Our image of the planet Earth is often one of a tender, protective matriarch. Recent scientific findings have led us to revise this notion. "Mother Earth," it seems, has not been such a fond protector, but quite the opposite.

In fact, in its more than 4-billion-year history, our planet has been home to repeated violent climactic changes, which have caused mass extinctions. And yet, these same catastrophes also helped bring about the evolution of life on earth from the simplest microbes to the complexity and diversity that is found on the planet today.

Featuring location footage, interviews with the world's foremost scientists and cutting-edge computer technology, Miracle Planet is a five-part series that recounts the profound and gripping story of Earth's mysterious evolution. Narrated by Christopher Plummer, it also reveals the surprising role that sheer chance has played in the development of life.