#THE BLUE PLANET SEAS OF LIFE BBC SERIES#

From sharks in a wild feeding frenzy, to penguins shooting out of the water onto an iceberg, to majestic whales and dolphins, to some of the strangest creatures you will ever see in the ocean deep, there is something here for everyone regardless if you're a big nature lover or not. I can give no complaint about the fabulous pacing which never seems to focus on anything for too long or not long enough.

#THE BLUE PLANET SEAS OF LIFE BBC SERIES#

The series has eight parts, and while everyone is bound to have their favorites-mine are 'Coral Seas' and 'Frozen Seas'-all eight are informative, fascinating, with wonderful cinematography, engaging music, and near perfect commentary. But I think my personal favorite is 'The Blue Planet' which concerns the life in and around the world's oceans that covers over two-thirds of the Earth's surface. Fantastic series from 'The Life of Birds' in the 90's to the more recent 'Life' and 'Frozen Planet' show their exceptional consistency over time. As we begin to understand the true complexity of the lives of our ocean creatures, so do we recognise the fragility of their home.The BBC has proved time and again that they are of the highest caliber in the world in the creation of nature documentaries, especially when the program is accompanied by the narration of the legendary conservationist David Attenborough. But with rising temperatures, summer sea ice is retreating - their battles to survive are becoming ever harder. Deep in the polar north, we meet walrus mothers and their newborn calves, searching for an ice floe to rest on. But our ocean system, in relative equilibrium for millennia, is changing at a worrying rate. Ocean currents move heat around our planet and maintain a climate favourable for life. Here, in winter, pods of orcas use dramatic tail slaps to stun herring, and humpback whales follow the noises to find the feast. But in the Arctic, a warm current from the south keeps some Norwegian fjords ice-free all year round. Toward our planet's poles, the ocean's surface is locked in ice. Females change gender, and a new male challenges an older male to a face-off. But when a female reaches both a critical body size and age, it can undergo an extraordinary metamorphosis. At the start of summer a male mates with the females. In Japan, a kelp-covered shipwreck is home to the Asian sheepshead wrasse, or Kobudai. In temperate seas around the globe, spring brings greening oceans. But when they find them, the whales team up with the dolphins to form super-pods - a formidable army to take advantage of the bounty of these seasonal seas. Predatory false killer whales off the coast of New Zealand are in search of dolphins. Where the plankton thrive, fish thrive too, and ocean travellers will migrate thousands of miles to take advantage of these productive seas. Phytoplankton produce as much oxygen as all the plants on land and lie at the base of marine food chains everywhere. At night, in a previously unseen event, tiny organisms that light up when disturbed react to their wingbeats, creating an enchanting bioluminescent firework display. In spring thousands of mobula rays gather in Mexico's Sea of Cortez. Here, unlike the tropics, the seas change with the seasons. Sun heats the sea, creating rain, winds and huge storms that drive up towards higher latitudes. The tropical oceans drive our planet's weather. Fledglings must eventually take to the wing, but danger lurks beneath the waves - metre-long giant trevally fish leap clear out of the water to snatch the birds. In the Seychelles, half a million terns nest on an island. On another reef, a tusk fish demonstrates a surprising level of ingenuity - tool use - as it uses corals as an anvil to break open clams. Starting in the tropical coral reefs - the most diverse ocean habitat - a baby dolphin is taught the secrets of a coral reef, as its family rubs against a particular gorgonian which may have medicinal properties. Using cutting-edge technology, One Ocean takes us on a journey from the intense heat of the tropics to our planet's frozen poles to reveal new worlds and extraordinary never-before-seen animal behaviours. In recent years, our knowledge of life beneath the waves has been transformed.

The blue planet seas of life bbc