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[subzero9285]

The ratings are dropping slightly, but the repeat showing on Sunday evenings means that Life continues to have an average of around 5.5 million.

[B]Monday 16th November [/B]

[B]BBC One[/B]
18:00- BBC News at Six: 4.8m (23.4%)
18:30- Regional News and Weather: 6.0m (26.7%)
19:00- The One Show: 4.9m (21.9%)
19:30- Inside Out: 3.7m (15.1%)
20:00- EastEnders: 9.3m (36.9%)
20:30- Panorama: 2.8m (10.9%)
[B]21:00- Life: 3.8m (14.6%)[/B]
22:00- BBC News at Ten: 3.7m (17.9%)
22:25- Regional News and Weather: 3.7m (20.6%)
22:35- The Graham Norton Show: 2.8m (21.2%)

[B]BBC Two[/B]

18:30- Strictly Come Dancing - It Takes Two: 2.9m (13.2%)
19:00- Coal House at War: 1.2m (5.4%)
19:30- An Island Parish: 1.8m (7.4%)
20:00- University Challenge: 3.2m (12.9%)
20:30- Miranda: 2.6m (10.0%)
21:00- The Art on Your Wall with Sue Perkins: 1.2m (4.6%)
22:00- Have I Got News for You: 1.6m (7.7%)

[B]ITV1[/B]

18:30- ITV News & Weather: 4.0m (17.8%)
19:00- Emmerdale: 7.6m (33.6%)
19:30- Coronation Street: 9.9m (40.8%)
20:00- 999 Out of Time: Tonight: 3.7m (14.7%)
20:30- Coronation Street: 10.1m (39.5%)
21:00- I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!: 9.4m (36.2%)
22:00- ITV News at Ten & Weather: 3.5m (17.4%)
22:35- Eight Legged Freaks: 1.1m (11.7%)

[B]Channel 4[/B]

18:00- The Simpsons: 2.5m (12.1%)
18:30- Hollyoaks: 1.8m (7.9%)
19:00- Channel 4 News: 0.8m (3.4%)
19:55- Rory Peck Awards 2009: 0.5m (2.2%)
20:00- Dispatches: Inside Britain's Israel Lobby: 0.7m (2.9%)
21:00- The Queen in 3D: 1.5m (5.8%)
22:00- Derren Brown Presents: The 3D Magic Spectacular: 1.0m (6.0%)

[B]Five[/B]

17:30- Neighbours: 1.4m (8.4%)
18:00- Home and Away: 1.2m (5.9%)
18:30- Live From Studio Five: 0.3m (1.3%)
19:30- Domino Day 2009: 0.5m (2.2%)
20:00- The Gadget Show: 1.6m (6.2%)
21:00- FlashForward: 2.2m (8.4%)
22:00- Urban Legend: 0.5m (4.0% )

 

[exarkun]

Is this already on Bluray or what is the deal? And I meant in the States...I wouldn't mind getting that package on the last page. Life and Earth? Sounds like a great package. Hopefully no American voice overs were used...

Did Life get an American narrator?

 

[subzero9285]

Is this already on Bluray or what is the deal? And I meant in the States...I wouldn't mind getting that package on the last page. Life and Earth? Sounds like a great package. Hopefully no American voice overs were used...

Did Life get an American narrator?

It's released on Blu-ray next Monday in the UK, however the US release hasn't been confirmed yet. Its release in the US on Blu-ray will probably coincide with the US premier of Life on the Discovery channel in March.

The US version will be narrated by Oprah Winfrey, and edited for commercial breaks, a bit like Planet Earth, so the UK version will probably be highly sought after.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

It's released on Blu-ray next Monday in the UK, however the US release hasn't been confirmed yet. Its release in the US on Blu-ray will probably coincide with the US premier of Life on the Discovery channel in March.

The US version will be narrated by Oprah Winfrey, and edited for commercial breaks, a bit like Planet Earth, so the UK version will probably be highly sought after.

FUCK.

Okay, if I order the UK version will I get region lock raped?

 

[subzero9285]

FUCK.

Okay, if I order the UK version will I get region lock raped?

Planet Earth was region free, so there's no reason why Life shouldn't be. Unless the BBC feel like pissing people off.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

Planet Earth was region free, so there's no reason why Life shouldn't be. Unless the BBC feel like pissing people off.

Then the UK version it is. I hope someone will be able to confirm region free.

