Life on Earth(TV series)

Life on Earth
Region 2 DVD cover
Genre	Nature documentary
Presented by	David Attenborough
Composer	Edward Williams
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No.of episodes	13
Production
Executive producer	Christopher Parsons
Producers	Richard Brock John Sparks
Running time	55 minutes
Production companies	BBC Natural History Unit Warner Bros. Television Reiner Moritz Productions
Original release
Network	BBC Two
Release	16 January(1979-01-16)– 10 April 1979(1979-04-10)
Related
The Living Planet

Life on Earth: A Natural History by David Attenboroughis a British televisionnatural historyseries made by theBBCin association withWarner Bros. TelevisionandReiner Moritz Productions.It was transmitted in the UK from 16 January 1979.

During the course of the series presenterDavid Attenborough,following the format established byKenneth Clark'sCivilisationandJacob Bronowski'sThe Ascent of Man(both series which he designed and produced as director of BBC2), travels the globe in order to trace the story of theevolutionoflifeon the planet. Like the earlier series, it was divided into 13 programmes (each of around 55 minutes' duration). The executive producer wasChristopher Parsonsand the music was composed byEdward Williams.

At a cost exceeding £1 million ($1.2 million), it was an immense project that involved filming over 100 locations around the world and took three years in the making by a team of 30 people with the help of more than 500 scientists.Highly acclaimed as a milestone in the history of British wildlife television, it established Attenborough as not only the foremost television naturalist, but also an iconic figure in British cultural life.It is the first in Attenborough'sLifeseries of programmes and was followed byThe Living Planet(1984).

Filming techniques

Several special filming techniques were devised to obtain some of the footage of rare and elusive animals. One cameraman spent hundreds of hours waiting for the fleeting moment when aDarwin's frog,which incubates its young in its mouth, finally spat them out. Another built a replica of amole ratburrow in a horizontally mounted wheel, so that as the mole rat ran along the tunnel, the wheel could be spun to keep the animal adjacent to the camera. To illustrate the motion ofbats' wings in flight, aslow-motionsequence was filmed in awind tunnel.The series was also the first to include footage of a live (although dying)coelacanth.

The cameramen took advantage of improved film stock to produce some of the sharpest and most colourful wildlife footage that had been seen to date.

The programmes also pioneered a style of presentation whereby David Attenborough would begin describing a certainspecies' behaviourin one location, before cutting to another to complete his illustration. Continuity was maintained, despite such sequences being filmed several months and thousands of miles apart.

Gorilla encounter

The best remembered sequence occurs in the twelfth episode, when Attenborough encounters a group ofmountain gorillasinDian Fossey's sanctuary inRwanda.The primates had become used to humans through years of being studied by researchers. Attenborough originally intended merely to get close enough to narrate a piece about the apes' use of the opposablethumb,but as he advanced on all fours toward the area where they were feeding, he suddenly found himself face to face with an adult female. Discarding his scripted speech, he turned to camera and delivered a whisperedad lib:

There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than with any other animal I know. Their sight, their hearing, their sense of smell are so similar to ours that they see the world in much the same way as we do. We live in the same sort of social groups with largely permanent family relationships. They walk around on the ground as we do, though they are immensely more powerful than we are. So if there were ever a possibility of escaping the human condition and living imaginatively in another creature's world, it must be with thegorilla.The male is an enormously powerful creature but he only uses his strength when he is protecting his family and it is very rare that there is violence within the group. So it seems really very unfair that man should have chosen the gorilla to symbolise everything that is aggressive and violent, when that is the one thing that the gorilla is not—and that we are.

When Attenborough returned to the site the next day, the female and two young gorillas began to groom and play with him. In his memoirs, Attenborough describes this as "one of the most exciting encounters of my life". He subsequently discovered, to his chagrin, that only a few seconds had been recorded: the cameraman was running low on film and wanted to save it for the planned description of the opposable thumb.

