Are the never ending essays crushing your spirit? Is the impending doom of Brexit, Trump and society as we know it getting you down? Do you need an escape? Well, fear not, as the BBC announces perhaps the first piece of good news this year. If you cast your brains back to the return of Planet Earth II – we laughed, we cried – and now prepare your mind and body for the return of its watery counterpart as Blue Planet II is coming to televisions near you.
16 years after the original was aired (2001 was 16 years ago…?), Blue Planet II is set to be released this autumn as a 7-part documentary, with the return of our favourite national treasure, David Attenborough, spreading his vocal joy into our ear holes.
As always the show is breaking boundaries to show us never before seen footage of natural phenomena. We are taken to the darkest regions of the ocean, even exploring record-breaking depths of 1000m in the Antarctic. Once again our emotional capacity will be challenged as we journey with the deep blue creatures from birth to death. The show boasts the discovery of completely new species, such as, snub fin dolphins, tool-using tusk fish and hairy-chested crabs, or as David lovingly terms them, Hoff crabs, so named after a certain hairy aging TV personality. But if animals aren’t your thing then you can also feast your eyes on plenty of natural beauty such as underwater mountains, a ‘boiling’ sea and methane volcanoes!
If you’re one for watching the ending ‘how it’s done’ segments, then there’s many tasty treats for you too, as the camera team get creative with their filming process. Completely new technology is developed for the show, so expect tow cameras that are attached to the boats for filming dolphins and whales front-on, probe cameras for investigating the smaller marine life, as well as suction cameras attached to the backs of larger animals.
Not only does the show guarantee incredible footage and plenty of entertainment, it also serves a large educational purpose. As executive producer James Honeyborne puts it, the show “will provide a timely reminder that this is a critical moment for the health of the world’s oceans.” A notion which is especially apt considering a certain tiny-handed president denies the existence of global warming and in 2012 tweeted it was simply a hoax created by the Chinese…
Taking 4 years to create, the show promises to be brilliant and with David leading us how could it be anything less. About the show, he states, “I am truly thrilled to be joining the new exploration of the underwater worlds which cover most of our planet, yet are still its least known”. And he has a point. With so much to explore the show promises to be one of the most interesting yet. Definitely a date for the diary.
Olivia Raine
(Image: Metro)