Life
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Life

2009, Nature  -   97 Comments
7.04
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Ratings: 7.04/10 from 24 users.

Life is a nature documentary series made for BBC television, first broadcast on BBC One and BBC HD from October to December 2009. The series takes a global view of the specialized strategies and extreme behavior that living things have evolved in order to survive; what Charles Darwin termed "the struggle for existence". Four years in the making, the series has been shot entirely in high definition.

The UK broadcast of Life consists of ten 50-minute episodes. The opening programme gives a general introduction to the series, a second looks at plants and the remainder are dedicated to the major animal groups. They aim to show common features that have contributed to the success of each group, and to document intimate and dramatic moments in the lives of selected species chosen for their charisma or their extraordinary behavior. A ten-minute making-of feature Life on Location airs at the end of each episode, taking the total running time to 60 minutes.

Life is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in association with the Discovery Channel, Skai TV and the Open University. The original script, used in the British and Canadian versions of the series, was written and narrated by David Attenborough. In the USA, the series was shown in an 11-part run beginning in March 2010, with narration by Oprah Winfrey.

The series is marketed internationally under the BBC Earth brand and is distributed by BBC Worldwide. It has already been acquired by several Latin American broadcasters and by Discovery Channel Canada, where it made its North American premiere on 15 November 2009.

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Piano Hands
Piano Hands
11 years ago

Does anyone know if the soundtrack is available to buy?

ThisDarkChestOfWonders
ThisDarkChestOfWonders
12 years ago

Would be perfect if oprah wasn't the narrator. But still one of the best nature docs ever. If you liked planet earth and havent seen this, then its a must see.

Damian Max W
Damian Max W
12 years ago

one, if not the most beatiful documantaries series ever made. This and BBC Earth...I allways have a tear in the eye, when I watch them... beautiful...

Geoffrey MacMillan
Geoffrey MacMillan
12 years ago

life is both beautiful and brutal. wonderful documentary.

Imagine watching this from an objective point of view. "Now this strange animal, the human, gets its food from something they call a "supermarket".

Isabella
Isabella
12 years ago

I´ve just finished watching this on big screen, And it is one of the best series of documentaries that I´ve watched. Beautiful shots, and so informative.

AnjirGirl
AnjirGirl
12 years ago

What an incredibly fascinating documentary! From sentimentally tearful to adorably hilarious - a masterpiece. Thank you for sharing!

Milan_Boom
Milan_Boom
13 years ago

The Mammals episode in the playlist has been blocked due to copyright infringement.

Virat Khatri
Virat Khatri
13 years ago

it is a such very attractive video ever i have seen

Ricardo
Ricardo
13 years ago

Great documentary, BBC and Attenborough, an unbeatable duo.
I had already watched and then bought the Blu-ray version of Planet Earth series and this one might be the next.
This one alone or a bundle of nature documentaries featuring Attenborough's past works :)

NeuronFirestorm
NeuronFirestorm
13 years ago

Vlatko, you are an invaluable asset to the web-enabled learning interest of the world. Bravo to your contributions.

Jo McKay
Jo McKay
13 years ago

Wow. This was wonderful. Remarkable filming and a great story. You did very well showing the intelligence and development of rarely seen 'animals' and how hard they work at LIFE. Well Done and Thank You for sharing this with us. p.s. a couple of human relatable scenes, made me laugh out loud, and a few, of course, were sad...bravo

Joe_nyc
Joe_nyc
13 years ago

Hey boys and girls

Do yourself a favor and go buy this series to watch it in big screen. I just finished mine and I believe I have seen THE finest nature film ever!

There was one scene where a male chimpanzee lends his tool to a female to crack open the nuts. I knew they used tools but never realized that our closest primate relatives were also capable of sharing in such manner. It was so amazing. I almost pee'ed on my pants. :)

Samusakis
Samusakis
13 years ago

....

God damn you Oprah! The only way I'll be able to watch this documentary is with a bottle of vodka by my side >.>

Joe_nyc
Joe_nyc
13 years ago

I am willing to buy into blue-ray hype just to watch this series in HD. :)

Phil
Phil
13 years ago

Attenborough's work has changed my life.

Phil
Phil
13 years ago

:-)

mestari
mestari
13 years ago

i am very amazed by all this diversity of life on our planet, all what i can say is behold the magnificant creation of god the one and the only. i would like also to thank the brave team who made such extraordinary effort to make this stunning work

James
James
13 years ago

Why can't the narration be heard for all the episodes of LIFE in this website? How do I go about in listening to the narrations?

Saif
Saif
13 years ago

simply amazing!Great camera work . Thanks very much guys for making this amazing documentary.

mugen
mugen
13 years ago

dave is awesome and no 1 can narrate like him. he looked like hes gettin old though when i met. gona miss you dave so u betta make more docs!!!

ed
ed
13 years ago

@ tom.

he is so good. the poor poor US.

tom
tom
13 years ago

love this series and david attenborough. I saw a comment denoting oprah winfrey as the narrator, presumably for the us version. If true then i feel sorry for those americans who watch it as david attenborough has to be the best wildlife narrator of all time.

