Some Reviews of "Ape to Man"

Here's a few reviews of "Ape to Man":

Social Studies for Kids says:

This show is an excellent introduction to the topic for teens and younger viewers and a good refresher course for adults who might have heard about Piltdown Man and 'Lucy' but forgotten relevant details. Check it out!

The show is a pretty good brief introduction to the subject as a matter of history, but still doesn't help anyone understand evolution in any concrete ways.

Underground Online:

It must be noted that Ape to Man does not address the current Creationism debate. Perhaps they do not wish to offend anyone by either taking a side or even not taking a side. There is nothing wrong with that. Unfortunately, this laissez-faire attitude has forced them to avoid some topics that inevitably will cause uninformed people to question things that are not answered in the program. For instance, how species actually evolve from one species to another is not really addressed. Is this a plot hole of the show or evolutionary theory itself? Also, some of the assertions boldly proposed by the program as little less than fact, such as the coexisting of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, are apparently still in debate by anthropologists. The show doesn't mention this debate, but it is addressed in the Funk and Wagnall encyclopedia entries on the History Channel's own website! Was there no time to present differing anthropological views or did the writers fear that presenting a difference of opinion in the scientific community would be used by Creationists as a sign of weakness in the whole evolutionary theory?

This is exactly my problem with "Ape to Man"; the main issue of what evolution is never addressed. Once again, the show was a historical representation of the advances of anthropology over the past two centuries, so it can safely avoid in depth biology.

Pharyngula writes:

Conclusion: the show was interesting when it discussed the recent history of the discoveries, and rather aggravating when it tried to portray the lives of ancient hominids. It definitely did not pander to creationists, though, so I'll give it a passing grade.

Yeah, I tend to agree, the show wasn't bad, just OK for what it was. Indeed, it didn't pander to Creationists, but, as the writer points out, it didn't necessarily help the "other side" that much either.

Apologetics Press opines about the "alleged confrontation between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens":

So, we have conquered and eliminated all other hominid species. Or could it simply be--there were no other species? That from the very beginning, there has only been men and apes? While arguably retaining some entertainment value, this expensive production was anything but history. In fact, this type of Hollywood propaganda would be better suited for the Cartoon Network, or the Sci-Fi channel. If a channel purports to convey actual history, and names itself accordingly, then speculation and misinformation should be left on the editing-room floor. That's where this production belonged.

A little harsh but not without merit. As has been pointed out, the show never really presented a clear picture of it's message; if it was really about the history of evolution, not evolution itself, it failed to address some major issues, and if it was really about the science of evolution, then it left gapingng holes in it's argument.