The female of the species . . .

So farewell, Planet of the Apemen (BBC1) which told how Homo sapiens bumped off all the other species of humans, including Homo erectus and Neanderthal Man, to take over this planet, writes Peter Rhodes.

However, it could not resist dragging 21st century feminism into the last episode in which a spunky little prehistorical girl refused to do the sewing with the old women and wanted to be a hunter.

The real message from this series is that earth is today populated by two separate and very different human species.

The first is Homo thickus, the male of the species. He is dim, ugly, aggressive, uninspired and boring.

The second is Homo womanus, the female of the species. She is strong, intelligent, resourceful and adaptable.

In time, Homo thickus evolved into every dimwit male character you have ever seen in the soaps.

Homo womanus evolved into all those brilliant female role models; cops, pathologists, MI5 bosses and other icons who, if you believe Hollywood and the telly, are running this planet.

The strange thing is that for all her brilliance, Homo womanus never quite figured out how to change the fuse in a plug.