The Most Extreme

The Most Extreme
Genre Nature documentary
Developed by Shelby Wilson
Country of origin New Zealand
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
No. of episodes 77
Production
Running time 46 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Animal Planet
First shown in United States
Original run July 1, 2002 – Present
External links
Website

The Most Extreme is a documentary television series on the American cable television network, Animal Planet. It first aired on July 7, 2002. Each episode focuses on a specific animal feature, such as strength, speed, behavior, anatomy, or diet, and examines and ranks ten animals that portray extreme or unusual examples of that quality. The rankings serve only to give a broad depiction; a scientifically rigorous procedure is not employed to quantify them.

Along with each animal on the countdown, each episode presents a computer-animated segment which compares the animal's ability with something equivalent in humans, followed by an interview segment with people who share some common trait. For example, in "Super Sharks", the animal ranked #1 was the Hammerhead shark, for its extreme senses of vision and smell, along with its ability to sense voltages as small as a half-billionth of a volt. This was then compared with a team of human hackers, including StankDawg, who were war-driving around a neighborhood and looking for faint wireless signals. Old, often public domain, cartoons, movie clips and trailers are often included.

The series is made in New Zealand by a small production team at NHNZ. The termite has had the most #1 ratings but has only been in 15% of the top 10's.

The series airs in Australia on Channel Seven (first run) and on subscription channel Animal Planet (replays).

Contents

Episodes

Season 1

# Original airdate Title Overview
1 7 July 2002 Speed The fastest animals on land, air and water.
2 14 July 2002 Births Extreme reproduction in number of young, size and other factors.
3 21 July 2002 Cheats The ways animals trick one another.
4 28 July 2002 Survivors The animals who best survive extreme conditions.
5 4 August 2002 Jumpers The fastest, highest and best jumpers.
6 11 August 2002 Gluttons The greediest eaters in the world.
7 18 August 2002 Builders The animal kingdom's most innovative construction engineers.
8 25 August 2002 Fighters Warriors of the animal kingdom.
9 8 September 2002 Horrors The animals that most inspire terror in human beings.
10 27 October 2002 Strength Proportionally, the strongest animals in the world.
11 3 November 2002 Biters The deadliest, most prolific and most extreme biters.
12 10 November 2002 Thinkers Intelligence in the animal kingdom.
13 17 November 2002 Lovers Most extreme courtship rituals.

Season 2

# Original airdate Title Overview
14 11 May 2003 Moms Moms with the heaviest, hardest or most unusual jobs on the planet.
15 15 June 2003 Dads Dads in the wild can go to extremes to take care of their young.
16 22 June 2003 Venom Animals with the most lethal venom.
17 29 June 2003 Disguise These animals are experts at pretending to be what they're not.
18 13 July 2003 Swarms Hordes in the animal kingdom including millions and even billions of individuals.
19 7 September 2003 Body Parts Extreme proportions and physical oddities.
20 14 September 2003 Predators The most efficient predators come in many sizes.
21 21 September 2003 Stinkers The worst smelling animals, including one with stench that kills.
22 28 September 2003 Super Senses The world's best at keeping up with their environments.
23 23 November 2003 Eaters Animals with the most unusual menus.
24 30 November 2003 Daredevils Top stunstmen of the natural kingdom.
25 7 December 2003 Defenders The best and most unusual self-protectors.
26 21 December 2003 Oddities Strange animals and their human equivalents.

