Planet Earth (franchise)

Last updated

Planet Earth
Original work Planet Earth (2006)
Print publications
Book(s)Planet Earth: As You've Never Seen It Before (2006)
Planet Earth: The Future (2006)
Planet Earth: The Making of an Epic Series (2006)
Planet Earth - The Future: What the Experts Say (2006)
Planet Earth: The Photographs (2007)
Planet Earth II (2017)
Films and television
Film(s) Earth (2007)
Planet Earth Live (2010)
Earth: One Amazing Day (2017)
Television series Planet Earth (2006)
Planet Earth: The Future (2006)
Saving Planet Earth (2007)
Planet Earth Live (2012)
Planet Earth II (2016)
Planet Earth III (2023)
Television film(s)The Making of 'Planet Earth' (2012)
Audio
Soundtrack(s) Planet Earth (2006)
Planet Earth II (2016)

Planet Earth is a television and film documentary franchise produced and broadcast by the BBC. The franchise began in 2001 with the success of The Blue Planet . As of 2017, The Blue Planet has spawned 5 series and one feature film.

Contents

Development

In 2001 the BBC broadcast The Blue Planet , a landmark series on the natural history of the world's oceans. It received critical acclaim, high viewing figures, audience appreciation ratings, and many awards. It also became a hugely profitable global brand, eventually being sold to 150 countries worldwide. Feedback showed that audiences particularly liked the epic scale, the scenes of new and unusual species and the cinematic quality of the series. Programme commissioners were keen for a follow-up, so Alastair Fothergill decided that the Natural History Unit should repeat the formula with a series looking at the whole planet. The idea for Planet Earth was born, and the series was commissioned by Lorraine Heggessey, then Controller of BBC One, in January 2002. [1]

A feature film version of Planet Earth was commissioned alongside the television series, repeating the successful model established with The Blue Planet and its companion film, Deep Blue . Earth was released around the world from 2007 to 2009. There was also another accompanying television series, Planet Earth: The Future , which looked at the environmental problems facing some of the species and habitats featured in the main series in more detail.

Television series

Planet Earth (2006)

Planet Earth is a 2006 British television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC and also the first to be filmed in high definition. [2]

Planet Earth premiered on 5 March 2006 in the United Kingdom on BBC One, and by June 2007 had been shown in 130 countries. The series has eleven episodes, each of which features a global overview of a different biome or habitat on Earth. 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.

Planet Earth: The Future (2006)

Planet Earth: The Future is a 2006 BBC documentary series on the environment and conservation, produced by the BBC Natural History Unit as a companion to the multi-award-winning nature documentary Planet Earth . The programmes were originally broadcast on BBC Four immediately after the final three episodes of Planet Earth on BBC One. Each episode highlights the conservation issues surrounding some of the species and environments featured in Planet Earth, using interviews with the film-makers and eminent figures from the fields of science, conservation, politics, and theology. The programmes are narrated by Simon Poland and the series producer was Fergus Beeley.

Saving Planet Earth (2007)

Saving Planet Earth is a season of nature documentaries with a conservation theme, screened on BBC Television in 2007 to mark the 50th anniversary of its specialist factual department, the BBC Natural History Unit.

The series featured films contributed by a number of celebrities on the plight of various endangered species, and coincided with the launch of the BBC Wildlife Fund, a charitable organisation which distributes money to conservation projects around the world. The television series culminated in a live fundraising telethon on BBC Two, hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, which raised over £1 million for the charity.

The BBC broadcast a second live telethon in 2010. Wild Night In was presented by Kate Humble, Chris Packham and Martin Hughes-Games and featured conservation projects which had benefited from the support of the BBC Wildlife Fund. This helped to raise a further £1 million.

