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Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World
02/02/2008 . Source: Rod MacDonald 
DVD region 2: pub: Network B00112GCEY. 2 DVDs 325 minutes 13 * 25 minutes episodes. Price: £14.99 (UK). Buy Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World in the USA - or Buy Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World in the UK  check out website: www.networkdvd.co.uk
released: 04 February 2008
First appearing on British television in 1980, 'Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World' was presented in 13 half hour episodes (allowing for advertisements) and, as far as I can remember, hit our screens round about 7pm. Following in the footsteps of 70s pseudoscience, which included von Daniken and his 'Chariot Of The Gods', 'Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World' was rather clever in its conception and delivery. It had the initial effect of drawing people into a world full of bizarre and mystical unexplained mysteries only to debunk most of them, showing that a rational approach is undoubtedly the best approach.
The appearance of Arthur C. Clarke is the main attraction to the series. However, in each episode you are unlikely to see him for more than five minutes and most of the documentary items are covered by other narrators. What he does do and I must say he does his rather eloquently is command the ship to steer it through a sea of misconceptions, half-truths and fakery, guiding it with sensible rationality. Arthur, it is plain to see, isn't carried away by flights of fancy or mumbo-jumbo and if he does come to the conclusion that a subject warrants extra attention, then you can be sure that it does.
In this release by Network DVD, we get the entire first series on two disks at a price which isn't extortionate. The main problem is, almost 30 years have passed since this was broadcast on television so surely most of the subject matter must be dated to the extent that it is now meaningless? Not entirely true, I would say, because the passage of time gives us a fresh insight into subjects which have changed in nature as more information has been discovered about them. In many cases, it is quite obvious we were mistaken or have been duped by outrageous claims from pseudo-scientists and, bearing that in mind, it should enable us to take a more careful approach with similar claims that appear in the future.
It's worthwhile going through the 13 episodes to pick out interesting stories and then go on to do your own research to see what has happened over the last 30 years. Some have proven to be outrageous confidence tricks. For instance, the quartz skull which viewers see at the beginning of each episode is very likely a recent fake, along with most of the other quartz skulls coming in various sizes and colours and its origin as claimed by the owner at the time has more to do with a Biggles story than anything else.
Large stone balls in Costa Rica? It's often the case that an unusual archaeological curiosity is made out to be much more than it is by aspiring pseudo-science authors trying to make a name for themselves. Meanwhile, the people of Costa Rica aren't amazed at all and wonder what the fuss is all about. Of course, once publicity comes, they are not averse to making a couple of dollars out of it. Exactly the same situation arises with the Loch Ness Monster. Although many people around the world waste time and money looking into this dubious animal's dubious existence, it's nothing but Highland mist and Scots on the make. As a MacDonald, living in Scotland, I should certainly know.
Everything is thrown into this series from the Abominable Snowman to deep sea monsters and flying saucers. There are lots of items about strange archaeology including the possible existence of an early battery, a navigational device and the super-strong walls of a fortress. To me, the most interesting section was about the Tunguska explosion in 1908 which flattened a large area of Siberian forest. The episode included footage of a Russian expedition to the area in the 1920s and postulated on all sorts of causes including asteroid collision and the detonation of an atomic bomb. We are now fairly certain that a collision with a comet was responsible for the event.
I would say that the purchase of this DVD was justified if only for study from an historical perspective. There is nothing of world-shattering importance that will affect our lives because most of the stories were bunkum except, of course, for the comet collision in Siberia. We are now more aware of what is up there in space orbiting around the Sun. If the 1908 event happened now over London, New York or Tokyo, tens of millions would be dead and the world would go into deep economic recession. Now, that's more scary than the Loch Ness Monster or an Abominable Snowman.
Rod MacDonald
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