With a production budget of $25 million, the makers of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life crafted this epic story of life on Earth. Five years in production, with over 2,000 days in the field, using 40 cameramen filming across 200 locations, and shot entirely in high definition, Planet Earth is an unparalleled portrait of the “third rock from the sun.” This stunning television experience captures rare action in impossible locations and presents intimate moments with our planet’s best-loved, wildest, and most elusive creatures.

Employing a revolutionary new aerial photography system, the series captures animal behavior that has never before been seen on film. The series features high-definition footage from outer space to offer a brand-new perspective on wonders such as the Himalayas and the Amazon River.

From the highest mountains to the deepest rivers, this blockbuster series takes you on an unforgettable journey through the daily struggle for survival in Earth’s most extreme habitats. Planet Earth goes places viewers have never seen before, to experience new sights and sounds. The set contains the original U.K. broadcast version, including 90 minutes of footage not aired on the Discovery Channel’s U.S. telecasts, and features narration by natural history icon David Attenborough. (Barnes & Noble)

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As of its release in early 2007, Planet Earth is quite simply the greatest nature/wildlife series ever produced. Following the similarly monumental achievement of The Blue Planet: Seas of Life, this astonishing 11-part BBC series is brilliantly narrated by Sir David Attenborough and sensibly organized so that each 50-minute episode covers a specific geographical region and/or wildlife habitat (mountains, caves, deserts, shallow seas, seasonal forests, etc.) until the entire planet has been magnificently represented by the most astonishing sights and sounds you’ll ever experience from the comforts of home.

The premiere episode, “From Pole to Pole,” serves as a primer for things to come, placing the entire series in proper context and giving a general overview of what to expect from each individual episode. Without being overtly political, the series maintains a consistent and subtle emphasis on the urgent need for ongoing conservation, best illustrated by the plight of polar bears whose very behavior is changing (to accommodate life-threatening changes in their fast-melting habitat) in the wake of global warming–a phenomenon that this series appropriately presents as scientific fact.

With this harsh reality as subtext, the series proceeds to accentuate the positive, delivering a seemingly endless variety of natural wonders, from the spectacular mating displays of New Guinea’s various birds of paradise to a rare encounter with Siberia’s nearly-extinct Amur Leopards, of which only 30 remain in the wild. (Amazon)