Rx For Survival – A
Global Health Challenge (WGBH)
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Episodes: B+
WGBH and PBS keep coming up with vital and winning
programs that would be virtually impossible to see without public television to
do it. Rx For Survival – A Global
Health Challenge takes the long way in all six of its shows to start with
the basics thoroughly of any of the science it is going to cover and even if
you went to school for it, you are in for an update you will never forget.
Brad Pitt, one of our greatest actors and film stars, is
the narrator of all six shows. Every
one of them is a vital crash course into potential global heath crisis, how we
won battles against disease in the past and how we need to consider facing new
challenges in the future. The episodes
are:
1) Disease
Warriors
2) Rise Of
The Superbugs
3) Delivering
The Goods
4) Deadly
Messengers
5) Back To
The Basics
6) How Safe
Are We?
Shocking developments you may have heard about causing the
crisis include ignorance of governments, homophobia, mutating viruses and good
old lack of money and resources.
Eloquent is the right word to describe how well this show covers some
extremely important must-see television that is among the best documentary television
either PBS or WGBH has ever produced.
As I watched, I became more and more involved in a great combination of
intelligent and exciting documentary television all the way to the final show
about AIDS and the Asian Flu Virus.
This show deserves to be showered with many awards.
The 1.78 x 1/16 X 9 letterboxed image is nice and clear,
but lacks detail and depth because WGBH does not anamorphically enhance their
titles. On the other hand, the Dolby
Digital 2.0 Stereo has Pro Logic surrounds and Pitt’s narration is clear and
distinct enough. Extras include a
weblink, activities for exploring global heath issues, materials for educators,
dispatches from experts in the field and a NOW episode (from the PBS
series) interview with former President Jimmy Carter on DVD 2. As I concluded the program, I had some hope
that at least some of the insane medical problems facing us could be solved if
we acted now. The last thing we want to
see is a time where we consider AIDS, SARS and The Asian Flu Virus “the good
old days” worldwide. Rx For Survival
does a great job of pointing the best way to stop that from happening.
- Nicholas Sheffo
