Frozen Planet - Wednesdays @ 9 BBC1

Mickeroo

As Im sure most of you know theres a new David Attenborough show called Frozen Planet starting this wednesday at 9 on BBC1. I thought a discussion thread might be worthwhile!
Its taken 4 years to make and concentrates solely on the Arctic and Antarctic(I think). I'm sure it will probably highlight climate change but there promises to be some great footage of the wildlife. If the trailer is anything to go by we can expect some truely awe inspiring cinematography:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hObov-E540o

:eek:

I didn't think they would out do the stuff in Planet Earth or Life but going by that they may just have!

Theres an interview in The Guardian with the man himself thats worth reading too.

Thoughts folks?

aidoh

Hadn't heard of this.
Looks great.

Adam Khor

What will we do when David Attenborough is gone?

g'em

Can't wait for this, it looks like it'll be another phenomenal production from the BBC. I get the impression it'll be another one of those series that turns peoples ideas about a biosphere completely on its head.

Adam Khor wrote: »

What will we do when David Attenborough is gone?

shush now with that kind of blaspheming :eek: Dave will never leave us. Ever. He's not allowed

steddyeddy

Mickeroo wrote: »

As Im sure most of you know theres a new David Attenborough show called Frozen Planet starting this wednesday at 9 on BBC1. I thought a discussion thread might be worthwhile!
Its taken 4 years to make and concentrates solely on the Arctic and Antarctic(I think). I'm sure it will probably highlight climate change but there promises to be some great footage of the wildlife. If the trailer is anything to go by we can expect some truely awe inspiring cinematography:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hObov-E540o

:eek:

I didn't think they would out do the stuff in Planet Earth or Life but going by that they may just have!

Theres an interview in The Guardian with the man himself thats worth reading too.

Thoughts folks?

Absolutely stunning. When hes gone I cant see anyone filling his boots.

aidoh

I reckon if John Hurt started smoking 40 a day then by the time Dave kicks the bucket we'd have an unreal new voice to fill in.
Or Patrick Stewart.
Or Morgan Freeman.

Mickeroo

aidoh wrote: »

I reckon if John Hurt started smoking 40 a day then by the time Dave kicks the bucket we'd have an unreal new voice to fill in.
Or Patrick Stewart.
Or Morgan Freeman.

John Hurt does Planet Dinosaur at the moment and I quite like him at it too. Benedict Cumberbatch is another good one, he played Sherlock Holmes in the recent BBC show and he did the narration for that Stephen Hawking docu show that came out last year and the BBC nature series South Pacific which is well worth a watch.

But as g'em said Sir David's not going anywhere at the moment he's not allowed!

Mickeroo

I only watched a few seconds as I didn't want to spoil it for the show but if you want watch theres some cool footage from Frozen Planet of a pack of grey wolves hunting bison on the BBC website.

vicwatson

When hes gone I cant see anyone filling his boots.

I think Steve Backshall will be the perfect person to fill in.

Sid_Justice

While I appreciate that DA was a pioneer of the genre, more recently, his role in the documentaries is mostly narration with some presentation. So while I will miss his voice, the shows are directed, produced, researched by many many many individuals and the show will go on.

Papa_Lazarou

The guy has just an amazing ability to capture and hold peoples attention. He's one man id love to just sit in a cafe with and have an aul conversation.

Mickeroo

Sid_Justice wrote: »

While I appreciate that DA was a pioneer of the genre, more recently, his role in the documentaries is mostly narration with some presentation. So while I will miss his voice, the shows are directed, produced, researched by many many many individuals and the show will go on.

Yea true although he did actually travel to the arctic for part of this one at least i think.

It's amazing some of the stuff the crews have gone through though, some of the best bits of Planet Earth and LIfe was the making of section in the last 15 minutes or so. They didn't have it easy thats for sure.

kylith

steddyeddy wrote: »

Absolutely stunning. When hes gone I cant see anyone filling his boots.

