The show starts off on the proposition of showing the history of oil including the geological and scientific history behind it too.
And with the host Professor Iain Stewart, being a geologist i expected this.
Unfortunately it felt like a children's education programme.
There was not much in this show that i did not already know from children's encyclopaedias, or expect most people who have some basic history and science knowledge.
First he shows us Shale, which is a rock that is an indicator of oil as it is a precursor to the product, so where you find shale, oil ought be close by.
Unfortunately that was about it, no explanation of where all the living matter came from, and how it came to be concentrated, or how long it takes to form and the theory's.
Then he discussed oil, broke it down to Oil, and Skunk oil. That was it, no explanation of Light crude and heavy crude.
Just pointed to how things are from oil, like Nylon, polyesters, etc.. but not real explanation about them, for me this
Then shows an Oil, well, shows how they stopped it from collapsing in the early days, yet.. no explanation on how it works and some of geological underpinnings of it, not even a graphic.
The political side was a bit ho-hum really. Look at major events, but that was it, did not look at Venezuela, Brazil or Russia who is now the biggest producer of Oil.
Also the conclusion that high oil prices made the UK have a smog alert in 1952 is not true. Coal is for electricity production , hence the smog. UK later changed to Nuclear electricity which would have have a much greater effect than oil, oil does not stop Smog, Catalytic converters do.
The ending was weak, left us hanging with a talk on Global warming. Oil has had probably less impact on global warming than Brown Coal, OK it is still a Fossil fuel, but the show was about OIL.
And finally, no future speculation. No question was put about "and as for the future of Oil?" Electric cars, Solar panels. Hydrogen fuel cells... all these possibly could impact on it.
I can only make one suggestion, skip this doco, unless you know absolutely nothing about oil.
