BBC The human body

[Non-U.S. Format (PAL) Region 2 U.K. DVD - This will not play on U.S./Canada DVD players or those from most other countries outside of Europe. You would need a "multi-region" or "region-free" PAL compatible DVD player or computer.] The Human Body documentary is the sort of televisual undertaking that continues to justify the BBC. Presented by Robert Winston, it takes us on a journey from birth to death using time-lapse photography, computer graphics and various state-of-the-art imaging techniques to explore every aspect, every nook and crevice of the human body in its various stages of growth, maturity and eventual decay. Conception, toddlerhood, the awkward growing pains of adolescence, the incredibly complex workings of the brain (which burns up more energy than any other part of the human body, viewers of daytime TV included, apparently) and finally death are vividly depicted and explained. Winston's lucid, avuncular tones make The Human Body accessible to an intelligent 10-year-old and ages upward, though the more squeamish viewer might balk at scenes of food being digested, or childbirth in all its inevitable messiness. Statistics abound - the average human will eat for three-and-a-half years during his or her lifetime, eat 160kg of chocolate and spend six months on the toilet. Though heart-warming in that it shows the commonality of human experience, The Human Body is also a potentially depressing reminder of our frail physicality and mortality. However, the most moving programme here features Herbie, a cancer victim who, in agreeing to have his last moments filmed as he lies dying in a hospice, has perhaps achieved a deserved immortality through this programme.