The Human Body (BBC)

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2 Cover
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5 Technical Specs
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[edit] General Information

Health-Medical Documentary hosted by Robert Winston, published by BBC in 1998 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

The BBC's first major TV series on human biology is an incredible journey through the most complex biological mechanism on earth, from conception to the unchartered territory of death and beyond. This astonishing series takes us on a journey breathtaking twists of the most complex biological mechanism on earth - the human body. The latest imaging techniques allow us to travel through veins, down fallopian tubes and around the brain, to understand how our bodies work. The Human Body takes us on a journey from birth to death using time-lapse photography, computer graphics and various state-of-the-art imaging techniques to explore every aspect, every nook and crevice of the human body in its various stages of growth, maturity and eventual decay. All the stages, pains of adolescence, complex activity of the brain and eventually death shown in steps with detailed explanation. The Human Body took around two and a half years to make and involved researchers liaising with medical institutes and scientific organisations around the world. Presented by Dr. Robert Winston, one of the UK's leading fertility experts, it begins with a huge array of statistics about what we can hope for in the course of our lives. For example, did you know that the average person spends three and a half years eating, six months on the toilet and 12 years watching TV? The series looks not only at the mechanics of the human body, but the emotions too because these are what make us human. It follows the lives of individuals at the key stages in the human life cycle: birth, childhood, adolescence, pregnancy, adulthood, old age and death. The Human Body allows viewers gain knowledge and understand the human body than ever before. Director & Series Producer: Richard Dale ; A BBC / The Learning Channel Co-Production

[edit] Life Story

Every second, a world of miraculous microscopic events take place within the body. You'll journey on the road that your body takes. Through dangers. Through miracles. And through time. We'll see the human body in all its forms, fom our beginning to all our ends. Each person is one year older than the last. All of us have a place somewhere along this line, looking forward, looking back, or perhaps a bit of both. Seen like this, stripped of the trappings of wealth and status, we have one thing in common, the one place we all inhabit, the one vehicle we all travel in: it's the human body.
The first in a 7-part series in which Robert Winston looks in detail at the life of the human body in chronological order from birth to death. This part is a general overview of the major functions of the body including the workings of the brain, skin, heart and digestive system. Winston also looks at the evolution of the human species, and the development of the fetus into the recognisable shape of a human baby. Winston explains the journey that he is about to take you on and what will be covered over the length of the series. Between his roller-coaster ride to symbolise the ups and downs of puberty to a visit to the oozing hot springs where life began, you know it's going to be an incredible ride.

[edit] An Everyday Miracle

This episode is the story of the unique relationship between mother and baby which is at the start of every new life. Over a hundred million acts of sexual intercourse take place each day in the world. These result in around 910,000 conceptions and, nine months later, 400,000 babies. Many of those babies will be first glimpsed like this, with ultrasound. But we can see them differently. Stack a hundred ultrasound pictures together and a new image emerges: a remarkable three-dimensional picture of a child yet to be born. Today, new technology is letting us see the world of the unborn in a completely new way. It also lets us retrace its past from a baby just before birth to a foetus of thirteen weeks.
The second in a 7-part series in which Robert Winston looks in detail at the life of the human body in chronological order from birth to death. This part is about the start of life. Philipa and Geoff Watson are about to go through pregnancy and childbirth. Their story is featured from difficulties in conceiving to the birth of their baby. Imaging techniques are used to visualise in 3-D Philipa's internal anatomy and the female reproductive process. Male ejaculation is shown and the journey of sperm to the fallopian tubes is visualised. Laser microscopic footage shows in detail the sperm's meeting with an egg and the process of fertilisation. Embryonic and fetal development is shown in detail as is the development of the pregnant body; finally Philipa is shown giving birth.

[edit] First Steps

For nine months, the baby's been fully equipped for life in the warm liquid world of the womb, relying on its mother for food and oxygen. It's in for a rude shock. As the baby is squeezed down the birth canal, dramatic changes have to happen.
The third in a 7-part series in which Robert Winston looks in detail at the life of the human body in chronological order from birth to death. This part traces the development of a child from birth to 4 years old. Beginning with the birth of a baby we observe a range of children from within the 0-4 age range and explore their development - from the physical ability to experiment with different methods of movement to the acquisition of language. Winston shows how the body is geared towards language both physically and mentally and explains how children learn language at such a fast rate. The growth of self-awareness, conscience, theory of mind and lying are also covered.

