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[Edmond Dantès]

Life Story is BBC One’s new landmark series from the award-winning Natural History Unit. Presented by David Attenborough, it tells the remarkable and often perilous story of the journey through life.

Every animal on earth is in pursuit of nature’s greatest prize - the continuation of its own bloodline through its offspring. The odds may be stacked against any individual succeeding, but each is born with a relentless instinct to overcome the odds. An animal must triumph again and again, over every challenge, if its life is to culminate in success.

The stories are shot to give the viewer a sense of what it is like to be an animal in nature, facing difficult choices and relentless pressure, highlighting the scale of the achievement for every individual who wins through in life.

This series, produced in partnership with The Open University, forms one story - that of continuing the bloodline – which is told across six engaging and emotionally powerful episodes. Each shows animals attempting to overcome the challenges of one stage of life through resilience, tenacity and extraordinary behaviour.

Success at each stage means taking a step towards their ultimate target, of creating the next generation. The animals must survive the hazards of being young and defenceless, learn how to survive in the adult world, find a home, climb the social ladder to a position of power, win a mate, become a parent and usher the next generation into the world.

Like previous landmark series, Life Story will capture stories and unique behaviour from around the globe, from Australia and South East Asia to Africa and the USA, along with stunning landscapes and natural spectacles.

Many of the stories of animal behaviour have been filmed for the very first time: the humpback whale who selflessly rescues a youngster from a shark in the US; the Indonesian octopus who climbs inside a coconut shell when threatened; Senegalese chimps who fashion spears and hunt small mammals and the Australian peacock jumping spiders who perform an extraordinarily colourful ‘mating dance’.

Other sequences show a Flame Bower bird in Papua New Guinea who attempts to woo a lover with a courtship display of stunning extravagance; the story of a tiger cub in India whose life is imperilled when her father is chased away; a recently-discovered, tiny puffer fish in Japan that creates the most complex and perfect structure made by any animal - a beautiful, sand ‘crop circle’, made to get himself noticed; and a newly hatched Barnacle goose chick who must undergo one of the greatest trials that any animal faces at the beginning of its life – a life-threatening, 400 foot leap down a sheer cliff in Greenland.

Life Story is the first landmark series to be shot in ultra-hi-definition (4K), delivering the highest quality images ever seen in a wildlife documentary.


Interview with executive producer Mike Gunton

What is the idea behind Life Story?

The premise is that the greatest story in nature is the journey that all animals take - from the moment they are born to the moment they try to reach their ultimate biological goal, which is to produce the next generation. There are as many ways of making that journey as there are types of animal on the planet. Life Story looks at the various ways in which animals try to make that journey through life. It’s divided up by life stages, where each stage is a critical point in that animal’s life. So you have the challenge when you’re born, when you’re growing up, when you’re trying to find somewhere to live and somewhere to be safe; then the next challenge is about trying to establish your place in society, the power games you have to play to become a successful and hopefully powerful member of your environment; then there are the shifts and challenges to find a mate; and then the final challenge is to successfully have offspring and then make sure that they survive. That takes them back to stage one and the circle is complete.

What’s new about this series?

This is the first time we have told such a complete story. There’s a lovely nest of stories within the series - each individual story could stand alone - then within each programme there is the bigger story of getting through that life stage, and then the whole series is the whole life story and that forms an arc. I think that’s uniquely satisfying for a wildlife series because sometimes a greater story is harder to extract, and I think we’ve done that here.

We have also tried to make the camera less static than is traditional. Often the camera is observing stuff happening: we’ve tried to get the camera with the animal so when they’re moving we’re moving with them. We have taken the giro stabiliser cameras to another level, I hope, sometimes using it handheld, sometimes on helicopters and sometimes on vehicles. One example is this cheetah hunt, where some young cheetahs have to bring down an impala for the first time. Rather than shoot it from 100m away with a telephoto we had a cameraman who knew these cheetahs, who’d acclimatised them to his presence. They tolerated him being close. So when it came to this hunt he could use a handheld camera, right in the action. It’s like the difference between filming a boxing match from a camera at the back of the auditorium to filming a fight actually in the ring. That has never been done before in a wildlife documentary series.

