Name: Frozen Planet
Released: 2011-10-26T00:00:00.000Z
Cast: David Attenborough

Frozen Planet

Documentary 2011

Available on iTunes

David Attenborough journeys across the polar regions of our planet.

Documentary 2011

Starring David Attenborough

EPISODE 1

To The Ends of the Earth, Pt. 1

Our journey begins out on the frozen Arctic Ocean, close to the North Pole. The sun is back after 6 months of darkness. We follow a pair of courting polar bears, which reveal a surprisingly tender side. Next stop is the giant Greenland ice cap where waterfalls plunge into the heart of the ice, and a colossal iceberg calves into the sea. Humpback whales join the largest gathering of seabirds on earth to feast in rich Alaskan waters. Further south, the tree-line marks the start of the Taiga forest, containing one third of all trees on earth. Here 25 of the world’s largest wolves take on formidable bison prey.
EPISODE 2

To the Ends of the Earth, Pt. 2

At the other end of our planet, the Antarctic begins in the Southern Ocean where surfing penguins struggle to escape a hungry sea-lion, and teams of orcas create giant waves to wash seals from ice floes – a filming first. Diving below the ice, we discover prehistoric giants – terrifying sea spiders and woodlice the size of dinner plates. Above ground, crystal caverns ring the summit of Erebus, the most southerly volcano on earth. From here we retrace the routes of early explorers, Scott and Amundsen, on their quest to be the first humans to reach the South Pole. Our journey ends at the formidable Antarctic ice-cap, which contains 75% of the world’s freshwater and is the largest concentration of ice on the planet.
EPISODE 3

Spring, Pt. 1

Spring brings the appearance of the sun after an absence of five months; warmth and life return to these magical ice worlds - the greatest seasonal transformation on our planet is underway. Male Adelie penguins arrive in Antarctica to build their nests - it takes a good property to attract the best mates and the males will stop at nothing to better their rivals! But these early birds face the fiercest storms on the planet. In the Arctic, a polar bear mother is hunting with her cubs. Inland, the frozen rivers start to break up and billions of tons of ice are swept downstream in the greatest of polar spectacles. On land, a woolly bear caterpillar emerges from the snow having spent the winter frozen solid.
EPISODE 4

Spring, Pt. 2

As the transformation of the Arctic reaches completion, it teams with life, migrating from the south. Amongst this influx, white Arctic wolves race to raise their adorable cubs before the cold returns. In Antarctica vast numbers of seabirds arrive on South Georgia joining the giant albatross and king penguins that have been there all winter. Elephant seals fight furious battles over females on a beach that contains the greatest mass of animals on the planet. Finally, the female Adelie penguins arrive, chased from the water by killer whales. Mating and chick rearing lie ahead of them.
EPISODE 5

Summer, Pt. 1

It’s high summer and the sun never sets. Vast hordes of summer visitors cram a lifetime of drama into one long, magical day; they must feed, fight and rear their young in this brief window of plenty. Summer is a tough time for the polar bear family as their ice world melts away and the cubs take their first swimming lesson. Some bears save energy by dozing on icy sun beds while others go egg-collecting in an arctic tern colony, braving bombardment by sharp beaks. There are even bigger battles on the tundra; a herd of musk oxen gallop to the rescue as a calf is caught in a life and death struggle with a pair of Arctic wolves. But summer also brings surprises as a huge colony of 400,000 king penguins cope with an unlikely problem – heat. The adults go surfing while the woolly-coated chicks take a cooling mud bath.
EPISODE 6

Summer, Pt. 2

On the Island of South Georgia, a bull fur seal is prepared to fight to the death with a rival. Fur flies as the little pups struggle desperately to keep out of the way of the dueling giants. Further south, a minke whale is hunted amongst the ice floes by a family of killer whales. The dramatic chase lasts over 2 hours and has never been filmed before. The killers harass the minke whale, taking it in turns to wear it down. Eventually it succumbs to the relentless battering... Finally, comical Adelie penguins waddle back to their half a million strong colony. The fluffy chicks need constant feeding and protection as piratical skuas patrol the skies. When an unguarded chick is snatched, a dramatic aerobatic ‘dogfight’ ensues.

About

Frozen Planet

DOCUMENTARY

David Attenborough journeys across the polar regions of our planet.

Information

Studio: BBC One
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2011
Rated: PG

Languages

Primary: English (United States) (AAC)

Accessibility

: Closed captions (CC) refer to subtitles in the available language with the addition of relevant non-dialogue information.

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Information

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Accessibility