Planet Earth (TV series)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Planet Earth | |
 Series title card |
|
| Picture format | 16:9 |
|---|---|
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Episode duration | 55 minutes |
| Executive producer | Alastair Fothergill |
| Narrated by | David Attenborough |
| Music by | George Fenton |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| First shown on | BBC One |
| Original run | 5 March– 10 December 2006 |
| No. of episodes | 11 |
Planet Earth is a BBC nature documentary series narrated by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 5 March 2006.
It was co-produced with Discovery Channel and NHK in association with the CBC, and was described by its makers as "the definitive look at the diversity of our planet". It was also the first of its kind to be filmed entirely in high-definition format.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Background
The programmes were made over four years by producer Alastair Fothergill and his team, who were responsible for the successful The Blue Planet (2001). The narrator, David Attenborough, worked on them while also embarking on the last in his 'Life' series, Life in Cold Blood, which is due for completion in 2008. The series' music is composed by George Fenton. Filming involved visiting 62 countries and 204 different locations.[2]
Each of the eleven episodes (except the first) focuses on one of the Earth's natural habitats and examines its indigenous features, together with the breadth of fauna found there. Several animals and locations are shown that have hitherto never been filmed, using innovative camera technology. Previously unseen animal behaviour includes: wolves chasing caribou observed from above; snow leopard pursuing markhor in the Himalayas; grizzly bear cubs leaving their den for the first time; crab-eating macaques that swim underwater; and over a hundred sailfish hunting en masse.[3]
By contrast with the others, the first instalment gives a general overview of the series by describing each of the environments that are looked at in more detail in later programmes. However, the method used to communicate this — a 'journey' from one end of the Earth to the other — serves to demonstrate the rich variation that exists on the planet as a whole.
Some sequences, particularly in episodes 6–11, are notable for their potentially disturbing content. Examples include a lone elephant being brought down by lions and a polar bear unsuccessfully attacking a walrus colony and subsequently being overcome by hunger and exhaustion. Fothergill confirmed that he asked BBC presentation for an appropriate warning before transmission in such cases:
"The thing is, we have to tread a fine line between showing nature as it really is and not offending the sensibilities of viewers. I thinks it's an enormous mistake to try and sanitise nature, but I can assure you there's plenty of footage that we shan't be showing."[2]
Apart from David Attenborough's closing narration, the series rarely makes explicit reference to the world's environmental problems. Attenborough indicated that this was intentional:
"This new series is more a celebration of our planet, not a lament about the state of it. It shows what is still there. In some areas there is no doubt that we are doing damage to our world but, at the same time, there is a vast amount of uncharted and untouched wilderness."[4]
However, the subject of species conservation and man's effect on the world's ecosystems is addressed in the companion series, Planet Earth: The Future.
[edit] Broadcast details
Each programme is of around 58 minutes' duration. This includes Planet Earth Diaries, a 10-minute featurette that details the filming of a particular event.
The show was heavily trailed on the BBC's television and radio channels both before and during its run. All eleven instalments had a 9pm Sunday screening on BBC One and in most cases were followed by an early evening repeat the next Saturday on BBC Two. Besides being BBC One's featured "One to Watch" programme of the day, its ratings were consistently high, averaging between seven and nine million viewers for each Sunday transmission.
In the UK, the series was split into two parts. Episodes 1–5 were shown 5 March–2 April 2006 with the remainder broadcast from 5 November 2006, following a further repeat run of part one on BBC Four. Part two premiered on Sundays at 9pm on both BBC One and BBC HD with a second repeat on BBC Four the following week. As a promotion for the autumn series, "Great Plains" received its first public showing at the Edinburgh International Television Festival on 26 August 2006. It was shown on a giant screen in Conference Square.
The music featured in the BBC trailers for the series is the track "Hoppípolla" from the album Takk... by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. Following the advertisements, interest was so widespread that the single was re-released. In Australia, however, it was replaced by "Jupiter", the fourth movement of Gustav Holst's orchestral suite, The Planets.
Along with its 2005 dramatisation of Bleak House, the BBC selected Planet Earth for its trial of high-definition broadcasts.[5] The opening episode was its first ever scheduled programme in the format, shown 27 May 2006 on BBC HD.
