There have been documentaries about Apartheid before. This new series, however, approaches the topic with the dedication necessary, committing five hours to cover the intricacies of the issue thoroughly.

A narrated documentary, it creates a picture of the Apartheid through talking heads, archived video footage and radio clips. This episode explains how the Apartheid developed, starting in the 1940s, and, very generally, how it started to crumble.

The most interesting parts show Apartheid from outside of Africa; as the title states, it’s about ‘the world against Apartheid’. This hasn’t been done before– certainly not on such an all-inclusive scale– and the depth given to the place of the international church and Russian communism is especially interesting.

As an opening episode of a major documentary there was a lot to show, and sometimes the narrative suffered, with frequent historical jumps and uneven pacing. But now that the necessary information is out of the way, the focus is likely to settle.

So, while basic, it’s crisp, watchable and thorough. Parts are good; in particular, journalist and newscaster Zeinab Badawi’s insightful, heartfelt voiceovers. In the future there are sure to be more interesting looks at Apartheid, but this is a decent foundation.

The World Against Apartheid shows on BBC 4 on Tuesdays at 10pm.