Planet Earth Live (2012)

Planet Earth Live is a live action nature documentary screened on British television. Produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and broadcast in May 2012, the programme was presented by Richard Hammond and Julia Bradbury. [3]

Planet Earth Live featured real-time footage of young animals from five continents [4] throughout the month of May. [3] Broadcast three times per week, teams of nature experts and documentary makers monitored the activity of animals in their area, reporting back on the day’s events. [5] Animals featured included meerkats in the Kalahari Desert, American black bears in Minnesota, lions and African bush elephants in East Africa, toque macaques in Sri Lanka, gray whales off the coast of California, polar bears in Svalbard and giant otters in Peru.

The programme was shown in May 2012 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and was broadcast in 140 countries in total, making it the most ambitious global wildlife series the BBC had ever undertaken. [6] In the US it was retitled 24/7 Wild and aired on NatGeo Wild; in South Africa, Asia, Australia, Italy, Nordic countries, New Zealand and Poland it was shown on BBC Knowledge; and in India on BBC Entertainment. [7]

Planet Earth II (2016)

Planet Earth II is a natural history documentary series, produced by the BBC as a sequel to the highly successful Planet Earth television series, which aired roughly a decade earlier, in 2006. [8] The series was presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the score composed by Hans Zimmer. [9]

The first trailer was released on 9 October 2016, and the series was broadcast in November 2016 (United Kingdom) on BBC One and BBC One HD. [10] [11] Planet Earth II is also the first television series that the BBC have produced in Ultra-high-definition (4K). [12] [13]

Planet Earth III (2023)

Planet Earth III is the third part in the Planet Earth trilogy. [14] Announced in August 2023, it was first broadcast from 22 October 2023 to 10 December 2023, comprising eight episodes. [15]

Feature film

Earth (2007)

Alongside the commissioning of the television series, BBC Worldwide and GreenLight Media secured financing for a US$15 million film version of Planet Earth. [16] This followed the earlier success of Deep Blue, the BBC's 2003 theatrical nature documentary which used re-edited footage from The Blue Planet. [17] The film was co-directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield and produced by Alix Tidmarsh and Sophokles Tasioulis. Only 30% of the footage shown in Earth is new, with the remainder being reworked from the television series to suit the narrative of the film. [18] David Attenborough was replaced as narrator by high-profile actors: Patrick Stewart for the UK market and James Earl Jones for the United States. [19] [20] Earth had its worldwide premiere in September 2007 at the San Sebastián International Film Festival in San Sebastián, Spain, in Basque Country. [21] Lionsgate released the film in several international markets over the following year. In the United States, it became the first film to be released by Disneynature, the Walt Disney Company's new nature documentary arm. [20] When released on Earth Day 2009 it set the record for the highest opening weekend gross for a nature documentary, and went on to become the third highest grossing documentary of all time. [22] [23] It has grossed more than $108 million worldwide; in the nature documentary genre, only March of the Penguins has achieved greater box-office success. [23]

Planet Earth Live (2010)

This 90-minute film presents highlights from 2006 television series. Its premier was celebrated in the U.S. with a tour featuring narration and live orchestral accompaniment.

Television specials

The Making of 'Planet Earth' (2012)

BBC America produced a two-hour making-of documentary narrated by Dan Stevens. It includes interviews with some producers and cameramen of the 2006 series. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Attenborough</span> British broadcaster and naturalist (born 1926)

Sir David Frederick Attenborough is a British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural history documentary series forming the Life collection, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth.

<i>Life on Earth</i> (TV series) 1979 British nature documentary television series

Life on Earth: A Natural History by David Attenborough is a British television natural history series made by the BBC in association with Warner Bros. Television and Reiner Moritz Productions. It was transmitted in the UK from 16 January 1979.

<i>The Blue Planet</i> 2001 British nature documentary television series

The Blue Planet is a British nature documentary series created and co-produced by the BBC and Discovery Channel. It premiered on 12 September 2001 in the United Kingdom. It is narrated by David Attenborough.

The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, and has a long association with David Attenborough's authored documentaries, starting with 1979's Life on Earth.

