NOVA · Season 50 · Episode 13

“Ancient Earth: Life Rising”

Aired Thursday 19 October 2023

For billions of years, life teemed in the oceans of planet Earth while the land was desolate and inhospitable. So, how did life make the leap to land? Scientists explore how some of the earliest life emerged and invaded a barren, rocky landscape, eventually transforming it into a verdant, green world. Gripping visual effects reveal an alien landscape dominated by towering fungi before the arrival of plants. Witness how the first plants made landfall and partnered with fungi to create soil that would sustain them. And discover how, once life emerged on land, it fundamentally altered the very ground it grew on.

S50 E13 discussion