Human Footprint 509 - Channel 4 Thu Apr 26, 2007
(09:00 PM) 1 hr 39 mins 131 MB currently recording
When you've finished watching this extraordinary programme you may feel the urge to don a hair shirt and retire to a cave to drink puddles and eat dust. That's if you take to heart the film's eye-popping re-creations of the impact each of us makes in a lifetime. Ever wondered how it would look if all the eggs the average Brit eats (13,345) were smashed at once? Take a look - it's not pretty. Or how about if the amount of gas we each fart in our (on average) 78.5 years was ignited in a giant fireball? Yes, they've tried it! This is gimmicky TV, but lovingly made. And it's often mesmerising to see the stunts unfold, with a pair of winsome toddlers as the models. In one sweet scene they push bicycles up a cobbled hill to re-create the classic Hovis ad and show how much bread we'll eat. And my favourite tableau was of the vials of tears suspended from a weeping willow tree to show the 121 pints of tears we'll each cry - soppy but beautiful. RT reviewer - David Butcher