[edit] Raging Teens

What you are about to see is one of the miracles of nature, the extraordinary transformation that will turn this caterpillar into a butterfly. But we human beings go through a transformation that is just as dramatic. Over four agonising years, our bodies and minds are transformed. At the end of it, like the butterfly, we'll be sexually mature. This incredible change is called puberty.
The fourth in a 7-part series in which Robert Winston looks in detail at the life of the human body in chronological order from birth to death. This part focuses on puberty. The physical changes of the body caused by hormones are illustrated. A group of teenage boys in California describe how puberty has affected them and the cameras follow Beatrice through 18 months of her life as she passes from 12 years old to nearly 14. The effects of estrogen and testosterone on the developing teenage body are shown in animated diagrams of the female reproductive system and the male sexual organs. Other teenage issues are covered such as acne, sexual urges, the development of pubic hair, the onset of menstruation and the development of the brain to think through complex moral reasoning to make a mature judgment.

[edit] Brain Power

The adult human brain is the most complicated - and mysterious - object in the universe. Even so, there will always be some questions that it just cannot answer.
The fifth in a 7-part series in which Robert Winston looks in detail at the life of the human body in chronological order from birth to death. This part focuses on the human brain. Winston begins by looking at the evolution of our brains, then 3-D animated diagrams attempt to show how our neuronal networks are wired and effective. Amusingly, Winston drinks two bottles of red wine to show what happens to his mental reactions and thought processes. The complexity of our senses is covered, such as the sensitivity of touch. Our ability to categorise and our short- and long-term memories are explored, with examples from our evolution and everyday lives; Dominic O'Brian, memory expert, is shown at work and describes how he has trained his memory so effectively. The importance of consciousness is covered as our social behaviours and politics.

[edit] As Time Goes by

In the wild, animals don't grow old, but we humans have evolved to live long lives - longer than any other mammal, in fact. Why is something of a mystery, but for humans at least, there might be something more to growing old than a slow decline.
The sixth in a 7-part series in which Robert Winston looks in detail at the life of the human body in chronological order from birth to death. This part looks at ageing. Winston meets Bud and Viola, an elderly couple who live on a farm in Kansas where they've been for 45 years. We explore ageing vision through the later work of painter Claude Monet. Other factors of ageing such as wrinkley skin and baldy heads are explored as are the renewal of internal organs. Winston describes why only we, with the exception of pilot whales, go through the menopause.

[edit] The End of Life

Our bodies are built from organised colonies of cells. In an incredible act of harmony and organisation, they work together. We go about our daily lives hardly ever considering our final fate. We seldom witness death. We are reluctant to face up to our own mortality, to confront the truth that in the midst of life, we are in death. In this final part of the story of the human body, we take a difficult journey to see what happens when this mass of biological activity ceases to be, to see how all the previous ages of our existence are undone in the final act. The processes of death in the human body are remarkable. This is what it would look like if you could see the human body cool down over 24 hours. Long before we stop breathing, our brain may die, our personality lost for ever. Even in death, the body reveals remarkable secrets.
The last in a 7-part series in which Robert Winston looks in detail at the life of the human body in chronological order from birth to death. This part is about the dying process. One of the central features is the story of Herbie, a man dying of a fatal tumour in his stomach, who allows his final few weeks alive and the moment of his death to be filmed. People who have had near-fatal heart attacks describe the experience and a heart bypass operation is shown. Other people describe near-death experiences, the features of which are being mirrored by a team of scientists experimenting with using a powerful centrifuge to induce loss of consciousness. The series ends with the death of Herbie and his funeral. In agreeing to have his last moments filmed as he lies dying in a hospice, Herbie has perhaps achieved a deserved immortality through this programme.

[edit] The Making of the Human Body

A final overview reveals the extraordiniary techniques and developments which have made this unique series possible.
Robert Winston reveals the secrets behind The Human Body. Including how the latest medical imaging techniques were combined with 3-D graphics to show what our bodies look like. Using microscopic and time-lapse photography as well as computer animation, Robert Winston presents a detailed, pictorial analysis of the growth and development of the human body. Includes pre-birth, birth, toddlers, teenagers, adults, growing old, and death.

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: x264 CABAC High@L4
Video Bitrate: 2 137 Kbps
Video Resolution: 720x544
Display Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Frames Per Second: 25.000 fps
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio Bitrate: 192 kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: english
RunTime Per Part: 49 min
Number Of Parts: 8
Part Size: 762 MB - 882 MB
Source: DVD (Thanks to Raf-9600@RuTracker.org)
Encoded by: DocFreak08