Ruth
Ruth
13 years ago

Hi, Vlatko! it seems part of life of plants is missing on the end. It goes to 50 but is not complete. can you look at it? Thank you.

ed
ed
13 years ago

speaking of genetics... ive got my molecular biology and genetics 2nd yr exam on tomoz. studying some functional genomics at the momment. poor knockin/ knockout mice.

wish me luck!

Farabi
Farabi
13 years ago

awesome series. regret again my slow connection. :s

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@Torionto

Oh, my... That must have been quite a thing to see. I am envious!

Insects and arachnids kind of "skeeve" me, but fascinate me at the same time...

It's a dichotomy in my life.

Torionto
Torionto
13 years ago

I especially enjoyed the footage during the Insects episode about the Monarch butterflies. I had always suspected that they migrated as birds do, but never knew for sure and had never remembered to confirm it. I had witnessed a swarm of hundreds of Monarchs flying over my yard in the late summer/ early autumn some years back, just outside of Toronto. I had never seen anything like it prior to that until now. Seeing as they only roost in such a small area in Mexico, I really hope that the forest there gets statutory protection from illegal logging.

PNKlv
PNKlv
13 years ago

True, I think it's very entertaining .... INDEED!
:p

Charles B.
Charles B.
13 years ago

OK. This is a good night to try and conquer a few more hours of "LIFE"! A great series. I do so love Sir David Attenborough's voice.

mJy hEeSaUrSt
mJy hEeSaUrSt
13 years ago

I don't need permission to express my opinions to anyone as long as it's done without malice and in a socially acceptable way.

@ Ruth

"Clever girl!" That's my favorite quote from Jurassic Park. Now I have to change my name to keep up the mystery.

Ruth
Ruth
13 years ago

lRoUvTeHs a rRoEsDe. actually i like lilies but that is too hard to do i think.

D-K
D-K
13 years ago

DjOaNcTk CaAsRsE

poopsicle
poopsicle
13 years ago

Not a lot of docs keep me fully entertained till the end, this one does. Good show.

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@Ruth

Hi, Ruth. I got the code. I wasn't impressed.

Ruth
Ruth
13 years ago

Hi, dr. Randy. read the scrabble name again. it's a code.

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@mJy hEeSaUrSt

And I never gave YOU permission to address me at all.

Mr... name made from scrabble tiles that fell on the floor.

But, if you must, again, for you it will be Dr. Randy or Reverend Randy.

I earned that.

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

Chucky B. impertinately wrote:

"Randy: What? I’m getting “wrathed upon” for the glue comment?"

I'm sorry. I don't think you addressed me properly there...

Try rephrasing that sentence so that it doesn't make us sound like equals...

It would be... that's right even you can do it...

Reverend Randy.... or Dr. Randy...

There you go... practice!

Charles B.
Charles B.
13 years ago

Randy: What? I'm getting "wrathed upon" for the glue comment? Ok. If you want. If you're like me, you get upset for 20 minutes and then say "sorry" for the next 2 days until your Asian wife finally calms down. Asian, or in your case Latino women! Salsa in a tiny little bottle, no? :-)

Ai! Caramba!

mJy: Yeah, sorry for the MSG religees. Let God sort them out.

D-K: I was gonna comment, ah . . . . , never mind. :-)

I do plan to watch this whole series, however! I love David Attenborough's voice -- like chocolate spoon-feeding us a new unseen natural world laced with MSG evolution--but it still sounds and looks great, espeically for the boy.

51 parts X 10 min each = 510 minutes divided by 60 minutes = 7 1/2 hours! Almost. Yeah!

Thanks Vlatko.

Ok. I've got all the "fight" out of my system for a while. I'll try to avoid commenting for at least a few days, if I can bare not reading any more comments.

Peace.

D-K
D-K
13 years ago

@mJy:

It was a rhet-..

It wasn't really a question. Never mind.

mJy hEeSaUrSt
mJy hEeSaUrSt
13 years ago

@ D-K

"D-K05/16/2010 at 02:25 Doesn’t “salt” also dehydrate us and does “light” not blind us?"

Anything can kill you if you use it wrongly. Water gives life if you drink it or takes it away if you drownd in it.

@ Randy

I think you are kidding, but it sounds like CB responded to you from his heart. Hold back the wrath of Randy for the sake of the whole world. Not sure if we could take it.

@ CB

"Salt and light" are good, but the problem is that so many Christians now are "MSG Christians". They taste look/taste good at first but are just a slow poison. What happened to the power and the love?

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@Chaz B.

I know all the names of god and all the names of Satan.

YOU can call me Reverend Randy! High Priest of the World Wide Church of Satan! Grand Inquisitor, in the thirty-second degree, of the Sacred- Ordo Templi Orientis!

From now on... I will always be Rev. Randy to you...

