Lost Worlds

Like many History Channel series, Lost Worlds uses “advanced computer graphics” to bring the past alive, but in this case the images aren't manipulated to create hordes of soldiers in battle scenes, but rather to fashion speculative renditions of structures from ruins uncovered by archaeologists, or blueprints of projects that were never actually built. The chronological compass of the 12 episodes compiled on this four-disc set is broad, including Neolithic settlements on the British Isles (such as Stonehenge), monuments erected by Pharaoh Rameses II, Periclean Athens, the Jerusalem of Jesus' time, Pauline communities in Asia Minor, and on to World War II, with hours devoted to the government bunkers built beneath London, the grand designs Speer prepared for Hitler's proposed new Berlin, and areas erected by the U.S. government as part of the Manhattan Project. Other episodes are connected with popular books and movies—including one on the strongholds of the Knights Templar in the Middle East (Kingdom of Heaven), a second on Scottish locales in the time of William Wallace (Braveheart), and a third on Romanian regions related to the “historical” Dracula—or myths (such as excavations on the Aegean island of Santori that some associate with the story of Atlantis). In all cases, the treatment is solid, blending graphics with on location footage, expert commentary (and in the modern segments, reminiscences of witnesses), dramatic recreations, and archival footage. DVD extras include the pilot episode about the Mayan city of Palenque. A fine example of popular history, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)