David Attenborough narrates a natural history of the oceans. The deadly game of hide-and-seek played by the sea's charismatic hunters - whales, shark and billfish.
The ocean's influence dominates the world's weather systems and supports an enormous range of life. This first episode demonstrates the sheer scale, power and complexity of the "Blue Planet".
2001 • Nature
David Attenborough narrates a natural history of the oceans. The deadly game of hide-and-seek played by the sea's charismatic hunters - whales, shark and billfish.
2001 • Nature
A look at the survival techniques of creatures that endure the harsh conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic.
2001 • Nature
David Attenborough narrates a natural history of the oceans, exploring the richest waters on Earth, where the annual cycle of the sun drives an explosion of life.
2001 • Nature
Developed over centuries, coral reefs house fragile ecosystems, but they too have to fight to survive.
2001 • Nature
As snails surf the waves in pursuit of a meal, how do the tides create opportunities for marine life?
2001 • Nature
Revealing the titanic efforts behind Blue Planet, this diary reveals the skills and dedication of the film makers.
2001 • Nature
Dr Martha Holmes looks at man's influence on the oceans. Is there a solution so that we can save our seas or is it too late to get us out of Deep Trouble?
2001 • Nature
A film following a young meerkat queen living in the harsh beauty of the Makgadikgadi salt pans. If her new pups are to survive, she must unite her family in the face of rivals, predators and immense dust storms.
Visit the Bismarck Sea, a region forgotten by civilisation, where life goes on in harmony with nature as it has for thousands of years, untouched by the troubles of the modern world. You’ll dive amongst the eerie wrecks of WWII planes and ships, navigate darkness-shrouded caves and dodge swift-moving reef sharks.
Part 2 • The Magic of The Big Blue • 2011 • Nature
Chris Packham reveals that deceit is rife in the natural world – from cunning masters of disguise and sneaky thieves, to kidnapping otters and even femme fatale fireflies.
S1E5 • Chris Packham's Animal Einsteins • 2021 • Nature
There are 200 million insects for each of us. They are the most successful animal group ever. Their key is an armoured covering that takes on almost any shape. Darwin's stag beetle fights in the tree tops with huge curved jaws. The camera flies with millions of monarch butterflies which migrate 2000 miles, navigating by the sun. Super slow motion shows a bombardier beetle firing boiling liquid at enemies through a rotating nozzle. A honey bee army stings a raiding bear into submission. Grass cutter ants march like a Roman army, harvesting grass they cannot actually eat. They cultivate a fungus that breaks the grass down for them. Their giant colony is the closest thing in nature to the complexity of a human city.
Richard Hammond concludes his look at miracles in the natural world by discovering some incredible animal super-powers. Creatures that can create slime as strong as steel, survive massive extremes of temperature or even turn invisible. Animal super-powers that have inspired scientists and engineers to create brand new human inventions that could change the way we live. He discovers how the husky's paw can help American footballers; how a strange eel-like creature with a skull but no skeleton might be the next best thing to a spider; how the kingfisher could revolutionise air-sea rescue; and how the cuttlefish has enabled a military tank to pretend it's a small family saloon.
3/3 • Richard Hammond's Miracles of Nature • 2012 • Nature
Issues of genetics and DNA are constantly cropping up in the news from food production and health, to legal cases and ethics. We hear about DNA in movies like Jurassic Park and X-men, we learn bits and pieces about it from TV shows like Dexter and and CSI, but what exactly is DNA, and how does it work?