Top-rated
Thu, Nov 15, 2012
In this episode Attenborough "looks back on the iconic animal encounters which have shaped his career". These include the first natural history film he ever saw, a "fanciful story of penguins presented by eccentric Englishman Cherry Kearton"; his early work on the black and white Zoo Quest series, where he had to describe the color of the animals shown; and recalling his first landmark series Life on Earth, and how jet travel enabled him to visit 30 countries for filming for the series in three years. He revisits Borneo, talks about a night-time encounter with a lion pride, and shows how to catch a Komodo Dragon. He also discusses the technological advancements in wildlife film-making over the past 60 years.
Top-rated
Thu, Nov 22, 2012
David Attenborough explored the incredible scientific breakthroughs within his lifetime that have helped to shape an understanding of the world. He talked of the early interviews he conducted with biologist Konrad Lorenz, who was famous for his discoveries about the behaviour of geese (the "imprinting" of young goslings on the first things they saw on hatching meant Lorenz was able to observe them closely as they regarded him as their parent). He also talked of Stanley Miller's groundbreaking experiment in the 1950s that first demonstrated how the chemical "primordial soup" could be transformed by electricity into the basic building blocks of life.
Top-rated
Thu, Nov 29, 2012
David Attenborough tells the story of the changes in the environment, the pioneering conservationists in whose footsteps he followed, and of the revolution in attitudes towards nature. He discusses what inspired him to become a conservationist, as well as owning up to the wildlife he has eaten.