 

[subzero9285]

Episode 7 - Hunters and Hunted

Spoiler

The ability to learn from past experiences and so develop novel solutions to problems has allowed mammals to flourish in the harshest environments. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the life and death struggles between the hunters and hunted.

In northern Kenya three cheetah brothers live together, working as a coalition to hold onto their territory. Uniquely, they have learnt to work together to hunt prey that most other cheetahs would not dare to confront – taking on ostriches. As male cheetahs play no part in the raising of their young, this novel adaptation will most likely disappear when the brothers die.

Female mammals tend to look after their young for extended periods of time, allowing the youngsters to learn skills from their mother that might just give them the edge in the fight for survival.

Off the Falkland Islands lives a pod of nine orca – killer whales. One female has learnt to sneak in to a tidal pool in which elephant seal pups first learn to swim. In an act of extreme daring, she edges into the dangerously shallow pool, to try to grab a naive pup. No other orca knows how to do this, but crucially her calf is learning the technique by following its mother.

Mammals also have the ability to use their senses in ways that defy belief.

Star nosed moles in Canada have the most amazing noses and sense of smell. Their nostrils are fringed by 22 lobes that look like little fingers. These are incredibly sensitive to touch and allow the mole to find and consume food faster than any other mammal. But the mole's senses are even more stunning under water when it dives. In another TV first, Life reveals a new discovery recently made by scientists that the mole exhales a bubble from its nostrils and then re-inhales the bubble. It is effectively sniffing under water at the rapid speed of ten times a second.

Bulldog bats also have finely-tuned senses. They use echolocation like normal bats – but these bats focus on detecting the ripples created by fish swimming and then use their enlarged feet as grappling irons to snatch them from the water.

Some mammals are so clever that they take advantage of the super-acute senses of others to outwit their predators.

In the forest of Bandhavgarh in India chital deer live under constant threat from tigers. But the deer have allies in the trees above – langur monkeys. The monkeys' alarm calls often warn them of the imminent threat of a hunting tiger.

But mammal predators also have their own inventive tactics.

In Florida Bay, dolphins have learnt to corral fish by creating rings of mud around them – rings that are made by the lead dolphin beating its tail on the bottom while swimming in a tight circle around a shoal of fish. The fish are so disorientated by this wall of silt coming towards them that they panic and jump out of the ring – straight into the waiting mouths of the dolphins.

The final three episodes of Life, after today's "Hunters and Hunted" episode.

• 8: Creatures Of The Deep
• 9: Plants
• 10: Primates

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I don't think Oprah would exactly do a terrible job, other than the fact that all the stupid housewife soccer moms will be menstruating all over it, but I'm thinking I might just import it and get it sooner. What do you say, GAF?

 

[DietRob]

Why would anyone want to listen to Oprah over David Attenborough. Import for me.

 

[Wes]

And we're off!

 

[Drek]

I don't think Oprah would exactly do a terrible job, other than the fact that all the stupid housewife soccer moms will be menstruating all over it, but I'm thinking I might just import it and get it sooner. What do you say, GAF?

DAVID MOTHAFUCKIN' ATTENFUCKINBOROUGH.

How is it even a choice?

 

[Wes]

Great again. Loved the Goat/Fox chase, the Stoat and the Dolphins.

 

[Robin]

Awesome stuff again. Stoats were cool. The English countryside is amazing.

 

[Suikoguy]

Any date yet to get it in the US?

 

[Darklord]

DAVID MOTHAFUCKIN' ATTENFUCKINBOROUGH.

How is it even a choice?

Pretty much this.

 

[subzero9285]

Any date yet to get it in the US?

March 2010 on TV, and will probably be released on Blu-ray soon after. The UK version is out next week, if it's confirmed to be region free, then the UK version is recommended.

Life continues to consistently brilliant, loved the ibex scene as well as the bat sequence. Still find the stoats repugnant. The cheetah brothers were exceptionally good, and finally some tigers were featured! My second most anticipated episode is next; creatures of the deep.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Best place to import from?

 

[subzero9285]

Best place to import from?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002KSA4F6/

 

[subzero9285]

No nature thread on gaf, blah blah blah, you get the picture.

