“I know more than before.” If a moderator draws such an interim conclusion in his TV show, then it’s certainly not about the jungle camp or “The Summer House of the Stars”. No, actually it’s about “The Big ‘Terra X’ Show”. Despite a nice explanation by Harald Lesch on the theory of relativity on Wednesday, Johannes B. Kerner was pretty much on the tube, but he recognizes the big plus of the show.
“Terra XXL”, “Terra Xpress”, “Terra X Lesch und Co.”, “Terra X plus Schule”, “Terra MaX”, “Terra Xplore” or “The big ‘Terra X’ show”. With numerous programs and sub-brands, “Terra X” has established itself as a permanent fixture in ZDF’s knowledge and science sector. No matter what area of knowledge and no matter what target group, the “Terra X” documentaries and magazines cover pretty much everything you could want to know.
Johannes B. Kerner might even say: “‘Terra X’ is gigantic.” Not just because it’s going in the right direction in terms of presence, but because he should be doing it professionally. At least on Wednesday evening. Because the moderator presents “The big ‘Terra X’ show” and this time it has the theme “giants”.
Accordingly, Kerner’s welcome, which should also generate a bit more applause at the same time: “Today everything is gigantic – like this reception, thank you!” But because “The Big ‘Terra X’ Show” also has the word “show” in it, the audience should not only be entertained with things worth knowing, but also with a duel. And so this time Joachim Llambi and Anna Loos play against David Garrett and Judith Williams. Mai Thi Nguyen-Kim and Harald Lesch step in at the right place as scientific explainers. A handful of celebs were also sent around the world to introduce local giants on the spot.
“How tall was the tallest person who has ever lived?”
So it’s supposed to be something gigantic and Kerner first breaks the ice with a personal question: “What was the most gigantic thing that has ever happened to you?” Kerner asks the advice teams and the answers are quite different. “I find this life so gigantic,” Judith Williams is enthusiastic about the basic being, David Garrett thinks “music is something inexplicable.” Anna Loos, on the other hand, opts for “The birth of my children” and for Joachim Llambi “dancing, music, expressing feelings” are something gigantic.
The questions that Kerner asks the guessing teams from all kinds of areas in which he has identified something gigantic are a little less subjective: “What was the wingspan of the largest wandering albatross known to date (3.63 meters)?”, “How tall was the tallest human who has ever lived (2.72 meters)?”, “How long was the longest snake in the world (9.75 meters)?” or “How long was the largest blue whale measured to date (33.58 meters)?”
David Garrett, in particular, can shine here when it comes to world records, only when asked about the longest queue does he see a competitive disadvantage: “I used to like reading the ‘Guinness Book of Records’ and in my version from 1987…” Nevertheless, it is a nice introductory lap, where you as a spectator can certainly keep one or the other world record – should you ever need this knowledge.
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What was before the big bang?
Remembering a few numbers is still pretty easy compared to the next category of knowledge. “Our next giant is the beginning of everything,” Kerner begins before Harald takes over, probably because no celebrity made it there in time when it came to this topic: the big bang. And here Lesch has a few exciting facts ready for all viewers who first associate the “Big Bang Theory” with a US comedy series.
“The big bang sounds more like a hum,” explains Lesch, so that “bang” is not misunderstood. And Lesch says about the limits of science: “There’s one question we can’t answer: what comes before that?” Lesch explains that the fact that people have some difficulty with the concept of infinity may also be due to the fact that there is simply nothing infinite in the universe.
It gets a little more tangible with the next category of knowledge: the Amazon rainforest. Here, Nguyen-Kim asks the celebs, among other things: “How many trees do you estimate make up the Amazon rainforest?”
- A: almost 400 million
- B: almost 4 billion
- C: almost 400 billion
Also read: “The big Terra X show”: The “super talent” of antiquity ate eight kilos of meat a day
Why the climate crisis also belongs on entertainment television
Both teams take answer C and are correct. Unfortunately, the same applies to the next question, and that’s where Nguyen-Kim wants to know: “At what speed is the Amazon rainforest being cut down? About three football fields …”
- A: per minute
- B: per hour
- C: per day
Unfortunately, the correct answer is A, and as both teams correctly suspect, things could simply continue at this point like any other quiz show, but luckily Kerner creates a bit of awareness here for the increasingly visible climate catastrophe. “Is there any rescue? What can you do, what can anyone do?” Kerner asks in the direction of Lesch. Among other things, he refers to the expansion of renewable energies and the renunciation of meat. Here Nguyen-Kim adds on the goal of deforestation: “The soy that is grown there is not for tofu for the vegetarians, but for pet food.”
It’s good that Kerner also takes this short moment in an entertainment show like this to draw attention to this greatest challenge facing mankind. Not just because you can’t motivate enough to make a contribution against the climate catastrophe, but because it’s part of a knowledge show. After all, everything is connected to everything else. It therefore also fits into an entertainment show when Lesch explains on Wednesday evening about the climate catastrophe: “It is above all a question of the now. If not us, when else?”
Johannes B. Kerner: didn’t understand anything, but was happy to listen
Apart from that, “The Big ‘Terra X’ Show” only works tolerably as an entertainment format anyway. But all the more as a knowledge show, because it motivates you to go on a journey of discovery yourself. Maybe even Johannes B. Kerner. Because when Harald Lesch explains the theory of relativity to him in the studio with a very clear model, Kerner has to admit: “The bad news: I still don’t understand it. The good news: I really enjoyed listening to you.”
And so the latest edition of the “Big ‘Terra X’ Show” is not a firework of entertainment television, but a knowledge show that makes you want to try things out for yourself or pick up an atlas instead of Google Maps and look what exciting things the world has in store. Or as Johannes B. Kerner put it when he came to a conciliatory conclusion after the lesson in relativity theory: “I know more than before.” You really can’t say that about every TV show.
On the occasion of “World Oceans Day”, ZDF shows first insights into the eight-part ThDas ZDF shows first insights into the eight-part thriller series “The Swarm” – a film adaptation of Frank Schätzing’s international bestseller – on the occasion of “World Oceans Day”. The series is scheduled to be broadcast in 2023. Riddle series “Der Schwarm” – a film adaptation of Frank Schätzing’s international bestseller.
Source-web.de