Planet Earth II 2016
Planet Earth II has finally landed at BBC One on 6th November 2016 after a decade from the original one. With the advancement of filming technology (Ultra HD, camera stabilisation, remote record, and aerial drone technology) and our understanding of the natural world, the series has become one of the most engaging natural history films. It totally reveals new perspectives about our planet.
The involvement of Sir David Attenborough, returning to narrate the series, and Hans Zimmer, composing the score, has attracted more than nine million audience tuned in to the first episode.
My favourite parts so far from the Planet Earth II
I have watched this series from the first episode. Every part of it is amazing and breath-taking.
However, one of the parts that really caught my attention was about the red crabs on Christmas Island. The red crabs need to annually migrate from the island’s forest to the coastline to spawn. During their way, crazy ants kill the crabs, by spraying the acid to blind them, and eat them inside out. The ants were introduced to the Island in 1930s, possibly from visiting ships. However, the ants have become a serious threat to the crabs in 1990s. The expansion of large colonies at the island could lead to the extinction of the crabs. Read more about the crabs.
Before the fact about how the ants coming to the island was revealed in the episode, my impression was that their story is another amazing thing from that ecology. However, when I realised that the ants were introduced by humans’ activities, I was stunned. This reflects the fact that our activities, accidentally, affect other species and could even cause their extinction. Many would say that this is the common fact. Everyone realises about human-caused extinction of other species of the planet. And extinction is a normal part of evolution. But I feel that the part of the Planet Earth II really engaged me to think about the issue more seriously.
Tremendous efforts of the production …
In addition to the stories from the production, some parts of the behind the scene activities are shown at the end of the episode. My favourite behind-the-scenes story so far is one on Zavodovski Island, near Antarctica, where the world’s biggest colony of penguins reside. The production’s team journey to get in and out of the island was incredible. Some of the behind-the-scenes let us witness some of the life-threatening activities to get the high quality stories. Such efforts have shaken me to realise how valuable this series is.
Unlike my experience on watching National Geographic Channel, the Planet Earth II was made in a way that engages the audience to think about the natural world. Somehow, I feel that the series impersonate the wildlife so that the series can engage the audience into the world of those animals. Maybe I was too young when I watch National Geographic Channel. So purely, I watched it merely for my entertainment.
We know and think so little about other species on the planet
This planet earth series highlights the lives of species on remote islands, in mountains, in jungles, in deserts, in grasslands, or even in cities. I found the efforts to produce this series and the final products as invaluable and priceless.
This shows the harsh reality of life out there thriving for survival. There are so many things this series can provoke and reflect on. I totally agree with Hans saying that …
At least, I feel that it does the job to draw me into the world the series try to narrate. It also make me feel that I need and want to understand more about them… and learn more about and from them as well.
I am sure most of you might come across a part of the series, possibly through the shares via Facebook or other social media platforms. However, if you have not watched any of the full episodes, I would encourage you to try one.