<i>Natural World</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Natural World is a strand of British wildlife documentary programmes broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history series. It is the longest-running documentary in its genre on British television, with nearly 500 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World programmes are typically one-off films that take an in-depth look at particular natural history events, stories or subjects from around the globe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nature documentary</span> Documentary film genre

A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on video taken in their natural habitat but also often including footage of trained and captive animals. Sometimes they are about wildlife or ecosystems in relationship to human beings. Such programmes are most frequently made for television, particularly for public broadcasting channels, but some are also made for the cinema medium. The proliferation of this genre occurred almost simultaneously alongside the production of similar television series which is distributed across the world.

<i>Planet Earth</i> (2006 TV series) 2006 British nature documentary television series

Planet Earth is a 2006 British television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC and also the first to be filmed in high definition. The series received multiple awards, including four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and an award from the Royal Television Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Nightingale</span>

Neil Nightingale is a British freelance wildlife filmmaker, executive producer and creative consultant with over 35 years experience at the BBC. From 2009 to 2018 he was the creative director of BBC Earth, BBC Worldwide's global brand for all BBC nature and science content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alastair Fothergill</span> British TV producer

Alastair David William Fothergill is a British producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the series producer of the series The Blue Planet (2001), Planet Earth (2006) and the co-director of the associated feature films Deep Blue and Earth.

<i>Planet Earth: The Future</i> British TV series or programme

Planet Earth: The Future is a 2006 BBC documentary series on the environment and conservation, produced by the BBC Natural History Unit as a companion to the multi-award-winning nature documentary Planet Earth. The programmes were originally broadcast on BBC Four immediately after the final three episodes of Planet Earth on BBC One. Each episode highlights the conservation issues surrounding some of the species and environments featured in Planet Earth, using interviews with the film-makers and eminent figures from the fields of science, conservation, politics, and theology. The programmes are narrated by Simon Poland and the series producer was Fergus Beeley.

<i>Frozen Planet</i> Nature documentary series focusing on life and the environment in both the Arctic and Antarctic

Frozen Planet is a 2011 British nature documentary series, co-produced by the BBC ZDF and The Open University. It was filmed by the BBC Natural History Unit. 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. David Attenborough returns as narrator. It is distributed under licence by the BBC in other countries, Discovery Channel for North America, ZDF for Germany, Antena 3 for Spain and Skai TV for Greece.

William Goodchild is a composer, orchestrator and conductor who produces music for film, television and the concert hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Honeyborne</span>

James Honeyborne is the creative director of Freeborne Media, he previously worked as an executive producer at the BBC Natural History Unit where he oversaw some 35 films, working with multiple co-producers around the world. His projects include the Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning series Blue Planet II, the Emmy Award-nominated series Wild New Zealand with National Geographic, and the BAFTA-winning BBC1 series Big Blue Live with PBS.

<i>Life</i> (British TV series) British nature documentary series

Life is a British nature documentary series created and produced by the BBC in association with The Open University. It was first broadcast as part of the BBC's Darwin Season on BBC One and BBC HD from October to December 2009. The series takes a global view of the specialised strategies and extreme behaviour that living things have developed in order to survive; what Charles Darwin termed "the struggle for existence". Four years in the making, the series was shot entirely in high definition.

Keith Scholey is a British producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema, and a former television executive. He is the joint series producer of the Netflix original documentary series Our Planet, the joint director and executive producer of David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, and executive producer of Breaking Boundaries: The Science of Our Planet. He is the executive producer of the 2021 BBC / Discovery series A Perfect Planet, The Mating Game and The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet. He also co-directed African Cats, Bears, and Dolphin Reef with Alastair Fothergill for Disneynature, and is also the executive producer of the series North America for the Discovery Channel.

<i>Madagascar</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Madagascar is a British nature documentary series, first broadcast on BBC Two and BBC HD in February 2011. Produced by the BBC Natural History Unit and Animal Planet and narrated by David Attenborough, the three-part series focuses on the landscape and wildlife of the island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Attenborough also appears briefly on camera at the beginning and end of the series. Each episode is followed by a ten-minute Madagascar Diaries segment, illustrating the techniques used to film a particular subject.

