Planet Earth (2006 TV series)

Planet Earth
Genre	Nature documentary
Narrated by	David Attenborough (Original Version) Sigourney Weaver (Discovery Channel Version)
Composer	George Fenton
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of episodes	11
Production
Producer	Alastair Fothergill
Cinematography	Doug Allan
Editors	Martin Elsbury Andy Netley
Running time	60 minutes
Production companies	BBC Natural History Unit Discovery Channel NHK CBC
Original release
Network	BBC One BBC HD
Release	5 March (2006-03-05) – 10 December 2006 (2006-12-10)
Related
Planet Earth II The Blue Planet Frozen Planet Planet Earth: The Future Planet Earth III

Planet Earth is a 2006 British television series produced by the

Planet Earth premiered on 5 March 2006 in the United Kingdom on BBC One, and by June 2007 had been shown in 130 countries. The original version was narrated by David Attenborough, whilst some international versions used alternative narrators.

The series has eleven episodes, each of which features a global overview of a different biome or habitat on Earth. At the end of each fifty-minute episode, a ten-minute featurette takes a behind-the-scenes look at the challenges of filming the series.

Ten years later, BBC announced a six-part sequel had been commissioned, titled Planet Earth II, the first television series produced by the BBC in ultra-high-definition (4K). David Attenborough returned as narrator and presenter.^[2][3] A second sequel, Planet Earth III was announced and aired in 2023.^[4]

Background

In 2001 the BBC broadcast The Blue Planet, a series on the natural history of the world's oceans. It received critical acclaim, high viewing figures, audience appreciation ratings, and many awards. It also became a hugely profitable global brand, eventually being sold to 150 countries worldwide. Feedback showed that audiences particularly liked the epic scale, the scenes of new and unusual species and the cinematic quality of the series. Programme commissioners were keen for a follow-up, so Alastair Fothergill decided that the Natural History Unit should repeat the formula with a series looking at the whole planet. The idea for Planet Earth was born, and the series was commissioned by Lorraine Heggessey, then Controller of BBC One, in January 2002.^[5]

A feature film version of Planet Earth was commissioned alongside the television series, repeating the successful model established with The Blue Planet and its companion film, Deep Blue. Earth was released around the world from 2007 to 2009. There was also another accompanying television series, Planet Earth: The Future, which looked at the environmental problems facing some of the species and habitats featured in the main series in more detail.^{[citation needed]}

Broadcast

Planet Earth premiered on BBC One on 5 March 2006 in the United Kingdom. On the same day or in the subsequent weeks or months, the series also began airing in several other countries.

International broadcasters carrying Planet Earth include Australia on

The episodes are each an hour in length, comprising the main programme and a 10-minute featurette called Planet Earth Diaries, which details the filming of a particular event. In the UK, Planet Earth was split into two parts, broadcast in spring and autumn 2006. The first five episodes premiered on BBC One at 9:00 pm on Sundays, beginning on 5 March 2006. The programmes were repeated the following Saturday in an early evening slot on BBC Two. Along with its 2005 dramatisation of Bleak House, the BBC selected Planet Earth for its trial of high-definition broadcasts.^[6] The opening episode was its first-ever scheduled programme in the format, shown 27 May 2006 on the BBC HD channel.

The first episode in the autumn series, Great Plains, received its first public showing at the Edinburgh International Television Festival on 26 August 2006. It was shown on a giant screen in Conference Square.^[7] The remaining episodes were broadcast from 5 November 2006 in the same primetime BBC One slot, following a further repeat run of the spring programmes on BBC Four. The autumn episodes were broadcast simultaneously on BBC HD and were repeated on BBC Four the following week.

Besides being BBC One's featured One to Watch programme of the day, Planet Earth was heavily trailed on the BBC's television and radio channels both before and during its run. The music that was featured in the BBC trailers for the series is the track "Hoppípolla" from the album Takk... by Icelandic post-rock band Sigur Rós. Following the advertisements, interest was so widespread that the single was re-released.^[8] In the United States, the series was promoted using "The Time Has Come" from trailer music company Epic Score,^[9] composed by Gabriel Shadid and Tobias Marberger.^[10] The Australian trailers initially used Jupiter: The Bringer of Jollity from Gustav Holst's orchestral suite The Planets, but later reverted to "Hoppípolla".

