# Miracle Planet > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Miracle_Planet > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Miracle_Planet.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Planet > Source revision: 1294525047 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{for|the fictional video game world|Sonic CD#Plot}} {{cleanup rewrite|date=April 2016}} {{Infobox television | image = | caption = | image_size = | runtime = 300 minutes (approx.) | starring = Christopher Plummer (narrator) | channel = [Science Channel](/source/Science_Channel) | country = Japan | language = Japanese, English | num_episodes = 6 | first_aired = | last_aired = | related = }} ''' ''Miracle Planet'' '''is a six-part [documentary](/source/documentary_film) series, co-produced by Japan's [NHK](/source/NHK) and the [National Film Board of Canada](/source/National_Film_Board_of_Canada) (NFB), narrated by [Christopher Plummer](/source/Christopher_Plummer) (Seiko Nakajo in the original Japanese), which tells the 4.6-billion-year-old story of how life has evolved from its humble beginnings to the diversity of living [creatures](/source/Animal) today. It is a remake of the 1989 series produced by NHK and KCTS. Filmed around the world and based upon the most recent scientific findings, ''Miracle Planet'' combines location footage and interviews with leading [scientist](/source/scientist)s, along with [computer animation](/source/computer_animation), to depict the cataclysmic events that have shaped our planet and all of the life-forms within it. The five standard episodes depict the evolution of life on Earth in perspective with our place in the universe - from the simplest [microbes](/source/Microorganism) to the complexity and diversity that is found on the planet today. The entire 5-hour series ''Miracle Planet'' aired on [Discovery Channel](/source/Discovery_Channel) in Canada on April 22, 2005 as an [Earth Day](/source/Earth_Day) special. The music was composed by Daniel Toussaint, and orchestrated by Daniel Toussaint. ==Episodes== (Fifty minutes each) ===''The Violent Past''=== This episode chronicles the early stages of the Earth's history, from formation to the mid-[Precambrian](/source/Precambrian). It discusses the beginning of life on earth, mentioning [panspermia](/source/panspermia) as a possible candidate. It then simulates a [collision with an asteroid](/source/collision_with_an_asteroid) {{convert|500|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide, similar to those that formed the [protoplanet](/source/protoplanet)s. ===''Snowball Earth''=== This episode mainly focuses on the two [Snowball Earth](/source/Snowball_Earth) events in the mid-[Precambrian](/source/Precambrian) period, and the effect they had on life. It simulates a similar occurrence in the modern day. Animals included: ''[Pteridinium](/source/Pteridinium)'', ''[Yorgia](/source/Yorgia)'', ''[Kimberella](/source/Kimberella)'', ''[Arandaspis](/source/Arandaspis)'', ''[Trilobites](/source/Trilobites)'', ''[Chain Coral](/source/Halysites)'' (fossil) and ''[Dicranurus](/source/Dicranurus)'' (fossil) ===''New Frontiers''=== Full title: "The Evolution of Our World: New Frontiers". This episode follows our ancestors from the shallow saltwater seas to the freshwater rivers, then discusses the colonization of land. Mainly [Devonian](/source/Devonian) and [Carboniferous](/source/Carboniferous). Animals included: ''[Eusthenopteron](/source/Eusthenopteron)'', ''[Dunkleosteus](/source/Dunkleosteus)'' (identified as a [placoderm](/source/placoderm)), ''[Acanthostega](/source/Acanthostega)'', ''[Hyneria](/source/Hyneria)'', ''[Pederpes](/source/Pederpes)'', ''[Dinocephalian](/source/Moschops)'', ''[Gorgonops](/source/Gorgonops)'', ''[Diictodon](/source/Diictodon)'' (fossil), and ''[Cynodont](/source/Cynodont)''. ===''Extinction and Rebirth''=== This episode centres on the [Permian](/source/Permian) to [Tertiary period](/source/Tertiary_period)s, showing numerous extinctions, including the [Siberian Traps](/source/Siberian_Traps) event 250 mya and the [Chicxulub](/source/Chicxulub_crater) asteroid impact 66 mya. It also shows the rise of new forms of life after each event. Animals included: ''[Apatosaurus](/source/Apatosaurus)'', ''[Allosaurus](/source/Allosaurus)'', ''[Cynodont](/source/Cynodont)'', ''[Thrinaxodon](/source/Thrinaxodon)'', ''[Eomaia](/source/Eomaia)'', ''[Carpolestes](/source/Carpolestes)'', ''[Diatryma](/source/Gastornis)'', ''[Hyracotherium](/source/Hyracotherium)'' and ''[Hyaenodontid](/source/Hyaenodontid)''. ===''Survival of the Fittest''=== This episode chronicles primates that would evolve to become [humans](/source/humans) and why the [Cro-Magnon](/source/Cro-Magnon)s succeeded over [Neanderthals](/source/Neanderthals). Species included: ''[Shoshonius](/source/Shoshonius)'', ''[Catopithecus](/source/Catopithecus)'', ''[Australopithecus africanus](/source/Australopithecus_africanus)'', ''[Paranthropus robustus](/source/Paranthropus_robustus)'', ''[Homo ergaster](/source/Homo_ergaster)'', and ''[Hypoxis](/source/Hypoxis)''. ===''Life Indestructible'' (Special Episode)=== Earth provides a rich environment, and many factors continue to shape the planet's condition. This episode is a summary of the previous five, condensed into a single hour. ==References== *[http://www.nfb.ca/collection/films/fiche/index.php?id=52255 NFB Web site] *[https://www.nfb.ca/education/guides/?search_term=miracle+planet Teaching guides at NFB Web site (PDF)] *[http://www.tvguide.com/detail/tv-show.aspx?tvobjectid=281007&more=ucepisodelist&episodeid=4567148 list of episodes.] Category:Science Channel original programming Category:National Film Board of Canada documentaries Category:Documentary films about nature Category:2000s Canadian documentary television series Category:Evolution in popular culture Category:Documentary films about prehistoric life Category:Japanese documentary television series Category:2005 Japanese television series debuts Category:2005 Japanese television series endings --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Miracle Planet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Planet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miracle_Planet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.