National Geographic's International Photography Contest 2009

National Geographic's International Photography Contest attracts thousands of entries from photographers of all skill levels around the world every year. While this year's entry deadline has passed, there is still time to view and vote for your favorites in the Viewer's Choice competition. National Geographic was kind enough to let me choose a few of their entries from 2009 for display here on The Big Picture. Collected below are 25 images from the three categories of People, Places and Nature. Captions were written by the individual photographers. (25 photos total)

1: Nazroo, a mahout (elephant driver), poses for a portrait while taking his elephant, Rajan, out for a swim in front of Radha Nagar Beach in Havelock, Andaman Islands. Rajan is one of the few elephants in Havelock that can swim, so when he is not dragging timber in the forest he is used as a tourist attraction. The relationship between the mahout and his elephant usually lasts for their entire lives, creating an extremely strong tie between the animal and the human being. (Photo and caption by Cesare Naldi)

2: On the final leg of a six-week United States of America road trip, I was driving east across Interstate 40 when a spot storm with golf ball-sized hail struck. A sign near Groom, Texas, announcing the "largest cross in the western hemisphere" explained the large crucifix I’d been wondering about for miles on the highway; it seemed like an OK place to wait out the storm. On my way to getting stuck in the mud and a giant double rainbow, I saw this silhouetted view of the cross, splitting the sunny sky from the stormy plains. (Photo and caption by Brad Maule)

3: This picture was taken during the Rinjani volcano trek on Lombok Island in Indonesia at sunrise. (Photo and caption by David Bismuth)

4: An example of photo luminescence in coral in West Papua (Photo and caption by Stephen Martin)

5: A male gelada baboon on the Guassa Plateau of the Ethiopian Highlands enjoys a good grooming. (Photo and caption by Robin Moore)

6: I was in the front car of the short subway between Pudong and the Bund, and was treated to the wonderful spectacle of an oncoming train in the tunnel's changing light show. I put my camera up to the window and shot as fast as possible to get this image. (Photo and caption by Gail von Bergen Ryan)

7: A stone's-eye-view of two tracks made by the sailing stones of Death Valley's Racetrack playa. The dried clay surface has a beautiful texture, and there is a palpable aura of mystery over the entire three-square-mile playa. The Racetrack was not entirely free of human influence though: several weeks before this taken many of the stones were stolen, leaving long trails without a traveler at the end. (Photo and caption by Tucker Sylvestro)

8: On my second day visiting the astounding Iguazu falls on the Brazilian side I was forced to change to my telephoto lens as my wide angle had been damaged by the water vapour. In had rained solid for 10 days prior to my arrival and so the falls were at their most spectacular. Standing on the elevated viewing platform I was able to shoot this school group who stood transfixed, emphasizing the incredible size of the falls. (Photo and caption by Ian Kelsall)

9: I took this picture on a sunny fall afternoon on a prairie near Chicago, Illinois. To improve the color saturation, I blocked the sunlight with my body. The blue background came straight from the camera. The image was not altered with any editor. (Photo and caption by Richard Susanto)

10: My grandfather was born and raised on our New Zealand farm. He and my grandmother were married nearly 60 years. Preparing for a photo in the barley, my grandmother lovingly reached up to adjust his hat. This was his last harvest. (Photo and caption by Gemma Collier)

11: During a rainy, cloudy morning at the Wild Goose scenic overlook on St. Mary Lake in Glacier National Park, Montana, the sun peeped from under the cloud cover long enough to paint a golden-yellow swath across the face of the mountain for maybe 15 minutes before disappearing again. (Photo and caption by Rebecca Latson)

12: A young orangutan swings from tree to tree in Tanjung Puting National Park in Indonesian Borneo. (Photo and caption by Sean Crane)

13: This is about one hour of firefly activity near my home in rural Ontario. The precision of the background star trails is an interesting contrast to the chaotic pattern of the firefly flashes. (Photo and caption by Steve Irvine)

14: The edge of an iceberg floating just off the coast of Antarctica. (Photo and caption by Mike Matas)

15: While visiting Kruger National Park with my son, we came across two male hippos battling for dominance as we crossed a bridge over the Sabie River. The bellowing from the animals as they fought their bloody battle was incredible. They first fought in the shallows near the bank and then moved into the deeper part of the river. We don't know how it turned out but we were so glad to see the spectacle. (Photo and caption by Steve Mandel)

16: Andrew and his friend, a young sperm whale named Scar, were swimming together off the west coast of Dominica. The two of them became "friends" after Andrew saved Scar's life. (Photo and caption by Peter Allinson)

17: The Darvaza natural gas crater is located in the center of the Karakum Desert in the central Asian country of Turkmenistan. The crater resulted after a Soviet natural gas exploration accident in the 1950s and has been burning ever since. The crater is approximately 60 meters in diameter and its depth is approximately 20 meters. (Photo and caption by Natalja Silver)