Season 3

# Original airdate Title Overview
27 3 August 2004 Gross Outs The most disgusting behavior in the wild.
28 10 August 2004 Home Designers The most extreme, unusual and innovative animal architects.
29 7 September 2004 Tough Babies The strongest babies in the animal kingdom, with human comparisons.
30 14 September 2004 Wild Parties How the most extreme partiers in the wild compare to human get-togethers.
31 21 September 2004 Monster Myths The reality behind some of the most feared animals in the world.
-- 25 September 2004 The Best of the Best Retroactive examination of #1s from earlier episodes, with a countdown to the most extreme among them.
32 12 October 2004 Killer Cats The deadliest felines in the world.
33 19 October 2004 Battle of the Sexes Males and females of some species have very little in common with one another, and they aren't always good for each other's health.
34 23 November 2004 Big Mouths Proportionally, the ten largest mouths in the world.
35 30 November 2004 Deadly Snakes The most venomous, dangerous and prolific killers.
36 14 December 2004 Killers The animals with the highest human kill counts.
37 8 February 2005 Bloodsuckers Vampires in the animal kingdom.
38 15 February 2005 Super Sharks The "highest tech" sharks in the water.
39 22 February 2005 Poison The deadliest toxins.
40 1 March 2005 Super Dogs The 10 dog breeds that have evolved the farthest from their wolf ancestors.
41 8 March 2005 Global Conquerors The most invasive animal species.
42 15 March 2005 Outrageous Flirts The unusual ways that animals attract one another.
43 27 April 2005 Athletes The most athletic animals and their human equivalents.
44 4 May 2005 Odd Couples When two species unite: unexpected animal matings.
45 25 May 2005 Movers The animals that move the beast with the least limbs for movement.

Season 4

# Original airdate Title Overview
46 25 October 2005 Hissy Fits The worst temper tantrums in the animal world.
47 1 November 2005 Living Dead Not actual zombies, these extreme hibernators can appear to come back from the dead.
48 8 November 2005 Divers The animals that can hold their breaths the longest or dive the relative deepest.
49 29 November 2005 Dieters Some animals can eat a lot without gaining weight, while others can go long times between meals.
50 24 January 2006 Loudmouths The world's loudest animals.
51 2 February 2006 Appendages The most unusual animal attachments.
52 7 March 2006 Transformers 10 transformers capable of altering themselves in extreme ways.
53 14 March 2006 Fashion Disasters In the animal kingdom, some fashion "choices" can be dangerous.
54 21 March 2006 City Slickers Animals best adapted to life in human urban environments.
55 28 March 2006 Workaholics The hardest working species in the natural world.
56 25 April 2006 Slime Balls The animals who have found the most or most innovative ways to use slime.
57 2 May 2006 Animal Myths The most misunderstood animals.
58 6 June 2006 Gourmets Not all animals gobble their food. These species put time and effort into their food preparation.
59 13 June 2006 Diggers Extreme underground dwellers.
60 20 June 2006 Weird Weapons The strangest ways animals fight.
61 26 September 2006 Cleaners Nature's most unusual neat-freaks.
62 3 October 2006 Pirates Animals who act like pirates, taking from others or hunting for treasure.
63 10 October 2006 Gardeners The unusual ways that animals impact vegetable growth.
64 17 October 2006 Freeloaders Opportunistic species that gain benefits by associating with others.
65 24 October 2006 Awesome Ancestors Some animals have giants in their family trees.

Season 5

# Original airdate Title Overview
66 24 April 2007 Inventors Innovative animals.
67 1 May 2007 Night Lights The brightest animals in the wild.
68 8 May 2007 Leaders Species with extreme numbers of followers.
69 15 May 2007 Medics The unusual ways some animals self-treat.
70 22 May 2007 Freaky Fliers Species with unusual ways of moving through air.
71 5 June 2007 Bodysnatchers Species that take over the bodies of others.
72 12 June 2007 Gadgets Innovative tools nature-built right into a species' body.

References

  1. ^ Roach, John (20 September 2001). "Newfound Octopus Impersonates Fish, Snakes". National Geographic News. National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/09/0920_octopusmimic.html. Retrieved 26 September 2011. 
  2. ^ Woodford, Riley. "Lemming Suicide Myth Disney Film Faked Bogus Behavior". Alaska Fish & Wildlife News. Alaska Department of Fish and Game. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=56&issue_id=6. Retrieved 26 September 2011. 
  3. ^ Kaufman, Marc (22 November 2010). "DOD tries to uncover secret of flying snakes". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/22/AR2010112206308.html?wpisrc=nl_fed. Retrieved 26 September 2011.