Eyewitness (British TV series)

Eyewitness is a natural history television series produced by BBC and DK Vision.[1] The series is based on the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Books series of children's books. Guy Michelmore composed the theme music, with Guy Dagul writing additional music in later seasons. [2]

Eyewitness
Created byJill Matthews
Narrated byAndrew Sachs (Series 1–3, UK, Series 3, US)
Martin Sheen (Series 1–2, US)
No. of series3
No. of episodes39 + 3 specials
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production company(s)BBC Worldwide Americas (Season 2–3)
BBC Lionheart Television (Season 1)
Wild Vision
Dorling Kindersley
DK Vision
Release
Original networkBBC / Disney Channel UK and KidsCo (Series 1–4, UK)
PBS (Series 1, 2–4, US)
Original release5 September 1994 –
24 November 1997

Format

Eyewitness is a documentary series. Each half-hour episode focuses on a single subject in the field of natural science, such as the Solar System or the various functions of the human body. The information is presented in the "Eyewitness Museum", a CGI science museum made to replicate the white and empty style of the books. Various exhibits are shown, and stock footage is usually seen through large windows or other depressions in the wall. The book series and the show share a striking visual style making notable use of the color white. In addition, almost every episode features a "Hero". The Hero is a character or object which drives the action of the show and is continually referred back to. These include the weathervane rooster from Weather, Legs the claymation Tyrannosaurus from Dinosaur, the paper boat from Pond and River, the hyena from Monster, the salmon from Fish, the crab from Seashore, the cockroach from Prehistoric Life, and the robotic human mime artist from Human Machine.

The series in the United Kingdom was originally narrated by the late Andrew Sachs, but was taken over by Martin Sheen for American audiences during the first two seasons. However, Sachs took over narrating both versions (with separate accents for the countries) in the final season. The series producer was Bill Butt for the first season, Briget Sneyd for the second season, and Martin Mortimore for the third season.

When the series was released on video, episodes from the first two seasons featured brief behind-the-scenes clips after the main program. In 2003, eight episodes of the program were released onto "interactive DVDs". The UK narration was kept in the American releases of these interactive DVDs.

There are also four Eyewitness Virtual Reality software based on the show: "Cat", "Bird", "Dinosaur Hunter", and "Earth Quest". One of these, "Shark", although seen on the elevator console, was never made.

Episodes

Series 1 (1994)
  1. Amphibian (frogs, toads, newts, and salamanders) – 5 September 1994
  2. Bird (birds and how they survive) – 12 September 1994
  3. Cat (members of the feline family) – 19 September 1994
  4. Dinosaur (the age of the dinosaurs) – 26 September 1994
  5. Dog (canines) – 3 October 1994
  6. Elephant (elephants and how they survive) – 10 October 1994
  7. Fish (the world of fish) – 17 October 1994
  8. Horse (horse life) – 24 October 1994
  9. Insect (species of insect) – 31 October 1994
  10. Jungle (rainforests) – 7 November 1994
  11. Reptile (turtles, lizards, crocodilians, and snakes) – 14 November 1994
  12. Shark (species of shark) – 21 November 1994
  13. Skeleton (bones of various animals) – 28 November 1994

Series 2 (1996)
  1. Ape (primates) – 2 September 1996
  2. Arctic and Antarctic (polar regions) – 9 September 1996
  3. Butterfly and Moth (species of moth and butterfly) – 16 September 1996
  4. Desert (deserts) – 23 September 1996
  5. Mammal (the world of mammals) – 30 September 1996
  6. Pond and River (rivers, lakes, and ponds) – 7 October 1996
  7. Prehistoric Life (how life on earth evolved and changed) – 14 October 1996
  8. Rock and Mineral (geology) – 21 October 1996
  9. Seashore (beaches) – 28 October 1996
  10. Shell (animals that have shells) – 4 November 1996
  11. Tree (trees) – 11 November 1996
  12. Volcano (volcanoes and earthquakes) – 18 November 1996
  13. Weather (the sky) – 25 November 1996

Series 3 (1997)
  1. Bear (bears and how they live) – 25 August 1997
  2. Flight (flying machines) – 1 September 1997
  3. Human Machine (the human body) – 8 September 1997
  4. Island (islands of the world) – 15 September 1997
  5. Life (biology) – 22 September 1997
  6. Monster (mythical and real-live monsters) – 29 September 1997
  7. Mountain (mountains of the world) – 6 October 1997
  8. Natural Disasters (great disasters) – 13 October 1997
  9. Ocean (seas and oceans) – 20 October 1997
  10. Planets (Solar System Mercury to Pluto) – 3 November 1997
  11. Plant (the world of plants) – 10 November 1997
  12. Sight (eyes) – 17 November 1997
  13. Survival (how animals cope with their surroundings) – 24 November 1997

Specials
  1. The Making of Eyewitness (1998)
  2. The Making of Eyewitness Living Earth (2000)
  3. The Making of Eyewitness Worlds (2003)

Reception

It has won several awards:

gollark: Who thought repeated differentiation should be f^(4)(x) or whatever it is?
gollark: A lot of maths notation is just ridiculous and special cased.
gollark: I find it kind of accursed that transposing is done as an exponent in the first place.
gollark: Perhaps retroactively move the things better.
gollark: Well, yes.

References
  1. "History of DK". DK. Archived from the original on 7 February 2003. Retrieved 6 January 2008.
  2. "BIOGRAPHY". Guy Dagul. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
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