What technical advances have you incorporated?

This is the first series that we’ve made in ultra-high definition or 4K. That does a number of things: the quality of the images is much, much higher because you have four times as much information. Although we’re not transmitting in 4K, when you see a 4K-acquired image on an HD television it still looks significantly better: it’s much more detailed. And that detail is not just for fun - it actually brings you closer to and more in to the animal’s world, because a lot of this is about seeing the lives of these animals on their faces and in their eyes. This new level of detail really delivers that.

Give an idea of the amount of work that goes in to making a series like this..

It will have been almost four years of effort by the time we’ve finished. Typically there will be about 2000 days in the field for something like this and getting on for 100 or so separate expeditions to locations. We are a team of about 18, but that’s just our production unit. It doesn't include the dozens of cinematographers who’ve been involved and then there are all the field assistants and all the scientists who help us with the original stories. I would estimate 1000 people have been involved in this series either directly or indirectly.

How do you discover these new things that haven’t been filmed before?

Sometimes it’s sheer serendipity. Occasionally we’re in the field, something extraordinary happens and we’re there to capture it. But actually we’re very focussed. We go for very specific stories. Typically what will happen is you might find something in the scientific literature that gives us a lead to where people are working. Then we get on the phone and ask, “What have you found out that’s exciting you?” We then use that as our leaping off point, working with them to go and film. Sometimes it’s stuff that hasn’t even been recorded by the scientific community. It’s people in the field, stills photographer, nature guides, people who see things that only they know and then they will give us that information and we’ll go and work with them. And then we ourselves are naturalists and we’re always storing things in our heads we’ve seen to try and use them in future programmes.

What does having David Attenborough on a natural history project mean to you?

First of all, having David involved means that this is a definitive piece. David’s involvement brings with it a sense of significance – he’s almost a kitemark of authority and importance. He only does the big stuff. Secondly, he absolutely loves extraordinary animal behaviour. When I asked him if he wanted to be involved in this he said, “I’d be furious if anybody else does it.” He gets so excited about new pieces of behaviour that people haven't seen before. That is a spur to us. There’s nothing like delivering something and getting his approval. The first thing I ever did for the BBC was work with him on Trials of Life and in some ways Life Story is a modern iteration of that story. It’s really nice to be able to come back and do that again with him, but to take it on to a new level.

Episode guide

Episode 1 - First Steps

David Attenborough brings us the universal story that unites each of us with every animal on the planet, the story of the greatest of all adventures - the journey through life.

For animals there is just one goal in life - to continue their bloodline in the form of offspring, the next best thing to immortality. The series shows how animals attempt to overcome the challenges that face them at each of the six crucial stages of life as they strive towards ultimate success.

In the first episode, animals overcome their first great hurdle - surviving infancy.

Flightless barnacle goose chicks face their greatest challenge at the very start of their lives. In order to find food they must leap 400 feet down a cliff, from the ledge where they hatched.

Young fur seals in New Zealand have found the perfect place to learn how to avoid predators like killer whales. Instead of swimming out to sea they have discovered a stream that leads into the forest and ends at a magical splash pool below a waterfall. Here the youngsters learn together in perfect safety.

The little-known long-eared jerboa, deep in the Gobi desert, has the largest ears relative to its body of any animal on earth. On its first night alone it learns how to use its astonishing hearing to detect insect prey in the darkness.

Albatross chicks make their first flight from the Pacific island where they were born, but huge tiger sharks are waiting for any that misjudge and land on the sea.

Episode 2 - Growing Up

Life Story this episode follows animals as they grow up in the adult world, developing new skills and learning how to survive on their own.

A tiger cub grows up in a very dangerous society. She needs the support of both parents if she is to become an independent adult, but the appearance of a rival to her father may change everything.

The veined octopus spends almost all of its time feeding as it races towards adulthood, but this leaves it exposed to predators. In order to protect itself it searches for bits of discarded coconut shell that will fit neatly together. Then it uses them as protective armor.

