First things, first, technically the name of the show isn't correct as Richard Hammond doesn’t actually journey to the bottom of the ocean, merely to a couple of hundred feet. I say merely, it’s probably about a couple of hundred feet further down than I’ll ever go seeing as my record is six feet at a beach by which time my head was submerged so I aborted, retreated to the beach and had a beer.
Anyway, there is a good reason he does not go down to the bottom of the ocean as only two men ever have been to deepest point on Earth (the Marianas Trench in the Western Pacific, 7 miles down as you asked). That’s ten less than the number of people to stand on the surface of the moon, for the record.
Perhaps the show should have been called “Richard Hammond hits you with some super-awesome CGI that will knock you for six” as that is basically what happens. In a big huge hangar somewhere is a big huge computer-generated Planet Earth. And a cherry picker, for some reason. From his cherry picker vantage point, Hammond can play God and God he does play. Drain all the water from the face of the Earth? No problem. Although he still interchanges between metric and imperial measurements and calls the Earth “The Earth Machine” for some reason. Perhaps I missed the memo on the rebranding of the Earth.
The content of the show is largely drawn from the chapter on the oceans from Bill Bryson’s “A Short History of Nearly Everything” which makes it both very interesting but also slightly well worn.
However, the addition of the graphics is welcome as it presents the information in an engaging and accessible way. This is combined with some wonderfully put together ‘classic’ documentary skills such as beautiful camera work (particularly of underground geysers and burning sulphur inside volcanoes) and interviews with one of the men who has reached the deepest point on Earth and the people who fix broken Internet cables on the ocean floor.
What is striking about the programme is the amount we still do not know about this area of our planet. Each trip to the bottom of the ocean using machines ends with half of the animals encountered being new to human scientific knowledge. The fact that the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which forms a chain volcanoes and mountains 44,000 miles long, is one of the most active geological features in the Solar System begs more research to be done.
However, like the curtailing of the NASA missions, money is a problem when it comes to areas of discovery like this which is a crying shame.
Overall, despite the depressing but pointless apocalyptic ending thought (if it can’t happen, why show it?!) this is a very engaging and informative way to spend an hour. If not, gaze in wonder at Richard Hammond and his ongoing battle on the side of continuity errors. His hair changes from mid-life crisis long in some of his shows to short and vaguely sensible in others. Hell, even in this show it’s all over the place, changing dramatically from scenes shot on location to scenes short in the hangar. Really, check it out.
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