

“No man is just a number.”
After resigning, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is really a bizarre Kafkaesque prison. His warders demand information. He gives them nothing, but only tries to escape.
Creator
Creator
Status
Ended
Type
Scripted
Seasons
1
Episodes
17
17 episodes

The Ascent of Man is a thirteen-part documentary television series produced by the BBC and Time-Life Films first transmitted in 1973, written and presented by Jacob Bronowski. Intended as a series of "personal view" documentaries in the manner of Kenneth Clark's 1969 series Civilisation, the series received acclaim for Bronowski's highly informed but eloquently simple analysis, his long unscripted monologues and its extensive location shoots.


Former Number Two
John Grant is returning to Sydney after a year teaching at a one-classroom school in the Outback. Shortly after hitting the road, he collides with a kangaroo, and finds himself marooned in a small mining town, awaiting repairs on his car. With little to do but drink beer, John is seduced into a raucous, illegal game of two-up. After a short, exhilarating winning streak, he loses everything, which triggers a dangerous series of events that render John a broken and desperate man.