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Planet Earth: science, digital technology and making a difference
Who says that educational television has to be boring? Granted, the Discovery channel did not start off with much differentiating itself from those ever so boring biology videos seen during high school. Everyone knows them, the ones with the monotonous voice – normally with a slight British accent – explaining the origins of the slow moving fish that swam in circles bottom feeding for tiny specs of nourishment on the television screen. Life was hard enough without having to sit through those dull videos in school, unless of course you caught up on sleep or daydreamed about playing sports outside, far, far away from the classroom.
But in the last five years, the Discovery channel has really turned itself around. They’ve diversified their programming and added a few reality television themed shows. They’ve split off into many different channels on cable and satellite TV, focusing on such immense topics as animals (Animal Planet) and health (Discovery Health). They even have an entire channel filmed in HD. Yet, out of all of the changes and accomplishments that the Discovery channel has made in the last half decade, none of which compare to their finest achievement: “Planet Earth.”
Filmed over five years, the “Planet Earth” mini series premiered in the United States in the spring of 2007 and redefined nature programming forever. Broken up into 11 segments – each an hour long – the series examined all the different environments that covered the globe such as high mountain peaks, rivers, deltas and deep oceans. Every episode examined on both a micro and macro level the intertwining relationships between the wildlife, plant life and overall environment.
But what truly set “Planet Earth” apart from the rest of the nature programs was the actual clarity of its filming. Because of the phenomenal high definition cameras that the cinematographers used, the program captured such unbelievable footage as lions attacking a full grown elephant in the African Sahara as well as amazing time lapses of mushrooms growing off of trees in the Amazon Rainforest. The most famous shot, of course, was that of a great white shark leaping up and out of the ocean for a brief moment to catch a seal in its mouth; a shot that the program was able to slow down to amazing viewable speeds. With “Planet Earth,” the Discovery channel portrayed the world in all its beauty and splendor while at the same time entertaining millions.
Besides entertainment, the program also acted as a huge public relations effort to promote green organizations and environmentally conscious thinking. By showing such unbelievable images of the world, “Planet Earth” strove to make an impact on the way people interacted with nature. When discussing the wildlife of a certain area, the narrator would occasionally remark on how humans have affected the population numbers of a specific species within that environment. Additionally, a good number of the advertisements presented throughout the mini series were from “green” and environmentally friendly companies. Because of this, it was one of the first nature programs to really go out and make a difference, to try and change people’s opinions about the environment.
If for some reason you missed “Planet Earth,” do not fret. The mini series is on the Discovery Channel at least once a month. But definitely prepare yourself, because the show is absolutely awe-inspiring.
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