In 1999 viewers ofChannel 4voting for the 100 Greatest TV Moments placed the gorilla sequence at number 12—ranking it ahead of QueenElizabeth II'scoronationand the wedding ofCharlesandDiana.

Critical and commercial reception

The series attracted a weighted average of 15 million viewers in the UK, an exceptionally high figure for a BBC documentary back in the late 1970s.It was also a major international success, being sold to over 100 territories and watched by an estimated audience of 500 million people worldwide.However,Life on Earthdid not generate the same revenue for the BBC as later Attenborough series because the corporation signed away the American and European rights to their co-production partners,Warner Bros.andReiner Moritz.

It was nominated for fourBAFTATV awards and won theBroadcasting Press GuildAward for Best Documentary Series.In a list of the100 Greatest British Television Programmesdrawn up by theBritish Film Institutein 2000, voted for by industry professionals,Life on Earthwas placed 32nd.

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"The Infinite Variety"	16 January 1979(1979-01-16)
The episode begins in the South American rainforest whose rich variety of life forms is used to illustrate the sheer number of differentspecies.Since many are dependent on others for food or means of reproduction, David Attenborough argues that they could not all have appeared at once. He sets out to discover which came first, and the reasons for such diversity. He starts by explaining the theories ofCharles Darwinand the process ofnatural selection,using thegiant tortoisesof theGalápagos Islands(where Darwin voyaged onHMSBeagle) as an example.Fossilsprovide evidence of the earliest life, and Attenborough travels a vertical mile into theGrand Canyonin search of them. By the time he reaches theColorado Riverbed, the geologicalstrataare 2,000 million years old—yet there are no fossils. However, the "right rocks" are found on the shores ofLake Superiorin Canada, where wafer-thin slices offlint,called chert, reveal filaments of primitivealgae.Also, themicro-organismsthat flourish atYellowstone ParkinWyomingappear to be identical to the Earth's oldest fossils. The evolution of single-celled creatures, from simplecyanophytesto more complexciliates,and then from multi-celledspongesandjellyfishto the many variations ofcoraland its associatedpolyps,is discussed in detail. The fossilised remains of jellyfish are shown within theFlinders Rangesof Australia, and are estimated to be 652 million years old.
2	"Building Bodies"	23 January 1979(1979-01-23)
The next programme explores the various sea-livinginvertebrates.InMorocco,thelimestonesare 600 million years old, and contain many invertebrate fossils. They fall broadly into three categories:shells,crinoidsand segmented shells. The evolution of shelled creatures is demonstrated with theflatworm,which eventually changed its body shape when burrowing became a necessity for either food or safety. It then evolved shielded tentacles and the casings eventually enveloped the entire body: these creatures are thebrachiopods.The most successful shelled animals are themolluscs,of which there are some 80,000 different species. Some are single-shelled such as thecowrie,while others arebivalvesthat include thescallopand thegiant clam.One species that has remained unchanged for millions of years is thenautilus:it features flotation chambers within its shell, which in turn formed the basis for theammonites.Crinoids are illustrated bysea lilies,starfishandsea urchinson theGreat Barrier Reef.Segmented worms developed to enable sustained burrowing, and well-preserved fossils are found in theRocky MountainsofBritish Columbia.These developed intotrilobitesandcrustaceans,and thehorseshoe crabis shown nesting in vast numbers onDelaware Bay.While therobber crabbreeds in the sea, it is in all other respects a land animal and Attenborough uses it to exemplify the next evolutionary step.
3	"The First Forests"	30 January 1979(1979-01-30)
This instalment examines the earliest land vegetation andinsects.The firstplants,being devoid of stems, mainly comprisedmossesandliverworts.Using bothsexualandasexualmethods of reproduction, they proliferated. Descended from segmented sea creatures,millipedeswere among the first to take advantage of such a habitat and were quickly followed by other species. Without water to carryeggs,bodily contact between the sexes was now necessary. This was problematical for some hunters, such asspidersandscorpions,who developed courtship rituals to ensure that the female didn't eat the male. Over time, the plants' cell walls strengthened and they grew taller.Fernsandhorsetailswere among the first such species. Insects then evolved wings to avoid climbing and thedragonfly(which once had a wingspan of 60 centimetres) is one of the most successful. The elaborate wingbeats of thedamselflyare shown slowed down 120 times. Some plants, like thecycadenlisted the insects to transportpollen,while others, like theconifer,spreadspores.Over a third of forests contain conifers and the giantsequoiaofCaliforniais the largest living organism of any kind: it grows to a height of 112 metres. The conifer secretesresinto repair its trunk, and this survives asamber.Within it, insect specimens have been found that are 200 million years old. In fact, at this time, every insect known today was already in existence.