International

The

In Canada, the series did not air on the Canadian Discovery Channel, as it is owned by CTV and the Canadian rights were exclusively sold to the CBC.^[13]

Episodes

"A hundred years ago, there were one and a half billion people on Earth. Now, over six billion crowd our fragile planet. But even so, there are still places barely touched by humanity. This series will take you to the last wildernesses and show you the planet and its wildlife as you have never seen them before."

— David Attenborough's opening narration

No.	Title	Original air date	U.S. air date	UK viewers (millions) [14]
1	"From Pole to Pole"	5 March 2006 (2006-03-05)	25 March 2007	9.41
The first episode illustrates a journey around the globe and reveals the effect of gradual birds of paradise, African hunting dogs in their efficient pursuit of impala, elephants in Africa migrating towards the waters of the Okavango Delta, a seasonal bloom of life in the otherwise arid Kalahari Desert, and 300,000 migrating Baikal teal , containing the world's entire population of the species in one flock. The episode ends with Antarctica where the male Emperor penguins nurture their newly young chicks after four months of the Antarctic polar night. The Planet Earth Diaries segment shows how the wild dog hunt was filmed unobtrusively with the aid of the Heligimbal, a powerful, gyro-stabilised camera mounted beneath a helicopter.[15]
2	"Mountains"	12 March 2006 (2006-03-12)	25 March 2007	8.57
The second instalment focuses on the critically endangered walia ibex, the two species take turns to act as a lookout for predatory Ethiopian wolves. The Andes have the most volatile weather and guanacos are shown enduring a flash blizzard, along with an exceptional group sighting of the normally solitary puma. The Alpine summits are always snow-covered, apart from that of the Matterhorn, which is too sheer to allow it to settle. Grizzly bear cubs emerge from their den for the first time in the Rockies, while Himalayan inhabitants include rutting markhor and the rare snow leopard. At the eastern end of the range, the giant panda cannot hibernate due to its poor nutriment of bamboo and one of them cradles its week-old cub. Also shown is the Earth's biggest mountain glacier—the Baltoro in Pakistan, which is 70 kilometres (43 mi) long and visible from space. The episode ends with the flock of Demoiselle cranes flying across the Himalayan mountain peak to avoid the hostile air currents and predatory Golden eagles that threaten their migration. Planet Earth Diaries explains how difficult it was to get close-up footage of snow leopards; it was a three-year process and is the world's first-ever video footage of snow leopards.[16]
3	"Fresh Water"	19 March 2006 (2006-03-19)	15 April 2007	8.83
The snow geese settle in the estuaries to rest and refuel on their long migrational journey. Planet Earth Diaries shows how a camera crew filmed a piranha feeding frenzy in Brazil—after a two-week search for the opportunity.[17]
4	"Caves"	26 March 2006 (2006-03-26)	22 April 2007	8.98
This episode explores "Planet Earth's final frontier": sulphuric acid and snottite formations made of living bacteria. A fish species, the shortfin molly, has adapted to this habitat. The programme ends in New Mexico's Lechuguilla Cave (discovered in 1986) where sulphuric acid has produced unusually ornate, gypsum crystal formations. Planet Earth Diaries reveals how a camera team spent a month among the cockroaches on the guano mound in Gomantong Cave and describes the logistics required to photograph Lechuguilla. Permission for the latter took two years and local authorities are unlikely to allow another visit.[18]
5	"Deserts"	2 April 2006 (2006-04-02)	1 April 2007	9.23