18: When the wave conditions are right a wave appears, infrequently, as a result of the splash back off the cliff connecting with an incoming wave. This causes the incoming wave to pop up, creating fan-like shapes. On this particular day, over the two hours I spent on the rocks, this wave only appeared once. This is that shot. (Photo and caption by Aaron Feinberg)

19: David Hanson crosses a fallen log beneath soaring trees and a lingering fog in Washington's Olympic National Park. (Photo and caption by Michael Hanson)

20: Even during the Arirang Mass Games in North Korea, the ultimate expression of the state ideology, an individual can still sometimes stand out from the crowd and break free of the collective. If only just for a moment. (Photo and caption by Brendyn Zachary)

21: Cary stands on a deserted road in Central Ohio, at sunset. (Photo and caption by Lisa Roberts)

22: This bee was unfortunate enough to land in my pool, but he made some amazing patterns buzzing around in the water. He later escaped. (Photo and caption by Michael Johnson)

23: Taken at Kwena Croc Farm in South Africa (Photo and caption by Wayne Holloway)

24: This is one view of many dunes found in Jordan. Two steps forward and one step back made for a challenging ascent. (Photo and caption by Andrew Cwiklewich)

25: Curious gulls on Sanibel Island, Florida. Meet my friend, "Gull-i-Bel"!!! (Photo and caption by Richard Rush)

 

[subzero9285]

Upcoming BBC nature series filmed in high-def;


The Frozen Planet is a landmark series for 2011. Six episodes filmed in high-definition will present the most comprehensive study of life in the polar regions ever filmed. Filming began in late 2006 with a shoot on South Georgia, enlisting the help of Royal Navy helicopters for aerial footage. It is due to air on BBC One in autumn 2011 and on The Discovery Channel the following year.

Gorillas (provisional title) will follow the efforts of scientists and conservationists to protect the last remaining mountain gorillas in Africa. The three part series will be broadcast on BBC Two in 2010.

Africa, announced by the BBC in January 2009, is a six-part BBC One series described as "a definitive television series on the greatest wildlife continent on earth". It will be the first project for Neil Nightingale, the former Head of the Unit, on his return to programme making.

Earth Flight was commissioned by the BBC in March 2009 from independent producer John Downer Productions. Each of the five episodes will look at bird migration on a different continent, using innovative cameras and filming technology. Earth Flight will debut on BBC One in 2011.

Nature's Miracle Babies: In October 2009, Director General Mark Thompson announced the commissioning of Nature's Miracle Babies, a five-part series presented by Martin Hughes-Games revealing the techniques used by conservationists to breed some of the world's rarest species. Animals featured will include giant pandas, koalas, bonobos, Tasmanian devils, Amur leopards, cheetahs and the Yangtze soft-shell turtle. The series will air on BBC One in 2011.

The BBC is collaborating with Animal Planet on two African series. The greatest concentration of wildlife on the continent will feature in The Great Rift, due for completion in 2010. The following year, Madagascar will focus on the natural history of the African island.


Frozen Planet is billed as the flagship series, just like its predecessors; Planet Earth and Life. So, there's a lot to look forward to from the BBC Earth Unit in the next couple of years.

 

[subzero9285]

Also forget to mention Human Planet.

So what is Human Planet?

Human Planet is a new 8×50 minute landmark documentary series being made by BBC Television. The series celebrates the human species and looks at our relationship with the natural world by showing the remarkable ways we have adapted to life in every environment on earth. It is due to be transmitted in the UK in October 2010 and will be rolled out across the world soon after.

The production team is split across two sites, one in Bristol and one in Cardiff.

In BBC Bristol we are part of the world renowned Natural History Unit. You may have heard of us, but if not, you’ve probably watched some of our programmes. Many have been presented or narrated by Sir David Attenborough, like Planet Earth and Blue Planet. Most recently we’ve just finished Nature’s Great Events which our own executive producer, Brian Leith, worked on.

Simien Mountains

BBC Wales, based in Cardiff, are probably best known in the UK right now for producing high end popular dramas like Doctor Who. Torchwood, another sci-fi doc that comes out of Cardiff, is also an HD production and Human Planet will be using the same excellent post-production facilities. The factual department is best known for its ground-breaking anthropology documentary series Tribe.

In total we have a core team of 20 phenomenally talented programme makers, who come with a wide range of skills and experiences. Working with us are some of the best wildlife and documentary camera crews and fixers in the world. For the first time we have a dedicated stills photographer, Timothy Allen, who will be posting his own Human Planet blog every week at http://timothyallen.blogs.bbcearth.com/

Suri stick fight

The series started in full production in the summer of 2008 and we will be shooting over 70 stories in some of the most remote locations on earth in around 40 different countries.

