The Engineering That Built the World is a documentary series in eight parts which premiered on the History Channel in 2021.
The title explains the topic.
This is a series about engineering on a large scale.
Here is some basic information about it:
** Directors: Stuart Jones and Andy Gradwell
** Narrator: Ian Karr
** Production: The History Channel
** Run time: 8 x ca. 44 = ca. 352 minutes
As stated above, there are eight episodes.
Here is some basic information about each episode:
# 1. Race for the Railroad
This episode is about the trans-continental railroad which was completed in 1869.
# 2. Liberty Rising
This episode is about the Statue of Liberty designed and created by the French artist Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi which was dedicated on 28 October 1886.
# 3. Road Warriors
This episode is about the construction of the interstate highway system which is based on a law adopted by the US Congress in 1956
# 4. The Panama Canal
This episode is about the construction of the Panama Canal which was completed in 1914.
# 5. Race to the Underground
This episode is about underground train lines in New York and Boston: the first subway systems in the US.
# 6. A Cable Across the Sea
This episode is about a telegraph cable connecting Europe and the American continent. Two attempts to lay such a cable failed. But the third attempt which was made in 1866 was successful.
# 7. The Battle of the Bridges
This episode is about the construction of two bridges near San Francisco in California: the golden Gate (completed in 1937) and the Bay Bridge (completed in 1936).
# 8. The Hoover Dam
This episode is about the Hoover Dam which was built in the 1930s. Construction began in 1931. The work was completed in 1936.
What do reviewers say about this documentary series about engineering on a large scale?
On IMDb the series has a rating of 77 percent, which corresponds to a rating of 3.9 stars on Amazon.
In addition, each episode has its own rating on IMDb.
Here are the results:
Episode # 1 = 81 percent
Episode # 2 = 80 percent
Episode # 3 = 79 percent
Episode # 4 = 76 percent
Episode # 5 = 74 percent
Episode # 6 = 80 percent
Episode # 7 = 82 percent
Episode # 8 = 87 percent
As you can see, the rating is steadily dropping from number 1 to 5, but with number 6 the rating picks up again, going from 80 to 82 and ending with 87.
On Amazon there are at the moment 16 global ratings, but no reviews. The average rating is 4.7 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 94 percent.
In my opinion, the rating on IMDb is quite appropriate, while the rating on Amazon is too high.
Why do I say this?
Because this series has at least two significant flaws.
Let me explain:
The first flaw concerns the language spoken. Several scenes have been reconstructed by modern actors. In some scenes, the actors do not talk. These scenes are used when the narrator is talking.
But in other scenes, the actors are talking. They speak English. When the scene is set in the US, this is fine. But when we see the French artist Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi meeting with people in France, the actors should be speaking French. They do not. They speak English!
This is American television. If the actors were to speak the proper language (in this case French), the series would need subtitles, and many American viewers hate subtitles.
Some Americans refuse to watch a movie with subtitles.
They will say:
“I want to watch a movie!
I do not want to read a movie!”
They will insist:
“It is impossible to watch the movie and read the subtitles at the same time!”
American directors are aware of this fact and they do not want to offend the viewers. They do not want them to switch to another channel. For the benefit of American viewers, all characters must speak English, even when their first language is French.
It is ridiculous to see Bartholdi and the people around him discuss their problems in English, because it is totally unrealistic.
A reconstruction is supposed to be realistic. Not only what we see, but also what we hear.
The second flaw concerns the title of the film:
The Engineering That Built the World
Where are the cases in this series from?
Most of them are from the US. In fact, five of eight episodes are completely set in the US:
Episodes 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8
Only three episodes are not completely set in the US:
Episodes 2, 4 and 6
Episode 2 is partially set in France and partially set in the US. But since the Statue of Liberty ends up in the US, it is clear that the American location is more important than the French location.
Episode 4 is set in Panama, but the Panama Canal was built by the US and built for the benefit of the US.
Episode 6 is about the telegraph cable connecting Europe and the American continent. But the engineering project is conducted for the benefit of the US.
The title of this series promises us that we are going to learn about engineering that built the world. But the title is quite misleading.
More than half of the cases chosen are set in the US, and the three cases which are not only set in the US are still conducted for the benefit of the US.
Many Americans believe that their country is the only country that really matters. To them, the US is the world. But this view is false. Totally false. The US is not the whole world.
Here is another case of misleading terminology:
The US has a competition which is known as the World Series. It is about baseball. Do teams from all over the world compete in this series?
No!
Only teams from the US and occasionally a team from Canada. In other words: the World Series is only for North American teams, but Americans are happy to call it the World Series.
The people behind this series seem to be confused about geography. They seem to think that engineering projects which are set in the US can be described as building the world.
They cannot see that the title chosen calls for some engineering projects which are not set in the US and which are not conducted for the benefit of the US.
Having watched this series, I must say that each episode is quite good. Each story deserves to be told, but the collection of cases chosen do not fit the title that was chosen.
The title should be: The Engineering That Built the United States. Such a title would be honest. Such a title would fit the contents.
What is my conclusion?
I like this series, and I want to give it a good rating, but as you can see, there are two flaws which cannot be ignored; which cannot be overlooked. I have to remove one star because of these flaws and therefore, I think this series deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).
REFERENCES
Famous Engineering Landmarks of the World: Bridges, Tunnels, Dams, Roads, and Other Structures by Lawrence H. Berlow (1997)
Building the World: An Encyclopedia of the Great Engineering Projects in History edited by Frank P. Davidson and Kathleen Lusk Brooke (2006)
Engineers: From the Great Pyramids to Spacecraft edited by Adam Hart-Davis (2012) (2015)
*****
The Statue of Liberty
Designed and created by the French artist
Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi
Dedicated on 28 October 1886
*****
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