4	"The Swarming Hordes"	6 February 1979(1979-02-06)
This episode details the relationship betweenflowersand insects. There are some one million classified species of insect, and two or three times as many that are yet to be labelled. Around 300 million years ago, plants began to enlist insects to help with their reproduction, and they did so with flowers. Although themagnolia,for instance, contains male and female cells,pollinationfrom another plant is preferable as it ensures greater variation and thus evolution. Flowers advertise themselves by either scent or display. Some evolved to produce sweet-smellingnectarand in turn, several insects developed their mouth parts into feeding tubes in order to reach it. However, to ensure that pollination occurs, some species—such as theorchid—have highly complicated mechanisms that must be negotiated first. Others, such as theyuccaand its visitingmoths,are dependent on one another. Hunters, such as themantis,arecamouflagedto match the flowers and leaves visited by their prey. Since an insect's skin ischitinous,it has to shed it periodically in order to grow, and thecaterpillar,itschrysalisorcocoonand resultingbutterflyor moth is one of the more complex examples.Termites,antsand somebeesandwaspsovercame any limitations of size by grouping together and formingsuperorganisms.The green tree ants of south-east Asia are shown to display the most extraordinary co-operation when building their nests.
5	"Conquest of the Waters"	13 February 1979(1979-02-13)
This programme looks at theevolution of fish.They have developed a multitude of shapes, sizes and methods of propulsion and navigation. The sea squirt, thelanceletand thelampreyare given as examples of the earliest, simplest types. Then, about 400 million years ago, the first backboned fish appeared. TheKimberley Rangesof Western Australia are, in fact, the remnants of acoral reefand the ancient seabed. There, Attenborough discovers fossils of the earliest fish to have developed jaws. These evolved into two shapes of creature withcartilaginousskeletons: wide ones (likeraysandskates) and long ones (likesharks). However, it is the fully boned species that were most successful, and spread from the oceans to rivers and lakes. To adapt to these environments, they had by now acquiredgillsfor breathing, alateral lineto detect movement and aswim bladderto aid buoyancy. Coral reefs contain the greatest variety of species, many of which are conspicuously coloured to ward off predators or attract mates. Their habitat, with its many hiding places within easy reach, allows them to remain so visible. However, the open ocean offers no such refuge, so there is safety in numbers—both hunters and hunted swim in shoals and have streamlined bodies for pursuit or escape. Most species that live below thethermocline,in the freezing depths of the ocean, have never been filmed, and these are largely represented by still photographs.
6	"Invasion of the Land"	20 February 1979(1979-02-20)
The next instalment describes the move from water to land. The fish that did so may have been forced to because ofdrought,or chose to in search of food. Either way, they eventually evolved intoamphibians.Such creatures needed two things: limbs for mobility and lungs to breathe. Thecoelacanthis shown as a fish with bony fins that could have developed into legs, and thelungfishis able to absorb gaseousoxygen.However, evidence of an animal that possessed both is presented in the 450-million-year-old fossilised remains of a fish called aeusthenopteron.Three groups of amphibians are explored. The caecilians have abandoned legs altogether to aid burrowing,newtsandsalamandersneed to return to the water to allow their skins to breathe, but it isfrogsandtoadsthat have been the most successful. Attenborough handles agoliath frog,the largest of the species, to demonstrate its characteristics. Their webbed feet form parachutes that turn them into "dazzling athletes", and some can leap over 15 metres—100 times their body length. In addition, theirvocal sacsensure that mating calls can be heard from up to a mile away.Poison dart frogsdeter predators by means ofvenom,and one such example could kill a human. Various methods of breeding are examined, including laying eggs in rivers, depositing them in other damp habitats for safety or, as with theBrazilianpipa,embedding them within the skin of the parent itself.
7	"Victors of the Dry Land"	27 February 1979(1979-02-27)