Each episode will focus on one single environment: desert, jungles, arctic, grasslands, rivers, mountains, oceans and urban. Many of the stories are extremely dramatic and will show how we have successfully adapted and survived in the most challenging places on the planet.

As from next week each member of the team will be blogging their stories from the Human Planet. I will keep you updated on where everyone is and give you general news about the series.

Currently, we have teams that have just come back from the remote southern region of Mongolia, filming for the desert episode. On location are the Jungles and Mountains team who are in the Central African Republic and Nepal. I’ll let you work out which team is where!

Arctic Dawn

That’s it for now …enjoy the photos and the sneak preview from the series. See the link if you’d like to read what Timothy Allen’s been up to and don’t forget to explore the new BBC Earth site too. Look out for the regular Friday posting from the Human Planet team, with fascinating stories and tales from both our many locations and from the office.

Link

 

[Schrade]

Bah. Humans are not as interesting as animals.

 

[subzero9285]

A preview of the "Jungles" episode of Human Planet.

As part of the Jungles program on Human Planet we have come to Cambodia to investigate a place where nature has reclaimed the site of a former human civilization. That place is the 200 square kilometre area of Angkor in Central Cambodia, former home to, amongst others, the great Khmer empire of King Suryavarman the second. Satellite surveys suggest that Angkor once comprised an urban sprawl of some 3,000 square kilometres, making it by far the largest preindustrial city the world has ever known. The notion that a place of this magnitude could ever become abandoned is a fascinating prospect, the concensus agreeing that it was a combination of the declining Khmer empire and one final conquest by the Thais in the 15th century that caused a shift of power over to Phnom Penh in the east, thus sealing Angkor’s fate as a forgotten city, destined to be reabsorbed into the surrounding jungle until its modern day resurgence as the seat for Cambodia’s most recent all-conquering empire, early 21st century tourism.

Control of this phenomenal stone-built metropolis has passed between nations over the years, most notably between the Cambodian Khmers and the Siamese (Thais), the modern day tenure currently residing within the hands of the rubber and petroleum giant Sokimex, who own the right to profit from Angkor’s highly lucrative tourist industry. Ask any local and they’ll insist that Sok Kong, the owner of Sokimex is Vietnamese and therefore this deal represents yet another conquest of Angkor by a foreign invader. Having never met Mr. Kong myself I can’t confirm this, but whatever the truth, it is certainly a bone of contention in this neck of the woods which will no doubt add more fire to Angkor’s intriguing history.

Yesterday we spent all day filming within the ruins of Ta Phrom, possibly Angkor’s most visually stunning ruin. Many visitors before us have also acknowledged this fact, most famously Paramount Pictures, who used it as a backdrop for a number of scenes in the video game inspired blockbuster Tomb Raider, a production which appears to have employed almost every local resident of Angkor if they are to be believed. I had a quick look at said scenes today and I must admit that I really love what they did with the lake in front of Angkor Wat - the largest temple in the complex, bringing it to life with a mass of boats and floating water lilies. Large Hollywood productions invading ancient temple sites is definitely not to everyone’s taste I know, but you have to admit, it really does look absolutely amazing.

If you are planning on making a photographic pilgrimage to Angkor, be prepared to share your space with a number of like minded enthusiasts. Don’t let this put you off however. There are still loads of temples that get overlooked by the package tour groups who tend to stick to a well trodden route. Similarly, if you turn up at sunrise or sunset you’ll not only be blessed with the best light, but also complete solitude in my experience, and Cambodia is a nation of early risers so you’ll have no trouble getting a tuk tuk to drive you out to the temple complex before first light.

Whether you like it or not, the urge to photograph a monk amidst the overgrown ruins will no doubt overcome your sensibilities at some point, and when it does, make the most of the experience by spending as long as you can engaging in some friendly banter and cultural exchange. The monks I have met here are very cool cats. They quietly put up with a hell of a lot of probing lenses and they aren’t all touting for dollars as many foreigners will have you believe.

I am leaving you with this picture of 75 year old Kong Di, from Ta Phrom monastery (famously, background monk no. 7 in the scene where Lara Croft arrives at Angkor Wat by boat from across the lake) standing in another ‘famous’ Tomb Raider set location. For those of you who are more photographically inclined, you might be wondering why I used a fisheye lens to shoot this picture. Simple. Last year, a raised wooden viewing platform was built just 3 feet away from the doorway, complete with security guard and a rope barrier to keep tourists from clambering onto the tree roots. Using a 15mm lens was the only way I could get wide enough to edit it out of the photograph. Beware the subjective eye of the photographer!