A pair of young cheetah siblings are in a race against starvation. They can only survive by working together to bring down big prey for the first time - an impala weighing more than both cheetahs put together.

Episode 3 - Home

To survive, animals need somewhere to live, a place that provides the necessities of life, shelter from the elements and a refuge from enemies. Good homes are rare and competition can be intense – finding a home is one thing, but defending it is quite another.

Episode 4 - Power

An individual’s life journey interweaves with many others. Those who are successful know when to fight or back down, when to cooperate or to go it alone and how to manipulate and deceive. But power is the ultimate prize: animals will use any means to rise through the ranks and win the game of life.

Episode 5 - Courtship

Competition to win a partner …has created some of the most extraordinary beauty and life-threatening violence anywhere in nature. Dazzling colours, elaborate dances and powerful weapons have all evolved to attract and defend a mate. The stakes could not be higher: without a mate, the journey of life ends here... sometimes literally.

Episode 6 - Parenthood

In the final challenge of the game of life, raising offspring is the ultimate prize. Continuing the line through the next generation, is the next best thing to immortality. But it’s far from easy... Some parents must risk their own lives for their offspring.

Trailer

Link


Take a world tour with Life Story

In pictures: behind the scenes

Starts

23 October at 21:00 on BBC One/BBC One HD

 

[Rich!]

aw yess

I'll be watching this. I'll have to settle for iplayer HD as I don't have any other way of getting TV right now. Hope the quality is good enough on there - it's kinda inconsistent, I've found.

 

[Shanks D Zoro]

Excited. Always love BBC nature stuff

 

[JBourne]

Whenever 4K televisions become affordable, this will be the first thing I watch. Life is what pushed me to buy an HDTV back in the day.

 

[Sec0nd]

Having worked on a wildlife documentary for a couple of months made me realise that the BBC documentaries are truly a work of art. The work they put in is insane. Looking forward to this one. Shame it'll be a long long while before I can experience it in 4K.

 

[burnfout]

Will pick up the Bluray for sure! Have all the BBC sets.

 

[mrklaw]

are the BBC planning to roll out 4k support in iplayer? tbh decent HD support would be a start

 

[KidJr]

I never ever forget watching earth in full hd for the first time. So this will actually make me seriously consider upgrading... Bbc man I really don't think these guys get enough credit for some of the shows they make, they're are incredible.

 

[Samurai_Heart]

Yiss gonna tune in but hopefully I can my reception for BBC is okay when it's on -__- if not I can try iplayer I guess.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Life Story: Episode 1 preview

Base-jumping barnacle goose

 

[freddy]

I'm in. The old boy can't have too many left in him unfortunately. In a perfect world he would live to 300.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

The thought has crossed my mind that this might be the last big documentary that Sir David Attenborough works on and the thought of that seriously bums me out

It's not going to be the same once he's gone

 

[ElectricKaibutsu]

I need a 4K TV...

 

[Nikodemos]

It's pretty depressing that in 50 years' time several of the places and animal species depicted will be gone.

 

[Error]

I thought I had no need for 4k until I saw that trailer. Hot DAMN!

 

[Edmond Dantès]

I'm in. The old boy can't have too many left in him unfortunately. In a perfect world he would live to 300.

The thought has crossed my mind that this might be the last big documentary that Sir David Attenborough works on and the thought of that seriously bums me out

It's not going to be the same once he's gone

He's scheduled to play a key role in at least four more documentaries for the BBC:

Three recently commissioned:

Waking Giants (NHU) 1x60' BBC One, Executive Producer - Vanessa Berlowitz

Presented by Sir David Attenborough, Waking Giants tells the remarkable story of one of the ‘dinosaur finds of the century’ - 200 bones from seven giant creatures that have recently been unearthed after 100 million years of lying undiscovered beneath the South American desert - one thigh bone alone measures 2.4 metres - an absolute record.

Sir David and the team think they could have stumbled upon the largest dinosaur and indeed the largest animal that has ever walked on Earth. To prove this, they must race to unearth the rest of the bones and erect a skeleton - no mean feat given they estimate it to be 40m long. Meanwhile, Sir David links together clues from the bones with evidence from living giants like elephants and giraffes to reveal new ideas as to how and why these dinosaurs grew to be the size of whales!

