Millions of years ago incredible forces ripped apart the Earth's crust creating our seven continents - each with its own distinct climate, its own distinct terrain and its own unique animal life. From the colourful paradise of South America to the scorching heat of Africa, ‘Seven Worlds, One Planet’ showcases the true character of each continent in turn and reveals just how it has shaped all life there. Be surprised by unexpected stories. Marvel at iconic landscapes. And be awestruck by spectacular wildlife. This series is an eye-opening journey around a world you thought you knew.
The snowy shores and icy waters of Antarctica are home to some of the most amazing and unusual wildlife in the world. However, even here, many species face extinction due to rapid climate change and overhunting.

You find fungi in Antarctica and in nuclear reactors. They live inside your lungs and your skin is covered with them. Fungi are the most under appreciated and unexplained organisms, yet they could cure you from smallpox and turn cardboard boxes into forests. They could even transform Mars into Eden. There are vastly more fungi species than plants and each and every one of them plays a crucial role in life’s support systems. Join us on a journey into the mysterious world of Fungi to witness their beauty, unravel their mysteries and discover how this secret kingdom is essential to life on Earth, and may in fact hold the key to our future.

We're transported to Atka Bay on the frigid coast of Antarctica, where a magnificent colony of emperor penguins embarks on a jaw-dropping journey. These remarkable birds, after three months of oceanic feasting, return to the frozen continent as the waters freeze over. What makes their story even more gripping is that they are the last inhabitants of Antarctica, as other wildlife has wisely retreated to the safer sea.
Narrated by David Attenborough, this extraordinary documentary immerses you in an epic saga of survival, fierce parenting, and unwavering tenacity. Join these resilient penguins as they confront the harshest conditions on Earth, embarking on an unforgettable adventure deep within the icy heart of the wilderness.

Experience the world from the viewpoint of animals themselves. From spellbinding wildlife spectacle to intimate encounters, Planet Earth II takes you closer than ever before.
Remote islands offer sanctuary for some of the planet's strangest and rarest creatures. The rare pygmy three-toed sloth enjoys a peaceful existence on an idyllic Caribbean island, while nesting albatross thrive in predator-free isolation. But island life always comes at a cost. On the Galapagos Islands, young marine iguana must escape an onslaught of deadly racer snakes the moment they hatch from the sand. On the sub-Antarctic island of Zavodovski, life gets more extreme still. Every day, one and a half million penguins risk being battered against the rocks by fierce waves as they try to get on and off the island.

In the fourth episode, leading landscape photographer Peter Eastway follows in the footsteps of Frank Hurley – the pioneering Australian photographer on Shackleton’s expedition to the south a century ago – to capture the wilderness and wildlife of Antarctica and South Georgia.

This episode is centered around how science, in particular the work of Clair Patterson (voiced in animated sequences by Richard Gere[33]) in the middle of the 20th century, has been able to determine the age of the Earth. Tyson first describes how the Earth was formed from the coalescence of matter some millions of years after the formation of the Sun, and while scientists can examine the formations in rock stratum to date some geological events, these can only trace back millions of years. Instead, scientists have used the debris from meteor impacts, such as the Meteor Crater in Arizona, knowing that the material from such meteors coming from the asteroid belt would have been made at the same time as the Earth. Patterson also examined the levels of lead in the common environment and in deeper parts of the oceans and Antarctic ice, showing that lead had only been brought to the surface in recent times. He would discover that the higher levels of lead were from the use of tetraethyllead in leaded gasoline resulting in government-mandated restrictions on the use of lead.