[edit] Episodes
"A hundred years ago, there were one and a half billion people on Earth. Now, over six billion crowd our fragile planet. But even so, there are still places barely touched by humanity. This series will take you to the last wildernesses and show you the planet and its wildlife as you have never seen them before."
— David Attenborough's opening narration
[edit] 1. "From Pole to Pole"
Broadcast 5 March 2006, the first episode illustrates a 'journey' around the globe and reveals the effect of gradual climatic change and seasonal transitions en route. During Antarctica's winter, emperor penguins endure four months of darkness, with no food, in temperatures of minus 70°C. Meanwhile, as spring arrives in the Arctic, polar bear cubs take their first steps into a world of rapidly thawing ice. In northern Canada, the longest overland migration of any animal — over 2000 miles — is that of three million caribou, which are hunted by wolves, and one such pursuit is shown. The forests of eastern Russia are home to the Amur leopard: with a population of just 40 individuals, it is the world's rarest cat. This is because of hunting and the destruction of its habitat. Attenborough states that it "symbolises the fragility of our natural heritage." However, in the tropics, the jungle that covers 3% of the planet's surface supports 50% of its animals. Also depicted is the one-second strike of a great white shark as it pounces on a seal, slowed down forty times. Other species shown include New Guinea's birds of paradise, African hunting dogs in their efficient pursuit of impala, swimming elephants in Africa and 300,000 migrating baikal teal (the world's entire population of the species in one flock). The Planet Earth Diaries segment shows how the wild dog hunt was filmed unobtrusively with the aid of the "heli-gimbal": a powerful, giro-stabilised camera mounted beneath a helicopter.
[edit] 2. "Mountains"
Broadcast 12 March 2006, the second instalment focuses on the mountains. All the main ranges are explored with extensive aerial photography. Ethiopia's Erta Ale is the longest continually erupting volcano — for over 100 years. On the nearby highlands, geladas (the only primate whose diet is almost entirely of grass) inhabit precipitous slopes nearly three miles up, in troops that are 800-strong: the most numerous of their kind. Alongside them live the critically endangered walia ibex, and both species take turns to act as lookout for predatory Ethiopian wolves. The Andes have the most volatile weather and guanacos are shown enduring a flash blizzard, along with an exceptional group sighting of the normally solitary puma. The Alpine summits are always snow-covered, apart from that of the Matterhorn, which is too sheer to allow it to settle. Grizzly bear cubs emerge from their den for the first time in the Rockies, while Himalayan inhabitants include rutting markhor, golden eagles that hunt migrating demoiselle cranes, and the rare snow leopard. At the eastern end of the range, the giant panda cannot hibernate due to its poor nutriment of bamboo and one of them cradles its week-old cub. Also shown is the Earth's biggest mountain glacier: the Baltoro in Pakistan, which is 43 miles long and visible from space. Planet Earth Diaries demonstrates the difficulty of obtaining the first ever close-up footage of the snow leopards: a process which took over a year.
[edit] 3. "Fresh Water"
Broadcast 19 March 2006, this programme describes the course taken by rivers and some of the species that take advantage of such a habitat. Only 3% of the world's water is fresh, yet all life is ultimately dependent on it. Its journey begins as a stream in the mountains, illustrated by Venezuela's Tepui, where there is a tropical downpour almost every day. It then travels hundreds of miles before forming rapids. With the aid of some expansive helicopter photography, one sequence demonstrates the vastness of Angel Falls, the world's highest free-flowing waterfall. Its waters drop unbroken for nearly 1,000 metres and are blown away as a mist before they reach the bottom. The erosive nature of rivers is shown by the Grand Canyon, created over five million years by the Colorado River. In Japan, the water is inhabited by the biggest amphibian, the two-metre long giant salamander, while in the northern hemisphere, salmon undertake the largest freshwater migration, and are hunted en route by grizzly bears. Also featured are smooth-coated otters repelling mugger crocodiles and the latter's Nile cousin ambushing wildebeest as they cross the Mara River. Roseate spoonbills are numerous in the Pantanal and are prey to spectacled caiman. In addition, there are cichlids, piranhas, river dolphins and swimming crab-eating macaques. Planet Earth Diaries shows how a camera crew filmed a piranha feeding frenzy in Brazil — after a two-week search for the opportunity.