In this extraordinary pre-historic detective story, Sir David investigates a once-in-a-lifetime discovery that experts believe will rewrite text books and could change the way we look at dinosaurs forever.

Attenborough’s Paradise Birds (NHU) 1x60' BBC Two, Executive Producer - Mike Gunton, Producer - Miles Barton

Birds of Paradise are one of David Attenborough’s a life-long passions. He was the first to film many of their beautiful and often bizarre displays and has spent a life time tracking them all over the jungles of New Guinea/Indonesia. He says: “For me Birds of Paradise are the most romantic and glamorous birds in the world. And this is a film I have wanted to make for 40 years.”

In this very personal film he uncovers the remarkable story of how these “birds from paradise” have captivated explorers, naturalists, artists, filmmakers and even royalty. He explores the myths surrounding their discovery 500 years ago, the latest extraordinary behaviour captured on camera and reveals the scientific truth behind their beauty; the evolution of their spectacular appearance has in fact been driven by sex.

And in a final contemporary twist to this story of obsession and royalty, he travels to the desert of Qatar, to a state of the art facility which houses the largest breeding group of these birds in the world; a Sheikh’s very own private collection. There he has his closest ever encounter with a Greater Bird of Paradise and its dramatic display, one he first witnessed in the forests of New Guinea more than 50 years ago.

Natural World: Attenborough’s Big Birds (Mike Birkhead Associates/Thirteen/WNET) 1x60' BBC Two, Executive Producer - Mike Birkhead, Series Editor - Roger Webb

Meet the world’s oddest birds; a big family of big characters that haven’t flown a day in their lives. At the centre of the film will be a family of the largest and fastest birds in the world - a young couple of breeding ostriches who are struggling to survive the blistering heat and ferocious predators of the Kalahari Desert in Africa. We will capture their first courtship and follow them as they start a family. We will be there as the chicks take their first steps and learn to eat whole stones, even diamonds, to aid their digestion. And we will discover why even though they can run at great speed, they are easy prey for clever lions.

Interwoven with this tale of Ostrich home life, will be the stories of their eccentric extended family: Australia’s Nomadic Emus with two sets of eyelids and tiny hidden stabilising wings; the charismatic and aggressive Cassowary of New Guinea who lays bright green eggs in the rainforest; the family orientated Rhea who leaves all the childcare to dad in South America; and the secretive New Zealand Kiwi with cat-like whiskers who sleeps in burrows to avoid predators.

But it’s not just the current generation of this family in the picture: the long-lost relatives of these flightless birds were impressive and terrifying. The stuff of legends and folklore, the huge extinct elephant bird of Madagascar stood at more than three metres tall and weighed half a tonne. Tracing the family tree back through the ages, we will try and answer the great Big Bird Riddle: Why can’t these birds fly?

And:

David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef (3x60’), presented by David Attenborough.

From the award-winning team behind the triple Emmy award-winning series, David Attenborough’s First Life, David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef, will use pioneering camera technology and draw on the latest research to investigate the reef in revelatory ways – including using satellite scanning to show the 2,300km expanse of living coral, and revolutionary macro lenses that will capture the reef’s tiniest, normally unseen, life-forms.

Combined with David Attenborough’s masterful storytelling on location and trademark engagement with wildlife, this series will provide a uniquely authored insight into a global treasure, and uncover the history and secrets of this richly bio-diverse landmark.

Attenborough first filmed on the Great Barrier Reef for Zoo Quest in 1957, and has retained a passionate interest in its diverse wildlife and its unique status as the world’s largest living organism. Using the combination of cutting-edge technology, innovative filming techniques and ground-breaking new research, Attenborough will show the full complexity of this “rainforest of the ocean”.

The series was commissioned by Charlotte Moore and Tom McDonald, Head of Commissioning, Science and Natural History and will be produced by Anthony Geffen.