This episode is devoted to the evolution ofreptiles.They are not as restricted as their amphibian ancestors, since they can survive in the hottest climates. The reason is their scaly, practically watertight skin. Thescalesprotect the body from wear and tear and in the case of some species oflizard,such as the Australian thorny devil, serve to protect from attack. The hornediguanafrom theWest Indiesis also one of the most heavily armoured. The skin is rich inpigmentcells, which provide effective means of camouflage, and thechameleonis a well-known example.Temperaturecontrol is important to reptiles: they cannot generate body heat internally or sweat to keep cool. Therefore, they rely on thesunand areas of shade. The reptiles were the firstvertebratesfor whom internalfertilisationwas essential, so they developed the watertight egg, which hatches fully formed young. The age of thedinosaursis explored, and Attenborough surmises that it may have beenclimate changethat led to their abrupt demise. Those that survived were water-dwellers, and the bullNile crocodileis the largest reptile alive today.Snakesevolved when burrowing lizards lost their legs but returned above ground. Theboa,puff adderandsidewinderdemonstrate methods of locomotion, theegg-eating snakehas an extreme example of a hinged jaw, and the lethaldiamondback rattlesnakeis described as the most efficient at despatching its prey.
8	"Lords of the Air"	6 March 1979(1979-03-06)
This programme focuses onbirds.Thefeatheris key to everything that is crucial about a bird: it is both itsaerofoiland its insulator. The earliest feathers were found on a fossilisedArchaeopteryxskeleton inBavaria.However, it had claws on itswingsand there is only one species alive today that does so: thehoatzin,whose chicks possess them for about a week or so. Nevertheless, it serves to illustrate the probable movement of its ancestor. It may have taken to the trees to avoid predators, and over time, its bony, reptilian tail was replaced by feathers and its heavy jaw evolved into akeratinbeak. Beaks come in a variety of shapes depending on a bird's feeding habits: examples given include the pouched bill of apelican,the hooked beak of thevultureand the elongated mouth of thehummingbird.Attenborough hails theternas one of the most graceful flyers and thealbatrossas a skilled glider. Theswiftis shown as one of the fastest: it can fly at 170 km/h. Birds communicate through display and/or song, and the elaborate courtship rituals ofNew Guinea'sbirds-of-paradiseare shown. All birds lay eggs, and the range of different nesting sites and parenting skills is explored. Finally, Attenborough visitsGibraltarto observemigratorybirds. These rely onthermalswhen flying overland and use height to conserve energy when crossing oceans. It is estimated that some 5,000 million southbound birds cross theMediterranean Seaeach autumn.
9	"The Rise of the Mammals"	13 March 1979(1979-03-13)
This instalment is the first of several to concentrate onmammals.Theplatypusand theechidnaare the only mammals that lay eggs (in much the same manner of reptiles), and it is from such animals that others in the group evolved. Since mammals havewarm bloodand most have densefur,they can hunt at night when temperatures drop. It is for this reason that they became more successful than their reptile ancestors, who needed to heat themselves externally. Much of the programme is devoted tomarsupials(whose young are partially formed at birth) of which fossils have been found in theAmericasdating back 60 million years. However, because ofcontinental drift,this kind of mammal flourished in Australia. Examples shown include thequoll,theTasmanian devil,thekoala,thewombatand the largest marsupial, thered kangaroo.Thethylacinewas similar to awolfbut is now thought to be extinct. In 1969, bones of creatures such as a 3-metre-tallkangarooand a ferociousmarsupial lionwere found in a cave inNaracoorte,South Australia.The reason for these animals' extinction is, once again, thought to beclimate change.Finally, Attenborough describes the most prolific mammals—those that originated in theNorthern Hemisphereand give birth to fully formed young. He states, "Theplacentaand thewombbetween them provide a degree of safety and a continuity of sustenance which is unparalleled in the animal world. "
10	"Theme and Variations"	20 March 1979(1979-03-20)
This episode continues the study of mammals, and particularly those whose young gestate inside their bodies. Attenborough asks why these have become so varied and tries to discover the common theme that links them. Examples of primitive mammals that are still alive today include thetreeshrew,thedesmanand thestar-nosed mole.Insect eaters vary enormously from theaardvark,giant anteaterandpangolinto those to which much of this programme is devoted: thebats,of which there are nearly 1,000 different species. These took to flying at night, and it is possible that they evolved from treeshrews that jumped from tree to tree, in much the same way as aflying squirrel.Most bats usesonarto hunt and navigate, andultrasoundto communicate. However, some of their prey, such as thelacewingandtiger moth,have developed techniques to confuse and evade them. Aquatic mammals superseded sea-going reptiles such as theplesiosaur.Thewhales' immense size is related to the retention of body heat. The dinosaurs' growth was limited by the strength of their bones but the whales only rely on water to support their weight, and so have been able to grow into the world's largest animals. Some of those shown includehumpbacks,narwhals,killer whalesanddolphins.The latter useecholocationin much the same way as bats, and Attenborough observes one finding objects in the water even after it has been blindfolded.
