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The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth

posted 18 years ago by madisonwisconsinite
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IMDb won't let me update this title, so it is complete. I also cannot figure out how to add information about the titles of the twelve episodes, so, I will put it here, in this thread:

The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 1, The Building of the Earth
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 2, The Frozen World
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 3, The Northern Forests
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 4, Jungle
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 5, Seas of Grass
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 6, The Baking Deserts
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 7, The Community of the Skies
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 8, Sweet Fresh Water
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 9, The Margins of the Land
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 10, Worlds Apart
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 11, Open Ocean
The Living planet: A Portrait of the Earth. Episode 12, New Worlds

My library system has multiple copies of the series on both VHS cassette, where each episode is its own cassette; and on DVD, which conists of a total of four DVDs. It is a great series. David Attenborough is always good for the most pleasant and intense cranial massage, getting the brain going and thinking.

[–] KillerMontezuma 17 years ago

I watched this series in particular on television as an infant shcool (preschool) child in the late 80s on BBC1, and it enchanted me every weekend. They would show the previous week's episode back to back with the next on Saturday nights. From the perspective (and vocabulary) of a 7 year old, the narration was not complicated enough to detract attention from the vivid and colourful visuals. I remember getting excited about the the golden lion tamarin (golden lion marmoset), squirrel monkey and howlers.

The skill of David Attenborough's presentations is a mix of his natural and vivacious charm, and that infectious enthusiasm, exacting in its scientific facts (which is appropriate as it's directed at everyday viewers) and containing a flourish for the poetic side of natural history (without being too sickeningly 'flowery'). I went to a book/DVD signing in London to see him in '05, and he's such a polite and friendly guy as well.