David Attenborough says: “People say to me, 'what was the most magical thing you ever saw in your life?’…and I always say without a word of exaggeration, ‘the first time I was lucky enough to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef’. As I entered the water I remember suddenly seeing these amazing multi-coloured species living in communities… just astounding and unforgettable beauty. So I’m very excited to be returning to the reef with all the latest technology and science to see one of the most important places on the planet in a whole new way.”

He'll also be narrating the sequels to The Blue Planet (Oceans) and Planet Earth (One Planet). Not to mention a few more documentaries for Sky.

 

[Arc]

I feel like I might have to wait this out until I get a 4k set. I'm not trying waste my first viewing as a 1080p peasant.

 

[Zvonimir Boban]

He's scheduled to play a key role in at least four more documentaries for the BBC:

Three recently commissioned:


And:


He'll also be narrating the sequels to The Blue Planet (Oceans) and Planet Earth (One Planet). Not to mention a few more documentaries for Sky.

That Barrier Reef one sounds amazing.

 

[AstroNut325]

I need a 4K TV...

Ditto! Sony just needs to bring down their price to sub $2K for 65".

Where the F*** is the 4K Blu-Ray spec???

 

[JoeyJungle]

How is it being released? Can the BBC iplayer or blurays support 4k content? Do many bluray players output at 4k?

 

[Edmond Dantès]

How is it being released? Can the BBC iplayer or blurays support 4k content? Do many bluray players output at 4k?

The iPlayer doesn't support 4K and won't for a long time.

The first 4K Blu-rays are expected in late 2015; specifications to be announced in the first half of 2015.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=14923


This is essentially a pre-emptive move by the BBC.

 

[Shadow Ranger]

Will have to check it out as a non 4K pleb.

 

[Summer Haze]

I saw this advertised the other day and was immediately captivated by the footage shown. It looks absolutely incredible. I can't wait.

 

[jimmyjimmyo]

Nobody does nature tv better than David and the BBC

 

[NekoFever]

How is it being released? Can the BBC iplayer or blurays support 4k content? Do many bluray players output at 4k?

BBC's been testing 4K broadcasts, so this could end up being the banner series for the format like Planet Earth was for HD. Planet Earth was originally aired right when the BBC was testing HD broadcasts as well.

 

[LurkerPrime]

I'm looking forward to seeing this sometime. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[LudwigB]

BBC documentaries about Nature are the best. I can't wait to watch this on iplayer.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

On the subject of Sir David; the Telegraph's top five Attenborough moments:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/...avid-Attenboroughs-five-greatest-moments.html

I'd place his encounter with a Blue whale in the top five and have the Gorilla encounter higher.

 

[Sleight of Jam]

Looks great! Will have to watch this in the pixelated mess of 1080p

 

[Askherserenity]

So happy to see this thread! Didn't even know this was a thing till now. Will definitely watch.

Spoiler

Hope there aren't too many sad parts

 

[MattKeil]

Exceptional OP.

 

[Asbel]

Hnnnnggg~!!!

But when does it come to the US?

 

[Sidewinder]

Yiss gonna tune in but hopefully I can my reception for BBC is okay when it's on -__- if not I can try iplayer I guess.

Dat silly UK satellite spotbeam, arrghh, It's time for a 2m dish!!1

 

[BeforeU]

Having worked on a wildlife documentary for a couple of months made me realise that the BBC documentaries are truly a work of art. The work they put in is insane. Looking forward to this one. Shame it'll be a long long while before I can experience it in 4K.

Yup. I have Life and Planet Earth on Bluray. They are both truly remarkable. And everyone should experience it.

 

[cyberheater]

It's funny that David convinced the BBC to start showing snooker on the first batch of colour tv's to demonstrate colour and now he's doing the same with 4K programming. Quite the pioneer.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Hnnnnggg~!!!

But when does it come to the US?

Early 2015. The BBC and Discovery have ended their partnership so the series should be broadcast in its original form.

If not, the standard Blu-ray release concurrent with the UK and the 4K Blu-ray release which is expected late 2015.

