Poor roaches

This isn't a serious documentary about the decline and fall of humanity, but rather a bizarre form of entertainment. "Aftermath: Population Zero" asks the hypothetical question what would happen if all humans the world over would disappear in the blink of an eye. This Rapture-like scenario isn't very likely to happen, of course. It's science fiction, but a kind of science fiction so seemingly close to reality to give the impression of a "documentary".

Dogs roam abandoned suburbs, preying on each other. Eventually, they interbreed with wolves and become the most successful predators of the new world. Lions, camels and elephants leave the zoos when the electric fences go off line. Dairy cows die like flies, and so do cockroaches - they can't stand the cold weather in the northern hemisphere when the central heating is turned off. Mice take over the crumbling cities (all food is still left). Bison once again roam the West, while southern California and Las Vegas are turned into empty desert. Aiplanes and satellites crash all over the world, nuclear power plants explode and severely contaminate the state of Illinois, and the Hoover dam bursts when the mighty Colorado River reclaims its rightful place among the nations... Or was it rivers?

Two centuries "A.H." (After Humanity), the Eiffel tower and the Statue of Liberty collapse, but kitchen sinks made of stainless steel are still littering an ex-urban landscape terrorized by dog-wolf hybrids. 25,000 years A.H. a new Ice Age finally wipes out all traces of human presence at the northern hemisphere, but the narrator claims that our artefacts on the Moon can last much longer, since the lunar landscape changes very slowly. Ironically, evidence for our existence will thus be preserved...outside the Earth. Somehow, I doubt it. Surely, a meteorite can take care of our lunar vehicles?

I can't say that "Aftermath" thrilled me. Sure, it's well-done and even contains a few humorous moments, as when a pack of Great Danes try to take down an escaped zoo elephant (they fail). However, this program tells us very little about how humanity might actually decline and disappear. If it happens fast, as in the event of truly catastrophic climate change or an asteroid impact, the rest of nature will go down the drain together with us - no food left for the mice at your local convenience store. If it happens more slowly, on the other hand, the nuclear power plants, airplanes or satellites will presumably be taken off line in more gradual and "orderly" fashion. The most realistic part of "Aftermath" is the crumbling and collapse of the major cities. That, of course, would happen if humans would be forced to eventually abandon them. Goodbye, Manhattan Skyline.

I'm not sure how to rate "Aftermath: Population Zero" but since it's well-produced (and presented by a narrator with a spooky voice), I give it three stars.