BBC Home Entertainment has announced the 3-disc Blu-ray release of the Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning 2007 BBC/Discovery documentary series The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, which features narration by Sir David Attenborough. The eight-episode series streets on April 9th.
Synopsis: The Blue Planet: Seas of Life is the definitive natural history of the world's oceans, exploring everything from the popular shores and teeming shallows to the mysterious ocean depths. Sea birds and crustaceans inhabit the no-man's-land between earth and sea; sharks bask in the shallows, waiting for prey; strange, flower-like anemones bloom in the coral reefs; while in the deep canyons of the oceans, weird creatures with huge jaws wait for something to sink down from the sunlit world. It's a journey that gets stranger and more awe-inspiring as it goes along.
Episodes include:
The Blue Planet: Although 70 per cent of our planet is covered by water, the oceans and many of their inhabitants - such as the blue whale - remain an unexplored mystery. This edition travels to the very depths of the seas to reveal a spectacular variety of life - from alien monsters of the deep to pack-hunting killer whales attacking a grey whale calf.
The Deep: A look at the strange, otherworldly creatures that live in the very depths of the ocean, many of which are new to science. Terrifying fish with massive teeth that eat prey twice their size, weird flashing jellyfish, and deep sea sharks all inhabit submerged mountain ranges and volcanoes far larger than anything on land.
Open Ocean: Focuses on the predatory skills of some of the most charismatic hunters found on the planet: whales, dolphins, tuna, shark and rapier-nosed billfish. The fastest and most powerful survive in the marine desert of the sea, playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek with their prey.
Frozen Seas: A look at the survival techniques of creatures that endure the harsh conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic. For six months a year, all is dark at the poles and the temperature drops to minus 40 degrees Celsius. Some animals manage to survive the winter, while others are forced to migrate ahead of the advancing ice.
Seasonal Seas: Seasonal changes in the richest waters on Earth, where the annual cycle of the sun drives an explosion of life. Featuring an extraordinary variety of marine animals, including seals, dolphins, jellyfish and the bizarre walking handfish.
Coral Seas: Amazingly beautiful and complex, coral reefs develop from humble beginnings. Tiny larvae settle and then over hundreds of years the intricate and fragile reefs that we so enjoy grow, inch by inch. Reefs are adorned with spectacularly colourful life, but it is no tropical paradise. Space is at a premium and even the coral itself fights to survive. And then, at night, the sharks come out to hunt. Layer upon layer the coral supports innumerable animals, but one big storm can threaten the entire community.
Tidal Seas: Learn how the tides create opportunities for marine life - giant stingrays glide on currents for a rest, minute crabs play football on the beach, racoons binge, the fastest snail of all surfs the waves in pursuit of a meal and dolphins play a deadly game of catch.
Coasts: The boundary between land and sea is an exciting place, with animals constantly coming and going. From the open oceans, millions of seabirds are forced to come into land to breed. Sea eagles steal kittiwake chicks from their nesting ledges. Turtles lay their eggs in the sand and marine mammals haul themselves out to fight on the beaches. Sealions emerge from the kelp to give birth while killer whales come crashing in on the surf to snatch the sealion's young.
Tech specs have yet to be revealed, but the 3-disc BD set will include several extras:
Deep Trouble: For years, man has used the oceans as a source of life, food and riches. Now the oceans have been put under such intolerable strain that we may be about to lose this valuable asset. Deep Trouble looks at the impact man has had on the ecology of the oceans.