Life on Earth

From DocuWiki

[edit] General Information

Nature Documentary narrated by David Attenborough and published by BBC in 1979 - English narration

[edit] Cover

[edit] Information

Life on Earth (1979) is an epic 13-programme series, presented by Sir David Attenborough, offering a chronological account of the flora and fauna of planet Earth over a period of 3,500 million years. Whether recounting the first journey from the sea to the land, the development of insects and flowers, or The First Forests and The Lords of the Air, Sir Attenborough's enthusiasm is infectious. He guides us through The Infinite Variety of life from microbes to marsupials, via an unforgettable meeting with mountain gorillas, to conclude with The Compulsive Communicators, mankind itself.
Three years in the making, involving 1.5 million miles of travel and featuring some of the most beautiful, breathtaking and ambitious photography then seen on television, Life on Earth was the first natural history blockbuster. It redefined TV by showing that an epic, serious wildlife documentary could be a massive success. As such, it remains a true television landmark and paved the way for Sir Attenborough's The Living Planet and further entries in what became known as his Life series.

[edit] The Infinite Variety

The story of life, from the first primitive cells to the plants and animals that now live around us. Sir David Attenborough goes on a world journey looking at the incredible variety of living things and fossils which throw light on the ancestry of life.

[edit] Building Bodies

[edit] The First Forests

The story of life, from the first primitive cells to the plants and animals that now live around us. Sir David Attenborough looks at what happened when, over 400 million years ago, tiny plants began to invade the land, followed by the first animals - the ancestors of scorpions, millipedes and insects.

[edit] The Swarming Hordes

The story of life from the first primitive cells to the plants and animals that now live around us. Sir David Attenborough looks at the role of a few of the millions of insect species, some of which have developed extremely close relationships with plants. Insects pollinate flowers and in some cases neither flower nor insect can survive without the other.

[edit] The Conquest of the Waters

The story of life from the first primitive cells to the plants and animals that live around us. Sir David Attenborough looks at some of the 30,000 species of fish which exist in populations of billions. They can fly, produce electricity, survive in hot soda lakes or under the Antarctic ice. Some, like the salmon, even migrate across oceans and up waterfalls.

[edit] The Invasion of the Land

Some 350 million years ago, evolution reached one of its most crucial stages when fish crawled from water onto the land and became amphibians. Today, newts, salamanders, toads and frogs still survive in great quantities, and there is even one species of frog where the male gives birth from its mouth!

[edit] A Watertight Skin

Sir David Attenborough looks at the history of reptiles, the first back-boned creatures to solve the problems of living high and dry on the land. Their waterproofed skin and sealed eggs enabled the mighty reptiles to rule the world.

[edit] Lords of the Air

The story of life, from the first primitive cells to the plants and animals that now live around us. Sir David Attenborough examines the uses and advantages of birds' unique possession - the feather. Feathers are insulators; they provide the surface of the most perfect aerofoils known - bird's wings; and they play a central role in courtship.

[edit] Eggs, Pouches, and Placentas

Sir David Attenborough looks at the evolution of mammals from reptiles 200 million years ago. This remarkable transition involved the development of mechanisms for regulating body temperature, for allowing the young to develop in the womb and for suckling newborns. Sir Attenborough also explores the South American origins of marsupials and their colonisation of Australia.

[edit] Theme and Variations

Sir David Attenborough looks at some of the huge variety of mammals. Bats number over a thousand species, many hunt insects, some sip nectar, drink blood, and even catch fish. Contrast those which use sonar with the great whales that sing, the star-nosed mole and the giant anteater, and the potential variations become dramatically clear.

[edit] The Hunters and the Hunted

Sir David Attenborough explores the eternal duel between the hunters and the hunted - one of the driving forces of evolution. As the hunters develop speed and cunning, the prey becomes increasingly fast and wary in order to stay alive. Nowhere is this seen better than on the plains of East Africa.

[edit] A Life in the Trees

Sir David Attenborough's now legendary encounter with young gorillas is featured in this episode as he looks at the history of primates, whose ancestors sought their fortune in the treetops. There they developed binocular vision for accurately judging distances, and the ability to grasp trees with a firm grip. The group includes dazzling gymnasts, deafening choristers and highly cultured monkeys.

[edit] The Compulsive Communicators

Sir David Attenborough looks for crucial clues that help to explain how and why we have come to dominate life on Earth. He traces back the African origins of humans to nearly three million years ago, and along the way he goes into caves in Southern France where stone-age people created imaginative paintings of ice-age animals. He also travels to Papua New Guinea to find some hunter-gatherers who have never before set eyes on white people.

[edit] Screenshots

[edit] Technical Specs

Video Codec: XviD (1-5) DivX (6-13)
Video Bitrate: ~1550kb/s
Video Resolution: Slightly Variable (1-5) 624x464 (6-13)
Video Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio BitRate: 192kb/s 48Khz
Audio Channels: 2
RunTime Per Part: ~55Minutes
Number Of Parts: 13
Part Size: ~700MBytes
Ripped by DarkRain (Ep1-5) And Bongomaniac (Ep6-13)

[edit] Links

[edit] Release Post

[edit] Official Website

[bbc.co.uk]

[edit] Related Documentaries

[edit] ed2k Links

Add 14 links to eMule

Retrieve Share Stats

Added by Johndoe gr

Retrieved from "https://docuwiki.net/index.php?title=Life_on_Earth"