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

I wrote in another post but Charles B. needs to see it laid out here, because he incurred my wrath:

"Sorry, honey. I know the bible inside and out and I know science inside and out…

I am your worst freaking nightmare!

As far as sexual repression, I will lay, Ted Bundy, The BTK killer, Richard Speck, and a couple of dozen serial killers that were born out of christian sexual repression…. on YOUR doorstep.

And that is just in the last 40 years or so… there are thousands of men and women that relieve their christian, sexual oppression out on US, thanks to you! Oh, I have a solid background in psychology, as well…

That blood is on YOUR hands!

And then you go back in history and we talk of wars in the name of religion… torture… and it goes on and on…

A god of FIRE and BLOOD, is what you worship!

Gratz!"

I know all the names of god and all the names of Satan, and I can blast you back to the bronze-age!!!!

Ydnar
Ydnar
13 years ago

O yeah Charles.. you shall rue this day! RUE IT!

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

Charles B. wrote:

"I think the true Christians are the “glue” in society that holds back the darkness to the extent that it has been and without us, all Hell would break loose. Litterally."

Um, I am the one who reached out to you! You are the evil-one, I am the Light of the World!

And you are all up in here... taking all of the credit for your jesus...

Whatever... man...

See if I reach out to you again! You will feel my wrath!

Get ready for Randy wrath, sweetheart.... better get the kids out of the room!

fiddlesticks
fiddlesticks
13 years ago

entertaining doc

D-K
D-K
13 years ago

Just a quick little observation, I meant no disruption.

as you were..

D-K
D-K
13 years ago

Doesn't "salt" also dehydrate us and does "light" not blind us?

Charles B.
Charles B.
13 years ago

Randy: Being separate from is not the same as not being part of. We are called "salt" and "light" by Jesus. They have purpose: to prevent rot and dispel darkness. They are active forces for good, even when they are not trying to be. How much more so when they are willing and active in their endeavors.

Since you were once a "Christian" then you understand perhaps part of my mindset. There is a passage in the Ezekiel, I think (not 100% the specific passage) that says that God looked for a man to stand in the "gap" and found none. The people fell on judgment because no righteous person was willing to pray and interceed and/or ask God for mercy for their nation fallen in sin.

Our interaction together is limited to on-line exchange of ideas. We could both just watch the docs if we want to, but I admitt, the comments are almost just as engaging for me.

I think the true Christians are the "glue" in society that holds back the darkness to the extent that it has been and without us, all Hell would break loose. Litterally.

Peace.

P.S. The mystery of genes and DNA is amazing to me. I'm just glad that not everything can interbreed. I never get tired of learning more about genetics, but I enjoy it more when in the context of a faith-based understanding of the topic.

Randy
Randy
13 years ago

@Charles B.

I do not want you to abandon your god. I just don't want you to force it on me!

And all I ask, if you are still an American, just think about all of the philosophies of the world, and the feelings of our Founding Fathers, before you vote or serve jury duty...

I hope heaven is waiting for you and your beautiful family. Just understand, that there are people in the world who do not want "heaven".

We want to study and know things and even if you think it's Satan driving us... let us go with him... and you go with your god.

Isn't there a passage that purports that jesus said, "go thou, and be ye seperate!"

(I don't believe jesus existed but, hey! if all christians went thou and beed thou seperate... we wouldn't have a problem...).

We need science, you need mythology... science does great things... jesus don't like women... whatever!

We are just people. Science unites us, as I said before, religion divides us...

But surely you can put your religion aside for a moment and see us as people... just like you.

I did, between the two of us, along time ago... you know why? Science.

Charles B.
Charles B.
13 years ago

I knew you knew, but in my deepest soul, I truly truly believe. I've seen God answer prayers and even miraculously so. How could I in a moment of "human frailty" turn my back on Him forever? That I cannot do, be it right or wrong. But, I also honestly believe my faith to be true as well, not just self-deception of some kind. God knows there's a lot of that going around, especially in the religious realm.

In honest heartedness, what God spoke gently to my heart was the story of John the Baptist. When he say Jesus coming to be baptized, he knew precisely who He was and had no doubts. He also say the dove alight on Jesus and heard God's voice from Heaven. But, in prison, face with his death, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if he was the One. Jesus in kindness didn't rebuke John in his moment of doubt and fear, but spoke comfort to him. That's MY Jesus and that is why I love Him so. Hardy can mock about feeling God's presence and hearing His voice, but there is truth to that statement. I put myself in the line of fire to mention it so blatantly and openly, but perhaps that is what you guys need to hear. Not many people are willing to take the shots to speak their hearts these days. Granted, it's on the Internet and not much repercussions, but still, it is a painful experience to have to grapple with your own humanity in the face of both intellectual and emotional adversity from others.

If you don't mind me asking, "What happened?" The story about the hippy chick's odd comment about the Devil being God still seems shallow for a reason to just "walk away". Grated, you said there were more and you were oversimplifying, I'm sure.