Before the internet there was Richard Attenborough. The Living Planet is the second of a three-part series that began with Life On Earth in 1979, continued with The Living Planet in 1984 and concluded with the Private Life of Plants in 1985. These are exceptional in terms of concept and execution and are a valuable insight into the world we inhabit. Attenborough?s team of directors, producers, cameramen, sound recordists, editors, musicians, et al have produced a stunning series that is a must if you want to know about the diversity of life on the planet. The Living Planet is a four DVD set that runs for an incredible 10 hours 54 minutes approximately and I defy you to watch it without becoming completely absorbed in the content.

We open with The Building of the Earth, an episode devoted to better understanding the physical environment of mountains, volcanoes, valleys, seas and other natural occurrences. We explore the fact that the Himalayas are ?only? 65 million years old, a relatively recent phenomenon, and begin to see the linkages between the environment, plants and the animals that inhabit the various regions. In The Frozen Earth we venture from the ice-capped peaks of a variety of mountains to the freezing expanses of the Arctic and Antarctic regions, again looking at the ways that plants and animals adapt to these harsh environments. The section that shows the male penguins carrying their eggs on their feet to keep them from freezing is a fabulous piece of camerawork on one hand and a stunning insight into the life of penguins on another. Disc One closes with a look at the vast forests that stretch right round the northern hemisphere, providing homes and food for many plants and animals that live there permanently as well as some animals that migrate there during the warmer months.

Disc Two starts with a trip to the Jungle, examining the differing ways plants and animals adapt to the vertical changes in the environment from the sunlight tops of tall trees to the leaf-littered and darker parts of the forest floor. I never knew about the plant that smells like a corpse to attract the flies to help it pollinate until now and I have seen how good the Indians of South America are with their blow darts. In Seas Of Grass we move to the areas where less rainfall occurs so that the trees are less prevalent. The phenomenal number of ants that live on earth and the large number of other animals who devote their time to eating ants is a bit of a revelation. That fire plays such a large part in regenerating the land is apparent, as are the many ways animals co-exist in hiding places as they escape the flames. We finish in the Deserts where the least rain falls. Frogs that live in the ground for a year waiting for rain must be among the most patient of all animals and the cute birds that use their tails as umbrellas must be among the smartest. It comes as no surprise that few people live in the desert permanently and that camels can last 10-times longer than man without water.

Disc Three takes us to the Sky Above to examine the world of birds, but not before we see David and his crew experiencing weightlessness in a US Air Force plane used to train astronauts. It is extraordinary how birds use the natural benefits of thermals to soar for great lengths of time and distance. It is more extraordinary to be with Attenborough in a hot air balloon as he gathers samples of the sorts of plants and animals that reach great heights in their quest to spread their coverage on the planet. Weather phenomena such as clouds, hurricanes, rain, lightning and snow and hail are explained in simple ways so even the non-scientific get a greater idea of what goes on. In Sweet Fresh Water we look closely at the 3% of water that is not in the seas, a rather miniscule figure when I come to think of it. There is an enormous variety of plants and animals that are dependant on fresh water for their survival and the Marsh Arabs of the Middle East even make their home on it. Lastly we look at the Margins of the Land where the sea meets the land. Tidal reaches are another extraordinary place where plants and animals congregate, eating feverishly while the tide is out and seeking shelter in burrows, caves and shells when it comes in.

Lastly, on Disc 4 we look at the ways different eco-systems have developed on island in Worlds Apart. It is fascinating to see how plants and animals vary ever so slightly in response the physical environment they live in and how they develop special traits to deal with their isolation. In Open Ocean we explore the two-thirds of the Earth?s surface covered by seas, an eco-system where human beings have only really been able to enter for any length of time in the last century. The extreme depths, incredible pressures and lack of light lead to a stunning series of plants and animals only bettered by those nearer the surface where oxygen and sunlight can help development. Did you know that a tuna fish is supposed to be able to swim faster than a Cheetah can run on land? I didn?t until I watched this. Lastly, Attenborough turns to the impact of human beings in New Worlds. He examines the ways man has altered the physical world by taming wild grasses such as barley, wheat and rice into vast fields of foodstuffs. He looks at the way man has domesticated wild animals to create another reliable source of food and the way man has eradicated plants and animals deemed to be pests, altering the balance between the species. How do you balance the fact that there are no wolves in England any more to kill cattle or humans against the introduction of the mouse? Finally, Attenborough calmly outlines the need for man to take more care of the environment in which we live and the plants and animals that cohabitate with us. It was a powerful environmental message then and it has lost nothing in the passage of time.

The whole series has not dated at all and the messages are still as clear now as they were then. If nothing else the message that we are part of a dynamic eco-system that may well be unique in the Universe and that we have a responsibility, as the species that has risen to dominate over all others, to manage the resources available wisely, to minimise the damage we might do and to respect the other species that share this rich resource, is a powerful one that we ignore at our peril. Even though we like to think how superior we are, our reign at the top of the evolutionary tree has been a very short one and without some care we run the risk of imperilling it for all others. It is a responsibility that cannot be taken lightly and one where we can all play a part in doing our best to help maintain and safeguard The Living Planet.

THE EXTRAS

The Making Of The Living Planet is the one extra on the discs and it does provide an great insight into the amount of time and effort that went into getting this production to air. Not many people would work on something for two and a half years, often hoping that something would happen when they were out on site as nothing was assured. As they say you cannot get animals and plants to follow a script so there are an enormous amount of hours put into waiting, just to get a single shot of something extraordinary. Attenborough himself comments that he has probably the easiest job as the talking head while most of the accolades should go to the crew.

One last comment - this set is extremely well-presented in a fold out disc box, beautifully made and colourfully illustrated. I reckon the presentation is the best I have seen of all the DVDs I have reviewed and that just adds to the whole joy of the show. The work on the presentation was money well-spent.

CONCLUSION

David Attenborough takes on a breathtaking journey into the different eco-systems that go to make up the planet Earth. This is a broad-ranging work, using stunning photography and simple words to explain the science of the way this small part of the Universe came into being and reached the stage of evolution as we know it. This is a must get, if not for yourself, then certainly as a means of teaching the kids important information about our unique and diverse environment.