11	"The Hunters and Hunted"	27 March 1979(1979-03-27)
This programme surveys mammalherbivoresand their predators. The herbivores began to populate the forests when the dinosaurs disappeared, and many took to gathering food at night. To prepare for winter, some store it in vast quantities, somehibernateand others make do as best they can. However, thecarnivoresjoined them, and when a drying climate triggered the spread ofgrass,they followed their prey out on to theplains.Grass is not easily digestible and most animals that eat it have to regurgitate it andchew the cud.Out in the open, the leaf-eaters had to develop means of protection. A few species turned into burrowers: examples include theblind mole-rat,which is completely underground, and theprairie dog,which is not. Thecapybara—the largest rodent—spends much of its time in the water. Those that evolved long legs and hooves, such as thezebraandimpala,seek safety in speed, while larger creatures, such as therhinoceros,rely on their armoured hides. Theelephantis the world's largest land animal and is virtually invulnerable.Cheetahsandlionsare attracted by those that herd in large numbers, likewildebeest.The cheetah uses its considerable speed while the heavier lion is a social predator, mostly using co-operation and stealth to capture its victims, and its methods are explored in detail. Meanwhile, a pack hunter, such as thehyena,has immense stamina and will eventually wear down its quarry, easing the kill.
12	"Life in the Trees"	3 April 1979(1979-04-03)
The penultimate instalment investigates theprimates,whose defining characteristics are forward-facing eyes for judging distance, and gripping hands with which to grasp branches, manipulate food and groom one another. The programme begins inMadagascar,home to thelemurs,of which there are some 20 different types. Two examples are thesifaka,which is a specialised jumper, and theindri,which has a well-developed voice. Away from Madagascar, the only lemur relatives to have survived are nocturnal, such as thebushbaby,thepottoand theloris.The others were supplanted by themonkeysand a primitive species that still exists is the smallest, themarmoset.However, Attenborough selects thesquirrel monkeyas being typical of the group.Howler monkeysdemonstrate why they are so named—their chorus is said to the loudest of any mammal—and theirprehensile tailsillustrate their agility. However, such tails are not characteristic of monkeys that inhabit Africa and many of them, such asvervetsandbaboons,are just as happy on the ground. Others have moved elsewhere, and themacaquesof Koshima in Japan have learned to wash their food before eating. Mostapeshave taken to swinging from trees, and their feet are just as versatile as their hands. They include theorangutan,thegibbon,thechimpanzeeand the primate with whom Attenborough has arguably his most famous encounter, themountain gorilla.
13	"The Compulsive Communicators"	10 April 1979(1979-04-10)
The final episode deals with the evolution of the most widespread and dominant species on Earth:humans.The story begins in Africa, where, some 10 million years ago, apes descended from the trees and ventured out into the open grasslands in search of food. They slowly adapted to the habitat and grew in size. Their acute sense of vision led to them standing erect to spot predators, leaving their hands free to bear weapons. In addition, the primitive apemen (Anthropopithecus) also had stones that were chipped into cutting tools. Slowly, they grew taller and more upright, and their stone implements became ever more elaborate. Furthermore, animal hunting expeditions required a degree of co-operation to achieve a successful outcome. Therefore, Attenborough argues, such foresight, teamwork and planning must have meant some skill at communication.Homo erectusgradually spread from Africa and reached Europe some 800,000 years ago, where a drop in temperature led to him inhabitingcaves.Such creatures evolved further and learned to use flint for weapons, animal skins for clothing, and fire for warmth and preparing food. Their brains became fully formed and, using the walls of their caves as a canvas, they painted and eventually learned to write.Homo sapienshad arrived. However, Attenborough warns, just because humans have achieved so much in such a comparatively short period of time, it may not mean that they will be around forever.

