South Pacific (TV series)

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South Pacific
BBC Natural History Unit
Discovery Channel
Original release
NetworkBBC Two
Release10 May (2009-05-10) –
14 June 2009 (2009-06-14)
Related

South Pacific (Wild Pacific in the US) is a British

Tanna Island
in Vanuatu.

On 6 May 2009, BBC Worldwide released a short clip of big wave surfer Dylan Longbottom surfing in slow motion, high-definition footage as a preview of the series, attracting extremely positive reactions on YouTube.[2]

The series was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on 15 June 2009. 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.

The series was released by Discovery International in the USA under the title Wild Pacific, with narration provided by Mike Rowe.

The series forms part of the Natural History Unit's "Continents" strand. It was preceded by Wild China in 2008 and followed by Madagascar in 2011.

Episodes

1. "Ocean of Islands"

UK broadcast 10 May 2009, 2.49 million viewers (9.2% audience share)[3]

The opening episode presents an overview of the natural history of the region, introducing some of the themes that are explored in more detail in later programmes. The South Pacific covers a vast area, and less than 1% is land, ranging from the Hawaiian Islands north of the equator to New Zealand in the south. On

over-exploitation of their resources, is a lesson from history.[4]

2. "Castaways"

The recently discovered Fijian crested iguana caused scientists to reconsider how terrestrial species colonise new islands
UK broadcast 17 May 2009, 2.58 million viewers (9.6% audience share)[3]

The second episode looks at how plants, animals and humans colonised even the most remote islands. Most pioneers came from the west, with

Lapitas of Southeast Asia, arrived in Fiji 3,500 years ago and Hawaii 2,000 years ago.[5]

3. "Endless Blue"

A sooty tern flies over a seabird colony on French Frigate Shoals
UK broadcast 24 May 2009, 1.42 million viewers (5.3% audience share)[3]

The third episode begins in the tropics, where a white

whalemen stranded in their lifeboats after a sperm whale attack is used to illustrate the difficulty of surviving in the open ocean. The currents that circle the South Pacific support huge shoals and an incredible variety of life, but much of the centre is an ocean desert. Nutrients are trapped at depth by the thermocline, making the windless surface clear but barren. Life can be tough for large predators. Some, including short-finned pilot whales, can dive to great depths to hunt squid. Others, such as rare oceanic whitetip sharks, track the whales hoping for scraps or a chance to seize a young calf. The waters around the Galápagos teem with life thanks to the cool, nutrient-rich Antarctic current. Underwater footage shows penguins, manta rays, and sea lions feeding. The sea lions work together to divide shoals into smaller bait balls, and blow bubbles into the reef to scare fish out. Seabirds are great ocean wanderers, but all must return to land to breed. On French Frigate Shoals, frigatebirds take sooty tern chicks from their nests, whilst offshore a dozen tiger sharks snatch any unfortunate black-footed albatross chicks that get their maiden flight wrong. Dusky dolphins and bull sperm whales are filmed in the waters off New Zealand, where rescue boats guide an exhausted whale beached in a shallow bay back out to sea.[6]

4. "Ocean of Volcanoes"

Like all South Pacific islands, the mountainous Society Islands are volcanic in origin
UK broadcast 31 May 2009, 2.29 million viewers (9.9% audience share)[3]

The fourth episode opens with rare footage of

bumphead parrotfish chews through coral and excretes it as sand. The final scene shows huge swarms of jellyfish in the marine lakes of Palau, the jewel of Micronesia.[7]
This episode is titled "Rising Lands" on Region 1 DVD.

5. "Strange Islands"

The giant stone Moai of Easter Island are a solemn reminder of a fallen civilization
UK broadcast 7 June 2009, 2.15 million viewers (8.7% audience share)[3]

The fifth episode looks at the unusual animal life of the South Pacific. Species have evolved new behaviour to take advantage of ecological niches. On New Guinea,

Rapanui civilization on Easter Island shows that human beings are not immune to this precarious existence.[8]

6. "Fragile Paradise"

UK broadcast 14 June 2009, 1.99 million viewers (9.4% audience share)[3]

The final episode focuses on the

high seas, unprotected pockets of ocean where fishing is unregulated. Less than 1% of the Pacific is protected, and yet up to 90% of its large predatory fish may have been lost already. A Fijian community reef is proof that protection could yet work. Tourism benefits from divers prepared to pay for close encounters with bull and tiger sharks, and fishermen benefit from increased stocks. An international conservation effort also helped save humpback whales, as numbers have recovered since the whaling ban.[9]

Title music

The music in the title sequence is a

The Wizard of Oz
.