 

[subzero9285]

Orca sneak attack, from the Hunters and Hunted episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewZD5IzlL6Q

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

Pre-ordered the UK version on Amazon, reasonable price shipped. Good deal.

 

[subzero9285]

A few synopses for the upcoming series; Frozen Planet, The Great Rift and Earth Flight.

Frozen Planet

The ultimate portrait of the earth's Polar Regions.

The Arctic and Antarctic remain the greatest wildernesses on Earth. The scale and beauty of the scenery and the power of the elements - the weather, the ocean and the ice - is unmatched anywhere else on our planet.

The Poles are also home to many of the most charismatic animals from polar bears to emperor penguins and from wolves to wandering albatrosses. Using the latest camera technology on land, from the air and underwater, Frozen Planet will capture the drama of their lives in the most intimate detail.

Four years in the making, the programme makers have embarked on the most ambitious polar expedition of our age, enlisting international logistics on an unprecedented scale. Russian nuclear submarines take them deep under the ice, Royal Naval helicopters air-lift them into giant ocean swells, and US ice-breakers voyage further into the frozen seas then ever before. Once there, they must endure the biggest seasonal change on our planet from flesh-freezing polar winters to the unpredictable dangers of the summer 'melt' as they struggle to film animal behaviour and landscapes that have never been seen before.

Both Poles are melting fast - this may be the last chance to see these great wildernesses before they change for ever.

Frozen Planet will be broadcast in 2011 on BBC One.

The Great Rift

Visible from space, the Great Rift runs for over four thousand miles. It creates, connects and defines one of the wildest, most charismatic landscape in the world.

In a geological blink of an eye, the Great Rift created an extraordinary hotbed of evolution and a home to the greatest concentration of wildlife found anywhere on Earth. This place of beauty and plenty was also the birthplace of humanity.

BBC crews have been filming new discoveries, dramatic landscapes, and exciting behaviour, to reveal the Great Rift as a landscape that continues to surprise us.

Great Rift is due to be broadcast on BBC Two in 2010.

Earth Flight

BBC One is to capture some of the world's greatest wildlife phenomena and natural wonders through the eyes of birds in a new natural history series.

In Earth Flight, amazing sights from five continents will be revealed in a whole new light as the five-part series joins the journeys of snow geese, cranes, falcons, albatross, eagles and other birds.

Using cutting edge new filming techniques to show everything in exquisite detail, viewers have a uniquely privileged perspective flying 9,000 metres high over the sands of the Sahara or skimming metres over the Great Wall of China.

The birds are shown up-close in flight and interacting with other animals down below, from barnacle geese encountering herds of migrating reindeer, to pelicans plunging into hundreds of nurse sharks.

Spycams film right in the heart of the flock with microlights, hang-gliders and wirecams making up the aerial filming arsenal.

Slow-motion techniques reveal extraordinary detail such as a swallow plucking a fly from the air while new satellite technology enables a seamless transition from views of entire continents to moving aerial images of the animals that live there.

Sequences include flamingoes flying over the soda lakes of Africa and becoming prey for hunting baboons, flocks of waders landing in an invasion of horseshore crabs and Hummingbirds darting through the Grand Canyon.

The series was commissioned by Jay Hunt, Controller BBC One, and Mark Bell, Commissioning Editor, Independents.

He says: "This promises to be a spectacular series which will give viewers a really different perspective on some of our most exciting wildlife events. The very latest filming techniques take viewers right into the centre of the action as well as giving them a stunning bird's eye view of the world below."

The series is being made by John Downer Productions, who have won numerous awards for their innovative approach to film-making. Recent, well-received series include Tiger – Spy In The Jungle and Swarm – Nature's Incredible Invasions. It is planned for transmission in 2011.

 

[subzero9285]

Monster worm and sea star frenzy

Deep under the Antarctic ice, a rare, colourful burst of starfish and 3-metre-long monster worms has been filmed by a BBC camera crew. Filmed in time-lapse, the extraordinary swarm of deep-sea creatures gathers to feed in a frenzy on the body of a seal, which had sunk to the ocean floor. Such a bounty of food may only occur once every ten years in the ice-cold waters of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.

