Alien Empire Explained

Genre:Science and Nature[1]
Narrated:John Shrapnel
Composer:Martin Kiszko
Country:United Kingdom
Language:English
Num Series:1
Num Episodes:6
Producer:Steve Nicholls
Runtime:30 minutes
Channel:PBS

Alien Empire was a documentary television series about insects produced by the BBC, and first broadcast by PBS in 1996. It was subtitled Inside the Kingdom of the Insect.

Episodes

The following six episodes were broadcast on BBC1:

Broadcast and release

Alien Empire was first broadcast in the United States on PBS, as part of the series Nature, in three daily parts, from Sunday 11 to Tuesday 13 February 1996.

Alien Empire was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC1, as a six part series (and not as part of the series Nature), from 15 February to 21 March 1996, on Thursdays at 8pm.

Video

Alien Empire was released on VHS, in the United Kingdom by the BBC and in the United States by Time Life Video, in 1996.

Reception

The series was "popular".[12] Its success with younger audiences inspired the creation of Bug City, a direct-to-video educational series aimed at children.[13]

Book

The book Alien Empire: An Exploration of the Lives of Insects, by Christopher O'Toole is a companion to the series, published, by BBC Books in London and by HarperCollins in New York, in 1995.[14]

References

Notes and References

  1. https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b0074m3k BBC Programme Index
  2. For reviews of this episode, see Peter Waymark, "Alien Empire" in "Choice", The Times, 15 February 1996, p 43; and Lynne Truss, "Mismatched music guilty of sonic insecticide", The Times, 16 February 1996, p 43
  3. [Radio Times]
  4. For a review of this episode, see Lynne Truss, "Number-crunching is the insects' buzz word", The Times, 23 February 1996, p 39
  5. Radio Times, Issue 3760, 17 February 1996, reprinted at BBC Programme Index
  6. For a review of this episode, see Peter Waymark, "Alien Empire: Battle Zone" in "Choice", The Times, 29 February 1996, p 47.
  7. Radio Times, Issue 3761, 24 February 1996, reprinted at BBC Programme Index
  8. Radio Times, Issue 3762, 2 March 1996, reprinted at BBC Programme Index
  9. For a review of this episode, see Lynne Truss, "Ladies, mistresses and dominant females", The Times, 15 March 1996, p 43.
  10. Radio Times, Issue 3763, 9 March 1996, reprinted at BBC Programme Index
  11. Radio Times, Issue 3764, 16 March 1996, reprinted at BBC Programme Index
  12. Helen Ashton (2003) 17 Reference Reviews 42
  13. McCormick . Moira . December 19, 1998 . A Bug Invasion Hits Video Shelves . Billboard . 63.
  14. For reviews of this book, see (1996) 9 New Statesman Society 39; (1996) 149 New Scientist, 27 January 1996, p 44; and "Insecticide: Christopher O'Toole", Times Higher Education, 22 March 1996; For other commentary on this book, see Rupp, The Complete Home Learning Sourcebook, Three Rivers Press, 1998, p 287.