[edit] 4. "Caves"
Broadcast 26 March 2006, this episode explores the planet's "final frontier": the world of caves and tunnels. Mexico's Cave of Swallows is, at 400 meters, the Earth's deepest, and diving into it is akin to jumping off New York City's Empire State Building. Also featured is Borneo's Deer Cave. Its inhabitants include three million wrinkle-lipped bats that live on its ceiling and deposit guano on to an enormous mound below, which is 100 meters high and is blanketed with feeding cockroaches. In addition, there are glimpses of a number of subterranean, eyeless creatures, such as the Texan cave salamander and even a species of crab. The programme ends in the recently discovered Lechuguilla Cave where sulphuric acid had carved unusually ornate, gypsum crystal formations. Planet Earth Diaries reveals how a camera team spent a month among the cockroaches on a tower of bat guano, and the logistics needed to photograph Lechuguilla Cave. For the visit, it took two years to get permission and local authorities are unlikely to allow another.
[edit] 5. "Deserts"
Broadcast 2 April 2006, this instalment features the harsh environment that covers one third of the Earth: the deserts. Due to Siberian winds, Mongolia's Gobi Desert reaches extremes of temperature like no other, ranging from -40°C to +50°C. It is home to the rare Bactrian camel, which eats snow to maintain its fluid level and must limit itself to 10 litres a day if it is not to prove fatal. Africa's Sahara is the size of the USA, and just one of its severe dust storms could cover the whole of Great Britain. While some creatures, such as the dromedary, take them in their stride, for others the only escape from such bombardments is to bury themselves in the sand. Few rocks can resist them either and the outcrops shown in Egypt's White Desert are being inexorably eroded. The biggest dunes (300 meters high) are to be found in Namibia, whle other deserts featured are the Atacama in Chile, the Sonoran in Arizona, and areas of the Australian outback and Utah. Animals shown surviving in such an unforgiving habitat include elephants, lions (hunting oryx), red kangaroos (which moisten their forelegs with saliva to keep cool), nocturnal fennec foxes, acrobatic flat lizards feeding on black flies, and duelling Nubian ibex. The final sequence illustrates one of nature's most fearsome spectacles: a billion-strong plague of desert locusts, destroying all vegetation in its path. Planet Earth Diaries explains how the hunt for the elusive Bactrian camels necessitated a two-month trek in Mongolia.
[edit] 6. "Ice Worlds"
Broadcast 5 November 2006, the sixth programme looks at the regions of the Arctic and Antarctica. The latter contains 90% of the world's ice, and stays largely deserted until the spring, when visitors arrive to harvest its waters. Snow petrels take their place on nunataks and begin to court, but are preyed on by South Polar skuas. During summer, a school of humpback whales hunt krill by creating a spiralling net of bubbles. The onset of winter sees the journey of emperor penguins to their breeding grounds, 100 miles inland. Their eggs transferred to the males for safekeeping, the females return to the ocean while their partners huddle into large groups to endure the extreme cold. At the northern end of the planet, Arctic residents include musk oxen, who are hunted by Arctic foxes and wolves. A female polar bear and her two cubs head off across the ice to look for food. As the sun melts the ice, a glimpse of the Earth's potential future reveals a male polar bear that is unable to find a firm footing anywhere and has to resort to swimming — which it cannot do indefinitely. Its desperate need to eat brings it to a colony of walrus. Although it attacks repeatedly, the herd is successful in evading it by returning to the sea. Wounded and unable to feed, the bear will not survive. Meanwhile, back in Antarctica, the eggs of the emperor penguins finally hatch. Planet Earth Diaries tells of the battle with the elements to obtain the penguin footage and of unwelcome visits from polar bears.