My vote's for Simon King.

steddyeddy

kylith wrote: »

My vote's for Simon King.

I never thought of him! Hes good alright.

Mickeroo

Well did anyone watch it?

I thought it was great, some startling footage in it. Particular highlight was probably the grey wolves hunting down the bison, the ORca footage was outstanding too.

I got the impression they cut a fair bit of the polar bears fighting out, the male was in ribbons by the end of that sequence but we didn't really see it happen.

THe landscape footage was outstanding too, I had no idea about the dry valleys! Also the ice caves on Mt Erebus were fascinating, who knows what undiscovered life forms could be lurking around in there!

littlebug

I watched it with this expression on my face :eek: most of the time... just fantastic. The footage was amazing and great to get some insight into how some of it was done at the end.

Rebel021

littlebug wrote: »

I watched it with this expression on my face :eek: most of the time... just fantastic. The footage was amazing and great to get some insight into how some of it was done at the end.

Couldn't agree more
I can't wait for next weeks episode:)

hollypink

It was great, I've always found the Scott/Amundsen race to the South Pole fascinating. It was incredible to see the terrain they covered, the mountains, the dry valleys, then finally the bleak ice sheet that seemed to stretch into infinity. Also I really love penguins, was delighted to see the one that escaped from the seal. Amazing to see the whales working together to create the big waves to wash the seal off the ice although there was something poignant about the part when they finally dragged it into the water as it seemed to slip so slowly backwards before disappearing.

littlebug

hollypink wrote: »

Amazing to see the whales working together to create the big waves to wash the seal off the ice although there was something poignant about the part when they finally dragged it into the water as it seemed to slip so slowly backwards before disappearing.

I think that was very powerful footage. I recorded it with a view to the kids watching it today but I think that bit was a bit much for them

Mickeroo

hollypink wrote: »

It was great, I've always found the Scott/Amundsen race to the South Pole fascinating. It was incredible to see the terrain they covered, the mountains, the dry valleys, then finally the bleak ice sheet that seemed to stretch into infinity. Also I really love penguins, was delighted to see the one that escaped from the seal. Amazing to see the whales working together to create the big waves to wash the seal off the ice although there was something poignant about the part when they finally dragged it into the water as it seemed to slip so slowly backwards before disappearing.

Yea that was an eye opener, the terrain they crossed on foot was staggering. The glacier looked completely impassable, just shows it was a completely different undertaking to the arctic exploration which was straight forward in comparison.

It would be nice if Tom Crean and Shackleton get a mention in later episodes too.

WindmillWarrior

Rebel021 wrote: »

Couldn't agree more
I can't wait for next weeks episode:)

Only heard about this about 5 minutes before it started. Better late than never, what an absolute treat. Amazing footage, every minute of it was just wow.
But is there gonna be more in this series? They done both the north and south poles last night so I was kinda thinking is this gonna be it! Obviously theres plenty more to both poles but they did cover quite a bit last night. And there was no mention of next weeks show at the end?

littlebug

WindmillWarrior wrote: »

But is there gonna be more in this series? They done both the north and south poles last night so I was kinda thinking is this gonna be it! Obviously theres plenty more to both poles but they did cover quite a bit last night. And there was no mention of next weeks show at the end?

Seven episodes as far as I can see from here plus for anyone who missed last nights show it looks like it's repeated on Sunday at 4.10pm

WindmillWarrior

Yeah, says the same on wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_Planet

kylith

I was gobsmacked by the whole thing. The quality of the footage was astounding, and a real testament to the men and women who went to such extraordinary lengths to get it. Kudos to all involved, and I look forward to the next one.

Bsal

Absolutely incredible program, looking forward to Wednesdays now.

Linguo

Can't wait for this to be on again tonight, amazing series!

Mickeroo

Another good show tonight. The wooly bear caterpillar's life cycle was pretty amazing to see, I couldn't believe it when he said it was 14 years old!

