The Blue Planet is a British nature documentary series created by the BBC Natural History Unit and Discovery Channel. It first aired in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2001, and was narrated by David Attenborough.
The series is described as the first detailed look at the natural history of the world's oceans. It has eight episodes, each 50 minutes long, and each focuses on a different part of marine life. The underwater footage showed animals and behaviors that had never been filmed before.
The series received Emmy and BAFTA TV awards for its music and camera work. Alastair Fothergill was the main producer, and George Fenton wrote the music. David Attenborough narrated this series before creating The Life of Mammals (2002), and the same team later made Planet Earth (2006).
A follow-up series called Blue Planet II was shown on BBC One in 2017.
Background
The series took about five years to make, using almost 200 filming locations. The fact that much of the ocean environment is still unknown gave the production team many challenges. The crew saw some animal behaviors for the first time and found some that scientists had never seen before. The producers worked with marine scientists worldwide using advanced tools.
Blue whales, whose migration paths were unknown before, were found from the air after some animals were given temporary radio tags. The camera team waited for three years, using a small plane to land on the water near them when they finally found the creatures in the Gulf of California. Filming in the open ocean was harder, and they spent over 400 days on trips that didn’t always work. After six weeks, the crew found a group of spinner dolphins, which led them to a group of tuna. Off the coast of Mexico, the way frigatebirds flew helped the team find sailfish and marlin, the fastest sea creatures. Near the coast of Natal in South Africa, the team spent two seasons trying to film the annual sardine run, a huge gathering of predators like sharks and dolphins that trap the migrating fish in "bait balls." In Monterey Bay, orcas were seen attacking gray whales and killing a calf. Filming in the deep ocean needed special underwater vehicles. One of them allowed the crew to dive over a mile into the San Diego trench, where a 40-ton gray whale’s body was placed to attract many scavengers.
When it first aired on BBC One, over 12 million people watched it, and it had over 30% of viewers watching it.
In 2018, scientists discovered a new type of phytoplankton called Syracosphaera azureaplaneta and named it after the program to honor David Attenborough’s work in helping people understand the ocean better.
Merchandise
The series was released as a 3-disc DVD set (BBCDVD1089) on December 3, 2001. It was re-released in 2003 and included interviews with the production team, a photo gallery, and three additional programs:
- Making Waves: A 50-minute look at how The Blue Planet was created
- Deep Trouble: A 50-minute ecological documentary
- Blue: A 5-minute theatrical short
This first DVD was later replaced by a 4-disc Special Edition (BBCDVD1792), released on October 3, 2005. This version added three extra programs:
- The Abyss
- Dive to Shark Volcano
- Amazon Abyss
In the United States, a 4-disc Collector's Set was released in 2002. It included eight short films, interviews, photo galleries, and one additional program:
- Deep Trouble: A 50-minute ecological documentary
A 5-disc Special Edition (BBC040754) was also released in the U.S. on May 6, 2008. It included all the features from the 4-disc version, plus a fifth disc with four special presentations:
- Amazon Abyss: Discover creatures living in the Amazon
- Dive to Shark Volcano: Explore an underwater volcano near Cocoa Island
- Beneath the Tides: Study an estuary during winter
- Antarctica
BBC released a 3-disc Blu-ray version of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life on April 9, 2013. It included the main program, interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and five special presentations:
- Amazon Abyss
- Dive to Shark Volcano
- Beneath the Tides
- Antarctica
- Deep Trouble
The accompanying book, The Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceans by Andrew Byatt, Alastair Fothergill, and Martha Holmes (with an introduction by David Attenborough), was published by BBC Worldwide on September 27, 2001 (ISBN 0-563-38498-0).
A U.S. version of the same book was published by Dorling Kindersley (DK) in 2002 (ISBN 0-789-48265-7).
Film
Deep Blue is a 2003 nature documentary film that is a movie version of The Blue Planet. Alastair Fothergill and Andy Byatt are the directors, and six cinematographers are also credited. The film was first shown at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain on September 20, 2003. It was shown in more than 20 territories between 2003 and 2005 and earned more than $30 million at the box office.
Live concert tour
The Blue Planet became a live show called The Blue Planet Live! It toured the UK from 2006 to 2008. The UK shows were presented by World Class Service Ltd. George Fenton conducted the Manchester Camerata Orchestra in Manchester, Newcastle, and Nottingham in December 2006. The shows were very well received. The tour continued in April 2007. George Fenton conducted the orchestra again in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, and returned to Manchester and Nottingham.
The show includes some of the most exciting scenes from the series. These scenes are shown on a very large screen (18 meters wide and 3 stories high). A special guest introduces the presentation.
The tour continued in April 2008. Shows were held at Wembley Arena, Nottingham Arena, Manchester Central, Cardiff St. David's, and Birmingham Symphony Hall.
The Blue Planet Live! has been staged in other places later:
• On May 7, 2010, the show was at the Morsani Hall in Tampa, Florida. The Florida Orchestra performed it, and Ward Stare conducted.
• In July 2011, it was at the Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia. The Russian National Orchestra performed it, and Jane Pauley narrated.
• In June 2012, it was in Singapore. The Singapore Symphony Orchestra performed it.
• In December 2014, it was at Corniche in Abu Dhabi. The National Symphony Orchestra performed it.
• On January 22, 2015, it was at the Royal Festival Hall in London. It was part of the Philharmonia at the Movies series.
Sequel
In February 2017, the BBC announced that a seven-part follow-up series, titled Blue Planet II, had been ordered. Sir David Attenborough returned as the narrator and presenter for the series. The show first aired on BBC One, BBC One HD, and the BBC Earth channel on October 29, 2017.
Overseas
The series was sold to more than 50 countries. In the United States, it was broadcast as The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, with the episodes shown in a different order. The first episode was given a new title, "Ocean World." The series aired on the Discovery Channel and was narrated by Pierce Brosnan.
Criticism
The series received some criticism after it was found out that some of the videos were taken at an aquarium in Wales. The series producer, Alastair Fothergill, stated that about 2% of the entire series was filmed in tanks at aquariums. A BBC representative explained that it would have been unethical to interfere with the breeding process of wild lobsters for one scene, which is why they chose to use the aquarium videos instead.