[edit] 7. "Great Plains"
Broadcast 12 November 2006, this episode deals with savannah, steppe, tundra, prairie, and looks at the importance and resilience of grasses in such treeless ecosystems. Their vast expanses contain the largest concentration of animal life. In Outer Mongolia, a herd of gazelle flees a bush fire and has to move on to new grazing, but grass can repair itself rapidly and soon reappears. On the Arctic tundra during spring, millions of migratory snow geese arrive to breed and their young are preyed on by Arctic foxes. Meanwhile, time-lapse photography depicts moving herds of caribou as a calf is brought down by a chasing wolf. On the North American prairie, bison engage in the ritual to establish the dominant males. The Tibetan Plateau is the highest of the plains and despite its relative lack of grass, animals do survive there, including yak and wild ass. However, the area's most numerous resident is the pika, whose nemesis is the Tibetan fox. In tropical India, the tall grasses hide some of the largest creatures and also the smallest, such as the pygmy hog. The final sequence depicts the African savannah and elephants that are forced to share a waterhole with a pride of thirty lions. The insufficient water makes it an uneasy alliance and the latter gain the upper hand during the night when their hunger drives them to hunt and eventually kill one of the pachyderms. Planet Earth Diaries explains how the lion hunt was filmed in darkness using infrared lights.
[edit] 8. "Jungles"
Broadcast 19 November 2006, the next instalment examines jungles and tropical rainforests. These environments occupy only 3% of the land yet are home to over half of the world's species. New Guinea is inhabited by almost 40 kinds of birds of paradise, which avoid conflict with each other by living in different parts of the island. Some of their elaborate courtship displays are shown. Within the dense forest canopy, sunlight is prized, and the death of a tree triggers a race by saplings to fill the vacant space. Figs are a widespread and popular food, and as many as 44 types of bird and monkey have been observed picking from a single tree. The sounds of the jungle throughout the day are explored, from the early morning calls of orangutans to the nocturnal cacophony of courting tree frogs. The importance of fungi to the rainforest is illustrated by a sequence of them fruiting, including a parasite called cordyceps. The mutual benefits of the relationship between carnivorous pitcher plants and red crab spiders is also discussed. In the Congo, roaming forest elephants are shown reaching a clearing to feed on essential clay minerals within the mud. Finally, chimpanzees are one of the few jungle animals able to traverse both the forest floor and the canopy in search of food. In Uganda, members of a 150-strong community of the primates mount a raid into neighbouring territory in order to gain control of it. Planet Earth Diaries looks at filming displaying birds of paradise.
[edit] 9. "Shallow Seas"
Broadcast 26 November 2006, this programme is devoted to the shallow seas that fringe the world's continents. Although they constitute 8% of the oceans, they contain most marine life. As humpback whales return to breeding grounds in the tropics, a mother and its calf are followed. While the latter takes in up to 500 litres of milk a day, its parent will starve until it travels back to the poles to feed — and it must do this while it still has sufficient energy left for the journey. The coral reefs of Indonesia are home to the biggest variety of ocean dwellers. Examples include banded sea kraits, which ally themselves with goatfish and trevally in order to hunt. In Western Australia, dolphins 'hydroplane' in the shallowest waters to catch a meal, while in Bahrain, 100,000 Socotra cormorants rely on shamals that blow sand grains into the nearby Persian Gulf, transforming it into a rich fishing ground. The appearance of algae in the spring starts a food chain that leads to an abundant harvest, and sea lions and dusky dolphins are among those taking advantage of it. In Southern Africa, as chokka squid are preyed on by short-tail stingray, the Cape fur seals that share the waters are hunted by the world's largest predatory fish: the great white shark. On Marion Island in the Indian Ocean, a group of king penguins must cross a beach occupied by fur seals that do not hesitate to attack them. Planet Earth Diaries shows the difficulties of filming the one-second strike of a great white shark.
[edit] 10. "Seasonal Forests"
Broadcast 3 December 2006, the penultimate episode surveys the coniferous and deciduous seasonal woodland habitats — the most extensive forests on Earth. Conifers begin sparsely in the Arctic but soon dominate the land, and the taiga circles the globe, containing a third of all the Earth's trees. Few creatures can survive the Arctic climate all year round, but the moose and wolverine are exceptions. 1600 kilometres to the south, on the Pacific coast of North America, conifers have reached their full potential. These include some of the world's tallest trees: the redwoods. Here, a pine marten is shown stalking a squirrel, and great grey owl chicks take their first flight. Further south still, in the Valdivian forests of Chile, a population of smaller animals exist, including the pudú and the kodkod. During spring in a European broad-leaved forest, a mandarin duck leads its day-old family to leap from its tree trunk nest to the leaf litter below. On a summer night on North America's east coast, periodical cicadas emerge en masse to mate — an event that occurs every seventeen years. After revisiting Russia's Amur leopards in winter, a timelapse sequence illustrates the effect of the ensuing spring on the deciduous forest floor. In India's teak forests, a langur monkey strays too far from the chital that act as its sentinels and falls prey to a tiger. Planet Earth Diaries explains how aerial shots were achieved by the use of a 'cinebule', an adapted hot air balloon.