Reception

Writing in The Guardian, Sam Wollaston said that it was "about beautiful South Pacific things, filmed amazingly," but criticised the "slightly irritating script" and called the show "perhaps a little unfocused."[10]

At the 2010

Emmy in the category "Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Craft: Cinematography - Nature" (awarded to Rod Clarke, Wade Fairley and Richard Wollocombe for "Survivors.")[11] The series was also nominated for a Royal Television Society Craft & Design Award for "Best Sound: Entertainment & Non-Drama" (Kate Hopkins, Tim Owens, Andrew Wilson).[12][13]

The show came back to public attention in 2015 when a clip on The Graham Norton Show highlighted Cumberbatch's apparent inability to pronounce the word "penguin", rendering it "peng-wing" instead.[14][15][16]

Merchandise

DVD and Blu-ray Disc were released to accompany the TV series:

  • A
    Blu-ray Disc
    set (BBCBD0047) featuring all six full-length episodes was released on 15 June 2009.
  • A Region 1, 2-disc DVD set (B002BEXDXY) and a Blu-ray Disc set (B002BEXDXO) featuring all six full-length episodes was released on 14 July 2009. This version is known as Wild Pacific.

References

  1. ^ "BBC Showcase 2009 - Natural History". BBC Worldwide. Archived from the original on 26 September 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2009.
  2. ^ "HD: Super Slo-mo Surfer! - South Pacific - BBC Two". BBC Worldwide via Youtube. Archived from the original on 20 December 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  3. ^
    BARB
    . Retrieved 19 October 2009. (data available for South Pacific broadcast weeks by searching archive)
  4. ^ Produced by Huw Cordey (10 May 2009). "Ocean of Islands". South Pacific. BBC. BBC Two.
  5. ^ Produced and directed by Mark Brownlow (17 May 2009). "Castaways". South Pacific. BBC. BBC Two.
  6. ^ Produced and directed by Mark Brownlow (24 May 2009). "Endless Blue". South Pacific. BBC. BBC Two.
  7. ^ Produced and directed by Chiara Bellati (31 May 2009). "Ocean of Volcanoes". South Pacific. BBC. BBC Two.
  8. ^ Produced and directed by Jonathan Clay (7 June 2009). "Strange Islands". South Pacific. BBC. BBC Two.
  9. ^ Produced and directed by Jonathan Clay (14 June 2009). "Fragile Paradise". South Pacific. BBC. BBC Two.
  10. ^ Wollaston, Sam (10 May 2009). "Sam Wollaston on the weekend's TV: South Pacific | The Incredible Human Journey". The Guardian – via theguardian.com.
  11. ^ "THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF TELEVISION ARTS AND SCIENCES ANNOUNCES WINNERS AT THE 31st ANNUAL NEWS & DOCUMENTARY EMMY® AWARDS, DOCUMENTARIAN FREDERICK WISEMAN RECEIVES LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AND PBS NEWSHOUR HONORED WITH CHAIRMAN'S AWARD | The Emmy Awards - The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences".
  12. ^ "South Pacific - IMDb" – via imdb.com.
  13. ^ "RTS Craft and Design Winners 2009". Royal Television Society. 24 January 2011.
  14. ^ O'Shaughnessy, David (26 September 2014). "Watch: Benedict Cumberbatch really has a problem saying the word 'Penguin'". Entertainment.ie.
  15. ^ Locker, Melissa. "Benedict Cumberbatch Can't Say The Word Penguin". Vanity Fair.
  16. ^ "Here's Why Benedict Cumberbatch Is The Best 'Graham Norton Show' Guest - Video". Contactmusic.com. 30 November 2015.

External links

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