The ferocity of the elephant seal fight was something to behold too, really tore chunks out of eachother.

Would like to have seen more of the narwhal though, hopefully the series will revisit them at some point.

Linguo

Wow last night's show was absolutely amazing, the thief penguin had me laughing my heart out and the caterpiller had me teary eyed for some reason, so wonderful that a little guy like that takes 14 years of hard work just to become a moth for one season, amazing!

Can't wait for next week!

ppink

how could you not love those little penguins running up the beach:) and then to see them literally flying out of the water when the whales arrived along.......mad:D

love these programmes!

The Black Oil

Have only seen episode one so far. Quite something alright. The behind the scenes stuff was enjoyable. I tell ya, you wouldn't want to be around when the killer whales start throwing waves and that sea lion was a bit useless at catching penguins! A few sad moments, too.

Dave!

It's on the Beeb now lads

Mickeroo

Dave! wrote: »

It's on the Beeb now lads

Another good watch tonight. Getting the footage of the Orca hunting the Minke Whale was pretty impressive, I doubt thats something thats been filmed much before if at all.

They seem to be throwing in an obligatory vicious encounter between two animals every week. The polar bears in the first episode, the elephant seals last week and now the fur seals this week ripping chunks from eachother.

Gotta say though, the bits following the film crews at the end of each episode have been great each week, possibly my favourite part of it at the moment. Seeing them next to the male polar bear really put into perspective the size of the creature, and seeing the Orca trying to tip the boat like they did the ice makes me wonder if they would be more ready to eat us than we think :pac:

Mickeroo

Here's an interesting one, and it shows you what a sad state of affairs the media in some countries are in, particularly the US:

The BBC has dropped a climate change episode from its wildlife series Frozen Planet to help the show sell better abroad.

British viewers will see seven episodes, the last of which deals with global warming and the threat to the natural world posed by man.

However, viewers in other countries, including the United States, will only see six episodes.

The environmental programme has been relegated by the BBC to an “optional extra” alongside a behind-the-scenes documentary which foreign networks can ignore.

Campaigners said the decision not to incorporate the episode on global warming as part of the main package was “unhelpful”.

They added that it would allow those countries which are sceptical of climate change to “censor” the issue.

I'm pretty saddened to see the BBC actually go ahead with a move like that, but I suppose it makes sense from a business point of view

Source.

steddyeddy

Mickeroo wrote: »

Here's an interesting one, and it shows you what a sad state of affairs the media in some countries are in, particularly the US:



I'm pretty saddened to see the BBC actually go ahead with a move like that, but I suppose it makes sense from a business point of view

Source.

The BBC have always tried to avoid "pushing" their opinions on people. According to Sir David It was his idea to have an episode on climate change!

On again in half an hour, really have enjoyed it so far. Always been a fan of nature shows but this one is top of my list. Some excellent cameos

Galvasean

Adam Khor wrote: »

What will we do when David Attenborough is gone?

We will record him saying every word there is so that when he is gone we can edit in his narration.

amacachi

Adam Khor wrote: »

What will we do when David Attenborough is gone?

Maybe get the same producers, directors, researchers and cameramen who do the bulk of the work to do some stuff?

Galvasean

Galvasean wrote: »

We will record him saying every word there is so that when he is gone we can edit in his narration.

Was listening to the radio today and they did just that - used stock words of him narrating the mating habits of Dublin nightclubbers.

Giruilla

I've a question about the caterpillar in the spring episode:

How do they know the catepillar was alive for 14 years?
Was the caterpillar(s) shown in the show the same one each year? How could they keep track of the same one??

Mickeroo

Giruilla wrote: »

I've a question about the caterpillar in the spring episode:

How do they know the catepillar was alive for 14 years?
Was the caterpillar(s) shown in the show the same one each year? How could they keep track of the same one??

