Television Reviews : ‘Only One Earth’ Takes a Cool, Calm Approach

The Discovery Channel is showing signs that it’s not merely content to be cable’s fastest-growing service. While Discovery is content to show nothing but documentaries--including some pretty obscure ones, like an hour on how candles are made in Ireland--the lineup is starting to include more PBS-quality shows and series.

Case in point: “Only One Earth,” an 11-part series that debuts at 8 a.m. today with the hourlong “The Road to Ruin.” (The same installment repeats Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Wednesday at 1 p.m.)

“Only One Earth” is yet another television attempt to drive home the enormity of our environmental problems. “The Road to Ruin” gets straight to the point--reviewing how topsoil and forests are being quickly depleted, how the atmosphere has been polluted, etc.--and how humans must reverse processes that will make this world uninhabitable for future generations.

However, “Only One Earth” has a different tone from many previous programs on the environment. Co-produced by the BBC and the Better World Society, it takes a cool, calm approach.

This first episode--focusing on Senegal (degeneration of grazing lands), the Yucatan (rain-forest loss) and Northern Scotland (overfishing)--avoids alarmism and exaggeration.

Artfully photographed, intelligently written and suavely narrated, the hour could even be called a pleasant one--for all its grim substance.

This unusual approach could be a timely one. The threat of drought has come home to many Americans, who may no longer need horrifying pictures of dying Africans to tell them that something must be done. “Only One Earth” looks like it’s going to be an excellent, comprehensive and watchable course.