The images were taken by divers filming for the natural history series Life. Descending through a hole cut in the ice, cameramen Mr Doug Allan and Mr Hugh Miller set up a time-lapse camera on the ocean floor. The time-lapse sequence revealed the feeding frenzy of hundreds of huge worms, starfish, brittle stars and sea-urchins.

Nemertine worms, also known as boot-lace or ribbon worms, belong in their own phylum, the Nemertea. Some species are scavengers or herbivores, but most are voracious predators, catching prey using a proboscis that shoots out from their mouth. The proboscis may be poisonous or even tipped with a sticky secretion, depending on the type of worm.

In Antarctica, such worms often feed on clams and shellfish. However, they also congregate with starfish, which are also called sea stars, to feed on seal droppings. In the sequence filmed for the Life series, the invertebrates gather in a frenzy to feast on a seal carcass that has sunk to the ocean floor. So much food may only arrive in one place every decade.

The nemertine worms (Parbolasia corrugatus) are able to puncture the seal's skin with their proboscis, opening up the carcass, so that worms and marine isopods such as woodlice can enter to feed. The starfish feed more slowly. They feed by pushing out their stomachs through their mouths.

As a sea star pushes its stomach against the seal's skin, it secretes digestive juices that dissolves the seal's tissue. Sea urchins, such as Sterechinus neumayeri, also get in on the act. Like the giant worms, this species comes in a variety of colours.

Not only does it sometimes camouflage itself with bits of shell, but it can live for up to 40 years of age. Due to the cold temperatures, many creatures under the ice grow extremely slowly. But by doing so, they can reach a great age and a great size. In temperate and tropical seas, other more common predators dominate, such as crabs.

However, the fossil record shows these animals vanished from the waters of Antarctica around 35 million years ago, when the continent cooled. Today, Antarctica has no lobsters or crabs. There are also few fish, such as sharks and rays.

Instead lurk strange animals such as sea urchins, sea stars, giant worms and large underwater sea spiders, which can grow up to 30 centimetres across and live for several decades.

However, last year researchers warned that if global warming continues, then it will place this unique marine life at risk. In the last 50 years, sea surface temperatures around Antarctica have risen by 1 to 2C, which is more than twice the global average.

That could encourage crabs to colonise the region, followed by fish such as sharks, which are capable of decimating the local wildlife. If that does occur, then the Antarctic seafloor would no longer be dominated by soft-bodied, slow-moving invertebrates, which are believed to be similar to those found in ancient oceans prior to the evolution of shell-crushing predators.

'The Deep' episode of the BBC natural history series Life will be broadcast at 2100GMT on BBC One on Monday 30 November.

Link


Really looking forward to this episode, and Life's Blu-ray release, which happens to be on the same day.

 

[Zzoram]

Please come out on Blu-ray and have better IQ than Planet Earth (which is already good but not quite reference).

 

[Naked Snake]

How come there hasn't been any reviews/impressions of the blu-ray set? Surely somebody received an advance copy by now. I just want a 100% confirmation that it's not region locked before I place my order...

 

[subzero9285]

How come there hasn't been any reviews/impressions of the blu-ray set? Surely somebody received an advance copy by now. I just want a 100% confirmation that it's not region locked before I place my order...

You'll just have to wait until Monday's release, the reviews should start trickling in from that point on and final confirmation that the set is region free.

 

[Naked Snake]

You'll just have to wait until Monday's release, the reviews should start trickling in from that point on and final confirmation that the set is region free.

I hope the amazon uk price doesn't increase before then.

 

[Phreak47]

Can't wait to check these out... first I've heard of it.

Best of all, I'm sure it's full of references to the fact of Natural Selection that will piss off creationists.

 

[Phreak47]

A preview of the "Jungles" episode of Human Planet.

That place looks exactly like one of the levels from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune! Heh...

 

[subzero9285]

That place looks exactly like one of the levels from Uncharted: Drake's Fortune! Heh...

Ta Prohm is a beautiful temple.

 

[subzero9285]

From the HD Movie Thread, courtesy of NekoFever.

Tried it in my US PS3 and it kept hanging at the menu. My housemate has a standalone that can be manually switched between regions so when he gets home I'll try it with that set to region A and see if it's actually region coded or if it's the PS3 choking on 50Hz menus again. There are also a couple of other import PS3s in the house so I'll try it on one of those as well, because mine's been flaky lately.

The audio is actually DTS-HD HR rather than MA. Only the second disc I've seen with that kind of audio. Looks good, though, from the few seconds of skipping through it that I did.

