John Hurt narrates this 2011 BBC Natural History Unit production that spent three years filming 70 stories across 40 countries. Each of the eight hour-long episodes examines a single habitat: deserts, jungles, Arctic, grasslands, rivers, mountains, oceans and cities. The crews captured Mongolian herders collecting snow for water, Inuit hunters harvesting mussels beneath sea ice, and Indonesian fishermen hunting sperm whales with bamboo harpoons. Cinematographers Pete Haynes, Matt Norman and Toby Strong shot on 16mm film to achieve the series' distinctive cinematic texture. Composer Nitin Sawhney's score blends regional instrumentation with orchestral arrangements recorded at Abbey Road Studios.
The production marked several firsts for BBC landmark series: a dedicated stills photographer Timothy Allen documented the expedition, and the unit employed local fixers in every territory rather than flying in specialists. Executive producers Brian Leith and Dale Templar insisted on returning to film locations across multiple seasons to capture complete narratives, resulting in footage of Kenyan pastoralists enduring the worst drought in 60 years and Nepalese honey hunters scaling 300-metre cliffs. Rights sold to 22 international markets, with Mike Rowe replacing Hurt for North American broadcasts on Discovery Channel.
Controversy emerged when BBC Trust ruled that a scene depicting Indonesian tribe members building a treehouse 40 metres above ground had been significantly staged for filming. The series finale, originally scheduled to feature Tokyo's urban density, was replaced with an examination of Rotterdam's port and New York's underground infrastructure following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake.
Production Details
BBC One / 1 Season / 8 Episodes / 2011
Created by: Dale Templar, Brian Leith
Producer(s): Nicolas Brown, Mark Flowers
Main Cast
John Hurt as Narrator (voice)
