The Ascent of Man (1973)

Name: The Ascent of Man
Genre: Documentary, History
Rating: 8.8
Cast: Jacob Bronowski

Documentary · History

The Ascent of Man is a thirteen-part documentary television series produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films first transmitted in 1973, written and presented by Jacob Bronowski. Intended as a series of "personal view" documentaries in the manner of Kenneth Clark's 1969 series Civilisation, the series received acclaim for Bronowski's highly informed but eloquently simple analysis, his long unscripted monologues and its extensive location shoots.

IMDb rating: 8.8 (994 votes)
Episode average: 8.3 -0.5 vs IMDb
Seasons: 1
Language: EN
Type: Mini-series

Rating trend: this show's seasons do not settle into one shape. Rising Shows ranks whole shows by the shape of their rating trend rather than one average score, which is how you find a show that got better rather than a show that started well.

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Ratings refreshed Oct 3, 2026 · 1 season indexed

Cast

Jacob Bronowski Self - Presenter

Seasons

Season 1 (1973)

8.32 avg 13 episodes 8.2 → 8.3

Season 1 episodes - IMDb ratings
#	Title	Rating	Votes
1	Lower Than the Angels	8.2	81
2	The Harvest of the Seasons	8.1	68
3	The Grain in the Stone	8.0	70
4	The Hidden Structure	8.2	69
5	Music of the Spheres	8.2	66
6	The Starry Messenger	8.5	64
7	The Majestic Clockwork	8.2	61
8	The Drive for Power	8.3	57
9	The Ladder of Creation	8.5	61
10	World Within World	8.4	54
11	Knowledge or Certainty	8.8	67
12	Generation Upon Generation	8.5	52
13	The Long Childhood	8.3	57