Coast - Series 2 - The Journey Continues - Complete (DVD)

...produced the first series of Coast I was an ardent viewer.

Of course when the trailers for the second series started showing I did wonder how they could follow up the first one, maybe do it all the other way round? Walk backwards? As it turned out I need not have worried, save for the fact that through work and other commitments I missed all but two programmes. So I was mighty pleased when a DVD of the second series appeared on Christmas ...
...team are back but why Coast 2. The short answer is there is so much more to tell about the geology, history, geography and zoology which make up our coast.
With funding from the Open University the format has changed slightly to allow for the series to be used as course work for a number of O U courses, and after the first programme its easy to see a little bit of syllabus ticking going on, but Neil Oliver our host manages to stitch it all ... more

I don't mind admitting that I love this country of ours, and one of the things I love most is the spectacular coastline that we are blessed with. It is no surprise then that when the Beeb produced the first series of Coast I was an ardent viewer.

Of course when the trailers for the second series started showing I did wonder how they could follow up the first one, maybe do it all the other way round? Walk backwards? As it turned out I need not have worried, save for the fact that through work and other commitments I missed all but two programmes. So I was mighty pleased when a DVD of the second series appeared on Christmas morning.

Who, Why and What
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As well as focusing on different areas of our coastline the original presenters are back but in slightly different roles.

Nicholas Crane - geographer and journalist. He was the main presenter of the first series, but now takes the back seat concentrating on smaller features within the series

Neil Oliver - archaeologist. The long haired Scotsman now takes the lead role of Head presenter and he is our guide along the various journeys

Alice Roberts - medical doctor and expert in anatomy. This bright red haired lady the only other member of the team without an "ology" backing her CV

Mark Horton - a man with two "ology's" Archaeology and anthropology

Miranda Krestovnikoff - specialising in zoology, she has presented many other documentary programmes including BBC 2's Hidden Treasure

So the old team are back but why Coast 2. The short answer is there is so much more to tell about the geology, history, geography and zoology which make up our coast.
With funding from the Open University the format has changed slightly to allow for the series to be used as course work for a number of O U courses, and after the first programme its easy to see a little bit of syllabus ticking going on, but Neil Oliver our host manages to stitch it all together in a convincing and entertaining piece of Television, though not quite the BAFTA award winning show of the first series.

Our team set out on a series of programmes concentrating on various stretches of Coast some of which were covered in the first series and they are revisited looking at certain points of interest not dealt with before. Some new stretches of Coast are featured including a short trip across the Irish Sea.

The series consists of eight hour long episodes spread over three discs, and you'll see the episodes do not follow any order geographically:-

Disc 1

1. Dover - Isle of Wight
2. Holyhead - Liverpool
3. Arran - Gretna
Disc 2

4. Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly
5. Dublin - Londonderry
6. Newcastle - Hull

Disc 3

7. The Outer Hebrides
8. The Thames Estuary: Felixstowe - Goodwin Sands

Format and Highlights
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Each episode starts with satellite image zooming in on the start point and then of course the opening titles, I must admit that by the time you have heard the theme tune for the forth time it does start to grate a little, stirring as it is.

Neil Oliver our host really gives the impression this is his life's work and puts heart and sole into his enthusiastic presentation, and with every presenter you are given the impression that they are here to entertain and educate.

A lot of painstaking research and planning also goes into each programme as well; each episode has something I was really surprised to see. Add to this the subjects cover all the "ology's" there is something for everyone.

So without giving the whole series away let's touch on my favourite episode, the |Thames Estuary.

We start at Felixstowe, which took over from the Port of London as the Biggest Port in the UK by trade volume, and amazingly 40% of all imports arrive through Felixstowe.
As we move further down the coast we learn that the original course of the Thames was some way north and that Clacton-on Sea was the point where the Thames met the sea.
At Maldon we get a lesson on sea salt production that dates back to Roman times and is still produced today.
Moving on to London and a nostalgic trip back to the days when the Port of London was the focus of worldwide trade with Great Britain.
As we go south of the river we visit the Navel Dockyards at Chatham and learn about the skill of the rope makers.
But perhaps the most disturbing find is the time bomb ticking just off the Isle of Sheppey that could have the explosive force of a small nuclear bomb. Want to know more you'll just have to watch the DVD

Conclusion
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Coast 2 does not disappoint. It could so easily have been the best bits of Coast 1 that got missed out, but with the enthusiasm of the presenters and the subject matter steeped in historical, geological, archaeological and zoological goodies it never fails to entertain and educate.
The photography is up there with all the great BBC national history programmes, with fantastic aerial shots filmed in High Definition.

And no doubt as our coast retreats further each year and the effects of the changing climate bring to bear on the shorelines this series will be shown again. Imagine when in fifty years time our grandchildren will be shown that Lowestoft and Gt Yarmouth did exist 50 miles out in the North Sea, and are not just suburbs of Norwich.

 

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