This instalment features the harsh environment that covers one-third of the land on Earth: the flat lizards feeding on black flies, and duelling Nubian ibex. The final sequence illustrates one of nature's most fearsome spectacles: a billion-strong plague of desert locusts , destroying all vegetation in its path. Planet Earth Diaries explains how the hunt for the elusive Bactrian camels necessitated a two-month trek in Mongolia.[19]
6	"Ice Worlds"	5 November 2006 (2006-11-05)	1 April 2007	6.37
aurora borealis in Alaska The sixth programme looks at the regions of the musk oxen, who are hunted by Arctic foxes and wolves. A female polar bear and her two cubs head off across the ice to look for food. As the sun melts the ice, a glimpse of the Earth's potential future reveals a male polar bear that is unable to find a firm footing anywhere and has to resort to swimming—which he cannot do indefinitely. His desperate need to eat brings him to a colony of walrus . Although he attacks repeatedly, the herd is successful in evading him by returning to the sea. Wounded and unable to feed, the bear will not survive. Meanwhile, back in Antarctica, the eggs of the emperor penguins finally hatch while two adult Polar bear cubs from Arctic travels onward as they wander across vast track of frozen ocean independently from their mother. Planet Earth Diaries tells of the battle with the elements to obtain the penguin footage and of unwelcome visits from polar bears.[20]
7	"Great Plains"	12 November 2006 (2006-11-12)	8 April 2007	6.72
This episode deals with Indian Elephants and Indian rhinoceros, and also the smallest, such as the pygmy hog and Lesser florican. The final sequence depicts African bush elephants that are forced to share a waterhole with a pride of thirty lions. The insufficient water makes it an uneasy alliance and the latter gain the upper hand during the night when their hunger drives them to hunt and eventually kill one of the pachyderms. Planet Earth Diaries explains how the lion hunt was filmed in darkness using infrared light.[22]
8	"Jungles"	19 November 2006 (2006-11-19)	15 April 2007	7.04
This episode examines chimpanzees are one of the few jungle animals able to traverse both the forest floor and the canopy in search of food. In Uganda , members of a 150-strong community of the primates mount a raid into neighbouring territory in order to gain control of it. Planet Earth Diaries looks at filming displaying birds of paradise, focusing mainly on the filming of the six-plumed bird of paradise.[23] "Jungles" served as a major inspiration in developing the video game The Last of Us, which features a mutated strain of the cordyceps fungus infecting humans and almost destroying mankind.
9	"Shallow Seas"	26 November 2006 (2006-11-26)	8 April 2007	7.32
This programme is devoted to the shallow seas that fringe the world's shearwaters , migrated from Australia, as they flourish across the shallow waters for krills. The programme ends with the mother and calf, who is now old enough to separate with its mother and continues its epic journey across the ocean. Planet Earth Diaries shows the difficulties of filming the one-second strike of a great white shark, filmed by Simon King.[24]
10	"Seasonal Forests"	3 December 2006 (2006-12-03)	22 April 2007	7.42
redwoods The penultimate episode surveys the mouse lemurs feed on the nectar of flowering baobab trees. Planet Earth Diaries explains how aerial shots of the baobab were achieved by the use of a cinebulle, an adapted hot air balloon.[25]
11	"Ocean Deep"	10 December 2006 (2006-12-10)	25 March 2007	6.02
The final instalment concentrates on the least explored area of the planet—the green turtles. Off the Mexican coast, a large group of sailfish feed on another shoal of bait fish, changing colour to signal their intentions to each other, allowing them to coordinate their attack. The last sequence depicts the largest animal on Earth—the blue whale , of which 300,000 once roamed the world's oceans with 3000 individuals roam the planet which they are now fewer than 3% remain. Planet Earth Diaries shows the search in the Bahamas for oceanic whitetip sharks.[26]

