EARTH, WIND AND FIRE
SIR DAVID ATTENBOROUGH IS BACK WITH A STUNNING NEW SERIES LOOKING AT LIFE ON OUR PLANET – AND WHAT WE MUST DO IN ORDER TO SAVE IT…
Taking four years to film across 31 countries, new series A Perfect Planet illustrates how nature shapes and supports our vast diversity of wildlife. And as narrator and telly legend Sir David Attenborough tells Inside TV, there’s never been a more pertinent time to talk about taking care of Earth…
“We’ve suddenly become more aware of the natural world in a way that we haven’t before,” he explains. “In our busy lives, we’re moving here, there and everywhere. Now we are, many of us, stuck at home – some of us are lucky enough to have gardens, and I have never listened to more birdsong in my life! I think that
applies to a lot of people. And so we have realised our dependency, emotionally and intellectually, on the natural world.”
The first of the five episodes is Volcanoes, which takes us on a stunning visual journey from the Galapagos to meet vampire finches, to the African flamingos that gather in their thousands in Tanzania each year to breed. Capturing this event meant travelling across Lake Natron – the world’s most toxic body of water – by the only means possible: hovercraft. And Sir David admits it’s an image that will stay with him forever…
“I have to say, that flamingo sequence is one of the most memorable I’ve ever seen on television,” enthuses the naturalist. “Plus, it was shot under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. It has been filmed so beautifully and the use of drones is so skilful, and the resulting pictures are indelibly imparted on the mind. Although, I shouldn’t say that, as that all happens in the first programme, and I want you to stay on for all five parts! But my goodness, it’s extraordinary.”
Making up the rest of the series are Sunlight, Weather and Oceans, with the final episode focusing on the hugely significant impact of the most recent force of nature: human beings…
“The first thing that I keep reminding myself of, is that there are three times as many humans on this planet than there were when I first made a television programme,” shares Sir David. “I mean, this is not something that happened beyond the realms of history: it’s right now. If we don’t sort out how we deal with the planet, we’re in trouble. The answer is, of course, that we can sort it out if we all behave in certain ways. But to start with, you have to recognise the problem – and that’s what this programme shows.”
With that conversation now very much taking place across society, what does Sir David believe that we should all concentrate on doing?
“To reduce the demands that each one of us makes on the planet,” he asserts. “Our demands in terms of how much food we eat, and what we throw away; our demands in how we use our space; our demands in what we use for our power; to make sure that we don’t produce carbon dioxide. That we should act with restraint in how we treat the world around us. If all of us did that on the Earth, the problems would be solved…”