkins' explanations of Darwinism and human evolution. An intelligent and thought-provoking documentary; this is a must-see for any fans of the good professor, and anyone with an interest in the biological sciences and the nature of belief.