[edit] 11. "Ocean Deep"
Broadcast 10 December 2006, the final instalment concentrates on the most unexplored area of the planet: the deep ocean. It begins with a whale shark used as a shield by a shoal of bait fish to protect themselves from yellowfin tuna. Also shown is an oceanic whitetip shark trailing rainbow runners. Meanwhile, a 500-strong school of dolphins head for the Azores, where they work together to feast on scad mackerel. Down in the ocean's furthest reaches, some creatures defy classification. On the sea floor, scavengers such as the spider crab bide their time, awaiting carrion from above. The volcanic mountain chain at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean also sustains life through the bacteria that surround its sulphide vents. There are thought to be around 30,000 undersea volcanoes, some of them taller than Mount Everest. Their sheer cliffs provide anchorage for several corals and sponges. Nearer the surface, the currents that surround these seamounts force nutrients up from below and thus marine life around them is abundant. Off the Mexican coast, a large group of sailfish encircle another shoal of bait fish. The hunters change colour as a message of their intentions, since an attack could also be fatal to others of their number. The last sequence depicts the largest animal on Earth: the blue whale, of which 300,000 once roamed the world's oceans. Now less than 3% remain. Planet Earth Diaries shows the search in the Bahamas for oceanic whitetip sharks.
"Our planet is still full of wonders. As we explore them, so we gain not only understanding, but power. It's not just the future of the whale that today lies in our hands: it's the survival of the natural world in all parts of the living planet. We can now destroy or we can cherish. The choice is ours."
— David Attenborough, in closing
[edit] Planet Earth: The Future
The latter episodes were supplemented by Planet Earth: The Future, a series of three 60-minute films that highlight the conservation issues surrounding some of the featured species and environments. The programmes are narrated by Simon Poland and the series producer was Fergus Beeley. The series began transmission on BBC Four after the ninth episode, "Shallow Seas".[6]
[edit] 1. "Saving Species"
Broadcast 26 November 2006, the first programme asks if there really is an extinction crisis facing certain species. Alastair Fothergill, series producer of Planet Earth, admits that making the series was a bittersweet experience since some creatures were filmed with the knowledge that their continued existence is under threat. David Attenborough believes that conservation of the natural world is something that can unite humanity if people know enough about it. Cameraman Martyn Colbeck relates that on several occasions during a six-week African visit to film for "Jungles", he and his crew were awakened by the sound of gunshots. Poaching can quickly wipe out a population, and David Greer of the WWF explains that in 2005 his team confiscated 70 guns in the area — a 700% increase from 1999. Other featured animals at risk include the walia ibex, the snow leopard, the boto, and saiga antelope. The attack of a polar bear on a walrus colony on dry land in "Ice Worlds" was a rare occurrence. Footage is shown from a BBC Wildlife Special made ten years ago that show the bears hunting smaller prey on frozen ice. Species have always become extinct, but now, the viewer is told, the rate of extinction is accelerating and it will "really reach biblical proportions within a few decades." Mankind is urged to respect biodiversity: it is estimated that if a monetary value could be put on all that the world's ecosystems do for humanity, it would total some 30 trillion dollars.
[edit] 2. "Into the Wilderness"
Broadcast 3 December 2006, the second part looks at man's potential effect on the world's areas of wilderness. As the human population has grown, only a quarter of Earth's land now remains uninhabited (aside from Antarctica). Although around 12% is protected, this may be enough — providing such places are not just 'enclosures' and bordering territories are also managed. Ethiopia's Semien Mountains are increasingly encroached upon for farming land, and this example leads to the question of overpopulation. Some interviewees argue that it is not just about numbers: how humans consume their resources is also important. However, others believe that the world would be greatly more sustainable if the population level was reduced to about half its current level. Jonathon Porritt believes that this could be achieved simply: by good education on family planning. Consumption of fresh water is highlighted: there are now 40,000 more dams in existence than in 1950. The controversy over drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is discussed by both its advocates and opponents. Biophelia is also examined, and David Attenborough believes that a child's innate love of wildlife, for whatever reason, is being lost in adulthood. An answer to deforestation is found in Costa Rica, where farmers are paid to allow their pasture to revert to forest for its water services. The programme also deals with climate change, which is now happening at a faster rate than ever before.
