Mankind: The Story of All of Us

This excellent series has too many of the usual experts and way too many ridiculous sound effects.

Mankind: The Story of All of Us is that college freshman survey course, a buffet of tasty data, a little bit about a lot. It might leave you hungry for more.

This is history lite, to be sure, but it's probably a lot livelier than your sixth-grade history class was.

Stuck on hyper-drive and stuffed with hyperbole, Mankind: The Story of All of Us is history a-go-go from a programmer that used to obey a few speed limits.

The series' bludgeoning aesthetic is silly, but it works. Much of History's programming aims to intrigue viewers who might never crack open a book, while assuring literate history buffs that the filmmakers know what they're talking about.

If this seems a hodgepodge of ideas, well, that is the general feel of Mankind--a scattershot catalog of man's greatest hits, lovingly enacted by a cast of grim and grimy thousands and propelled ever forward by a relentless soundtrack and urgent narration by Josh Brolin.

[Mankind is] filled with overdone battle reenactments, unqualified celebrity talking heads, and slo-mo iron smelting set to electronic dance music.