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Of the three major British TV series in the past that took a 'big vision' of the development of civilisation in technical and/or intellectual senses: Clarke's 'Civilisation', Bronowski's 'Ascent', and Burke's 'Connections' by far the most conceptually penetrating and diverse was Bronowski's. I would characterise it like this, with Clarke we get the Aristocrat/Scholar, superb and singular in his erudition and exemplary sensibility, with Burke we get the hip materialist university prof who with wit draws together individuals and science in easy-to-understand argument/narratives that make him look clever. With Bronowski we get depth and intellectual risk taking. I think this has to do with how Bronowski chooses to articulate a sense of oblique contemplation about the events he describes as he explains things - that is for him communicating his points is always tied into synthesising a symbolic language of attributes about humanity's progress with scientific or empirical facts. This comes from a variety of things, Bronowski's early interest in literature (particularly William Blake), his heritage as an eastern European Jew, and his experiences as an assessor of the effects of war both as a scientist and as a Jew. His book on Blake, although at times meandering and searching, is the most original attempt at contextualising the poet I've ever read - in a way its a critical assessment of Blake and the associative implications of his writing that models Blakean thought to 20thc conclusions as if it were Blake himself writing it. Bronowski just simply has more depth and a much greater originality of thought and ethical outlook than the other two. He's a real thinker rather than simply an academic and this comes out in his agility with shifting arenas of investigation during the programs. Put your kids in front of this guy - its the sort of mind our education system should be producing. I certainly would not say that he is a bad presenter, he's just one that demands a different kind of attention than the shlock sound-byte cardboard cut-out presenters you get so much on TV today. You actually have to spend time observing him as he imparts ideas - his mannerisms are crucial to his public performance and if you can find a way to dig it its endlessly inspiring.