[edit] 3. "Living Together"
Broadcast 10 December 2006, the last programme deals with the future of conservation. It begins by looking at previous efforts. The 'Save the Whale' campaign, which started in the 1960s, is seen to have had a limited effect, as whaling continues and fish stocks also decline. In the 1990s, as head of the Kenya Wildlife Service, Richard Leakey took on the poachers by employing armed units. Although it was successful in saving elephants, the policy was detrimental to the Maasai people, who were forced from their land. The need for "fortress" areas is questioned, and the recently highlighted Raja Ampat coral reef in Indonesia is an example. The more tourism it generates, the greater the potential for damage — and inevitable coastal construction. Sustainable development is viewed as controversial, and one contributor perceives it to currently be a "contradiction in terms". Trophy hunting is also contentious. Those that support it argue that it generates wealth for local economies, while its opponents point to the reducing numbers of species such as the markhor. Ecotourism is shown to be beneficial, as it is in the interests of its providers to protect their environments. However, in some areas, such as the Borneo rainforests, the great diversity of species is being replaced by monocultures. The role of both religion and the media in conservation is argued to be extremely important. Contributors to the programme admit a degree of worry about the future, but also optimism.
© BBC
[edit] DVD and books
A five-disc DVD boxset of the complete series (BBCDVD1883) was released in the UK for Regions 2 and 4 (PAL) on 27 November 2006. Presented in Dolby 5.1 Surround and 16:9 widescreen format, its bonus features include Planet Earth Diaries (shown with each episode, as on their original transmission) and Planet Earth: The Future.[7]
2 entertain, which publishes and distributes BBC DVDs, has announced plans for a HD-DVD release in 2007.[8]
BBC Books have issued three publications. The accompanying book, written by Alastair Fothergill with a foreword by David Attenborough, was published in hardback on 5 October 2006 (ISBN 0-563-52212-7). In addition, a 'behind the scenes' paperback, Planet Earth: The Making of an Epic Series by David Nicholson-Lord, was published on 9 March 2006 (ISBN 0-563-49358-5). A second paperback, a companion to Planet Earth: The Future edited by Fergus Beeley and Rosamund Kidman Cox with a foreword by Jonathon Porritt, was also published on 5 October (ISBN 0-563-53905-4).
[edit] Overseas
The BBC pre-sold the series to several overseas broadcasters.[9] Among them are:
- ABC, Australia
- CBC, Canada
- DR, Denmark
- YLE, Finland
- WDR, Germany
- RÚV, Iceland
- Prime Television, New Zealand
- SIC, Portugal
- SVT, Sweden
- NTV, Turkey
The series was eventually sold to 130 countries.[2]
In addition, BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media have secured financing for a $15m film version of Planet Earth, to be distributed in several territories. This follows the earlier success of a theatrical edition of The Blue Planet, entitled Deep Blue.[10] It is of 90 minutes' duration and will be released from autumn 2007.[6]
The BBC has not made any announcement regarding transmission of the series in the USA.
[edit] References
- ^ BBC Press Release
- ^ a b c Radio Times: 4–10 November 2006
- ^ BBC Press Office: Planet Earth firsts
- ^ Planet Earth DVD cover notes
- ^ BBC News: BBC steps up high-definition plan
- ^ a b BBC Press Office: Planet Earth Part Two
- ^ Play.com: Planet Earth DVD details
- ^ DVD Review magazine
- ^ BBC Press Office: New Zealand and Scandinavian pre-sales for Planet Earth
- ^ BBC Press Office: Planet Earth set for movie release
[edit] External links
|
|
||
|---|---|---|
| The "Life" Series Life on Earth | The Living Planet | The Trials of Life | Life in the Freezer | The Private Life of Plants The Life of Birds | The Life of Mammals | Life in the Undergrowth | Life in Cold Blood
|
||