"Our planet is still full of wonders. As we explore them, so we gain not only understanding, but power. It's not just the future of the whale that today lies in our hands: it's the survival of the natural world in all parts of the living planet. We can now destroy or we can cherish. The choice is ours."

— David Attenborough, in closing

Planet Earth: The Future

The latter episodes were supplemented by Planet Earth: The Future, a series of three 60-minute films that highlight the conservation issues surrounding some of the featured species and environments. The programmes are narrated by Simon Poland and the series producer was Fergus Beeley. The series began transmission on BBC Four after the ninth episode, "Shallow Seas".^[27]

Feature film

Alongside the commissioning of the television series, BBC Worldwide and GreenLight Media secured financing for a US$15 million film version of Planet Earth.^[27] This followed the earlier success of Deep Blue, the BBC's 2003 theatrical nature documentary which used re-edited footage from The Blue Planet.^[28] The film was co-directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield and produced by Alix Tidmarsh and Sophokles Tasioulis. Only 30% of the footage shown in Earth is new, with the remainder being reworked from the television series to suit the narrative of the film.^[29] David Attenborough was replaced as narrator by high-profile actors: Patrick Stewart for the UK market and James Earl Jones for the United States.^[30][31]

Earth had its worldwide premiere in September 2007 at the

Planet Earth received widespread critical acclaim. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the miniseries has an approval rating of 95% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 9/10. The critical consensus reads "Planet Earth weaves innovative camera techniques and patient observation to deliver viewers an astounding glimpse of the world's perils and wonders, capturing jaw-dropping scenery and animals on both an epic and intimate scale."^[35] Time magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 New TV Series of 2007, ranking it at No. 4.^[36] In 2019, Planet Earth and its sequel were ranked 72nd on The Guardian's list of the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century.^[37] As of 2023, Planet Earth is ranked third on IMDb's Top 250 TV Shows.^[38]

Accolades

Planet Earth: From Pole to Pole won the Science and Natural History award at the

Planet Earth was recognised by the American television industry, collecting the award for Nonfiction Series at the

The credentials of the filmmakers, the size of the production, a high-profile marketing campaign and a primetime BBC One timeslot all resulted in Planet Earth attracting large audiences when it debuted in the UK in March 2006. The first episode, "From Pole to Pole", was watched by more people than any natural history programme since Attenborough and Fothergill's previous series, The Blue Planet, in 2001.[54] The first five episodes drew an average audience of 11.4 million viewers, including the early evening repeats, outperforming even The Blue Planet.^[55] When the series returned to British screens after a six-month break, it remained popular but viewing figures did not reach the same levels. The final six episodes attracted an average audience of 6.8 million viewers, appreciably lower than the spring episodes, but still higher than BBC One's average for the timeslot.^[56] The BBC's 2007 Annual Report revealed that the series "received the highest audience appreciation score of any British programme on TV this year".^[57]

In the United States, Planet Earth drew equally impressive ratings when it premiered on Discovery and Discovery HD Theater on 25 March 2007. The first three episodes (screened back to back) averaged 5.72 million viewers with a peak of 6.07 million viewers, giving the network its third highest audience ever. It was also the most watched Discovery programme since The Flight That Fought Back in 2005.^[58][59]

Sequel

In February 2016, the BBC announced a six-part sequel had been commissioned, titled Planet Earth II, for release in late 2016, with Sir David Attenborough returning as narrator and presenter.^[60] As with the 2006 series, the trailer features the track 'Hoppípolla' by Sigur Rós.

Merchandise

The popularity of the television series around the world translated into strong sales of associated Planet Earth merchandise. In the United States, it became the fastest and bestselling documentary DVD in Discovery Channel's history, and the high-definition (HD) discs generated US$3.2 million in sales in just two months.^[61][62] By the end of 2007, U.S. sales had topped 3 million units, making it the highest-grossing HD title and one of the top ten DVD titles of the year.^[63]

In addition, the brand was licensed to other companies to produce children's books, calendars, a board game, jigsaws, stationery, cards, and more.^[64]

DVD

A five-disc DVD box set of the complete series (BBCDVD1883) was released in the UK for

Except for a small amount of extremely hard-to-obtain footage,[67] Planet Earth was filmed entirely in high-definition, and consequently became one of the first television series to take advantage of the new HD disc formats.

The series was released in both

Four official tie-in volumes were published by BBC Books in 2006 and 2007:

• Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before, written by Alastair Fothergill with a foreword by David Attenborough, was published in hardback on 5 October 2006 (
  ISBN 978-0563522126).^[73]
• The paperback title Planet Earth: The Future was also published on 5 October 2006 (
  ISBN 978-0563539056). It was edited by Fergus Beeley and Rosamund Kidman Cox with a foreword by Jonathon Porritt.^[74]
• A second paperback volume revealed some of the tales from the field during filming expeditions. Planet Earth: The Making of an Epic Series was written by David Nicholson-Lord and published on 9 March 2006 (
  ISBN 978-0563493587).^[75]
• A collection of still images from the series was published in a hardcover volume as Planet Earth: The Photographs on 7 October 2007 (
  ISBN 978-1846073465).^[76]

On 20 November 2006, a two-disc soundtrack CD was released with a compilation of the incidental music specially commissioned for Planet Earth. The award-winning score was composed by George Fenton and performed by the BBC Concert Orchestra and has been performed during "Planet Earth Live" events in the United States and the United Kingdom.

See also

• The Blue Planet
• Frozen Planet
• 9° North
• Our Planet

References