 

[Alucrid]

That makes me worried. Hopefully it's just the PS3.

 

[grap3fruitman]

PS3s are the only Blu-ray players I have.. and I was thinking of possibly giving this to my cousin as an Xmas present who also only has a PS3. Crap. =(

 

[Stuggernaut]

That Gull pic is pretty cool.

 

[wonderkins]

Isn't the 50hz menu thing what Dragona has mentioned in the PS3 firmware threads?

This'll really suck if it turns out to be region-free but unplayable on region A due to a technical "glitch." I don't want to wait and I don't want Oprah.

Attenborough only. I doubt they'll offer two versions in the US like they did Planet Earth. I don't know anyone with the Sigourney Weaver version, but I'm sure the widely available version this time'll be the "alternate" narrator. Fuck that. I want the dulcet, mellifluous vox of Sir David Attenborough.

 

[NekoFever]

It's a pretty well known thing about the PS3 and 50Hz content. It used to refuse to play and would just skip over it, and then Sony changed something to dump you back to the XMB. Later on the old functionality was restored and all seemed to be well.

What's stupid is that it's a deliberate thing by Sony, because you can rip a 50Hz video file and it'll play it from the hard drive or flash drive without any modification; it's just set not to play nice when it's on a disc, whether that's a DVD or Blu-ray.

I'm not sure what was going on with this one because it played up to this point and didn't throw up a region error. It just hung where the menu would load, and it hadn't crashed because I could still control the PS3.

In any case, I'll check it as promised later and report back.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

It's a pretty well known thing about the PS3 and 50Hz content. It used to refuse to play and would just skip over it, and then Sony changed something to dump you back to the XMB. Later on the old functionality was restored and all seemed to be well.

What's stupid is that it's a deliberate thing by Sony, because you can rip a 50Hz video file and it'll play it from the hard drive or flash drive without any modification; it's just set not to play nice when it's on a disc, whether that's a DVD or Blu-ray.

I'm not sure what was going on with this one because it played up to this point and didn't throw up a region error. It just hung where the menu would load, and it hadn't crashed because I could still control the PS3.

In any case, I'll check it as promised later and report back.

D:

Mine already shipped. It's on the way! This better be a fluke.

My PS3 is my only Blu-Ray player too. Damn it.

 

[grap3fruitman]

How does Amazon UK's shipping to the US work out of curiosity?

 

[Mike Works]

Ta Prohm is a beautiful temple.

i went there (and to all of the other surrounding temples) back in july/august. i really need to upload some of those pictures, it was breathtaking.

 

[wonderkins]

In any case, I'll check it as promised later and report back.

Crossing-fingers.

 

[subzero9285]

How does Amazon UK's shipping to the US work out of curiosity?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=11072991

 

[Zombie James]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=11072991

They ship to Canada, too? Nice, finally.

 

[NekoFever]

Bad news for those looking to import the BD for playback on a PS3, I'm afraid.

The UK Blu-ray isn't region coded, but both the menus and the episodes themselves are in 50Hz, so it won't currently play on a region A PS3. Tested it in a multiregion Panasonic DMP-BD60 set to region A and it played without an issue. According to that player's codec info it was 1080i at 50Hz, which is why my US PS3 wouldn't play it.

Despite saying on the back of the box that it's 1080p with a DTS-HD Master Audio logo, it's actually 1080i with DTS-HD High Resolution.

tl;dr: Won't work in a US PS3 but any decent standalone should work fine.

 

[Alcander]

Shit...there is no way around this? My ps3 is my only blu-ray player and I was really hoping to ask for this for x-mas....

 

[distantmantra]

It's a pretty well known thing about the PS3 and 50Hz content. It used to refuse to play and would just skip over it, and then Sony changed something to dump you back to the XMB. Later on the old functionality was restored and all seemed to be well.

So wait, are you saying that I could have UK Blu-rays that previously played just fine on my PS3, but now may be unplayable? I know that Red Cliff works, but now I'm freaked out about my copies of Almost Famous, Ashes of Time Redux and Tokyo Sonata...

 

[NekoFever]

So wait, are you saying that I could have UK Blu-rays that previously played just fine on my PS3, but now may be unplayable?

I doubt it because it's only a handful of them, and most are either ones that have region B releases from smaller distributors (e.g. Twilight) or are very region specific, and you'd almost certainly have run into issues before with the way that the PS3's 50Hz support ebbs and flows. This site marks up the ones that are region free but have 50Hz content.