I would imagine they had filmed a few caterpillars in the one season hoping one would be at the end of its lifecycle and then present it as a few years in the life of one. Although I do remember hearing the series took 4 years to make so it is plausible that they filmed the same one/few 4 years in a row.

As for the 14 years, well that is what the lifecycle is known to be so they would have just figured that was how long it had been alive, although apparently a study has revised that figure to 7 years rather than 14. The study seems to predate the show from what I gather so its possible they just went with saying 14 years to make it more impressive/awe inspiring for the viewer.

Giruilla

Mickeroo wrote: »

I would imagine they had filmed a few caterpillars in the one season hoping one would be at the end of its lifecycle and then present it as a few years in the life of one. Although I do remember hearing the series took 4 years to make so it is plausible that they filmed the same one/few 4 years in a row.

As for the 14 years, well that is what the lifecycle is known to be so they would have just figured that was how long it had been alive, although apparently a study has revised that figure to 7 years rather than 14. The study seems to predate the show from what I gather so its possible they just went with saying 14 years to make it more impressive/awe inspiring for the viewer.

Yeah that seems likely. Is there a scientific method to accurately tell the age of an animal or insect?

I'm pretty blown away by the series so far and have only seen the first two episodes!

steddyeddy

Giruilla wrote: »

Yeah that seems likely. Is there a scientific method to accurately tell the age of an animal or insect?

I'm pretty blown away by the series so far and have only seen the first two episodes!

Depends on the animal some creatures are impossible to accuratly age. Sometimes the animals teeth can be a good indication.

Giruilla

steddyeddy wrote: »

Depends on the animal some creatures are impossible to accuratly age. Sometimes the animals teeth can be a good indication.

I'm pretty ignorant on biology matters sorry, but is there no 'carbon dating' style equivalent measure on cells?

Mickeroo

Giruilla wrote: »

I'm pretty ignorant on biology matters sorry, but is there no 'carbon dating' style equivalent measure on cells?

I seem to remember reading if they can get a sample of skin or other such tissue they can discern the age by analysing something called pentosidine?

I'm no expert either though

steddyeddy

Giruilla wrote: »

I'm pretty ignorant on biology matters sorry, but is there no 'carbon dating' style equivalent measure on cells?

Dont be sorry mate! As mickeroo said one of the methods used is measuring pentosidine. The accumulation of said molecule in a animals tissues over there years can give some idea of a creatures age. Its not entirely reliable with all animals though. Its mainly used on birds. Creatures such as arthropods and those of the class insecta dont live long enough in order for a large amount of pentosidine to build up in their tissues.

Giruilla

steddyeddy wrote: »

Dont be sorry mate! As mickeroo said one of the methods used is measuring pentosidine. The accumulation of said molecule in a animals tissues over there years can give some idea of a creatures age. Its not entirely reliable with all animals though. Its mainly used on birds. Creatures such as arthropods and those of the class insecta dont live long enough in order for a large amount of pentosidine to build up in their tissues.

Very interesting, I never knew that.

Bsal

Another incredible episode, the Bison and the Wolves was something else, anyone notice the wolf eating the snow to re-hydrate.

Dave!

Yeah that wolf vs. bison behind the scenes footage was amazing. Imagine being so close to that - for over an hour! :eek: Heart-breaking to watch

Bsal

Bsal wrote: »

Another incredible episode, the Bison and the Wolves was something else, anyone notice the wolf eating the snow to re-hydrate.

Really was, I thought the Bison had her in the initial encounter as he flung her around like a rag doll! There were some amazing shots in the episode tonight in general.

Mickeroo

Bsal wrote: »

Another incredible episode, the Bison and the Wolves was something else, anyone notice the wolf eating the snow to re-hydrate.

Yeah I saw he was eating something alright. Was an extremely intense scene I have to say. I thought the footage of the polar bear cubs being born in the den extremely powerful too.

ppink

I never would have thought that the wolves were so tough! Incredibly tough.
why did the male not help her I wonder? was he injured