Plot Synopsis

In this four-part science series, Dr. Richard Smith explores Australia's history, from the first scenes of the great drama of life on Earth through the evolution of the Land Down Under, while coming face-to-face with previously unknown reptilian rulers of prehistoric Australia. In the first episode, "Awakening," Smith chronicles how the red hills of Australia are clues to the mysteries of Earth's birth, including how life arose and how it transformed the planet into the world we now live in. Then, in "Life Explodes," Smith investigates the Silurian period, when the conquest of the land began, and introduces Earth's forgotten pioneers: the scuttling arthropod armies that invaded the shores and the waves of green revolutionaries whose battle for the light pushed plant life across the face of a barren continent. Next, in "Monsters," Smith documents the giants -- both reptiles and mammals -- that stalked the land, while unearthing an ancient inland, which was full of sea monsters. Finally, in "Strange Creatures," Smith highlights unusual animals, like the kangaroos and cassowary, that tell at tale of isolation following the asteroid impact 65 million years ago that wiped out dinosaurs. PBS aired this series as episodes of NOVA's 40th season.