A surprising new account of the planet we inhabit and the programme most requested by viewers who missed part or all of it during the power cuts.
Written by Nigel Calder
Introduced by Magnus Magnusson
Narrated by John Gregson

The last few years have brought a revolution in our understanding of the Earth. For the first time Man can tell why earthquakes and volcanoes occur; how mountains and oceans are made.

The Earth's outer shell is broken in many places like a cracked eggshell. On the backs of the broken pieces called 'plates' the familiar continents and oceans ride as passengers. It is the jostling of these plates that causes earthquakes and makes mountains. All this restlessness has profoundly influenced the evolution of life as continents have merged and broken apart. Research in progress around the world is telling afresh the story of our planet in the light of this new knowledge.

(Nigel Calder's book Restless Earth is a BBC publication at £1.90: see page 58)