 

[Pickman]

Incredible job on this thread, OP. I'm looking forward to this series now.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Semi-related to the series:

Your life on earth: An interactive guide to how you and the world have changed since you were born.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20141016-your-life-on-earth

 

[Kogepan]

i'll enjoy watching this on 4k bluray and a 4k tv in 2018.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Visually exceptional as you'd expect from the Natural History Unit. Sir David's dulcet tones are as accomplished as ever and the background music wasn't too obtrusive.

A fantastic start to the series.

 

[Camoxide]

iPlayer quality isnt great :/

 

[Pachimari]

Excited about this.

Is this the "sequel" to Planet Earth and The Frozen Planet?

 

[NinjaFridge]

iPlayer quality isnt great :/

They really need to update the quality. It's more than SD, less than HD.

 

[Spring-Loaded]

I'll have to see this in 4K someday. BBC nature documentaries are out of this world.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Excited about this.

Is this the "sequel" to Planet Earth and The Frozen Planet?

It's seen as a sequel to Life (2009).

The Planet Earth sequel is titled One Planet and is due in 2015.

 

[seb_n]

The quality of the the camera work, even in normal HD was out of this world, the mantid and spider section was incredible, absolutely captivating.
At the end, when they showed

Spoiler

The baby geese getting taken by that fox

just shows the harshness of life but at the same time the reality.

Cant wait for the rest of the series.

 

[Edmond Dantès]

Life Story review: 'shocking and delightful'

Episode one of David Attenborough's series showed Darwinism at its fluffiest – and most frightening, says Michael Pilgrim

David Attenborough opened Life Story (BBC One) with meerkats. This was not good. Meerkats? They’re so Noughties, right?

Then – just when you thought this epic new wildlife production was going to be blander than a Blue Peter trip to a cotton wool factory – came the goslings. And a sequence so brutally Darwinian it needed a parental advisory warning and counselling hotline for the sensitive.

Now everyone knows the celebrated Planet Earth duck scene, where fluffy babies take their first leap from a tree to land on soft leaves. Big aaahh. The gosling footage was much like that – only scripted by a splatter movie director mistreated by wildfowl in childhood.

The barnacle goose nests precariously 400 feet up a sheer rock face in Greenland. In some ways, smart; in others, not. It’s a spot no fox can reach, but the only edible vegetation is in the valley below. Sadly, the barnacle goose chick can’t fly until it is eight weeks old and Ocado doesn’t do that postcode.

Thus the babies face a stark choice: jump or starve. So, in the episode’s clip, the mother honked in encouragement, egging them on. The two-day-old kids quivered in fright – you want me to go down there? – before instinct bid them to topple over the edge. A wing and a prayer. Survival of the unflattened.

There they frightfully went, tumbling, weakly flapping, bouncing, slapping and bashing against rusty vertiginous rock. If you weren’t on the edge of your DFS your heart must be made of polished concrete. Somehow three of five survived, their plaintive cries drawing their mother to find them.

Cynics may say wildlife films have lost their power to shock or delight. Amorous capercaillies, lovable primates, deer carnage. It’s surely all been done. Not so, as Life Story showed. That it takes an 88-year-old to do it says something for his documentary-making. Attenborough as ever knitted together disparate strands into a plausible whole, the savagery of nature transformed into soothing narrative.

Life Story aims to be the hatching, matching and dispatching section of wildlife programming. The 10-minute “making of” section at the end returned to Greenland to show the difficulty of capturing movement at distance. And here, an appalling denouement. Another trio of goslings with their mother had survived the fall to earth – only to be devoured by a fox equally desperate to feed its young. Darwinian indeed.

Link

 

[Mindwipe]

are the BBC planning to roll out 4k support in iplayer? tbh decent HD support would be a start

Not any time soon.

 

[Mindwipe]

They really need to update the quality. It's more than SD, less than HD.

It's 720p for on-demand content.

Don't see that changing this year tbh. Much more work going on capacity increases this year to accommodate the thirty day window and getting more shows up (only about a third of broadcast programmes used to go up on iPlayer, now it's nearer 90%).

 

[Lucius86]

Really enjoyed it last night, can't wait for the future episodes.

Those baby geese are absolute bad-asses. Falling off a cliff then getting up like nothing happened.

Spoiler

Then Mr. Fox says hi.