We discover how life on Earth first began and how humans owe their existence to monsters more strange than we could ever have imagined. These monsters created the blueprint for not only our bodies, but for everything living today. The series witnesses the extraordinary story of the evolutionary battle which raged on our planet for billions of years and in it we meet the creatures who fought for their lives and ultimately our own.

Using real organic footage, we see inside the body of our monster ancestors for the first time to learn who gave us our very first limb, our heart and even our brain. Through the stories of individual animals, we experience the struggle for the survival of the fittest as it has never been seen before – a war between animals more strange, savage and successful than any dinosaur.

Narrated in the UK by Kenneth Branagh, the series employed morphing technology for the first time to reveal how our ancestors evolved. It won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming One Hour Or More) in 2006 as well as being nominated for a BAFTA TV Award for its visual effects.

An Impossible Pictures production for the BBC and Discovery.
(aka Before the Dinosaurs)

Duration: 1 x 90′
Release Date: November 2005