Narrated by Alec Baldwin, the BBC and Discovery coproduced documentary series goes north and south to cover life in the Arctic and Antarctic.
Frozen Planet is a nature documentary series, co-produced by the BBC, the Discovery Channel and The Open University. It was filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. Other production partners are the Discovery Channel Canada, ZDF (Germany), Antena 3 (Spain) and Skai TV (Greece). The production team, which includes executive producer Alastair Fothergill and series producer Vanessa Berlowitz, were previously responsible for the award-winning series The Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006), and Frozen Planet is billed as a sequel of sorts.[citation needed] David Attenborough returns as narrator.
The seven-part series focuses on life and the environment in both the Arctic and Antarctic. The production team were keen to film a comprehensive record of the natural history of the polar regions, because climate change is affecting landforms such as glaciers, ice shelves, and the extent of sea ice. The film was met with critical acclaim and holds a Metacritic score of 90/100. Despite such, it has been criticized for limited coverage of the effects of global warming and attribution of recent climate change.
Whilst the series was broadcast in full in the UK, the BBC chose to make the series' seventh episode, which focuses on climate change, optional for syndication in order to aid sales of the show in countries where the issue is politically sensitive. The US Discovery Channel originally announced that they would air only the first six episodes of the show, but they later added the seventh episode to their schedule.
In 2012, the US broadcast won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Nonfiction Series.
Frozen Planet is a nature documentary series, co-produced by the BBC, the Discovery Channel and The Open University. It was filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. Other production partners are the Discovery Channel Canada, ZDF (Germany), Antena 3 (Spain) and Skai TV (Greece). The production team, which includes executive producer Alastair Fothergill and series producer Vanessa Berlowitz, were previously responsible for the award-winning series The Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006), and Frozen Planet is billed as a sequel of sorts.[citation needed] David Attenborough returns as narrator, and the series was shot entirely in HD.
The seven-part series focuses on life and the environment in both the Arctic and Antarctic. The production team were keen to film a comprehensive record of the natural history of the polar regions, because climate change is affecting landforms such as glaciers, ice shelves, and the extent of sea ice.
Episode Name: The Ends of the Earth
Season: 1
Episode: 1
Aired: 2011-10-26
Episode Overview:
David Attenborough travels from the Arctic to the Antarctic to discover magical new ice worlds inhabited by the most extraordinary animal survivors on Earth
Episode Name: Spring
Season: 1
Episode: 2
Aired: 2011-11-02
Episode Overview:
After months of darkness the sun returns. The landscape is dynamically transformed and millions of migrants join the hardy residents as they find mates and begin to breed.
Episode Name: Summer
Season: 1
Episode: 3
Aired: 2011-11-09
Episode Overview:
Summer creates a window of opportunity that attracts hordes of visitors who cram a lifetime of drama into a few short months as they feed, fight and rear their young.
Episode Name: Autumn
Season: 1
Episode: 4
Aired: 2011-11-16
Episode Overview:
Polar landscapes are transformed as the big freeze returns. Most animals leave on epic journeys, some now battle to breed, and for the hardy few it’s a time of opportunity.
Episode Name: Winter
Season: 1
Episode: 5
Aired: 2011-11-23
Episode Overview:
During winter most animals abandon the polar regions, but a few extreme survivors remain. This is the story of their strategies and battles to endure the planet’s harshest winters.
Episode Name: The Last Frontier
Season: 1
Episode: 6
Aired: 2011-11-30
Episode Overview:
Humans have no natural protection against the cold of the polar regions so why have we been visiting these remote places for thousands of years and what keeps us going back today?
Episode Name: On Thin Ice
Season: 1
Episode: 7
Aired: 2011-12-07
Episode Overview:
David Attenborough reveals how scientists measure the changes in the polar regions and what they mean for the animals and people who live there, as well as for the whole planet.
Episode Name: Science At the End of the Earth
Season: 1
Episode: 8
Aired:
Episode Overview:
(Special 22 min documentary available from iTunes with a 'Series Pass' ) During the filming of Frozen Planet, the team got unprecedented access to film the story of the South Pole Station.