Ocean Giants
| Ocean Giants | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Nature documentary |
| Narrated by | Stephen Fry |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No.of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Sara Ford |
| Running time | 59–60 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | BBC One |
| Release | 14 August– 28 August 2011 |
Ocean Giantsis a 2011 Britishnature documentaryseries narrated by actorStephen Fry.[1]The series is a production ofthe BBC Natural History Unit,and premiered on 14 August 2011. The documentaries focus on the life ofdolphinsandwhales.[2]The series includes film crew members who worked on the seriesPlanet Earth.[3]The cameramen featured in the show are Doug Allen, a winner of four Emmys and four BAFTAs for his work on filming marine mammals, and Didier Noirot, known for working with marine conservationistJacques Cousteau.[2]
The series consists of three episodes, each an hour long.[2]The first episode,Giant Lives,focuses onhumpback whalesandblue whales,[2]The second,Deep Thinkers,explores thecognitive abilities of dolphins.The third and final episode,Voices of the Sea,investigates the vocalizations of dolphins andwhales.The series was released on DVD and Blu-ray on 6 March 2012 by BBC Home Entertainment, but only for the United States.[4]
Reception
[edit]The series premiered with 5.45 million viewers.[1]Critical reception of the series was mixed. Benji Wilson ofThe Daily Telegraphcriticized the first episode for being "underwhelming," writing that although the series showcased plenty of footage of the whales, "it’s hard for television to communicate their awesome bigness."[5]Amol RajanofThe Independentvoiced a similar concern, pointing out that "there was a failure to convey the sheer size of these beasts because the only thing we had to compare them with was each other." Rajan did praise the show for its underwater photography, calling it "stunning."[6]Phil Hogan ofThe Guardiandisliked the slow pacing of the series, writing that "it seemed to take hours to get [the whales] in and out of shot." Hogan commented that it was difficult to distinguish scenes of the humpback whales in battle with scenes of the whales merely swimming, although "there was action to be had... with killer whales."[7]
References
[edit]- ^abLaughlin, Andrew (15 August 2011)."TV Stephen Fry's 'Ocean Giants' makes a splash with 5.4m".Digital Spy.Retrieved30 July2012.
- ^abcd"Ocean Giants".BBC Two.Retrieved30 July2012.
- ^Ward, Rachel (12 August 2011)."Ocean Giants interview: the perils of working with a humpback whale on heat".The Telegraph.London.Retrieved30 July2012.
- ^"Ocean Giants".BBC Home Entertainment.
- ^Wilson, Benji (12 August 2011)."Ocean Giants, BBC One, review".The Telegraph.London.Retrieved30 July2012.
- ^Rajan, Amol (15 August 2011)."The Weekend's TV: Ocean Giants, Sun, BBC1 Britain's Hidden Heritage, Sun, BBC1".The Independent.London.Retrieved30 July2012.
- ^Hogan, Phil (21 August 2011)."Rewind TV: Ocean Giants".The Guardian.London.Retrieved30 July2012.