1997 revision

A shortened series, using the footage and commentary from the original, was aired in 1997, edited down to three episodes: early life forms, plants, insects, and amphibians in the first; fish, birds and reptiles in the second; and mammals in the third.

DVD, Blu-ray and book

The series is available in the UK for Regions 2 and 4 as a four-discDVDset (BBCDVD1233, released 1 September 2003) and as part ofThe Life Collection. In 2012 the series was released as a four-discBlu-rayset (released 12 November 2012).

A hardback book,Life on Earthby David Attenborough, was published in 1979 and became a worldwidebestseller.Its cover image of aPanamanianred-eyed tree frog,was taken by Attenborough himself,became an instantly recognisable emblem of the series. It is currently out of print.

A revised and updated edition of the book was published in 2018 to favourable reviews. Most if not all of the images in the 2018 edition are new, but the text remains substantially the same as the original.

Music

Edward Williams' avant-garde score matched the innovative production techniques of the television series. Williams used a traditional chamber music ensemble of (harp,flute,clarinet,stringsandpercussion) combined with electronic sounds. The pieces were crafted scene-by-scene to synchronise with and complement the imagery on screen: in one sequence examining the flight of birds, the instrumentation mirrors each new creature's appearance. The sounds were processed through an early Britishsynthesiser,theEMS VCS 3,to create its evocative sound.

"I started using the filters and voltage control of the VCS 3 on conventionally created classical sounds by the orchestra. It made possible all sorts of marvellous explorations of new sounds which could then be made into music."

— Edward Williams, speaking in 2009

The score was never intended to be released commercially, but Williams had 100 copies pressed as gifts for the musicians involved. One of theseLPsfound its way into the hands of Jonny Trunk, owner of independent labelTrunk Records,who negotiated the licence from the BBC. The soundtrack was finally released on 2 November 2009.

References

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External links

• Life on EarthatBBC Online
• Life on EarthatIMDb
• Life on Earthon theEdenwebsite
• British Film Institute Screen Online
• The ReunionBBC Radio 4 programme about the making ofLife on Earth