<i>Life Story</i> (TV series) British TV series or programme

Life Story is a British natural-history television series with Mike Gunton, Rupert Barrington and Tom Hugh-Jones from the BBC Natural History Unit on the production team. The six-part series reveals the challenges faced by individual animals at different stages of their lives and was first broadcast on BBC One in 2014. The series is introduced and narrated by David Attenborough.

<i>Planet Earth II</i> 2016 British nature documentary television series

Planet Earth II is a 2016 British nature documentary series produced by the BBC as a sequel to Planet Earth, which was broadcast in 2006. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the main theme music composed by Hans Zimmer.

<i>Blue Planet II</i> 2017 British nature documentary television series

Blue Planet II is a 2017 British nature documentary series on marine life produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Like its predecessor, The Blue Planet (2001), it is narrated and presented by naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

<i>Frozen Planet II</i> Nature documentary series focusing on life and the environment in both the Arctic and Antarctic

Frozen Planet II is a 2022 British nature documentary series co-produced by the BBC and The Open University as a sequel to FrozenPlanet, which was first broadcast in 2011. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the music composed by Hans Zimmer, Adam Lukas and James Everingham, including a theme featuring the vocals of singer-songwriter Aurora.

References

  1. ↑ Nicholson-Lord, David (2006). Planet Earth: The Making of an Epic Series. London: BBC Books.
  2. ↑ Slenske, Michael (18 March 2007). "All Creatures Great, Small ...and Endangered". New York Times .
  3. 1 2 Mohan, Isabel (3 May 2012). "Planet Earth Live, BBC One, preview". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Edwards, Tim (8 May 2012). "Richard Hammond has ruined Planet Earth Live, say viewers". theweek.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  5. ↑ Gee, Catherine (4 May 2012). "Planet Earth Live: a 'global Springwatch' from the BBC". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  6. ↑ "The most ambitious BBC global wildlife series ever undertaken - Planet Earth Live to air globally in 140 countries". BBC Press Office. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Planet Earth Live: On TV". BBC one. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
  8. ↑ Hurley, Laura (22 February 2016). "Planet Earth 2 Is Happening, Here's What We Know". CinemaBlend.com. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  9. ↑ Barra, Leo (22 February 2016). "David Attenborough to Narrate BBC Documentary Series 'Planet Earth II'". Variety . Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Sigur Rós rework Hoppipolla for the BBC's Planet Earth II trailer". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  11. ↑ "Planet Earth II". BBC Media Centre.
  12. ↑ "BBC captures nature in 4K for 'Planet Earth II'". engadget.co.uk. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  13. ↑ "Planet Earth 2 from BBC will debut in 2016 in beautiful 4K UHD video quality". 4k.com. 24 February 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "Your first look". BBC Earth. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  15. ↑ "Sir David Attenborough to present Planet Earth III". BBC . 31 August 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  16. ↑ "Planet Earth part two – press pack". BBC press office. 12 October 2006.
  17. ↑ "Planet Earth set for movie release". BBC Worldwide press release. 28 February 2005.
  18. ↑ "Heir to Attenborough's wild world". The Times . London. 29 October 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  19. ↑ "Patrick Stewart interview". BBC Online. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  20. 1 2 Barnes, Brooks (10 April 2009). "Balancing cuddliness and reality". New York Times .
  21. ↑ Barber, Tim (7 August 2007). "Cronenberg's Eastern Promises to open San Sebastian". Screen Daily.com.
  22. ↑ Kay, Jeremy (26 April 2009). "Screen Gems hits North American jackpot with Obsessed". Screen Daily.com.
  23. 1 2 "Documentary Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 24 January 2010.
  24. ↑ "The Making of 'Planet Earth'". BBC America. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.